Scientist Spotlights in Secondary Schools: Student Shifts in Multiple Measures Related to Science Identity after Receiving Written Assignments

Ovid, Dax; Abrams, L'vannah; Carlson, Tess; Dieter, Mark; Flores, Paulos; Frischer, David; Goolish, Jolie; Bernt, Michelle La-Fevre; Lancaster, Amber; Lipski, Christopher; Luna, Joshua Vargas; Luong, Lucy M. C.; Mullin, Marlene; Newman, Mia Janelle; Quintero, Carolina; Reis, Julie; Robinson, Freja; Ross, Allison James; Simon, Hilary; Souza, Gianne; Taylor, Jess; Ward, Katherine E.; White, Yvonne Lever; Witkop, Emily; Yang, Christine; Zenilman, Aliza; Zhang, Eddie; Schinske, Jeffrey N.; Tanner, Kimberly D.

doi:10.1187/cbe.22-07-0149

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 45 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Rather, to engage students, and especially those with excluded identities, it is critical we also humanize scientists. Instructors can enact this change by implementing existing humanizing resources in their courses, such as DataVersify (21,22), Project Biodiversify (23), Scientist Spotlights (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17), BioGraphI, Story Collider Podcast, and SACNAS Biography Project. These curricular materials all vary widely in how they incorporate humanizing information, differing in the amount of information included and the way that information is conveyed (i.e., through text, audio, video).…”

Section: What Do Students Relate To?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Educators and curriculum developers have worked to combat this false narrative by creating educational materials that highlight scientists from a diversity of backgrounds, intentionally featuring scientists whose identities do not match the dominant stereotype of a scientist (hereafter, counter-stereotypical scientists) (11)(12)(13)(14)(15). Featuring counter-stereotypical scientists in course materials is billed as a scalable, accessible, and easy-to-implement tool that increases the recruitment and retention of students with identities historically and currently excluded from STEM (11).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Featuring counter-stereotypical scientists in course materials is billed as a scalable, accessible, and easy-to-implement tool that increases the recruitment and retention of students with identities historically and currently excluded from STEM (11). However, although early evidence has demonstrated the efficacy of classroom interventions that feature counter-stereotypical scientists (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17), the specific elements of these interventions that are most impactful remain unclear (18,19). The lack of research in this area leaves educators and curriculum developers without data-supported guidelines for how to effectively develop and employ classroom materials that feature counter-stereotypical scientists.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

More than a token photo: humanizing scientists enhances student engagement

Costello,

Driessen,

Kjelvik

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highlighting scientists from historically excluded groups in educational materials increases student engagement in STEM. However, which specific elements of these educational materials maximize their impact remains untested, leaving educators guessing how to best highlight counter-stereotypical scientists in their classrooms. We tested the effects of including visual and humanizing descriptions of scientists featured in quantitative biology activities on over 3,700 students across 36 undergraduate institutions. We found that including humanizing information about counter-stereotypical scientists increased the extent to which students related to those scientists, which in turn translated to higher student engagement. Students who shared one or more excluded identity(s) with the featured scientists related most strongly. Our findings demonstrate the importance of humanizing counter-stereotypical scientists in classrooms, beyond simply adding a photo to increase representation.

show abstract

Section: What Do Students Relate To?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

More than a token photo: humanizing scientists enhances student engagement

Costello,

Driessen,

Kjelvik

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Scientists in curricular materials contribute towards the implicit or hidden curriculum, or the subtextual messaging students observe in an achievement environment (such as the science classroom) which signals to some that they naturally belong there and can succeed (4). In curricular materials, student exposure to counterstereotypical scientists lead to significant shifts in students' relatability to scientists (5)(6)(7), perceptions of scientists (5)(6)(7)(8), performance outcomes (7), and gains in science identity measures (6,7). The stereotype inoculation model suggests these positive outcomes are the result of role models functioning as "social vaccines" who increase social belonging and inoculate fellow group members' self-concept against stereotypes (9).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating Representation in Science Through a Peer-Reviewed Research Study

Ballen,

Beatty,

Granados

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The demographic representation of scientists featured in biology curricular materials do not match that of the undergraduate biology student population or of the U.S. population. In this lesson, we promote awareness of inequity in science through an exercise that encourages students to think about who is depicted as scientists in science curricular materials-specifically, biology textbooks. After a brief lecture on the scientific method, students read an excerpt from the introduction of a peerreviewed publication that provides background information on the importance of representation in science. Next, students collect data from their own biology textbook about the representation of scientists who possess different identities and make a table depicting their results. Then, students fill in predictive graphs about demographic representation over time with respect to scientist identities including perceived gender and race/ethnicity. Students compare their predictions with the results from the peer-reviewed article and discuss the implications of the results. Finally, students apply their new knowledge by designing an experiment that would examine representation of an alternative scientist identity, such as age. Students conclude by answering questions that gauge their knowledge of the scientific method. This activity uses a peer-reviewed publication as well as authentic data generated by the student to increase ideological awareness and teach societal influences on the process of science.

show abstract

“…More recent articles also include information about how the focal researcher became a scientist. The PubNavigator biographies were designed based on prior research which has demonstrated that classroom activities that help undergraduate students relate to scientists lead to increased interest in science, reduced stereotypes about scientists, improved academic outcomes, and can promote science identity formation (Aranda et al, 2021; Brandt et al, 2020; Ovid et al, 2023; Schinske et al, 2016; Yonas et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PubNavigator as an undergraduate teaching tool

Marroquín-Flores,

Campbell,

Grimes

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ability to use data and evidence as the basis for scientific reasoning is a critical skill that undergraduate students must learn to successfully transition into science careers. There is a need for pedagogical tools that promote the development of science process skills and reduce barriers to implementation in the classroom. PubNavigator (www.pubnavigator.com) is a science communication platform that shares the findings of primary literature using accessible language and features biographical information about the authors. This research assesses the utility of PubNavigator as an undergraduate teaching resource. We analyzed responses to an assignment prompting discussion of PubNavigator articles in an asynchronous online discussion forum in an introductory biology course. We conducted thematic analysis guided by the evidence-based reasoning framework to identify evidence of science reasoning and interactive enagement. We found evidence that the PubNavigator assignment elicited engagement in scientific reasoning. Students who demonstrated higher levels of engagement with the assignment also demonstrated higher levels of science reasoning in their discussion of the articles. Our findings support PubNavigator as an undergraduate teaching tool that can be used to promote science reasoning and engagement in introductory biology. We provide recommendations for implementation to instructors interested in integrating PubNavigator activities into their courses.

show abstract

Scientist Spotlights in Secondary Schools: Student Shifts in Multiple Measures Related to Science Identity after Receiving Written Assignments

Cited by 11 publications

References 45 publications

More than a token photo: humanizing scientists enhances student engagement

More than a token photo: humanizing scientists enhances student engagement

Evaluating Representation in Science Through a Peer-Reviewed Research Study

PubNavigator as an undergraduate teaching tool

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About