Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, Nebraska.
Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center , Omaha, Nebraska.
Adv Physiol Educ. 2019 Jun 1;43(2):175-179. doi: 10.1152/advan.00013.2019.
Scientific advocacy and outreach programs are encouraged to increase public understanding of scientific knowledge and generate interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. However, evaluation of these events' effectiveness is difficult and somewhat rare. This study's purpose was to better understand how effective an established physiology-based outreach program was in generating interest in STEM careers, while simultaneously providing information that can be used to increase the effectiveness of future events. We partnered with a private school located in Omaha, Nebraska, where 64-80 students participated in 3 h of physiology-based activities presented by volunteers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The event included a brief presentation of the eye, sensory, heart, and lung systems, followed by hands-on demonstrations and activities. Each session concluded with 15 min of questions and answers (Q&A), where students were encouraged to engage the volunteers in inquiries about what they just learned, career-related questions, or any topic of their choosing. Each Q&A session was audio recorded and evaluated using thematic analysis to identify patterns in the Q&A data. Two major themes of questions were identified: ) scientific content (animal circulatory systems and how organs are affected by disease or stimulus); and ) career-related content, including typical day-to-day activities of a scientist and the volunteers' satisfaction with a scientific career. We conclude that hands-on physiology-based learning opportunities are effective in generating short-term interest in STEM content and careers. The results of this study will also facilitate informed modification of event content to better suit student's interests.
科学宣传和外展计划旨在提高公众对科学知识的理解，并激发对科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）职业的兴趣。然而，评估这些活动的效果是困难的，而且有些罕见。本研究的目的是更好地了解一个既定的基于生理学的外展计划在激发对 STEM 职业的兴趣方面的有效性，同时提供可用于提高未来活动效果的信息。我们与位于内布拉斯加州奥马哈的一所私立学校合作，该校有 64-80 名学生参加了由内布拉斯加大学医学中心志愿者提供的 3 小时基于生理学的活动。活动包括对眼睛、感觉、心脏和肺部系统的简短介绍，然后是动手演示和活动。每个环节结束时都会有 15 分钟的问答（Q&A），鼓励学生与志愿者就他们刚刚学到的内容、与职业相关的问题或他们选择的任何话题进行互动。每个 Q&A 环节都进行了录音，并使用主题分析进行评估，以确定 Q&A 数据中的模式。确定了两个主要的问题主题：）科学内容（动物循环系统以及器官如何受到疾病或刺激的影响）；和）与职业相关的内容，包括科学家的典型日常活动以及志愿者对科学职业的满意度。我们得出结论，基于生理学的实践学习机会在激发短期对 STEM 内容和职业的兴趣方面是有效的。本研究的结果还将有助于对活动内容进行知情修改，以更好地满足学生的兴趣。
