Biology Department, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97201.
CBE Life Sci Educ. 2021 Mar;20(1):ar10. doi: 10.1187/cbe.20-07-0149.
Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) and inquiry-based curricula both expose students to the scientific process. CUREs additionally engage students in novel and scientifically relevant research, with the intention of providing an "authentic" research experience. However, we have little understanding of which course design elements impact students' beliefs that they are experiencing "authentic" research. We designed a study to explore introductory biology students' perceptions of research authenticity in CURE and inquiry classes. Using the Laboratory Course Assessment Survey, we found that students in CURE sections perceived higher levels of authentic research elements than students in inquiry-based sections. To identify specific factors that impact perceptions of research authenticity, we administered weekly reflection questions to CURE students. Coding of reflection responses revealed that experiences of failure, iteration, using scientific practices, and the relevant discoveries in their projects enhanced students' perceived authenticity of their research experiences. Although failure and iteration can occur in both CUREs and inquiry-based curricula, our findings indicate these experiences-in conjunction with the Relevant Discovery element of a CURE-may be particularly powerful in enhancing student perceptions of research authenticity in a CURE.
基于课程的本科生研究经历（CURE）和基于探究的课程都使学生接触到科学过程。CURE 还让学生参与新颖且与科学相关的研究，旨在提供“真实”的研究体验。然而，我们对哪些课程设计元素会影响学生对他们正在经历“真实”研究的看法知之甚少。我们设计了一项研究来探索 CURE 和探究课程中基础生物学学生对研究真实性的看法。使用实验室课程评估调查，我们发现 CURE 部分的学生比基于探究的部分的学生感知到更高水平的真实研究元素。为了确定影响研究真实性感知的具体因素，我们向 CURE 学生发放了每周反思问题。对反思回答的编码显示，失败、迭代、使用科学实践以及项目中的相关发现体验增强了学生对其研究体验的真实感。尽管失败和迭代可能发生在 CURE 和基于探究的课程中，但我们的研究结果表明，这些体验——结合 CURE 的相关发现元素——可能特别有助于增强学生对 CURE 中研究真实性的感知。
