Cotner Sehoya, Thompson Seth, Wright Robin
Department of Biology Teaching and Learning, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Department of Biology Teaching and Learning, College of Biological Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
CBE Life Sci Educ. 2017 Fall;16(3). doi: 10.1187/cbe.16-11-0329.
Recent calls to action urge sweeping reform in science education, advocating for improved learning for students-including those majoring in fields beyond the sciences. However, little work has been done to characterize the differences-if any exist-between students planning a career in science and those studying other disciplines. We describe an attempt to clarify, in broad terms, how non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors differ from life sciences majors, and how they are similar. Using survey responses and institutional data, we find that non-STEM majors are not unilaterally science averse; non-STEM majors are more likely than biology majors to hold misconceptions about the nature of science, yet they are not completely ignorant of how science works; non-STEM majors are less likely than biology majors to see science as personally relevant; and non-STEM majors populations are likely to be more diverse-with respect to incoming knowledge, perceptions, backgrounds, and skills-than a biology majors population. We encourage science educators to consider these characteristics when designing curricula for future scientists or simply for a well-informed citizenry.
近期的行动呼吁敦促对科学教育进行全面改革，主张改善学生的学习状况，包括那些非科学专业的学生。然而，对于计划从事科学职业的学生与学习其他学科的学生之间的差异（如果存在差异的话），几乎没有开展相关研究。我们试图从广义上阐明非STEM（科学、技术、工程和数学）专业学生与生命科学专业学生有何不同以及有何相似之处。通过调查反馈和院校数据，我们发现非STEM专业学生并非一概厌恶科学；非STEM专业学生比生物学专业学生更有可能对科学的本质持有误解，但他们并非完全不了解科学是如何运作的；非STEM专业学生比生物学专业学生更不可能认为科学与个人相关；而且非STEM专业学生群体在新知识、观念、背景和技能方面可能比生物学专业学生群体更加多样化。我们鼓励科学教育工作者在为未来科学家或仅仅为知识渊博的公民设计课程时考虑这些特征。
