Author(s):
Need: Kennesaw State University (KSU) is the second-largest institution in Georgia and is nationally known for undergraduate research (UR), most notably serving as the host for the 2019 National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Also in 2019, our campus launched a new Quality Enhancement Plan for accreditation, the “It’s About Engagement” initiative, which aims to increase engaged learning opportunities for students through UR, service learning, and internships. Student interest in research opportunities has never been higher. The traditional UR model involves a faculty member mentoring one student or a small number of students at any given time. However, this model is not sustainable at KSU due to a high student-faculty ratio.A solution to this problem is to focus on embedding UR into existing courses, known as Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). Research shows that CUREs broaden access to UR, especially for historically underrepresented students. We aim to capitalize on the infrastructure and support for UR at KSU to improve CUREs in STEM fields. Our long-term goals are to increase the number of CUREs offered and to help faculty create high-impact CUREs. Guiding Questions: The aims for this capacity- building project are to:1. Conduct a needs assessment to understand the gaps and opportunities for implementing CUREs. Many of the current practices surrounding UR at KSU emerged organically due to high interest in and dedication to UR. Our aim is to move forward more strategically to identify our campus’s needs and ultimately formulate a plan for advancing institutional transformation toward widespread use of CUREs.2. Develop a Community of Practice to facilitate the advancement of CUREs, bringing together diverse stakeholders from around campus.3. Develop a strategic plan for CUREs at KSU, informed by a Theory of Change developed after the needs assessment.Outcomes: In this poster, we will describe the progress made in the three aims (e.g., surveys, focus groups, analyses of syllabi, analyses of critical reflections). Specifically, this project has highlighted the radical differences in how STEM disciplines approach CUREs and the ways in which both faculty and students can be underprepared for these courses. The preliminary strategic plan will be presented.Broader Impacts: At the university level, this project has the potential to transform undergraduate education in STEM disciplines. A growing body of research suggests that transforming courses to have a research component results in better learning outcomes for students and increases research participation by historically underrepresented minorities. Ultimately, this project will help us greatly expand the number of CUREs at KSU as well as the quality of those experiences for students. In addition, research suggests that faculty enjoy teaching CUREs, but there are barriers to change that we expect to emerge from this project that will be addressed in the strategic plan. Creating a culture around CUREs in STEM courses will not only positively impact STEM students; STEM faculty will likely be positively impacted as well. Finally, we plan to make public our processes and outcomes regarding institutional change so that other universities can adopt our methods.
Coauthors
Kimberly Cortes, Chazzidy Harper, Abigail Dingess, and Mahdi Ghasemi, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA
