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A Boost for the CURE: Improving

Learning Outcomes with Curriculum-

Based Undergraduate Research

Joseph L. Allen*, Stephen C. Kuehn, Department of Physical Sciences, Concord University, Athens, West Virginia 24712, USA; and
Elizabeth G. Creamer, Education Research and Evaluation, School of Education, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24060, USA

In a recent survey of geoscience employers, curriculum. This gives students the positive chemistry, and structural geology of a system
more than 75% of respondents indicated that impact of a commitment that is sustained over of mid-crustal fault rocks in the Colorado
the particular courses a job candidate had time, reduces the bottleneck associated with Rockies. Although the research foci are based
taken were less important predictors of work- apprentice-style UREs, and broadens aca- upon our departmental capabilities and
force success than the development of prob- demic and social inclusion by opening the research interests, the MS-CURE model is
lem-solving skills, competencies, and concep- doors of research to everyone. transferable to other research themes, course
tual understanding (Summa et al., 2017). An sequences, and durations. For example, an
effective pathway to develop these attributes A CURRICULUM-BASED MS-CURE could be distributed across two or
is through participation in undergraduate UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH more courses with or without gaps and lead to
research experiences (UREs), which are EXPERIENCE senior independent research or a capstone
known to catalyze increases in conceptual Our novel, multi-semester, curriculum- course. Further, an MS-CURE could capital-
understanding, confidence, and skills through based undergraduate research experience ize on local geologic, hydrologic, or environ-
the practice of scientific investigation (MS-CURE) is embedded in five semester- mental problems amenable to collaborative,
(NASEM, 2017). Since many traditional length courses across the core geology cur- long-term investigation.
UREs follow an apprentice-style approach via riculum. The two-year sequence begins with a In our MS-CURE, participants prepare
one-on-one mentoring, they are faculty inten- sophomore-level course in environmental and thin sections from the field area and analyze
sive, often selective, and open to fewer stu- applied geology and continues through earth them using petrographic methods and elec-
dents. Course-based UREs (CUREs) provide materials and minerals, structural geology, tron probe microanalysis across four consecu-
a mechanism to scale up participation and petrology, and our summer geology field tive campus-based courses. The URE con-
increase access by bringing collaborative camp. Research is spread across each course cludes with original mapping at the field site
research that generates new knowledge as: (1) writing assignments integrating tradi- during the summer field camp, in which the
with broad relevance into the classroom tional course topics with the URE; (2) compo- lab work is placed in a field context and sam-
(Auchincloss et al., 2014). However, the short- nents of endemic laboratory activities; and ples for future cohorts are collected. This fos-
term nature of a CURE (NASEM, 2017) (3) short discussions (specific activities and ters continuity and establishes scientific com-
leaves little time for students to reflect upon learning goals are presented in Fig. S1 ). munication and data sharing between past and
1
alternative interpretations or revise hypothe- Importantly, each student retains the same future cohorts. Students are assigned samples
ses—two fundamental components of the research project through the sequence so he/ from the same field site, but each student feels
process of science. she/they can incrementally build a complex ownership of a unique set of data.
Time is a critical factor in the development data set while progressively writing and revis-
of science skills and professional attitudes, ing a journal-style research paper at the same LEARNING GAINS
because novice researchers become proficient time as others in the class. The writing spans In order to evaluate learning gains and the
at technical tasks through iterative data col- four courses, providing students space for effectiveness of the MS-CURE, two cohorts
lection relatively rapidly, but it can take more metacognitive reflection from one course to of students anonymously responded to a set of
than a year in a URE to develop confidence, another and time to mature in their under- questions from the Undergraduate Research
perseverance, and a more holistic understand- standing of the process of science. In order to Student Self-Assessment (URSSA; Weston
ing of the nature of science (Thiry et al., 2012). scaffold the learning experience, students and Laursen, 2015) at the end of the five-
How can a URE provide the benefit of time, incrementally present results at a campus- course sequence. Both cohorts were taught by
while also increasing student access to wide poster forum during the second and the same instructors (JLA and SCK), and an
research? In this contribution, we propose that fourth semesters. external evaluator (EGC) prompted students
it is possible to resolve this by extending a The student research topics are multidisci- to respond to the URSSA on the basis of the
CURE across multiple required courses in a plinary and focus on the petrology, geo- embedded URE. We then compared pub-

1 Supplemental Material: MS-CURE research activities, learning goals, and rubric for student assessment. Please visit https://doi.org/10.1130/GSAT.S.12290381 to
access the supplemental material, and contact editing@geosociety.org with any questions.

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