Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez.
CBE Life Sci Educ. 2011 Fall;10(3):287-97. doi: 10.1187/cbe.11-04-0035.
Today, more minority students are entering undergraduate programs than ever before, but they earn only 6% of all science or engineering PhDs awarded in the United States. Many studies suggest that hands-on research activities enhance students' interest in pursuing a research career. In this paper, we present a model for the implementation of laboratory research in the undergraduate teaching laboratory using a culturally relevant approach to engage students. Laboratory modules were implemented in upper-division genetics and cell biology courses using cassava as the central theme. Students were asked to bring cassava samples from their respective towns, which allowed them to compare their field-collected samples against known lineages from agricultural stations at the end of the implementation. Assessment of content and learning perceptions revealed that our novel approach allowed students to learn while engaged in characterizing Puerto Rican cassava. In two semesters, based on the percentage of students who answered correctly in the premodule assessment for content knowledge, there was an overall improvement of 66% and 55% at the end in the genetics course and 24% and 15% in the cell biology course. Our proposed pedagogical model enhances students' professional competitiveness by providing students with valuable research skills as they work on a problem to which they can relate.
如今，进入本科项目的少数民族学生比以往任何时候都多，但他们在美国获得的所有科学或工程博士学位中仅占 6%。许多研究表明，实践研究活动增强了学生从事研究职业的兴趣。在本文中，我们提出了一种使用与文化相关的方法在本科教学实验室中实施实验室研究的模型，以吸引学生。使用木薯作为中心主题，在遗传学和细胞生物学的高年级课程中实施了实验室模块。学生们被要求从各自的城镇带来木薯样本，这使他们能够在实施结束时将他们采集的样本与农业站的已知谱系进行比较。对内容和学习感知的评估表明，我们的新方法允许学生在参与表征波多黎各木薯的过程中学习。在两个学期中，根据遗传学课程和细胞生物学课程中学生在模块前评估中正确回答内容知识问题的百分比，整体上分别提高了 66%和 55%，以及 24%和 15%。我们提出的教学模式通过为学生提供有价值的研究技能，使他们在解决与自己相关的问题时，增强了学生的职业竞争力。
