ERIC Number: EJ1179310
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jun
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1931-7913
EISSN: N/A
How to Identify the Research Abilities That Instructors Anticipate Students Will Develop in a Biochemistry Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE)
Irby, Stefan Mark; Pelaez, Nancy J.; Anderson, Trevor R.
CBE - Life Sciences Education, v17 n2 Essay 4 Jun 2018
Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been described in a range of educational contexts. Although various anticipated learning outcomes (ALOs) have been proposed, processes for identifying them may not be rigorous or well documented, which can lead to inappropriate assessment and speculation about what students actually learn from CUREs. In this essay, we offer a user-friendly and rigorous approach based on evidence and an easy process to identify ALOs, namely, a five-step Process for Identifying Course-Based Undergraduate Research Abilities (PICURA), consisting of a content analysis, an open-ended survey, an interview, an alignment check, and a two-tiered Likert survey. The development of PICURA was guided by four criteria: (1) the process is iterative; (2) the overall process gives more insight than individual data sources; (3) the steps of the process allow for consensus across the data sources; and (4) the process allows for prioritization of the identified abilities. To address these criteria, we collected data from 10 participants in a multi-institutional biochemistry CURE. In this essay, we use two selected research abilities to illustrate how PICURA was used to identify and prioritize such abilities. PICURA could be applied to other CUREs in other contexts.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Students, Student Research, Biochemistry, Outcomes of Education, Content Analysis, Likert Scales, Qualitative Research, Semi Structured Interviews, Science Instruction, Scientists, Scientific Research, Surveys
American Society for Cell Biology. 8120 Woodmont Avenue Suite 750, Bethesda, MD 20814-2762. Tel: 301-347-9300; Fax: 301-347-9310; e-mail: ascbinfo@ascb.org; Website: http://www.ascb.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Indiana
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1503798; 1710051