Three-Year Study of the Impact of a Research Experience Program in Aerospace Engineering on Undergraduate Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-32
Author(s):  
Jacques C. Richard ◽  
So Yoon Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Research University ◽  
Aerospace Engineering ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Knowledge ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Public Research University ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Engineering Career

This study reports results from a three-year implementation of a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program funded by the National Science Foundation in aerospace engineering at a public research university in the southwestern United States. Students’ perceptions of research knowledge, skills, and engineering career paths were all positively affected.

scholarly journals A Framework for Implementing Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) in Freshman Biology Labs

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 448-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arundhati Bakshi ◽  
Lorelei E. Patrick ◽  
E. William Wischusen
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Research University ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Implementation Barriers ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Undergraduate Research Experiences ◽  
Widespread Implementation ◽  
Flexible Framework ◽  
Large Research

There have been many calls to make research experiences available to more undergraduate students. One way to do this is to provide course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), but providing these on a scale large enough to accommodate many students can be a daunting undertaking. Indeed, other researchers have identified time to develop materials and course size as significant barriers to widespread implementation of CUREs. Based on our own experiences implementing CUREs at a large research university, we present a flexible framework that we have adapted to multiple research projects, share class materials and rubrics we have developed, and suggest logistical strategies to lower these implementation barriers.

scholarly journals Early year undergraduate researchers’ reflections on the values and perceived costs of their research experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaye D. Ceyhan ◽  
John W. Tillotson
Keyword(s):  
Achievement Motivation ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Intrinsic Value ◽  
Value Theory ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Expectancy Value ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Future Work

Abstract Background Prior research reported that motivational beliefs that individuals attach to specific tasks predict continuing interest and persistence in the task. A motivational approach may be particularly useful for understanding undergraduate students’ engagement with research in their first and second years in college. The current study utilizes the expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation to qualitatively explore how much and in what ways early year undergraduate researchers value their research experience and what kinds of costs they associate with it. Results The results revealed that intrinsic value had the highest expression in participants’ motivation to engage in research. The second most expressed value type was the utility value of undergraduate research with regards to obtaining the desired outcomes, and attainment value played the least important role in participants’ motivation to engage in research. Findings also indicated that some of the participants associated a cost(s) to their research experience. The highest mentioned perceived cost was opportunity cost, where participants commented on losing other valued alternatives when engaging in research. Participants commented on the time, effort, or amount of work needed to engage in research, and a few participants commented on the emotional cost associated with their research experience in terms of the fear of failure. Conclusion As perceived cost is the least studied in the expectancy-value framework, this study contributes to cost values within college students, particularly about early year undergraduate researchers. The findings of this study can form the basis for future work on exploring ways to increase the values and decrease the costs students experience in their undergraduate research experiences.

scholarly journals Research knowledge in undergraduate school in Brazil: a comparison between medical and law students

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio José Souza Reis Filho ◽  
Bruno Bezerril Andrade ◽  
Vitor Rosa Ramos de Mendonça ◽  
Manoel Barral-Netto
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Law School ◽  
Law Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Knowledge ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Objective: Exposure to science education during college may affect a student's profile, and research experience may be associated with better professional performance. We hypothesized that the impact of research experience obtained during graduate study differs among professional curricula and among graduate courses. Methods: A validated multiple-choice questionnaire concerning scientific concepts was given to students in the first and fourth years of medical and law school at a public Brazilian educational institution. Results: Medical students participated more frequently in introductory scientific programs than law students, and this trend increased from the first to the fourth years of study. In both curricula, fourth-year students displayed a higher percentage of correct answers than first-year students. A higher proportion of fourth-year students correctly defined the concepts of scientific hypothesis and scientific theory. In the areas of interpretation and writing of scientific papers, fourth-year students, in both curricula, felt more confident than first-year students. Although medical students felt less confident in planning and conducting research projects than law students, they were more involved in research activities. Conclusion: Medical graduation seems to favor the development of critical scientific maturity than law graduation. Specific policy in medical schools is a reasonable explanation for medical students’ participation in more scientific activities.

“Solvitur Ambulando” (It Is Solved by Walking): Learning Business Leadership on the Camino De Santiago

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-434
Author(s):  
Shannon Deer ◽  
Nancy Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Development ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Research University ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Camino De Santiago ◽  
Course Experience ◽  
Development Literature ◽  
The Impact

Undergraduate students enrolled in a large research university walked 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago (Camino) as a culminating experience of a course designed to foster high-impact learning, specifically learning about themselves as leaders and global citizens. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore undergraduate students’ perspectives about the impact of the experience on their leadership development. The course design incorporated leadership theory and high-impact learning practices to provide students with an innovative and in-depth learning experience unique from a classroom setting. A thematic analysis of student post-Camino metareflections gave insight as to how students perceived their development as leaders and what elements of the experience students perceived to be most impactful. Interpretation of the findings was informed by leadership development literature identifying the metacompetencies and competencies of a leader. Other business schools could incorporate the findings regarding leadership development and the effectiveness of the specific course experience to implement their own programs. We provide recommendations and outline resources other universities would need for structuring similar innovative, high-impact learning experiences designed to enhance students’ leadership competencies.

scholarly journals At the Click of a Button

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Azadbakht ◽  
Teresa Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Research University ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Research ◽  
Usability Study ◽  
Design Elements ◽  
The Past ◽  
Browser Extension ◽  
Public Research University

A number of browser extension tools have emerged in the past decade aimed at helping information seekers find open versions of scholarly articles when they hit a paywall, including Open Access Button, Lazy Scholar, Kopernio, and Unpaywall. While librarians have written numerous reviews of these products, no one has yet conducted a usability study on these tools. This article details a usability study involving six undergraduate students and six faculty at a large public research university in the United States. Participants were tasked with installing each of the four tools as well as trying them out on three test articles. Both students and faculty tended to favor simple, clean design elements and straightforward functionality that enabled them to use the tools with limited instruction. Participants familiar with other browser extensions gravitated towards tools like Open Access Button, whereas those less experienced with other extensions preferred tools that load automatically, such as Unpaywall.

scholarly journals MUREs - a new member of the URE-CURE family of research opportunities for undergrads

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly E. Bates ◽  
Shanna Lowes ◽  
Sarah L. West
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
Biology Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research Experiences ◽  
Stem Students ◽  
Experiential Research

Undergraduate research experiences are important for the development of scientific identity, appreciation of authentic research, and to improve persistence towards science careers. We identified a gap in experiential research opportunities for undergraduate Biology students who were seeking a formal yet small-scale research experience that was unique to their own interests and career aspirations. These opportunities may be especially worthwhile for STEM students aspiring to non-research scientific careers (i.e., medicine, dentistry, forensics, communication) and underrepresented STEM students. Here, we reflect on the use of small-scale, individualized undergraduate research experiences that are based on established methods (MURE). These experiences have helped to fill this gap and create problem-centred learning opportunities for undergraduate students that are as unique as the students themselves.

scholarly journals Undergraduate Research as System

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura E Cruz ◽  
Devon Anckle ◽  
Lara LaDage ◽  
Amy Chan Hilton ◽  
Alan Rieck
Keyword(s):  
Research University ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Public Research University ◽  
Mapping Process ◽  
Participatory Systems ◽  
Systems Mapping ◽  
High Impact Practice

This study examines the written and visual results of a participatory systems-mapping process used to explore undergraduate research at a large, public research university in the United States. With the university’s transition to a high-impact practice model, the institutional value of undergraduate research has increased, but challenges remain in implementing the practice equitably and inclusively, especially in the complex environment of higher education. The systems-mapping process reveals the subtle, often conflicting dynamics that underlie the undergraduate research enterprise, while simultaneously supporting the emergence of a shared vision, or story, of what the undergraduate research experience could be.

scholarly journals Impact of Life Perspective on Students’ Psychological Readiness for Professional Activity as Psychologists in Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 96-106
Author(s):  
Y.N. Gut ◽  
M.Y. Khudaeva ◽  
M.K. Kabardov ◽  
E.A. Ovsyanikova ◽  
A.K. Bedanokova
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Educational Psychology ◽  
Research University ◽  
Psychology Students ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Life Purpose ◽  
Pedagogical Institute ◽  
The Impact

This paper is aimed at studying the impact of life perspective on the formation of psychological readiness for professional activity in psychology students who have chosen to work in the educational system. We present materials of an empirical study obtained on a sample of 2—4-year students of the Faculty of Psychology of the Pedagogical Institute of the Belgorod State National Research University. The sample consisted of 80 undergraduate students of the Educational Psychology program, aged from 20 to 23 years, 56 females and 24 males. The following techniques were used: “Motivation for Professional Activity” (by K.Zamfir, modified by A.A.Rean), “Professional Readiness” (by A.P.Chernyavskaya), “The Method of Motivational Induction” (by J.Nütten, adapted by D.A.Leontiev) and “Life-Purpose Orientations Test” (by J.Crumbaugh, L.Maholik, adapted by D.A. Leontiev).The study showed that meaningful perception of life perspective determines the development of motivational, cognitive and emotional components of readiness for professional activity in psychology students.

A Six-Year Review of the Biomedical Engineering in Simulations, Imaging, and Modeling Undergraduate Research Experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie M. George ◽  
Zachary J. Domire
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Biomedical Engineering ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Motivating Factors ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Summer Research Program ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Undergraduate research continues to serve as an effective strategy for mitigating the effects of a leaky pipeline. Significant funding from institutions and government agencies has increased the number of students participating in undergraduate research. In this paper, we report on the six-year experience of a National Science Foundation funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site: Biomedical Engineering in Simulations, Imaging, and Modeling (BME-SIM). The operation and evaluation of the program are both described. We report on the results from 55 students over six summers from 2014 to 2019. Our program was successful in attracting a diverse group of participants including 46% under-represented minority students and 53% women. Based on evaluation results, students reported significant gains in technical skills, communication skills, and knowledge of graduate school. Our findings indicate baseline gender differences for several learning outcomes, where women and nonbinary students report lower levels of mastery. These gaps are closed by the end of the program except for confidence in skills, which is still significantly lower than those reported by male counterparts. The impact of the experience on ultimate career path is difficult to determine due to underlying biases and other motivating factors; however, 67.6% of graduates have entered graduate programs. Finally, we have provided lessons learned for those who are interested in building a summer research program. In conclusion, we have described the successful implementation of an REU site and the positive learning outcomes of the student participants.

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