Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States.
Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California-Davis, Davis, California, United States.
Adv Physiol Educ. 2024 Dec 1;48(4):770-783. doi: 10.1152/advan.00116.2024. Epub 2024 Aug 8.
To advance ongoing efforts to diversify the healthcare field and promote inclusion in physiology education, the present study investigates the potential for an evidence-based intervention, Scientist Spotlight assignments, to highlight counterstereotypical representations of scientists in the context of majors and nonmajors physiology courses. Undergraduate students at an emerging Hispanic serving R1 institution completed six Scientist Spotlights assignments in their physiology courses. We conducted semistructured interviews and disseminated an established pre- and postsurvey protocol at the beginning and end of the courses. Our findings from interviews with 31 students from a range of marginalized backgrounds revealed that ) the biographical information about counterstereotypical scientists deeply resonated with students by humanizing science, ) the instructor's implementation of the assignments made a meaningful difference in their feelings of inclusion, and ) the assignments supported students' beliefs about their content learning and understanding of physiological concepts. The results from the survey showed that regardless of being in a major ( = 159) or nonmajor ( = 117) course, students from a range of demographic groups can and do significantly shift in their relatability to and descriptions of scientists. We highlight implications for inclusive curricula like Scientist Spotlights for addressing the issue of representation in physiology textbooks, curriculum, and healthcare fields at large. Scientist Spotlights significantly enhance undergraduate students' feelings of inclusion and learning in undergraduate physiology courses at an emerging Hispanic-serving institution. By engaging with assignments featuring counterstereotypical scientists, students in both majors and nonmajors physiology courses shifted in their relatability to and descriptions of scientists. These results suggest that an inclusive curriculum, combined with supportive instructor practices, can positively impact student success and representation in physiology education.
为了推进医疗领域的多元化努力，并促进生理学教育中的包容性，本研究调查了一种基于证据的干预措施——科学家风采作业的潜力，该措施旨在突出专业和非专业生理学课程中科学家的反刻板印象形象。一所新兴的服务于西班牙裔的研究型大学的本科生在他们的生理学课程中完成了六个科学家风采作业。我们在课程开始和结束时进行了半结构化访谈，并分发了一个已建立的预调查和后调查方案。我们从来自不同边缘背景的 31 名学生的访谈中发现，) 反刻板印象科学家的传记信息通过使科学人性化，与学生产生了强烈共鸣，) 教师对作业的实施对他们的包容感产生了有意义的影响，以及) 作业支持学生对他们的内容学习和对生理概念的理解的信念。调查结果表明，无论学生是否主修课程（=159）或非主修课程（=117），来自各种人口统计学群体的学生都可以并且确实会在他们与科学家的相关性和对科学家的描述方面发生重大转变。我们强调了像科学家风采这样的包容性课程对解决生理学教材、课程和整个医疗保健领域代表性问题的意义。科学家风采作业显著增强了新兴服务于西班牙裔机构的本科生在生理学课程中的归属感和学习感。通过参与具有反刻板印象的科学家的作业，专业和非专业生理学课程的学生在他们与科学家的相关性和对科学家的描述方面都发生了转变。这些结果表明，包容性课程与支持性教师实践相结合，可以对生理学教育中的学生成功和代表性产生积极影响。
