Learning Gains Associated with a Novel Approach to Undergraduate Research: Benefits of a Course-Like Undergraduate Research Experience (CLURE)

Le résumé fourni par la source

Despite its value as a high impact teaching practice, participation in undergraduate research is often limited for students from underrepresented backgrounds (e.g. first-generation and rural students). Difficulties in recruiting these undergraduates arise because students from these populations frequently do not have the training or personal experience that encourages them to value research participation or to see themselves as members of the scientific community. We developed an undergraduate research program to increase research participation at our small, rural campus that serves many first-generation students. Our short, paid summer internship program focused on students early in their academic careers and combined successful aspects of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), learning communities, and apprenticeship-based research. Program success grew from allowing participants the freedom to design individual research projects with faculty mentors and experience the successes and failures of scientific risk-taking. Self-reported benefits of the program include social gains (e.g. students saw themselves as scientists and part of a scientific community) as well as increased confidence in their ability to complete a research project. Additionally, incorporating course-like components (e.g. seminars, workshops, and assignments) generated measurable confidence gains in academic and deep-learning skills such as problem solving and information synthesis.

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