Investigating Pre-College Predictors and Post-Secondary Effects of Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences in Texas

该项目旨在满足国家在STEM职业生涯中培养多样化劳动力的需要。为了满足这一需求，各机构在STEM方面开发了以课程为基础的本科生研究经验，以吸引学生从事STEM职业。这些研究活动将产生证据和洞察力，说明STEM基于课程的本科生研究经验如何与研究生工作结果相关。此外，这项研究将确定预测学生参与以课程为基础的本科生STEM研究经验的大学前学生特征。该项目将调查学生参与STEM基于课程的本科研究经验的短期和长期结果，这可能为机构和政策制定者提供关于STEM基于课程的本科研究经验如何满足STEM劳动力需求的见解。这项由德克萨斯理工大学学者开展的研究旨在对STEM基于课程的本科研究(CUR)对德克萨斯州未来STEM专业人员发展的短期和长期影响进行纵向分析。为了解决CUR文献中的一个空白，这些研究将研究大学前学生的特征和参加本科CURE之间的联系，以及CUR参与与STEM领域积极的学术成果和研究生职业相关的程度。研究分析将使用休斯顿大学教育研究中心(UH-ERC)现有的数据库信息进行。具体地说，德克萨斯州全州范围的纵向数据系统包含了从公立幼儿园到高等教育的学生到劳动力的数据，这些数据将用于研究。此外，文本分析方法将被用来系统地从德克萨斯州高等教育机构公开可用的教学大纲中识别CURE。项目团队将使用多种已建立的模型方法来研究预测CURR参与的大学前学生特征，以及与CURS作为本科生参与相关的长期研究生和就业结果。项目团队具有分析大型数据集的经验，并将由一个在CURS、大型数据集和计划评估方面具有专业知识的外部顾问委员会进行指导。拟议的传播努力，包括研究出版物和政策简报，可以使这项研究成为其他州类似分析的典范。这项研究对于理解CURS服务的学生群体以及CURR在STEM就业中可能扮演的角色具有潜在的变革性。该项目得到了NSF的EHR核心研究(ECR)计划的支持。ECR计划强调基础STEM教育研究，以产生该领域的基础知识。在基本、广泛和持久的关键领域进行投资：STEM学习和STEM学习环境，扩大STEM的参与，以及STEM劳动力发展。该计划支持积累强有力的证据，为理解、构建理论以解释并建议干预和创新来解决持续存在的问题提供信息。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 project aims to serve the national need to develop a diverse workforce in STEM careers. To address this need, institutions have developed course-based undergraduate research experiences in STEM to attract students to STEM careers. These research activities will produce evidence and insights about how course-based undergraduate research experiences in STEM are related to post-graduate workforce outcomes. Additionally, the research will identify pre-college student characteristics that predict student participation in course-based undergraduate STEM research experiences. The project will investigate short- and long-term outcomes of student participation in course-based undergraduate research experiences in STEM, which could provide insights to institutions and policymakers about how course-based undergraduate research experiences in STEM could address STEM workforce needs.This research efforts from scholars at Texas Tech University aims to conduct longitudinal analyses on the short- and long-term impact of STEM Course-based Undergraduate Research (CUR) on the development of future STEM professionals in Texas. Addressing a gap in the CUR literature, the studies will examine associations between pre-college student characteristics and participation in an undergraduate CURs, as well as the extent to which CUR participation is associated with positive academic outcomes and post-graduate careers in STEM fields. Research analyses will be conducted using existing database information from the University of Houston’s Education Research Center (UH-ERC). Specifically, the Texas Statewide Longitudinal Data System contains data on students from public Kindergarten through higher education to the workforce that will be used in the research. Further, text analysis methods will be used to systematically identify CURs from publicly available syllabi across Texas institutions of higher education. The project team will use multiple, established modelling methods to investigate pre-college student characteristics that predict CUR participation, as well as long-term post-graduate and employment outcomes associated with participation of CURs as an undergraduate student. The project team has prior experience analyzing large data sets and will be guided by an external advisory board with expertise in CURs, large datasets, and program evaluation. Proposed dissemination efforts, which include both research publications and policy briefs, could allow the research to serve as a model for similar analyses in other states. This research is potentially transformative for understanding student populations served by CURs and the role that a CUR may play in STEM employment.This project is supported by NSF's EHR Core Research (ECR) program. The ECR program emphasizes fundamental STEM education research that generates foundational knowledge in the field. Investments are made in critical areas that are essential, broad and enduring: STEM learning and STEM learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development. The program supports the accumulation of robust evidence to inform efforts to understand, build theory to explain, and suggest intervention and innovations to address persistent.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.