An Institutional Model for Increasing Student Engagement through Course-embedded Undergraduate Research Experiences

通过名为“通过课程嵌入式本科生研究经验提高学生参与度的机构模式”的项目，佐治亚格威内特学院的研究人员将在一个试点项目——四年本科研究和创造经验（4YrURCE）——的基础上，增加对研究与学生成果之间关系的认识，比如在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）学科方面改善学习和增加职业兴趣。他们将通过课程嵌入式本科生研究经验（CUREs）来补充传统的教师指导研究和课堂教学。每门课程嵌入的本科生研究经验（CURE）将提供研究技能、创新能力和核心内容知识（STEM能力）的框架。随着学生通过多个cure的进步，他们将在这些能力的基础上建立，并获得进行独立研究和进入STEM劳动力的能力、信心和技能。该项目的主要组成部分将包括在新生入门STEM课程中开展同伴辅导干预计划（PTIP），作为4yrource模式的一个组成部分；教师发展研究所将提供一个机会，让参与者参与实践循证教学法，反思学习成果，考虑所有学生——尤其是准备不足和代表性不足的学生——如何在积极的学习环境中茁壮成长，并学习如何培养学生的元认知技能、适应能力和毅力；利用系统方法框架对CUREs模型的有效性进行了研究。为了增加更广泛的影响，该项目将为其他机构的教师提供津贴，以参与教师发展活动，并向13名教师提供小额赠款，以便在他们的校园内试点和测试CUREs。该项目的总体目标是建立在正在进行的4yrource试点项目的基础上，该试点项目旨在改善STEM学习和参与，并对拟议的CUREs模型的有效性进行纵向研究。具体目标是：(1)增加STEM学科中代表性不足和准备不足的学生的入学率、持久性和保留率；(2)提供基于STEM能力的研究型课程，为所有学生在四年的预科期间提供多种研究和创造经验；(3)通过同伴辅导和同伴辅导机会，为多元化的学生群体提供领导力；(4)提供多样化的教师，使用循证教学法来吸引学生，促进学习，发展学生的元认知技能，并促进学生的适应能力。将使用混合方法对项目进行形成性和总结性评估。预期结果将显示干预措施（即PTIP、CURE等）对学生表现和学生成功的影响程度，包括STEM能力、参与度、保留率和完成度的提高，以及教师发展策略在多大程度上改善了有效教学策略的采用。

Through the project titled "An Institutional Model for Increasing Student Engagement through Course-embedded Undergraduate Research Experiences," investigators at Georgia Gwinnett College will build upon a pilot project - Four Year Undergraduate Research and Creative Experience (4YrURCE) - to increase knowledge about the relationships between research and student outcomes such as improved learning and increased career interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. They will do this by supplementing traditional faculty-mentored research and classroom instruction with Course-embedded Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). Each Course-embedded Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) will provide a scaffolding of research skills, creative abilities, and core content knowledge (STEM competencies). As students progress through multiple CUREs, they will build on these competencies and gain the ability, confidence, and skills to conduct independent research and to enter the STEM workforce. Key components of the project will include a Peer Tutoring Intervention Program (PTIP) in freshman gateway STEM courses as an integrated component of the 4YrURCE model; a Faculty Development Institute will provide an opportunity to engage participants in practicing evidence-based pedagogies, reflecting on the learning outcomes, considering how all students - especially under-prepared and underrepresented students - thrive in active learning environments and learn how to build student metacognitive skills, resilience, and grit; and a research study on the efficacy of the CUREs model using a systems approach framework. To increase broader impacts, the project will provide stipends for faculty members at other institutions to engage in the faculty development activities and mini-grants to thirteen faculty members to pilot and test CUREs on their campuses.The overarching goals of the project are to build upon the on-going 4YrURCE pilot project designed to improve STEM learning and engagement and to conduct a longitudinal study on the efficacy of the proposed CUREs model. The specific objectives are to: (1) increase enrollment, persistence, and retention rates of underrepresented and under-prepared students in STEM disciplines; (2) provide research-based curricula founded on STEM competencies that provide multiple research and creative experiences for all students during all four years of matriculation; (3) provide leadership to a diverse group of students through peer mentoring and peer tutoring opportunities; and (4) provide diverse faculty that use evidence-based pedagogies to engage students, promote learning, develop students' metacognitive skills, and promote resilience among students. Mixed methods will be used to evaluate the project both formatively and summatively. Results are anticipated to show the extent to which the interventions (i.e. PTIP, CURE, etc.) impact student performance and student success including demonstrated increases in STEM competencies, engagement, retention, and completion and the extent to which the faculty development strategies improve adoption of effective pedagogical strategies.