Peer-Assisted Team Research (PATR): A Method for Early Undergraduate Research

本科生研究是一种高影响力的实践，它可以增加留存，培养学习成绩和科学素养，增强学习科学的动力，并提高STEM毕业率。该项目将测试一种创新的、具有成本效益的方法-同行辅助团队研究(PATR)，该方法将让更多的学生在大学早期参与本科生的研究体验，提高他们的科学推理能力和STEM自我效能。训练有素的同行领导将监督学生团队设计和进行关于跨学科主题的日益复杂的研究。PATR的学生将掌握科学推理，并将自己视为“做科学的人”，变得更有动力，并参加更多的STEM课程。PATR是一种可自适应的模板，适用于各种机构设置：普通教育和入门专业的课程，没有实验室的STEM课程，以及科学俱乐部等联合课程活动。布鲁克林学院正在与纽约城市大学的其他四个分校合作，评估PATR方法在各种环境中的有效性。该项目的智力价值在于该方法以经过验证的STEM教学法和当前的认知研究为基础。该项目的更广泛影响来自于使更多的学生能够参与本科生的研究体验，从而培养出一支训练有素、多样化的劳动力大军。PATR是一种适应性强、可扩展且经济高效的方法，可帮助学生为教师指导的研究做好准备。该项目将使用行为评估和标准化测试工具生成数据，以确定与对照学生相比，参与PATR的学生是否正在发展计划和开展研究所需的更高水平的抽象推理能力。

Undergraduate research is a high-impact practice that increases retention, fosters academic performance and scientific literacy, increases motivation to study science, and raises STEM graduation rates. This project will test an innovative, cost-effective method, Peer-Assisted Team Research (PATR) that will involve more students in undergraduate research experiences earlier in college, improving their scientific reasoning abilities and STEM self-efficacy. Trained peer leaders will supervise student teams as they design and conduct increasingly complex research studies on interdisciplinary topics. PATR students will master scientific reasoning and seeing themselves as "people who do science," becoming more motivated and taking more STEM courses. PATR is an adaptable template useful in a variety of institutional settings: general education and introductory major's courses, STEM classes without labs, and co-curricular activities such as science clubs. Brooklyn College is collaborating with four other branches of City University of New York to evaluate the effectiveness of the PATR method in a variety of settings. The project's intellectual merit resides in the method's grounding in proven STEM pedagogy and current cognitive research. The project's broader impacts stem from enabling more students to participate in undergraduate research experiences, thus fostering a well-trained, diverse work-force. PATR is an adaptable, scalable and cost-effective method that prepares students for faculty-mentored research. The project will generate data using behavioral assessment and standardized test instruments to determine if students participating in PATR are developing the higher-level abstract reasoning abilities required to plan and carry out research, compared with control students.