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Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) have been shown to improve both persistence and graduation rates for women and students of color (Alquicira et al. 2022). Although these effects are observed broadly across higher education, they are especially pronounced in the context of the STEM fields (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2017). Although community colleges disproportionately enroll students who can most benefit from UREs, structural barriers make UREs rare at community colleges (Hewlett 2018). This change project, based at a mid-sized community college in Washington State, is part of the state’s Consortium for Undergraduate Research and Equity (CURE) and aspires to address the paucity of community college research opportunities in STEM through the design and implementation of a year-long research project for students enrolled in the primary course sequence for biology majors (approximately 50-100 annually). The project’s underlying theory of change is twofold. First, two local community partners and four science faculty use backward design to create a research project that embeds laboratory skills and learning outcomes in a year-long URE. Second, participating faculty replace the entire lab curriculum in the college’s three-course biology sequence with this applied year-long research project. Incorporating applied research into the college’s biology curriculum demystifies and democratizes inquiry-based research for first-generation, underrepresented, and/or academically underprepared students, who also may not have the financial privilege to participate in an unpaid internship that affords them such an experience. Preliminary findings from this change initiative will focus on project goals related to creating equitable access across a range of outcomes including demographic participation rates, the development of professional STEM research skills, and the extent to which UREs enhance a community college student’s sense of belonging among a larger scientific community.
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Nanomaterials Research at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution: Transforming Nanorods, Undergraduate Research Communities, and Infrastructure
- PAR ID:
- 10502144
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Chemical Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ACS Nanoscience Au
- Volume:
- 4
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2694-2496
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 223-234
- Size(s):
- p. 223-234
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Undergraduate research experiences are a promising way to broaden participation in computer architecture research and have been shown to improve student learning, engagement, and retention. These outcomes can be more profound and lasting if students experience research early. However, there are many barriers to early research in computer architecture some of which include the gap between pedagogy and research, the lower emphasis on hardware design compared to software in first-year courses, and the lack of online resources. We propose lowering these barriers through a methodical approach by involving undergraduates in early research and by creating freely available and innovative educational tools for designing hardware. We present the experience of a team of undergraduate students with research over one academic year using a Python hardware description language, PyRTL. PyRTL was developed to enable early entry into digital design. Its overarching goals are simplicity, usabil- ity, clarity, and extensibility, a stark contrast to traditional languages like Verilog and VHDL that have a steep learning curve. Instead of introducing traditional languages early in the undergraduate curriculum, PyRTL takes the opposite approach, which is to build on what students already know well: a popular programming language (Python), software design patterns, and software engineering principles. The students conducted their research in the context of the Early Research Scholars Program (ERSP), a program designed to expand access to research among women and underrepresented minority students in their second year through a well-designed support structure.more » « less
