Undergraduate Research for All: Addressing the Elephant in the Room

Abstract

The positive impact of undergraduate research on students' success in college is well documented. Many, however, have questioned the traditional apprentice-style model of undergraduate research, raising concerns about who gets these experiences, how the experiences enhance scientific capability and student persistence, and how these experiences might be improved to get more "bang for the buck" in terms of a higher-performing scientific workforce. Research experiences are usually geared toward selected students, such as those entering graduate or professional schools. Where does that leave the vast majority of STEM students who graduate at the baccalaureate level and join the workforce? In this article, we will describe an assessed model used at Georgia Gwinnett College that provides all STEM-undergraduates (regardless of their career goals) with four years of research experiences in a cost-effective manner that we believe will result in students who are better prepared to contribute to the scientific workforce at all levels. Georgia Gwinnett College's School of Science and Technology (SST) is currently engaged in a comprehensive pilot project designed to improve STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning and student engagement in the classroom. Central to our model is the growing body of evidence that shows links between student research and lasting learning and indicates that research experiences increase students' interest in careers in STEM fields (National Research Council 2003; Lopatto 2007; Lopatto 2009; Laursen et al. 2010). Lopatto (2007) points out that even a short immersion in undergraduate research is enough to effect long-term gains in students' motivation for learning, independence, and understanding of science. These experiences also play a significant role in alumni getting into graduate school, being employed, or both (Schmitz and Havholm 2015). While there is widespread agreement that STEM programs should provide undergraduates with research experience, obstacles exist, both financial and temporal. The traditional faculty mentor/apprenticeship model typically requires significant financial and faculty resources, especially for institutions where teaching is the primary focus. Faculty at public four-year colleges typically have heavy teaching and service loads, limited research resources, and the ability to mentor only a few independent research students. Research experiences are also typically available only for selected students Focus CUR Undergraduate Research for All: Addressing the Elephant in the Room intending to go to graduate school, thus neglecting the majority of students (Linn et al. 2015). Further, many students, particularly those from underrepresented populations, may not seek out research opportunities because they lack the confidence and skills to do so. These obstacles represent the "elephant in the room," that is, the lack of inclusiveness and the unavailability of research opportunities for all students who will graduate and join the workforce. Here we d...

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