HSI Pilot Project: Improving Undergraduate Biology Courses to Enhance Student Achievement and Interest in Biology and Related Coursework and Careers

Menlo College, Atherton CA

Investigators

Abstract

With support from the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program this project aims to investigate the effect of a new introductory multidisciplinary biology curriculum that integrates content exploring biological concepts related to race on student academic achievement, the pursuit of additional biology coursework, and career aspirations in STEM. Underrepresented minority students at HSIs have the academic abilities to succeed in STEM, but they are underrepresented in STEM majors and occupations. At Menlo College, Hispanic students in particular, tend to choose business majors due to expectations of well-paid careers. As an HSI in Silicon Valley with a focus on undergraduate business education, Menlo College is uniquely situated to test how a change to the undergraduate biology curriculum can encourage Hispanic students majoring in business to increase their knowledge of biology and pursue careers in or related to biotechnology. The project will develop a new introductory multidisciplinary biology course that integrates two existing classes: Human Biology and Evolution, and Race and Racism. The class will include guest speakers from local biotechnology companies and students will visit local biotech businesses. The new curriculum is expected to generate enhanced student success, interest in completing additional biology classes, and interest in pursuing careers in biotechnology and related STEM fields. The work will contribute to our understanding of how best to enhance Hispanic student academic success and postgraduate involvement in biology and related STEM fields through changes to undergraduate biology curricula, with the broader effect of increased numbers of Hispanic students choosing STEM postgraduate work and careers. Across four semesters, we will compare student learning and attitudes between students assigned to one of three versions of the introductory biology course (Human Biology): treatment, control, and baseline. Treatment sections will add a new race and racism module, with some lectures and labs delivered by an instructor with appropriate expertise and experience. Control sections will deliver the standard curriculum but the same instructor will deliver lectures and lab sessions in parallel with the treatment sections. Baseline sections will follow the standard curriculum. We hypothesize that enrollment in the treatment course will increase student learning and interest in STEM courses and careers. We expect that these effects will be stronger among students who identify as a race/ethnicity other than white, non-Hispanic. Outcomes will be measured using standard assessment procedures (e.g., final exams), student surveys, and institutional data (e.g., enrollment in additional biology courses, and post-graduation destinations). Findings will be submitted to an academic journal for dissemination with the broader public. Pilot data will also be used to generate an HSI Track 2: Implementation and Evaluation Project proposal to extend the insights from the pilot to improve student success in other STEM courses at Menlo College (and provide guidance for other institutions seeking to make similar curricular shifts). The HSI Program aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education and build capacity at HSIs. Projects supported by the HSI Program will also generate new knowledge on how to achieve these aims. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.