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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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This content will become publicly available on November 17, 2026
Impacts of a citizen science research initiative at a 2YC
We developed a new Citizen Science Undergraduate Research Experience that engages two-year college students in application of the scientific method in order to increase STEM participation, interest, and skills. The research experience was designed to leverage the local, flood-prone urban setting of the two-year college with the class structure and flexibility of an 8-week course to provide students with diverse academic backgrounds and interests the opportunity to conduct an authentic research project on the consequences of flooding in central Texas. We describe our adaptable Citizen Science Research Experience course model and survey and assessment-based evaluation methods. Participation in the research experience is associated with higher rates of student success in terms of transfer and graduation rates, contributing to increased STEM retention. The research experience also increased student confidence in using the scientific method, formulating a research question, and working with numerical data, which support gains in science skills and integration into STEM culture. Close faculty mentoring contributed to the success of this course-based research experience. We recommend increasing instruction efficiency, structuring the course as a 2-term elective science credit course, and securing consistent faculty funding as ways to improve this and similar undergraduate research experiences at 2-year colleges.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1940041
- PAR ID:
- 10651663
- Publisher / Repository:
- Taylor & Francis Online, published Open Access
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geoscience Education
- ISSN:
- 1089-9995
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 18
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- URE 2YC scientific method mentoring CURE confidence
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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