Bringing Authentic Research to the Remote Classroom: A Fully Online Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience for Astronomy Majors

该项目旨在通过开发一种可扩展的模式，将研究带入在线本科课程，从而为国家利益服务。在过去的二十年里，在线学习发生了巨大的转变。这一举措的核心是希望参与研究的不同人群的学习者可能无法适应标准模式的全日制教育的物理校园。参与研究是任何STEM学位的关键组成部分，因为它让学习者参与科学探究的过程，同时提高学生的数据素养和批判性思维技能。虽然参与研究是面对面STEM学位的一个常见组成部分，但在线学生的机会较少。该项目将通过实施面向在线天文学学位课程学生的基于课程的本科研究体验（CURE），扩大学生对研究的参与。这个CURE将采取一门高级研究课程的形式，重点是计算素养和数据复制。强调对现有数据进行重新分析是一种创新，与通常进行cure的方式有很大不同。由于多个学生可以参与同一数据集的分析，因此这种设计将突出结果复制的未被讨论的作用。因此，这种可扩展的基于复制的模式将可转移到其他机构，同时为为各种科学学科的学生开发在线治疗奠定基础。该项目的目标是通过为天文学和行星科学专业的学生提供主要侧重于研究素养和数据复制的高级研究课程，解决在线和面对面STEM学位课程之间的普遍差距。本研究课程将强调重复分析的重要性，因为它与系外行星观测特征有关。未来对系外行星的太空观测需要持续维护它们预测的天体位置，也被称为星历表。这种复制驱动的研究将提供更新的星历表，为当前的系外行星研究做出有意义的贡献。利用先前分析本科生研究经验的既定措施，项目团队将研究本课程的有效性，以确定围绕使用数据分析和可重复性设计的在线CURE对学生学习，研究素养和学生自我效能的影响。本研究的目标是促进对有效CURE所需的设计组件的理解，这些知识将为未来在线和面对面本科研究课程的发展提供信息。NSF IUSE: EHR计划支持研究和开发项目，以提高所有学生STEM教育的有效性。通过参与学生学习轨道，该计划支持有前途的实践和工具的创建，探索和实施。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project aims to serve the national interest by developing a scalable model for bringing research into online undergraduate programs. There has been a tremendous shift towards online learning in the past two decades. At the core of this initiative is the desire to make participation in research accessible to a diverse population of learners who may not be able to accommodate the standard model of full-time education on a physical campus. Participation in research is a critical component of any STEM degree, as it involves learners in the process of scientific inquiry, while improving students’ data literacy and critical thinking skills. Although participation in research is a common component of in-person STEM degrees, fewer opportunities exist for online students. This project will broaden student participation in research through the implementation of a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) geared towards students enrolled in online astronomy degree programs. This CURE will take the form of an upper-level research course that focuses on computational literacy and data replication. The emphasis on renewed analysis of existing data is an innovative and significant divergence from the way CUREs are typically conducted. Since multiple students can engage in analysis of the same dataset, this design will highlight the under-discussed role of result replication. As a result, this scalable replication-based model will be transferable to other institutions while simultaneously laying the groundwork for developing online CUREs for students across a variety of scientific disciplines. The goal of this project is to address a common disparity between online and in-person STEM degree programs by providing students in the Astronomical and Planetary Sciences program with an upper-level research course that focuses predominantly on research literacy and data replication. This research course will emphasize the importance of repeated analysis as it pertains to exoplanet observational characteristics. Future space-based observations of exoplanets require ongoing maintenance of their predicted celestial position, also known as ephemerides. Replication-driven research of this kind will provide updated ephemerides, making meaningful contributions to current exoplanet research. Using established measures from prior work analyzing undergraduate research experiences, the project team will study the effectiveness of this course to determine the impact of an online CURE designed around the use of data analysis and reproducibility on student learning, research literacy, and student self-efficacy. The goal of this research is to advance understanding of the design components that are required in an effective CURE, knowledge that will inform the development of both online and in-person undergraduate research courses in the future. The NSF IUSE: EHR Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.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.