Goodwin Biology Education Research Team

​Participation in undergraduate research experiences can be very beneficial for students: these opportunities can increase students interest and motivation in pursuing scientific careers, support student sense of belonging and retention, develop students' technical skills, and teach students to "think like a scientist." Because of these benefits, there have been nationwide calls to involve every biology student in undergraduate research. However, there are far more biology students than space in mentored research labs, and the logistical challenges to scaling up research opportunities is immense. Because these experiences are not available to every student, there are complex and under-studied patterns in "who" has access to undergraduate research experiences. For example, members of traditionally underserved student groups, including low-income students, community college transfer students, and students with disabilities, often each encounter unique barriers to entering and fully engaging in traditional faculty-mentored undergraduate research experiences. One approach to increasing access to undergraduate research experiences are through course-based undergraduate research experiences, or CUREs--however, the degree to which these experiences support equitable engagement in undergraduate research remains uncertain.

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We use qualitative and quantitative research methods to explore how universities can expand access and support student's experiences in both faculty mentored undergraduate research experiences and course-based undergraduate research experiences. Much of our research has and will leverage existing motivational theories to understand how we can create inclusive research experiences for undergraduate biology students.