Engaging students in authentic scientific research has become an important component of undergraduate science education at many institutions. The purpose of this paper is to explore authentic research experiences as contexts for learning. The authors review empirical studies of undergraduate research experiences in order to critically evaluate the…

Science education models for secondary and college students as well as K-12 teachers have been dominated by classroom-based approaches. Recently, research apprenticeships wherein learners worked with practicing scientists on authentic scientific research have become increasingly popular. The purpose of this critical review of the literature was to…