Marine Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) Targeting Transfer Students as a Means for Building a Science Learning Community.

今天，超过50%的STEM学生将在一所以上的高等教育机构完成学士学位。这些学生中的许多人是转校生，他们先是上了两年制的社区大学，然后转到了四年制院校。不幸的是，许多转校生未能完成学士学位。造成这种现象的一个主要原因是，转学学生经常面临着对他们的学业成就产生负面影响的挑战，最终影响他们在STEM专业的留校和毕业。增加转学学生成功率的项目可以显著提高STEM毕业率，这将有助于实现增加STEM劳动力的多样性和规模的国家目标。参与涉及现实世界问题的科学研究经验有助于学生取得成功，提高学生保留率和毕业率。这个项目提供本科生的研究经验，在夏季桥牌项目和学年期间都可以转学。这些经验将有助于建立一个多样化和可持续的研究社区，为所有本科生更好地支持和准备STEM专业。该项目将在西佛罗里达大学(UWF)进行，这是一所中等规模的地区性州立大学，转校生比例很高。这个项目的中心目标是建立一个多方面的、以课程为基础的本科生研究(CURE)社区，以当地小孔扇贝的新遗传学和细胞生物学为中心。该项目还将解决转学学生在学术上取得成功的具体挑战，让教员参与研究并提高他们的教学技能，并为机构转型和可持续性制定战略。中心项目活动将：1)发展和提高学生研究和实验室技能，以及2)通过夏季桥梁计划吸引即将到来的转学学生和教师，该计划包括同行指导和基于Coquina研究项目的针对教师的治愈培训研讨会系列。该项目将有助于更好地了解考奎纳文蛤的生物学。此外，该项目将有助于对影响转学学生在高等教育中取得成功的因素进行教育研究，并产生其他机构可以实施的最佳做法。该项目将提高对转学学生目前遇到的影响他们在生物学上取得成功的挑战的了解，治疗经验和过渡计划对转学学生归属感和科学素养和技能的影响，以及3)在生物课堂上实施治疗和吸引教师进行机构变革的最佳实践。调查结果将通过UWF Coquina CURE网页传达，该网页将整合学生和教职员工创建的内容，以共享课程材料。研究成果将通过同行评议的出版物和会议发言进行传播。该项目由生物科学局、生物基础设施司和教育与人力资源局、本科教育司联合资助，作为他们应对《本科生物学教育愿景与变革：行动呼吁》(http://visionandchange.org/finalreport/).)中提出的挑战的努力的一部分

Today more than 50% of STEM students will attend more than one higher education institution to complete a bachelor's degree. Many of these students are transfer students who attend a 2-year community college and later transfer to a 4-year institution. Unfortunately, many transfer students fail to complete a bachelor's degree. A major reason for this phenomenon is that transfer students often face challenges that negatively affect their academic success, and ultimately their retention and graduation in a STEM major. Programs that increase the success of transfer students can significantly increase the STEM graduation rate, which will help meet the national goal of increasing the diversity and size of the STEM workforce. Participation in scientific research experiences involving real-world problems supports student success, increasing student retention and graduation rates. This project provides undergraduate research experiences to transfer students both during a summer bridge program and the academic year. These experiences will help establish a diverse and sustainable research community that will better support and prepare all undergraduates for STEM professions.This project will take place at the University of West Florida (UWF), a medium-sized regional state university with a high percentage of transfer students. The central goal of this project is to establish a multi-faceted course-based undergraduate research (CURE) community centered on the novel genetics and cell biology of the local coquina clam Donax variabilis. This project will also address specific challenges to the academic success of transfer students, engage faculty with research and enhance their pedagogical skill, and develop strategies for institutional transformation and sustainability. The central project activities will: 1) develop and enhance student research and laboratory skills, and 2) engage incoming transfer students and faculty through a summer bridge program that incorporates peer mentoring and a CURE training workshop series for faculty based on the coquina research project. The project will contribute to a better understanding of the biology of the coquina clam. In addition, the project will contribute to education research on factors that influence the success of transfer students in higher education and generate best practices that other institutions might implement. The project will improve understanding of current challenges encountered by transfer students that impact their success in biology, the effect of the CURE experience and bridge program on transfer students' sense of belonging and their scientific literacy and skill, and 3) best practices for implementing a CURE in a biology class and engaging faculty for institutional transformation. Findings will be communicated through a UWF Coquina CURE web page that will incorporate content created by both students and faculty to share curriculum materials. Research results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts to address the challenges posed in Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action (http://visionandchange.org/finalreport/).