Authentic research immerses students in the processes of science, providing a rich experience that promotes interdisciplinary, exploratory learning while generating new knowledge. However, like most worthwhile things, it is not easy, and it presents unique challenges for both instructors and students. For a decade, I have addressed these challenges in undergraduate Biochemistry and Physical Chemistry courses using the online GENI-ACT platform, which provides interactive and collaborative virtual laboratory manuals and data collection tools that help organize and share data and protocols.

This workshop will discuss examples of the authentic research projects we have adapted to a classroom context. We will describe how these have been used for diverse levels of students and disciplines and discuss the benefits and challenges of adding real-world research to the classroom. For example, on GENI-ACT, bioinformatics projects have been shared among college classes and are being developed as online laboratory research exercises for high school students.

Many different projects have been translated from research labs to teaching labs. Research experiences, ranging from post-doctoral research projects to summer science mentor programs, have been brought into classes at liberal arts universities, community colleges, and high schools. We will discuss how to adapt past research experiences to different teaching contexts.

Participants should bring laptops if possible in order to participate in bioinformatics research during the workshop.

This program is supported by a RCN-UBE grant from the National Science Foundation that provides extended faculty training and support for teachers who would choose to incorporate authentic research into the classroom.