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

Staub, Nancy L.; Blumer, Lawrence S.; Beck, Christopher W.; Delesalle, Véronique A.; Griffin, Gerald D.; Merritt, Robert B.; Hennington, Bettye Sue; Grillo, Wendy H.; Hollowell, Gail P.; White, Sandra L.; Mader, C. M.

doi:10.18833/curq/37/2/11

Cited by 17 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…By modifying the formal curriculum to integrate an authentic research experience into the classroom, CUREs are able to offer a greater number of students the educational benefits of traditional research experiences (i.e., internships or apprenticeships in faculty research labs) ( National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017 ). These benefits include greater scientific self-efficacy, improved critical thinking skills, increased grades, increased interest in science careers, and higher graduation and retention rates ( Lopatto, 2004 ; Seymour et al, 2004 ; Corwin et al, 2015a ; Staub et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Bean Beetle Microbiome Project: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in Microbiology

2020

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Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are an effective means of transforming the learning and teaching of science by involving students in the scientific process. The potential importance of the microbiome in shaping both environmental health and disease makes investigations of microbiomes an excellent teaching tool for undergraduate microbiology. Here, we present a CURE based on the microbiome of the bean beetle ( Callosobruchus maculatus ), a model system for undergraduate laboratory education. Despite the extensive research literature on bean beetles, little is known about their microbiome, making them an ideal system for a discovery-based CURE. In the CURE, students acquire microbiological technical skills by characterizing both culturable and unculturable members of the beetle gut-microbial community. Students plate beetle gut homogenates on different media, describe the colonies that are formed to estimate taxonomic diversity, extract DNA from colonies of interest, PCR amplify the16S rRNA gene for Sanger sequencing, and use the NCBI-nBLAST database to taxonomically classify sequences. Additionally, students extract total DNA from beetle gut homogenates for high-throughput paired-end sequencing and perform bioinformatic and statistical analyses of bacterial communities using a combination of open-access data processing software. Each activity allows students to engage with studies of microbiomes in a real-world context, to apply concepts and laboratory techniques to investigate either student or faculty-driven research questions, and to gain valuable experiences working with large high-throughput datasets. The CURE is designed such that it can be implemented over either 6-weeks (half semester) or 12-weeks (full semester), allowing for flexibility within the curriculum. Furthermore, student-generated data from the CURE (including bacterial colony phenotypic data, full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences from cultured isolates, and bacterial community sequences from gut homogenates) has been compiled in a continuously curated open-access database on the Bean Beetle Microbiome Project website, facilitating the generation of broader research questions across laboratory classrooms.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Bean Beetle Microbiome Project: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in Microbiology

2020

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“…, Staub et al. ), which are designed to increase student engagement and encourage discovery and ownership over material. Going beyond changes in undergraduate curricula, we feel it is important that graduate programs provide opportunities for students to grow their divergent thinking skills upon entry.…”

Section: Active Research On Best Practices In Teaching Scientific Crementioning

confidence: 98%

Diverging from the Dogma: A Call to Train Creative Thinkers in Science

Schroeter

Forrester

Brigham

et al. 2018

Bulletin Ecologic Soc America

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“…CRE experiences not only provide the opportunity to involve more students in research, but also provide this opportunity to a greater diversity of students ( 13 ). CREs involve entire classes of students working on research projects that are of interest to the scientific community and allow the students to engage in scientific practices, such as asking questions, gathering and analyzing data, and communicating their findings ( 8 , 14 , 15 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The analysis includes courses developed and taught at seven institutions, public and private, universities and liberal arts colleges, with support from HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) Undergraduate Education Awards. This seven-institution team is referred to as the CRE Collaboration (see 15 ). The diversity of implementation of CREs across these institutions allowed us to begin to address whether student gains as a result of CREs are generalizable, and which CRE structures (e.g., module vs. full semester) and components (e.g., reading primary literature, presenting results) lead to the greatest student gains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-Institutional, Multidisciplinary Study of the Impact of Course-Based Research Experiences

Mader

Beck

Grillo

et al. 2017

J Microbiol Biol Educ.

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Numerous national reports have called for reforming laboratory courses so that all students experience the research process. In response, many course-based research experiences (CREs) have been developed and implemented. Research on the impact of these CREs suggests that student benefits can be similar to those of traditional apprentice-model research experiences. However, most assessments of CREs have been in individual courses at individual institutions or across institutions using the same CRE model. Furthermore, which structures and components of CREs result in the greatest student gains is unknown. We explored the impact of different CRE models in different contexts on student self-reported gains in understanding, skills, and professional development using the Classroom Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) survey. Our analysis included 49 courses developed and taught at seven diverse institutions. Overall, students reported greater gains for all benefits when compared with the reported national means for the Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE). Two aspects of these CREs were associated with greater student gains: 1) CREs that were the focus of the entire course or that more fully integrated modules within a traditional laboratory and 2) CREs that had a higher degree of student input and results that were unknown to both students and faculty.

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

Cited by 17 publications

References 19 publications

The Bean Beetle Microbiome Project: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in Microbiology

The Bean Beetle Microbiome Project: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience in Microbiology

Diverging from the Dogma: A Call to Train Creative Thinkers in Science

Multi-Institutional, Multidisciplinary Study of the Impact of Course-Based Research Experiences

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