Undergraduate Research Experiences for STEM Students Successes, Challenges, and Opportunities (2017) / Chapter Skim
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4 Research Documenting Student Participation in UREs
4 Research Documenting Student Participation in UREs
Pages 97-128
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From page 97... ...
from a paper commissioned by the committee titled Course-Based Underraduate Research Experiences: Current Knowledge and Future Directions by Erin g Dolan (2016)
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From page 98... ...
that have information about student enrollment and persistence; it can also be obtained from student self-reports, surveys, pre and post testing, and interviews. However, unless a careful experimental or quasi-experimental design is used, gathering this type of descriptive evidence is unlikely to provide causal evidence for any changes that are observed after participation in UREs.
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From page 99... ...
Student networking Survey and professional related to project ownership. Survey can networks through differentiate between research experiences with self-report of degrees low-networking or high-networking design of conversation (Hanauer and Hatfull, 2015)
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From page 100... ...
conducted one of the few studies to randomly select applicants for research experiences, notably before UREs were widely available, to measure outcomes associated with retention. They found that for students who applied and were randomly selected for a URE program, there was a statistically significant decrease in attrition (retention in major)
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From page 101... ...
examined GPA, graduation rates, and retention in STEM majors among students who chose to participate in CUREs as part of the Freshman Research Initiative at The University of Texas at Austin, which offers students up to three sequenced courses in which they engage in research at increasing levels of independence.3 The study used propensity score matching to account for selected student-level differences4 and concluded that students who participated in the full three-semester sequence were more likely to graduate with a STEM degree and more likely to graduate within 6 years. In contrast to the usual observation of greater minority attrition in STEM majors and STEM degree completion, students from historically under represented groups participating in this initiative succeeded at the same rate as other students; that is, they were more likely to stay in the STEM major and graduate with a STEM degree.
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From page 102... ...
conducted a study to examine research experiences as a factor in academic achievement. The study compared 39 students who participated in a one-semester engineering Research Experiences for Undergraduates program with 230 students who did not; the two groups were matched on demographics and academic performance prior to the research semester.
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From page 103... ...
The Meyerhoff Scholars program, a long-standing, comprehensive program to provide academic and social support to increase the retention of underrepresented minority STEM students at University of Maryland
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From page 104... ...
were significantly more likely to enroll in a STEM Ph.D. program after graduation than students who did not participate in such research experiences.
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From page 105... ...
. Several of these studies have used comparisons with students without research experiences ("nonresearch students")
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From page 106... ...
This effect was even more pronounced for students of color, as underrepresented minority research students attended graduate school at rates similar to other research students, yet only 56 percent of nonresearch students of color attended graduate school. Summary of Findings for Increased Retention and Participation of STEM Students Students who participate in UREs are generally more likely to remain in STEM fields as undergraduates than are STEM students who do not participate.
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From page 107... ...
demonstrated that students made substantial increases in genomics knowledge from the beginning to the end of the CURE, though this study encompassed a single course with no comparison group. One of the few studies to randomly assign students to either a researchbased or traditional lab section and to use multiple methods to measure outcomes found that students in the research-based lab section believed that they were better able to explain the concepts in the experiment and had a better understanding of the research process than students in the traditional lab section (Szteinberg and Weaver, 2013)
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From page 108... ...
reported that both students and faculty mentors in apprentice-style research experiences rated students' gains in collecting and analyzing data as some of the highest rated skills developed in UREs. In addition to these perceived gains in research skills, students' performance on exams revealed gains in the ability to analyze and interpret data -- a goal of many CUREs.
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From page 109... ...
used interviews e to gather data comparing outcomes from apprentice-style UREs with those from STEM coursework and other out-of-class STEM professional experiences. They found that undergraduate researchers who chose to enroll in UREs had developed a more sophisticated understanding of the research process and the nature of STEM knowledge than nonresearch students.
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From page 110... ...
found that students with less than 1 year of apprentice-style research were often able to carry out routine data collection and technical procedures, whereas students with multiyear research experiences were further able to identify the next steps in an experiment and perceived that they became more proficient at troubleshooting their project. Yet certain abilities seemed to take extensive time to develop; for instance, only a few advanced undergraduate researchers were able to generate a research question or design an experiment, even after multiple years of research experience.
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From page 111... ...
Other studies have reported that students engaged in apprentice-style research perceived that they have gained communication skills (Craney et al., 2011; Junge et al., 2010) , with at least one of these studies reporting that Black and Latino students perceived higher communication skills gains than their counterparts (Craney et al., 2011)
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From page 112... ...
Several studies involving interviews or surveys have documented students' increased confidence in research abilities, general self-confidence, and increased independence gained from apprentice-style research experiences (John and Creighton, 2012; Russell et al., 2007)
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From page 113... ...
. A study of research interns and their mentors in two sponsored-esearch programs found that personal and professional r dispositions fostered from research experiences were mentioned more often than other outcomes such as cognitive gains or research skills, suggesting the importance of these outcomes to students (Kardash and Edwards, 2012)
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From page 114... ...
. A study of CUREs found that students had more positive attitudes toward research, collaboration, and peer critique; higher self-confidence in research-based laboratory tasks; and increased interest in pursuing future research experiences, compared to students in a traditional lab section.
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From page 115... ...
. Stereotype threat research has shown that when there are "signals" or context contingencies that communicate to historically underrepresented students that they do not belong in the academic or STEM community, the students' performances decline while cognitive vigilance increases (Murphy et al., 2007)
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From page 116... ...
developed a model from a review of the literature that identified project ownership, success in overcoming problems, and collaborative work with peers as additional critical components of CUREs. They also asserted that working with peers helps students to make improvements in technical skills -- because peers may model or provide feedback about how to perform tasks -- and that a sense of ownership over their work promotes students' sense of belonging to the STEM community (Corwin et al., 2015a; Hanauer et al., 2012)
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From page 117... ...
Implications of the study include expanding undergraduate research opportunities when possible and incorporating communication and leadership skill development into the required course curriculum. Summary for Integrating Students into STEM Culture Multiple studies indicate that students who participate in UREs feel more comfortable in STEM, have positive attitudes about STEM, and show increased confidence in being able to contribute to research after participation.
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From page 118... ...
Nonetheless, if these students are at greater risk of leaving a STEM major, which appears to be the case in some fields, retention at the same rate as the average for all students would be a plus. NEGATIVE OUTCOMES FROM URES Although almost all of the research on UREs documents positive outcomes for research participants, several studies have noted less than desirable outcomes associated with poorly designed or poorly implemented research experiences, typically affecting only a small group of students (Craney et al., 2011; Harsh et al., 2011; Thiry et al., 2011)
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From page 119... ...
However, many studies rely on students' selfreport of aspirations or alumni retrospective accounts of the influence of research on their career or educational decisions, rather than longitudinally tracking students' educational or career outcomes. Such long-term studies can be logistically and financially challenging, but they would greatly enhance the claims that research experiences inspire students to enroll in graduate degree programs or strengthen their commitment to STEM careers.
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From page 120... ...
Additional research has examined the potential benefit of UREs on devel ping an understanding of STEM disciplinary practices (e.g., content o knowledge, concepts, and corresponding research skills) and integrating students into the STEM culture (e.g., project ownership, sense of belonging, teamwork)
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From page 121... ...
. Understanding how undergraduate research experiences influence student aspirations for research careers and graduate education.
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. Curricular connections: The role of undergraduate research experiences in promoting engineering students' communication, teamwork, and leadership skills.
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. Linguistic analysis of project ownership for undergraduate research experiences.
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From page 124... ...
. Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE)
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From page 125... ...
. Benefits of undergraduate research experiences.
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From page 126... ...
. Comparing the impact of a course-based and apprentice-based research experiences in a life sciences laboratory curriculum.
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From page 127... ...
. The benefits of multi-year research experiences: Differences in novice and experienced students' reported gains from undergraduate research.
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