Brown Jason M, Guy Breonte S, Henderson Dawn X, Ebert C Edward, Harp Jill, Markert Chad D
Department of Psychological Sciences, Winston-Salem State University , Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Department of Exercise Physiology, Winston-Salem State University , Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Adv Physiol Educ. 2018 Mar 1;42(1):32-42. doi: 10.1152/advan.00070.2017.
Regenerative medicine is a novel discipline that both excites undergraduates and may be used as a vehicle to expose students to scientific concepts and opportunities. The goal of this article is to describe the implementation of a National Science Foundation-funded Targeted Infusion Project in which underrepresented minority undergraduates are exposed to laboratory-bench skills and summer research opportunities that they may not have encountered otherwise. A 3-wk infusion of laboratory-bench and data presentation skills, in the context of a regenerative medicine/bioengineering project, aimed to engage students and expose them to opportunities as summer researchers and teaching assistants. The infusion aimed to assess the extent to which students improved 1) attitudes toward laboratory-bench-based techniques, using attitudes toward science as a proxy; 2) perceptions of scientific inquiry; 3) intentions to engage in undergraduate research; and 4) intentions to persist in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related fields. Results indicate that the 3-wk infusion had no effect on science attitudes, but transcribed responses to structured interviews administered after the summer research experience indicated that students who completed summer research projects had positive experiences. Differences in intentions to engage in research were detected between groups of students in different STEM majors, in addition to differences in intentions to pursue a career in science. We describe the implementation of the infusion and briefly discuss quantitative outcomes. We conclude that infusion of laboratory-bench modules in the context of a regenerative medicine/bioengineering project may play a small but important role in increasing (minority) participation and persistence in the STEM pipeline.
再生医学是一门新颖的学科，它既能激发本科生的兴趣，又可作为一种手段，让学生接触科学概念和机会。本文的目的是描述一个由美国国家科学基金会资助的定向注入项目的实施情况，在该项目中，代表性不足的少数族裔本科生有机会接触到实验室操作技能和暑期研究机会，否则他们可能无法获得这些机会。在一个再生医学/生物工程项目的背景下，进行为期3周的实验室操作和数据展示技能培训，旨在吸引学生，并让他们有机会成为暑期研究人员和教学助理。此次培训旨在评估学生在以下几个方面的提升程度：1）以对科学的态度为参照，评估对基于实验室操作的技术的态度；2）对科学探究的认知；3）参与本科研究的意愿；4）在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）相关领域继续深造的意愿。结果表明，为期3周的培训对科学态度没有影响，但暑期研究经历后进行的结构化访谈的文字记录显示完成暑期研究项目的学生有积极的体验。除了在从事科学事业的意愿方面存在差异外，不同STEM专业的学生群体在参与研究的意愿上也存在差异。我们描述了此次培训的实施情况，并简要讨论了量化结果。我们得出结论，在再生医学/生物工程项目的背景下注入实验室操作模块，可能在增加（少数族裔）参与STEM领域并坚持下去方面发挥虽小但重要的作用。
