Integrating Physiological Measures within a Music Therapy Research Course:

Applying research to practice is an essential competency, and some educators have turned to course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) to support music therapy students in developing these skills. We provided a bounded CURE involving a research question requiring data from three different biosensors. We collected program evaluation outcomes where respondents reported increased interest and confidence in reading and doing research as well as personal investment in the project. Respondents also indicated that, as a result of taking this course, they were more likely to take part in research projects in the future and they were interested in pursuing master’s level research. The students also reported that using the sensors in the course supported their learning. We discuss the role of the research assistant, including her deepened understanding of research concepts through her work with the data collection and preparation stages. We plan to continue implementing CUREs with biosensors in future runs of the course, and with larger class sizes we aim to publish data from our projects, while also examining students’ experiences.