School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
Institute of Molecular Physiology, Shenzen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen 510852, China.
CBE Life Sci Educ. 2022 Sep;21(3):ar49. doi: 10.1187/cbe.21-03-0065.
Infusing undergraduate curricula with authentic research training is an important contemporary challenge. Such exposure typically occurs through mentored research (MR) or course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). In Asian contexts, CURE implementation is rare, while MR is often a graduation requirement. In this study, mentor interviews and mentee focus groups were used to characterize the learning challenges associated with this requirement at a Chinese university. An intensive 6-week CURE was then implemented as an MR preparatory program to help mitigate the identified challenges. This program contained seven site-specific features not typically included in other CUREs, each designed to improve different aspects of student readiness for MR. Post-CURE surveys, focus groups, and interviews demonstrated CURE enrollment significantly improved subsequent MR outcomes. Almost 90% of all enrollees, for example, began their first MR experience in their second year, more than twice the rate of non-enrollees. Enrollees also reported greater confidence in their research skills and more frequent experiences working in multiple labs. This study reports both immediate CURE and downstream MR outcomes, using the former to help explain the latter. A comprehensive CURE implementation process is described, offering a potential model for the design of other programs with similar research enhancement goals.
将真实的研究培训融入本科生课程是当前的一个重要挑战。这种体验通常通过导师指导的研究 (MR) 或基于课程的本科生研究经验 (CURE) 来实现。在亚洲背景下，CURE 的实施很少见，而 MR 通常是毕业要求。在这项研究中，通过导师访谈和学员焦点小组，描述了中国一所大学与这一要求相关的学习挑战。然后，实施了一个为期 6 周的密集 CURE，作为 MR 的预备课程，以帮助减轻已确定的挑战。该课程包含了七个通常不包含在其他 CURE 中的特定于站点的功能，每个功能旨在提高学生为 MR 做好准备的不同方面。CURE 后的调查、焦点小组和访谈表明，CURE 的入学显著提高了随后的 MR 成果。例如，几乎 90%的所有入学学员在第二年就开始了他们的第一次 MR 体验，这一比例是非入学学员的两倍多。入学学员还报告说，他们对自己的研究技能更有信心，并且更频繁地在多个实验室工作。本研究报告了即时的 CURE 和下游的 MR 成果，以前者来帮助解释后者。描述了一个全面的 CURE 实施过程，为具有类似研究增强目标的其他计划的设计提供了一个潜在的模型。
