Positive Affective and Behavioral Gains of First-Year Students in Course-Based Research across Disciplines

The Freshmen Research Initiative at Iowa State University promotes student interest and retention in science through introductory course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). Successful strategies for the implementation of CUREs on a large scale in an affordable manner included the use of a postdoctoral coordinator and affiliation with student learning communities. Across multiple disciplines, students in singlesemester introductory research courses reported personal gains related to research, to thinking and working like scientists, to attitudes and behaviors of a scientist, and to gains in skills as reported on the Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment. Key outcomes related to persistence in STEM, including self-efficacy and project ownership, were also suggested as early gains due to course-based research.