RAPID: Optimizing distance learning programs to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on REU sites in biology.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has undermined national capacity to offer onsite Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites. Due to the rapid onset of the pandemic, BIO-REU principal investigators (PIs) were caught largely unprepared to deliver REU learning through distance technologies. This proposal will capitalize of the organizing activities started by BIO-REU PIs to provide distance REU programs. Specifically, PIs are making substantial changes to their programs to engage students in research at a distance, including shifting to research projects that can be conducted at a distance, offering research mentoring and professional development online, and providing informal avenues for communication at a distance. The shift to distance programming is both necessary and unprecedented. Substantive evaluation is needed in order to refine these approaches to maximize student learning and minimize disruption to REU offerings, which play a critical role in developing the research workforce. This project will improve student learning and development in distance BIO-REU sites by carrying out such an evaluation. First, the distance REUs will be evaluated early in their programming through virtual focus groups with students and mentors as well as observations of synchronous, distance activities. The results of these evaluations will be reported rapidly to the BIO-REU PIs to enable prompt adjustments and refinements of distance program activities. Then, additional focus group and survey data will be collected to determine the extent to which distance REUs are able to (a) build a sense of community in their cohorts, (b) ensure student ownership of their research projects, (c) provide quality mentorship at a distance, and (d) influence students’ professional growth and their education and career interests. Data will be compared across REU sites and with published studies of in-person REU sites to identify strategies useful for improving student learning in distance REUs. Results will be shared in reports to each REU site in order to make improvements and published for the undergraduate STEM education community to apply lessons learned in future undergraduate research programming. This project will accomplish two major goals: (1) evaluating distance REUs in order to improve student learning and research workforce development and (2) producing new knowledge about the effectiveness of distance REU programming. Using established approaches and measurements for evaluating undergraduate research experiences, the project will involve conducting focus groups, observing program activities, and collecting survey data from undergraduate researchers and their research mentors at REU sites across the country that are operating at a distance due to COVID19. Results from analysis of focus groups and observations will be rapidly reported to REU site leaders to make immediate improvements to better support student learning. Results from surveys and focus groups will be used to determine the extent to which distance REUs are able to achieve similar goals to in-person REUs, including building a sense of community, ensuring robust student involvement in research, providing quality mentorship at a distance, and influencing students’ professional growth and their education and career interests. The project will produce tested strategies for engaging undergraduates in research at a distance, which could be applied to other circumstances such as serving students who are not able to travel to a distant REU site or engaging students following natural disasters. The project will be conducted in the context of biology, which is the domain of STEM with the largest number of undergraduate researchers. This RAPID award is made by the Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) using funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.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.