In a typical undergraduate biology curriculum, students do not dive into research until they first wade through large amounts of content. Biology courses in the first few years of the college curriculum tend to be lecture-based and exam-based courses. As a result, science students are mainly exposed to content knowledge--not the skills scientists…

This article uses fieldnotes along with student and practitioner feedback to recount the challenges, benefits, and broader learnings of engaging master's students in a participatory research seminar. The students developed research proposals about a real-world socioeconomic challenge with and for local practitioners. Proposals were consistent with…