Leveraging public data to offer online inquiry opportunities

A low-cost cure for CUREs: An undergraduate microbiology course engaging students in authentic research using publicly available datasets

Undergraduate research experiences are key to preparing STEM students for a range of careers and graduate programs, and to impacting retention in STEM. Providing undergraduate research experiences can be challenging for institutions due to the high cost associated with equipment and reagents, lab space, and research mentors. In this study, we present an upper-level microbiology seminar course that does not require these resources, as each student chooses and performs their own research project using data obtained from publicly available datasets. The faculty member provides hands-on instruction and regular feedback to mentor the cohort of students through all stages of their research projects, from honing a research question, to choosing a dataset, to data analysis and visualization. Students build science communication skills through each writing a scientific paper, and creating and presenting a scientific poster. These papers and presentations, along with results from student pre- and post-surveys, demonstrate that students built research and communication skills, while also building their confidence and interest in science careers. To access this research experience, students only need to register for this course; no application or selection is required, and no prior research experience is expected. The use of publicly available data makes this course a low-cost way to integrate authentic research projects into the college curriculum, and can be adapted to courses in any discipline. Such "low-cost CUREs" (course-based undergraduate research experiences) can be used to build capacity for undergraduate research experiences that are so crucial to preparing students for opportunities in and beyond college.

Real-time text message surveys reveal student perceptions of personnel resources throughout a course-based research experience

Course-based research experiences (CREs) are designed to engage students in authentic scientific experiences that are embedded into a standard curriculum. CREs provide valuable research experiences to large numbers of undergraduate biology students, however, CRE implementation can require many personnel. Because limited personnel may be a barrier to widespread CRE implementation, our goal was to discover which personnel students valued throughout a CRE and the ways they were valuable. We investigated students’ perceptions of personnel resources throughout a semester-long CRE using two survey approaches. Using a text message survey administered multiple times per week, real-time data was collected about which personnel resource students perceived to be the most helpful. Using a web-based survey administered five times throughout the semester, retrospective data was collected about how often students used each personnel resource and how helpful students perceived each personnel resource to be. Graduate teaching assistants (TAs) were consistently selected as the most helpful personnel resource by the majority of respondents throughout the semester, with most respondents describing graduate TAs providing project-specific feedback. Although less frequently, undergraduate TAs were also consistently selected as the most helpful personnel resource. Respondents described undergraduate TAs providing project-specific feedback, general feedback, and project-specific resources. Data from the retrospective, web-based survey largely mirrored the real-time, text message survey data. Throughout the semester, most respondents reported using graduate TAs “Often” or “Always” and that graduate TAs were “Very” or “Extremely” helpful. Throughout most of the semester, most respondents also reported using undergraduate TAs “Often” or “Always” and that undergraduate TAs were “Very” or “Extremely” helpful. The results of this descriptive study underscore the importance of graduate and undergraduate TAs in the development and implementation of CREs, emphasizing the need for departments and course coordinators to be intentional in planning TA training that prepares TAs to fulfill their critical role in CRE implementation.

Teaching during COVID-19 Times: A Community College Perspective

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic altered instructional and learning strategies at institutions across the globe. This emergency transition to remote instruction (ETRI) resulted in ambiguity regarding what to teach, how to teach, and instructor and student workload. We report on a survey-based study of 44 community college (CC) faculty at 16 institutions, with the aim of documenting how our CC faculty colleagues perceived the ETRI, the challenges they faced, and the resources that were-or would have been-most helpful. We conclude with recommendations, in the words of participating faculty, to address prevailing concerns voiced by these instructors: namely, the lack of student-faculty interactions in the online space, concerns about student access to resources, and the demand for authentic research and lab experiences.