Strategies to Enable Psychology Majors to Actualize their Post-Baccalaureate Aspirations: The Importance of an Undergraduate Research Experience for the Psychology Major

ABSTRACT A course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) was designed to integrate key microbiological principles and techniques into an authentic research experience in a classroom setting and was implemented in an undergraduate microbiology laboratory course. Students conducted a 6-week study in order to determine the identity and quantity of unique probiotic species from various types of kefir. This course module followed an inquiry-based pedagogical approach in which students use the scientific process to investigate an unknown question with no predetermined outcome. During each lab, relevant microbiological topics and laboratory concepts were presented. Students then performed various laboratory techniques, reinforcing the lecture material with hands-on experience. In addition, students participated in reflection through group presentation of their results, bioinformatic analysis and literature review. Based on data collected from pre- and post-study survey responses, both student knowledge and attitudes towards the topics covered improved due to participation in this CURE. Importantly, this CURE can be implemented at many levels of education, requiring only minimal resources and common laboratory equipment.

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Work in Progress: Enhancing the Undergraduate Research Experience through Partnership with a Non-profit Organization

10.18260/p.27223 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Margo Cousins ◽

Lynda Gonzales ◽

Erin Dolan ◽

Kathryn Flowers ◽

Courtney Becker ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Research ◽

Research Experience ◽

Non Profit ◽

Work In Progress

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Cross-Discipline Perceptions of the Undergraduate Research Experience

The Journal of Higher Education ◽

10.1353/jhe.2011.0000 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 82 (1) ◽

pp. 92-113 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Chris Craney ◽

Tara McKay ◽

April Mazzeo ◽

Janet Morris ◽

Cheryl Prigodich ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Research ◽

Research Experience

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Participation in a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience Results in Higher Grades in the Companion Lecture Course

Educational Researcher ◽

10.3102/0013189x20968097 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 0013189X2096809

Author(s):

Marsha Ing ◽

James M. Burnette ◽

Tarek Azzam ◽

Susan R. Wessler

Keyword(s):

Low Income ◽

Undergraduate Research ◽

Public Institutions ◽

Research Experience ◽

Stem Fields ◽

Academic Characteristics ◽

Course Grades ◽

Undergraduate Science ◽

Hispanic Serving ◽

The Impact

Opportunities for large numbers of undergraduates to engage in authentic research experiences are limited in many large public institutions. These large public institutions serve the vast majority of students who are historically underrepresented in STEM fields, such as first-generation, low-income students of color. Although a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) is one scalable approach to providing such opportunities, there is limited evidence about the impact of participation, particularly for students historically underrepresented in science. This study provides evidence of the influence of student participation in a CURE on undergraduate science course grades using an experimental design and multiple years of data from students at a Hispanic-serving institution. Course grades were compared for five different science courses across five cohorts of students participating in a CURE ( n = 935) and a similar group of students who did not participate in the CURE ( n = 1,144). CURE students had significantly higher overall grades in a lecture course directly related to the CURE even after statistically adjusting for demographic and academic characteristics. Implications for CUREs as a model for improving science knowledge and achievement for students typically underrepresented in STEM fields are discussed.

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