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

新冠肺炎疫情削弱了国家为本科生提供现场研究体验的能力。由于大流行的迅速爆发，BIO-REU首席调查人员(PI)被发现基本上没有准备好通过远程技术提供REU学习。这项提议将利用BIO-REU PIs发起的组织活动，提供远程REU计划。具体地说，私人投资机构正在对其项目进行重大改革，以吸引学生参与远程研究，包括转向可以远程进行的研究项目，在线提供研究指导和专业发展，以及提供非正式的远程交流渠道。向远程编程的转变是必要的，也是史无前例的。需要进行实质性评估，以改进这些方法，使学生的学习最大化，并最大限度地减少对REU产品的干扰，这些产品在发展研究队伍方面发挥着关键作用。这个项目将通过开展这样的评估来改善学生在远程生物-REU站点的学习和发展。首先，将通过与学生和导师组成的虚拟焦点小组以及对同步的远程活动的观察，在规划的早期对远程REU进行评估。这些评估的结果将迅速报告给BIO-REU PIS，以便及时调整和完善远程计划活动。然后，将收集更多的焦点小组和调查数据，以确定REU在多大程度上能够(A)在他们的群体中建立社区意识，(B)确保学生对其研究项目的所有权，(C)提供高质量的远程指导，以及(D)影响学生的专业成长和他们的教育和职业兴趣。数据将在REU网站上进行比较，并与已发表的面对面REU网站的研究进行比较，以确定有助于改善学生在远程REU中学习的策略。结果将在每个REU站点的报告中共享，以便进行改进，并发布给本科生STEM教育界，以便在未来的本科生研究规划中应用所学到的经验教训。该项目将实现两个主要目标：(1)评估远程REU，以改善学生的学习和研究队伍发展；(2)产生关于远程REU规划有效性的新知识。使用已建立的评估本科生研究经验的方法和衡量标准，该项目将包括开展焦点小组、观察计划活动，并从全国各地因COVID19而进行远程操作的REU地点的本科生研究人员及其研究导师收集调查数据。来自焦点小组和观察结果的分析结果将迅速报告给REU现场领导，以便立即做出改进，以更好地支持学生的学习。调查和焦点小组的结果将被用来确定远程REU能够在多大程度上实现与面对面REU类似的目标，包括建立社区意识，确保学生积极参与研究，提供高质量的远程指导，以及影响学生的专业成长和他们的教育和职业兴趣。该项目将制定经过测试的让本科生远程参与研究的策略，这些策略可以应用于其他情况，如为无法前往遥远的REU地点的学生提供服务，或在自然灾害后吸引学生参与。该项目将在生物学的背景下进行，生物学是STEM拥有最多本科生研究人员的领域。这一快速奖项由生物基础设施部(DBI)利用冠状病毒援助、救济和经济安全(CARE)法案的资金做出。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.