Introduction to Research: A Scalable, Online Badge Implemented in Conjunction with a Classroom-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) that Promotes Students Matriculation into Mentored Undergraduate Research

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

curriculum (Branchaw, Pfund, & Rediske, 2010) to help students explore and prepare for undergraduate research in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. Students in the BUILD Training Program, part of the larger STEM BUILD at UMBC Initiative, completed the badge in conjunction with a 3-week classroom-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) before the start of their second year of undergraduate study at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). We were interested in investigating how this intervention, online badge plus CURE, correlated to students engaging in undergraduate research before the end of their second year at UMBC. We did this through student self-report, comparing students who had participated in the online badge plus CURE (BTP) to those who participated in neither (Control). Our data demonstrate that students who participated in the Introduction to Research Badge and CURE entered into mentored research at a significantly higher rate than students who were exposed to neither. Further, previously validated instruments of students 'research self-efficacy and science identity were used to compare how the Introduction to Research Badge and CURE may impact these two psycho-social variables. Students who participated in the Introduction to Research Badge and CURE had significantly higher gains in research self-efficacy compared to the control group. However, no change was observed in science identity for either group. Collectively, our results suggest that students who engage in the Introduction to Research Badge in combination with a CURE engage in mentored research within a year of completion at higher levels than students who engage in neither.