Insights into student gains from undergraduate research using pre/post assessments

The Importance of Scientific Publishing: Teaching an Undergraduate How to Swim the Entire Length of the Pool

Six Steps for Cultivating Successful Undergraduate Research

The impact and benefits of undergraduate research experiences (URE) in the first two years of post-secondary education have been well documented. Early exposure to research experiences is effective in recruitment, diversity and persistence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) degree programs, particularly among underrepresented minority students. The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Course (SUREC) presented in this paper is a cross-institutional collaboration between a two-year college (2YC) and a four-year college (4YC), designed to expose 2YC transfer students to a rigorous 12-week URE focused on geosciences. Findings from the program evaluation indicate the SUREC increased transfer student’s STEM knowledge and skills, science identity, and self-efficacy. Twenty of the twenty-four SUREC participants, representing underrepresented and majority students alike, transferred to a 4YC to continue in geosciences or in a related STEM field within two-years of the URE. A strong cross-institutional collaboration that combined academic, financial, and mentoring support was key to enhancing transfer students’ URE experiences. Leveraging teaching and research expertise of 2YC adjuncts as emerging academics and educators was a hallmark of this program. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2021.2005510

This study examines instances of negative mentoring among undergraduate researchers within STEM education, and specifically, the common yet subtle issue of inadequate mentoring characterized by a faculty mentor's failure to provide their mentee with adequate research, educational, career-related, or emotional support. Using data from the Mentor-Relate survey of 514 participants in the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, we identify prevalent patterns of inadequate mentoring and examine protective factors against it. Results indicate that inadequate research support is the least prevalent form, while inadequate educational and career guidance is more common, and inadequate emotional support is the most prevalent. Enhanced faculty mentoring skills emerge as a protective factor, with culturally responsive mentoring and gender concordance also playing significant protective roles. Less hierarchical mentoring structures, such as multiple faculty mentors, offer better emotional support. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensive mentor training and culturally sensitive practices to mitigate inadequate mentoring in undergraduate research experiences. By promoting inclusive and supportive mentoring environments, institutions can maximize the transformative potential of undergraduate research experiences for all participants.

Conceptual understanding of biochemistry and success in science can be challenging for transfer students when transitioning into a degree plan from another institution. These goals may be more readily achieved through a curriculum tied to research. We have begun to test this hypothesis by establishing pilot CUREs (course‐based undergraduate research experience) called the Accelerated Research Initiative (ARI) built upon the successful framework of the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) in the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. The ARI caters to upper‐division undergraduates science majors (juniors and seniors).There have now been two iterations of these courses where about 46 students each year engage in project‐based learning in the context of research. About 30–50% are transfer students from other 4‐year institutions or from community colleges. These student‐researchers are guided by a non‐tenure track professor, several undergraduate TAs, and peers who have prior research experience. For one of the courses, the overall goal is to identify small molecule inhibitors of an enzyme from an infectious disease organism (bacterial or protozoan). Computational molecular docking software is used to make predictions about which compounds may bind. They then seek to test these in biochemical assays against the enzyme they have made through recombinant DNA cloning and protein expression. In the other course offering, students focus on the implementation of several sensing protocols using organic chemistry techniques in existing analytical devices to further their potential, as well as explore a new approach to selective molecular recognition. At the end of the first iteration of the course, an open‐ended survey was administered to gain insight into students' perceptions of the experience. Specifically, the survey assessed the contexts, activities, and outcomes cited in other CUREs (Corwin et. al. 2015), such as: content and skills, self‐efficacy, persistence in science, ownership, grit, communication, science identity, and mentoring. Preliminary findings suggest that the most frequently mentioned aspects of the ARI course that the students valued were: mentoring, sense of belonging to a larger community, increased tolerance for obstacles, and faculty interaction. A more formalized survey using empirically‐validated items with Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval was also administered at the end of the second iteration of the course. This survey is part of a study involving both ARI and FRI students. The data from this instrument helps elucidate the differential perceived benefits between the upper division students of the ARI and the lower division students of the FRI. These responses may help identify which areas transfer students have shown the most growth in as a result of participating in the ARI.Support or Funding InformationHoward Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to measure 1st- and 2nd-year students’ engagement as a result of a qualitative inquiry and field experiences with elders residing in an independent and assisted living retirement community. Undergraduate student research and field experiences are often introduced toward the completion of undergraduate students’ academics. The findings suggest discovery and further consideration to implement undergraduate research and field experiences at the beginning of students’ academic experiences in gerontology. Outcomes further suggest that early introduction of gerontological research and field experiences may assist in educating students about agism, potentially dissuading personal fears of their aging or apprehensions in working with elders. Optimal student engagement is evidenced through connectedness to learning, understanding of aging concepts through the lens of research, and enhanced learning metaphorically described as a woven gerontological tapestry.

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) aim to improve students' research skills, disciplinary knowledge, and career confidence. However, faculty mentors often lack formal training in effective mentoring practices. This study investigates the impact of professional development (PD) on faculty mentors in a physics REU program, focusing on communication and setting expectations, using a modified “Entering Mentoring” PD curriculum. A mixed-methods design explored three research questions: (1) What expectations do mentors establish, and how might they differ? (2) What realities do mentors experience, and how do expectations evolve? (3) What effect did PD have on mentoring, and how do interview and survey data converge to explain REU participant growth? Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight faculty mentors, post-program CIMER mentor surveys, and student surveys measuring their confidence in research abilities. Qualitative data were analyzed using constant comparative methods, while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-tests to assess growth among two REU cohorts: one with mentor PD and one without. Results revealed that mentors faced challenges such as affording independence to mentees and selecting achievable research projects, regardless of experience. Despite these challenges, mentors focused on the research process, rather than the product, providing students with an authentic research experience. This approach led to significant perceived growth in students' general research skills, as reported by both mentors and mentees. Synthesis of qualitative and quantitative data showed that the PD program positively influenced mentoring practices and student outcomes. The 2024 PD-trained cohort showed statistically significant growth in research independence (Q24: d=0.86) and career confidence (Q49: d=0.62) compared to the non-PD 2023 cohort. This study emphasizes the importance of PD in improving mentoring practices and enhancing student growth, offering valuable insights for future REU programs.

Undergraduate research involves experiential learning methods that helps animal science students gain critical thinking skills. There is high demand for these opportunities. For example, 77.9% of incoming freshmen in the Department of Animal Sciences & Industry at Kansas State University in Fall 2017 and Fall 2018 planned to conduct research sometime during their undergraduate career (422 of 542 students). Conventional, one-on-one mentoring methods in the department were only serving 1.7% of the undergraduate population (21 of 1,212 students). This creates a unique challenge of increasing the number of undergraduate research opportunities, while maintaining the impact of individualized experiential learning. One method to address this challenge is the incorporation of a course-based research program. In this model, research projects are conducted during a conventional semester during scheduled classroom hours, with project components divided into 3 sections: (1) research preparation, including compliance requirements, hypothesis testing, experimental design, and protocol development; (2) data collection; and (3) data interpretation and dissemination. Students collect data as a team, but individually develop their own research abstract and poster to maintain a high level of experiential learning. By teaching multiple sections of this course per semester and incorporating the concepts into existing laboratories, 13.5% of students in the department completed undergraduate research in the 2018–2019 academic year (162 of 1,197 students). To monitor the quality of these experiences, student critical thinking ability was assessed using the online Critical Thinking Basic Concepts & Understanding Test (Foundation for Critical Thinking, Tomales, CA). Undergraduate research experiences increased (P = 0.028) the growth in student critical thinking score, but the type of research experience did not influence assessed skills (P > 0.281). Thus, course-based undergraduate research experiences may be an option for growing the quantity and quality of undergraduate research experience in animal science.

Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) enhance student retention, provide transferrable skills, and prepare students for advanced graduate study. The majority of these benefits, however, are concentrated within the natural and biological sciences; disciplines with historical under-representation of non-male students. If offered in the social sciences, UREs would be more accessible to women, students of colour, and first-generation students. But there are relatively few models and little research to confirm that UREs in the social sciences offer similar benefits to students. Using mixed methods data, we compare students’ (n = 122) and research supervisors’ (n = 56) perceptions of success in meeting learning outcomes for students participating in social science UREs. The combination of quantitative and qualitative survey data shows that students gain skills in research (e.g. data collection, management, and analysis) as well as other transferrable skills helpful in various career paths (e.g. collaboration, time management, problem-solving). We also demonstrate that faculty supervisors perceive significant benefits from overseeing UREs, such as enhancing professional development and increased job satisfaction. These findings demonstrate the need for expanding UREs beyond the biological/natural sciences where they have been focused to date.

Undergraduate research experiences benefit students by immersing them in the work of scientists and often result in increased interest and commitment to careers in the sciences. Expanding access to Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) programs has the potential to engage more students in authentic research experiences earlier in their academic careers and grow and diversify the geoscience workforce. The Research Experience for Community College Students (RECCS) was one of the first National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded REU programs exclusively for 2-year college students. In this study, we describe findings from five years of the RECCS program and report on outcomes from 54 students. The study collected closed- and open-ended responses on post-program reflection surveys to analyze both student and mentor perspectives on their experience. Specifically, we focus on students’ self-reported growth in areas such as research skills, confidence in their ability to do research, and belonging in the field, as well as the mentors’ assessment of students’ work and areas of growth, and the impact of the program on students’ academic and career paths. In addition, RECCS alumni were surveyed annually to update data on their academic and career pursuits. Our data show that RECCS students learned scientific and professional skills throughout the program, developed a sense of identity as a scientist, and increased their interest in and excitement for graduate school after the program. Through this research experience, students gained confidence in their ability to “do” science and insight into whether this path is a good fit for them. This study contributes to an emerging body of data examining the impact of REU programs on community college students and encourages geoscience REU programs to welcome and support more community college students.

Inside the research incubator: A case study of an intensive undergraduate research experience for nursing & midwifery students

: The Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean/Marine Science program supports active participation by underrepresented undergraduate students in remote sensing and Ocean/Marine Science research training activities. The program is based on a model for undergraduate research programs supported by the National Science Foundation. The URE project features mentors, research projects, and professional development opportunities. It is the long-term goal of the URE in Ocean/Marine Science to provide an active research experience as an effective way to attract talented undergraduates and retain them in careers in ocean and marine science. In addition, this program supports the involvement of students from the African Countries of Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria. Funds were leveraged with the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) grant # ANT-0944255 [2].

Undergraduate research (UR) as a high-impact practice has been increasingly embedded in the curriculum. However, there is a limited understanding of how undergraduates make sense of their research experiences amid an absence of student voice in the literature. This study investigated what students perceived as significant UR experiences through student co-researchers conducting critical incident interviews with fellow students and participating in collaborative analysis. The findings show that students generally perceived their research experiences as positive and associated significant experiences with achievement, ownership, challenges, real-world relevance, collaboration, and to a lesser extent, identification with research. Student co-researchers also provided unique insights such as students paying more attention to the utility value of their UR experiences. This article’s main contribution is the discovery of a sense of authenticity in UR from students’ perspectives emphasising more real-world relevance while less ‘being’ and ‘becoming’, which created challenges to form a researcher identity. The findings also point to both synergies and tensions between achieving authenticity and pursuing utility value, implying the need for enhancing UR through redesigned mentorship in the future.

We present work-in-progress reflecting on the initial year of a distinctive summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Our REU model combines fundamental research in computational sensing with a scholarly context that connects computer science with computational liberal arts. Students are intellectually stimulated to make sense of people's behaviors and cognitive processes with multimodal sensing hardware and software. In doing so, they explore the fundamental challenges found at the intersection of computing, the human experience, and scientific interrogation. The placement of the human experience at the core of the research theme enables an environment that stimulates and cultivates an innovative undergraduate research model. We highlight outcomes from the first year and discuss three emerging practices that are central to our REU framework: (1) team-based collaborative training; (2) transdisciplinary integration; and (3) systematic prioritization of inclusiveness. We also describe how these practices are incorporated into our overall undergraduate research framework and touch upon lessons learned from feedback collected.

The themed Fall 2024 issue of Scholarship & Practice of Undergraduate Research (SPUR): Career Readiness features content addressing career skills obtained through undergraduate research. The collection offers two open-to-read articles that contribute to our understanding of the current state of career readiness as achieved through undergraduate research and transferable skills. It also includes four additional articles, including writing skills, career readiness from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs, mentoring; and transfer students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).