IMPROVING UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION THROUGH COMMUNITY BUILDING AND ADOPTION OF AN EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE TO EVALUATE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

With funding from the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education's WIDER program, an evidence-based evaluation model for guiding undergraduate research (UR) is being tested, refined, and disseminated. The model, developed at SUNY Buffalo State, is based on more than seven years of implementation and has been proven effective with both new and experienced faculty mentors from a wide range of academic disciplines. The model is designed to ensure that student learning outcomes from participation in UR are as strong as possible. Multiple progress assessments by both faculty and students across a wide range of learning outcomes are integral to the evaluation process, so that essential and timely information is provided by both students and faculty mentors to advance learning objectives. Through repeated structured interactions between student and mentor, the evaluation generates formative guidance and helps the students recognize and better understand their strengths and weaknesses. Additional testing and refinements of the evaluation model are being conducted to ensure applicability across diverse institutional settings. The project will create and provide the resources to support successful implementation at any undergraduate institution. Through collaborations with the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) at Carleton College, the project will foster national communities of STEM scholars who are trained and motivated to sustain and expand the UR evaluation model.