More Like this

1. Integrating neuroscience into a new freshman research initiative at a regional comprehensive university: The Research Immersive Scholastic Experience in Biology Program

   Cohen, Rachel E ; Land, Allison M ; Martensen, Brian F ; Sharlin, David S ; Smith, Brittany A ( November 2018 , Abstracts - Society for Neuroscience)

   The Department of Biological Sciences at Minnesota State University, Mankato, a primarily undergraduate institution, is developing and implementing the “Research Immersive Scholastic Experience in Biology” (RISEbio) program. RISEbio is a National Science Foundation-funded scholarship and support program that is targeting incoming Biological Sciences freshmen with demonstrated financial need and academic potential. The overall goal of RISEbio is to increase student academic success through: (1) Increasing student social integration and support, (2) developing student technical and professional skills, and (3) implementing a freshman immersive research program. To form a social support network, scholars will be part of a RISEbio learning community. A unique, core component of RISEbio is to provide scholars with an authentic real-world research experience by modifying freshman research initiatives utilized by research-intensive universities to fit within the available infrastructure at Minnesota State University, Mankato. During a scholar’s first year, they exchange their Introductory Biology 1 lab for an applied course, Foundational Methods in Biology. In their second semester, scholars join a research stream in exchange for their Introductory Biology 2 lab. The stream research continues on to their third semester. One of two initial research streams is focused on neuroscience and is titled “Brain and Behavior.” Students in this stream examine the neural control of reproductive behavior by examining gene expression in the brain of the seasonally breeding green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis). Students will extract RNA from the hypothalamus of breeding and non-breeding lizard brains, then design primers and use quantitative PCR in conjunction with bioinformatic analysis to identify genes that are differentially expressed in the brain between seasons. If differentially expressed genes are found, students will learn how to design and perform in situ hybridizations to examine the localization of these genes within the brain. Following the third semester, scholars enter the “next steps” stage which offers support to identify additional opportunities on and off campus, including mentoring the next group of RISEbio Scholars or joining research labs to continue conducting undergraduate research. RISEbio will also provide a platform to test how this program translates to student persistence and academic success. To our knowledge, this is the first freshman research initiative developed at a regional comprehensive university. 

   more » « less
2. Analysis of Attitudinal Student Learning Benefits from a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Adapted for Online Format

   Kapil, Ambika ; Gonzalez Isoba, Luis C. ; Pathak, Niraj ; Sikora, Arthur ; and De, Santanu ( April 2023 , FDLA journal)

   Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are an increasingly utilized model for exposing students to research. The lack of robust assessments is a major hurdle to wider adoption of CUREs. The Coronavirus Infectious Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic necessitated a drastic shift of in-person courses to the online format. Using the Participant Perception Indicator (PPI) survey, we measured students’ self-reported changes in learning from such a biochemistry course at a large university in south Florida based on the Biochemistry Authentic Scientific Inquiry Lab (BASIL) model. By doing this, we were able to better understand the student-benefits of CUREs and how these benefits are affected by changes in learning modalities between two relevant semesters, i.e., winter and summer of 2020. Anticipated learning outcomes (ALOs) help partially fill the gap left by the loss of physical interaction in experimental procedures. Our analysis indicated that students learned more through bioinformatic experiments compared to their wet-lab counterparts. Using pre- and post- surveys, students reported that their experience and confidence gains lagged behind their knowledge gain of technique-based skills. Students are not as confident in their understanding of techniques when unable to perform those in the physical laboratory. Thus, despite extensive pursuit of the purpose and protocols of the experiments and techniques, neither their experience nor their confidence was on par with their knowledge. This study is one of the first examples demonstrating a quantitative student-learning assessment of a CURE in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The novel assessment strategies targeted to identify gaps in learning mastery could facilitate the adoption of CUREs, fostering opportunities for all undergraduate students to vital laboratory research experiences in STEM. 

   more » « less
3. Cogenerative Dialogues and Development of the Culturally Relevant Pedagogical Guidelines for Computational Thinking and Computer Science.

   Sirrakos, G. ( January 2023 , American Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies Annual Meeting)

   In this proposal, we will share some initial findings about how teacher and student engagement in cogenerative dialogues influenced the development of the Culturally Relevant Pedagogical Guidelines for Computational Thinking and Computer Science (CRPG-CSCT). The CRPG-CSCT’s purpose is to provide computer science teachers with tools to enhance their instruction by accurately reflecting students’ diverse cultural resources in the classroom. Additionally, the CRPG-CSCT will provide guidance to non-computer science teachers on how to facilitate the integration of computational thinking skills to a broad spectrum of classes in the arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences, and mathematics. Our initial findings shared here are part of a larger NSF-funded research project (Award No. 2122367) which aims to better understand the barriers to entry and challenges for success faced by underrepresented secondary school students in computer science, through direct engagement with the students themselves. Throughout the 2022-23 academic year, the researchers have been working with a small team of secondary school teachers, students, and instructional designers, as well as university faculty in computer science, secondary education, and sociology to develop the CRPG-CSCT. The CRPG-CSCT is rooted in the tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995) and borrows from Muhammad’s (2020) work in Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy. The CRPG-CCT is being developed over six day-long workshops held throughout the academic year. At the time of this submission, five of the six workshops had been completed. Each workshop utilized cogenerative dialogues (cogens) as the primary tool for organizing and sustaining participants’ engagement. Through cogens, participants more deeply learn about students’ cultural capital and the value of utilizing that capital within the classroom (Roth, Lawless, & Tobin, 2000). The success of cogens relies on following specific protocols (Emdin, 2016), such as listening attentively, ensuring there are equal opportunities for all participants to share, and affirming the experiences of other participants. The goal of a cogen is to reach a collective decision, based on the dialogue, that will positively impact students by explicitly addressing barriers to their engagement in the classroom. During each workshop, one member of the research team and one undergraduate research assistant observed the interactions among cogen participants and documented these in the form of ethnographic field notes. Another undergraduate research assistant took detailed notes during the workshop to record the content of small and large group discussions, presentations, and questions/responses throughout the workshops. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the field notes. Additionally, at the conclusion of each workshop, participants completed a Cogen Feedback Survey (CFS) to gather additional information. The CFS were analyzed through open thematic coding, memos, and code frequencies. Our preliminary results demonstrate high levels of engagement from teacher and student participants during the workshops. Students identified that the cogen structure allowed them to participate comfortably, openly, and honestly. Further, students described feeling valued and heard. Students’ ideas and experiences were frequently affirmed, which served as an important step toward dismantling traditional teacher-student boundaries that might otherwise prevent them from sharing freely. Another result from the use of cogens was the shared experience of participants comprehending views from the other group’s perspective in the classroom. Students appreciated the opportunity to learn from teachers about their struggles in keeping students engaged. Teachers appreciated the opportunity to better understand students’ schooling experiences and how these may affirm or deny aspects of their identity. Finally, all participants shared meaningful suggestions and strategies for future workshops and for the collective betterment of the group. Initial findings shared here are important for several reasons. First, our findings suggest that cogens are an effective approach for fostering participants’ commitment to creating the conditions for students’ success in the classroom. Within the context of the workshops, cogens provided teachers, students, and faculty with opportunities to engage in authentic conversations for addressing the recruitment and retention problems in computer science for underrepresented students. These conversations often resulted in the development of tangible pedagogical approaches, examples, metaphors, and other strategies to directly address the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in computer science. Finally, while we are still developing the CRPG-CSCT, cogens provided us with the opportunity to ensure the voices of teachers and students are well represented in and central to the document. 

   more » « less
4. Adding Authenticity to Inquiry in a First-Year, Research-Based, Biology Laboratory Course

   https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.18-07-0126  

   Indorf, Jane L. ; Weremijewicz, Joanna ; Janos, David P. ; Gaines, Michael S. ; Hatfull, Graham F. ( September 2019 , CBE—Life Sciences Education)

   Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are an effective way to integrate research into an undergraduate science curriculum and extend research experiences to a large, diverse group of early-career students. We developed a biology CURE at the University of Miami (UM) called the UM Authentic Research Laboratories (UMARL), in which groups of first-year students investigated novel questions and conducted projects of their own design related to the research themes of the faculty instructors. Herein, we describe the implementation and student outcomes of this long-running CURE. Using a national survey of student learning through research experiences in courses, we found that UMARL led to high student self-reported learning gains in research skills such as data analysis and science communication, as well as personal development skills such as self-confidence and self-efficacy. Our analysis of academic outcomes revealed that the odds of students who took UMARL engaging in individual research, graduating with a degree in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) within 4 years, and graduating with honors were 1.5–1.7 times greater than the odds for a matched group of students from UM’s traditional biology labs. The authenticity of UMARL may have fostered students’ confidence that they can do real research, reinforcing their persistence in STEM. 

   more » « less
5. Transforming the undergraduate curriculum – engaging first year students in authentic research experiences

   Cohen, R.E. ; Land, A.M. ; Martensen, B.F. ; Sharlin, D.S. ; and Smith, B.A. ( February 2021 , Integrative and comparative biology)

   The Department of Biological Sciences at Minnesota State University, Mankato has recently implemented a first year undergraduate research experience (called the Research Immersive Scholastic Experience in Biology program; RISEbio) designed to improve student success and engagement in biology. In this program, first year students exchange introductory biology labs for the RISEbio curriculum, where they learn basic laboratory, analytical and scientific reasoning skills before beginning authentic mentored research projects in their second and third semesters. Students in one of three research tracks examine the neural control of reproductive behavior by examining gene expression in the brain of the seasonally breeding green anole lizard (Anolis carolinensis). Working in groups, students gain experience with bioinformatics by examining preliminary RNA-seq data and selecting a gene of interest. Then, students design and test primers to amplify their gene of interest, followed by isolating RNA from the hypothalamus of breeding and non-breeding lizard brains. Lastly, students utilize their isolated RNA samples and validated primers in quantitative RT-PCR studies to determine if their gene of interest is differentially expressed in the anole brain. Preliminary work has identified melatonin receptor 1A (MTNR1A) as more highly expressed in the breeding compared to non-breeding anole hypothalamus, while corticotropin releasing hormone binding protein (CRHBP) expression does not differ seasonally. Together with other aspects of the RISEbio program, these early research experiences have led to increased student outcomes, including increased academic success and enhanced scientific motivation. 

   more » « less