Creating Effective Undergraduate Research Programs in Science: The Transformation from Student to Scientist (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- Creating Effective Undergraduate Research Programs in Science: The Transformation from Student to Scientist
The editors of this book have compiled a varied grouping of research articles, which discuss the impact of a number of undergraduate research initiatives across the nation. The primary audience for this book, as Roman Taraban and Richard Blanton state, is "college faculty who currently support students, or who have supported students, through direct mentoring relationships in research experiences" (p. vii). Additionally, this book may be of interest to faculty and institutions that are designing or redesigning their undergraduate research programs.
These articles contain some of the most current and best empirical research available on the effects of undergraduate research experiences on both students and faculty. Studies range widely in scope, from comprehensive research using data from the National Science Foundation's SURE (Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences) to assess funded undergraduate programs at colleges and universities across the nation, to single institutional research efforts such as the retention initiatives examined at the University of Michigan.
The editors have organized the work in four parts. Part 1, "A Context for Curriculum Change," lays the groundwork by defining undergraduate research and rationale for its importance. Taraban, in "What Is Undergraduate Research, and Why Should We Support It?" defines the book's goals and highlights the significant findings presented in the following chapters. Subsequent chapters investigate the basis of a successful research experience, the roles of mentors and peers, student satisfaction with research experiences, student achievements, how to construct successful programs, how to draw students into the culture and practice of science, racial and gender effects, post-baccalaureate gains, and faculty costs and benefits.
In Chapter 2, Angela M. Locks and Sandra R. Gregerman report on a retention initiative by the University of Michigan. Undergraduate research is one of several facets of this program. "Undergraduate Research as an Institutional Retention Strategy: The University of Michigan Model" describes a mixed methods study of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). Initial findings indicate that UROP students have higher retention rates than their non-UROP counterparts. The qualitative portion of the study suggested that UROP students were more proactive than their counterparts, perhaps as a result of their working relationships with faculty or with UROP peer mentors.
Chapter 3 by Carol Trosset, David Lopatto, and Sarah Elgin on "Implementation and Assessment of Course-Embedded Undergraduate Research Experiences: Some Explorations" compares the benefits of course-embedded research experiences to the benefits reported for summer undergraduate research experiences. Their results indicate similar benefits from both programs with the greatest benefit being understanding the research process. The course-embedded research received higher mean responses in the areas of "understanding how knowledge is constructed, the ability to analyze data, understanding that assertions require supporting evidence[,] and skill in scientific writing" (p. 41). The summer research experiences received a higher mean response for "readiness for more research, tolerance for obstacles, ability to integrate theory and practice, learning lab skills, clarification of career path, ability to read and understand primary literature, and learning ethical conduct" (p. 41).
In Part 2, "Assessment of Undergraduate Research Experiences," the editors present three articles that explore in depth the factors and characteristics of the students involved in undergraduate research, the undergraduate research experiences themselves, and the outcomes. Susan H. Russell, in "Undergraduate Research Opportunities: Facilitating and Encouraging the Transition," uses four web-based surveys to collect and answer questions about key variables that affect the research experience.
Karen Webber Bauer and Joan S. Bennett report on a multifaceted study designed to document student outcomes from a one-campus initiative to promote the undergraduate research experience at the University of Delaware. Finally in "Exploring the Benefits of Undergraduate Research Experiences: The SURE Survey," David Lopatto describes the SURE Survey's utility in assessing the benefits of undergraduate research experiences.
From these three articles, a reader can gain an appreciation for the various aspects...
