Undergraduate Institutions Research Articles

“I Fell in Love with Physics and Wanted to Share that Love with Others:” A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Faculty and Student Perspectives on Choosing to Teach Physics

ABSTRACT There is a high need for well-qualified teachers across all STEM content areas, especially in secondary physics. Our work examines why individuals choose to pursue physics teaching. This study, at a primarily undergraduate institution in the Northeastern United States, uses a modified version of Watt and Richardson’s Factors Influencing Teacher Choice (FIT-Choice) model as an analytical frame to describe why individuals choose to teach physics. The study employed a mixed methods convergent design approach. Qualitative data sources include transcribed interviews (with physics/secondary education majors and physics faculty), providing multiple perspectives on students’ choice to pursue teaching, and one open-ended survey item. Quantitative data sources include a survey based on Watt and Richardson’s FIT-Choice model administered to all physics undergraduate majors at our institution (those enrolled in a physics/secondary education dual major and other physics majors). Our findings revealed several clear trends including: prior teaching and learning experiences were critical in helping an individual choose to become a teacher; future teachers reported a clear love for the subject (physics); specific skills and expertise are needed to effectively teach secondary physics; and physics teaching is a mechanism for enhancing social equity. There was some discussion of negative stereotypes about teaching careers, but this was relatively small compared to other trends. Implications for this work could include creating tools to aid in recruiting a larger pool of highly qualified secondary physics teachers.

Baltimore SCIART: A Fully Virtual Undergraduate Research Experience at the Interface of Computational Chemistry and Art

From its inception in 2016 through 2019, the Baltimore SCIART Consortium offered an annual 10-week interdisciplinary summer research program for undergraduate students. Each year, the program mentored approximately 10 students, many from primarily undergraduate institutions including minority serving institutions and historically black colleges and universities. Throughout the sessions, the students were exposed to the career paths of art conservation and art conservation science as they worked in the laboratories of scientists, engineers, art conservators, and art conservation scientists at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Johns Hopkins University, and the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. Preparations for the 2020 program were underway when the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the undergraduate research paradigm to a virtual experience. An in-person, laboratory-based program was no longer an option, and this challenged the SCIART team to investigate novel ways to offer a rigorous, engaging undergraduate research program in a fully virtual setting. The result was an intensive, three-week pilot program in which four SCIART students learned about and successfully applied open-source periodic density functional theory software packages to explore the interactions between small molecule adsorbates and mineral-based surfaces relevant to art conservation. This case study exemplifies how educators and research leaders were able to strategically pivot and provide an adapted curriculum for a unique, interdisciplinary, and fully virtual undergraduate research experience. The implication is a potential (scalable) model for culturally engaging research opportunities for historically underrepresented students in STEM, both during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

PD33-10 COVID-19 DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY ALTER GEOGRAPHIC DISPERSAL OF APPLICANTS IN THE 2021 UROLOGY MATCH

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: It was hypothesized that restrictions caused by COVID-19 (virtual interviewing, loss of away rotations) may cause a clustering of applicants matching in regions closer to where they were raised or attended medical school. We utilized data from the urology match to compare dispersal patterns between applicants matching during the COVID-19 cycle (2021) and those matching in the 5 prior application cycles (2016-2020). METHODS: Publicly available data was retrospectively collected on applicants who matched to urology residencies. Variables included longitude/latitude data for each home state, undergraduate institution, medical school, and residency. The primary endpoint was distance (miles, as the crow flies) between medical school and residency. Distances were calculated using haversine formula. Analyses were conducted using R statistics v4.04. Institutional review board approval was not required as data was public information (CFR 45x46.104). RESULTS: Of the 1,965 applicants matching between 2016- 2021, medical school was identified for 1,956 (99.7%) applicants, undergraduate program for 1,551 (79%) applicants, and home state for 1,351 (69%) applicants. Comparing the COVID-19 cycle to the 5 prior cycles (Table 1), there was no significant difference in the median distance between medical school and residency, undergraduate university and residency, or home state and residency. Similarly, there was no significant difference in the proportion of applicants matching at their home institution, matching from medical schools without a home urology program, matching from medical schools with a historically low volume of urology applicants (<1 matched applicant per year), or matching from a D.O. program. Likewise, there was no difference in the proportion of applicants matching in the same state as their medical school, same state in which they were raised, or same AUA section as their medical school (Table 1). CONCLUSIONS: Virtual interviewing and the loss of in-person clinical rotations did not significantly hamper an applicant's ability to match at program outside their geographic region. These data underscore the viability of the virtual application process and may provide reassurance that the environment created by COVID-19 has not constrained the geographic freedom of applicants.

Automated Writing Assessments Measure Undergraduate Learning after Completion of a Computer-Based Cellular Respiration Tutorial.

The focus of biology education has shifted from memorization to conceptual understanding of core biological concepts such as matter and energy relationships. To examine undergraduate learning about matter and energy, we incorporated constructed-response (CR) questions into an interactive computer-based tutorial. The objective of this tutorial is to teach students about matter and energy and help dispel common misconceptions through the context of cellular respiration. We used a constructed-response classifier (CRC) tool to categorize ideas in responses to three CR questions and measure changes in student thinking about cellular respiration. Our data set includes 841 undergraduates from 19 geographically diverse institutions including two-year colleges, primarily undergraduate institutions, and research-intensive colleges and universities. We found students from all institution types included more scientific ideas in CRs post-tutorial. Students used an average of 2.1 ideas in CRs and frequently used both scientific and developing ideas. We found this mixed thinking persisted after the tutorial regardless of institution type. Students’ multiple-choice (MC) selections were correlated with their CRs, but CRs revealed more mixed thinking than would be inferred from MC responses. Our study shows a CRC tool can measure student learning after a computer-based tutorial and provides more complete information than MC responses.

Effectiveness of an E-module at teaching novice learners critical thinking skills related to dentistry.

Technological advances and pedagogical shifts toward active learning have led dental academics to explore alternatives to traditional didactic lectures, yet questions remain regarding the effectiveness of new modalities at both relaying foundational knowledge and inspiring critical thinking. Here, we developed an integrative e-learning module on the subject of bone growth and recruited novice learners from undergraduate institutions to participate. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of learning modality on novice learners' ability to apply newly acquired knowledge to critical thinking exercises related to dentistry. In the fall of 2019, 42 undergraduate students from University of Nebraska and Nebraska Wesleyan University campuses voluntarily participated in the study involving a pretest, intervention, posttest, and retention test with survey and results were analyzed. Our data reveal a significant difference in mean pre- and posttest scores within delivery group of both traditional lecture and e-module cohorts (p<0.0001) and no statistically significant difference between cohorts in posttest scores. Similarly, there was no significant difference in student performance on higher-level cognitive skill questions between cohorts, indicating that students learning via e-module were able to apply foundational knowledge to clinical scenarios similarly to students learning via content-expert lecture discussions. The authors shed light on an opportunity to integrate e-learning into dental education, relieving time constraints for faculty and meeting the needs of our tech-savvy students, without compromising the fostering of critical thinking skills in future dentists.

Vignette--Lessons Learned from Adapting Professional Development to Fit a Remote, Academic-Year REU

The COVID-19 pandemic precluded the summer supplemental REUs that were planned as part of a collaborative NSF grant. Instead, a hybrid, cross-country, REU experience during the academic year was created. The fellowships (20 hours per week for 20 weeks) involved three faculty mentoring five students from Florida State University (a research university) and Pacific University (a primarily undergraduate institution) in Oregon.

Adapting Undergraduate Research to Remote Work to Increase Engagement.

Demand for undergraduate research experiences typically outstrips the available laboratory positions, which could have been exacerbated during the remote work conditions imposed by the SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic. This report presents a collection of examples of how undergraduates have been engaged in research under pandemic work restrictions. Examples include a range of projects related to fluid dynamics, cancer biology, nanomedicine, circadian clocks, metabolic disease, catalysis, and environmental remediation. Adaptations were made that included partnerships between remote and in-person research students and students taking on more data analysis and literature surveys, as well as data mining, computational, and informatics projects. In many cases, these projects engaged students who otherwise would have worked in traditional bench research, as some previously had. Several examples of beneficial experiences are reported, such as the additional time spent studying the literature, which gave students a heightened sense of project ownership, and more opportunities to integrate feedback into writing and research. Additionally, the more intentional and regular communication necessitated by remote work proved beneficial for all team members. Finally, online seminars and conferences have made participation possible for many more students, especially those at predominantly undergraduate institutions. Participants aim to adopt these beneficial practices in our research groups even after pandemic restrictions end.

Improving Access to Medical Education for Underrepresented and Low-Income Students.

To the Editor: A growing body of literature reports improved patient outcomes with more diverse health care teams. 1 However, medical school matriculants from ethnic and racial minority backgrounds have grown by less than 2% since 1980, a rate disproportionate to their growth in the U.S. population and to the 47% overall increase in medical school applications. 2 Similarly, only 5% of students hail from the lowest quintile of household income. 3 Barrier analyses show that insufficient information about health careers and the lack of close mentors in health care are obstacles to students pursuing health careers. 4 To address these gaps in information and social capital, we and other students attending the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania designed The UpLIFT Guide to Medical School Admissions, 5 a free, comprehensive guide that encompasses the entire medical school application process, including (1) preparing an application, (2) applying and interviewing, and (3) navigating financial aid and school selection processes. The guide provides targeted support to underrepresented, low-income, and first-time students, hence the name UpLIFT. For example, initial users have noted that our guide addresses topics such as how to frame disadvantaged identities, which is particularly important in their applications. To our knowledge, this is the first such free and comprehensive resource that specifically aims to improve access to and help reduce disparities within medical education. The guide was launched online on August 27, 2020. Over 13 weeks, the resource has been viewed 7,223 times by 3,373 unique users at 34 undergraduate institutions. Future possibilities for this guide include its use as an official premedical mentorship text for peer premedical mentorship programs and its adaptation to multiple companion media platforms, such as video and podcasts. We hope this guide—and other similar resources such as pipeline programs and targeted mentorship groups—can equip underrepresented students to matriculate to medical school and enter the physician workforce. We urge other medical students and medical schools to pioneer similar initiatives that engage and help uplift medical school applicants and students from underrepresented and low-income backgrounds.

The COVID-19 Residency Application Cycle Did Not Affect Geographic Dispersal Patterns Among Applicants Entering the Urology Match: A Quantitative Mapping Study

To assess whether pandemic-related restrictions with video-based interviewing increased geographic clustering of urology applicants matching at a residency program near where they were raised or attended medical school. We utilized publicly available data from the urology match to compare dispersal patterns between applicants matching during the COVID-19 application cycle (2021) and those matching in the 5 prior application cycles (2016-2020). Variables included home state, undergraduate institution, medical school, and residency. Latitudes and longitudes were obtained for each institution and home state. The primary endpoint was distance (miles, as the most direct path) between medical school and residency program. We also assessed dispersal patterns by American Urological Association section. Of the 1965 applicants matching to a urology program between 2016 and 2021, medical school was identified for 1956 (99.7%) applicants, undergraduate program for 1551 (79%) applicants, and home state for 1351 (69%) applicants. Comparing the COVID-19 application cycle to the 5 prior application cycles, there was no significant difference in the median distance between medical school and residency, undergraduate university and residency, or home state and residency. Similarly, there was no significant difference in the proportion of applicants matching at their home institution, matching from medical schools without a home urology program, matching from medical schools with a historically low volume of urology applicants (<1 matched applicant per year), or matching from a D.O. Virtual interviewing and the loss of in-person clinical rotations did not significantly alter dispersal patterns or hamper an applicant's ability to match at program outside their geographic region.

Medical Students’ Perception Regarding E- Learning during Covid-19 Lockdown Period

Background and Objectives: Due to Covid-19 lockdown period undergraduate medical institutions across the country are moving towards e-learning for continuity of education. The purpose of this study is to determine the perceptions of students towards e-learning and to analyze medical students’ perception on e-learning vs. conventional learning.&#x0D; Materials and Method: This was a descriptive cross sectional study conducted by distributing an online semi-structured questionnaire consisting Likert scale to undergraduate medical students of Kathmandu Medical College. Data assembled from the survey were analyzed and Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) 24 version software was used for data analysis.&#x0D; Result: A total of 273 students were enrolled in this study. Most of the students, 83.9% (229) had the perception that conventional teaching method was the best method for learning as compared to e-learning method 16.1% (44). The students mentioned that conventional method of learning is more effective to increase knowledge than e -learning (M= 3.87, M= 2.80) which was statistically significant (p=0.000).&#x0D; Conclusion: E-learning was the only option for students to study during lockdown period. But students preferred conventional method of learning as compared to e-learning. It might be due to some disadvantages of e-learning, eg. Technical difficulties, lack of interaction with teacher and patients, etc. So, these measures have to be addressed for improving e-learning for betterment of teaching-learning activity during these types of circumstances in future.

Physics Graduate Record Exam does not help applicants “stand out”

One argument for keeping the physics GRE is that it can help applicants who might otherwise be missed in the admissions process stand out. In this work, we evaluate whether this claim is supported by physics graduate school admissions decisions. We used admissions data from five PhD-granting physics departments over a 2-year period (N=2537) to see how the fraction of applicants admitted varied based on their physics GRE scores. We compared applicants with low GPAs to applicants with higher GPAs, applicants from large undergraduate universities to applicants from smaller undergraduate universities, and applicants from selective undergraduate institutions to applicants from less selective undergraduate institutions. We also performed a mediation and moderation analysis to provide statistical rigor and to better understand the previous relationships. We find that for applicants who might otherwise have been missed (e.g. have a low GPA or attended a small or less selective school) having a high physics GRE score did not seem to increase the applicant's chances of being admitted to the schools. However, having a low physics GRE score seemed to penalize otherwise competitive applicants. Thus, our work suggests that the physics GRE does not, in fact, help applicants who might otherwise be missed stand out.

Home Field Advantage: Assessing the Geographic Trends of the Plastic Surgery Residency Match during the COVID-19 Pandemic

ObjectiveIn previous plastic surgery residency match cycles, in-person activities at other institutions, such as away rotations, have facilitated matches outside of an applicant's home program or region. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, limited these in-person opportunities. Therefore, we hypothesized that applicants of the 2021 cycle would be more likely to match into programs with which they have existing geographic connections when compared to previous years.DesignResidency websites and social media accounts were searched for resident names and educational information for those matching in 2021 and 2015 to 2020. Outcomes included proportion of applicants matching at the program affiliated with their medical school (“home program”), or matching in the same state or United States Census Map region as their medical school or undergraduate institution. Subgroup analyses were stratified by program region, incoming resident class size, and Doximity residency reputation ranking.SettingColumbia University (New York).ParticipantsFor the 2015 to 2020 residency cycles, 963 residents were identified from 78 (95.1%) programs. For 2021, 159 incoming interns were identified from 70 (82.3%) programs.Results2021 applicants matched into their home program at higher rates than 2015-2020 applicants (36.0% vs. 24.1%, p = 0.019). This trend was similar regardless of program region or size. This increase was significant for programs ranked outside of the top 30 (41.5% vs. 26.4%, p = 0.032), but not for the top 30 programs (32.1% vs. 22.3%, p = 0.128). Excluding those who matched at their home program, 2015 to 2020 and 2021 applicants matched in the same state or region of their medical school or undergraduate institution at similar rates (p > 0.05 for all).ConclusionsDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, plastic surgery residency programs matched more applicants from affiliated medical schools than in previous years. This may result from lack of in-person opportunities for applicants at other programs. Alternative relationship-building opportunities may facilitate broader geographic connections in the 2022 cycle.

Do No Harm: Graduate Admissions Letters of Recommendation and Unconscious Bias

Purpose: Faculty members commonly write letters of recommendation (LOR) for students. Although letters can be helpful, they may do more harm if they include language that can negatively bias readers. The purpose of this article is to examine LORs written for Black applicants to speech-language pathology graduate programs for the presence of phrases that may bias readers (PBRs). Method: Using data from our program, we analyzed LORs for evidence of bias. Results: Across the 161 LORs, there were 202 instances of PBRs. The most PBRs were grindstone adjectives and doubt raisers/hedges. PBRs were not related to applicants' GPA, undergraduate institution type, or LOR word length. PBRs were related to admission offers. Conclusions: Results suggest a negative impact of PBRs in LORs written for Black applicants. Implications are discussed and recommendations for writing less-biased LORs are provided.

Chemistry as if students matter: from student to student’s learning outcomes

As a tribute to the legacy of Dr. Margaret-Ann Armour, we report on an initiative that involves university undergraduate students directly and meaningfully in the articulation and implementation of student learning outcomes for their chemistry programs. Student learning outcomes describe what a student should know, do, and value at the end of a learning experience. The initiative was carried out over several years at the King’s University in Edmonton, a small undergraduate liberal arts and science institution with a Chemical Institute of Canada accredited B.Sc. chemistry program. Senior students were involved in articulating their own learning outcomes for their chemistry program and mapping them onto the courses in the program. The resultant heat map provided an interesting visual tool to help the learning community assess strengths and gaps in coverage, as perceived by students. The authors then led a workshop at the Chemistry Education program of a Canadian Society for Chemistry national chemistry meeting to share experiences among Canadian chemistry programs on the diverse ways faculty and programs articulate, implement, and assess student learning outcomes. We conclude with suggestions for steps that departments and programs can take to meaningfully implement student learning outcomes in the design, review, and modification of chemistry programs, including benchmarking those learning outcomes with international outcomes published as a result of an IUPAC project.

American Association of Immunologists Recommendations for an Undergraduate Course in Immunology.

Identifying the "essential" components of an undergraduate immunology lecture course can be daunting because of the varying postgraduate pathways students take. The American Association of Immunologists Education Committee commissioned an Ad Hoc Committee, representing undergraduate, graduate, and medical institutions as well as the biotechnology community, to develop core curricular recommendations for teaching immunology to undergraduates. In a reiterative process involving the American Association of Immunologists teaching community, 14 key topics were identified and expanded to include foundational concepts, subtopics and examples, and advanced subtopics, providing a flexible list for curriculum development and avenues for higher-level learning. Recommendations for inclusive and antiracist teaching that outline opportunities to meet the needs of diverse student populations were also developed. The consensus recommendations can be used to accommodate various course settings and will bridge undergraduate and graduate teaching and prepare diverse students for subsequent careers in the biomedical field.

Postbaccalaureate terminal degree and career choices of students who performed undergraduate research.

This study analyzed terminal degree and career choices of students who performed undergraduate research. In one analysis, the study compared terminal degree and career choices between a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) and traditional non-course-based undergraduate research experiences at one primarily undergraduate institution (PUI). Students who pursued postbaccalaureate programs chose terminal degrees at levels exceeding 75%, with no significant difference between a CURE experience and a traditional research experience. Analysis of terminal degree and career choices at four PUIs providing traditional research experiences showed a marked difference in the number of students pursuing terminal degrees. Two PUIs showed rates > 75%, whereas students at the other two PUIs pursued terminal degrees <50% of the time. The majority of students not pursuing terminal degrees chose M.S. degrees in education and healthcare. An analysis was also performed among students participating in traditional summer undergraduate research on a research-intensive university (RIU) campus with a medical school. Students were accepted from two programs, an NIH IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) program recruiting students from the RIU and an NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program recruiting undergraduates from rural PUIs and minority-serving institutions, particularly tribal colleges. Analysis showed that >70% of the students who pursued postbaccalaureate programs chose terminal degrees. INBRE undergraduates displayed a marked preference for the M.D. degree (73.9% vs. 17.4%), whereas the REU students chose the Ph.D. degree (75.0% vs. 22.9%). American Indian students were also analyzed separately for career choice and showed an equal preference for the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees when pursuing postbaccalaureate education. Overall, the results provide evidence that undergraduate student research stimulates student careers in areas needed by the nation's citizen stakeholders.

A cross-case analysis of developing program sustainability and institutionalization in early stages of a multisite biomedical student diversity initiative

BackgroundGrant funding often drives innovative programming in efforts to enhance diversity in biomedical fields, yet strategies for sustainability of grant-funded biomedical intervention are not well understood. Additionally, as funding agencies shift toward supporting institutional change to biomedical training, less is known about the extent to which sustainability strategies can support long-term institutionalization of the original goals of the grant-funded initiative. The purpose of this study is twofold: to identify strategies used by grant-funded programs for promoting sustainability, and to examine the interrelations between the concepts of sustainability and institutionalization during early stages of grant-funded biomedical career training efforts.MethodsWe employed a multiple case study design and cross-case analysis using interviews of program administrators and participants from 10 undergraduate institutions that received Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD) awards funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).ResultsBUILD sites engaged in the following strategies to develop program sustainability: 1) scaling and adapting to expand programmatic impact, 2) identifying additional funding and cost-cutting measures, 3) developing and maintaining infrastructure and structural operations, 4) leveraging relationships and with intra-and inter-institutional partners, and 5) and addressing hiring, policies, and reward systems at the institution. Senior administrative support supported program sustainability and early institutionalization, although we also identified situations where participants felt that they were on track for sustainable changes without administrative support or institutional change. Of the strategies identified, those that involve organizational and infrastructural changes contribute to early stages of institutionalization.ConclusionsThis study contributes to literature on organizational change by providing evidence of distinctions and interrelations between program sustainability efforts and institutionalization of change efforts in that some sustainability strategies can overlap with strategies to move toward institutionalization. The findings indicate the importance of program administrators developing early sustainability plans that also lead to institutionalization, as well as an opportunity for funding agencies to develop technical assistance on sustainability, organizational change, and institutionalization as a resource to support program administrators’ efforts toward making lasting, structural change on their campuses.

Community‐supported Development of an Annual Exam Assessing Undergraduate Competencies in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Each year, volunteers from the biochemistry and molecular (BMB) community come together to construct and score the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Certification Exam, a tool provided to ASBMB-accredited programs for assessing key competencies in the discipline. Grounded in a community consensus about core BMB concept and skill areas, the annual exam is designed to evaluate undergraduate students’ competence in the areas of energy and metabolism; information storage and transfer; macromolecular structure, function, and assembly; and skills including analytical and quantitative reasoning. First offered in 2014, this assessment tool is now representative of a relatively mature exam development process. The one-hour exam consists of 12 questions, with a mix of multiple-select/multiple-choice and constructed-response formats, balanced across the four concept and skill areas and addressing both lower- and higher-order cognitive processing levels. Each constructed response is scored by a team of at least three BMB scientist-educators, and inter-rater reliability is calculated to ensure consistency. All questions are piloted and revised before they contribute to students’ exam scores. To date, nearly 5,000 students from over 70 colleges and universities have taken the ASBMB exam. Of these, an average of approximately 42% of students per year have scored sufficiently well to earn “Certification” of their exam performance by ASBMB; approximately 13% of students have earned “Certification with Distinction”. Upwards of 120 scientist-educators – with professional affiliations ranging from small, primarily undergraduate institutions to large research universities – have contributed to question development and/or scoring. Many volunteers have participated over multiple years; for example, 97% of the 2020 scorers plan to score again in 2021. Future directions include building the community of volunteers, expanding the question bank, delivering the exam online (in spring of 2021), and investigating the potential of the ASBMB Certification Exam to inform programmatic assessment.

Indigenous Empowerment Through Community-Engaged Health Education Curriculum: Health Promotion in a Commercial Tobacco Cessation Campaign

Community-engaged classrooms offer advantages to both students and community-based organizations by creating an environment where students become agents of change and contribute to meeting communities’ health needs. However, most community-engaged classroom research is done in high-income contexts in advanced curriculums with graduate students. This article explores a community-engaged classroom project at a minority- and indigenous-serving undergraduate institution, focusing on indigenous student empowerment. Commercial tobacco use prevention is of particular importance to indigenous contexts and resulted in a college policy change to reflect indigenous values. Students designed, implemented, and evaluated a tobacco product education campaign to effect change using a community-engaged approach. The educational activities included (1) understanding the tobacco context, (2) health communication course design, (3) forming key partnerships, (4) facilitating student activities through behind-the-scenes work, (5) designing and implementing a campaign, and (6) student growth and empowerment. We illustrate how academic and state partnerships can align interests in implementing public health policies and providing students with real-world public health communication and health equity experience.

Stimulating Students’ Learning in Analytical Chemistry through an Environmental-Based CURE Project

This article reports on the implementation of a CURE project in an upper-level analytical chemistry course to engage a larger number of students in research at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI). The lab course syllabus was modified to provide students with an opportunity to experience the process of conducting research through a project that was relevant to them personally and the community at large. Students carried out research using microwave plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (MPAES) to correlate lead levels in soil with home location, source, and age. Students’ self-assessment and surveys suggest that implementing a research project that students can relate to leads to an increased level of mastering analytical skills and demonstration of a higher level of critical-thinking skills. Participation in the CURE project increased a desire and a commitment to engage in independent research and in communicating science through presentations.