Three Training Programs for Preparing Undergraduates to Conduct Research

Three instructional formats devoted to preparing STEM students for successful research endeavors is the forum for this project. All formats are intended to reach undergraduate students early in their academic careers. The three formats include: a semester long seminar, a one week faculty led “boot camp”, and a 21⁄2 day peer mentor led short course. The investigators attempt to keep the main topics in each format the same, although time constraints do not allow thorough review of each topic in the latter two formats. The topical content and activities cover the following areas: resume building, finding a faculty mentor, reading and analyzing journal articles, understanding the different types of literature available, using campus library resources, performing a literature review, discussion of intellectual property, tips on effective presentations, and career guidance. This project is motivated by the need for students to acquire appropriate skills in order to be effective in conducting research under faculty supervision. This project is a collaborative effort between three institutions with experience in teaching preparatory research skills in the different formats. The investigators are teaching each of the course formats at their institution. Working together to develop the appropriate course modules for dissemination to interested institutions, the team is preparing a set of best practices and evaluating the costs associated with each format. A preand post-test, in the style of a concept inventory, has been developed that can be used to assess improvements in student understanding of research skills and concepts. Initial results show similar gains in conceptual awareness at each institution. This suggests that the educational models may be transferrable and easily adopted by other institutions. Focus group discussions indicate that students are pleased with the programs and consider them useful, especially for students preparing to conduct research. To date, the team has impacted over 250 students and a web site is under development for disseminating project information.