Clyne Alisa Morss, Shieh Adrian C, Stanford Jennifer S
Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, 4124 A James Clark Hall 8278 Paint Branch Dr, College Park, MD 20742.
School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University, Bossone 710 3141 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
J Biomech Eng. 2019 Dec 1;141(12). doi: 10.1115/1.4044951.
Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CURE) are a valuable tool to increase research exposure for larger undergraduate cohorts. We implemented a CURE within a senior-level biofluid mechanics course that was primarily taught using a flipped classroom approach. Due to the large class size, the students analyzed data that was publicly available and produced by one of our laboratories. Student teams then developed hypotheses based on the data analysis and designed a set of in vitro and in vivo experiments to test those hypotheses. The hypotheses and experiments that were most highly rated by the class were then tested in our laboratory. At the end of the class, student gains were assessed by self-report and compared to those self-reported by students engaging in a traditional freshman undergraduate summer research experience. While the students in the CURE reported moderate gains in self-assessment of research-based skills, their self-reported gains were statistically significantly lower than those reported by students who participated in the traditional research experience. We believe that the CURE could be improved through implementation in a lower level class, enabling students to observe laboratory experiments, and providing additional feedback throughout the hypothesis development and experimental design process. Overall, the CURE is an innovative way to expand research experiences, in particular for engineering students who often do not participate in hypothesis-driven research during their undergraduate education.
基于课程的本科研究经历（CURE）是一种宝贵的工具，可让更多本科学生有机会接触研究。我们在一门生物流体力学高级课程中实施了CURE，该课程主要采用翻转课堂的教学方法。由于班级规模较大，学生们分析了我们一个实验室公开提供的数据。学生团队随后根据数据分析提出假设，并设计了一组体外和体内实验来验证这些假设。然后，在我们的实验室中对班级评价最高的假设和实验进行了测试。课程结束时，通过自我报告评估学生的收获，并与参加传统大一本科暑期研究经历的学生的自我报告进行比较。虽然参加CURE的学生在基于研究的技能自我评估中报告有适度收获，但他们自我报告的收获在统计学上显著低于参加传统研究经历的学生报告的收获。我们认为，可以通过在低年级课程中实施CURE来改进它，让学生能够观察实验室实验，并在假设开发和实验设计过程中提供更多反馈。总体而言，CURE是一种扩展研究经历的创新方式，特别是对于那些在本科教育期间通常不参与假设驱动研究的工科学生。
