Student perceptions of the undergraduate research experience: what do they think they really gain and how much influence does it have?

This paper explores the benefits that undergraduate science students perceive as a result of participating in an undergraduate research experience (URE) and explores the possible influences that UREs have on the future career directions of students. Authentic undergraduate research experiences in science play an important role in providing context to student learning and providing a sense of being a 'scientist'. There has been, however, some concern over the validity of the claims made relating to the extent of the impact that research experiences have on undergraduate students. This paper focuses on a new Summer Research Scholarship experience and reports on some of the findings from a 2008/2009 pilot study that investigated student perceptions of their undergraduate research experiences as 2nd year students studying within science

Creation of a collegial network between researchers and undergraduate students at The University of Queensland

It is widely believed that authentic research experiences in science are pivotal in providing context to undergraduate student learning and providing a true sense of what it means to be a 'scientist' (Boyer Report 1998, Healey and Jenkins 2009). Research intensive universities might be expected to have the greatest potential for involving students in authentic research (Turner, Wuetherick and Healey 2008), however, their students often feel alienated from the research culture (Zamorski 2002), and frustrated when their participation in the authentic research activities of the university are delayed (Robertson and Blacker 2006). Therefore universities, and research-intensive universities in particular, are being expected to develop strategies for welcoming students into their research culture during the early undergraduate years. An innovative model for introducing first year undergraduate science students to the research culture of a large research-intensive university has been implemented at The University of Queensland (UQ). The Undergraduate Science Students’ Experience in Research (USSER) Network invites large numbers of undergraduate science students from their first semester at university, to meet with UQ researchers over lunch, tour research facilities on campus, and gain access to the daily workings of research groups through flexible placements. Following the establishment of the USSER Network in March 2008, approximately 170 students have had lunch with over 40 researchers, and approximately 40 students have toured three research facilities. Eighteen research groups have offered work experience placement opportunities, and ten students have undertaken placements in the first or second year of their degree. Participating students and researchers have reported that the USSER Network provides excellent networking opportunities, with a key feature of the program being the small group format of the lunches. Students have expressed overwhelming gratitude for the informal opportunities to talk with researchers, and discover more about the diversity of research being conducted at their institution and the research-based career paths available to them. To foster the growth of the authentic research experience aspect of the USSER Network program in 2009, Placement Workshops have been implemented, with fourteen students participating thus far. In addition, there has been a large amount of interest in the USSER Network across the University, and the planning phase is underway to disseminate the USSER Network model to several research disciplines across UQ. This paper will introduce the key features of this innovative networking program, highlight the successes and plans for improvement of the model, and provide mechanisms for the generalisation of this model beyond science

Examining student outcomes from undergraduate research experiences

Undergraduate research (UR) is a recognised form of engagement used to enhance student learning and can be broadly defined as any active experience in which students are exposed to research within their discipline. These experiences have been associated with positive student outcomes such as gains in communication skills, and confidence. This project examined one School within an Australian university and investigated the extent to which undergraduate students were exposed to UR and the student outcomes. The research utilised interviews with staff and an online student survey. Interviews with eight staff highlighted a strong culture of integrating research into teaching and creating research opportunities for students, with many examples of UR activities identified. A common characteristic was the design of authentic experiences for students. Through the online survey 42 students reported a variety of outcomes, mostly positive, from their UR experiences. More than 70% of students believed they had made gains in all ‘becoming a scientist’ areas investigated, including the ability to work independently, to develop patience and the need to take care in conducting procedures. More than 85% of students reported they had made gains in areas such as ‘discussing scientific concepts’ and ‘working collaboratively’. The UR experiences also influenced their thinking about future career paths, including postgraduate research. This study revealed an intention by academics to provide authentic learning experiences for students through research, and strong student evidence indicating learning gains. The strong gains reported by students in this study were similar to gains reported previously in other literature

Student perceptions of the undergraduate research experience: what do they think they really gain and how much influence does it have?

This paper explores the benefits that undergraduate science students perceive as a result of participating in an undergraduate research experience (URE) and explores the possible influences that UREs have on the future career directions of students. Authentic undergraduate research experiences in science play an important role in providing context to student learning and providing a sense of being a 'scientist'. There has been, however, some concern over the validity of the claims made relating to the extent of the impact that research experiences have on undergraduate students. This paper focuses on a new Summer Research Scholarship experience and reports on some of the findings from a 2008/2009 pilot study that investigated student perceptions of their undergraduate research experiences as 2nd year students studying within science

Student outcomes from diverse undergraduate research experiences - findings from a multi-disciplinary study

Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) provide students with opportunities to engage in high impact experiential learning. UREs have been especially prevalent in the sciences, but there are now extensive banks of case studies demonstrating the use of UREs as an educationally enriching activity in nearly all disciplines. This study investigated the diversity of UREs available across a wide range of disciplines at a large Australian research-intensive university and examined the perceived benefits. Through group interviews with 68 academics, we gathered detailed information about 81 URE activities, across 28 Schools within the institution (representing 77.8% of Schools), ranging from archaeology to political science, from biology to social work and from law to journalism. The most common URE model observed was that of activities embedded in courses. Across disciplines the most common feature was the requirement for students to engage with the research literature in their field. A smaller number of models incorporated features which allowed students to engage in other high impact learning activities such as community-based activities and internships. Although we identified a large ‘set’ of perceived student outcomes across the varied URE models the generic graduate attributes attained by students through these UREs appeared to be independent of the discipline itself. In most cases, the UREs were available to all students rather than an elite or specialist cohort. This leads us to believe that across a range of disciplinary contexts, there are many ways to use UREs to achieve high levels of engagement of large cohorts of students

Creation of a collegial network between researchers and undergraduate students at The University of Queensland.

It is widely believed that authentic research experiences in science are pivotal in providing context to undergraduate student learning and providing a true sense of what it means to be a 'scientist' (Boyer Report, 1998, Healey & Jenkin,s 2009). Research intensive universities might be expected to have the greatest potential for involving students in authentic research (Turner, Wuetherick & Healey, 2008), however, their students often feel alienated from the research culture (Zamorski, 2002), and frustrated when their participation in the authentic research activities of the university are delayed (Robertson & Blacker, 2006). Therefore universities, and research-intensive universities in particular, are being expected to develop strategies for welcoming students into their research culture during the early undergraduate years. An innovative model for introducing first year undergraduate science students to the research culture of a large research-intensive university has been implemented at The University of Queensland (UQ). The Undergraduate Science Students’ Experience in Research (USSER) Network invites large numbers of undergraduate science students from their first semester at university, to meet with UQ researchers over lunch, tour research facilities on campus, and gain access to the daily workings of research groups through flexible placements. Following the establishment of the USSER Network in March 2008, approximately 170 students have had lunch with over 40 researchers, and approximately 40 students have toured three research facilities. Eighteen research groups have offered work experience placement opportunities, and ten students have undertaken placements in the first or second year of their degree. Participating students and researchers have reported that the USSER Network provides excellent networking opportunities, with a key feature of the program being the small group format of the lunches. Students have expressed overwhelming gratitude for the informal opportunities to talk with researchers, and discover more about the diversity of research being conducted at their institution and the research-based career paths available to them. To foster the growth of the authentic research experience aspect of the USSER Network program in 2009, Placement Workshops have been implemented, with fourteen students participating thus far. In addition, there has been a large amount of interest in the USSER Network across the University, and the planning phase is underway to disseminate the USSER Network model to several research disciplines across UQ. This paper will introduce the key features of this innovative networking program, highlight the successes and plans for improvement of the model, and provide mechanisms for the generalisation of this model beyond science

Reshaping graduate outcomes of science students – The contribution of undergraduate research experiences

Today’s science graduates require substantially different skills compared to yesterday’s graduates given the changing nature of modern science. As higher education institutions struggle to reform curricula and pedagogy, undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are increasingly being incorporated to enhance undergraduate science curricula. This study is situated within a traditional Bachelor of Science degree that offers students some voluntary opportunities to participate in UREs. This study explores two graduating science cohorts (n=272), comparing those who did and did not participate in UREs. A survey investigated student perceptions (importance, confidence and improvements) of five graduate outcomes in the context of science: writing skills, communication skills, quantitative skills (QS), teamwork skills and content knowledge. Cross-tabs and a linear discriminant analysis were used to investigate perception change between the two groups. The notable differences in perception scores in this study were consistently higher in QS, perhaps indicative of UREs emphasising the need for such skills in science or from students gaining increased confidence as a result of utilising QS within an authentic context. Our results reveal little difference in other student outcome areas, which raises questions around the role of UREs as a broad strategy for enhancing the achievement of graduate outcomes in science. This study is limited to a single institution and is focused on specific graduate outcomes, so only limited conclusions can be drawn. However, further research to determine the graduate outcomes gained from UREs would benefit the sector, particularly science disciplines, in the changing focus of government policy on student learning outcomes

Undergraduate Research and Inquiry Across a Zoology Curriculum: an Evaluation Through the Lens of External Peer Review

It has been established that student learning is greatly enhanced as a result of student engagement through research and inquiry based learning. However little emphasis has been given to how relationships between teaching and research are built within faculties or departments. External review of programs is a key strategy for building shared ownership of teaching programs. This project brought together a head of school and an external peer reviewer to carry out an evaluation of undergraduate research and inquiry across a curriculum, and to examine the student benefits. The first stage of the project, reported here, examined the extent to which undergraduate students are exposed to research and inquiry experiences within a department of Zoology. The approach utilized a mixed methodology including surveys and qualitative interviews with teaching staff. The reviewer identified a broad diversity of undergraduate research opportunities for students from first to third year, and a scaffolded approach to developing the students as researchers. In designing these learning activities, the teaching academics aimed to capture authentic research experiences for their students. This review ‘closes a loop’ between teaching and research within a department through critical evaluation of a program of undergraduate research opportunities. Stage Two of this project will focus on the student voices