From the Teaching Lab to the Research Lab: What Do Undergraduates Learn from Research Experiences?

Historically undergraduate and graduate students alike have learned science practice and process through an apprenticeship model, working with an established researcher in the laboratory or the field. Not only have undergraduates learned, they have contributed to the knowledge base. Work that Bridges and Sturtevant began as undergraduates in Morgan’s “Fly Room” at Columbia in the early twentieth century established the chromosomal basis of modern genetics and undergraduates have continued to be vibrant participants in the research endeavor.  Undergraduate research supports many of the goals called out in the AAAS Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology report, including the “ability to apply the process of science.”  The challenge for undergraduate educators is how to scale the research experience in light of the vast number of students interested in biology. Bringing authentic research experiences into formal laboratory courses is gaining momentum, with motivation ranging from enhanced learning, to mining extremely large data sets, to efficiencies in faculty time by more fully integrating their research and their teaching. This presentation examines the evidence for what students gain from both traditional undergraduate research experiences and authentic research experiences integrated into the curriculum. Authentic research examples will focus on genomics education where opportunities exit to engage students in analyzing huge amounts of data while making original discoveries that contribute to the growth of the field. The research base on engaging undergraduates in research offers insights into guiding students along the continuum of science practice and maximizing the opportunities for all students to apply the process of science. Supported by NSF (DUE-0837375)