Promoting Motivation for Underrepresented Groups in Undergraduate Biology Courses

描述（由申请人提供）：促进少数民族（UEM）学生对生物学入门课程的兴趣和动机至关重要，因为这些课程是通往后续课程和生物医学科学职业的门户。我们提出了两种社会心理干预的实验现场测试：价值观肯定技术关注学生的个人价值观；效用价值干预关注的是课程内容的价值或有用性。到目前为止，这两种干预措施都没有在大学生物学课程中进行过测试，也没有在同一门课程中同时进行过测试。我们相信，这些干预措施可以结合起来，以促进动力和表现的学生在生物学代表性不足。我们提议对西澳大学2200名生物学入门课程的学生进行大规模的实地实验，以及一套补充性的实验室实验，以检验这些干预措施的作用机制。我们将评估价值肯定和效用价值干预在威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校生物科学专业为期一年的入门生物学序列中的单独和联合效果。我们将对四组（N=2200）生物学导论学生进行纵向随访，从他们入读生物学导论课程到他们大学毕业。我们的目标是1)测试价值观肯定干预在受威胁群体（少数民族学生和第一代学生）的生物学入门课程中的有效性，其结果如下：课程保留，课程表现和对生物学的兴趣2)检验效用价值干预在受威胁群体的生物学入门课程中的有效性，其结果如下：3)将这两种干预措施结合起来进行测试，以确定它们是否能增加或协同促进受威胁群体在生物学课程中的动机和表现。此外，我们计划使用纵向设计来测试这两种干预措施对学生随后的课程选择、专业选择和毕业时的职业规划的长期影响，以验证我们的假设，即这些干预措施应该有效地促进生物医学职业的动机。最后，我们将通过系统地改变干预措施的参数，并在大规模纵向现场实验中测量假设的介质，以及在实验室研究中进行实验研究，来检查这些干预措施起作用的机制。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It is critically important to promote interest and motivation for underrepresented ethnic minority (UEM) students in introductory biology courses, because these courses serve as a gateway to successive courses and careers in the biomedical sciences. We propose an experimental field test of two social psychological interventions: the values affirmation technique focuses on the student's personal values; the utility value intervention focuses on the value or usefulness of course content. To date, neither intervention has been tested in college biology courses, nor have these interventions been tested together in the same course. We believe that these interventions can be combined to promote motivation and performance for underrepresented students in biology. We propose a large-scale field experiment with 2200 students in introductory biology courses at UW, as well a set of complementary laboratory experiments to examine the mechanisms through which these interventions work. We will evaluate the separate and combined effects of Values Affirmation and Utility Value interventions in the year-long introductory biology sequence taken by biological science majors at UW- Madison. We will follow four cohorts (N=2200) of introductory biology students longitudinally from their enrollment in the introductory biology course through their graduation from college. Our goals are 1) to test the effectiveness of the values affirmation intervention in introductory biology classes for threatened groups (underrepresented ethnic minority students and first-generation students) for the following outcomes: retention in the course, course performance, and interest in biology 2) Examine the effectiveness of the utility value intervention in introductory biology classes for threatened groups for the following outcomes: retention in the course, course performance, and interest in biology, 3) Test the two interventions in combination to determine whether they work additively or synergistically to promote motivation and performance in biology courses for threatened groups. In addition, we plan to test the long-term effects of both interventions on students' subsequent course-taking, choice of major, and career plans at graduation, using a longitudinal design, testing our hypothesis that these interventions should be effective in promoting motivation for biomedical careers. Finally, we will examine the mechanisms through which these interventions work, by systematically varying the parameters of the interventions and measuring hypothesized mediators in the large-scale, longitudinal field experiment and by conducting experimental research in laboratory studies. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: It is critically important to promote interest and motivation for underrepresented ethnic minority (UEM) students in introductory biology courses, which act as a gateway to successive courses and careers. Increasing the pool of talent for doctorates in the biomedical sciences is crucial, for these are the persons who will pioneer essential advances to improve the health of the U.S. population. We propose a large-scale field experiment to test two social psychological interventions intended to promote motivation and performance for underrepresented students in biology classes.