Testing the Benefits of Undergraduate Research-Based Learning at Various Curricular Levels Using Authentic Research Questions in Hydrogeomorphology

尽管在STEM文献中已经描述了个人完成的真实本科研究的许多好处，但很少有人通过使用本科研究小组将本科研究扩展到整个课程（从入门到顶点课程）。本研究以pi校园内及附近的水文地貌区域为背景，在整个地质学课程中实施适合经验的、真实的研究，并测量这些研究经验对学生学习的影响。本研究通过定量和定性方法测试的基本问题是，与这些小组研究经验相关的学习收益是否与文献中广泛报道的个人本科生研究项目的研究收益相似。检察官们也在调查充当学徒并帮助运营研究站的学生研究人员的体验式学习。通过顶级高级研究研讨会参加入门课程的学生正在解决基于教师研究实力的经验适当的，真实的科学问题。这些课程充分整合了pi的研究和教学功能。水文地貌学的研究课题是与水质、滑坡、地下水和地表水相互作用、土地开发和景观演变引起的侵蚀有关的区域和科学相关问题。课堂上的学生通过实验、监测、绘图和测量，在自然环境和发达环境中解决这些问题。该项目的智力价值在于理解和评估地质学生的学习成果，将其作为整个地质课程中基于小组研究的学习的功能，其结果有助于STEM社区更好地了解不同地质课程水平的学习成果是如何变化的。这项研究更广泛的影响是确定群体研究和个人研究是否有相似的学习收获。从目前关于如何实施本科生小组研究的研究中获得的见解有助于将其扩展到更多的学生群体。

Although many benefits of authentic undergraduate research done by individuals have been described in the STEM literature, few efforts have extended undergraduate research in classes throughout the curriculum (from introductory to capstone classes) by using undergraduate research groups. This study is using hydrogeomorphic field areas on and near the PIs' campus as a backdrop to implement experience-appropriate, authentic research throughout the geology curriculum and is measuring the impacts of these research experiences on student learning. The fundamental question that the study is testing through quantitative and qualitative methods is whether learning gains associated with these group research experiences are similar to the research gains of individual undergraduate research projects that are widely reported in the literature. The PIs are also examining the experiential learning of student research fellows that serve as apprentices and help run the research station.Students enrolled in introductory classes through a capstone senior research seminar are addressing experience-appropriate, authentic, science problems that build on the research strength of faculty. These classes are fully integrating the PIs research and teaching functions. Hydrogeomorphic research topics are regionally and scientifically relevant problems related to water quality, landslides, groundwater and surface-water interaction, erosion due to land development and landscape evolution. Students in classes are addressing these issues in both natural and developed settings through experiments, monitoring, mapping and measurements.The intellectual merit of the project is to understand and evaluate geology student learning gains as a function of group research based learning throughout the geology curriculum, and the results are helping the STEM community to better understand how learning gains vary at different geology class levels. The broader impact of this study is determining whether group research and individual research have similar learning gains. Insights gained from the current study of how to implement undergraduate group research is facilitating its extension to a larger population of students.