Evaluating a Scalable Program for Undergraduate CS Research
Evaluating a Scalable Program for Undergraduate CS Research
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DOI：
10.1145/3291279.3339406
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发表时间：
2019-07
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Christine Alvarado;Sergio Villazon;Burçin Tamer
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Christine Alvarado;Sergio Villazon;Burçin Tamer
事实证明，本科生的研究经历对本科生有许多积极的影响，包括增强自信心、归属感和保留感。然而，之前许多对本科生研究经历的研究都集中在高年级本科生（大三和大四）与教师导师的一对一研究经历上。人们对早期本科生研究的影响知之甚少，特别是通过超越一对一的师生关系以涵盖大量早期本科生的机会。这项工作解决的研究问题是，针对计算机领域代表性不足的早期本科生的更具可扩展性的基于小组的研究模型是否会为参与者带来与针对更高级学生的更个性化的一对一项目相同的好处。我们评估了一所大型公立大学计算机科学系的一个基于小组的早期研究项目。通过调查数据以及对学生完成项目几年后的表现和保留率的直接测量，我们发现，与几个不同的对照组相比，参加该项目的学生总体 GPA 更高，更有信心，对研究更感兴趣。我们的设计还使我们能够检验选择偏差对研究项目评估可能产生的巨大影响。这项工作既验证了该研究项目的可扩展结构，又为早期计算机科学本科生研究的好处提供了更丰富的视角。
Undergraduate research experiences have been shown to have many positive effects on undergraduates including increased confidence, sense of belonging and retention. However, many previous studies of undergraduate research experiences have focused on advanced undergraduate (juniors and seniors) in one-on-one research experiences with a faculty mentor. Less is known about the effects of early undergraduate research, particularly via opportunities that scale beyond one-on-one faculty-student relationships to encompass large numbers of early undergraduates. The research question addressed in this work is whether a more scalable group-based research model aimed at early undergraduates from groups underrepresented in computing would show the same kinds of benefits for participants as more personalized one-on-one programs aimed at more advanced students. We evaluated a group-based early research program in the computer science department of a large public university. Through survey data and direct measurements of performance and retention several years after students had completed the program, we found that students who participated in this program have higher overall GPAs, more confidence, and more interest in research compared to several different control groups. Our design also allowed us to examine the considerable impact that selection bias can have on the evaluation of research programs. This work both validates the scalable structure of this research program and provides a richer perspective on the benefits of early undergraduate research in CS.