REU Site: Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Model-based Reasoning in STEM Education at the Rochester Institute of Technology

大学生研究经验（REU）项目承认国家优先支持的研究，以解决学生往往缺乏理解不能直接观察到的科学现象的能力。罗切斯特理工学院（Rochester Institute of Technology）的研究团队包括本科生合作者，研究学生如何从我们用来解释科学概念的工具中学习；模型（思想和经验观察之间的桥梁）和表示（模型的描述）。辅助活动包括全队列研究方法研讨会、研究小组会议、交流研讨会和社会活动。这项工作是在科学和数学教育研究合作组织（SMERC）内进行的，该组织由十名教师组成，他们对探索生物学、化学和物理学中基于学科的教育研究相关问题感兴趣。为了扩大STEM中代表性不足的群体的参与，包括美国原住民、非洲裔美国人、拉丁裔、聋人和听力障碍人群，我们积极招募学生。这个由两部分组成的REU项目包括一个虚拟的夏季前培训课程，然后是为期9周的密集夏季研究经验。在虚拟课程“January Jump-Start”中，学生将了解研究项目、职业道德和研究方法。作为本课程的一部分，学生还可以进行文献审查并启动机构审查委员会（IRB）流程。在夏季，学生将参与以下研究项目：(a)在实验实验室工作中使用模型和表示，(b)物理数学表示背后的概念意义，(c)生物化学和分子生物学视觉表示背后的概念意义，以及(d)开发和评估强调建模和表示的课程。通过入学和毕业调查、每周会议、研究成果和研讨会评估产生的数据反映了学生对经验的满意度、对研究的态度以及申请学科基础教育研究（DBER）研究职业的准备。毕业后，对学生进行跟踪和访谈，了解项目的影响。项目成果的传播应为跨学科DBER研究提供一个模式。项目团队通过各种学科国家会议展示他们的工作，包括生物教育促进协会会议，美国化学学会年会，美国物理教师协会/物理教育研究会议，以及本科STEM教育转化研究会议。项目可交付成果包括总结性评估结果和为1月启动计划开发的课程材料。

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) project recognizes the national priority to support research that addresses the fact that students tend to lack the ability to understand scientific phenomena that are not directly observable. The research team at Rochester Institute of Technology involves undergraduate collaborators in the investigation of how students learn from the tools we use to explain scientific concepts; models (bridges between ideas and empirical observations) and representations (descriptions of models). Ancillary activities include cohort-wide research methods workshops, research group meetings, communication workshops, and social events. The work takes place within the Science and Mathematics Education Research Collaborative (SMERC), a group of ten faculty members interested in exploring questions related to Discipline-Based Educational Research in biology, chemistry, and physics. In order to broaden participation students who are from underrepresented groups in STEM, including Native American, African American, Latino, and Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing populations, are actively recruited.This two-part REU project consists of a virtual, pre-summer training session followed by and intensive 9-week summer research experience. In the virtual course, January Jump-Start, students are introduced to the research projects, professional ethics, and research methodologies. Students also perform literature reviews and initiate the Institution Review Board (IRB) process as part of this course. During the summer, students participate a research experience within the following clusters: (a) use of models and representation in experimental laboratory work, (b) conceptual meaning underlying mathematical representations of physics, (c) conceptual meaning underlying visual representations of biochemistry and molecular biology, and (d) developing and evaluating curricula emphasizing modeling and representation. Data generated through entrance and exit surveys, weekly meetings, and assessment of research artifacts and workshops reflects the student's satisfaction with the experience, attitudes about research, and preparation to apply for research careers in Discipline-based Education Research (DBER). After graduation, the students are tracked and interviewed about the project's impact. Dissemination of the project results should provide a model for cross-disciplinary DBER research. The project team presents their work through at a variety of disciplinary national meetings including, the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Conference, the Annual Meeting of the American Chemical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers/Physics Education Research Conference, and the Conference on Transforming Research in Undergraduate STEM Education. Project deliverables include results of summative evaluation and the course materials developed for the January Jump Start.