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Engaging students in authentic research in introductory chemistry and biology laboratories

Engaging students in research early on in the college experience may help reduce the number of students who drop out of STEM after experiencing one of the gateway courses, such as the introductory laboratory courses. Typical introductory laboratories do not show students the nature of scientific careers, the application of science in everyday life, and how science is interdisciplinary. Undergraduate research programs, such as UROP at the University of Michigan have been successful at engaging students early on in their academic life in researchbased experiences. However, scaling up has been difficult. One approach is incorporating authentic research experiences into the course curriculum, specifically introductory laboratory courses. Authentic Research Connection (ARC), funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at the University of Michigan, College of Literature, Science & Arts is bringing faculty-led research projects into two of the largest introductory science laboratories, introductory biology and introductory chemistry, that together enroll approximately 3500 students each year. Faculty members involved in ARC design a semester-long research project that builds on and adds to ongoing research in their laboratory. Preliminary assessment of the research sections consisted of a pre and post survey of students in control, non-research sections, and the intervention, research, sections of ARC. The survey data showed that the research sections significantly maintained student’s interest in biology/chemistry than the nonresearch sections.