The Freshman Research Initiative as a Model for Addressing Shortages and Disparities in STEM Engagement

Beckham, Josh T.; Simmons, Sarah; Stovall, Gwendolyn M.; Farre, James

doi:10.1142/9789814630320_0010

Cited by 17 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…This has prompted faculty to develop scalable approaches to engaging undergraduates in research (e.g., Refs. ). These learning experiences go by many names including Course‐based Research Experiences , discovery‐based research courses , Authentic Large‐scale or Active Learning Laboratory Undergraduate Research Experiences , research‐based learning , and Course‐based Undergraduate Research Experiences or CUREs , among others.…”

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confidence: 97%

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Undergraduate research as curriculum

Dolan¹

2017

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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To date, national interests, policies, and calls for transformation of undergraduate education have been the main drivers of research integration into the undergraduate curriculum, briefly described here. The New Horizons in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education conference at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) this fall presents an exciting opportunity to discuss integration of undergraduate research into the curriculum and other cutting-edge topics in biochemistry and molecular biology education from a cross-national perspective. I look forward to exploring prospects for international collaboration on research and development of course-based undergraduate research experiences and on STEM education in general. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(4):293-298, 2017.

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confidence: 97%

“…When compared to UREs, CUREs have been recognized for their unique potential to engage many more students in research sufficiently early in their academic careers to influence their academic and career trajectories . As a result, CUREs have been developed in a range of disciplines , but have proliferated especially quickly in the life sciences.…”

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confidence: 99%

Undergraduate research as curriculum

Dolan¹

2017

Biochem Molecular Bio Educ

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“…First-and second-year students often find it difficult to navigate the research world on their campuses and identify suitable research opportunities, and faculty members often select juniors and seniors for undergraduate research positions because they have additional coursework experience. Additionally, most engineering curricula, especially during the first and second year are packed with core math and science classes and foundational engineering classes [10], leaving little room for technical electives or other hands-on engineering opportunities until the junior or senior years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…FRI is a 9 credit-hour program that allows freshmen students in the natural sciences to pursue independent research projects during the first three semesters of their undergraduate experience. In this large-scale program, several hundred freshman students in the College of Natural Sciences begin their freshman year by enrolling in a research methods course and then transition to a research stream for their second and third semesters, in which they participate in authentic research projects as part of a laboratory group [10]. Students earn course credit that substitutes for required introductory courses in their majors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior research also indicates that opportunities for immersive learning experiences (such as research or hands-on projects) provide students with dynamic, multi-disciplinary learning environments that increase students' self-confidence, self-efficacy, and identification as an engineer [2,6], especially during the first-year [5,10,17]. Accordingly, these programs are likely to have an impact on retention rates, especially amongst underrepresented student groups [5,7,13,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Development of a Freshman Engineering Research Program

Pang

Seepersad²,

Landsberger

2017 ASEE Annual Conference &Amp; Exposition Proceedings

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Incorporating research opportunities into undergraduate engineering education provides students with early hands-on experiences that often influence retention rates and the likelihood of continued research participation and higher education. A new initiative at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), the Freshman Introduction to Research in Engineering (FIRE) program, offers a select group of first-year students with an opportunity to participate in semester-long, faculty-sponsored mechanical engineering research and development projects. In addition to their research, students attend bi-monthly lectures that introduce them to various topics in mechanical engineering and current research in the field, the successes (and roadblocks) in engineering research and how to overcome them, and career opportunities in engineering. An end of semester poster session allows students to showcase their research results and describe opportunities for future work, encouraging continued involvement in research. Many FIRE students continue to participate in research after the program concludes and note that the program influenced their decision to attend UT Austin and confirmed their interest in the field of mechanical engineering. The general structure of the FIRE program is documented in this paper, along with investigations of its impact on participants' GPA, retention within the major, rate of participation in undergraduate research, and intention to pursue higher education. Student perceptions of the program and opportunities for improving it are also discussed.

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An Online CURE Taught at a Community College During the Pandemic Shows Mixed Results for Development of Research Self-Efficacy and In-class Relationships

Dunbar-Wallis,

Katcher,

Moore

et al. 2023

J Sci Educ Technol

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The Bee the CURE is a novel course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) that engages introductory biology students in DNA barcoding (DNA extraction, amplification, and bioinformatics) in partnership with the Tucson Bee Collaborative and the University of Arizona. The first iteration of this CURE taught at Pima Community College (PCC) occurred during the Fall 2020 semester in which the course was taught online and students focused on bioinformatics. Due to the online format, students were unable to participate directly in the wet-lab components (extraction and amplification) of the course. These were approximated with videos of the instructor performing the tasks. A qualitative case study of this semester built from student interviews found that students were able to form positive relationships with instructors and peer mentors but that the online format of the class posed some challenges to relationship formation. Students reported developing self-efficacy in bioinformatics skills while online lab participation disrupted student’s gaining “hands-on experiences” and seldom led to development of science self-efficacy in wet lab skills. Our findings from a study of a synchronous online CURE allowed us to characterize a context in which online learning posed a challenge and perhaps even a threat to research self-efficacy, especially regarding skill development and self-efficacy in “hands-on” areas, such as wet-bench research skills. Yet optimistically, our study highlights the potential of online community college learning environments to provide mastery experiences in online science contexts (e.g., bioinformatics) and opportunities for relationship building.

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The Freshman Research Initiative as a Model for Addressing Shortages and Disparities in STEM Engagement

Cited by 17 publications

References 5 publications

Undergraduate research as curriculum

Undergraduate research as curriculum

The Development of a Freshman Engineering Research Program

An Online CURE Taught at a Community College During the Pandemic Shows Mixed Results for Development of Research Self-Efficacy and In-class Relationships

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