Abstract:
Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have emerged as a viable platform to engage large numbers of students in real-world scientific practices. Historically, CUREs have been offered throughout science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curricula at both the introductory and advanced levels and have been facilitated by a variety of individuals, including faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate teaching assistants (GTAs). This latter population, in particular, has increasingly been tasked with facilitating CUREs, yet they often receive little meaningful professional development to improve pedagogical skills vital to this type of instruction. To address this disparity, we designed and evaluated a semester-long intervention to support GTAs (N = 7) responsible for leading CUREs at our institution during the Fall 2020 semester. Intervention activities included synchronous interactive discussions, reflective journaling, and asynchronous practical exercises. Analysis of retrospective postintervention survey responses and focus group interview data revealed that participants exhibited gains in their understanding of the dimensions of CUREs, strategies for mentoring undergraduates, and use of various pedagogical techniques as well as confidence in addressing and adopting those dimensions and strategies in their courses. Furthermore, participants reported finding value in the sense of community created through the intervention, which served as a means to share ideas and struggles throughout the term.
摘要:
基于课程的本科研究经验(CURE)已成为一个可行的平台,可以吸引大量学生参与现实世界的科学实践。历史上,在整个科学中都提供了CURE,技术,工程,以及入门和高级数学课程,并得到了各种个人的帮助,包括教职员工,博士后研究员,和研究生助教(GTA)。后者的人口,特别是,越来越多的任务是促进CURE,然而,他们往往没有得到有意义的专业发展,以提高对这种教学至关重要的教学技能。为了解决这种差距,我们设计并评估了一个为期一学期的干预措施,以支持GTA(N=7),负责在2020年秋季学期在我们机构领导CURE。干预活动包括同步互动讨论,反射日记,和异步实践练习。对回顾性干预后调查答复和焦点小组访谈数据的分析显示,参与者对CURE维度的理解有所收获,指导本科生的策略,以及使用各种教学方法以及在课程中解决和采用这些方面和策略的信心。此外,参与者报告发现了通过干预创造的社区意义上的价值,这是在整个学期中分享想法和斗争的一种手段。