A High-Enrollment Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience Improves Student Conceptions of Scientific Thinking and Ability to Interpret Data

Brownell, Sara E.; Hekmat-Scafe, Daria S.; Singla, Veena; Seawell, Patricia C.; Imam, Jamie F. Conklin; Eddy, Sarah L.; Stearns, Tim; Cyert, Martha S.

doi:10.1187/cbe.14-05-0092

Cited by 220 publications

(213 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…As stated in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action , “learning science means learning to do science” (14). Course-based research experiences engage students in the scientific process, improving student attitudes toward research and learning, and increasing self-confidence with respect to lab-related tasks (15–17). Providing more-authentic research experiences in introductory courses increases retention of STEM majors and improves critical thinking (18, 19).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poster Development and Presentation to Improve Scientific Inquiry and Broaden Effective Scientific Communication Skills

Rauschenbach

Keddis

Davis

2018

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

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We have redesigned a tried-and-true laboratory exercise into an inquiry-based team activity exploring microbial growth control, and implemented this activity as the basis for preparing a scientific poster in a large, multi-section laboratory course. Spanning most of the semester, this project culminates in a poster presentation of data generated from a student-designed experiment. Students use and apply the scientific method and improve written and verbal communication skills. The guided inquiry format of this exercise provides the opportunity for student collaboration through cooperative learning. For each learning objective, a percentage score was tabulated (learning objective score = points awarded/total possible points). A score of 80% was our benchmark for achieving each objective. At least 76% of the student groups participating in this project over two semesters achieved each learning goal. Student perceptions of the project were evaluated using a survey. Nearly 90% of participating students felt they had learned a great deal in the areas of formulating a hypothesis, experimental design, and collecting and analyzing data; 72% of students felt this project had improved their scientific writing skills. In a separate survey, 84% of students who responded felt that peer review was valuable in improving their final poster submission. We designed this inquiry-based poster project to improve student scientific communication skills. This exercise is appropriate for any microbiology laboratory course whose learning outcomes include the development of scientific inquiry and literacy.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poster Development and Presentation to Improve Scientific Inquiry and Broaden Effective Scientific Communication Skills

Rauschenbach

Keddis

Davis

2018

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

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“…There are trade-offs with each approach. For example, model systems have the advantage that the background material and research questions are readily available and CRE implementation is well structured-for example, SEA-PHAGES (Hatfull 2015), p53 mutations in yeast (Brownell et al 2015), and bean beetles (Beck and Blumer 2014; http://www.beanbeetles.org/). These model systems are consequently convenient CREs to offer and thus are used at a variety of institutions.…”

Section: Implementing Course-based Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Course-based Science Research Promotes Learning in Diverse Students at Diverse Institutions

Staub¹,

Blumer²,

Beck³

et al. 2016

CUR Quarterly

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“…Many attempts have been made, therefore, to incorporate aspects of UREs into course-based activities [e.g., Refs. [5][6][7]], despite a lack of evidence towards the particular mechanisms that are responsible for the observed outcomes [8]. This has emphasized the need to better understand what about UREs leads to positive student outcomes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[5][6][7]23,24]]. While they offer an interesting solution to these issues, none of our study population had experience in CUREs and so we did not consider them in this work.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining and contrasting the cognitive activities engaged in undergraduate research experiences and lab courses

Holmes

Wieman

2016

Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res.

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While the positive outcomes of undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have been extensively categorized, the mechanisms for those outcomes are less understood. Through lightly structured focus group interviews, we have extracted the cognitive tasks that students identify as engaging in during their UREs. We also use their many comparative statements about their coursework, especially lab courses, to evaluate their experimental physics-related cognitive tasks in those environments. We find there are a number of cognitive tasks consistently encountered in physics UREs that are present in most experimental research. These are seldom encountered in lab or lecture courses, with some notable exceptions. Having time to reflect and fix or revise, and having a sense of autonomy, were both repeatedly cited as key enablers of the benefits of UREs. We also identify tasks encountered in actual experimental research that are not encountered in UREs. We use these findings to identify opportunities for better integration of the cognitive tasks in UREs and lab courses, as well as discussing the barriers that exist. This work responds to extensive calls for science education to better develop students' scientific skills and practices, as well as calls to expose more students to scientific research.

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A High-Enrollment Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience Improves Student Conceptions of Scientific Thinking and Ability to Interpret Data

Abstract: The authors developed and assessed an innovative course-based undergraduate research experience that emphasized collaboration among students and focused on data analysis.

Cited by 220 publications

References 34 publications

Poster Development and Presentation to Improve Scientific Inquiry and Broaden Effective Scientific Communication Skills

Poster Development and Presentation to Improve Scientific Inquiry and Broaden Effective Scientific Communication Skills

Course-based Science Research Promotes Learning in Diverse Students at Diverse Institutions

Examining and contrasting the cognitive activities engaged in undergraduate research experiences and lab courses

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