Flying in the Face of Adversity: a Drosophila-Based Virtual CURE (Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience) Provides a Semester-Long Authentic Research Opportunity to the Flipped Classroom

Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education

Edward A. Waddell¹  Nathan T. Fried²  Dara Ruiz-Whalen³  Alana M. O’Reilly³ 

[1] Department of Biology, Holy Family University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA;Department of Biology, Rutgers University, Camden, New Jersey, USA;eCLOSE Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA;

关键词: CURE;    virtual;    active-learning;    backward design;    pain;    addiction;   

DOI  :  10.1128/jmbe.00173-21

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT A call for the integration of research experiences into all biology curricula has been a major goal for educational reform efforts nationally. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been the predominant method of accomplishing this, but their associated costs and complex design can limit their wide adoption. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced programs to identify unique ways to still provide authentic research experiences while students were virtual. We report here a complete guide for the successful implementation of a semester-long virtual CURE that uses Drosophila behavioral assays to explore the connection between pain and addiction with the use of an at-home “lab-in-a-box.” Individual components were piloted across three semesters and launched as a 100-level introductory course with 19 students. We found that this course increased science identity and successfully improved key research competencies as per the Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment (URSSA) survey. This course is ideal for flipped classrooms ranging from introductory to upper-level biology/neuroscience courses and can be integrated directly into the lecture period without the need for building a new course. Given the low cost, recent comfort with virtual learning environments, and current proliferation of flipped classrooms following the 2020 pandemic, this curriculum could serve as an ideal project-based active-learning tool for equitably increasing access to authentic research experiences.

【 授权许可】

Unknown