Our work probes the impact of chemistry majors’ participation in National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs (REUs) on their understanding of the nature of science (NOS) and scientific inquiry (SI). NOS refers to the values and beliefs inherent to the development of scientific knowledge. SI refers to the processes used to create scientific knowledge. Every summer from 2014 to 2016, Northeastern University’s Catalysis REU Program hosted approximately 10 undergraduate students over a 10-week period. Participants were interviewed pre- and post- REU. During the interviews, students were asked to define research. Subsequently, the interviews were transcribed and responses to this question have been analysed using grounded theory. We have found that students’ knowledge of SI is changed significantly as a result of their participation in an REU. Furthermore, gender, ethnicity, prior research experience,and whether the participant is a first-generation college student all appear to impact students’ understanding of NOS and SI. Lastly, our work has identified several persistent NOS misconceptions.

How participation in research experiences increases undergraduate students' understanding of the nature of science

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.