SHORT, EARLY COURSE-BASED RESEARCH EXPERIENCES AS MODELS TO INCREASE EQUITY IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Course-based research experiences have been shown to improve STEM outcomes such as self-efficacy and belonging for undergraduate students, particularly those from marginalized groups. In environmental science, field experiences at the undergraduate level, such as field research courses (FRCs), comprise a keystone element of many scientists’ training. However, FRC’s present many barriers to inclusion, including financial cost, time investment, self-efficacy, health and safety concerns, and social barriers. We present two models designed to decrease many of these barriers: 1) a short (48 hour) FRC, and 2) an authentic research exercise in a large-enrollment, general education course. We discuss how these course models decrease common barriers to participation in environmental research. For the FRC, we used a pre-post survey from 56 students who took the course in fall 2022 to measure changes from the beginning to the end of the course in students’ sense of belonging within their major and research self-efficacy, all measured on a 7-point Likert scale. For example, students rated questions such as “I see myself as part of my major/academic discipline” and “I am good at using technical research skills.” Using paired-sample t-tests, we found students’ sense of belonging increased for within their major (t(55) = -4.36, p=<0.001) and research self-efficacy (t(55) = -4.42, p=<0.001) increased after the 48-hour FRC. Our results suggest that positive STEM outcomes associated with research experiences common in environmental science (e.g., independent research) can also be developed on a shorter timeline than is typical for research experiences at the undergraduate level. Therefore, departments and instructors should consider offering short course-based research experiences to minimize barriers to participation within the discipline of environmental science.