CAREER: Investigating and Supporting Undergraduate Biology Students' Abilities to Communicate about Culturally Controversial Science Topics

职业：调查和支持生物学本科生交流有文化争议的科学话题的能力

• 批准号: 2238174
• 负责人: Maryann Barnes
• 金额: $ 104.48万
• 依托单位: Middle Tennessee State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2028-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2238174&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Investigating; Supporting; Undergraduate; Biology

Current research suggests that undergraduate science students are engaging in ineffective communication regarding culturally controversial science topics. This ineffective communication can exacerbate divides between science and society. Unfortunately, most students do not receive proper instruction on how to communicate these topics in a productive manner, despite the significance of science communication as a crucial skill for undergraduate students to acquire. One of the challenges in addressing this issue is the absence of comprehensive evaluation methods, instructional frameworks, and materials to enhance students' communication abilities. This project seeks to serve the national interest and address this gap by developing evidence-based practices and instructional materials that teach undergraduate students studying biological sciences the principles of science communication and how to apply them when discussing culturally controversial science topics. By improving students' communication skills, this project seeks to enhance their impact as future scientists, science educators, and healthcare providers, ultimately fostering improved relations between science and society through more effective science communication.This project housed at Middle Tennessee State University will create the materials needed to advance undergraduate science communication education about Culturally Controversial Science Topics (CCSTs). Using the frameworks of cultural competence and expectancy value theory as well as the guiding principles of science communication, the specific objectives of the project are to (1) develop survey instruments to measure student communication education outcomes, (2) establish an evidence-based instructional framework with a set of best practices for CCST communication education, and (3) design evidence-based instructional materials for science instructors to use to improve undergraduates' CCST communication outcomes. To accomplish the objectives, the project team will build, pilot, and gather validity evidence for survey instruments that can be used to assess student confidence, knowledge, and ability communicating about CCSTs. Once instruments have been developed and validity evidence gathered for the measures, researchers will use the measures to assess the current CCST communication education outcomes of undergraduate students who are learning about CCSTs in 50 biology classes across the United States. To build an evidence based instructional framework, researchers will use triangulation methodology to identify best practices for teaching CCST communication. Researchers will use data from their observations of current instructional practices, interviews with students and instructors, and prior published science communication education literature to identify effective CCST communication education practices. Using the new framework, researchers will then design lessons to enhance students' CCST communication knowledge, confidence, and abilities and then use the new survey instruments to evaluate the lessons in undergraduate science classes. Further, researchers will facilitate a Course-based Research Experience (CRE) for students who will work on projects related to the data gathered for the CSST research. The success of the project will be assessed by the production and publication of the instruments, framework, and lessons that are shown to lead to better student communication outcomes. Additionally, an expert advisory board will review the project products and evaluate the evidence for their efficacy across different student groups. The results of the project will be disseminated through publications in peer reviewed science and science education journals as well as presentations at science and science education conferences. The research team will also create talks and infographics that describe the results of the study to be posted on media and social media platforms. This project has the potential to advance the field of science communication education by specifically addressing student communication about CCSTs, for which there is currently very little research. Ultimately, this project has the potential to help mitigate public polarization about CCSTs by training more of our future scientists to communicate more productively. The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a National Science Foundation (NSF)-wide activity that supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education. This CAREER project is supported by NSF's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

目前的研究表明，理科本科生对于有文化争议的科学话题进行了无效的沟通。这种无效的沟通会加剧科学与社会之间的分歧。不幸的是，尽管科学传播作为本科生获得的一项关键技能具有重要意义，但大多数学生没有接受过如何以富有成效的方式传播这些主题的适当指导。解决这一问题的挑战之一是缺乏全面的评估方法、教学框架和材料来提高学生的沟通能力。该项目旨在通过开发基于证据的实践和教学材料来服务国家利益并解决这一差距，这些实践和教学材料向学习生物科学的本科生传授科学传播的原则以及如何在讨论有文化争议的科学主题时应用它们。通过提高学生的沟通技巧，该项目旨在增强他们作为未来科学家、科学教育者和医疗保健提供者的影响力，最终通过更有效的科学沟通促进科学与社会之间的关系的改善。该项目位于中田纳西州立大学，将创建推进有关文化争议科学主题 (CCST) 的本科科学传播教育所需的材料。利用文化能力和期望值理论的框架以及科学传播的指导原则，该项目的具体目标是（1）开发调查工具来衡量学生传播教育成果，（2）建立基于证据的教学体系(3) 为科学教师设计循证教学材料，以提高本科生的 CCST 沟通成果。为了实现这些目标，项目团队将构建、试点并收集调查工具的有效性证据，这些工具可用于评估学生关于 CCST 的信心、知识和沟通能力。一旦开发出工具并收集了这些措施的有效性证据，研究人员将使用这些措施来评估目前在美国 50 个生物课程中学习 CCST 的本科生的 CCST 传播教育成果。为了建立基于证据的教学框架，研究人员将使用三角测量方法来确定 CCST 沟通教学的最佳实践。研究人员将利用对当前教学实践的观察、对学生和教师的访谈以及之前发表的科学传播教育文献中的数据来确定有效的 CCST 传播教育实践。使用新框架，研究人员将设计课程来增强学生的 CCST 沟通知识、信心和能力，然后使用新的调查工具来评估本科科学课程的课程。此外，研究人员将为从事 CSST 研究收集数据相关项目的学生提供基于课程的研究体验 (CRE)。该项目的成功将通过工具、框架和课程的制作和出版来评估，这些工具、框架和课程被证明可以带来更好的学生交流成果。此外，专家顾问委员会将审查项目产品并评估其在不同学生群体中的有效性证据。该项目的结果将通过同行评审的科学和科学教育期刊上的出版物以及科学和科学教育会议上的演讲来传播。研究团队还将创建演讲和信息图表来描述研究结果，并将其发布在媒体和社交媒体平台上。该项目有潜力通过专门解决有关 CCST 的学生交流来推进科学传播教育领域，目前对此的研究很少。最终，该项目有可能通过培训更多未来的科学家进行更有效的沟通，帮助缓解公众对 CCST 的两极分化。教师早期职业发展 (CAREER) 计划是一项美国国家科学基金会 (NSF) 范围内的活动，旨在支持有潜力成为研究和教育领域学术榜样的早期职业教师。该职业项目得到 NSF 改善本科生 STEM 教育 (IUSE) 计划的支持。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。