Strengthening Research Experiences for Undergraduate STEM Students

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There is a growing body of evidence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education that research experiences, as well as similar authentic applied professional experiences, provide significant benefits to undergraduate students. These potential benefits for students include enhanced interest in and understanding of the nature of STEM fields, retention in STEM majors, and clarification of career goals. As attempts to provide research experiences for undergraduate students are becoming more widespread, so are questions about their value added, and the associated costs and effort that would be required to expand them to more students. In this Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) project, an expert committee of the National Research Council (NRC) will assess and synthesize the current state of the evidence regarding undergraduate research experiences and develop a conceptual framework for improving current practice. The committee will study a variety of implementation strategies, including apprenticeship-style research experiences in academic and industrial laboratories, research integrated into undergraduate laboratory courses, and other classroom formats that incorporate research. Ultimately, the committee will report on the strength of the evidence supporting the benefits of a variety of types undergraduate research experiences, enabling stakeholders to weigh the benefits and costs of implementation in their institutional contexts.The 14-member, interdisciplinary NRC committee will assess and synthesize the current evidence on STEM undergraduate research and practice experiences for students in 2- and 4-year institutions of higher learning. The committee will define what qualifies as "authentic undergraduate research experiences", assess the quality of research on these experiences, compare the effectiveness of different implementation mechanisms and programs, provide best-practice examples, and consider the costs and benefits of different approaches. The committee will also discuss the needs of faculty and administrators to successfully implement, or improve and expand, undergraduate research opportunities. Based on their review of the evidence, the committee will develop a set of conclusions and recommendations that include a future research agenda. The committee will produce a report summarizing its findings that will be reviewed by other experts identified by the NRC and subsequently released to the public.