5 - Sustainability of an Established CURE Curriculum at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions

Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are laboratory curriculum designed to expand the inclusivity of research opportunities for undergraduate students. CUREs provide the experience and benefits of scientific research, and those benefits and experiences at an earlier point in students’ education. These qualities mean CUREs can be of great value to primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs), but faculty at these institutions who wish to design and/or implement a CURE can face major barriers including lack of time and resources. We provided professional development and ongoing support for the implementation of an established CURE at two PUIs. The CURE was taught by four faculty members, allowing us to study the faculty experience when implementing an established CURE with support provided from resources outside of their institution. We interviewed the faculty prior to PD, and after one semester of CURE implementation to understand the instructors’ experiences and motivations. Interviews are being analyzed using qualitative research techniques to answer the following research questions. (1)What factors influence faculty to sustain an established CURE once implemented? (2)What motivates the decision to sustain the CURE? (3)What support resources does the instructor anticipate will be needed to do so? (4)What support resources were actually used by the instructor? Preliminary analysis of interviews shows that student outcomes and faculty impact were major motivations for CURE sustainability, as well as the degree to which an established CURE curriculum can be adapted to a particular institution. Instructors are relatively accurate at perceiving what barriers and support needs exist at their institutions and which may affect future sustainability of the CURE

Investigating the Relationship between Instructors’ Use of Active Learning Strategies and Students’ Conceptual Understanding and Affective Changes in Introductory Biology: A Comparison of Two Active-Learning Environments

In response to calls for reform in undergraduate biology education, we conducted research examining how varying active-learning strategies impacted students’ conceptual understanding, attitudes, and motivation in two sections of a large-lecture introductory cell and molecular biology course. Using a quasi-experimental design, we collected quantitative data to compare participants’ conceptual understanding, attitudes, and motivation in the biological sciences across two contexts that employed different active-learning strategies and that were facilitated by unique instructors. Students participated in either graphic organizer/worksheet activities or clicker-based case studies. After controlling for demographic and presemester affective differences, we found that students in both active-learning environments displayed similar and significant learning gains. In terms of attitudinal and motivational data, significant differences were observed for two attitudinal measures. Specifically, those students who had participated in graphic organizer/worksheet activities demonstrated more expert-like attitudes related to their enjoyment of biology and ability to make real-world connections. However, all motivational and most attitudinal data were not significantly different between the students in the two learning environments. These data reinforce the notion that active learning is associated with conceptual change and suggests that more research is needed to examine the differential effects of varying active- learning strategies on students’ attitudes and motivation in the domain

Anatomy of STEM Teaching in American Universities: A Snapshot from a Large-Scale Observation Study

National and local initiatives focused on the transformation of STEM teaching in higher education have multiplied over the last decade. These initiatives often focus on measuring change in instructional practices, but it is difficult to monitor such change without a national picture of STEM educational practices, especially as characterized by common observational instruments. We characterized a snapshot of this landscape by conducting the first large scale observation-based study. We found that lecturing was prominent throughout the undergraduate STEM curriculum, even in classrooms with infrastructure designed to support active learning, indicating that further work is required to reform STEM education. Additionally, we established that STEM faculty’s instructional practices can vary substantially within a course, invalidating the commonly-used teaching evaluations based on a one-time observation

Case Study: Value-Added Benefit of Distance-Based Instructional Coaching on Science Teachers’ Inquiry Instruction in Rural Schools

One major implication of the Next Generation Science Standards is the need to integrate inquiry and practice and incorporate engineering into science education. To support teachers’ change efforts in a time of heightened science, technology, engineering, and mathematics standards for all students, effective professional development (PD) is critical. However, rural schools face significant challenges in accessing PD. Distance-based instructional coaching (DBIC) has emerged as a potential solution for implementing highly interactive, sustainable models of teacher support in rural areas. The present study was conducted within a larger study that examined the efficacy of a summer PD with follow-up DBIC on rural teachers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, and classroom practice of a guided science inquiry instructional approach. This study drew on empirical data using an in-depth analysis of a single case with a rural middle school science teacher, “Kara,” whose unique teaching schedule allowed for an examination of changes in her science inquiry instructional practice. In the present study, Vygotsky space provided insight into the process of the teacher’s learning as appropriation, transformation, and publication through the events observed. Showing the impact of DBIC on teacher PD and for facilitating improved student outcomes, this study has potential implications for educational policy, pedagogical practice, and meeting nationwide educational standards. In addition, DBIC maintains the integrity of the coaching model while simultaneously enhancing the feasibility of coaching for rural or remote educational systems and schools

Comparison of Student Outcomes in a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience: Face-to-Face, Hybrid, and Online Delivery of a Biology Laboratory

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) incorporate authentic research instead of confirmatory exercises into laboratory courses. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a general shift in instructional modalities from face-to-face (F2F) towards hybrid and online teaching. Student impacts caused by the abrupt shift to online teaching have been characterized, but comparisons between modalities for CUREs are missing. Therefore, we evaluated student learning and attitudinal outcomes in F2F, hybrid, and online delivery of an introductory college biology CURE. Additionally, we compared student outcomes between White/Asian students and persons excluded due to ethnicity or race (PEER) in these modalities. There were significant learning differences between modalities, but there were no significant learning differences by PEER status. Of six attitudinal variables, one varied significantly by modality and three varied significantly for PEER students. These results suggest that CUREs can be adapted to the online or hybrid modality with minimal impacts on student outcomes

Length of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURE) impacts student learning and attitudinal outcomes: A study of the Malate dehydrogenase CUREs Community (MCC)

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are laboratory courses that integrate broadly relevant problems, discovery, use of the scientific process, collaboration, and iteration to provide more students with research experiences than is possible in individually mentored faculty laboratories. Members of the national Malate dehydrogenase CUREs Community (MCC) investigated the differences in student impacts between traditional laboratory courses (control), a short module CURE within traditional laboratory courses (mCURE), and CUREs lasting the entire course (cCURE). The sample included approximately 1,500 students taught by 22 faculty at 19 institutions. We investigated course structures for elements of a CURE and student outcomes including student knowledge, student learning, student attitudes, interest in future research, overall experience, future GPA, and retention in STEM. We also disaggregated the data to investigate whether underrepresented minority (URM) outcomes were different from White and Asian students. We found that the less time students spent in the CURE the less the course was reported to contain experiences indicative of a CURE. The cCURE imparted the largest impacts for experimental design, career interests, and plans to conduct future research, while the remaining outcomes were similar between the three conditions. The mCURE student outcomes were similar to control courses for most outcomes measured in this study. However, for experimental design, the mCURE was not significantly different than either the control or cCURE. Comparing URM and White/Asian student outcomes indicated no difference for condition, except for interest in future research. Notably, the URM students in the mCURE condition had significantly higher interest in conducting research in the future than White/Asian students

Length of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURE) impacts student learning and attitudinal outcomes: A study of the Malate dehydrogenase CUREs Community (MCC).

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are laboratory courses that integrate broadly relevant problems, discovery, use of the scientific process, collaboration, and iteration to provide more students with research experiences than is possible in individually mentored faculty laboratories. Members of the national Malate dehydrogenase CUREs Community (MCC) investigated the differences in student impacts between traditional laboratory courses (control), a short module CURE within traditional laboratory courses (mCURE), and CUREs lasting the entire course (cCURE). The sample included approximately 1,500 students taught by 22 faculty at 19 institutions. We investigated course structures for elements of a CURE and student outcomes including student knowledge, student learning, student attitudes, interest in future research, overall experience, future GPA, and retention in STEM. We also disaggregated the data to investigate whether underrepresented minority (URM) outcomes were different from White and Asian students. We found that the less time students spent in the CURE the less the course was reported to contain experiences indicative of a CURE. The cCURE imparted the largest impacts for experimental design, career interests, and plans to conduct future research, while the remaining outcomes were similar between the three conditions. The mCURE student outcomes were similar to control courses for most outcomes measured in this study. However, for experimental design, the mCURE was not significantly different than either the control or cCURE. Comparing URM and White/Asian student outcomes indicated no difference for condition, except for interest in future research. Notably, the URM students in the mCURE condition had significantly higher interest in conducting research in the future than White/Asian students

Anatomy of STEM Teaching in American Universities: A Snapshot from a Large-Scale Observation Study

National and local initiatives focused on the transformation of STEM teaching in higher education have multiplied over the last decade. These initiatives often focus on measuring change in instructional practices, but it is difficult to monitor such change without a national picture of STEM educational practices, especially as characterized by common observational instruments. We characterized a snapshot of this landscape by conducting the first large scale observation-based study. We found that lecturing was prominent throughout the undergraduate STEM curriculum, even in classrooms with infrastructure designed to support active learning, indicating that further work is required to reform STEM education. Additionally, we established that STEM faculty’s instructional practices can vary substantially within a course, invalidating the commonly-used teaching evaluations based on a one-time observation