Beyond the single course: teaching research throughout the curriculum

Abstract

Our STEM majors arrive on campus as rule followers—“Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it,” is their refrain. To break this mindset, we redesigned our suite of laboratory courses to scaffold research throughout the program. Every laboratory incorporates both discipline-specific and research-specific skills. Foundational courses introduce research skills, leading to upper level student-driven research. This model should be extensible to any curriculum and makes research an integral part of the undergraduate career.