Momentary Assessment of Research Learning Environments

越来越多的研究表明，参与本科生研究经历（UREs），包括基于课程的本科生研究经历（CUREs），可能会影响学生对科学的坚持，也就是说，学生是否从大学毕业并获得科学学位。然而，这些研究经验已经被广泛实施了多年，却没有对经验的具体特征有多少了解，这些特征是积极影响学生坚持学习所必需的。解决这一知识差距是至关重要的，因为本科生的研究经历在其设计和可能的有效性方面差异很大。此外，大多数关于研究经验的研究要求学生在研究结束时而不是在研究过程中提供他们的看法。这种延迟可能在几个方面造成问题。例如，在结束的经验评估中，学生可能会过分强调最近的事件。此外，经验结束评估并不能反映学生经历随时间的变化。该研究项目将使用一种称为生态瞬时评估的方法，每周多次记录学生的研究经历，使研究人员能够更好地了解学生的经历。这一信息有可能为ure和CUREs如何影响学生对科学的坚持提供新的见解。该研究将涉及学生的入门和高级研究经验，包括遗传学，生物化学，微生物学，生态学和其他生命科学学科的UREs和CUREs。这项研究将包括九所不同大学的学生，包括那些来自科学领域代表性不足的群体的学生入学率很高的大学。在自我效能理论和社会认知职业理论的指导下，本EHR核心研究项目将描述生命科学中的ure和CUREs的关键特征以及这些特征与学生作为科学家的发展之间的关系。它还将通过采用生态瞬时评估（EMA）和主题建模来确定学生对EMA的反应中反复出现的主题，从而解决以往本科生研究经验研究的方法缺陷。在第一阶段，研究人员将测试和完善研究方法。该团队将使用EMA: 1)收集和分析来自9所大学参加UREs和CUREs的750名学生的不同群体的数据；2)描述假设会影响学生发展的经历的各个方面（时间的数量、合作的性质、认知参与的水平）；3)确定研究经历中对学生有显著意义的其他方面。此外，研究者将使用已建立的量表来测量学生在参与UREs前后的科学自我效能感、效能感的来源、科学认同、结果期望和继续从事科学的意愿。在第二阶段，项目团队将收集和分析第二组750名学生的数据，并使用结构方程模型来更好地理解研究经历的特征如何成为学生自我效能感的来源。此外，项目团队将确定研究经历的特征，这些特征与学生的科学自我效能感、科学身份、对继续教育或科学职业的期望以及对科学的预期和实际坚持有关。该团队还将探索结果是否以及如何因学生社会人口变量而不同。研究结果有望更好地理解研究经验的重要方面，并为如何设计ure和cure提供见解，以支持所有学生实现理想的教育成果，特别是他们对科学的坚持。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

A growing number of studies show that participation in undergraduate research experiences (UREs), including course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), may influence a student's persistence in science, that is, whether a student graduates from college with a science degree. However, these research experiences have been widely implemented for many years without much knowledge of the specific characteristics of the experiences that are necessary to positively influence student persistence. This knowledge gap is critical to address because undergraduate research experiences vary widely in their designs and thus in their likely effectiveness. Furthermore, most studies of research experiences ask students to provide their perceptions at the end of the experience rather than during the experience. This delay can be problematic in several ways. For example, in end of experience assessments, students may overemphasize more recent events. In addition, end of experience assessment does not capture changes in students' experiences over time. This research project will use a method called ecological momentary assessment to document students' research experiences at multiple times per week, enabling the investigators to better understand student experiences as they occur. This information has the potential to provide new insights into how UREs and CUREs influence student persistence in science. The research will involve students in introductory and upper-level research experiences, including UREs and CUREs in genetics, biochemistry, microbiology, ecology, and other life science disciplines. The study will include students at nine different universities, including those with high enrollments of students from groups underrepresented in science.Guided by self-efficacy theory and social cognitive career theory, this EHR Core Research project will characterize key features of UREs and CUREs in the life sciences and how these features relate to students' development as scientists. It will also address methodological shortcomings of previous studies of undergraduate student research experiences by adapting ecological momentary assessment (EMA) and topic modeling to identify recurring themes in students' responses to EMAs. In Phase 1 the researchers will test and refine the research methodologies. The team will use EMA to: 1) collect and analyze data from a diverse group of 750 students who are participating in UREs and CUREs at nine universities; 2) characterize aspects of the experiences that are hypothesized to affect student development (amount of time, nature of collaborations, levels of epistemic involvement); and 3) identify other aspects of research experiences that are salient to students. In addition, the investigators will use established scales to measure students' science self-efficacy, sources of efficacy, scientific identity, outcome expectations, and intentions to continue in science before and after participating in UREs. In Phase 2, the project team will collect and analyze data from a second cohort of 750 students, and use structural equation modeling to better understand how features of research experiences serve as sources of self-efficacy for students. In addition, the project team will identify the features of research experiences that relate to changes in students' science self-efficacy, science identity, expectations about further education or a career in science, and intended and actual persistence in science. The team will also explore whether and how the results differ with respect to student sociodemographic variables. The research results are expected to provide a better understanding of the important aspects of research experiences, and to provide insights into how to design UREs and CUREs to support all students in realizing desired educational outcomes, especially their persistence in science.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.