Killpack Tess L, Popolizio Thea R
Biology Department, Salem State University, Salem, Massachusetts, USA.
J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2023 Jan 9;24(1). doi: 10.1128/jmbe.00213-22. eCollection 2023 Apr.
Laboratory courses can serve as important avenues to equitably support introductory biology students to develop foundational scientific literacy skills while experiencing the authentic research process. We present a model for an equity-focused redesign of an introductory organismal biology laboratory course at a teaching institution with limited research infrastructure. We incorporated elements of inquiry, structure, and climate into our three redesigned course components: weekly research investigations, skill-building assignments, and student-designed group projects. Students were trained in the research process through weekly experiments using locally relevant model organisms, collecting and analyzing novel data and writing brief results sections in the conventions of a research journal article. Student groups then collaborated to complete a student-designed research project and poster presentation using one of the model organisms. Through weekly inquiry labs and practice in skill-building assignments, most students in the sample mastered skills in analyzing, graphing, and writing about experimental results. Notably, students mastered skills that were practiced more frequently throughout the lab course, demonstrating the value of repeated and scaffolded practice. Students reported significant gains in self-efficacy and science identity, as well as sense of project ownership. Student gains were influenced by instructor but not their major or the semester in which they took the course, and growth occurred across students regardless of their incoming score on the presemester survey. This intentional course design model, combined with consistent expectations for instructors across multiple sections, has the potential to equitably support students with a range of prior knowledge and experiences to make meaningful gains in science literacy skills during an introductory semester.
实验课程可以成为重要途径，公平地支持生物学入门课程的学生在体验真实研究过程的同时，培养基础科学素养技能。我们提出了一个以公平为重点的重新设计模式，用于一所研究基础设施有限的教学机构的生物有机体入门实验课程。我们将探究、结构和氛围等元素融入到三个重新设计的课程组成部分中：每周的研究调查、技能培养作业以及学生设计的小组项目。通过使用与当地相关的模式生物进行每周实验、收集和分析新数据以及按照研究期刊文章的惯例撰写简短的结果部分，学生们接受了研究过程的培训。然后，学生小组合作使用其中一种模式生物完成一个学生设计的研究项目和海报展示。通过每周的探究实验室以及技能培养作业中的练习，样本中的大多数学生掌握了分析、绘制图表以及撰写实验结果的技能。值得注意的是，学生们掌握了在整个实验课程中练习更为频繁的技能，这证明了重复和有支架的练习的价值。学生们报告说在自我效能感、科学身份认同以及项目主人翁意识方面有显著提升。学生的收获受到教师的影响，但不受他们的专业或修读课程的学期影响，并且无论他们在学期前调查中的初始分数如何，所有学生都有成长。这种有意的课程设计模式，再加上对多个班级教师的一致期望，有可能公平地支持具有一系列先前知识和经验的学生，在入门学期中在科学素养技能方面取得有意义的进步。
