The Power and Promise of Early Research

Edited by Desmond H. Murray, Sherine O. Obare, and James H. Hageman

American Chemical Society

ACS Symposium Series

The three co-editors are longtime advocates of "early research" which they define as authentic research conducted sooner than traditionally done, namely in a high school, community college, or college undergraduate setting.
Advocates that all students should participate in early research, not just advanced or accomplished students.
Humans are by nature curious, and early research in STEM education allows students to explore their curiosity in an active learning setting.
Provides successful examples of course-based undergraduate research experiences.

The Power and Promise of Early Research

Edited by Desmond H. Murray, Sherine O. Obare, and James H. Hageman

American Chemical Society

Description

Undergraduate research is a uniquely American invention. The ability to enter a laboratory and to embrace the unknown world, where a discovery is just around the corner, is a transformative experience. Undergraduate research, when done right, creates an authentic research project which changes the individual who is doing the research. Early introduction to authentic research captures student interest and encourages them to continue with their studies.

The difficulty of undergraduate research is scale. To be truly authentic, and thus transformative, emerging scholars in the lab need to be guided by experts who clearly care for their junior collaborators. This apprenticeship model is time consuming, absolutely essential, and difficult to scale. To provide more authentic research experiences to students, dedicated teachers have developed the idea of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs).

This book offers a comprehensive overview of how authentic, early research is a strategy for student success. Dr. Desmond Murray and his co-authors demonstrate the importance of early introduction to authentic research for all students, including those that are most likely to be left out during the normal sink-or-swim research university science curriculum.

The Power and Promise of Early Research

Edited by Desmond H. Murray, Sherine O. Obare, and James H. Hageman

American Chemical Society

ACS Symposium Series

Preface
Guest Foreword
Praise for the Power and Promise of Early Research
1. Early Research: A Strategy for Inclusion and Student Success
2. Advanced Chemical Research at Laguna Beach High School: High School Seniors Engaged in Authentic Laboratory Research
3. A Suburban Magnet High School's Perspective on Authentic Research
Experiences for Students: An Overview of Research Pathways and a
Discussion of the Benefits
4. Perspectives from a New York High School Science Research Enrichment Program Teacher
5. Project SEED: A Catalyst for Young Scientists
6. Research at Predominantly Two-Year Campuses of Penn State
7. Course-Embedded Undergraduate Research Experiences: The Power of Strategic Course Design
8. Undergraduate Research at the Community College: Barriers and
Opportunities
9. Impact of Summer Undergraduate Research Experiences on Baccalaureate Success of American Indian Students
10. Why Early Engagement in College Research Is Important: Lessons Learned at Wayne State University
11. The Science Prize for Inquiry-Based Instruction
12. Lab Tales: Personal Stories of Early Researchers
13. The Future of Early Research
Editors' Biographies
Indexes

The Power and Promise of Early Research

Edited by Desmond H. Murray, Sherine O. Obare, and James H. Hageman

American Chemical Society

ACS Symposium Series

Author Information

Desmond H. Murray is Associate Professor of Chemistry at Andrews University, Chemistry Instructor for Berrien County Math Science Center, and Founder of Building Excellence in Science and Technology (BEST Early; www.bestearly.com). Over the last 20 years of teaching high school and college students, he has advocated for and facilitated seamless early research. Murray has mentored about 1000 students in early research experiences he describes as "incubators of innovators." He was recognized as the 2012 College Science Teacher of the Year by the Michigan Science Teachers Association for his ongoing passion, mission, and work to realize the universal adoption of early research.

Sherine Obare is a Full Professor and the Vice President for Research at Western Michigan University. Her research focuses on nanoscale science, environmental chemistry and has significant experience in methods to improve student success. Dr. Obare's research program has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Army Research Office, National Institutes of Health, Department of Education, and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. She was named as one of the top 25 Women Professors in Michigan.

James Hageman received his B.S. in chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and his Ph.D. in biochemistry at UCLA (1968) and was a postdoc at Yale University. As a faculty in Chemistry and Biochemistry at New Mexico State University for 29 years, he served as mentor for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students and post-docs. Over 45 undergraduate students from historically underserved groups did research in his lab and several authored publications. He served as Graduate School Dean and V.P. for Research at Central Michigan University (2000-2006) and as Associate V.C. for Research at the University of Colorado, Denver (2006-2011).