scholarly journals A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience on the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance and its Molecular Basis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Dickinson ◽  
Joya Mukerji ◽  
Stuart Graham ◽  
Liz Warfield ◽  
Ben Kerr
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Drug Effects ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Cellular Machinery ◽  
Transformative Approach ◽  
Introductory Classes ◽  
The University

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) in high-enrollment, introductory classes are a 37 potentially transformative approach to retaining more students in STEM majors. We developed and piloted a CURE 38 in the introductory biology courses at the University of Washington. This CURE focuses on analyzing experimental 39 evolution of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli and generates data on two topics relevant to clinical practice: 40 compensatory mutations and cross-drug effects. By studying mutations in central cellular machinery that confer drug 41 resistance, students not only gain insight into fundamental cellular phenomena, but also recognize the molecular 42 basis of a medically important form of evolutionary change, connecting genetics, microbiology, and evolution.

Using Multidisciplinary Research Experiences to Enhance STEM Learning through Undergraduate, Team-Based, Summer Research Projects for At-Risk Students

2014 ◽  
pp. 198-220
Author(s):  
Jennifer Yantz ◽  
Brittany D. Smith ◽  
Ginger Holmes Rowell ◽  
Thomas Cheatham ◽  
Donald Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Stem Learning ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Faculty Mentor ◽  
And Mathematics

Undergraduate research can be one of the most important and influential learning experiences during a student's college career (Light, 2001). Significant retention value is achieved both through one-on-one contact with a faculty mentor (Campbell, 1997; Jacobi, 1991) and by interaction with peers in a learning community (Johnson, 2001). Colleges and universities are using undergraduate research experiences to help improve student retention, graduation, and success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). However, undergraduate research is frequently reserved for the best and brightest students who have achieved junior or senior class status. This case study describes a team-based research experience designed for first-year, at-risk undergraduate students. For this project, the term “at-risk” is defined to be first-time, full-time freshman declared STEM majors with a weak mathematics background as measured by having an ACT-Mathematics sub score of 19 to 23, inclusive. In particular, this case study focuses on the multidisciplinary nature of some of the research projects and the benefits for the students in terms of confidence, depth of learning in STEM, and progress in understanding the scientific process.

scholarly journals Female mentors positively contribute to undergraduate STEM research experiences

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0260646
Author(s):  
Saili Moghe ◽  
Katelyn Baumgart ◽  
Julie J. Shaffer ◽  
Kimberly A. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Role Models ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Female Students ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Stem Fields ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Research Mentor ◽  
The University

The positive influence of undergraduate research and mentoring on student success in STEM fields has been well-established. However, the role that the gender of a research mentor may play in the undergraduate research experience warrants further investigation. This is an especially critical issue to address, since the lack of female role models in STEM fields is acknowledged as an impediment to the success and progress of women pursuing STEM-careers. To evaluate how the gender of undergraduate research mentors influences the research experience of students, we collected and analyzed surveys from undergraduates and alumni who had completed undergraduate research at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. We found that even though students did not select mentors based on gender, there were differences in how students perceived their mentors, depending on the gender of their mentors. Interestingly, students with female mentors were more likely than students with male mentors to report that their research experience had prepared them for a career in science. Further, our gender-pairing analyses revealed that students who expressed that the gender of their mentor had contributed to their relationship with their mentor were more likely to have a female mentor. Our data indicate that female mentors favorably influence the undergraduate research experience of both male and female students. Finally, our study reinforces the conclusions of previous studies demonstrating that undergraduate research and mentoring are beneficial for students. Overall, our findings support that, for students to fully benefit from their undergraduate research experience, undergraduate research opportunities for students should include an equitable representation of female mentors.

scholarly journals Introducing electrical engineering through characterization of a handheld moisture meter: A research experience case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd J Freeborn ◽  
Jada Damond
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Electrical Engineering ◽  
Test Equipment ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Moisture Meter ◽  
The University

Concepts from electrical engineering can be introduced to nonmajor engineering students through lectures, laboratories, or even research experiences. Often the purpose of introducing nonmajors to these concepts is to highlight that engineering problems are not limited to skills from only a single discipline as well as improve their ability to communicate and collaborate with other disciplines. This case study discusses the experience of introducing a nonmajor undergraduate student to electrical engineering through an undergraduate research project at The University of Alabama investigating the electrical properties of bamboo, which required the characterization of a portable moisture meter. These exercises were successful at improving the student’s confidence and proficiency with electrical test equipment, highlighting the limitations of test equipment, and applying concepts of resistance to a real-world application that overlaps electrical, chemical, and biological disciplines. While this exercise was a component of an undergraduate research experience, similar exercises could be easily integrated into electrical engineering laboratories for nonelectrical engineering majors to introduce and reinforce concepts from electrical engineering using a multidisciplinary application.

scholarly journals OCEAN EDUCATION • Virtual and Remote—Hands-On Undergraduate Research in Plankton Ecology During the 2020 Pandemic: COVID-19 Can’t Stop This!

Oceanography ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Marrec ◽  
◽  
Andria Miller ◽  
Lucie Maranda ◽  
Susanne Menden-Deuer
Keyword(s):  
Research Training ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Safe Delivery ◽  
Research Fellowship ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Internship Programs ◽  
The University

The pandemic has had innumerable impacts on the oceanographic community, including on summer research internship programs that expose undergraduates to diverse career paths in oceanography while immersed in an active laboratory. For many students, these internships are formative in their career choices. The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Oceanography (SURFO) at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography is one of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs that proceeded remotely during the summer of 2020. Here, we highlight one project that, although remote, maintained a hands-on research experience focused on quantitative skill building. The pandemic forced the REU advisors to identify key learning goals and ensure their safe delivery, given the circumstances. Although all participants agreed that in-person instruction would have been preferable, we were pleased that we did not let a virus halt essential oceanographic research training.

scholarly journals A Low-Intensity, Hybrid Design between a “Traditional” and a “Course-Based” Research Experience Yields Positive Outcomes for Science Undergraduate Freshmen and Shows Potential for Large-Scale Application

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. ar53
Author(s):  
Thushani Rodrigo-Peiris ◽  
Lin Xiang ◽  
Vincent M. Cassone
Keyword(s):  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Outcomes Evaluation ◽  
And Mathematics

Based on positive student outcomes, providing research experiences from early undergraduate years is recommended for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. To this end, we designed a novel research experience called the “STEMCats Research Experience” (SRE) for a cohort of 119 second-semester freshmen with diverse college preparatory levels, demographics, and academic majors. The SRE targeted student outcomes of enhancing retention in STEM majors, STEM competency development, and STEM academic performance. It was designed as a hybrid of features from apprenticeship-based traditional undergraduate research experience and course-based undergraduate research experience designs, considering five factors: 1) an authentic research experience, 2) a supportive environment, 3) current and future needs for scale, 4) student characteristics and circumstances, and 5) availability and sustainability of institutional resources. Emerging concepts for facilitating and assessing student success and STEM curriculum effectiveness were integrated into the SRE design and outcomes evaluation. Here, we report the efficient and broadly applicable SRE design and, based on the analysis of institutional data and student perceptions, promising student outcomes from its first iteration. Potential improvements for the SRE design and future research directions are discussed.

scholarly journals Assessment of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences: A Meeting Report

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Corwin Auchincloss ◽  
Sandra L. Laursen ◽  
Janet L. Branchaw ◽  
Kevin Eagan ◽  
Mark Graham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Biology Education ◽  
Operational Definition ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Meeting Report ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Undergraduate Research Experiences ◽  
Foundation Program ◽  
Definition Of

The Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences Network (CUREnet) was initiated in 2012 with funding from the National Science Foundation program for Research Coordination Networks in Undergraduate Biology Education. CUREnet aims to address topics, problems, and opportunities inherent to integrating research experiences into undergraduate courses. During CUREnet meetings and discussions, it became apparent that there is need for a clear definition of what constitutes a CURE and systematic exploration of what makes CUREs meaningful in terms of student learning. Thus, we assembled a small working group of people with expertise in CURE instruction and assessment to: 1) draft an operational definition of a CURE, with the aim of defining what makes a laboratory course or project a “research experience”; 2) summarize research on CUREs, as well as findings from studies of undergraduate research internships that would be useful for thinking about how students are influenced by participating in CUREs; and 3) identify areas of greatest need with respect to CURE assessment, and directions for future research on and evaluation of CUREs. This report summarizes the outcomes and recommendations of this meeting.

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 Student music stimuli composition in a scaffolded course-based undergraduate research experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Abbey L. Dvorak ◽  
Eugenia Hernandez-Ruiz ◽  
Halle Nick ◽  
Ruowen Qi ◽  
Celeste Alderete ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Teaching Model ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Graduate Assistants ◽  
Undergraduate Research Experiences

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURE) allow students opportunities to develop research skills. In a scaffolded CURE, music therapy and music education students composed, evaluated, and selected the music stimuli used in a music and mindfulness study with non-musicians at Site 1 and musicians at Site 2. The purposes of this paper are to (a) describe the process of student music stimuli composition and evaluation for use in a course-based undergraduate research experience and (b) identify benefits, challenges, and lessons learned from the viewpoints of students, graduate assistants, and faculty who participated in the multi-site study. Eight students, two graduate assistants, and two faculty provide an overview of the CURE teaching model and assignments, and share first-person accounts of their experiences participating in this CURE.  

Engaging Paleontology Undergraduates in Collaborative Research Experiences

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 221-230
Author(s):  
Michael Savarese ◽  
Diane Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Senior Year ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Science Courses ◽  
Research Problems ◽  
Scientific Meetings ◽  
Faculty Time ◽  
Do So

Undergraduate research is rightfully viewed as a valuable educational endeavor, yet few students have the time or incentive to avail themselves of the opportunity. Those students who do obtain research experience typically do so during their senior year, at a time too late to best benefit from the experience. Finally, requiring students to conduct independent research can be unsustainable, drawing on limited resources and faculty time. We have developed a collaborative undergraduate research model that unites students as a research team in their standard courses. The method is applicable to all course levels, from introductory science courses to upper-division, discipline-specific courses. At the introductory level, students work on longer-term research problems that require regular monitoring, with each successive class adding to an iterative database. Students in upper-division classes design group projects that are completed in the course of the semester. The benefits of the model are numerous. Students develop a sense of ownership and stewardship; they obtain a thorough experience practicing science while their curriculum is applied to real problems; and students learn to work cooperatively. Results from many of these experiences are of a high enough quality to be presented at scientific meetings and eventually published. Projects often help students focus their discipline-based interests and spawn senior theses, and faculty members have a vehicle to vicariously increase their research productivity. Examples from an upper division paleobiology course are presented. Overall, this model has been highly successful, especially when employed at the upper-division levels.

Undergraduate Research in Kinesiology: Examples to Enhance Student Outcomes

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-313
Author(s):  
James A. Carson ◽  
John K. Petrella ◽  
Vanessa Yingling ◽  
Mallory R. Marshall ◽  
Jenny O ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Undergraduate Education ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
High Quality Research ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Education Experience ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning

Undergraduate research is emphasized as a critical component of today’s science-based undergraduate education and widely accepted as an important part of the overall undergraduate education experience. While educators agree on the value of undergraduate research, significant challenges exist related to the design of the undergraduate research experience and the faculty member’s role in it. Additional challenges include providing high-quality research experiences that benefit the education of a large number of students while maintaining feasibility and cost-effectiveness. The scope of this review is to provide an overview of research and service-learning experiences in kinesiology departments at 3 institutions of higher learning that vary in size and mission.

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