Reformations and Promoting Active Learning via Course Based Research [CBR] at the University of Fiji
Main Article Content
Abstract
Learning and teaching is geared to provide lifelong skills to its pupils – who are able to contribute to the economy not only as physical capitals, more so as human capitals with the source of wealth for social and economic development. At the backdrop of this vision is the University of Fiji’s five years Annual Strategic Plan 2017-2021, that relentlessly pursuits to develop a knowledge society through the University’s work-ready graduates. One of the undergraduate courses in the field of Science is exactly road mapping its course to expose learners to a great degree of research through hand-on research experience. This paper aims to investigate the merits of entailing Course-Based Research (CBR) practice in Science at undergraduate level at a tertiary institution. The paper further attempts to explore the plausible benefits of tying research experience at undergraduate study that is primarily content heavy and theoretical in nature. The paper provide recommendations for courses pitched at undergraduate level to consider entailing research experience in their programmes given the benefits it provides to learners venturing into the work field.
Article Details
How to Cite
CHAND, R. R., KAUR, M., & SINGH, P. (2018). Reformations and Promoting Active Learning via Course Based Research [CBR] at the University of Fiji. Asian Journal of Distance Education, 13(2), 20-31. Retrieved from http://asianjde.com/ojs/index.php/AsianJDE/article/view/266
Section
Articles
The work published in AjDE is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence (CC-BY).
References
Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., & Bloom, B. S. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: a revision of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives: Longman. Auchincloss, L. C., Laursen, S. L., Branchaw, J. L., Eagan, K., Graham, M., Hanauer, D. I., Lawrie, G., McLinn, C. M., Pelaez, N., & Rowland, S. (2014). Assessment of course-based undergraduate research experiences: a meeting report. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 13, 29-40. Bangera, G., & Brownell, S. E. (2014). Course-based undergraduate research experiences can make scientific research more inclusive. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 13, 602-606. Beilock, S. (2015). How the body knows its mind. New York: Hachette UK. Burniston, A. (2017). The Effects of Case-Based Instruction on
Undergraduate Biology Students’ Understanding of the Nature of Science. (Doctor of Education (EdD) Doctor of Education (EdD)), The Liberty University, Virginia. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/do ctoral/1471 (1471). Chin, C. (2007). Teacher questioning in science classrooms: Approaches that stimulate productive thinking. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44, 815-843. Dounas-Frazer, D. R., Stanley, J. T., & Lewandowski, H. (2017). Student ownership of projects in an upperdivision optics laboratory course: A multiple case study of successful experiences. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 13, 1-22. Eby, L. T., Rhodes, J. E., & Allen, T. D. (2007). Definition and evolution of mentoring. In The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach. (pp. 7-20). Malden: Blackwell Publishing. Furst, E. J. (1981). Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives for the cognitive domain: Philosophical and educational issues. Review of Educational Research, 51, 441-453. Gibson, D. E. (2009). The Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research and Practice. In: JSTOR. Harris, A., Babkoor, M., Gu, T., & Kremer, G. E. (2015). Course-Based Undergraduate Research: A Review of Models and Practices. Paper presented at the ASME 2015 International Design Engineering. Technical Conferences, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/DETC201546126 Hodder, J. (2009). What are undergraduates doing at biological field stations and marine laboratories? BioScience, 59, 666-672. Jollands, M., Jolly, L., & Molyneaux, T. (2012). Project-based learning as a contributing factor to graduates’ work readiness. European Journal of Engineering Education, 37, 143154. Kokotsaki, D., Menzies, V., & Wiggins, A. (2016). Project-based learning: A review of the literature. Improving schools, 19, 267-277. Kram, K. E., & Isabella, L. A. (1985). Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development. Academy of management Journal, 28, 110-132. Kuiper, R. A., & Pesut, D. J. (2004). Promoting cognitive and metacognitive reflective reasoning skills in nursing practice: selfregulated learning theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 45, 381-391. Laursen, S. L., Hassi, M.-L., Kogan, M., & Weston, T. J. (2014). Benefits for women and men of inquiry-based learning in college mathematics: A multi-institution study. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 45, 406-418. Lemaster, C. B. (1997). The Value of Undergraduate Research. The Chemical Educator, 2, 1-3. Lopatto, D. (2007). Undergraduate research experiences support science career decisions and active learning. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 6, 297-306. Lopatto, D. (2010). Undergraduate research as a high-impact student experience. Peer Review, 12, 1-27. McParland, M., Noble, L. M., & Livingston, G. (2004). The effectiveness of problem-based learning compared to traditional teaching in undergraduate psychiatry. Medical Education, 38, 859-867. Mikalayeva, L. (2015). Motivation, ownership, and the role of the instructor in active learning. International Studies Perspectives, 17, 214-229. National Science Foundation. (2018). Why Use Undergraduate Research Experiences? Retrieved from https://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/stu dentresearch/Why.html Petrella, J. K., & Jung, A. P. (2008).
Undergraduate Research: Importance, Benefits, and Challenges. International Journal of Exercise Science, 1, 91-95. Quade, A. M. (2004). Promoting undergraduate research: a classroom model. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 9th annual SIGCSE conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education, Leeds, United Kingdom. Ragins, B. R., & Kram, K. E. (2008). The Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research, and Practice. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc. Russell, S. H., Hancock, M. P., & McCullough, J. (2007). Benefits of undergraduate research experiences. Science(Washington), 316, 548-549. Schultz, M. D. (2016). Impact of a Field Research Experience on Undergraduate Science Majors (Master of Education, Curriculum and Instruction ), Utah Valley University School of Education Retrieved from http://contentdm.uvu.edu:81/cdm4/ite m_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/UVUTh eses&CISOPTR=697 Seymour, E., Hunter, A. B., Laursen, S. L., & DeAntoni, T. (2004). Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates in the sciences: First findings from a threeyear study. Science education, 88, 493-534. Shah, M. (2015). Dropout From University – A Matter Of Public Concern, Opinion. Fiji Sun Online. http://fijisun.com.fj/2015/12/16/dropo ut-from-university-a-matter-of-publicconcern/. Retrieved from http://fijisun.com.fj/2015/12/16/dropo ut-from-university-a-matter-of-publicconcern/ Sweat, K. G., Marshall, P. A., FoltzSweat, J. L., & Broatch, J. E. (2018). Developing a Course-Based Research Experience for Undergraduates: The ASU West Experience. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science, 47, 36-43. Thompson, S., Neill, C., Wiederhoeft, E., & Cotner, S. (2016). A Model for a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in a Field Setting. Journal of microbiology & biology education, 17, 469-471.
Wohlin, C., Aurum, A., Angelis, L., Phillips, L., Dittrich, Y., Gorschek, T., Grahn, H., Henningsson, K., Kagstrom, S., & Low, G. (2012). The success factors powering industryacademia collaboration. IEEE software, 29, 67-73.
Undergraduate Biology Students’ Understanding of the Nature of Science. (Doctor of Education (EdD) Doctor of Education (EdD)), The Liberty University, Virginia. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/do ctoral/1471 (1471). Chin, C. (2007). Teacher questioning in science classrooms: Approaches that stimulate productive thinking. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44, 815-843. Dounas-Frazer, D. R., Stanley, J. T., & Lewandowski, H. (2017). Student ownership of projects in an upperdivision optics laboratory course: A multiple case study of successful experiences. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 13, 1-22. Eby, L. T., Rhodes, J. E., & Allen, T. D. (2007). Definition and evolution of mentoring. In The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach. (pp. 7-20). Malden: Blackwell Publishing. Furst, E. J. (1981). Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives for the cognitive domain: Philosophical and educational issues. Review of Educational Research, 51, 441-453. Gibson, D. E. (2009). The Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research and Practice. In: JSTOR. Harris, A., Babkoor, M., Gu, T., & Kremer, G. E. (2015). Course-Based Undergraduate Research: A Review of Models and Practices. Paper presented at the ASME 2015 International Design Engineering. Technical Conferences, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. http://dx.doi.org/10.1115/DETC201546126 Hodder, J. (2009). What are undergraduates doing at biological field stations and marine laboratories? BioScience, 59, 666-672. Jollands, M., Jolly, L., & Molyneaux, T. (2012). Project-based learning as a contributing factor to graduates’ work readiness. European Journal of Engineering Education, 37, 143154. Kokotsaki, D., Menzies, V., & Wiggins, A. (2016). Project-based learning: A review of the literature. Improving schools, 19, 267-277. Kram, K. E., & Isabella, L. A. (1985). Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development. Academy of management Journal, 28, 110-132. Kuiper, R. A., & Pesut, D. J. (2004). Promoting cognitive and metacognitive reflective reasoning skills in nursing practice: selfregulated learning theory. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 45, 381-391. Laursen, S. L., Hassi, M.-L., Kogan, M., & Weston, T. J. (2014). Benefits for women and men of inquiry-based learning in college mathematics: A multi-institution study. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 45, 406-418. Lemaster, C. B. (1997). The Value of Undergraduate Research. The Chemical Educator, 2, 1-3. Lopatto, D. (2007). Undergraduate research experiences support science career decisions and active learning. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 6, 297-306. Lopatto, D. (2010). Undergraduate research as a high-impact student experience. Peer Review, 12, 1-27. McParland, M., Noble, L. M., & Livingston, G. (2004). The effectiveness of problem-based learning compared to traditional teaching in undergraduate psychiatry. Medical Education, 38, 859-867. Mikalayeva, L. (2015). Motivation, ownership, and the role of the instructor in active learning. International Studies Perspectives, 17, 214-229. National Science Foundation. (2018). Why Use Undergraduate Research Experiences? Retrieved from https://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/stu dentresearch/Why.html Petrella, J. K., & Jung, A. P. (2008).
Undergraduate Research: Importance, Benefits, and Challenges. International Journal of Exercise Science, 1, 91-95. Quade, A. M. (2004). Promoting undergraduate research: a classroom model. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 9th annual SIGCSE conference on Innovation and technology in computer science education, Leeds, United Kingdom. Ragins, B. R., & Kram, K. E. (2008). The Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research, and Practice. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc. Russell, S. H., Hancock, M. P., & McCullough, J. (2007). Benefits of undergraduate research experiences. Science(Washington), 316, 548-549. Schultz, M. D. (2016). Impact of a Field Research Experience on Undergraduate Science Majors (Master of Education, Curriculum and Instruction ), Utah Valley University School of Education Retrieved from http://contentdm.uvu.edu:81/cdm4/ite m_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/UVUTh eses&CISOPTR=697 Seymour, E., Hunter, A. B., Laursen, S. L., & DeAntoni, T. (2004). Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates in the sciences: First findings from a threeyear study. Science education, 88, 493-534. Shah, M. (2015). Dropout From University – A Matter Of Public Concern, Opinion. Fiji Sun Online. http://fijisun.com.fj/2015/12/16/dropo ut-from-university-a-matter-of-publicconcern/. Retrieved from http://fijisun.com.fj/2015/12/16/dropo ut-from-university-a-matter-of-publicconcern/ Sweat, K. G., Marshall, P. A., FoltzSweat, J. L., & Broatch, J. E. (2018). Developing a Course-Based Research Experience for Undergraduates: The ASU West Experience. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science, 47, 36-43. Thompson, S., Neill, C., Wiederhoeft, E., & Cotner, S. (2016). A Model for a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) in a Field Setting. Journal of microbiology & biology education, 17, 469-471.
Wohlin, C., Aurum, A., Angelis, L., Phillips, L., Dittrich, Y., Gorschek, T., Grahn, H., Henningsson, K., Kagstrom, S., & Low, G. (2012). The success factors powering industryacademia collaboration. IEEE software, 29, 67-73.