More Like this

1. Speech Pathology Clinical Shadowing and Research Experiences for Undergraduate Engineers & Computer Scientists

   Freeborn, Todd J; Gosa, Memorie; McCallum, Debra; Steele, Erika (January 2020, 2020 ASEE Southeastern Section Conference)

   A recent Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program immersed undergraduate engineering and computer science students in research at the intersection of engineering and communicative disorders. In this first iteration, 9 students participated in research to support populations impacted by communication, voice, swallowing, and hearing disorders. Other features included clinical shadowing, mentoring by faculty from engineering/computer science, speech-language pathology, and audiology to provide technical and clinical perspectives. The REU experience culminated with presentation of the REU students’ research at a local speech- language pathology conference. Based on focus group feedback about the program, the participants experienced high levels of satisfaction with the end-of-program conference presentations but lower levels of satisfaction with mentoring. Our aim for following years is to improve the mentor training and shadowing integration to enhance the experience for REU students in future iterations. 

   more » « less
2. Impacts of a geoscience research experience for undergraduates program on broadening participation in scientific research and increasing retention in STEM

   Rice, A; Loikith, P; Yuan, A; Murry, A (December 2022, American Geophysical Union)

   Recent reviews of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education conclude that engagement of undergraduate students in research generally broadens future participation in research and increased retention in STEM. Towards the goal of investing in a sustained and diverse atmospheric science research community, the Center for Climate and Aerosol Research (CCAR) at Portland State University (PSU) introduced a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in 2014 with the objective of providing atmospheric science summer research experiences to promising students in STEM disciplines from rural Northwest and Native American communities who would be unlikely to be otherwise exposed to such opportunities at their home institution. The PSU CCAR REU site is focused on student research in areas of atmospheric chemistry, physics, air quality, meteorology and climate change. For 10 weeks, students conduct research with an expert faculty mentor and participate in activities such as a short courses, faculty research seminars, and hands-on group workshops; academic professional and career development workshops; journal club activities; and opportunities for travel for student presentations at scientific conferences; and social activities. The program ends with a paper based on their summer research, which is presented via poster and oral presentations during our concluding CCAR symposium. Evaluation data from seven cohorts (2014-2021) of the CCAR REU (N = 70) was used to explore how science identity had changed over the course of the program, as well as what predicted positive increases in science identity. Change was assessed using paired-sample t-tests. To explore the predictors of change, we ran an exploratory stepwise regression where the difference score in science identity items from pre- to post-program was predicted by similar changes in knowledge, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and career aspirations, demographic characteristics (e.g., age, gender), and mid-program satisfaction and met expectations. In this presentation, we present these findings along with supportive qualitative analyses and discuss their implications for undergraduate research programs in geoscience fields. 

   more » « less
3. Lessons Learned in Adopting a Multi-Site Combined REU/RET Program for Exclusive Remote Participation Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

   Nyarko, Kofi (October 2021, 2021 Fall ASEE Middle Atlantic Section Meeting)

   The Smart City Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) (SCR2) Mega-Site program, which is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (#1849454), was formed in 2018 to address the low participation and graduation rates of post-secondary students belonging to underrepresented minority groups in the engineering field. The participating schools in the program are all minority serving and members of a consortium consisting of 14 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and 1 Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), where Morgan State University (MSU) serves as the lead institution. The program targets lower division underperforming REU students who are less likely to have the opportunity to participate in research as undergraduates. Participation in this type of experience has been demonstrated to be transformative and to have the potential to increase retention and graduation rates at these institutions. RET participants are recruited from local community colleges and high schools that serve as feeder schools to the consortium institutions. These teachers are responsible for preparing students who could potentially be interesting in pursuing a college major in engineering by exposing them to hands-on engineering design practices. Over the last two years of the program’s existence, 61 students and 24 teachers have successfully participated. As with most 2020 summer programs, the SCR2 program was challenged by the novel corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic, which hit the United states during the recruitment period of the project. Consequently, the project leadership team decided to offer the summer program remotely (on-line) rather than bring students to the participating three campuses across which the program is distributed. The planning and execution of the program during a global pandemic has brought key insights into techniques, methods, and technologies for effective cross-site communication, faculty advisor/mentor involvement, participant engagement, and leveraging the strong network that connects the participating schools. Essentially, a multi-site remote only combined REU/RET program is efficacious in increasing participant’s confidence, knowledge and desire to pursue further engineering research experiences. This paper presents these insights along with supporting program evaluation findings. 

   more » « less
4. Early access to science research opportunities: Growth within a geoscience summer research program for community college students

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293674  

   Okochi, Christine; Gold, Anne U.; Christensen, Alicia; Batchelor, Rebecca L. (December 2023, PLOS ONE)

   Vasconcelos, Sonia (Ed.)

   Undergraduate research experiences benefit students by immersing them in the work of scientists and often result in increased interest and commitment to careers in the sciences. Expanding access to Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) programs has the potential to engage more students in authentic research experiences earlier in their academic careers and grow and diversify the geoscience workforce. The Research Experience for Community College Students (RECCS) was one of the first National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded REU programs exclusively for 2-year college students. In this study, we describe findings from five years of the RECCS program and report on outcomes from 54 students. The study collected closed- and open-ended responses on post-program reflection surveys to analyze both student and mentor perspectives on their experience. Specifically, we focus on students’ self-reported growth in areas such as research skills, confidence in their ability to do research, and belonging in the field, as well as the mentors’ assessment of students’ work and areas of growth, and the impact of the program on students’ academic and career paths. In addition, RECCS alumni were surveyed annually to update data on their academic and career pursuits. Our data show that RECCS students learned scientific and professional skills throughout the program, developed a sense of identity as a scientist, and increased their interest in and excitement for graduate school after the program. Through this research experience, students gained confidence in their ability to “do” science and insight into whether this path is a good fit for them. This study contributes to an emerging body of data examining the impact of REU programs on community college students and encourages geoscience REU programs to welcome and support more community college students. 

   more » « less
5. Advancing undergraduate research through regional community college partnerships at Portland State University

   Rice, A.; Loikith, P.; Murry, A. (December 2023, Transactions American Geophysical Union)

   Opportunities for undergraduate research in STEM programs at community colleges can be few where lower-division science curriculum emphasizes classroom and laboratory-based learning and research laboratories are limited in number. This is particularly true in the geosciences where specialized programs are extremely rare. Urban serving academic research institutions have a unique role and opportunity to partner with regional community college programs for undergraduate research early-on in student post-secondary educational experiences. Programs built for community college transfer students to urban serving undergraduate programs can serve to integrate students into major programs and help reduce transfer shock. The benefits of exploring research as an undergraduate scholar are numerous and include: building towards mastery of technical skills; developing problem-solving in a real-world environment; reading and digesting scientific literature; analyzing experimental and simulation data; working independently and as part of a team; developing a mentoring relationship with a research advisor; and building a sense of belonging and confidence in a scientific field. However, many undergraduate research internships are targeted towards junior-level STEM majors already engaged in upper-division coursework and considering graduate school which effectively excludes community college students from participating. The Center for Climate and Aerosol Research (CCAR) Research Experience for Undergraduate program at Portland State University serves to help build the future diverse research community. 10-week intern research experiences are paired with an expert faculty mentor are designed for students majoring in the natural/physical sciences but not necessarily with a background in climate or atmospheric science. Additional programmatic activities include: 1-week orientation and training using short courses, faculty research seminars, and hands-on group workshops; academic professional and career development workshops throughout summer; journal club activities; final presentations at end of summer CCAR symposium; opportunities for travel for student presentations at scientific conferences; and social activities. Open to all qualifying undergraduates, since 2014 the program recruits primarily from regional (Northwest) community colleges, rural schools, and Native American serving institutions; recruiting students who would be unlikely to be otherwise exposed to such opportunities at their home institution. Over the past 9 cohorts of REU interns (2014-2019), approximately one third of CCAR REU scholars are community colleges students. Here we present criteria employed for selection of REU scholars and an analysis of selection biases in a comparison of students from community colleges, 4-year colleges, and PhD granting universities. We further investigate differential outcomes in efficacy of the REU program using evaluation data to assess changes over the program including: knowledge, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, science identity, program satisfaction, and career aspirations. In this presentation, we present these findings along with supportive qualitative analyses and discuss their implications for community college students in undergraduate research programs in geosciences. 

   more » « less