Purposeful Practices: Understanding the Undergraduate Research Experiences of Underrepresented STEM Students

• In Event: Interrogating Access to STEM Among Underrepresented Students

Abstract

The global race towards high STEM participation and achievement has driven the U.S. to create changes to its education system. The term “high-impact practices” (HIPs) emerged as a symptom of the call for change. Undergraduate research opportunities are considered an effective HIP. This paper centers the experiences of STEM students who participated in a summer research program. This paper highlights how underrepresented STEM students think about their identities, navigate academia, and build community within a research program. The implications of this study can inform higher education administrators, staff, faculty on how to create inclusive and purposeful undergraduate research programs that will aim to help underrepresented students develop a STEM identity and community.

Authors

• Crystal Lee-Thao, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Tai Tri Do, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Yue Zhang, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

• Keisha Varma, University of Minnesota

• Megan Earnest, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities