University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Science. 2015 Feb 6;347(6222):1261757. doi: 10.1126/science.1261757.
Most undergraduates give high ratings to research experiences. Studies report that these experiences improve participation and persistence, often by strengthening students' views of themselves as scientists. Yet, the evidence for these claims is weak. More than half the 60 studies reviewed rely on self-report surveys or interviews. Rather than introducing new images of science, research experiences may reinforce flawed images especially of research practices and conceptual understanding. The most convincing studies show benefits for mentoring and for communicating the nature of science, but the ideas that students learn are often isolated or fragmented rather than integrated and coherent. Rigorous research is needed to identify ways to design research experiences so that they promote integrated understanding. These studies need powerful and generalizable assessments that can document student progress, help distinguish effective and ineffective aspects of the experiences, and illustrate how students interpret the research experiences they encounter. To create research experiences that meet the needs of interested students and make effective use of scarce resources, we encourage systematic, iterative studies with multiple indicators of success.
大多数本科生对研究经历给予高度评价。研究报告称，这些经历可以提高学生的参与度和坚持度，通常是通过增强学生对自己作为科学家的看法。然而，这些说法的证据是薄弱的。在被审查的 60 项研究中，超过一半依赖于自我报告调查或访谈。研究经历可能不会引入新的科学形象，反而会强化有缺陷的形象，尤其是研究实践和概念理解的形象。最有说服力的研究表明，指导和交流科学本质的经历有好处，但学生所学到的观念往往是孤立的或零碎的，而不是整合和连贯的。需要进行严格的研究，以确定如何设计研究经历，以便它们促进整体理解。这些研究需要强大和可推广的评估方法，可以记录学生的进步，帮助区分经历的有效和无效方面，并说明学生如何解释他们所遇到的研究经历。为了创造满足有兴趣的学生需求并有效利用稀缺资源的研究经历，我们鼓励进行系统的、迭代的研究，采用多种成功指标。
