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1. Supervised Study: Required Independent Research at a Community College Supports Persistence in Science

   https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.21-09-0290  

   Allison, Anne B. ; York, Virginia V. ; Hoefner, Donna M. ; Clark, Melinda E. ; Yost, Marlena C. ; Vondrasek, Joanna R. ( September 2022 , CBE—Life Sciences Education)

   Hewlett, James A. (Ed.)

   This study assesses the impacts of the Science program at Piedmont Virginia Community College and its flagship capstone research experience, Supervised Study, through psychosocial perceptions associated with persistence in science and through a comparative analysis of subsequent science bachelor’s degree attainment. Supervised Study involves authentic, independent projects, a research methods course and learning community, and one-on-one faculty mentoring. The Persistence in the Sciences survey was used as a repeated-measures instrument in four semesters of Supervised Study. Positive trends were observed for self-efficacy, science identity, community values, and networking, while responses related to project ownership were mixed ( n = 13). To contextualize these observations, transfer and bachelor’s degree completion rates were analyzed. Students who earn an associate’s degree in Science ( n = 113 between 2012 and 2019) complete bachelor’s degrees at high rates (66.4%). Moreover, they are two to four times more likely to major in physical and natural sciences than their science-oriented peers, who take many of the same courses, with the exception of Supervised Study. Notably, these comparison rates remain consistent between different demographic groups. These findings further describe a model for research at the community college level that supports persistence in undergraduate science for a broad group of students. 

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2. Work in Progress: An Exploration of Students’ Conceptualization of Research after Participating in an Undergraduate Research Experience

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--32361  

   Tise, J. ; Zappe, S.E. ; Gomez, E.W. ; Kumar, M. ; Croninger, R.M.V. ; Cutler, S. ( January 2019 , American Society for Engineering Education)

   This Work-in-Progress paper investigates how students participating in a chemical engineering (ChE) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program conceptualize and make plans for research projects. The National Science Foundation has invested substantial financial resources in REU programs, which allow undergraduate students the opportunity to work with faculty in their labs and to conduct hands-on experiments. Prior research has shown that REU programs have an impact on students’ perceptions of their research skills, often measured through the Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA) survey. However, few evaluation and research studies have gone beyond perception data to include direct measures of students’ gains from program participation. This work-in-progress describes efforts to evaluate the impact of an REU on students’ conceptualization and planning of research studies using a pre-post semi-structured interview process. The construct being investigated for this study is planning, which has been espoused as a critical step in the self-regulated learning (SRL) process (Winne & Perry, 2000; Zimmerman, 2008). Students who effectively self-regulate demonstrate higher levels of achievement and comprehension (Dignath & Büttner, 2008), and (arguably) work efficiency. Planning is also a critical step in large projects, such as research (Dvir & Lechler, 2004). Those who effectively plan their projects make consistent progress and are more likely to achieve project success (Dvir, Raz, & Shenhar, 2003). Prior REU research has been important in demonstrating some positive impacts of REU programs, but it is time to dig deeper into the potential benefits to REU participation. Many REU students are included in weekly lab meetings, and thus potentially take part in the planning process for research projects. Thus, the research question explored here is: How do REU participants conceptualize and make plans for research projects? The study was conducted in the ChE REU program at a large, mid-Atlantic research-oriented university during the summer of 2018. Sixteen students in the program participated in the study, which entailed them completing a planning task followed by a semi-structured interview at the start and the end of the REU program. During each session, participants read a case statement that asked them to outline a plan in writing for a research project from beginning to end. Using semi-structured interview procedures, their written outlines were then verbally described. The verbalizations were recorded and transcribed. Two members of the research team are currently analyzing the responses using an open coding process to gain familiarity with the transcripts. The data will be recoded based on the initial open coding and in line with a self-regulatory and project-management framework. Results: Coding is underway, preliminary results will be ready by the draft submission deadline. The methods employed in this study might prove fruitful in understanding the direct impact on students’ knowledge, rather than relying on their perceptions of gains. Future research could investigate differences in students’ research plans based on prior research experience, research intensity of students’ home institutions, and how their plans may be impacted by training. 

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3. Virtually the Same? Evaluating the Effectiveness of Remote Undergraduate Research Experiences

   https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.22-01-0001  

   Hess, Riley A. ; Erickson, Olivia A. ; Cole, Rebecca B. ; Isaacs, Jared M. ; Alvarez-Clare, Silvia ; Arnold, Jonathan ; Augustus-Wallace, Allison ; Ayoob, Joseph C. ; Berkowitz, Alan ; Branchaw, Janet ; et al ( June 2023 , CBE—Life Sciences Education)

   Frantz, Kyle (Ed.)

   In-person undergraduate research experiences (UREs) promote students’ integration into careers in life science research. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted institutions hosting summer URE programs to offer them remotely, raising questions about whether undergraduates who participate in remote research can experience scientific integration and whether they might perceive doing research less favorably (i.e., not beneficial or too costly). To address these questions, we examined indicators of scientific integration and perceptions of the benefits and costs of doing research among students who participated in remote life science URE programs in Summer 2020. We found that students experienced gains in scientific self-efficacy pre- to post-URE, similar to results reported for in-person UREs. We also found that students experienced gains in scientific identity, graduate and career intentions, and perceptions of the benefits of doing research only if they started their remote UREs at lower levels on these variables. Collectively, students did not change in their perceptions of the costs of doing research despite the challenges of working remotely. Yet students who started with low cost perceptions increased in these perceptions. These findings indicate that remote UREs can support students’ self-efficacy development, but may otherwise be limited in their potential to promote scientific integration. 

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4. Impact of COVID-19 Curricular Shifts on Learning Gains on the Microbiology for Health Sciences Concept Inventory

   https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v22i1.2425  

   Seitz, Heather ; Rediske, Andrea ( April 2021 , Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education)

   ABSTRACT As a validated assessment, the Microbiology for Health Sciences Concept Inventory (MHSCI) is a valuable tool to evaluate student progress in health sciences microbiology courses. In this brief analysis, we survey MHSCI faculty users and report student MHSCI scores to determine the impact on student learning gains of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine in spring 2020. Although a majority of students reported moving to a fully online lecture and lab microbiology course in the spring 2020 semester, there was no statistically significant impact on student outcomes reported by the MHSCI, and by some measures, student learning gains increased in the semester students moved to online learning. Further research is necessary to determine the continuing impact of online lecture/lab courses on student outcomes on the MHSCI. Our analysis of data from spring 2020 shows that the MHSCI is still a statistically reliable measure of student misconceptions and overall difficulty scores for each item on the MHSCI was unchanged due to the pandemic. 

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5. Investigating the Impact of Engineering Identity, Belonging, and Career Commitment on Early Postsecondary Outcomes

   https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--35663  

   Way, Sandra ; Arnett, Stephanie ; Brown, Jeremy ; Gorham, Miquela ; Humble, Lorissa ( January 2020 , ASEE Annual Meeting 2020)

   null (Ed.)

   This work in progress paper describes initial findings from a multi-cohort, longitudinal study designed to investigate engineering identity development and the role it plays in postsecondary engineering students’ commitment to the field and educational persistence. Although engineering identity is often considered an important contributing factor to educational and occupational persistence, there are few quantitative studies that directly examine this link. This study aims to address this gap and contribute to a better understanding of how we may foster engineering identity and help support students in their educational trajectories. To capture engineering identity, we use survey questions developed and validated in previous research to measure three scientific identity concepts: interest, recognition by self and others, and perceptions of competence and performance in engineering. Drawing on additional concepts in the literature, we also include measures of sense of belonging and commitment to an engineering career. In the spring semester 2019, a baseline survey for our first cohort was administered to 179 early career, engineering students across three public postsecondary Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the Southwest United States. A little more than half of the respondents (N=93) were attending a traditional 4-year university while the remainder (N=86) were attending community college at the time of the survey. Almost 70% of the respondents identified as Latinx, approximately 30% identified as female, and about one-third reported that they were first generation college students. To examine whether students with higher engineering identity, sense of belonging and career commitment are more likely to persist into their second year and have higher college GPAs, institutional enrollment and achievement data were obtained for all survey participants in our first cohort. Logistic and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression were used to test for significant associations, controlling for demographic factors. Preliminary findings suggest that engineering students’ sense of belonging to the field may be especially important. 

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