Lehmeidi Dong Maysoon, Feng Zuying, McLamb Flannery, Griffin Lindsey, Vazquez Armando, Hirata Ken K, Bozinovic Liisa, Vasquez Miguel F, Bozinovic Goran
University of California San Diego, Division of Extended Studies, La Jolla, California, USA.
Boz Life Science Research and Teaching Institute, San Diego, California, USA.
J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2023 Feb 22;24(1). doi: 10.1128/jmbe.00078-22. eCollection 2023 Apr.
A predicted rapid growth in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers demands a vast and talented workforce, but students most commonly abandon STEM majors within the first 2 years of college. Performance in introductory courses, scientific literacy, and the ability to critically reason are main predictors of retention in STEM, highlighting the importance of precollege and early college experience. The Life Science Research Immersion Program (LSRIP) is a novel science education model that focuses on the development of scientific research skills, thus preparing students for introductory college courses and beyond. To evaluate the efficacy of the LSRIP, pre- and postprogram assessments and surveys were administered to three precollege student cohorts. Scientific reasoning assessment scores improved by 4.70% in Summer 2019 (0.01), 9.44% in Fall 2019 (0.05), and 0.97% in Winter 2020 cohorts, with two of five questions showing statistically significant improvement. Surveyed attitudes toward science improved in 62.9% of questions across all cohorts. These results suggest that research immersion experiences are an effective educational instrument for improving and promoting scientific reasoning and attitudes among precollege students. To better prepare students for success in STEM higher education and careers, we recommend implementing LSRIPs to complement traditional precollege science curricula.
科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域的职业预计将快速增长，这需要大量有才华的劳动力，但学生最常在大学的头两年放弃STEM专业。入门课程的成绩、科学素养以及批判性推理能力是学生是否能继续攻读STEM专业的主要预测因素，这凸显了大学预科和大学早期经历的重要性。生命科学研究沉浸式项目（LSRIP）是一种新型的科学教育模式，专注于培养科研技能，从而让学生为大学入门课程及后续学习做好准备。为了评估LSRIP的效果，对三个大学预科学生群体进行了项目前后的评估和调查。2019年夏季的科学推理评估得分提高了4.70%（P = 0.01），2019年秋季提高了9.44%（P = 0.05），2020年冬季群体提高了0.97%，五个问题中有两个显示出统计学上的显著提高。所有群体中，62.9%的调查问题显示学生对科学的态度有所改善。这些结果表明，沉浸式研究体验是提高和促进大学预科学生科学推理能力和态度的有效教育手段。为了让学生更好地为在STEM高等教育和职业领域取得成功做好准备，我们建议实施LSRIPs以补充传统的大学预科科学课程。
