Collaborative Research: Implementing Multi-institutional Classroom-based Undergraduate Research Experiences to Study the Impact of Environmental Changes on Salamander Populations

合作研究：实施基于多机构课堂的本科生研究经验，研究环境变化对蝾螈种群的影响

• 批准号: 1914791
• 负责人: David Miller
• 金额: $ 6.4万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-10-01 至 2023-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1914791&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Implementing; Multi; institutional

With support from the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education Program: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR), this project aims to serve the national interest by developing and implementing multi-institutional Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). Evidence demonstrates that CUREs can be highly effective for engaging large numbers of students in authentic research. In addition, participation in CUREs can result in increased persistence of students in STEM disciplines, as well as generate new scientific data. This project is a collaboration between Michigan State University, Bridgewater State University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Pennsylvania State University Park, and the University of Richmond. The team will leverage the Salamander Population Adaptation Research Collaboration network (SPARCnet) to develop and support CUREs at the collaborating institutions. SPARCnet is a research and education collaboration that coordinates research about salamander responses to environmental conditions. In the CUREs developed by this project, students will study individual- and population-level responses of the red-backed salamander to environmental variation and changes. This salamander has important ecosystem roles in northeastern and mid-west U.S. forests. The students will collect and analyze data from a wide geographic range, emphasizing ecology and evolutionary processes. The specific CURE modules will be developed and implemented collaboratively in different science courses across the five institutions. The project expects that the CURES will increase students' understanding of the collaborative nature of science, as well as develop the quantitative skills needed to work with large data sets. This project will develop and test CURE modules that include unique field-based research and multi-institutional collaborations within a single research system. The CURE modules will go beyond the single-campus structure of most CUREs by creating a framework that integrates students into an intellectually diverse and established research network, SPARCnet. The instructors will facilitate student collaboration and data sharing by pairing classrooms across institutions during the research experience. The education research component of the project will investigate three pedagogical questions that examine how the CURE model may contribute to improvements in students' quantitative and scientific literacy, self-efficacy, and science identity and sense of belonging. Using the recently developed CURE model framework applied across a multi-institutional network, the results of this study have the potential to advance knowledge about how CUREs promote student learning outcomes and perspectives. Finally, the project will increase understanding of the CURE model itself by examining the impacts of this CURE on quantitative and scientific literacy. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

在NSF改善本科STEM教育计划的支持下：教育和人力资源（IUSE：EHR），该项目旨在通过开发和实施基于多机构课程的本科研究经验（Cures）来服务国家利益。证据表明，治疗方法对于让大量学生参与真实研究可能是非常有效的。 此外，参与治疗可能会导致学生在STEM学科中的持久性增加，并产生新的科学数据。 该项目是密歇根州立大学，布里奇沃特州立大学，马萨诸塞大学阿默斯特大学，宾夕法尼亚州立大学公园和里士满大学之间的合作。 该团队将利用Salamander人口适应研究合作网络（SPARCNET）来开发和支持协作机构的治疗方法。 Sparcnet是一项研究和教育合作，可以协调有关萨拉曼对环境条件的反应的研究。 在该项目开发的疗法中，学生将研究红色支持的Salamander对环境变化和变化的个人和人口水平的反应。 该sal在美国东北部和中西部的森林中具有重要的生态系统作用。 学生将从广泛的地理范围内收集和分析数据，强调生态学和进化过程。特定的治疗模块将在五个机构的不同科学课程中开发和协作。 该项目预计，治疗方法将增加学生对科学协作性质的理解，并发展与大型数据集使用所需的定量技能。该项目将开发和测试CURE模块，其中包括基于现场的研究和单个研究系统中的多机构合作。治疗模块将通过创建一个将学生整合到智力多样化且建立的研究网络Sparcnet的框架中，将超越大多数治疗方法的单校区结构。在研究经验期间，讲师将通过将教室跨机构配对，从而促进学生的合作和数据共享。该项目的教育研究组成部分将研究三个教学问题，这些问题研究了治疗模型如何有助于改善学生的定量和科学素养，自我效能感以及科学认同和归属感。使用在多机构网络上应用的最近开发的CURE模型框架，这项研究的结果有可能提高有关治疗方法如何促进学生学习成果和观点的知识。最后，该项目将通过检查治疗对定量和科学素养的影响来提高对治疗模型本身的理解。 NSF IUSE：EHR计划支持研发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。 通过参与的学生学习轨道，该计划支持有希望的实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估的评估来支持的。