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Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are a proven pedagogical approach to enhance undergraduate science process skills, knowledge, and competency outcomes by implementing a course-based faculty-mentored undergraduate research plan. CUREs are budget-friendly teaching and training practices that address the shortage of apprenticeship-style laboratory opportunities resulting from resource constraints. Effective CUREs implementations enable every science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) major in the course, department, unit, or school to engage in real-world research activities, as CUREs integrate seamlessly into required lecture and laboratory courses within the curriculum. All CUREs encompass opportunities for undergraduates to participate in discovery-based, collaborative, iterative research projects that are important to the scientific community and society. A greater understanding of cancer development and cancer progression remains a significant challenge for society, given the number of cancer-related deaths worldwide each year. Additionally, given the diverse types of cancers that affect men and women, as well as the potential anti-tumor proliferation strategies yet to be discovered, an exploration in cancer biology presents a unique opportunity for undergraduates to produce novel findings that may lead to publications contributing to the field. This article outlines a technique for faculty to facilitate the execution of a cancer biology CUREs project that involves all student classifications. The extent to which participation in CUREs enhances undergraduate career readiness factors warrants further investigation.
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CURES and the Microbiome
A significant problem facing higher education institutions is the inability to incorporate professional development training in the curriculum. Many pedagogical strategies have been developed in the last two decades to address this academic deficiency. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are an evidence - based approach with positive student outcomes. CUREs permit many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate students to participate in the scientific process and thus prepare students for the rigors of future graduate and professional school programs and careers. CUREs are a pedagogical and training method suitable for STEM departments of all sizes. They can accommodate smaller institutions that may have restrictive budgets and financial resources to offer authentic, faculty - mentored research experiences to most STEM matriculants. The animal microbiome and phytomicrobiome represent the total collection of microbes in animals and plants, respectively. Exploring microbial diversity and the functional attributes of microbes and microbial products in animals and plants presents an immeasurable number of CUREs student projects that can be developed. The conflation of CUREs and the field of microbiomics is a potentially beneficial marriage with advantageous results. Future educational research exploring the effects of animal microbiome and phytomicrobiome CUREs projects on student outcomes and other factors will assist educational researchers and STEM faculty.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2306512
- PAR ID:
- 10537336
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- International journal of science and research
- Volume:
- 13
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 2319-7064
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 280-283
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- CURES Animal Microbiome Phytomicrobiome Training Evaluation
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Rumain, Barbara T. (Ed.)Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are laboratory courses that integrate broadly relevant problems, discovery, use of the scientific process, collaboration, and iteration to provide more students with research experiences than is possible in individually mentored faculty laboratories. Members of the national Malate dehydrogenase CUREs Community (MCC) investigated the differences in student impacts between traditional laboratory courses (control), a short module CURE within traditional laboratory courses (mCURE), and CUREs lasting the entire course (cCURE). The sample included approximately 1,500 students taught by 22 faculty at 19 institutions. We investigated course structures for elements of a CURE and student outcomes including student knowledge, student learning, student attitudes, interest in future research, overall experience, future GPA, and retention in STEM. We also disaggregated the data to investigate whether underrepresented minority (URM) outcomes were different from White and Asian students. We found that the less time students spent in the CURE the less the course was reported to contain experiences indicative of a CURE. The cCURE imparted the largest impacts for experimental design, career interests, and plans to conduct future research, while the remaining outcomes were similar between the three conditions. The mCURE student outcomes were similar to control courses for most outcomes measured in this study. However, for experimental design, the mCURE was not significantly different than either the control or cCURE. Comparing URM and White/Asian student outcomes indicated no difference for condition, except for interest in future research. Notably, the URM students in the mCURE condition had significantly higher interest in conducting research in the future than White/Asian students.more » « less
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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
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Utilizing the Affinity Research Group (ARG) model, the Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions (CAHSI) has provided training for faculty and student research experiences for decades. ARG, a CAHSI signature practice, focuses on deliberate, structured faculty and student research, with accompanying technical, communication, and professional skills development. In the latest iterations that have spanned the pandemic and its recovery, CAHSI has iterated on a virtual training and support network for faculty and students interested in broadening the participation of Hispanic undergraduate students in computer science to increase the number of Hispanics who move on to graduate studies in the field. This work-in-progress paper analyzes shifting support structures during a multi-year effort to promote undergraduate research development using the Affinity Research Group (ARG) model. As CAHSI grows to include research-intensive universities that have recently reached the 25% Hispanic enrollment threshold, the faculty mentor training has evolved to emphasize a growth mindset and asset-based frameworks for working with undergraduate students in research, particularly important in computing departments where graduate students are more commonly engaged in research. The paper describes areas of need as the populations of faculty and students shift. It addresses the questions: R1) How do faculty engaged in the LREU shift perspectives regarding a) student selection for research, b) pedagogical purposes of research for student development, and c) their ability to implement ARG? R2) To what extent do designed elements of the LREU professional development inform faculty practice and faculty perspectives regarding undergraduate research?more » « less
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