Classroom-Based Science Research at the Introductory Level: Changes in Career Choices and Attitude

Abstract

Our study, focused on classroom-based research at the introductory level and using the Phage Genomics course as the model, shows evidence that first-year students doing research learn the process of science as well as how scientists practice science. A preliminary but notable outcome of our work, which is based on a small sample, is the change in student interest in considering different career choices such as graduate education and science in general. This is particularly notable, as previous research has described research internships as clarifying or confirming rather than changing undergraduates’ decisions to pursue graduate education. We hypothesize that our results differ from previous studies of the impact of engaging in research because the students in our study are still in the early stages of their undergraduate careers. Our work builds upon the classroom-based research movement and should be viewed as encouraging to the Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education movement advocated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Science Foundation, and other undergraduate education stakeholders.

Toward a conceptual framework for measuring the effectiveness of course-based undergraduate research experiences in undergraduate biology

“…Despite published articles on CUREs (e.g. Harrison et al 2011;Weaver, Russell, and Wink 2008), the impact of these CUREs is still in question. This paper builds on existing research and our own experience in assessing authentic research-based lab courses to develop a 'meta-framework', that is, an overarching CURE assessment framework, that can be applied across various CURE iterations, as a means to provide the field with more consistent and comparable information about the impact and best practices of these course-based research experiences.…”

Using yeast to determine the functional consequences of mutations in the human p53 tumor suppressor gene: An introductory course‐based undergraduate research experience in molecular and cell biology

“…For example, it is important to consider what resources (personnel, reagents, space) can be devoted to a CURE, how the research project can be organized into discrete units of time, how potentially hundreds of students can work on a project that offers both enough similarities to provide a common curriculum and differences to give students a sense of project ownership, and how instructional guidance can ensure that students are thinking and learning, rather than simply “going through the motions.” Doing this at scale is particularly challenging. Yet, despite these challenges, studies indicate that both types of experiences improve students′ ability to engage in scientific practices and their desire to pursue additional research opportunities (e.g., 9, 10, 11, 12, 13). These findings have prompted national calls for implementation of CUREs at the introductory level 2.…”

Using undergraduate research to develop transferable skills for the modern workforce

“…These trends could also signify the success of progressive scaffolding in ALURE activities across second and third year courses at UQ, which gradually increase the cognitive load required for student-driven inquiry while minimising extraneous cognitive burden 33 . Given the impact of engaging with undergraduate research on student retention within science programs 21,22 , the long-term value of exposure to research-based learning early in undergraduate education should not be underestimated 34 . focus-group interviews, the ALURE team consistently reported student-learning gains in scientific skills following the completion of ALURE modules 30,31 , with higher gains observed in critical thinking and problem-solving skills when compared to traditional practical modules 32 .…”