The Effects of Undergraduate Research Experiences as Reported by Texas A&M University System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Students

Date

2022-05-19

Authors

Pezold, Frank
Preuss, Michael
Merriweather, Samuel
Avila, John
Butler-Purry, Karen
Watson, Karan
Walton, Shannon
Obiomon, Pamela
Murry, Jasmine
Roth, Michele

ORCID

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Frontiers

Abstract

In 1991, the Texas A&M University System was one of the first six Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) awardees. In the three decades of programming, several high impact practices (HIP) have been emphasized. One of them, undergraduate research (UR), is discussed. All members of the Alliance are part of the Texas A&M University System and undergraduate research was supported through a variety of initiatives on the Alliance campuses. Data presented chronicle student perspectives. Topics addressed are the impact of involvement in undergraduate research on academic outcomes, interest in further engagement with research, interest in graduate school, and career goals as well as the patterns of research engagement participants experienced and the forms of learning that resulted. These materials are presented regarding an audience that was overwhelmingly underrepresented minority students all of whom were pursuing science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degrees. Students reported UR influenced their academic outcomes, further engagement with research, interest in graduate school, and career goals while facilitating learning and skill development. These findings, for URM students from institutions with three different Carnegie classifications that are a predominantly white institution, two Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), and a historically Black college or university (HBCU), parallel outcomes reported in the literature for investigations focused on general student populations suggesting that UR benefits are generalizable regardless of institution type and ethnicity/race of the participant. Findings also suggest that these patterns apply regardless of the student’s year in school. Material presented details the research elements commonly included in TAMUS LSAMP UR experiences and in which areas students reported the most learning. Thus, this document touches on topics important in addressing development of an adequate, well-trained, and diverse STEM workforce. It also confirms the efficacy of a highly replicable approach to facilitating a HIP, undergraduate research, with students from underrepresented groups.

Description

Keywords

lsamp, high impact practice, undergraduate research, underrepresented minority students, stem

Sponsorship

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants Nos. HRD-0703290, 1304975, and 1911375.

Rights:

Attribution 4.0 International

Citation

Preuss M, Merriweather S, Avila J, Butler-Purry K, Watson K, Walton S, Obiomon P, Pezold F, Murry J, Roth M, Kelley J and Lamm H (2022) The Effects of Undergraduate Research Experiences as Reported by Texas A&M University System Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Students. Front. Educ. 7:674761. doi: 10.3389/feduc.2022.674761