Evaluating the Impact of CURE Course Design Characteristics on Student Interest, Engagement, and Persistence

评估 CURE 课程设计特征对学生兴趣、参与度和持久性的影响

• 批准号: 1856150
• 负责人: Mark Graham
• 金额: $ 29.96万
• 依托单位: Yale University
• 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 2024-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1856150&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Evaluating; Impact; CURE; Course; Design

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 examining how students benefit from Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). Evidence suggests that early, authentic research experiences have a more positive affect than traditional learning contexts on college students' STEM learning, motivation, and academic plans. Unfortunately, opportunities for undergraduate research are available to relatively few students. Although traditional undergraduate laboratory classes can support a large number of students, they do not typically engage students in discovery and iteration, which are characteristics of authentic research. A solution that provides more students with greater access to an "authentic" research experience is the CURE. CUREs combine many of the authentic features of a faculty member's research lab with the larger capacity of a course environment. This scalability and authenticity have led to growth of CURE programs and expansion across colleges and universities. As CURE offerings spread, however, the enthusiasm for them has not been matched by a consistent approach to evaluation or educational theory grounding. Therefore, research is needed to assist instructors in understanding how CUREs work, when CUREs are most effective, and who CUREs benefit. Addressing this gap in the literature will contribute to improving undergraduate STEM education in the United States by providing evidence and tools to improve the quality of research opportunities experienced in course settings. In turn, access to these improved research opportunities can increase the retention of potential STEM majors who are vulnerable to exiting the major early in their academic careers, including those from groups underrepresented in STEM fields.Although assessment of some pre-/post-CURE student outcomes has been conducted, it is not yet documented how students experience and react to various CURE course design features, such as iterative experimentation and dealing with ill-defined, complex tasks. In addition, it remains unknown how students react to CURES over a semester-long experience. Finally, it is not known how the instance and emphasis of different features of CURE courses throughout a semester interact with student interest to increase (or decrease) students' motivation to persist in a course of study. This project will address these gaps in the literature by: 1) Developing a taxonomy of "authentic research" characteristics for systematic classification of CUREs across departments and institutions; 2) Measuring how student interest (based on motivation theory) varies over the course of a given CURE as a result of these course characteristics; and 3) Exploring interactions between course characteristics, student interest, and longer-term STEM persistence and career goals. The project aims to complete these tasks by studying course design and student outcomes in a natural sample of undergraduate CURE courses at three universities: a research-focused private, a research-focused public, and an undergraduate-focused public. Data collection will include a combination of quantitative (syllabus analysis and student interest surveys) and qualitative (student interviews) research methods. The results of this study will expand practitioners' knowledge of course-based approaches to STEM engagement. It will also inform those in the STEM education research community who are interested in studying CUREs with new research questions to explore. 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 改善本科生 STEM 教育计划：教育和人力资源（IUSE：EHR）的支持下，该项目旨在通过研究学生如何从基于课程的本科生研究体验（CURE）中受益来服务于国家利益。有证据表明，早期真实的研究经历比传统的学习环境对大学生的 STEM 学习、动机和学术计划具有更积极的影响。不幸的是，能够获得本科研究机会的学生相对较少。尽管传统的本科实验室课程可以支持大量学生，但它们通常不会让学生参与发现和迭代，而这是真正研究的特征。 CURE 是一种为更多学生提供更多获得“真实”研究体验的解决方案。 CURE 将教师研究实验室的许多真实功能与更大容量的课程环境相结合。这种可扩展性和真实性导致了 CURE 项目的增长以及跨学院和大学的扩展。然而，随着 CURE 产品的传播，人们对它们的热情并没有与一致的评估方法或教育理论基础相匹配。因此，需要进行研究来帮助教师了解 CURE 的工作原理、CURE 何时最有效以及 CURE 的受益者。通过提供证据和工具来提高课程设置中的研究机会质量，解决文献中的这一空白将有助于改善美国本科 STEM 教育。反过来，获得这些改进的研究机会可以增加潜在 STEM 专业学生的保留率，这些学生很容易在学术生涯早期退出该专业，包括那些来自 STEM 领域代表性不足的群体的学生。尽管对一些 CURE 前/后学生的评估虽然结果已经进行，但尚未记录学生如何体验和反应各种 CURE 课程设计功能，例如迭代实验和处理不明确的复杂任务。 此外，学生在整个学期的经历中对 CURES 有何反应仍不得而知。最后，尚不清楚整个学期 CURE 课程不同特征的实例和重点如何与学生的兴趣相互作用，以增加（或减少）学生坚持学习课程的动力。该项目将通过以下方式解决文献中的这些空白：1）开发“真实研究”特征的分类法，以便对跨部门和机构的 CURE 进行系统分类； 2) 衡量学生的兴趣（基于动机理论）在给定 CURE 课程中如何因课程特征而变化； 3) 探索课程特征、学生兴趣以及长期 STEM 坚持和职业目标之间的相互作用。该项目旨在通过研究三所大学的本科 CURE 课程自然样本中的课程设计和学生成绩来完成这些任务：一所以研究为重点的私立大学、一所以研究为重点的公立大学和一所以本科为重点的公立大学。数据收集将包括定量（教学大纲分析和学生兴趣调查）和定性（学生访谈）研究方法的结合。这项研究的结果将扩大从业者对基于课程的 STEM 参与方法的了解。它还将为 STEM 教育研究界中那些有兴趣研究 CURE 的人们提供需要探索的新研究问题的信息。 NSF IUSE：EHR 计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生 STEM 教育的有效性。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建、探索和实施。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Course-based undergraduate research experiences in molecular biosciences—patterns, trends, and faculty support

基于课程的分子生物科学本科生研究经验——模式、趋势和师资支持

• DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fnx157
• 发表时间: 2017-07
• 期刊: FEMS Microbiology Letters
• 影响因子: 2.1
• 作者: Wang; Jack T.
• 通讯作者: Jack T.

College Student Meaning Making and Interest Maintenance During COVID-19: From Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) to Science Learning Being Off-Campus and Online

COVID-19期间大学生的意义建构和兴趣维持：从基于课程的本科生研究经验（CURE）到校外和在线的科学学习

• DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2020.590738
• 发表时间: 2020-12
• 期刊: Frontiers in Education
• 影响因子: 2.3
• 作者: Wang, Cong;Bauer, Melanie;Burmeister, Alita R.;Hanauer, David I.;Graham, Mark J.
• 通讯作者: Graham, Mark J.

Bridging Trade-Offs between Traditional and Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences by Building Student Communication Skills, Identity, and Interest

通过培养学生的沟通技巧、身份和兴趣，在传统和基于课程的本科研究经验之间建立平衡

• DOI: 10.1128/jmbe.00156-21
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education
• 影响因子: 1.9
• 作者: Burmeister AR;Dickinson K;Graham MJ
• 通讯作者: Graham MJ