Presentation Type
Mini-Presentation
Location
Cape Florida Ballroom - AB
Start Date
25-10-2019 3:55 PM
End Date
25-10-2019 4:15 PM
Description/Abstract
It is believed that if students are taught inductively in their first 2 years, it could induce many of them to seek research experiences later in their academic careers. To do this, we initiated an effort to promote engagement in research topics and faculty development. First, collaboration between one faculty member at SSC and a Principal Investigator at the Sanford-Burnham Institute was developed. This collaboration resulted in the creation of several internships at the Institute for students in the newly developed STEM research class. Second, to increase student engagement, the biology department developed a research focused colloquium series. Each fall semester we host 2-3 colloquia, attended by approximately 50-100 students, where scientific professionals and research students presented on topics involving scientific research, followed by a question and answer period. This helped to build education-industry-research connections, providing our students with an understanding of career opportunities available for life scientists, in turn facilitating increased student motivation. By offering colloquia with a research focus, we were able to further identify students who had a special interest in research fields as opposed to health careers. Through survey, student interest in research fields increased from 44% to 56% after attending a research focused colloquium. Through collaboration with research-focused institutions, cultivation of a colloquium series, and the establishment of a STEM research course, we have found a way of targeting interested students to streamline them into competitive learning and career opportunities for the future.
Included in
Life Sciences Commons, Medicine and Health Sciences Commons, Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons
Seminole State College CURE Research Program: From the Classroom to Collaboration
Cape Florida Ballroom - AB
It is believed that if students are taught inductively in their first 2 years, it could induce many of them to seek research experiences later in their academic careers. To do this, we initiated an effort to promote engagement in research topics and faculty development. First, collaboration between one faculty member at SSC and a Principal Investigator at the Sanford-Burnham Institute was developed. This collaboration resulted in the creation of several internships at the Institute for students in the newly developed STEM research class. Second, to increase student engagement, the biology department developed a research focused colloquium series. Each fall semester we host 2-3 colloquia, attended by approximately 50-100 students, where scientific professionals and research students presented on topics involving scientific research, followed by a question and answer period. This helped to build education-industry-research connections, providing our students with an understanding of career opportunities available for life scientists, in turn facilitating increased student motivation. By offering colloquia with a research focus, we were able to further identify students who had a special interest in research fields as opposed to health careers. Through survey, student interest in research fields increased from 44% to 56% after attending a research focused colloquium. Through collaboration with research-focused institutions, cultivation of a colloquium series, and the establishment of a STEM research course, we have found a way of targeting interested students to streamline them into competitive learning and career opportunities for the future.