Students' Experiences with the Science and Engineering Practices in a Workshop-Based Undergraduate Research Experience.

This paper presents a phenomenographic investigation on students' experiences about research and poster presentations in a workshop-based undergraduate research experience with a focus on how the experience connects to the Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs) of the NRC A Framework for K-12 Science Education and the principles of CUREs. This provides insight into how these structured research experiences reflect particular SEPs and also elements of scientific practice that are not captured in the SEPs as they have been formulated previously. This work showcases the importance of future applications, failure, and creativity as additional science practices necessary for students to engage in authentic science. The SEPs and the additional elements of scientific practice are related to how students experience meaningful learning in the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains. Students highlighted the components of CUREs: importance of contributing relevant discoveries as a motivation for their research, the value of repetition and iteration in ensuring reliable and valid results, and the role of collaboration in seeing new perspectives and solving problems. As a result of presenting their results through a poster, students reported deeper understanding of their research topic, increased ability to articulate scientific concepts, and a better understanding of how to create a visually appealing poster. Students changed the vocabulary they used in their presentations to fit the knowledge level of their audience and highlighted their data in figures and explained other parts of their work in text. Moreover, they saw the poster as an outlet for their creativity.

A tool for clarifying expectations in undergraduate research experiences.

Articulating clear and achievable expectations is fundamental to both education and organizational management. In this article, we provide a simple intervention for clarifying expectations-and establishing that these expectations have been understood-which proved beneficial both to community college interns and to their internship mentors in biotech-related undergraduate research experiences. Internship mentors were asked to utilize a simple Expectation Clarity Tool to outline the expectations, success metrics, baseline assessments, and training strategy and support that would be foundational to their intern's project. These included expectations around conceptual, technical, performance, and professional skills and behaviors. Concurrently, but independently, community college interns were asked to complete the same type of exercise as a way of identifying gaps in their knowledge and understanding of their mentor's expectations and their internship project. The mentor's completed Expectation Clarity Tool was then shared with their intern. As a result of completing this relatively simple intervention, the majority of mentors reported that it increased their confidence as a mentor, taught them a new mentoring skill, changed how they will mentor trainees moving forward, and positively impacted their relationship with their trainee. On the intern side, the majority of interns reported that engaging in this intervention, both as an independent exercise and in obtaining their mentor's completed Expectation Clarity Tool, increased their confidence as an intern and positively impacted the success of their internship.

Using Unity for Scientific Visualization as a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience.

We have developed a series of course-based undergraduate research experiences for students integrated into course curriculum centered around the use of 3D visualization and virtual reality for science visualization. One project involves the creation and use of a volumetric renderer for hyperstack images, paired with a biology project in confocal microscopy. Students have worked to develop and test VR enabled tools for confocal microscopy visualization across headset based and CAVE based VR platforms. Two applications of the tool are presented: a rendering of Drosophila primordial germ cells coupled with automated detection and counting, and a database in development of 3D renderings of pollen grains. Another project involves the development and testing of point cloud renderers. Student work has focused on performance testing and enhancement across a range of 2D and 3D hardware, including native Quest apps. Through the process of developing these tools, students are introduced to scientific visualization concepts, while gaining practical experience with programming, software engineering, graphics, shader programming, and cross-platform design.

Using DNA barcoding to identify high-priority taxa (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) seeks to document every species of living thing in the park. The ATBI is decades in progress, yet some taxa remain virtually untouched by taxonomists. Such "high priority" taxa include the hyper-diverse parasitoid wasp family Ichneumonidae. Despite the positive and multifaceted effects ichneumonids have on their environment, only a small percentage of those collected in the park have been identified as species, mostly to their complex morphology and overwhelming diversity. Recently, DNA barcoding has transformed biodiversity inventories, streamlining the process to be more rapid and efficient. To test the effectiveness of barcoding 20 + year-old specimens of Ichneumonidae and catalog new records for GSMNP, COI was amplified from 95 ichneumonid morphospecies collected from Andrew's Bald, NC. Species identifications were confirmed morphologically. Eighty-one ichneumonids generated sequence data, representing 16 subfamilies and 44 genera. The subfamily Oxytorinae is newly recorded from GSMNP, along with 10 newly recorded genera and 23 newly recorded species across Ichneumonidae. These results contribute significantly to the ATBI by adding new park records for a high-priority taxon and demonstrate the effectiveness of applying DNA barcoding to samples in long-term storage or those lacking immediate taxonomic expertise.

Student experiences with an interprofessional hope-based healthy aging research project.

Interprofessional education (IPE) and research enhances learning, team-based communication, and cross-disciplinary collaborations, which can result in higher quality care for older adults. Despite the importance of IPE, it remains underutilized in higher education, demonstrating the need for extracurricular IPE opportunities. This study describes an interprofessional research project that brought together faculty, undergraduate, and graduate students from several health and social science disciplines to design and deliver a 15-week healthy aging program for older adults living in the urban Circumpolar North. Five faculty and one graduate research assistant led the project while eight students team-taught weekly, 1-hour sessions in the community focusing on healthy lifestyles within a framework of Persuasive Hope Theory. This paper describes the project, the student training procedures, and reports the results of the student satisfaction survey regarding their involvement with the research. Using a student self-assessment survey, students report gains in thinking like a scientist, increased confidence conducting research tasks, benefits from teamwork, and greater consideration of the needs of older adults in their field of study. Despite a small sample size, this study also suggests that students may be more likely to consider a career working with older adults if given hands-on experiences.

Student mental health during Summer 2022 research experiences for undergraduates (REUs): Mentorship, remote engagement, and COVID-19.

Objective: We examined how mentorship, remote participation, and COVID-19 challenges were associated with the mental health of college students participating in summer research programs. Participants: Participants were students participating in 78 National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) Sites during Summer 2022 (n = 516 students). Methods: We used multivariable generalized estimating equations that account for clustering by REU Site. Results: Students with more competent mentors had reduced depression severity. Students who spent ≥25% of their time doing remote research or ≥25% of their time in remote meetings and workshops had greater depression severity. Remote research was also associated with anxiety severity. Having a COVID-19 challenge that impacted students' research experience was associated with increases in depression and anxiety severity. Conclusions: Results suggest potential interventions: implement strategies to boost mentor competency and scaffold a support system into summer research programs to enhance student wellbeing. Additional research on remote engagement is needed.

GENESIS-Guidance, Education, Networking, and Empowerment-based Smart Initiative for Students research in health care: A research modeling experience from a newly established medical college.

The importance of undergraduate medical research has been undermined in Indian medical education. Various studies show there is a drastic difference between the research output of Indian medical graduates in comparison to Western counterparts. With all the challenges identified, a student-oriented research committee was formed -Guidance, Education, Networking, and Empowerment-based Smart Initiative for Students (GENESIS) research in health care - A research modeling experience from a newly established medical college. The structure was established to serve the needs of students in the field of research. Problems were identified with the help of a survey, and steps were taken to address the issues through its 4-pronged strategy that includes conducting regular journal clubs. Journal clubs follow a peer-to-peer learning strategy and provide an open stage for discussion. Second, a research tracker which helps in increasing the sustainability of a research project. The third strategy includes a research live matchmaker which helps in bridging the gap between the students and the faculties. Lastly, involving alumni in the initiative will help students get guidance and acts as a gateway to opportunities at the national level. For maintaining the integrity and sustainability of the initiative, the involvement of students from all the batches is made sure. Inputs from faculties and administration are taken on a regular basis. Interinstitutional collaborations and regular assessment and evaluation are done to ensure positive outcomes. With its focus on peer-to-peer mentoring and attempt to eliminate the barriers for research enthusiasts, GENESIS has the potential to make a lasting impact in promoting research culture in colleges.

A framework for leveraging network course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) faculty to develop, validate, and administer an assessment instrument.

Over the last several years, nationally disseminated course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have emerged as an alternative to developing a novel CURE from scratch, but objective assessment of these multi-institution (network) CUREs across institutions is challenging due to differences in student populations, instructors, and fidelity of implementation. The time, money, and skills required to develop and validate a CURE-specific assessment instrument can be prohibitive. Here, we describe a co-design process for assessing a network CURE [the Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistance in the Environment (PARE)] that did not require support through external funding, was a relatively low time commitment for participating instructors, and resulted in a validated instrument that is usable across diverse PARE network institution types and implementation styles. Data collection efforts have involved over two dozen unique institutions, 42 course offerings, and over 1,300 pre-/post-matched assessment record data points. We demonstrated significant student learning gains but with small effect size in both content and science process skills after participation in the two laboratory sessions associated with the core PARE module. These results show promise for the efficacy of short-duration CUREs, an educational research area ripe for further investigation, and may support efforts to lower barriers for instructor adoption by leveraging a CURE network for developing and validating assessment tools.

Simple, Robust Invertebrate DNA Barcoding: Chelex-Based DNA Extraction and Optimized COI Amplification.

Chelex-based DNA extractions are well suited for student DNA barcoding research because they are simple, safe, and inexpensive and can be performed without specialized laboratory equipment, allowing them to be performed in classrooms or at home. Extracted DNA is stable in Chelex solution for at least a week at ambient temperature, allowing collection of DNA samples from remote students. These extractions provide quality DNA for many taxa and are optimal for barcoding invertebrates, especially in combination with novel cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) primer cocktails and PCR cycling conditions.

Cost-Effective DNA Extraction for DNA Barcoding Diverse Biological Samples.

DNA barcoding employs standard molecular techniques (e.g., DNA extraction, PCR, and Sanger sequencing) to taxonomically identify biological samples. While DNA barcoding is a useful experimental workflow for in-class active learning exercises, extracting DNA from diverse sample types in a time and cost-effective manner can be challenging in a classroom setting. Here, we provide two time and cost-effective methods that have been used by novice students to successfully extract DNA from a variety of animal, fungal, algal, and plant tissues for DNA barcoding.

A Rapid, Equipment-Free DNA Isolation Method for DNA Barcoding.

This rapid, equipment-free DNA isolation procedure using chromatography paper is a simple method that can be performed in less than 30 min and requires no wet lab experience. With minimal expense, it offers an affordable alternative for anyone wanting to explore biodiversity. It also provides an excellent option for use in classrooms or other activities that are time limited. The method works best for plants or lichens, producing stable DNA on Whatman® chromatography paper at room temperature, which can be eluted as needed.

DNA at the whim of the water: environmental DNA as a course-based undergraduate research experience.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) increase student access to high impact research experiences. CUREs engage students in the scientific process by learning how to pose scientific questions, develop hypotheses, and generate data to test them. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a growing field of research that is gaining accessibility through decreasing laboratory costs, which can make a foundation for multiple, engaging CUREs. This manuscript describes three case studies that used eDNA in an upper year undergraduate course. The first focusses on a systematic literature review of eDNA metadata reporting. The second describes the biomonitoring of brook trout in southern Ontario using eDNA. The third involves eDNA metabarcoding for freshwater fish detection in southern Ontario. Undergraduates were involved in the development and execution of experiments, scientific communication, the peer review process, and fundraising. Through this manuscript, we show the novel application of eDNA CUREs and provide a roadmap for other instructors interested in implementing similar projects. Interviews with seven students from these courses indicate the benefits experienced from taking these courses. We argue that the use of eDNA in CUREs should be expanded in undergraduate biology programs due to the benefit to students and the increasing accessibility of this technology.

Perception, practice, and barriers toward research among pediatric undergraduates: a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey.

BACKGROUND: Scientific research activities are crucial for the development of clinician-scientists. However, few people pay attention to the current situation of medical research in pediatric medical students in China. This study aims to assess the perceptions, practices and barriers toward medical research of pediatric undergraduates. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among third-year, fourth-year and fifth-year pediatric students from Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China via an anonymous online questionnaire. The questionnaires were also received from fifth-year students majoring in other medicine programs [clinical medicine ("5 + 3") and clinical medicine (5-year)]. RESULTS: The response rate of pediatric undergraduates was 88.3% (68/77). The total sample of students enrolled in the study was 124, including 36 students majoring in clinical medicine ("5 + 3") and 20 students majoring in clinical medicine (5-year). Most students from pediatrics ("5 + 3") recognized that research was important. Practices in scientific research activities are not satisfactory. A total of 51.5%, 35.3% and 36.8% of the pediatric students participated in research training, research projects and scientific article writing, respectively. Only 4.4% of the pediatric students contributed to publishing a scientific article, and 14.7% had attended medical congresses. None of them had given a presentation at a congress. When compared with fifth-year students in the other medicine program, the frequency of practices toward research projects and training was lower in the pediatric fifth-year students. Lack of time, lack of guidance and lack of training were perceived as the main barriers to scientific work. Limited English was another obvious barrier for pediatric undergraduates. Pediatric undergraduates preferred to participate in clinical research (80.9%) rather than basic research. CONCLUSIONS: Although pediatric undergraduates recognized the importance of medical research, interest and practices in research still require improvement. Lack of time, lack of guidance, lack of training and limited English were the common barriers to scientific work. Therefore, research training and English improvement were recommended for pediatric undergraduates.

Pairing a bioinformatics-focused course-based undergraduate research experience with specifications grading in an introductory biology classroom.

Introducing bioinformatics-focused concepts and skills in a biology classroom is difficult, especially in introductory biology classrooms. Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) facilitate this process, introducing genomics and bioinformatics through authentic research experiences, but the many learning objectives needed in scientific research and communication, foundational biology concepts, and bioinformatics-focused concepts and skills can make the process challenging. Here, the pairing of specifications grading with a bioinformatics-focused CURE developed by the Genomics Education Partnership is described. The study examines how the course structure with specifications grading facilitated scaffolding of writing assignments, group work, and metacognitive activities; and describes the synergies between CUREs and specifications grading. CUREs require mastery of related concepts and skills for working through the research process, utilize common research practices of revision and iteration, and encourage a growth mindset to learning-all of which are heavily incentivized in assessment practices focused on specifications grading.

Let's talk posters: a novel role-playing activity to prepare undergraduate researchers for poster presentations.

Calls to increase undergraduate involvement in research have led to a significant increase in student participation via course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). These CUREs provide students an authentic research experience, which often involves dissemination of research by public speaking. For instance, the First-year Research Immersion (FRI) program at Binghamton University is a three-semester CURE sequence that prepares students for scientific research and effective communication of their findings. After one semester of research, students from the FRI program are tasked with presenting their research to hundreds of faculty members, staff, friends, and family at the annual FRI poster session. However, our students, and undergraduates in general, report high anxiety and fear around public speaking such as this. To better prepare our students for public speaking at a research poster session, we developed a workshop that includes a novel role-play activity to mimic a fast-paced poster session or conference in order to address students' fears and increase confidence levels. The role-play activity gives students iterative practice such that they are prepared for the realities of a poster session including variation of poster attendees. During the activity, students switch roles between presenter and audience member. In the role of an audience member, students are given Pokèmon-like role-playing cards that explain the traits and abilities of various types of poster-goers that students might come across (faculty in and out of discipline, staff, family, friends, etc.). Students improvise and enact their card-assigned role as they engage with their classmates who are practicing their poster presentations. To assess student outcomes, students were given three surveys: pre-activity, post-activity, and post-poster presentation. Immediately following the activity, 64% of students reported the highest level of confidence, and following the poster session, 93% of students reported extreme confidence in their poster presentation abilities. These data show that this role-play activity can help address student confidence and better prepare students to communicate their research.

Writing a literature review as a class project in an upper-level undergraduate biochemistry course.

A literature review is an important part of conducting academic research. Knowing how to conduct a literature search and write a high-quality literature review is a valuable skill. Herein, the authors describe the method of introducing a literature review writing exercise in an upper-level biochemistry course. Since 2020, authors have collaborated with numerous undergraduates writing literature reviews on topics in biochemistry that resulted in peer-reviewed publications. Authors believe that this unique idea of providing a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) to many undergraduates, especially those who otherwise do not receive collaborative research experience through traditional research paths, must be shared with other instructors.

The development and training effect of innovative undergraduate dental talents training project: A 6-year retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION: To summarize the development of Innovative Undergraduate Dental Talents Training Project (IUDTTP) and investigate the training effect of this extracurricular dental basic research education activity from 2015 to 2020 to obtain educational implications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Guanghua School of Stomatology established the IUDTTP in 2015. The authors recorded the development process and analysed the participation situation, training effect, academic performance and overall satisfaction during 2015-2020 through documental analysis, questionnaire and quiz. The t-test, chi-square test and ANOVA were used to test the difference. RESULTS: The educational goal, education module and assessment system of IUDTTP evolved and developed every year. A total of 336 students and 79 mentors attended the IUDTTP from 2015 to 2020, with the participation rate increasing from 45.1% to 73.5%. The participants exhibited favourable basic research abilities, manifesting as the increase of funded projects and published papers and satisfying quiz scores. Almost all students (94.94%) admitted their satisfaction with the IUDTTP. Moreover, the attended students surpassed the non-participants in terms of GPA, the number of acquired scholarships and outstanding graduates (p < .05). Likewise, the enrolment rate of postgraduate participants was significantly higher than non-participants. CONCLUSIONS: To date, the training effect indicated that the IUDTTP has fulfilled the education aim. It brought positive effects on promoting research interest, cultivating research capacities and enhancing academic performance. The potential deficiencies of extracurricular educational activities, including inflexibility in schedule and insufficiency in systematisms, may be remedied by more systematic educational settings in the future.

Hispanic/Latinx STEM Majors Applying to Graduate School: The Role of Family, Peers, and Undergraduate Research Programs in Facilitating Community Cultural Wealth.

This paper examines the critical transition from undergraduate to graduate biomedical education and focuses on Hispanic/Latinx students who participated in a biomedical undergraduate research program at a Hispanic-Serving Institution located on the US-Mexico border. We use the community cultural wealth (CCW) framework (Yosso, 2005) to analyze 13 qualitative interviews about students' experiences applying to graduate school in biomedical fields and how different program activities allowed students to navigate the graduate school application process. Our findings suggest that different programmatic activities (research experiences, research mentorship, workshops, family involvement, and advising) facilitated students' graduate school application process by enhancing different types of cultural capital: aspirational, familial, social, navigational, and resistant.

CUR(E)ating a new approach to study fungal effectors and enhance undergraduate education through authentic research.

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) integrate active, discovery-based learning into undergraduate curricula, adding tremendous value to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) education. There are multiple challenges in transforming a research project into a CURE, such as the readiness of students, the time commitment of the instructor, and the productivity of the research. In this article, we report a CURE course developed and offered in the University of Massachusetts Amherst BMB Department since 2018 that addresses these challenges. Our CURE focuses on fungal effectors which are proteins secreted by a destructive pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum, one of the top five most devastating plant pathogens. By studying this group of proteins, students are connected to real-world problems and participate in the search for potential solutions. A 3-week "standard Boot Camp" is implemented to help students familiarize themselves with all basic techniques and boost their confidence. Next, molecular cloning, a versatile technique with modularity and repeatability, is used as the bedrock of the course. Our past 5 years of experience have confirmed that we have developed a novel and feasible CURE protocol. Measurable progress documented by students who took this course includes stimulated active learning and increased career trajectory to pursue hypothesis-based research to address societal needs. In addition, data generated through the course advance ongoing lab research. Collectively, we encourage the implementation of CURE among research-intensive faculty to provide a more inclusive research experience to undergraduate students, an important element in predicting career success.

A low-cost cure for CUREs: An undergraduate microbiology course engaging students in authentic research using publicly available datasets.

Undergraduate research experiences are key to preparing STEM students for a range of careers and graduate programs, and to impacting retention in STEM. Providing undergraduate research experiences can be challenging for institutions due to the high cost associated with equipment and reagents, lab space, and research mentors. In this study, we present an upper-level microbiology seminar course that does not require these resources, as each student chooses and performs their own research project using data obtained from publicly available datasets. The faculty member provides hands-on instruction and regular feedback to mentor the cohort of students through all stages of their research projects, from honing a research question, to choosing a dataset, to data analysis and visualization. Students build science communication skills through each writing a scientific paper, and creating and presenting a scientific poster. These papers and presentations, along with results from student pre- and post-surveys, demonstrate that students built research and communication skills, while also building their confidence and interest in science careers. To access this research experience, students only need to register for this course; no application or selection is required, and no prior research experience is expected. The use of publicly available data makes this course a low-cost way to integrate authentic research projects into the college curriculum, and can be adapted to courses in any discipline. Such "low-cost CUREs" (course-based undergraduate research experiences) can be used to build capacity for undergraduate research experiences that are so crucial to preparing students for opportunities in and beyond college.