Preparing Future STEM Technicians by Using Assessment as a Teaching and Learning Tool in Course-based Research at Community Colleges

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Community colleges play a vital role in meeting the national demand for qualified graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In particular, community colleges are key in preparing students to enter the skilled technical workforce. In a growing number of community college STEM programs, students are gaining technical skills by conducting course-based research. There is a need for resources and tools that can measure the impact of course-based research experiences on student outcomes, and the ways in which this type of research conducting prepares students to enter the STEM technician workforce.This project will support community college students who conduct course-based research in technician education programs. The project aims to help students identify the knowledge and skills they gain through their research experience, to identify areas in which they need to improve, and to use this knowledge to their advantage as they enter the workforce. The project aligns with the goals of the ATE program in educating a skilled technical workforce, and leverages both the Community College Undergraduate Research Initiative and the technical resources available through the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College. This project builds upon EvaluateUR, an evidence-based method developed at SUNY Buffalo State to measure a range of desirable outcomes of research participation. The EvaluateUR tool measures content knowledge, as well as outcomes that are critically important in the workplace, such as communication skills, creativity, autonomy, an ability to overcome obstacles, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. EvaluateUR also provides students with metacognition skills, as well as a strategy to identify how much academic progress they have made or still need to make. To date, EvaluateUR has focused on one-on-one student/faculty mentor relationships. This project will modify EvaluateUR to expand the number of students who can benefit from this assessment method. This expansion is designed to meet the needs of entire classrooms of students who conduct course-based research. The lessons learned during implementation of this project at community colleges may apply to course-based research conducted by undergraduates at other institutions, including four-year colleges and universities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.