Early Engagement in Course-Based Research Increases Graduation Rates and Completion of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Degrees.
Early Engagement in Course-Based Research Increases Graduation Rates and Completion of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Degrees.
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DOI：
10.1187/cbe.16-03-0117
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发表时间：
2016
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
Dolan EL
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Rodenbusch SE;Hernandez PR;Simmons SL;Dolan EL
这项研究表明，参与基于课程的本科研究经历（CUREs）提高了学生获得STEM学位并在6年内毕业的可能性。这些结果支持提供cure来代替标准的实验课程，作为培养更多具有STEM学位的大学毕业生的有效策略。国家努力转变本科生物学教育，要求研究经验成为所有学生学习的一个组成部分。基于课程的本科生研究经历（简称CUREs）一直受到推崇，因为它可以让学生参与到研究中来，而这是通过教师研究实验室的学徒制无法实现的。然而，很少有研究考察参加CUREs对学生预期成果的长期影响，例如从大学毕业并完成科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）专业。在过去的十年里，CURE的新生研究计划（FRI）吸引了数千名大一本科生。使用倾向分数匹配来控制学生水平差异，我们测试了参加FRI对学生获得STEM学位的概率、6年内毕业的概率和毕业时的平均绩点（GPA）的影响。完成所有三个学期FRI的学生比非FRI的同龄人更有可能获得STEM学位并在6年内毕业。FRI对学生毕业时的gpa没有显著影响。对不同学生的影响是相似的。这些结果提供了迄今为止最有力、最可控的证据，支持本科生早期参与研究的呼吁。
This study shows that participation in course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) improves students’ likelihood of graduating with a STEM degree and graduating within 6 years. These results support offering CUREs in place of standard lab courses as an effective strategy for producing additional college graduates with STEM degrees. National efforts to transform undergraduate biology education call for research experiences to be an integral component of learning for all students. Course-based undergraduate research experiences, or CUREs, have been championed for engaging students in research at a scale that is not possible through apprenticeships in faculty research laboratories. Yet there are few if any studies that examine the long-term effects of participating in CUREs on desired student outcomes, such as graduating from college and completing a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) major. One CURE program, the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI), has engaged thousands of first-year undergraduates over the past decade. Using propensity score–matching to control for student-level differences, we tested the effect of participating in FRI on students’ probability of graduating with a STEM degree, probability of graduating within 6 yr, and grade point average (GPA) at graduation. Students who completed all three semesters of FRI were significantly more likely than their non-FRI peers to earn a STEM degree and graduate within 6 yr. FRI had no significant effect on students’ GPAs at graduation. The effects were similar for diverse students. These results provide the most robust and best-controlled evidence to date to support calls for early involvement of undergraduates in research.