Course-Based Undergraduate Research: The Magnetic Analysis and Measurement Project

This project aims to serve the national interest by providing research experiences in physics early in the undergraduate STEM pathway. By introducing students to basic math and graphing skills in an applied research environment through a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), students are likely to gain new appreciation for the significance of those skills, boosting their future math and physics course performance and retention.

Student research projects focus on a new type of magnetism, which provides opportunities to build skills in magnetic and other characterization techniques. Collaborations with investigators at Carnegie Mellon, Rice University, South Florida, and Oak Ridge allow students to pick from a variety of specific topics in the field that may interest them. Students can extend their research projects beyond the classroom and present research results to the broader STEM community.

Importantly, research results from student projects have the potential to advance understanding of this new field of magnetism, particularly related to the causes of this effect in various materials. Assessment and evaluation of the proposed research experience can be utilized to develop similar undergraduate experiences for other topics within physics and other STEM disciplines.

The educational goals of this program include improving retention/graduation rates, math readiness, and recruitment and to engage students in research earlier in their education. The team seeks to collect a rich set of quantitative and qualitative artifacts to evaluate the project. Retention rates will be compared against historical cohorts matched by mathematics preparation level.

Self-efficacy, belonging, and science identity will be assessed both pre and post intervention using research-based assessment instruments. Interviews with students near the end of the semester provide additional context for the quantitative measures. The project engages a three-person advisory board to review progress and recommend improvements for iteratively refining the CURE approach.

The work will be disseminated through publications and conferences with physics and physics educators. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.