Department of Curriculum and Instruction

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Browsing Department of Curriculum and Instruction by Author "Alvarez, Consuelo J."

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    A Course-Based Research Experience: How Benefits Change with Increased Investment in Instructional Time
    (American Society of Cell Biology, 2014) Shaffer, Christopher D.; Alvarez, Consuelo J.; Bednarski, April E.; Dunbar, David; Goodman, Anya L.; Reinke, Catherine; Rosenwald, Anne G.; Wolyniak, Michael J.; Bailey, Cheryl; Barnard, Daron; Bazinet, Christopher; Beach, Dale L.; Bedard, James E. J.; Bhalla, Satish; Braverman, John; Burg, Martin; Chandrasekaran, Vidya; Chung, Hui-Min; Clase, Kari; DeJong, Randall J.; DiAngelo, Justin R.; Du, Chunguang; Eckdahl, Todd T.; Eisler, Heather; Emerson, Julia A.; Frary, Amy; Frohlich, Donald; Gosser, Yuying; Govind, Shubha; Haberman, Adam; Hark, Amy T.; Hauser, Charles; Hoogewerf, Arlene; Hoopes, Laura L. M.; Howell, Carina E.; Johnson, Diana; Jones, Christopher J.; Kadlec, Lisa; Kaehler, Marian; Key, S. Catherine Silver; Kleinschmit, Adam; Kokan, Nighat P.; Kopp, Olga; Kuleck, Gary; Leatherman, Judith; Lopilato, Jane; MacKinnon, Christy; Martinez-Cruzado, Juan Carlos; McNeil, Gerard; Mel, Stephanie; Mistry, Hemlata; Nagengast, Alexis; Overvoorde, Paul; Paetkau, Don W.; Parrish, Susan; Peterson, Celeste N.; Preuss, Mary; Reed, Laura K.; Revie, Dennis; Robic, Srebrenka; Roecklein-Canfield, Jennifer; Rubin, Michael R.; Saville, Kenneth; Schroeder, Stephanie; Sharif, Karim; Shaw, Mary; Skuse, Gary; Smith, Christopher D.; Smith, Mary A.; Smith, Sheryl T.; Spana, Eric; Spratt, Mary; Sreenivasan, Aparna; Stamm, Joyce; Szauter, Paul; Thompson, Jeffrey S.; Wawersik, Matthew; Youngblom, James; Zhou, Leming; Mardis, Elaine R.; Buhler, Jeremy; Leung, Wilson; Lopatto, David; Elgin, Sarah C. R.; Washington University (WUSTL); Longwood University; California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo; Linfield University; Georgetown University; University of Nebraska Lincoln; Worcester State University; Johnson C Smith University; Saint Joseph's University; Grand Valley State University; Saint Mary's College of California; University of West Florida; Purdue University; Purdue University West Lafayette Campus; Calvin University; Hofstra University; Montclair State University; University of the Cumberlands; Amherst College; Mount Holyoke College; University of Saint Thomas; City College of New York (CUNY); Oberlin College; Claremont Colleges; Pomona College; Lock Haven University; George Washington University; Wilkes University; University of North Carolina; North Carolina Central University; Cardinal Stritch University; Utah Valley University; Loyola Marymount University; University of Northern Colorado; Simmons University; University Incarnate Word; University of Puerto Rico; University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez; York College NY (CUNY); University of California San Diego; Widener University; Macalester College; Suffolk University; Webster University; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; California Lutheran University; University of Puerto Rico at Cayey; Albion College; Rochester Institute of Technology; San Francisco State University; North Carolina A&T State University; Duke University; William Woods University; California State University Monterey Bay; University of Evansville; University of New Mexico; Denison University; William & Mary; California State University Stanislaus; University of Pittsburgh
    There is widespread agreement that science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs should provide undergraduates with research experience. Practical issues and limited resources, however, make this a challenge. We have developed a bioinformatics project that provides a course-based research experience for students at a diverse group of schools and offers the opportunity to tailor this experience to local curriculum and institution-specific student needs. We assessed both attitude and knowledge gains, looking for insights into how students respond given this wide range of curricular and institutional variables. While different approaches all appear to result in learning gains, we find that a significant investment of course time is required to enable students to show gains commensurate to a summer research experience. An alumni survey revealed that time spent on a research project is also a significant factor in the value former students assign to the experience one or more years later. We conclude: 1) implementation of a bioinformatics project within the biology curriculum provides a mechanism for successfully engaging large numbers of students in undergraduate research; 2) benefits to students are achievable at a wide variety of academic institutions; and 3) successful implementation of course-based research experiences requires significant investment of instructional time for students to gain full benefit.