Is This Science? Students' Experiences of Failure Make a Research-Based Course Feel Authentic

Authors

Emma C. Goodwin, Portland State UniversityFollow
Vladimir Anokhin, Portland State University
MacKenzie J. Gray, Portland State UniversityFollow
Daniel E. Zajic, Portland State UniversityFollow
Jason Podrabsky, Portland State UniversityFollow
Erin E. Shortlidge, Portland State UniversityFollow

Sponsor

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (E.C.G.) and IOS-1354549 (J.E.P.)

Published In

CBE Life Sciences Education

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2021

Subjects

Biology Students -- Pedagogy

Abstract

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) and inquiry-based curricula both expose students to the scientific process. CUREs additionally engage students in novel and scientifically relevant research, with the intention of providing an "authentic" research experience. However, we have little understanding of which course design elements impact students' beliefs that they are experiencing "authentic" research. We designed a study to explore introductory biology students' perceptions of research authenticity in CURE and inquiry classes. Using the Laboratory Course Assessment Survey, we found that students in CURE sections perceived higher levels of authentic research elements than students in inquiry-based sections. To identify specific factors that impact perceptions of research authenticity, we administered weekly reflection questions to CURE students. Coding of reflection responses revealed that experiences of failure, iteration, using scientific practices, and the relevant discoveries in their projects enhanced students' perceived authenticity of their research experiences. Although failure and iteration can occur in both CUREs and inquiry-based curricula, our findings indicate these experiences-in conjunction with the Relevant Discovery element of a CURE-may be particularly powerful in enhancing student perceptions of research authenticity in a CURE.

Rights

© 2021 E. C. Goodwin et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2021 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s).

This work is available to the public under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Locate the Document

https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-07-0149

DOI

10.1187/cbe.20-07-0149

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/35202

Citation Details

Goodwin, E. C., Anokhin, V., Gray, M. K. J., Zajic, D. E., Podrabsky, J. E., & Shortlidge, E. E. (2021). Is This Science? Students’ Experiences of Failure Make a Research-Based Course Feel Authentic. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 20(1), ar10. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.20-07-0149