Meeting Abstract
Biology departments nationwide are grappling with high enrollments in introductory majors’ courses but disappointing retention rates. Part of the problem stems from mismatches in student vs. department expectations of effort, engagement, critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, and problem solving skills. Undergraduate research experiences engage students, promote retention, and increase graduation rates. In summer 2014 we piloted the Biology Undergraduate Research Scholars Training program Freshman Orientation Research Training Hour (BURST FORTH), incorporating a mentored, authentic research experience into freshman orientation as a way to better align student and departmental expectations. Using a stratified sample design, over three days we split 153 incoming biology majors into participant and non-participant groups. Non-participants received a campus tour, while participants spent 75–90 minutes investigating the effect of temperature on development and hatching success of an endemic fish, the California grunion. Students made measurements and made conclusions from pooled data. We used a team of undergraduate and graduate peer-mentors to introduce new students to the culture of the biology department. Intensive promotion through multiple media outlets (including a dedicated Facebook page and campus website) and invitations to campus administrators, who worked alongside student participants in the lab, fostered integration across academic and co-curricular elements. Surveys administered to participants, non-participants, and peer-mentors allowed us to assess immediate outcomes, and ongoing assessment will track student performance, retention rates, and attitudes about biology in the first year courses and beyond.
