TUES: Classroon Research to Invigorate Undergraduate STEM Education (CRIUSE)

University Of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie WI

Investigators

Abstract

The project is transforming biology undergraduate education at the University of Wisconsin-Stout to include potentially publishable original research as an integral part of introductory laboratory courses for all students taking such courses, both science majors and those majoring in other disciplines. The intellectual merit lies in their choice of a local problem as the basis for the research. Both the intellectual merit and broader impacts are enhanced by the documentation of student cognitive, personal, and professional development in classrooms featuring a research approach compared to these outcomes in students who are involved in apprenticeship style research activities. The initial research problems being introduced are investigation of the high phosphorus content of a nearby lake affected by agricultural runoff and the effects of implementation of remediation efforts. It is estimated that over 1000 students will be exposed to classroom research approaches during the course of this project. This project is being jointly funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Undergraduate Education as part of their efforts toward Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education.