CoLab: A Workshop-Based Undergraduate Research Experience for Entering College Students

Abstract

The goal of undergraduate chemistry laboratories is to allow students to learn about chemical systems and key laboratory skills. They should then apply this knowledge to solve problems and connect macroscopic observations in the laboratory with those occurring at the submicroscopic level. Unfortunately, these needs are not met through traditional confirmation laboratories. Therefore, many chemistry instructors are turning toward research-based laboratories and course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). There are also many cases where summer workshops, often with nontraditional pedagogy, are used for students. This article describes the STEM CoLab Program, a novel type of summer workshop that seeks to build student chemistry knowledge and skills in research and presentation at the beginning of their college work. This program uses the principles of CUREs for students who are just entering the university, mostly as freshmen. Several different phenomena have been investigated during the program. In this paper, we report the overall work of the program from 2016 through 2021 and provide additional details on the program's implementation in 2020 and 2021 when students conducted their work from home, using a combination of a take home research kit for studying salivary amylase "in vitro" and computer-based visualizations of amylaseinhibitor interactions "in silico" using PyMOL and online docking tools.

Advanced Technique-Based Combination of Innovation Education and Safety Education in Higher Education

“…25 Thus, it is a good model to be selected as an advanced technique for conducting laboratory education. Education of laboratory practices based on a new technique (e.g., paper microfluidic technology 26 ) not only can train the students' process skills 27,28 but also can strengthen their collaborative and scientific humanistic spirit. 29,30 Furthermore, an effective combination of classroom education with the related laboratory practices can provide a review on the knowledge learned in class, cultivate the innovative consciousness of integrating theory with practice, and promote integrated multidimensional learning.…”

“…Thus, it is a good model to be selected as an advanced technique for conducting laboratory education. Education of laboratory practices based on a new technique (e.g., paper microfluidic technology) not only can train the students’ process skills , but also can strengthen their collaborative and scientific humanistic spirit. , Furthermore, an effective combination of classroom education with the related laboratory practices can provide a review on the knowledge learned in class, cultivate the innovative consciousness of integrating theory with practice, and promote integrated multidimensional learning. , In this study, the laboratory practice and safety education associated with electrospinning is exhibited, which is aimed to (1) deepen and broaden the students’ fundamental knowledge about electrospinning learned in the classroom courses; (2) cultivate students’ practical skills and the relevant safety awareness; and (3) explain those innovations on electrospinning systems that resulted from the considerations of safe implementations for fostering the students’ innovation consciousness and innovation ability. The assessments on the goal achievement were conducted according to students’ usual performances (two of the seven times were in laboratory) and the final test scores.…”

Categorizing Student Learning about Research, Nature of Science, and Poster Presentation in a Workshop-Based Undergraduate Research Experience

“…In this paper, we examine student experiences around these three aspects of learning in a chemistry research setting: their understanding of the research process, nature of science, and their poster creation and presentation skills. We do this within the context of the UIC STEM Initiative CoLab Program, a workshop-based undergraduate research experience previously described in this Journal . Incoming university first-year and transfer students engage in open-ended research on a chemical phenomenon, usually on 1 day a week for multiple weeks in the summer prior to starting at the university.…”

“…More recently, a “mini-CoLab” version of this workshop has been developed that occurs over three consecutive days during the winter break. Over the course of several years, we have seen that CoLab students have very high rates of retention toward graduation and toward graduation in a STEM major …”

“…We do this within the context of the UIC STEM Initiative CoLab Program, a workshop-based undergraduate research experience previously described in this Journal. 25 Incoming university first-year and transfer students engage in open-ended research on a chemical phenomenon, usually on 1 day a week for multiple weeks in the summer prior to starting at the university. More recently, a "mini-CoLab" version of this workshop has been developed that occurs over three consecutive days during the winter break.…”