Participants' reflections two and three years after an introductory chemistry course-embedded research experience

Abstract

The Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education (CASPiE) is a course-embedded undergraduate research curriculum that aims to introduce authentic research experiences for students in their early college years. A cohort of students who were randomly assigned to the CASPiE laboratory sections was tracked during and two and three years after course enrollment. Students from the traditional laboratory sections were also tracked for control purposes. This paper presents students' perceptions of the laboratory course at the time of enrollment, based on their answers to an online survey, and a comparison to students' later responses to semi-structured oral interviews about their course involvement. We found that students' views of the curricula persisted over the years. CASPiE students thought the curriculum allowed them to learn how to do research and in turn gained confidence to do such work. In contrast, students from the traditional sections thought they did not learn the practice of research in their course. These and related comparisons are presented with evidence from survey results and interview vignettes. The implications of the CASPiE curriculum implementation and its effects over the long term are discussed.