REU Site: Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Model-based Reasoning in STEM Education at the Rochester Institute of Technology

本科生研究体验(REU)项目确认了支持研究的国家优先事项，这些研究解决了这样一个事实，即学生往往缺乏理解无法直接观察到的科学现象的能力。罗切斯特理工学院的研究团队邀请本科生合作研究学生如何从我们用来解释科学概念的工具中学习；模型(想法和经验观察之间的桥梁)和陈述(模型的描述)。辅助活动包括全群体研究方法讲习班、研究小组会议、交流讲习班和社会活动。这项工作是在科学和数学教育研究合作(SMERC)内进行的，这是一个由10名教职员工组成的小组，他们对探索与生物、化学和物理的基于学科的教育研究相关的问题感兴趣。为了扩大STEM中代表人数不足的群体的参与，积极招募来自土著美国人、非裔美国人、拉丁裔、聋人和听力障碍人群的学生。这个由两部分组成的REU项目包括一个虚拟的暑期前培训课程，随后是为期9周的强化暑期研究体验。在这个名为一月跳跃的虚拟课程中，向学生介绍研究项目、职业道德和研究方法。作为本课程的一部分，学生还会进行文献回顾，并启动机构审查委员会(IRB)的程序。在暑假期间，学生将在以下几个方面参与研究体验：(A)在实验实验室工作中使用模型和表示法，(B)物理数学表示法背后的概念意义，(C)生物化学和分子生物学视觉表示法背后的概念意义，以及(D)开发和评估强调建模和表示的课程。通过入学和毕业调查、每周会议、研究成果评估和研讨会产生的数据反映了学生对以学科为基础的教育研究(DBER)的经验、研究态度和申请研究职业准备的满意度。毕业后，学生们会就该项目的影响进行跟踪和采访。项目成果的传播应该为跨学科的DBER研究提供一个模式。项目团队通过各种学科国家会议介绍他们的工作，包括生物教育促进会会议、美国化学学会年会、美国物理教师协会/物理教育研究会议和本科STEM教育转型研究会议。项目可交付成果包括总结性评估结果和为1月跳跃开始编写的课程材料。

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) project recognizes the national priority to support research that addresses the fact that students tend to lack the ability to understand scientific phenomena that are not directly observable. The research team at Rochester Institute of Technology involves undergraduate collaborators in the investigation of how students learn from the tools we use to explain scientific concepts; models (bridges between ideas and empirical observations) and representations (descriptions of models). Ancillary activities include cohort-wide research methods workshops, research group meetings, communication workshops, and social events. The work takes place within the Science and Mathematics Education Research Collaborative (SMERC), a group of ten faculty members interested in exploring questions related to Discipline-Based Educational Research in biology, chemistry, and physics. In order to broaden participation students who are from underrepresented groups in STEM, including Native American, African American, Latino, and Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing populations, are actively recruited.This two-part REU project consists of a virtual, pre-summer training session followed by and intensive 9-week summer research experience. In the virtual course, January Jump-Start, students are introduced to the research projects, professional ethics, and research methodologies. Students also perform literature reviews and initiate the Institution Review Board (IRB) process as part of this course. During the summer, students participate a research experience within the following clusters: (a) use of models and representation in experimental laboratory work, (b) conceptual meaning underlying mathematical representations of physics, (c) conceptual meaning underlying visual representations of biochemistry and molecular biology, and (d) developing and evaluating curricula emphasizing modeling and representation. Data generated through entrance and exit surveys, weekly meetings, and assessment of research artifacts and workshops reflects the student's satisfaction with the experience, attitudes about research, and preparation to apply for research careers in Discipline-based Education Research (DBER). After graduation, the students are tracked and interviewed about the project's impact. Dissemination of the project results should provide a model for cross-disciplinary DBER research. The project team presents their work through at a variety of disciplinary national meetings including, the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Conference, the Annual Meeting of the American Chemical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers/Physics Education Research Conference, and the Conference on Transforming Research in Undergraduate STEM Education. Project deliverables include results of summative evaluation and the course materials developed for the January Jump Start.