Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The objective of the BRAINYAC program is to prepare high school students for, and deliver, the experience of working in a neuroscience research laboratory over a summer. Our program goals are to prepare local students from Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx with the skills necessary to enter a working research laboratory over a period of 8 months, and support them in learning key laboratory skills and communicating them to an audience.Our hypothesis is that students' self-reports of scientific effectiveness and science identity will improve over the course of the 8-month long program. Self-reported efficacy measures predict academic performance in science, so an improvement in these self-report measures may indicate a higher likelihood to succeed in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies or careers. Likewise, science identity has a positive impact on a student's likelihood of entering a science career, particularly in populations that are under-represented in science.Over a 4-year period we will track students' self-reports of (1) scientific efficacy, including their level of confidence in scientific writing, oral presentation, library and literature search, conducting research and general academic skills, and (2) science identity. We will adopt a mixed-methods approach combining survey data with focus groups and interviews to present a full picture of these changes. We also propose to track students after they leave the program, to measure whether the changes in scientific self-efficacy translate into STEM studies at the level of higher education or career choices. We will also obtain data from scientific mentors in the program to inform us whether we are adequately supporting them in providing the students with training.

Detailed Description
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This study will utilize a mixed methodological approach integrating quantitative and qualitative data elements. It will employ a one-group, pretest-posttest research design, in order to allow us to determine the effect of participation in the BRAINYAC program (i.e., the intervention) on participating students' STEM development (i.e., efficacy and identity). The study will also include retrospective individual and focus group interviews in order to obtain a fuller understanding of the concepts under study (e.g., scientific identity, readiness to pursue science, etc.) from the students' point of reference. To the extent possible, the study will incorporate a longitudinal analysis in order to examine how program participation affects students' academic and career decisions in their final high school and postsecondary years through retrospective surveys of alumni participants. In addition to assessing program impact, the research design will include an evaluation component to examine program implementation. Through an examination of program documentation (e.g., student attendance, descriptions of activities) and retrospective surveys of participants (i.e., students and mentors) this component will determine the extent to which the program was implemented as proposed. It will provide valuable information connecting program elements to observed outcomes and can be used to make modifications to the research and/or program designs, as needed.

Official Title
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Brain Research Apprenticeships in New York at Columbia (BRAINYAC)

Conditions
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Educational Activities

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Education program


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All students and mentors in the program will be invited to enroll Exclusion Criteria: None

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 15 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
Interventional Model Description: All students in the study will be in the same group, as it is a pre-post measurement based on a summer mentored high school program. Findings will be supplemented with focus groups and interviews.
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Students<br>Education program | Behavioral: Education program<br>* Mentored high school summer research program<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Self-report of scientific effectiveness | Change in Likert score | 8 months | 
| Self-report of scientific identity | Change in Likert score | 8 months | 
| Likelihood of studying science in college or going on to a science career | Change in Likert score | 4 years |