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How Course Based Undergraduate Research Projects Inspire Young Researchers: A Microplastics Case Study
Summary
This study isn't about microplastics' health effects directly — instead, it looks at how having college students research real-world microplastic pollution as part of their coursework affects their interest in science careers. The findings show that hands-on research projects, especially with mentorship and teamwork, motivated students to pursue further research opportunities, which matters because we need more young scientists tackling environmental health problems like microplastic contamination in the future.
Course based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are a method of embedding research practices and experiences into the undergraduate curriculum. They can provide opportunities for a large range of students to engage in research and provide learnings around multidisciplinary science. Herein is described a small CURE on the environmental monitoring of microplastics – The Microplastic Monitoring Project (M2 Project). The M2 Project is a horizontally embedded CURE with two involved courses but the M2 label also applies to stand alone 3rd year capstone and honours projects. The M2 project was used as a case study to investigate student motivation for continued enrolment in CUREs or further postgraduate experiences. Coursework students (n = 19) were surveyed (4 Likert type questions, 2 qualitative questions), and a research student (n = 1) was interviewed to examine if the CURE influenced their motivation towards research. Students were inspired by the CURE process and that mentorship, collaboration, and interdisciplinary experiences were key motivators.