The Power of Place: A Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience Studying Urban Ecology, Local Apple Trees and Disease Susceptibility

Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) offered early in an undergraduate student’s career have the potential to include a greater number and diversity of students than one-on-one mentored research. CUREs that use a place-based model to do research relevant to the local community may have even more engagement capacity. However, there are few place-based CURE curricula published and even fewer that include assessments of cognitive and psychosocial outcomes for students. Here, we present a one-semester CURE curriculum where students explore urban ecology concepts and conduct authentic research to investigate apple tree (Malus domestica) resistance to the widespread fire blight bacterial disease (Erwinia amylovora). We hypothesize that a place-based, community-relevant curriculum would increase students’ ecological knowledge, research self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation. Student responses (N = 11) to pre-post surveys and reflection questions demonstrated that the CURE elements of discovery and relevance contributed to a positive experience, and participation in the course was advantageous to the students’ career goals. Pre and post survey results demonstrated significant increases in ecology knowledge, scientific practices, research self-efficacy, and scientific civic knowledge (knowing how to use science skills to help one’s community). College instructors desiring to engage a whole class in community-relevant urban ecology research may wish to draw units, lessons, activities, and assessments from our semester-long CURE curricula. Preliminary data from this study indicates that modules from this urban ecology CURE could be implemented within existing biology or ecology classes, and assessments could be used for student populations enrolled at multiple types of institutions. Primary Image: Place-based, course-based undergraduate field research experience. Students assessing apple trees for evidence of fire blight bacterial infection (Erwinia amylovora) in a local apple orchard in Boulder, Colorado.