Active Research Experience For Undergraduates Increases Students' Motivation And Academic Performance

An active research experience is one of the most effective ways to attract talented undergraduates and retain them in careers in science and engineering. At NJIT, the (REU) Research Experience for Undergraduates program provides educational experience for undergraduate students through specially designed active research projects. This allows students to experience first-hand how basic research is carried out, and to contribute substantially to the undertaken research. In its first year of operation, (NJI-TOWER) New Jersey Information Technology Opportunities for the Workforce, Education and Research project funded 39 students to conduct their research projects during the 2000-2002 academic years. Those 39 students also received access to NJIT equipment and facilities. After completion of the projects, the REU awardees presented the results of their efforts with their research mentors to the university community. While student presentations were considered to be qualitative outcomes, quantitative analyses were conducted on students’ academic performance. Retention rates, cumulative grade point averages (GPA) and overall academic persistence measured by ratio of earned and attempted credit hours were analyzed. Students and their supervisors were also surveyed on their satisfaction with the REU experience. Other educational outcomes such as obtaining graduate education and employment have been measured. To analyze the impact of REU on academic achievement, a quasi-experimental design was applied. Pure experimental design was not possible because students could not be randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Thirty-nine recipients of the NJI-TOWER REU awards composed the experimental group and 230 NJIT students were included in control group. The results of quasi-experiment can be considered valid due to the size and matching characteristics of the control group. The t-tests on experimental and control groups’ retention, cumulative GPA and ratios of earned and attempted credit hours showed statistically significant difference between two groups. Survey responses from both faculty and students confirmed that REU has increased students’ motivation and interest towards research. Introduction and literature review Active participation in real-life research has always been considered a high motivation for the undergraduates. According to NSF Report “Shaping The Future: New Expectations for Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology “America's undergraduates – all of them – must attain a higher level of competence in science, mathematics, “Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2003, American Society for Engineering Education” P ge 861.1 engineering, and technology... (make sure that) all students who enter advanced training at the professional level are well and broadly trained; and that the process of learning does not end with the classroom. ” The NSF studies prove that research experience during the undergraduate years is highly valued by the employees: “... (J)ob experience would appear to be the most salient factor to employers.” Jeanne L. Narum says that being involved in research as an undergraduate challenges students to be able and willing to move beyond their comfort zone ... beyond the safeties of the past as they explore, experiment, and create new knowledge ... these experiences also give students other skills and capacities (Narum 2002). The Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University Report expresses the idea even stronger, saying that “The research universities need to be able to give to their students a dimension of experience and capability they cannot get in any other setting, a research experience that is genuine and meaningful. They should turn out graduates who are well on the way to being mature scholars, articulate and adept in the techniques and methods of their chosen fields, ready for the challenges of professional life or advanced graduate studies” (The Boyer Commission Report 1998). The Kellogg Commission Report, Returning to Our Roots (Kellogg’s Report 1998), when discussing the issue of the “engaged university,” states that student’s experience should be enriched by bringing research and engagement into the curriculum: “...”(L)earning is not a spectator sport. Independent learners are active, not passive. We must insist that students take responsibility for their own learning and introduce many more of them to research, as collaborators with faculty and graduate students and as seekers and inventors of new knowledge in their own right.” 5 In 2000-2002, the research experience for undergraduates (REU) program at NJIT was funded by the New Jersey Information-Technology Opportunities for the Workforce, Education and Research (I-TOWER) grant, and provided educational experience for NJIT undergraduate students through specially designed active research projects. That allowed students to experience first-hand how basic research was carried out, and to contribute substantially to the undertaken research. This paper describes the REU process and analyzes students’ outcomes related to the REU. Undergraduate Research Projects NJI-TOWER first circulated a request for competitive proposals among NJIT students and faculty in November 2000. It resulted in fifteen projects involving 16 students, with one collaborative team, winning $2,000 honoraria for their research during the spring 2001 semester. In 2001-2002 academic year, the number of students participating in REU had increased to 23. On April 30, 2001 and on May 3, 2002 the REU awardees participated in poster sessions displaying their work, the results of their interaction with faculty and/or other research mentors and use of the facilities and professional development opportunities. Table 1 provides the list of students’ projects. Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2003, American Society for Engineering Education P ge 861.2 Table 1: Undergraduate research project titles. No TITLE 1 Network Health Monitoring System 2 Analysis and Modeling of Ion Implantation Methods for Ultra-Shallow Junctions in Silicon. 3 Robustness of Digital Watermarking. 4 Using Sequence-Dependent Aspects of DNA to Predict Binding Pattern of Amiloride 5 Mobile Agents for the Web 6 Modeling and parameter identification of electroretinograms to improve their diagnostic utility in clinical ophthalmology 7 Encoding Literary Objects for Archiving and Presentation in a Digital Medium 8 Computer Modeling & Physiochemical Study Of The Halogenated Analogs Of Common Drugs 9 Low Cost Web-Based Alarm System 10 Computer Modeling And Animation Of A Galton's Board 11 Robotic/AGV Computer Integration Project 12 Hardware MP3 Player (Playback From IDE/ATAPI Drive) 13 Identifying Specific Facial Region Using Facial Data In Stereolithographic (.Stl) File Format 14 Production Lines In Semiconductor Manufacturing 15 A Microprocessor I/O Expander Chip 16 Pro ECG Virtual Simulator 17 Modeling Of Electrical Activity Of A Neuron Using Neurolucida, CVAPP, And Genesis 18 Differential Tolls For Motorists (Value Pricing) 19 Comparative Study Of Four Theories Of Propagation And Scattering In Rough Metal Surface And A Bounded Two-Layer Model Of Vegetation Using Transport Theory 20 Computer Simulations Of Liquid Crystalline Polymers And Polyelectrolytes. 21 Distance Learning Study 22 Implementation Of Importance Sampling With The Semi-Regenerative Method To Analyze Large-Scale Systems. 23 Fuzzy Clustering Of Object Data And Relational Data. 24 T1 Wide Area Network Protocol Analyzer 25 Common Cancer Drugs: Computer Modeling And Phyphysiochemical Study Of The Halogenated Analogs 26 Case Study Of The Software Engineering Process As It Relates To Group Collaboration And Problem Solving 27 Resilient Packet Ring Access Protocol 28 A Computational Approach To The Search For A Treatment For Cocaine Abuse 29 Simulation For A Universal, Dynamically Adaptable And Programmable Network Router For Parallel Computers 30 Enhancing Access To IT For Persons With Disabilities. 31 A Methodology For Web-Based Interactive Laboratory 32 A Voice Controlled Text-To-Speech Web Page Reader. 33 Imaging And Image Processing Of Combustion Of High-Energy Density Al-Mg-H Compounds 34 Robotic/AGV Computer Integration Project During the students’ presentations, the projects were discussed and evaluated by the students’ peers, faculty and researchers. The discussions were mostly linked to the technical aspects of the projects, their importance for the field, and feasibility of implementation. The authors’ goal was Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright 2003, American Society for Engineering Education P ge 861.3 to analyze whether the REU experience had any impact on students’ academic achievement, which included retention rates, cumulative GPA, and overall academic performance measured by ratio of earned and attempted credit hours. Other educational outcomes such as obtaining graduate education and employment were also measured. Students and their supervisors were surveyed on satisfaction with the REU experience. Research Design To analyze impact of REU on academic achievement, a quasi-experimental design was applied. Pure experimental design was not possible because students could not be randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The recipients of the NJI-TOWER REU awards composed the experimental group and 230 NJIT students with matching demographic characteristics and academic background who took similar courses were included in control group. The group comparison was conducted based on the selected indicators of academic performance which included grades for program-specific courses, cumulative GPA and ratio of earned and attempted hours.