Burmeister Alita R, Bauer Melanie, Graham Mark J
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Division of Research and Economic Development, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2023 Jul 17;24(2). doi: 10.1128/jmbe.00033-23. eCollection 2023 Aug.
Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are tools used to introduce students to authentic participation in science. Several specific CUREs have been shown to benefit students' interest and retention in the biological sciences. Nevertheless, CUREs vary greatly in terms of their context, methodology, and degree of research authenticity, so different types of CUREs may differently influence student outcomes. This programmatic diversity poses a challenge to educators who want to better understand which course components and features are reliably present in a CURE curriculum. To address these issues, we identified, catalogued, and classified 112 potential features of CUREs across the biosciences. To develop the list, we interviewed instructors experienced with teaching individual and large networked CUREs across a diversity of the biological disciplines, including: Squirrel-Net (field-based animal behavior), SEA-PHAGES (wet lab microbiology and computational microbiology), Tiny Earth (environmental and wet lab microbiology), PARE (environmental microbiology), and the Genomics Education Partnership (eukaryotic computational biology). Twenty-five interviewees contributed expert content in terms of CURE features and classification of those items into an organized list. The resulting list's categories encompasses student experiences with the following: (i) the scientific process; (ii) technical aspects of science; (iii) the professional development associated with research; and (iv) building scientific identity. The most striking insight was that CUREs vary widely in terms of which features they contain, since different CUREs will by necessity have different approaches to science and student involvement. We also identified several features commonly thought to be crucial to CUREs yet have ambiguous definitions. This ambiguity can potentially confound efforts to make CUREs research-authentic and aligned with the central goals of science. We disambiguate these terms and represent their varied meanings throughout the classification. We also provide instructor-friendly supplementary worksheets along with considerations for instructors interested in expanding their CURE course design, instruction, and equity.
基于课程的本科研究经历（CUREs）是用于引导学生真正参与科学研究的工具。已有研究表明，一些特定的CUREs有助于提升学生对生物科学的兴趣并增强他们在该领域的留存率。然而，CUREs在其背景、方法以及研究真实性程度方面差异很大，因此不同类型的CUREs对学生成果的影响可能也不尽相同。这种项目的多样性给那些想要更好地理解CURE课程中哪些课程组成部分和特征是可靠存在的教育工作者带来了挑战。为了解决这些问题，我们识别、编目并分类了生物科学领域中CUREs的112个潜在特征。为了制定这份清单，我们采访了在不同生物学科中教授个体和大型网络CUREs的教师，这些学科包括：松鼠网络（基于实地的动物行为研究）、海洋噬菌体项目（湿实验室微生物学和计算微生物学）、微小地球（环境与湿实验室微生物学）、PARE（环境微生物学）以及基因组学教育合作项目（真核生物计算生物学）。25位受访者就CURE的特征以及将这些项目分类整理成一份有条理的清单提供了专业内容。最终清单的类别涵盖了学生在以下方面的经历：（i）科学过程；（ii）科学的技术层面；（iii）与研究相关的专业发展；以及（iv）构建科学身份认同。最显著的见解是，CUREs在其所包含的特征方面差异很大，因为不同的CUREs必然会有不同的科学研究方法和学生参与方式。我们还识别出了一些通常被认为对CUREs至关重要但定义模糊的特征。这种模糊性可能会混淆使CUREs具有研究真实性并与科学核心目标保持一致的努力。我们明确了这些术语的含义，并在整个分类过程中呈现它们的不同含义。我们还为有兴趣扩展其CURE课程设计、教学和公平性的教师提供了便于教师使用的补充工作表以及相关考量因素。
