Heather B. Hewitt|M. Simón|Chris Mead|Skylar Grayson|Grace L. Beall|Robert T. Zellem|Kalée Tock|Kyle A. Pearson
Development and assessment of a course-based undergraduate research experience for online astronomy majors
Arizona State University|Arizona State University|Arizona State University|Arizona State University|Arizona State University|Jet Propulsion Laboratory|Virtual High School|Jet Propulsion Laboratory
coursebased undergraduate research experiences cures shown provide students variety learning benefits including better conceptual understanding improved critical thinking data literacy skills increased interest pursuing scientific careers additionally cures provide students opportunities participate authentic research experiences broader impact outside classroom despite numerous benefits field astronomy lagged behind disciplines like biology chemistry comes including cures curriculum limited astronomy however lack research opportunities courses offered students enrolled undergraduate degree programs online fall 2020 arizona state university asu introduced nations first online bachelors degree program astronomy planetary sciences aps make research accessible diverse population learners imperative students program access opportunities participate authentic research parallel inperson program work describe development implementation assessment fully online cure astronomy majors part aps program conducted mixed methods analysis consisting likert style survey administered pre postcourse well student interviews conclusion semester survey results courses first two offerings n24 indicated students research selfefficacy science identity improved exoplanetspecific multiplechoice assessment n26 showed statistically significant improvements conceptual understanding postcourse additionally student interview n11 responses relayed students felt stronger sense belonging asu larger astronomy community participation course results study encouraging suggest student participation online cure led similar improvements across variety outcomes previously identified studies inperson cures spanning multiple disciplinesreceived 7 july 2023accepted 5 october 2023doihttpsdoiorg101103physrevphyseducres19020156published american physical society terms creative commons attribution 40 international license distribution work must maintain attribution authors published articles title journal citation doipublished american physical societyphysics subject headings physhresearch areasinstructional materials developmentinstructional strategieslearning environmentprofessional topicsundergraduate researchupper undergraduate studentsphysics education research