A STUDENT PERSPECTIVE AND EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES FROM A COURSE-BASED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE (CURE)

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are designed to give STEM students experience conducting original research. The development of the CURE pedagogy borrows from theories of social and situational learning, wherein learning occurs most effectively when learners can observe and interact with others, especially within settings that are true to real-world activities and conditions. Ideally, upon completion of a CURE, students will obtain the following outcomes: increased content knowledge, increased analytical skills, increased self-efficacy, external validation from a science community, persistence in science, increased technical skills, and career clarification. This case study takes a personal perspective and explores a Biology student’s education journey from taking a paleoclimate/paleoceanographic CURE course in the Geology Department at James Madison University to the achievement of possible CURE outcomes. The CURE course uses scientific ocean drilling data and samples, allowing for students to engage in hands-on training with different methods and data interpretation. To date, 90 students have completed this CURE, with 30% continuing on to do further independent undergraduate research, and 75% of students in the last four cohorts becoming lead or co-authors on a published abstract. The pedagogical approach of the CURE created a solid interest and technical foundation to reroute the aforementioned Biology major’s career path to Geology/Paleoceanography, and connect them to a PhD program and advisor, a former CURE student as well, in the field. In short, the major probable outcomes of the CURE course were achieved, and led to being accepted into a Ph.D. program at an R1 research institute. Here, we link specific CURE methods to the probable outcomes outlined in literature, these probable outcomes to evidence via personal experience, and finally the implications of these outcomes in the context of eventual career opportunities.