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From student to researcher: how a student-driven CURE shapes later research orientations and identity

Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) can improve students’ immediate research skills and science identity, but little is known about whether these benefits last. This retrospective qualitative study examined how a student-driven, six-week photocatalysis CURE—where undergraduates synthesized acridinium salts, optimized reaction conditions, and interpreted mechanistic data using electrochemistry—shaped participants’ research approaches and professional identity one year after the course ended. Ten former students who were working on capstone projects, in graduate programs, or in industrial R&D at the time of the interview participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed five lasting changes: (1) students moved from waiting for instructors to provide problems to independently spotting research questions in the literature; (2) they transferred CURE-learned strategies—iterative optimization, using electrochemical data to explain mechanisms, and collaborative problem-solving—to new research settings; (3) they shifted from seeing themselves as “students completing assignments” to “researchers capable of independent inquiry”; (4) they came to view failure as a normal part of research rather than a personal shortcoming; and (5) while they gained lasting benefits such as collaboration skills, they also faced remaining challenges, particularly in advanced data analysis and academic writing. Together, these findings offer empirical evidence that student-driven CUREs can have long-term value beyond immediate skill gains and suggest how to design experiences that foster lasting research orientations and identity development.
DOI: 10.1039/d6rp00197a
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7204132231
FWCI:
Cites: 19
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Related to: 10