APS ITL June 2014 Workshop: Best Practices for Undergraduate Research Experiences Developing Authentic Large-Scale Undergraduate Research Experiences (ALUREs) in your Physiology Course Kirsten Zimbardi, Susan Rowland, Gwen Lawrie, Jack Wang, Paula Myatt, Peter Worthy The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
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Workshop: Best practices for undergraduate research experiences
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APS ITL June 2014
Workshop: Best Practices for Undergraduate Research
Experiences
Developing Authentic Large-Scale Undergraduate Research
Experiences (ALUREs) in your Physiology Course
Kirsten Zimbardi, Susan Rowland, Gwen Lawrie,
Jack Wang, Paula Myatt, Peter Worthy The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
APS ITL June 2014
Physiology education for the 21st century workplace
Students need to develop the ability to deal with novel, complex, unstructured problems
The Boyer Commission (1998) Reinventing undergraduate education: a blueprint for America’s research universities.
National Research Council (2003) BIO2010: Transforming undergraduate education for future research biologists
President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2012) Engage to Excel: Producing one million additional college gradates with degrees in STEM
Students need to actively engage in ‘thinking like a scientist’
APS ITL June 2014
Vision and Change a call to national service
“…the study of biology also provides students an opportunity to develop an understanding of the nature of science and the scientific process so that when they confront issues that involve science and technology, they can solve every-day problems and use evidence and logic to reach sound conclusions. For regardless of their ultimate career paths, all students will need these very basic skills to participate as citizens and thrive in the modern world.”
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) www.visionandchange.org
APS ITL June 2014
Undergraduate research experiences
• In general science education • Engage students
• Improve academic achievement
• Provide a large range of benefits
• In physiology education • Active learning
• Hypothesis testing and scientific reasoning
• Critical evaluation of complex data
• Reinforce, extend key physiological concepts
• Authentic contextualisation of concepts and skills
• Communication in professional genres
Kuh (2008), Hunter et al (2006), Lopatto (2009), Luckie et al (2012), Zimbardi et al (2013)
APS ITL June 2014
Authentic Large-scale Undergraduate Research Experiences (ALUREs)
Our Australian national leadership project aims to support the development, implementation and evaluation of ALUREs by: • Documenting existing ALUREs and keys to
their success • Identifying and supporting academic
champions in developing new ALUREs • Producing a practical framework to guide new
New adopters: nanoscience, genetics, microbiology, biomedical science, chemistry, invertebrate biology => 6 Australian universi0es developing local ‘communi0es of prac0ce’ 1Lawrie et al (2009), 2Rowland et al (2012), 3Wang et al (2012), 4Bugarcic et al (2012), 5Zimbardi et al (2013)
APS ITL June 2014
ALUREs in physiology Animal Experiment Yr 2 Sem 1: Toad heart prac
Class 1: Skill building & proposal development
Class 2: Analysis of pilot trial data
Class 3: Conduct experiment
Options: drug treatment, hot/cold, stretch, acclimatisation
Measures: ECG, force of contraction
Human Experiment Yr 2 Sem 2: Effects of exercise
Classes 1-2: Skill building & proposal development
Class 3: Presentation, choose experiment
Classes 4-5: Conduct experiment
Class 6: Data analysis
Options: type, duration, intensity of exercise, co-treatment
ALUREs through evolution: Authenticity & Student Ownership
APS ITL June 2014
ALURE Implementers’ Checklist
APS ITL June 2014
Online version of the ALURE Implementer's Checklist
The following link has a list of questions that guide you through brainstorming potential solutions to the issues you are likely to need to tackle in developing a new ALURE:
http://laelaps.me/alure_ic/index.html
Once you register, you will be able to come back as many times as you need to revise and add to your brainstorming.
This checklist is under development, we would appreciate being able to use your responses to improve the checklist (so there is a consent form at the beginning of the checklist to let us know if using your responses for research is ok).
The following slides provide some suggestions for thinking about the checklist items and potential avenues for finding solutions that we have collected from experienced and new ALURE implementers.
Or scan:
APS ITL June 2014
Motivations & Values
For me (implementers) • a high-impact way to engage students in research and problem-
solving... • a curriculum change that will require negotiation and discussion
with multiple parties…
For my colleagues • an opportunity to showcase their research field to large student
cohorts…
For my students • an opportunity to contribute to and communicate authentic
research as part of a real-world project…
For other stakeholders • Employers • Academic leaders (policy makers) • Technical staff
APS ITL June 2014
Process and Logistics
Context • Discipline, topic • Course, unit or module • Year level
Design • Including authentic research • Planning time • Equipment and technical staff • Ethical approval • Sustainability
APS ITL June 2014
Context
• ALUREs may vary dramatically in their scope and complexity when offered to first, second, or third year students
• It is common to scaffold learning activities and assessment tasks, and incorporate a skill-building module early in the ALURE.
• ALUREs are often discipline-specific, so it is good to consult previously
established ALUREs prior to implementation
• Sample ALUREs: CUREnet (http://www.curenet.franklin.uga.edu), Chemistry: Weaver et al., 2008; Biochemistry: Rowland et al., 2012; Microbiology: Hanauer et al., 2006, Wang et al., 2012; Physiology: Zimbardi et al., 2013
APS ITL June 2014
Designing for authentic research
• Recruit a teaching staff member with a real-world research project that is scalable for large student numbers or develop a new project that has a real-world application.
• The project does not have to be complex, however it should be of real interest to an audience – this audience may be a single person (e.g., a research scientist, an individual farmer), but it also may be a government body, a public interest group, or the students themselves.
• These projects are often characterised by a need to collect a large number of samples or replicates for statistical analyses
• The ALURE should include a communication output, where the students communicate their results to the interested audience.
APS ITL June 2014
Design – lead-time
• ALURE design and planning should take place at least 6 months prior to its intended semester of delivery
• More lead-time may be needed if University policies require additional approval prior to changing course content
APS ITL June 2014
Equipment & Technical Staff
• Liaise with the teaching laboratory staff and facility managers as soon as possible to find out what is available for your ALURE
• Seek funding opportunities (both internal and external to the University) for Teaching and Learning projects
• Additional time and resources will be required of the teaching and laboratory staff in the first iteration of the ALURE
• This can be offset by lowering the number of variables in the ALURE; this is most commonly done by controlling the level of student autonomy in experimental design
APS ITL June 2014
Ethical approval
• Ethics approval may be required for running an ALURE if it involves animal handling, field-work, or the use of clinical samples. Running the ALURE past a University Ethics officer is a quick way to check this.
• Ethics clearance is required for all SoTL studies involving student participants. The ALURE project team can provide template ethics applications that are consistent with NHMRC guidelines.
APS ITL June 2014
Sustainability
• Running an ALURE in one semester within a calendar year is a common approach, which allows enough time for design and planning.
• To ensure that the ALURE will not “collapse” during the course of the semester the course coordinator should have the knowledge and experience to troubleshoot the experiments (even if another researcher is collaborating on the design and implementation).
• Sustainability of the ALURE is contingent on cost, prep-staff workload, academic workload, and student learning outcomes – it will take a few iterations for the right balance between these to be achieved.
APS ITL June 2014
Support for students
Recruiting interested students
Learning objectives
Degree of student ownership
Scaffolding academic demands
Mentoring – researchers & TAs
Assessment
APS ITL June 2014
Recruiting students
• ALUREs can be mandatory or opt-in, depending on the diversity and pedagogical needs of the students served
• ALUREs that address real-world problems are more likely to engage students in authentic research
• Designing other learning activities (e.g., lectures, tutorials) around the ALURE will also improve the alignment of the learning experience
APS ITL June 2014
Learning objectives
• Competence in laboratory, analytical, and communication skills are common learning objectives for ALUREs
• ALUREs also facilitate the development of self-organization, experimental design, and inquiry-driven planning.
APS ITL June 2014
Student ownership & autonomy
• ALUREs can vary from guided-inquiry (students can choose from a limited set of experimental parameters) to open inquiry (students can choose research question and methodology)
• The level of control afforded to students within the ALURE depends on the cohort size, resources, and the year-level of the unit or course
• Often in the first iteration of an ALURE, some form of guided-inquiry is recommended to restrict the scope and resource implications
APS ITL June 2014
Preparing students for academic demands of research
• Authentic research is difficult; the data obtained is often unpredictable and difficult to interpret without competence in quantitative skills and reading scientific literature
• Explicit skill-building modules offered both during class-time (e.g., lectorials) and as online resources are needed for extra support
• Organised interactions with academic mentors and laboratory TAs are also very helpful for students.
APS ITL June 2014
Academic mentoring from research staff
• The ALURE can be designed around the active research project of an academic staff member
• The academic involved can then become a mentor for the students, training tutors and laboratory demonstrates before practical classes
APS ITL June 2014
Teaching assistants as mentors
• Laboratory teaching assistants will need additional training, especially if they have not led inquiry-based classes before
• The academic mentors should be on hand for this training to explain the experimental parameters students are expected to modify
• Tutor to student ratios can be as high as 1:20 (ratios of 1:12 or 1:15 are more managable). The viability of high-ratio classes depends on the skill levels of the students, teaching-assistant experience, and the layout of the teaching laboratory.
APS ITL June 2014
Assessment
• Students should be required to present, analyse and critique the validity of their own experimental data
• Authentic assessment items usually involve student communication of the project findings to the interested audience (e.g., a laboratory report written in a professional journal format; an oral presentation of their project findings to the academic mentor; a blog; a report to a community interest group; a database entry; a social networking site with results for the students who will take up the project next year). If at all possible, this communication output should really be passed on to the audience, not just used for assessment.
APS ITL June 2014
Evaluation
Knowing if the ALURE was successful
• Indicators of success
• Diverse stakeholder perspectives
Using a variety data collection methods
Established survey instruments
APS ITL June 2014
Evaluation methodologies
• Pre and post survey testing of student learning gains and perceptions
• Student performance in course assessment tasks
• Student and instructor reflections throughout the semester
• Focus-group interviews of students before and after the ALURE
APS ITL June 2014
Evaluation tools
• The ALURE project team has adapted a number of survey instruments for use in evaluating ALUREs; this can be provided to ALURE implementers for their own contexts.
• URSSA
• CURE
• Test of Scientific Literacy Skills (concept inventory)
• CUREnet (http://www.curenet.franklin.uga.edu) is in the process of establishing and validating further evaluation instruments for undergraduate research experiences.
References: Abstract reading list Kuh, G. 2008. High impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they
matter. New England Association of Schools and Colleges. http://www.neasc.org/downloads/aacu_high_impact_2008_final.pdf. The 10 most influential education practices that improve student academic performance and persistence
Hunter, A.-B., Laursen, S.L. and Seymour, E. (2006) Becoming a scientist: The role of undergraduate research in students’ cognitive, personal, and professional development. Science Education 91: 36–74. Extensive interviews of students and researchers revealed a framework for student benefits of UREs and led to the development of a quantitative instrument for student learning gains (URSSA)
Michael J. (2006) Where’s the evidence that active learning works? Advances in Physiology Education 30: 159–167. Review of active learning approaches used in physiology education to improve student outcomes
Zimbardi, K., Bugarcic, A., Colthorpe, K., Good, J.P. and Lluka, L.J., (2013) A set of vertically integrated inquiry-based practical curricula that develop scientific thinking skills for large cohorts of undergraduate students. Advances in Physiology Education 37: 305-315. A novel series of physiology practicals across three semesters which scaffold students in developing content knowledge and learning to think like scientists.
Luckie, D.B, Aubry, J.R., Marengo, B.J., Rivkin, A.M., Foos, L.A. and Maleszewski JJ. (2012) Less teaching, more learning: 10-yr study supports increasing student learning through less coverage and more inquiry. Advances in Physiology Education 36: 325–335. Standardised tests (Medical College Admissions Test) show inquiry laboratory classes improve knowledge compared with recipe-based practicals.
Zimbardi, K., and Myatt, P (2012). Embedding undergraduate research experiences within the curriculum: a cross-disciplinary study of the key characteristics guiding implementation. Studies in Higher Education, doi:10.1080/03075079.2011.651448. Characterisation of UREs embedded in the curricula across all disciplines at a research-intensive university with implications to guide URE design.
APS ITL June 2014
References: ALURE examples
Chemistry: Lawrie et al. (2009) Uniserve Proceedings 173-179. Weaver et al. (2008) Nature Chemical Biology 4: 577-80.
Biochemistry: Rowland et al. (2012) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 40 (1): 46-62.
Microbiology: Wang et al. (2012) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 40 (1): 37-45. Hanauer et al. (2006) Science 314: 1880-1881.
Molecular biology: Bugarcic A., et al. (2012) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education 40 (3): 174-180.
Physiology: Zimbardi K., et al. (2013) Advances in Physiology Education 37 (4): 303-315.