Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences Research Articles

Online Radiation Experiment on Gamma-Ray Absorption from an Early Quack Device

Using a Geiger–Müller tube, sound-capturing software, and a simple computer program, students measured to reasonable precision the half-value layer of steel in absorbing high-energy gamma rays from a Radium Ore Revigator (pronounced re-vig-a-tor with the accent on “vig”), an early quack medical device. This article describes the process used for conducting online radiation exposure experiments as part of an in-class Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) project, with their instructor acting in a more subservient role carrying out actions requested by the students. The manner in which this student-centered approach can drive similar online radiation experiments without compromising student safety is discussed.

CUREing biochemistry lab monotony.

Undergraduate research experience is critical to success in post-graduate research settings. The recent movement away from "cookbook" style labs to course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) in undergraduate laboratories has allowed universities to provide inclusive research experience while bypassing the limitations of extracurricular apprenticeships. This paper describes an upper-level biochemistry CURE designed to provide students with an introductory experience to graduate-level research by studying a suspected DNA helicase. This CURE is designed to span multiple semesters, where each student cohort builds upon the work of previous semesters. Pre- and post-course surveys were employed to assess student confidence in bench skills, perceptions of the course, and project ownership. The results show that the incorporation of lab meeting-style recitations and poster presentations led to higher project ownership, while overcoming troubleshooting was a significant challenge. Furthermore, confidence in every experimental technique increased significantly in all but one instance. Based on these results, this CURE is providing students with a realistic experience in graduate-level research.

Not the same CURE: Student experiences in course-based undergraduate research experiences vary by graduate teaching assistant

To expose all undergraduate science students to the benefits of participating in research, many universities are integrating course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) into their introductory biology laboratory curriculum. At large institutions, the bulk of introductory labs are instructed by graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). Graduate students, who are often teachers and researchers in training, may vary in their capacity to effectively teach undergraduates via the CURE model. To explore variation in GTA teaching and the subsequent outcomes for students, we used a case study research design at one institution where introductory biology students participate in GTA-taught CURE lab sections. We used multiple data sources, including in-class focus groups, worksheets, and surveys to explore student perceptions of the GTA-led CURE. Students perceived variation both in the ability of their GTAs to create a supportive and comfortable learning environment, and in the instructional priorities of their GTAs. We also compared student and GTA perspectives of student engagement with research elements in the CURE. While GTAs were divided in their perceptions of whether the CURE provided students with the opportunity to experience the element of relevant discovery, most students—regardless of their GTA—did not perceive that relevant discovery was emphasized in the CURE. Finally, individual GTAs seemed to influence how students perceived why they were participating in the CURE. These data imply that students in CUREs may have vastly different and potentially inequitable research experiences depending on their instructor.

C. elegans Gonad Dissection and Freeze Crack for Immunofluorescence and DAPI Staining.

The C. elegans germline makes an excellent model for studying meiosis, in part due to the ease of conducting cytological analyses on dissected animals. Whole mount preparations preserve the structure of meiotic nuclei, and importantly, each gonad arm contains all stages of meiosis, organized in a temporal-spatial progression that makes it easy to identify nuclei at different stages. Adult hermaphrodites have two gonad arms, each organized as a closed tube with proliferating germline stem cells at the distal closed end and cellularized oocytes at the proximal open end, which join in the center at the uterus. Dissection releases one or both gonad arms from the body cavity, allowing the entirety of meiosis to be visualized. Here, a common protocol for immunofluorescence against a protein of interest is presented, followed by DAPI staining to mark all chromosomes. Young adults are immobilized in levamisole and quickly dissected using two syringe needles. After germline extrusion, the sample is fixed before undergoing a freeze crack in liquid nitrogen, which helps permeabilize the cuticle and other tissues. The sample can then be dehydrated in ethanol, rehydrated, and incubated with primary and secondary antibodies. DAPI is added to the sample in the mounting medium, which allows reliable visualization of DNA and makes it easy to find animals to image under a fluorescent microscope. This technique is readily adopted by those familiar with handling C. elegans after a few hours spent practicing the dissection method itself. This protocol has been taught to high-schoolers and undergraduates working in a research lab and incorporated into a course-based undergraduate research experience at a liberal arts college.

An opportunity for remote professional networking to support undergraduate career goals.

Engagement in research as an undergraduate and the availability of mentorship from peers and professionals are effective strategies for improving retention of students in STEM fields. Undergraduates in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder enroll in one of two large introductory course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) as a requirement of the degree. However, more diverse efforts toward formally supporting students seeking to refine their career goals is needed. We designed a networking-based workshop series aimed at providing access to the current and former students who have been recently successful in achieving relevant educational and career goals. This 5-week series focused on (1) how to convert a resume to a curriculum vitae, (2) careers that are accessible with a bachelor's degree in the life sciences, (3) types of research opportunities as an undergraduate and as a post-graduate, (4) the application process and strategies for successful candidacy in medical school applications, and (5) PhD programs and approaches to producing a competitive application. The workshop connected 52 undergraduates with mentors; the majority of participants requested contact information for continued mentoring. Here, we describe the structure of this remote workshop series and highlight results that emphasized the need for such support that may extend beyond pandemic times.

Cancer and chemicals: A research-inspired laboratory exercise based on the Ames test for mutagenicity.

Laboratory courses should cultivate enthusiasm for research and an appreciation for real-world scientific challenges to retain undergraduate students and encourage them to pursue STEM-related careers. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURE) have emerged as an inclusive pedagogical model that facilitates laboratory skill development, while also improving self-efficacy and critical thinking skills. Herein, an innovative research-inspired Ames test for mutagenicity project is described. Students choose their own project theme and investigate substances using both TA98 and TA100 strains of Salmonella typhimurium to evaluate the potential for frameshift mutations and base-pair substitutions, respectively. An appropriate test concentration of each substance is first determined via a cytotoxicity assay, providing an additional learning opportunity. Students also study the mutagenicity of test substance metabolites using commercially available rat liver extracts to simulate metabolism. Overall, these experiences provide a comprehensive research project with high relevancy to human health and real-world importance. This laboratory module was assessed using CURE pre- and post-course surveys to evaluate learning gains and benefits. Assessment data illustrated that students appreciated the discovery aspect of the research project and gained skills related to reading scientific literature and effective poster presentations. Student-reported benefits of research project participation included learning new laboratory techniques, enhanced scientific writing skills, an increased tolerance for and understanding of common research challenges, and the confidence to tackle more complex research endeavors. Narrative feedback from students was very positive, with project highlights being the opportunity to select their own test substances and create new knowledge, as well as the analysis of results.

Gains in Scientific Identity, Scientific Self-Efficacy, and Career Intent Distinguish Upper-Level CUREs from Traditional Experiences in the Classroom.

Attrition from the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pipeline limits the number of graduates needed to meet STEM workforce demand and impedes efforts to diversify the workforce. Identifying factors that underlie academic success and STEM persistence is an important component to increasing the number of STEM graduates. The current study utilizes the social influence process indicators of the Tripartite Integration Model of Social Influence to investigate effects of course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) participation and to predict career intent in a diverse population. CURE participants experienced significant gains in scientific self-efficacy, scientific identity, and career intent, while students in control courses did not. Between-groups analysis showed that scientific self-efficacy and scientific identity increased significantly more for CURE participants than for non-CURE participants. Regression analysis revealed that scientific identity was the only significant predictor of a student's career intent. This work underscores the central importance of prioritizing scientific identity in STEM curricula to improve throughput in the STEM pipeline and illustrates the usefulness of CUREs as viable interventions to positively influence factors that promote STEM career intent.

The “Guns on Campus” Study: A Collaborative Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in Criminal Justice

Course-based undergraduate research experiences, or CUREs, have been shown to promote equitable participation in undergraduate research, an opportunity with potent benefits for first-generation and underrepresented minority students. Yet, CUREs are employed disproportionately within STEM fields, and among upperclassmen, despite evidence of their positive effects for lower-level, social science, and humanities students. The project described herein represents an attempt to democratize access to undergraduate research experiences through the implementation of a multi-section, cross-campus CURE in a general education course in criminal justice. Pre- and post-test surveys demonstrated significant increases in participants’ perceived research ability, confidence, interest, and knowledge, with gains stable across students by race, income, and class standing. We conclude by proposing a framework for implementing course-based research experiences within introductory courses in the social sciences, including introduction to criminal justice.

From genetics to biotechnology: Synthetic biology as a flexible course-embedded research experience.

The need for changing how science is taught and the expansion of undergraduate research experiences is essential to foster critical thinking in the Natural Sciences. Most faculty research programs only involve a small number of upper-level undergraduate students each semester. The course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) model enables more students to take ownership over an independent project and experience authentic research. Further, by creating projects that fit into a curriculum's learning goals and student-oriented outcomes, departments help strengthen critical thinking skills in the classroom. Here, we report on the incorporation of a synthetic biology CURE into a mid-level cellular biology course and two advanced level genetics/molecular biology courses. Synthetic biology involves systematic engineering of novel organisms, such as bacteria and plants, to work as functional devices to solve problems in medicine, agriculture, and manufacturing. The value of synthetic biology and its ultimate utility as a teaching tool relies on reusable, standard genetic parts that can be interchanged using common genetic engineering principles. This Synthetic biology CURE effectively achieves five essential goals: (1) a sense of project ownership; (2) self-efficacy: mastery of a manageable number of techniques; (3) increased tolerance for obstacles through challenging research; (4) increased communication skills; and (5) a sense of belonging in a larger scientific community. Based upon our student assessment data, we demonstrate that this course-based synthetic biology laboratory engages students directly in an authentic research experience and models important elements of collaboration, discovery, iteration, and critical thinking.

A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience Improves Outcomes in Mentored Research.

Infusing undergraduate curricula with authentic research training is an important contemporary challenge. Such exposure typically occurs through mentored research (MR) or course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). In Asian contexts, CURE implementation is rare, while MR is often a graduation requirement. In this study, mentor interviews and mentee focus groups were used to characterize the learning challenges associated with this requirement at a Chinese university. An intensive 6-week CURE was then implemented as an MR preparatory program to help mitigate the identified challenges. This program contained seven site-specific features not typically included in other CUREs, each designed to improve different aspects of student readiness for MR. Post-CURE surveys, focus groups, and interviews demonstrated CURE enrollment significantly improved subsequent MR outcomes. Almost 90% of all enrollees, for example, began their first MR experience in their second year, more than twice the rate of non-enrollees. Enrollees also reported greater confidence in their research skills and more frequent experiences working in multiple labs. This study reports both immediate CURE and downstream MR outcomes, using the former to help explain the latter. A comprehensive CURE implementation process is described, offering a potential model for the design of other programs with similar research enhancement goals.

Development of Bioderived Alternatives to N95 Face Masks in a Remote Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience

Development of Bioderived Alternatives to N95 Face Masks in a Remote Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURES) as a pathway to diversify science.

There is widespread recognition of the need to increase research opportunities in biomedical science for undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds. Here, we describe the implementation of team-based science combined with intensive mentoring to conduct a large-scale project examining the evolution of behavior. This system can be widely applied in other areas of STEM to promote research-intensive opportunities in STEM fields and to promote diversity in science.

Continuous improvement of a bioengineering CURE: Preparing students for a changing world.

Based on recent education reform guidelines to prepare professionals who are able to handle new technological, economic, social, and environmental challenges, pedagogical modifications are deemed necessary by the educators. Specifically, in biology, the rapid changes in the content and biological products demand changes in the curriculum. We aim to address this current need by providing an example of a course that was redesigned to meet the current trends of biological engineering education. In this course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), learning objectives and possible outcomes were developed and assessment mapping was performed to align the course objectives with the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) recommendations. A description of how one can assess authentic inquiry courses while adhering to the recommendations are discussed. For example, in this particular course, students completed weekly reflection assignments, maintained lab notebooks that were graded every week, presented their research to their peers at the end of the semester, and submitted a final paper to be graded. "Holistic" engineering is crucial for the all-around development of a 21st century engineer. Altering the traditional lecturing with more hands-on learning is crucial for the development of professional and communication skills of students. Such alterations could lead to the production of well-rounded life-long learners to serve the upcoming world.

CUREs

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are one way instructors can increase engagement and learning of material. One of the goals in the report Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action is to increase active learning activities. By implementing a CURE or CURE-type model, instructors provide students with the opportunity to develop a better understanding of science content, to apply what they have learned, and make an impact in real-world science. Our classes replicated a subset of the work being completed in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. We had students complete biodiversity surveys through collection and classification of ant species using field and lab techniques. DNA barcoding analyses are commonly used techniques in biology labs worldwide. Polymerase chain reaction and cycle sequencing will be taught to illustrate how the extracted DNA can be amplified at different markers and used to identify species. We utilized the CURE model to have students complete a biodiversity survey of both a southern intermountain-west and a southeastern state through collection, classification, and genotyping and barcoding of ant species.

Integrating museum education into an introductory biology CURE leads to positive perceptions of scientific research and museum exhibitions among students, faculty, and staff

ABSTRACT Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been increasingly incorporated into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curricula, leading to greater inclusion of students in real-world STEM practices. Implicit within the definition of CUREs is the notion that generated research findings will have relevancy to one or more communities beyond the boundaries of the classroom. However, limited studies have examined this dimension of CUREs, and those that have present conflicting results. To address these concerns, we conducted an exploratory mixed methods study to investigate the impact of embedding a museum education experience into a one-semester introductory biology CURE on student, faculty, and staff outcomes. Analysis of student survey data indicated improvement in attitudes, confidence, and science/museum skills following participation in the CURE. Semi-structured interview responses provided by CURE faculty and museum staff revealed similar perceptions, highlighting the value of museums as a novel avenue for engaging CURE students. Collectively, these data suggest that involving and supporting STEM students in the design and installation of museum exhibits has the potential to be a powerful tool for achieving broader relevance in CUREs.

Training for Responsible and Ethical Management of Lab Notebooks in a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience.

ABSTRACTCourse-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) represent an innovative educational strategy to engage more science, technology, engineering, and math undergraduates in authentic research experiences. Research shows that student participation in CUREs results in positive student outcomes similar to those for traditional research experiences. However, less is known about how the research focus of a CURE or the varied emphasis on certain CURE design elements can impact student outcomes. CUREs provide a unique opportunity to infuse training essential for future researchers. Although responsible and ethical conduct is an important component of research and scientific practice, limited attention has been paid to incorporation and assessment of responsible and ethical conduct of research (RECR) in CUREs. Here, we address the gap in CURE RECR training by presenting an activity that can be easily built into any CURE or inquiry-based lab to train students in RECR relative to data management, specifically, the lab notebook. In this activity, students are asked to replicate or execute an experiment with only the records of a previous student’s lab notebook. This previous student’s notebook is purposefully designed by the instructor to miss important information that might not seem obvious to students but would prevent a future researcher from replicating the experiment. The idea is to create an early understanding of delayed gratification for students when it comes to responsible and ethical maintenance of lab notebooks. This activity is paired with a pre- and postactivity lecture and debriefing to instruct, guide, and reflect with students on RECR surrounding lab notebooks as well as iterative practice and assessment of lab notebooks throughout the semester.

A course-based undergraduate research experience to illustrate the early stages of the drug discovery process.

We have implemented at the University of Málaga (Spain) a new course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) to involve undergraduate students of Science in a real-world scientific problem. Within the topic "Let's find acetylcholinesterase inhibitors as new drug candidates for the treatment of Alzheimer's", students have been engaged into the early stages of the drug discovery process. Working in groups of 4-5 persons, they have searched information in databases, proposed solutions to the driving question and designed protocols to carry them out in vitro and in silico. Overall, the implementation of this experience has been very satisfactory in terms of academic performance and students' perception. This article reports a session from the virtual international 2021 IUBMB/ASBMB workshop, "Teaching Science on Big Data".

Implementing the Elements of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) in a First-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory with Bioremediation Relevance

Implementing the Elements of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) in a First-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Laboratory with Bioremediation Relevance

Diversifying the genomic data science research community.

Over the past 20 years, the explosion of genomic data collection and the cloud computing revolution have made computational and data science research accessible to anyone with a web browser and an internet connection. However, students at institutions with limited resources have received relatively little exposure to curricula or professional development opportunities that lead to careers in genomic data science. To broaden participation in genomics research, the scientific community needs to support these programs in local education and research at underserved institutions (UIs). These include community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribal colleges and universities that support ethnically, racially, and socioeconomically underrepresented students in the United States. We have formed the Genomic Data Science Community Network to support students, faculty, and their networks to identify opportunities and broaden access to genomic data science. These opportunities include expanding access to infrastructure and data, providing UI faculty development opportunities, strengthening collaborations among faculty, recognizing UI teaching and research excellence, fostering student awareness, developing modular and open-source resources, expanding course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), building curriculum, supporting student professional development and research, and removing financial barriers through funding programs and collaborator support.

Virtual Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract Translation of research to practice is essential for competent practitioners but requires skills and experience in reading and understanding research. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) may be a means of developing research skills for all students in a course. For successful CUREs, faculty evaluate students’ research skill development and decide on a project that appropriately promotes student learning. In this case, we chose an open-ended project. We then evaluated the experiences of music students (music therapy, music performance, and music digital media) as they participated in a virtual CURE during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results of a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design with two surveys and open-ended responses of the whole group (n = 22) and a focus group with a volunteer subsample of students (n = 7) indicated important gains in understanding research articles, writing a scholarly paper, understanding the relevance of research to their coursework, and developing communication and teamwork skills. Student suggestions for improvement included clarification of the expectations and timelines, particularly in a virtual setting, and better distribution of effort during the semester. Overall, a virtual CURE may support student research skill development and help them become more effective research consumers.