Course-based Undergraduate Research Research Articles

In Vivo Visualization of Calcium Transients during Fertilization and Early Development in C. elegans.

Calcium is an important signaling molecule during the oocyte-to-embryo transition (OET) and early embryogenesis. The hermaphroditic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans provides several unique advantages for the study of the OET as it is transparent and has an ordered gonad that produces one mature oocyte every ~23 min at 20 °C. We have modified the genetically encoded calcium indicator jGCaMP7s to fluorescently indicate the moment of fertilization within a living organism. We have termed this reporter "CaFE" for Calcium during Fertilization in C. elegans. The CaFE reporter wasengineered into a safe harbor locus in single copy, has no significant impact on physiology or fecundity, and produces a robust signal upon fertilization. Here, a series of protocols is presented for utilizing the CaFE reporter as an in vivo tool for dissecting the OET and embryogenesis. We include methods to synchronize worms, examine the effects of RNAi knockdown, mount worms for imaging, and to visualize calcium in oocytes and embryos. Additionally, we present the generation of additional worm strains to aid in this type of analysis. Demonstrating the utility of the CaFE reporter to visualize the timing of fertilization, we report that double ovulation occurs when ipp-5 is targeted by RNAi and that only the first oocyte undergoes immediate fertilization. Furthermore, the discovery of single-cell calcium transients during early embryogenesis is reported here, demonstrating that the CaFE reporter persists into early development. Importantly, the CaFE reporter in worms is simple enough to use for incorporation into course-based undergraduate research (CURE) laboratory classes. The CaFE reporter, coupled with the ordered gonad and ease of RNAi in worms, facilitates inquiry into the cell-cell dynamics required to regulate internal fertilization and early embryogenesis.

Guest Editorial: Reflections on Course-Based Undergraduate Research

Guest Editorial: Reflections on Course-Based Undergraduate Research

Biology Beyond the Classroom: Experiential Learning Through Authentic Research, Design, and Community Engagement.

This paper introduces the collection of manuscripts from the symposium, "Biology Beyond the Classroom: Experiential Learning through Authentic Research, Design, and Community Engagement," presented at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. The following papers showcase innovative approaches for engaging undergraduate students in experiential science learning experiences. Specifically, we focus on three high-impact practices that allow students to take their learning outside of the classroom for increased relevance and authenticity: (1) Course-Based Undergraduate Research, (2) Digital Fabrication in Makerspaces, and (3) Service or Community-based Learning Opportunities. Although each topic is unique, all provide an alternative approach to the traditional lecture and have proven effective at appealing to diverse groups of students who are traditionally underrepresented in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics workforce.

The “Crime on Campus” Study: Course-Based Undergraduate Research and Student Confidence

Undergraduate Research Activity (URA) has been shown to add value to numerous higher education programs, driving improvements in course learning, campus engagement, and college retention. Yet, URA opportunities disproportionately accrue to higher-achieving students, upperclassmen, and STEM majors, even as prior research has shown positive effects for underclassmen, individuals at less elite institutions, and social science majors. Criminal justice students specifically may enjoy academic and career benefits from URA. This paper reports on the evaluation of a multi-stage, student-led primary research project assigned during an introductory criminal justice course; beyond demonstrating project feasibility, we identify the specific challenges faced by underclassmen in conducting research, and capture the effects of URA on students’ research confidence using both closed- and open-ended reflections. A majority of students reported increased confidence for every research skill practiced throughout the semester. Still, qualitative data showed students continue to struggle with the social aspects of primary research.

Reflections on Course-Based Undergraduate Research in Organic and Biochemistry during COVID-19

Faculty in the Department of Chemistry and Physics at the University of New England (UNE) have recently transformed introductory and advanced chemistry curricula by embedding the high impact practice of undergraduate research. Course Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) have provided experiential learning opportunities for over 272 students over the past three years in three different courses: University Organic Chemistry I/II (CHE 250/1 with lab), Fundamentals of Biochemistry (CHE 310/310L), and Advanced Biochemistry Laboratory (CHE 450). This communication discusses how three different faculty members in three different courses adapted workflow and curricula of chemistry CUREs laboratories to a virtual environment as dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the advantages and disadvantages of curricular adaptations are discussed considering both the faculty and student experience and the importance of meeting originally defined student learning outcomes.

A Multi‐year Biochemistry Lab Experiment Using a Putative Enzyme from Arabidopsis thaliana

Until relatively recently, a typical biochemistry laboratory course format included a series of one to two‐week experiments that exposed students to the “traditional” biochemical techniques of protein purification and kinetic analyses using classic enzymes like alkaline phosphatase or alcohol dehydrogenase. However, there is ample evidence that course‐based undergraduate research (CURE) leads to increased retention and satisfaction, particularly for underrepresented groups, and as a result, there has been a rise in these types of courses for undergraduate students. In a biochemistry lab course this is often accomplished one of two ways ‐ characterizing a novel system (i.e. enzyme, substrate, reaction, or pathway) or studying a known system in a novel way (e.g. introducing a new analytical technique). Either way, it is generally difficult to maintain a level of experimental novelty year after year without redesigning some aspect of the class. This project, using the CURE model, extended over the course of three years and has the potential to extend beyond that. The experimental goal of this multi‐year project was for students to purify and characterize a putative hydroxyacid dehydrogenase from Arabidopsis thaliana, which at the start of this project was uncharacterized. To reach this goal, students in year 1 tested purification and characterization methods using a homologous enzyme from Pseudomonas denitrificans based on methods described in the primary literature. Given the results of work in year 1, the subsequent class in year 2, purified and characterized the enzyme from A. thaliana alongside students working with P. denitrificans. This was so that students had reference data to make conclusions about the quality of their own work and that published in the literature. Once the purification and characterization methods had been worked out, the next class of students in year 3, set out to more fully characterize the enzyme of A. thaliana through a side‐by‐side comparison between their native protein and a protein with a single‐amino acid mutation, which they also generated and purified. Positive outcomes of this multi‐year project are seen through increased student engagement and interest and extend beyond the class as students share their appreciation for being well prepared for summer research experiences, graduate school, and post‐college employment. Additionally, this project allows the instructor to extend their scholarly work into the classroom, maximizing time and resources to advance research productivity. Since the start of this project, the enzyme from A. thaliana was fully characterized by another research group using a different expression system. Future courses will examine the differences in enzyme function based on plasmid selection and gene length using the construct from the author's lab and that which was generated by the other research group.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Power of PCR pre‐labs and a co‐mentoring community group: Increasing impacts on skills and confidence

Science concept recall and engagement take place through individual pre‐lab preparation, in‐lab partnerships, hands‐on training, and social learning communities within the Social Ecological Model and Cognitive Theory frameworks. STEM majors are introduced to key concepts and skills at several stages in pre‐requisite courses required for later enrollment in our Biochemistry Laboratory course. Because this curriculum assumes high recall, we measured student understanding and recall in a series of pre‐skill tests at the lab course onset: Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) ability to create potential primers for a strand of DNA; math dilution skills and ability to calculate molarity for a buffer solution; and other concepts assumed to be easily recalled for application to lab course exercises. Per common practice, we employed pre‐lab exercises to help refresh students' memories and ensure lab preparation. A surprising gap in understanding of PCR was detected, so pre‐lab interventions were investigated along with near‐peer mentoring in a co‐mentoring community group to promote learning inclusion.Spanning iterative semesters (Fall 2016–Fall 2018) of an upper‐level Biochemistry lab course, we used pre‐post assessments of de‐identified student data per IRB (sample size n=56–90 per semester) to investigate 1) recall, 2) iterative versions of pre‐lab prompts for enhanced skill and confidence, and 3) different student outcomes per intervention. Skill assessments were qualitatively coded and hand‐scored for correctness, analyzed, and matched to paired pre‐post student self‐report in a 5‐point Likert scale of confidence in theory and confidence in skill: Doing PCR, Designing PCR Primers, Translation of DNA, Dilution Calculations, Molarity Calculations, etc.Student recall on the first lab day varied widely in pre‐assessments. Confidence in the theory and skill trended with higher incoming self‐reported confidence than actual ability to design a primer, and higher confidence with theory than with skill. Results varied among no pre‐lab, paper‐based, and online links with videos suggesting overall increased success in skill and confidence measured in post‐course assessments, yet post‐course student outcomes were still suboptimal. An additional post‐course intervention recruiting students for a co‐mentoring community model with a more course‐based undergraduate research (CUR) approach provided deeper learning out of class, social support, and additional outcomes.Use of pre‐labs was valuable to promote recall; however, pre‐lab effectiveness required deeper prompts. Simply reading and doing PCR in lab was not sufficient, nor was repeated lecture, discussion, or quizzing. The co‐mentoring community model extended the course learning to more applied learning and broader impacts building STEM learning and inclusion.Support or Funding InformationUniversity of Minnesota Grant‐in‐AidThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Fatal Attraction: Visual Cues in Attracting Prey to Carnivorous Plants

Exposing students to carnivorous plants within course-based undergraduate research can heighten student interest in plants and create a foundation on which to build future student projects. Carnivorous plants derive nutrients by trapping animals, but unlike most other predators, they lack mobility and are thought to attract prey through a combination of visual and olfactory cues. As part of a semester-long undergraduate research project for a junior/senior-level plant ecology class, students used carnivorous plants and artificial traps to test the importance of visual cues in the capture of wild-type and visually impaired (w1118) Drosophila melanogaster. Over the 13-week semester, students worked in groups to generate questions, design experiments, analyze data, and present results both orally and in a written manuscript. A major focus was developing students' ability to compare their results with the literature. Upon completion, manuscripts were uploaded to a digital archive for use by future students in designing projects. This database of readily accessible past projects provides students with an accessible literature base that enables them to build upon previous work in a way that more accurately reflects real-world research.

Citizen Science: The Small World Initiative Improved Lecture Grades and California Critical Thinking Skills Test Scores of Nonscience Major Students at Florida Atlantic University.

Course-based undergraduate research is known to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics student achievement. We tested “The Small World Initiative, a Citizen-Science Project to Crowdsource Novel Antibiotic Discovery” to see if it also improved student performance and the critical thinking of non-science majors in Introductory Biology at Florida Atlantic University (a large, public, minority-dominant institution) in academic year 2014–15. California Critical Thinking Skills Test pre- and posttests were offered to both Small World Initiative (SWI) and control lab students for formative amounts of extra credit. SWI lab students earned significantly higher lecture grades than control lab students, had significantly fewer lecture grades of D+ or lower, and had significantly higher critical thinking posttest total scores than control students. Lastly, more SWI students were engaged while taking critical thinking tests. These results support the hypothesis that utilizing independent course-based undergraduate science research improves student achievement even in nonscience students.

Course-based Undergraduate Research—It Can Be Accomplished!

This article describes a senior seminar course in the Health and Human Performance (HHP) Department at the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. All students in the HHP department are required to complete the course. The emphases within HHP include physical education, health education, and exercise and sport science. In this course students learn progressively more about the research process throughout the semester. It culminates in a group research project and presentation.