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Why involve undergraduates in mentored research?

• "It is clear that the academic community regards the involvement of undergraduate student majors in meaningful research . . . with faculty members as one of the most powerful of instructional tools.“ (NSF, 1989)

• “The Standards call for more “science as process,” in which students learn such skills as observing, inferring and experimenting. Inquiry is central to science learning.” (National Science Standards, 1995)

• “To successfully undertake careers in research after graduation, students will need scientific knowledge, practice with experimental design, quantitative abilities, and communication skills. . . . All students should be encouraged to pursue independent research as early as is practical in their education." (Bio2010, 2003)

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Russell, et al. (2007) surveyed STEM (and other) undergraduate researchers (primarily juniors and seniors) - total respondents >5000

Kardash (2000) surveyed 57 undergraduates (juniors and seniors) who self-rated their abilities on 14 skills before and after an Undergraduate Research Experience (URE). These were compared to Faculty evaluations of their abilities after the URE.

Lopatto (2003) polled 41 faculty from 3 colleges about the benefits of undergraduate research.

A follow up study (Lopatto, 2004) he conducted similar surveys of more than 1000 undergraduates in research programs at 41 universities and colleges.

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Summary and Concerns

Together, these studies indicated:

• There is considerable support for undergraduate research and considerable information indicating that undergraduate research is beneficial to both the students and the mentors.

• However, there is concern that in many of these studies that higher order inquiry skills are not being developed.

• There is also concern that waiting until their Junior or Senior year for the experience may be too late. I.e. we should be getting more Freshmen and Sophomores into research experiences.

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Teaming Introductory Biology and Research

Labs in Support of Undergraduate Education

Jean Heitz Introductory Biology 151-152 – UW, Madison, WI jgheitz@wisc.edu

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What is the University of Wisconsin’s Introductory Biology 152 Mentored Research

Program?

• The program began in 1983.• It was developed as an integral part of the Introductory

Biology152 lab experience. All students choose between doing a meta-analysis of the literature or mentored research.

• Since we began keeping detailed records (1996) more about 3000 of our students have participated in mentored research. The vast majority are sophomores.

• This year alone more than 400 of our students have been engaged in independent research.

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• What types of preparation did we find necessary to help insure student success in mentored research?

• What types of support and review are needed to help insure student understanding?

• What are the values of engaging undergraduates in independent research early in their college careers?

• How does this experience affect our students' views of science, the university in general and their future goals?

• How do the mentors view this program?

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What preparation is necessary for student success in finding a mentorship?

• In the first semester, 151, we introduce the independent project options.

• Students interested in the mentored research option meet with their coordinator before week 13 and bring: – A completed student inventory form– A list of faculty/research of interest

• At the meeting, we: – Go over their inventory form and faculty list– Discuss appropriate ways to contact faculty and what to

expect at an interview– Show students how to construct a brief resume– Address concerns students may have and explain the key

criteria for success – Interest, dependability, questioning– Provide students with a letter to potential mentors and a

form explaining how to sign up for directed study credit (699, etc.)

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In 152 we work on higher order skills.

• Writing is critical and staged throughout the semester.– Proposal at week 5– First draft at week 9– Final draft at week 14– Poster Session at week 15

• The independent project manual contains clear guidelines for all stages of the process.

• TA/coordinator feedback (written and/or oral) is provided at the proposal and first draft stages.

• Mentor feedback is also provided.• The final products are a journal style article and a poster

presentation designed for a scientifically literate audience.

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What makes for student success in a mentorship?

Faculty ViewpointWhat are the characteristics of students who are successful in a mentorship? Rate the following.

answer options Very important Important

Initiative 70.0% (14) 25.0% (5)

Reliability 85.0% (17) 15.0% (3)

Interest in the research 70.0% (14) 30.0% (6)

Ease with which the student learns new material/techniques

30.0% (6) 65.0% (13)

Adaptability 45.0% (9) 45.0% (9)

Willingness to ask questions when they don't understand

80.0% (16) 20.0% (4)

Ability to troubleshoot 20.0% (4) 70.0% (14)

Ability to learn from mistakes or unexpected results

55.0% (11) 40.0% (8)

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Value as seen by the Faculty

Based on your experience mentoring undergraduates, rate the value of the following:

answer options Very High Value High Moderate

the actual work undergraduates do in your research program

15.0% (3) 20.0% (4) 60.0% (12)

the mentoring experience gained by grad students/post-docs

30.0% (6) 45.0% (9) 15.0% (3)

the insight gained as a result of curiosity or different views of novice undergrads in the lab

10.0% (2) 15.0% (3) 55.0% (11)

the personal satisfaction you gain from interacting with undergraduates

30.0% (6) 70.0% (14) 0.0% (0)

the help provided by an extra set of hands in the lab

10.0% (2) 10.0% (2) 70.0% (14)

the research experience gained by the undergraduate

42.1% (8) 57.9% (11) 0.0% (0)

the 152 requirement that the student reviews current literature in the topic area

30.0% (6) 45.0% (9) 25.0% (5)

the 152 requirement that the student be able to communicate in writing what s/he is doing and why it is important

50.0% (10) 40.0% (8) 5.0% (1)

the 152 requirement that the student be able to communicate orally in a poster session what s/he is doing and why it is important

40.0% (8) 55.0% (11) 0.0% (0)

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Value as Seen by StudentsWhat did you gain as a result of the experience?

answer options Significant Moderate Somewhat Biological knowledge 33.0% (15) 44.4% (20) 17.8% (8) Life experience 51.1% (23) 28.9% (13) 15.6% (7) Professional development 40.0% (18) 40.0% (18) 17.8% (8 ) Experience that informed your future career plans

35.5% (16) 42.2% (19) 8.9% (4)

How would you rate the overall value of the mentored research experience?

answer options Response Percent

Response Count

One of my most valuable undergraduate experiences

31.1% 14

Very valuable 31.1% 14 Valuable 24.4% 11 Somewhat valuable 8.90% 4

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Retention?Did you continue in research beyond the one semester required in 152? If so, for how many semesters?

answer options Response Percent

Response Count

One -two semesters in the same lab 28.57% 12 Three -four semesters in the same lab 26.19% 11 More than four semesters in the same lab 4.76% 2 One -two semesters in a different lab 9.52% 4 Three -four semesters in a different lab 7.14% 3 More than four semesters in a different lab 0.00% 0 Other (please specify) 23.81% 10

answered question 42 skipped ques tion 4

Other (please specify) More than four in the same lab and more than three in another lab as well It was 1.5 month summer project, i did it the following summer One more semester in same lab; 3 semesters in different labs Two before, one after , more to come Ongoing until I graduate, possibly continuing as a grad student here I didn't continue research – 3 responses

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One student said…

• Working as a professional scientist, researcher or researching university-level teacher/professor was never really suggested to me and therefore, I never really considered it. The 152 IP made the process of guiding us into a research experience very unintimidating. To a freshman or sophomore, contacting faculty to join their lab is a big deal. [The coordinator] made herself seem very available to talk to about concerns and she gave advice regarding what we should say and how to present ourselves. These skills aren’t taught in any other class!!! – although I think they’re very valuable.

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Does our program address concerns stated in the literature?• Concerns:

– waiting until their Junior or Senior year for the experience may be too late.

– higher order inquiry skills are not being developed

• Higher order skills identified were: – Construct meaningful problem; apply knowledge to a real

situation • Formulate a research hypothesis based on a specific question• Design an experiment or theoretical test of the hypothesis

– Improve oral and written communication skills– Learn to use scientific literature

Kardash (2000) and Lopatto (2003 and 2004)

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A final student comment

“Although I don’t know how truly accurate this assumption is, it seems to me that a large majority of students who start college interested in a science career (or science careers most closely related to biology) come with the intention or goal of medical school. This is not always because they have a great passion for patient care or giving back, but it’s because that’s the career teachers and peers recommend to a highly motivated student interested in science. That is, at least, the case for myself. . . Once in a lab, I was opened up to an entirely new “research culture” that I found incredibly fascinating. I have since found that I’m far more interested in research than I would be in medicine… I really thank the experience for opening me up to that world.”

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References• Bio2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future

Research Biologists (2003) books.nap.edu/books/0309085357/html/75.html

• Kardash, CAM 2000 Evaluation of an Undergraduate Research Experience: Perceptions of Undergraduate Interns and Their Faculty Mentors, Journal of Ed Psych 92(1): 191-201.

• Lopatto, D 2003 The Essential Features of Undergraduate Research, Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, March, pp. 139 to 142

• Lopatto, D 2004 Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE): First Findings, Cell Biology Education 3: 270-277

• NSF 1989 - Report on the National Science Foundation Disciplinary Workshops on Undergraduate Education, Washington, D.C.

• National Science Standards 1995 books.nap.edu/books/0309053269/html/2.html

• Russell, S. H., MP Hancock and J McCullough, 2007 Benefits of Undergraduate Research Experiences, Science (316): 548-549