Many initiatives attempt to smooth transitions between 2-year colleges and 4-year universities, but retention and graduation rates for transfer-students are still low, especially in STEM. The Transfer-student Research and Integration Program (TRIP) at the University of Central Florida was developed to meet the needs of a diverse transfer…

Online laboratories can be an effective way to introduce students to lab concepts while providing flexibility, increased access, and reduced costs. However, online labs might lack the authentic research experience that can be gained by doing hands-on lab work. This study explores student perceptions of an online, inquiry-based introductory biology…

Many undergraduates use research internships to gain experience for graduate school. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs involve heavy research and lab work duties, for which students are often unprepared and lack opportunities for practice. Evidence supports Undergraduate Research Experience (URE) programs' ability…

The communication of scientific findings often concludes the research experience, but few science programs include explicit undergraduate curricula for practicing oral science communication. While course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) can provide opportunities for students to practice science communication, few studies describe…

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) increase student engagement in scientific practices and empower students to generate novel findings. Previous studies have demonstrated that CUREs are more effective at enhancing students' motivations, attitudes, science identity development, and acquisition of science process skills than…

In this article, we report on a National Science Foundation-funded immersive international summer research program for biology students. Six students, representing Cohort 1 of a three-year program, spent 9 weeks at one of three institutes in Japan, working on related molecular, cellular, and developmental research projects under the mentorship of…

Students in introductory college science courses often have a simplified understanding of the scientific method. To introduce students to the complexity of the scientific process and the value of empirical observations, I implemented a semester-long assignment that required introductory-level college science students to build and calibrate weather…

Participation in course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) allows students greater and equitable access to the high-impact practice, especially in the STEM disciplines. In a National Science Foundation-sponsored project, small groups of students completed authentic research projects in eight introductory to upper level geoscience…

Authentic undergraduate research laboratory experiences are essential to aid in the implementation of science education reform mandates and to effectively train a new generation of biology students. Here we present assessment data on a unique four-step laboratory pedagogical framework that allows students to develop scientific thinking and…

Cell phones have become ubiquitous in society, but they are typically seen as a problem in the classroom. This study was designed to assess the perspective of students regarding the use of cell phones as academic tools in the classroom. The author encouraged students to use their cell phones in an environmental issues course to find data and other…

Over the past decade, several reports have recommended a shift in undergraduate biology laboratory courses from traditionally structured, often described as "cookbook," to authentic research-based experiences. This study compares a cookbook-type laboratory course to a research-based undergraduate biology laboratory course at a Research 1…

Oxford College is a small liberal-arts intensive 2-year undergraduate division of Emory University, where inquiry-based courses are a required part of the general education program. We have developed an authentic research experience for undergraduates that mimics--as much as possible--a real undergraduate research experience. Our program provides…

High school and undergraduate research students were surveyed over the 10-week period of their summer research programs to investigate their understanding of key concepts in science ethics and whether their understanding changed over the course of their summer research experiences. Most of the students appeared to understand the issues relevant to…

The geology program at Clemson University has instituted a new, six-semester-long undergraduate research course sequence that requires student participation in ongoing departmental research projects from their sophomore through senior years. As a part of a university-wide initiative focusing on undergraduate research, termed Creative Inquiry at…

K-12 education has identified an important need for culturally relevant practices among underrepresented minority students in the classroom. Research has shown that minority students perform better in multicultural learning environments that place an emphasis on addressing both the student's social and academic needs. Accordingly, Central State…