Becoming a Scientist The Role of Undergraduate Res

BecomingaScientist:TheRoleofUndergraduateResearchinStudents’Cognitive,Personal,andProfessionalDevelopmentANNE-BARRIEHUNTER,SANDRAL.LAURSEN,ELAINESEYMOUREthnography&EvaluationResearch,CentertoAdvanceResearchandTeachingintheSocialSciences,UniversityofColorado,CampusBox580,Boulder,CO80309,USAReceived9November2005;revised2May2006;accepted2June2006DOI10.1002/sce.20173Publishedonline12October2006inWileyInterScience().ABSTRACT:Inthisethnographicstudyofsummerundergraduateresearch(UR)expe-riencesatfourliberalartscolleges,wherefacultyandstudentsworkcollaborativelyonaprojectofmutualinterestinanapprenticeshipofauthenticscienceresearchwork,analysisoftheaccountsoffacultyandstudentparticipantsyieldscomparativeinsightsintothestructuralelementsofthisformofURprogramanditsbenefitsforstudents.Comparisonoftheperspectivesoffacultyandtheirstudentsrevealedconsiderableagreementonthenature,range,andextentofstudents’URgains.Specificstudentgainsrelatingtotheprocessof“becomingascientist”weredescribedandillustratedbybothgroups.Facultyframedthesegainsaspartofprofessionalsocializationintothesciences.Incontrast,studentsemphasizedtheirpersonalandintellectualdevelopment,withlittleawarenessoftheirsocializationintoprofessionalpractice.Viewingstudyfindingsthroughthelensofsocialconstructivistlearn-ingtheoriesdemonstratesthatthecharacteristicsoftheseURprograms,howfacultypracticeURinthesecolleges,andstudents’outcomes—includingcognitiveandpersonalgrowthandthedevelopmentofaprofessionalidentity—stronglyexemplifymanyfacetsofthesetheo-ries,particularly,student-centeredandsituatedlearningaspartofcognitiveapprenticeshipinacommunityofpractice.C
2006WileyPeriodicals,Inc.SciEd91:36–74,2007Correspondenceto:Anne-BarrieHunter;e-mail:[e-mail]:NSF-ROLEgrant(#NSFPRREC-0087611):“PilotStudytoEstablishtheNatureandImpactofEffectiveUndergraduateResearchExperiencesonLearning,AttitudesandCareerChoice.”Contractgrantsponsor:HowardHughesMedicalInstitutespecialprojectsgrant,“EstablishingtheProcessesandMediatingFactorsthatContributetoSignificantOutcomesinUndergraduateResearchExperiencesforbothStudentsandFaculty:ASecondStageStudy.”ThispaperwaseditedbyformerEditorNancyW.Brickhouse.C
2006WileyPeriodicals,Inc.BECOMINGASCIENTIST37INTRODUCTIONIn1998,theBoyerCommissionReportchallengedUnitedStates’researchuniversitiestomakeresearch-basedlearningthestandardofstudents’collegeeducation.Fundingagenciesandorganizationspromotingcollegescienceeducationhavealsostronglyrecommendedthatinstitutionsofhighereducationprovidegreateropportunitiesforauthentic,interdis-ciplinary,andstudent-centeredlearning(NationalResearchCouncil,1999,2000,2003a,2003b;NationalScienceFoundation[NSF],2000,2003a).Inlinewiththeserecommen-dations,tremendousresourcesareexpendedtoprovideundergraduateswithopportunitiestoparticipateinfaculty-mentored,hands-onresearch(e.g.,theNSF-sponsoredResearchExperienceforUndergraduates[REU]program,HowardHughesMedicalInstituteScienceEducationInitiatives).Notwithstandingwidespreadbeliefinthevalueofundergraduateresearch(UR)forstu-dents’educationandcareerdevelopment,itisonlyrecentlythatresearchandevaluationstudieshaveproducedresultsthatbegintothrowlightonthebenefitstostudents,faculty,orinstitutionsthataregeneratedbyURopportunities(Bauer&Bennett,2003;Lopatto,2004a;Russell,2005;Seymour,Hunter,Laursen,&DeAntoni,2004;Ward,Bennett,&Bauer,2002;Zydney,Bennett,Shahid,&Bauer,2002a,2002b).OtherreportsfocusontheeffectsofURexperiencesonretention,persistence,andpromotionofsciencecareerpathwaysforunderrepresentedgroups(Adhikari&Nolan,2002;Barlow&Villarejo,2004;Hathaway,Nagda,&Gregerman,2002;Nagdaetal.,1998).Itisencouragingtofindstrongconvergenceastothetypesofgainsreportedbythesestudies(Hunter,Laursen,&Seymour,2006).How-ever,wenotelimitedornodiscussionofsomeofthestrongergainsthatwedocument,suchasstudents’personalandprofessionalgrowth(Hunteretal.,2006;Seymouretal.,2004)andsignificantvariationinhowparticulargains(especiallyintellectualgains)aredefined.Ongoingandcurrentdebatesintheacademicliteratureconcerninghowlearningoccurs,howstudentsdevelopintellectuallyandpersonallyduringtheircollegeyears,andhowcommunitiesofpracticeencouragethesetypesofgrowthpositeffectivepracticesandtheprocessesofstudents’cognitive,epistemological,andinterpersonalandintrapersonalde-velopment.Althoughavarietyoftheoreticalpapersandresearchstudiesexploringthesetopicsarewidelypublished,withtheexceptionofashortarticleforProjectKaleidoscope(Lopatto,2004b),nonehasyetfocusedonintensive,summerapprentice-styleURexperi-encesasamodeltoinvestigatethevalidityofthesedebates.1FindingsfromthisresearchstudytoestablishthenatureandrangeofbenefitsfromURexperiencesinthesciences,andinparticular,resultsfromacomparativeanalysisoffacultyandstudents’perceptionsofgainsfromURexperiences,informthesetheoreticaldiscussionsandbolsterfindingsfromempiricalstudiesindifferentbutrelatedareas(i.e.,careersresearch,workplacelearning,graduatetraining)onstudentlearning,cognitiveandpersonalgrowth,thedevelopmentofprofessionalidentity