Institutionalizing Undergraduate Research throughout the Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum

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This project aims to serve the national interest by investigating the impact of multi-year course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) in an undergraduate chemistry laboratory curriculum. Developing opportunities to engage students in discovery-based science experiences is a national priority. CUREs achieve this goal by replacing traditional “cook-book” laboratory activities with authentic research experiences. Although CUREs have been developed in a variety of contexts, most research on their effectiveness examines individual courses. This project intends to advance knowledge about CUREs by investigating how a multi-year, sequenced CURE curriculum affects student learning. This project will transform the entire laboratory curriculum to center on undergraduate research. It is expected that this transformation will improve student recruitment, retention, and subsequent participation in other research experiences, especially for students from groups that are not yet equitably represented in STEM. These efforts will also provide a case study of evidence-based change to the chemistry laboratory curriculum that is designed to complement efforts to reform the chemistry lecture curriculum.CURE curricula will be developed in four chemistry laboratory courses at the State University of New York College (SUNY) at Geneseo, a primarily undergraduate institution. The CUREs will be introduced in participants’ first-year laboratory courses and be scaffolded in a multi-year sequence spanning a four year laboratory curriculum including general, organic, and inorganic chemistry, plus a senior capstone course. This project differs from previous CURE examples in that it will engage students in learning research skills during all four years of the undergraduate chemistry program, instead of just a single experience. The specific STEM education research questions will explore the impacts of a multi-year, sequenced CURE curriculum on student learning outcomes, student understanding of the research process, and students’ ability to carry out a meaningful research project. These outcomes will be investigated in collaboration with an external project evaluator using both indirect assessments of student perceptions of their learning gains from a nationally validated CURE survey and direct assessment through comparison of students’ course grades, laboratory assignments and exams, and participation in other research experiences before and after the curriculum change. Expected outcomes of the project include a better prepared STEM work force, greater persistence in pursuing post-baccalaureate education, a more diverse STEM community, and improved STEM educational practices. Results from this project will be disseminated locally in professional development workshops for STEM instructors, via a SUNY-wide online platform, and through presentations at regional conferences and publications in STEM education journals. This project was submitted in response to the "Dear Colleague Letter: Stimulating Participation from Institutions New to the Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources Program: (NSF 20-034)" and is funded by the NSF IUSE: EHR program, which supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students.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.