A Central Support System Can Facilitate Implementation and Sustainability of a Classroom-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in Genomics
- David Lopatto ,
- Charles Hauser ,
- Christopher J. Jones ,
- Don Paetkau ,
- Vidya Chandrasekaran ,
- David Dunbar ,
- Christy MacKinnon ,
- Joyce Stamm ,
- Consuelo Alvarez ,
- Daron Barnard ,
- James E. J. Bedard ,
- April E. Bednarski ,
- Satish Bhalla ,
- John M. Braverman ,
- Martin Burg ,
- Hui-Min Chung ,
- Randall J. DeJong ,
- Justin R. DiAngelo ,
- Chunguang Du ,
- Todd T. Eckdahl ,
- Julia Emerson ,
- Amy Frary ,
- Donald Frohlich ,
- Anya L. Goodman ,
- Yuying Gosser ,
- Shubha Govind ,
- Adam Haberman ,
- Amy T. Hark ,
- Arlene Hoogewerf ,
- Diana Johnson ,
- Lisa Kadlec ,
- Marian Kaehler ,
- S. Catherine Silver Key ,
- Nighat P. Kokan ,
- Olga R. Kopp ,
- Gary A. Kuleck ,
- Jane Lopilato ,
- Juan C. Martinez-Cruzado ,
- Gerard McNeil ,
- Stephanie Mel ,
- Alexis Nagengast ,
- Paul J. Overvoorde ,
- Susan Parrish ,
- Mary L. Preuss ,
- Laura D. Reed ,
- E. Gloria Regisford ,
- Dennis Revie ,
- Srebrenka Robic ,
- Jennifer A. Roecklien-Canfield ,
- Anne G. Rosenwald ,
- Michael R. Rubin ,
- Kenneth Saville ,
- Stephanie Schroeder ,
- Karim A. Sharif ,
- Mary Shaw ,
- Gary Skuse ,
- Christopher D. Smith ,
- Mary Smith ,
- Sheryl T. Smith ,
- Eric P. Spana ,
- Mary Spratt ,
- Aparna Sreenivasan ,
- Jeffrey S. Thompson ,
- Matthew Wawersik ,
- Michael J. Wolyniak ,
- James Youngblom ,
- Leming Zhou ,
- Jeremy Buhler ,
- Elaine Mardis ,
- Wilson Leung ,
- Christopher D. Shaffer ,
- Jennifer Threlfall , and
- Sarah C. R. Elgin
Department of Psychology, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA 50112
Bioinformatics, St. Edward's University, Austin, TX 78704
Department of Biological Sciences, Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA 18018
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Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College of California, Moraga, CA 94556
Science Department, Cabrini College, Radnor, PA 19087
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Biological & Environmental Sciences, Longwood University, Farmville, VA 23909
Biology Department, Worcester State University, Worcester, MA 01602
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Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte, NC 28216
Department of Biology, Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, PA 19131
Departments of Biomedical Sciences & Cell and Molecular Biology, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI 49401
Department of Biology, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514
Department of Biology, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Department of Biology, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549
Department of Biology & Molecular Biology, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ 07043
Department of Biology, Missouri Western State University, St. Joseph, MO 64507
Department of Biology, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002
Department of Biological Sciences, Mount Holyoke, South Hadley, MA 01075
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Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623
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Department of Computer Science and Engineering and Department of Genetics, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
Genome Institute, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
Biology Department, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
Address correspondence to: Christopher D. Shaffer (E-mail Address: [email protected]).
Biology Department, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
Biology Department, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130
Abstract
In their 2012 report, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology advocated “replacing standard science laboratory courses with discovery-based research courses”—a challenging proposition that presents practical and pedagogical difficulties. In this paper, we describe our collective experiences working with the Genomics Education Partnership, a nationwide faculty consortium that aims to provide undergraduates with a research experience in genomics through a scheduled course (a classroom-based undergraduate research experience, or CURE). We examine the common barriers encountered in implementing a CURE, program elements of most value to faculty, ways in which a shared core support system can help, and the incentives for and rewards of establishing a CURE on our diverse campuses. While some of the barriers and rewards are specific to a research project utilizing a genomics approach, other lessons learned should be broadly applicable. We find that a central system that supports a shared investigation can mitigate some shortfalls in campus infrastructure (such as time for new curriculum development, availability of IT services) and provides collegial support for change. Our findings should be useful for designing similar supportive programs to facilitate change in the way we teach science for undergraduates.