Converting a face-to-face neuroanatomy course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) to an online environment: lessons learned from remote teaching.

Previously, we described a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) for first-year students that featured a unique approach to brain mapping in a model organism (rat). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted this course for an online learning environment, emphasizing image analysis (identifying immunoreactive signal in an immunohistochemical stain, making neuroanatomical distinctions in a cytoarchitectural stain) and translation of image data to the brain atlas. Using a quasiexperimental mixed methods approach, we evaluated aspects of student engagement and perceived gains in student confidence with respect to the nature and process of science and student science identity development. Additionally, we examined the dynamics of mentorship and student connectedness experienced in the online-only context. We found that the majority of students reported positive affective outcomes for the course in domains such as project ownership and project engagement in addition to positive responses toward perceived mentorship received during the course. Unsurprisingly, students expressed frustration in not being able to freely communicate with members of the course in an organic face-to-face environment. Furthermore, we found that students encountered greater difficulty in mastering image software skills causing a delay in producing consistent-quality data maps. From our analysis of the course, we have identified both useful approaches and areas for course improvement in any future iterations of the online research course.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Herein, we describe the process of converting a novel, face-to-face neuroanatomy course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) to an online-only research setting. We document student affective and skill gains resultant from participating in this course and examine best practices for structuring online CUREs to maximize student learning and success.

No Cameras, No Problem: Creating an Inclusive Research-Driven Classroom Environment Using Student-Generated Avatars.

Student involvement in distance education has continued to increase over the last decade and has been accelerated by the unplanned transition to remote instruction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Empirical data demonstrate variable levels of student learning and engagement in such environments, including limited use of technologies (e.g., laptop cameras) to interact with peers and course instructors. Consequently, creating accessible and inclusive virtual learning contexts that best promote collaboration and success - whether in lecture or laboratory spaces - can be a challenge. To address these concerns, we developed and evaluated the Researcher Avatar (RA) activity, a brief exercise designed to provide students with the opportunity to depict and describe their identity as a scientific researcher through creation of an avatar. Students then made use of their avatars as their profile pictures on the course videoconferencing platform throughout the duration of the term. Participants (N = 24) who completed the RA activity as part of an online Research Foundations Course at our institution developed avatars that included both stereotypical imagery of scientists (e.g., lab coat) and personal attributes intended to reflect their dedication to science, collegiality, and future career interests. Collectively, participants reported that the activity was valuable in allowing them to "see" and get to know their classmates while likewise offering them the chance to reflect on their own goals as a researcher.

Current Approaches for Integrating Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) Education into Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences: A National Assessment.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), which often engage students as early as freshman year, have become increasingly common in biology curricula. While many studies have highlighted the benefits of CUREs, little attention has been paid to responsible and ethical conduct of research (RECR) education in such contexts. Given this observation, we adopted a mixed methods approach to explore the extent to which RECR education is being implemented and assessed in biological sciences CUREs nationwide. Survey and semistructured interview data show a general awareness of the importance of incorporating RECR education into CUREs, with all respondents addressing at least one RECR topic in their courses. However, integration of RECR education within the CURE environment primarily focuses on the application of RECR during research practice, often takes the form of corrective measures, and appears to be rarely assessed. Participants reported lack of time and materials as the main barriers to purposeful inclusion of RECR education within their courses. These results underscore a need for the CURE community to develop resources and effective models to integrate RECR education into biology CUREs.

A historical perspective on training students to create standardized maps of novel brain structure: Newly-uncovered resonances between past and present research-based neuroanatomy curricula.

Recent efforts to reform postsecondary STEM education in the U.S. have resulted in the creation of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), which, among other outcomes, have successfully retained freshmen in their chosen STEM majors and provided them with a greater sense of identity as scientists by enabling them to experience how research is conducted in a laboratory setting. In 2014, we launched our own laboratory-based CURE, Brain Mapping & Connectomics (BMC). Now in its seventh year, BMC trains University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) undergraduates to identify and label neuron populations in the rat brain, analyze their cytoarchitecture, and draw their detailed chemoarchitecture onto standardized rat brain atlas maps in stereotaxic space. Significantly, some BMC students produce atlas drawings derived from their coursework or from further independent study after the course that are being presented and/or published in the scientific literature. These maps should prove useful to neuroscientists seeking to experimentally target elusive neuron populations. Here, we review the procedures taught in BMC that have empowered students to learn about the scientific process. We contextualize our efforts with those similarly carried out over a century ago to reform U.S. medical education. Notably, we have uncovered historical records that highlight interesting resonances between our curriculum and that created at the Johns Hopkins University Medical School (JHUMS) in the 1890s. Although the two programs are over a century apart and were created for students of differing career levels, many aspects between them are strikingly similar, including the unique atlas-based brain mapping methods they encouraged students to learn. A notable example of these efforts was the brain atlas maps published by Florence Sabin, a JHUMS student who later became the first woman to be elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. We conclude by discussing how the revitalization of century-old methods and their dissemination to the next generation of scientists in BMC not only provides student benefit and academic development, but also acts to preserve what are increasingly becoming "lost arts" critical for advancing neuroscience - brain histology, cytoarchitectonics, and atlas-based mapping of novel brain structure.

Recommendations for Effective Integration of Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research (E/RCR) Education into Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences: A Meeting Report.

Advancement of the scientific enterprise relies on individuals conducting research in an ethical and responsible manner. Educating emergent scholars in the principles of ethics/responsible conduct of research (E/RCR) is therefore critical to ensuring such advancement. The recent impetus to include authentic research opportunities as part of the undergraduate curriculum, via course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), has been shown to increase cognitive and noncognitive student outcomes. Because of these important benefits, CUREs are becoming more common and often constitute the first research experience for many students. However, despite the importance of E/RCR in the research process, we know of few efforts to incorporate E/RCR education into CUREs. The Ethics Network for Course-based Opportunities in Undergraduate Research (ENCOUR) was created to address this concern and promote the integration of E/RCR within CUREs in the biological sciences and related disciplines. During the inaugural ENCOUR meeting, a four-pronged approach was used to develop guidelines for the effective integration of E/RCR in CUREs. This approach included: 1) defining appropriate student learning objectives; 2) identifying relevant curriculum; 3) identifying relevant assessments; and 4) defining key aspects of professional development for CURE facilitators. Meeting outcomes, including the aforementioned E/RCR guidelines, are described herein.

Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Outcomes Associated with Student Engagement in a Novel Brain Chemoarchitecture Mapping Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) engage emerging scholars in the authentic process of scientific discovery, and foster their development of content knowledge, motivation, and persistence in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Importantly, authentic research courses simultaneously offer investigators unique access to an extended population of students who receive education and mentoring in conducting scientifically relevant investigations and who are thus able to contribute effort toward big-data projects. While this paradigm benefits fields in neuroscience, such as atlas-based brain mapping of nerve cells at the tissue level, there are few documented cases of such laboratory courses offered in the domain. Here, we describe a curriculum designed to address this deficit, evaluate the scientific merit of novel student-produced brain atlas maps of immunohistochemically-identified nerve cell populations for the rat brain, and assess shifts in science identity, attitudes, and science communication skills of students engaged in the introductory-level Brain Mapping and Connectomics (BM&C) CURE. BM&C students reported gains in research and science process skills following participation in the course. Furthermore, BM&C students experienced a greater sense of science identity, including a greater likelihood to discuss course activities with non-class members compared to their non-CURE counterparts. Importantly, evaluation of student-generated brain atlas maps indicated that the course enabled students to produce scientifically valid products and make new discoveries to advance the field of neuroanatomy. Together, these findings support the efficacy of the BM&C course in addressing the relatively esoteric demands of chemoarchitectural brain mapping.

Integration of RCR and Ethics Education into Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences in the Biological Sciences: A Needed Discussion.

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been identified as a promising vehicle to broaden novices' participation in authentic scientific opportunities. While recent studies in the bioeducation literature have focused on the influence of CUREs on cognitive and non-cognitive student outcomes (e.g., attitudes and motivation, science process skills development), few investigations have examined the extent to which the contextual features inherent in such experiences affect students' academic and professional growth. Central among these factors is that of ethics and the responsible conduct of research (RCR)-essential cornerstones of the scientific enterprise. In this article, we examine the intersectionality of ethics/RCR instruction within CURE contexts through a critical review of existing literature that details mechanisms for the integration of ethics/RCR education into undergraduate laboratory experiences in the science domains. Building upon this foundation, we propose a novel, evidence-based framework that seeks to illustrate posited interactions between core ethics/RCR principles and unique dimensions of CUREs. It is our intent that this framework will inform and encourage open dialogue around an often-overlooked aspect of CURE instruction-how to best prepare ethically responsible scholars for entrance into the global scientific workforce.

The Impact of an Interactive Statistics Module on Novices' Development of Scientific Process Skills and Attitudes in a First-Semester Research Foundations Course.

Evidence suggests that incorporating quantitative reasoning exercises into existent curricular frameworks within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines is essential for novices' development of conceptual understanding and process skills in these domains. Despite this being the case, such studies acknowledge that students often experience difficulty in applying mathematics in the context of scientific problems. To address this concern, the present study sought to explore the impact of active demonstrations and critical reading exercises on novices' comprehension of basic statistical concepts, including hypothesis testing, experimental design, and interpretation of research findings. Students first engaged in a highly interactive height activity that served to intuitively illustrate normal distribution, mean, standard deviation, and sample selection criteria. To enforce practical applications of standard deviation and p-value, student teams were subsequently assigned a figure from a peer-reviewed primary research article and instructed to evaluate the trustworthiness of the data. At the conclusion of this exercise, students presented their evaluations to the class for open discussion and commentary. Quantitative assessment of pre- and post-module survey data indicated a statistically significant increase both in students' scientific reasoning and process skills and in their self-reported confidence in understanding the statistical concepts presented in the module. Furthermore, data indicated that the majority of students (>85%) found the module both interesting and helpful in nature. Future studies will seek to develop additional, novel exercises within this area and to evaluate the impact of such modules across a variety of STEM and non-STEM contexts.

Extended access to methamphetamine self-administration up-regulates dopamine transporter levels 72 hours after withdrawal in rats.

Previous studies have demonstrated that there are persistent changes in dopamine systems following withdrawal from methamphetamine (METH). This study examined changes in striatal dopamine transporter (DAT), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and dopamine receptor 2 (D2) 72 h after withdrawal from METH intravenous self- administration (IVSA). Rats were given limited (1h) or extended (6h) access to METH IVSA (0.05 mg/kg/0.1 ml infusion) for 22 days. Controls did not receive METH IVSA. The rats given extended access to IVSA displayed higher METH intake during the first hour of drug access compared to rats given limited access. Extended access to METH also produced a concomitant increase in striatal DAT levels relative to drug-naïve controls. There were no changes in TH or D2 levels across groups. Previous studies have reported a decrease in striatal DAT levels during protracted periods (>7 days) of withdrawal from METH IVSA. This study extends previous work by showing an increase in striatal DAT protein expression during an earlier time point of withdrawal from this drug. These results are an important step toward understanding the dynamic changes in dopamine systems that occur during different time points of withdrawal from METH IVSA.