Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences Can Make Scientific Research More Inclusive (original) (raw)
Related papers
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH: IMPORTANCE, CHALLENGES AND SUCCESS STORIES
The significance of undergraduate research is recognized worldwide (Bauer & Bennett, 2003; Lopatto, 2004; Russell et al., 2007). Although only selected graduates engage in post-graduate research, getting proper undergraduate research training can help students make informed decisions about their future. Besides, undergraduate research opportunities enhance students' learning gains, support their cognitive and personality development and encourage them to become more self-directed learners. Despite this importance, however, diverse challenges hinder the integration of research in undergraduate education, ranging from low budgets, inadequate facilities, lack of students' interest, low emphasis on research in certain departments and research inactive faculty members. The present paper aims to highlight the importance of undergraduate research to enhance student engagement and create a rich university environment. The first part of the paper presents an overview of key definitions and benefits of undergraduate research. This is followed by a more practical part that surveys a number of success stories around the world, challenges that hinder similar success in other institutions and finally recommendations for effective integration of research in undergraduate education.
Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE): First Findings
Cell Biology Education, 2004
In this study, I examined the hypothesis that undergraduate research enhances the educational experience of science undergraduates, attracts and retains talented students to careers in science, and acts as a pathway for minority students into science careers. Undergraduates from 41 institutions participated in an online survey on the benefits of undergraduate research experiences. Participants indicated gains on 20 potential benefits and reported on career plans. Over 83% of 1,135 participants began or continued to plan for postgraduate education in the sciences. A group of 51 students who discontinued their plans for postgraduate science education reported significantly lower gains than continuing students. Women and men reported similar levels of benefits and similar patterns of career plans. Ethnic groups did not significantly differ in reported levels of benefits or plans to continue with postgraduate education.
2019
Undergraduate research does not only help equip STEM majors to be better researchers and employees but increases retention of students to graduate school in needed scientific fields. However, while resources are being produced for undergraduates like Undergraduate Research Experiences (UREs), Centers for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (CURS), and Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs), undergraduate involvement and awareness about these resources, and the value of undergraduate research in general, does not seem to be improving. Therefore, it would be valuable to figure out why undergraduates aren't autonomously seeking out undergraduate research during their studies. To investigate why, a two-part survey was developed using the experience of a single undergraduate who, after complications, was able to participate in undergraduate research via a summer research fellowship. The survey asks undergraduates to rate their ability to perform certain aptitudes that are important for research as well as skills that aren't important to research but undergraduates still consider valuable. They were then asked to rate the importance of these skills for acquiring and undergraduate research position. The same survey was administered to faculty. The goal is to determine where faculty and undergraduates are and aren't aligned in terms of both undergraduates' skill level and the importance of each skill. With this data we hope to communicate both to faculty and undergraduates the misconceptions facing each party and to bridge the gap between researchers and undergraduates. In doing so, increasing communication and fostering a climate that will enable more undergraduates to participate in undergraduate research.
2021
While undergraduate research programs (URP) have been used by the higher education community to engage students and develop critical thinking skills, little if any research has been conducted to examine what type of URP exist within the non-STEM disciplines. The purpose of this study was to (a) identify and examine the goals, types, and methods of assessing URP at select research-intensive universities; (b) compare and contrast institutional and disciplinary URP; and (c) examine the challenges administrators face in developing, implementing, and assessing URP specifically in non-STEM disciplines. The researcher collected data from multiple sources and identified themes found in the data to answer the research questions. The researcher identified three goals of URP: (a) improving educational outcomes, (b) engaging students, and (c) preparing for post-graduation; two types of URP: (a) all-campus programs and (b) peer programs; and no primary methods of assessing URP. The researcher al...
Evidence in Support of Removing Boundaries to Undergraduate Research Experience
Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 2013
Undergraduate research is one of several high impact educational practices used by educational institutions to increase student engagement and success (Kuh, 2008). Many studies on the impact of undergraduate research have surveyed students or faculty on their personal experience and its influence on students’ subsequent degrees and employment (Brownell & Swaner, 2010). These studies have documented the ability of high impact educational practices to have the greatest influence on those students who self-identify as belonging to a minority or disadvantaged group. Few studies, however, have documented the impact on students with lower grades. The privilege of being admitted to an undergraduate research experience (e.g., an independent studies course) is typically reserved for upper-year students who have proven themselves academically. This paper presents correlational data from our campus showing that academically weaker students have a greater increase in academic performance between prior grade point average (GPA) and final grade in an independent studies course than academically stronger students. In addition, student annual GPA data shows that the impact of undergraduate research serves to raise student GPA in the year of an independent studies course. Although the findings are based on data from one small campus, they do raise the question that if undergraduate research has the greatest impact on academically weaker students and accelerates academic maturity, is limiting registration into these courses on the basis of superior GPA and years of study placing inappropriate boundaries on student learning?
Innovative Higher Education, 2007
Engaging undergraduate students in research activities has been advocated as an innovative strategy to improve American higher education (Boyer Commission, Reinventing undergraduate education: A blueprint for America's research universities. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stony Brook, NY, 1998). This study compared the frequency of undergraduate student research experiences at different types of colleges and universities from the early 1990s through 2004. The results indicate that the frequency of student research experiences increased since 1998 at all types of institutions and that students at research universities were not more likely than their counterparts elsewhere to have such experiences. The findings were consistent across major fields. To live up to their claims, research universities must find additional ways to involve undergraduates in research with faculty members. Key words undergraduate research. student engagement. research university. higher education reform Concerns about the quality of undergraduate education have generated calls for reform in American higher education (Association of American Colleges and Universities 2002,