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

本科生研究经验（REU）项目承认国家优先支持研究，解决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与本科生合作，调查学生如何从我们用来解释科学概念的工具中学习;模型（思想和经验观察之间的桥梁）和表征（模型的描述）。 辅助活动包括队列范围的研究方法研讨会，研究小组会议，沟通研讨会和社会活动。 这项工作发生在科学与数学教育研究协作（SMERC），一组有兴趣探索与生物学，化学和物理学的基于生物的教育研究相关的问题的十名教师。 为了扩大学生的参与，谁是在干代表性不足的群体，包括美洲原住民，非洲裔美国人，拉丁美洲人，聋人和重听人群，积极招募。这个两部分REU项目包括一个虚拟的，暑期前培训课程，其次是密集的9周暑期研究经验。 在虚拟课程，一月启动，学生介绍了研究项目，职业道德和研究方法。 学生还进行文献综述，并启动机构审查委员会（IRB）的过程作为本课程的一部分。 在夏季，学生参加以下集群内的研究经验：（一）在实验室工作中使用模型和表示，（B）物理学的数学表示的概念意义，（c）生物化学和分子生物学的视觉表示的概念意义，以及（d）开发和评估强调建模和表示的课程。 通过入口和出口调查，每周会议和研究工件和研讨会的评估产生的数据反映了学生的经验，对研究的态度，并准备申请研究职业生涯在基于计算机的教育研究（DBER）的满意度。 毕业后，学生被跟踪和采访有关项目的影响。 项目成果的传播应提供一个跨学科DBER研究的模式。 项目团队通过各种学科的国家会议，包括介绍他们的工作，生物学教育会议的进步，美国化学学会年会，物理教师/物理教育研究会议的美国协会，并在本科STEM教育转化研究会议。项目成果包括总结性评估的结果和为一月份的快速启动开发的课程材料。

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.