“All of us are capable, and all of us can be scientists.” The impact of Scientist Spotlight assignments with undergraduates in physiology courses

Abstract

To advance ongoing efforts to diversify the healthcare field and promote inclusion in physiology courses, the present study investigates the potential for an evidence-based intervention - Scientist Spotlight assignments - to highlight counter-stereotypical representations of scientists in the context of majors and non-majors physiology courses. Undergraduate students at an emerging Hispanic serving R1 institution completed six Scientist Spotlights assignments in their physiology courses. We conducted semi-structured interviews and disseminated an established pre-post survey protocol at the beginning and end of the courses. Our findings from interviews with 31 students from a range of marginalized backgrounds revealed that (1) the biographical information about counter-stereotypical scientists deeply resonated with students by humanizing science, (2) the instructor implementation of the assignments made a meaningful difference in their feelings of inclusion, and (3) 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 majors ( n=159) or non-majors ( n=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 curriculum like Scientist Spotlights for addressing the issue of representation in physiology textbooks, curriculum, and healthcare fields at large.