Students' Perceptions of FSBio 201, A CURE-Based Course that Scaffolds Research and Scientific Communication, Align with Learning Outcomes
Persistent URL
Author(s)
Thu, Yee Mon
French, Lauren B
Hersh, Bradley M
Nelson, Margaret K.
Whitenack, Lisa B.
Date Issued
October 1, 2021
Abstract
Incorporating active research opportunities into undergraduate curricula is one of the most cited elements demonstrated to improve inclusive excellence and retention in all STEM fields. Allegheny College has a long and nationally-recognized tradition of collaborative student-faculty research within the academic curriculum and as co-curricular opportunities. We present an example of the former, a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE), FSBio 201, that has been central to Allegheny’s biology curriculum for over two decades. The course emphasizes biological research design, execution, and communication. We have coded and analyzed feedback from student evaluations and from the national CURE project database, both of which measure students’ perceptions and attitudes toward the course. The majority of the student feedback related to the course learning outcomes of fostering independent research and communication skills was positive. However, we also see areas for improvement, such as how we employ peer-to-peer mentoring and how we teach quantitative and computer-based skills. We conclude that students’ self-reported data are in line with our learning outcomes and provide FSBio 201 as a model for introducing college undergraduates to biological research.
Journal
Integrative and Comparative Biology
Department
Biology
Citation
Yee Mon Thu, Lauren B French, Bradley M Hersh, Margaret K Nelson, Lisa B Whitenack, Students’ Perceptions of FSBio 201, A CURE-Based Course that Scaffolds Research and Scientific Communication, Align with Learning Outcomes, Integrative and Comparative Biology, Volume 61, Issue 3, September 2021, Pages 944–956, https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icab128
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Version of Article
Published article
DOI
10.1093/icb/icab128
ISSN
1540-7063
1557-7023
Rights
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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