Research experience at the undergraduate level is a proven asset in training novice scientists. In the physical and life sciences, this has traditionally taken place in apprenticeship based, PI-directed laboratory settings. However, this model incurs time, cost, and space limitations. To make undergraduate research more accessible, recent years have seen an increase in course-based undergradute research experiences, or CUREs. In a CURE, students work on authentic research questions by searching literature, proposing hypotheses, designing and carrying out experiments, and interpreting data, in a directed manner guided by an expert investigator as occurs in a traditional research lab setting. A CURE seeks to do this in a traditional semester/academic year timeframe, with group sizes ranging from dozens to hundreds of students. This approach requires pursuing research questions that (a) can be adressed in meaningful depth in a time of months rather than years, (b) can be carried out in parallel fashion by multiple students at a time, and (c) fulfil requisite learning content within an academic program.
In this symposium, presentations will be welcomed from CURE practitioners teaching chemistry and biochemistry laboratory courses at introductory and upper levels to share effective practices in CURE development, implementation, and assessment.