Using Inter-institutional Collaboration to Generate Publishable Findings through Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences

Abstract

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are high-impact practices that allow students to conduct research during class time. Benefits of a CURE can be maximized when integrated into a faculty member’s ongoing research. However, this can be particularly challenging for field biologists, especially when field sites are not situated near their university. Indeed, few existing CUREs are field based. One solution is to partner with a collaborator near the field site. We describe a semester-long CURE in an animal behavior class that involved collaboration among three institutions: researchers from two “distant” institutions have ongoing research at the “local” institution where the CURE took place. This model uses remote conferencing and strategic collaboration to meet all stakeholders’ needs. Undergraduate students engaged as active participants in collaborative inquiry-based work, learned in a cooperative context, and even participated in the publication process. The local principal investigator and their institution generated a high-impact course that integrated research and teaching. Likewise, the distant principal investigators were able to collect more extensive and longer-term field-based data than otherwise possible, and they gained valuable input from the local researchers that contributed to future projects. Remote collaborations open the door to international collaboration with smaller institutions, promoting greater inclusion in science.

Potential for urban agriculture to support accessible and impactful undergraduate biology education

“…If faculty can initiate CUREs that align with their existing research efforts, it can allow them to benefit from reward structures that encourage research productivity (Smith et al, 2021). There are many Third, we recommend that biology educators work with community engagement experts to build collaborations with community groups working in the local food system.…”

“…A promising approach to engage a large number and more diverse range of students in research is through course‐based undergraduate research experiences (CURE) (Auchincloss et al, 2014; Elgin et al, 2016; Hernandez et al, 2021). If faculty can initiate CUREs that align with their existing research efforts, it can allow them to benefit from reward structures that encourage research productivity (Smith et al, 2021). There are many opportunities for impactful research on applied urban agriculture and urban agroecology that can connect scholars, urban growers, and communities in mutually beneficial partnerships (Nicklay et al, 2020).…”

Behavioral responses of a parasitoid fly to rapidly evolving host signals

“…Each funnel trap was fashioned from a clear 2-L plastic bottle and contained a speaker (AGPTEK A02 MP3 player that has an internal speaker) that broadcast stimuli as in Tinghitella et al (2021). This experiment was conducted by students in an animal behavior CURE (Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience) at BYU-Hawaii led by two of the coauthors, SJI and TCS (Smith et al, 2021). In two adjacent fields on campus known to have high cricket and fly abundance, the students deployed funnel traps twice weekly throughout the fall semester (September 24 to November 26, 2019) resulting in 16 replicate trap nights (N = 16 ancestral, 16 white noise, 16 loud purr, and 128 purring exemplars).…”

“…Alternatively, flies may exhibit preferences for certain purring songs. One mechanism that could explain the existence of preferences immediately upon the origin of a new host signal is sensory biases (Ryan et al, 1990 ); flies may prefer songs that have spectral characteristics aligned with their sensory system. For example, O. ochracea ears are tightly tuned to detect songs with a peak frequency around 4.9 kHz (Oshinsky & Hoy, 2002 ; Robert et al, 1992 ).…”

Evaluation of Cost-Conscious Course-Embedded Research Projects in a Freshman Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Course

“…Rodenbusch et al (2016) found students in CUREs were significantly more likely to graduate with STEM degrees within six years and with higher GPAs than similarly prepared students who did not conduct research as freshmen at their institution. CUREs can cost less than full summer research programs, adding to the appeal of utilizing a CURE model to introduce students to authentic research experiences (Ahmad & Al-Thani, 2022; Smith et al, 2021). CUREs reportedly cost approximately $400 per student (Smith et al, 2021), which is low compared to summer research internships where students can be provided with lodging, facilities, and stipends.…”