Science in the Real World: Show Me the Money
University Collaborators
Diane Lee, Post-doctoral Fellow, Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, UC Davis;
Ralph Lee, Research Associate, UC San Francisco
K-12 Collaborator
Jim Schulte, Agricultural Science Program Director, Esparto High School, Esparto Unified
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Funding
1997-98: $3,000 CRESS Mini-Grant
School Collaboration
One high school teacher and his Agricultural Science students from Esparto High School, Esparto Unified, Yolo County
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Project Description
By establishing a zebra finch bird breeding business, collaborators in this project attempted to encourage students to think like businesswomen and men and, in doing so, to reinforce the direct effect that science can have on their daily lives and their futures. Thinking like scientists was designed to be a highly desirable side effect. The project enabled rural high school students to interact one-on-one with neuroscientists (male and female) and, so, to personalize the possibility of science as a career choice. The goals were: first, to evaluate the feasibility of a financially self-sustaining bird breeding business; and second, to evaluate students' attitudes towards science before and after participating in this business.
A large handout on bird care and breeding was written and given to each participating student, along with a weekly data booklet in which to record observations. During the initial stages of the project, the goal was to establish a substantial breeding colony to enable more students to join the project in future years. The students were at first very wary of coming near the birds or handling them; and sometimes the students were unable to catch them if they escaped. Furthermore, a number of birds were lost in the aviary as well as in the breeding cages due to mistakes in feeding and watering schedules. But once a single individual was assigned to be the aviary supervisor and one to be the data collector, losses decreased and productivity increased.
Bird breeding success to date has supported a project expansion from a beginning of 8 students and their birds, to a total of 26 students involved as bird breeders and handlers at project's end. The program can now supply well over 30 students with bird pairs, cages, food, and miscellaneous supplies. In another year, offspring 1) may be used to maintain and replenish the breeding colony; and 2) may be sold to research facilities and the general public. Profits will then be used to buy additional supplies to keep the business running and available for new students.
As a requirement of the Agricultural Science course, each student must volunteer for a science project. To assess whether the bird breeding project influenced students' attitudes towards science, all of the students were asked to fill out two questionnaires, made up mostly of Likert-style questions, before and after participating in their projects. Answers from students in the bird breeding project were compared to those obtained from students enrolled in the same course who chose a different science project. Students were asked to rate their responses to individual statements on a scale from "1" (strongly disagree) to "5" (strongly agree). The students answered two key statements:
1. A career as a scientist is something that I would consider after I graduate.
2. I think most people never need to use the science they learn in school.
Data was included for a specific student only if both questionnaires were turned in.
Students participating in the bird breeding project (n=12) did not significantly differ in their responses to these questions when compared to their classmates (n=18) before their involvement in the project. However, results did indicate that students in the bird breeding project showed an increased trend toward considering a career in science (mean "pre"=2.2, mean "post"=2.9, t=1.79, p<=0.10) after participating in the project. Their belief in the applicability of scientific knowledge did not change significantly. Following the bird breeding program, they continued to believe that many people do use their scientific knowledge after leaving school. This was not true for their classmates. Students participating in projects other than the breeding project significantly changed their opinion of the usefulness of scientific knowledge. Initially, they weakly disagreed with statement number 2; after participating in their projects, they agreed that most people never need to use the science they learn in school (mean "pre"=1.8, mean "post"=2.6, t-=2.15, p<0.05). Although the breeding project did not significantly change attitudes about the applicability of a student's scientific knowledge in the "real world," it did succeed in preventing the change from positive to negative attitude displayed by their classmates.
These results were presented at the annual Society for Neuroscience Meeting in Los Angeles, California, in November, 1998.