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Teaching broader impacts of science with undergraduate research.

ABSTRACT: Science plays an important role in most aspects of society, and scientists face ethical decisions as a routine part of their work, but science education frequently omits or segregates content related to ethics and broader impacts of science. Undergraduate research experiences have the potential to bridge traditional divides in education and provide a holistic view of science. In practice, these experiences can be inconsistent and may not provide the optimal learning environment. We developed a course that combines seminar and independent research elements to support student learning during undergraduate research, makes ethical and societal impacts of science clear by relating them to the students' own research projects, and develops students' ethical decision-making skills. Here, we describe the course and provide resources for developing a similar course.

SUBMITTER: Keiler KC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5360197 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Teaching broader impacts of science with undergraduate research.

Keiler Kenneth C KC Jackson Kathy L KL Jaworski Leslie L Lopatto David D Ades Sarah E SE

PLoS biology 20170321 3

Science plays an important role in most aspects of society, and scientists face ethical decisions as a routine part of their work, but science education frequently omits or segregates content related to ethics and broader impacts of science. Undergraduate research experiences have the potential to bridge traditional divides in education and provide a holistic view of science. In practice, these experiences can be inconsistent and may not provide the optimal learning environment. We developed a c ...[more]

PMID: 28323818

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Project description:BackgroundThe cost of university presents various challenges with regards to students' daily learning activities. This is particularly evident in developing countries, where higher education students face acute financial problems that greatly affect their daily educational activities. In Ethiopia, public university students do benefit from governmental cost-sharing programs. Moreover, health sciences students have additional costs during their clinical placements that are above the common expenses for university students.ObjectivesAuthors aim to explore the challenges that undergraduate health sciences students in their clinical year face with limited pocket money, as well as how students perceive these limited funds affecting their learning activities and their ability to meet challenges.MethodsThis descriptive qualitative study was conducted at the Department of Medical Radiologic Technology, College of Health Sciences, at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. Interviews were conducted between January 28, 2019 and February 1, 2019 with twelve students; and only ten participants were included in the study. The semi-structured questions explored participants' experiences and perceptions regarding the challenges of a lack of pocket money and its impacts on their learning activities. Their reaction to financial challenges was assessed.ResultsFour themes that are related to the impact of a lack of money on learning activities emerged from our interviews. First, students believed that their difficulty in obtaining pocket money from family or other funding sources contributed to their financial stress, which negatively impacted their learning. Moreover, their difficulty in affording the basic needs for a student greatly affected their learning abilities in the classroom as well as in their clinical placements. The ability to self-manage was also a significant concern for students, with the pressure to use self-control and proper money management adding to their financial stress. Lastly, students observed that the lack of pocket money affected their ability to make social connections at university, which they saw as negatively impacting their learning abilities.ConclusionEthiopian undergraduate health sciences students faced many challenges due to the lack of pocket money and these challenges affected student learning both directly or indirectly. Based on our data, we believe that the underlying causes of student financial hardship can be addressed by increasing public awareness of university expenses, clarifying the cost-sharing system to the public, redesigning the cost-sharing policy, and improving university services. Additionally, teaching students self-management skills is also another area that could increase student success.

Project description:Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many universities struggle to engage students while implementing a distance-based teaching/learning approach and to provide hands-on activities to students enrolled in STEM classes. Implementing service-focused activities that can be conducted by the students remotely can overcome these struggles. The goals of this study were to 1) implement citizen science activities focused on water quality using three commercially available low-cost test strips (2:1, 5:1, and 16:1) while teaching four undergraduate engineering courses at the University of Mississippi (UM) during a pandemic event, and 2) evaluate the acceptability and validate the results obtained. Eighty-five undergraduate students (citizen scientists) and five research scientists (control group) collected two water samples (with triplicates) after receiving detailed step-by-step written guidelines and video tutorials. One hundred twenty tap water samples were collected from private households across Lafayette County and its surrounding counties and multiple buildings on campus. Five laboratory fortified blank (LBF) samples were implemented to validate the results. While the academic background of the participants did not impact the results (p > 0.05), the results obtained using the different test strips were statistically different (p < 0.05). In fact, results obtained using the 2:1 and the 5:1 test strips were close to the LFBs, while, except for the higher concentration of Total Alkalinity (40 mg/L CaCO3), results obtained using the 16:1 test strips were significantly different than the LFBs. Results (in terms of pH, Nitrate, and Total Chlorine) obtained by the citizen scientists using the 2:1 and 5:1 test strips were consistent with those reported in the annual drinking water quality reports from UM and municipalities included in the investigated region. Overall, this activity was well received by the students. Approximately 75% of them agreed that this hands-on activity was a positive experience while struggling to attend face-to-face classes.

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Teaching broader impacts of science with undergraduate research.

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Teaching broader impacts of science with undergraduate research.

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