Emily P Harris

Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) are research projects embedded directly into college courses, allowing all students to engage in authentic cientific investigation as part of their regular curriculum. Unlike traditional research models, where only a few students work closely with faculty mentors, CUREs democratize access by offering hands-on research opportunities to entire classes. These projects typically involve forming hypotheses, collecting and analyzing real data, and presenting findings, giving students a genuine experience of the scientific process. CUREs are shown to improve academic performance, scientific reasoning, and confidence among STEM and non-STEM students alike (Appel et al., 2024; Buffalari et al., 2020). In particular, they enhance communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills (Petrella & Jung, 2008; Teter, 2023). These benefits are especially impactful for first-generation college students and underrepresented groups, promoting equity and inclusion in STEM fields (Miller et al., 2023; Brew & Saunders, 2023). In STEM education specifically, undergraduate research experiences have been linked to increased scientific identity, greater career readiness, and long-term engagement in the field (Trott et al., 2019; Okochi et al., 2023).

Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) integrate real-world research into classroom learning. While they are known to improve student outcomes in STEM fields, their impact on general education courses such as Introduction to Earth Science (ESC 2000) is less understood. These courses aim to build critical thinking and foundational skills, but students often see them as unrelated to their academic or career goals. Previous studies have shown that CUREs can increase student engagement, enhance scientific literacy, and promote a sense of belonging in STEM (Auchincloss et al., 2014; Brownell & Kloser, 2015). They are also associated with improved research skills, confidence, and persistence in science-related disciplines (Bangera & Brownell, 2014). However, most of this research has focused on upper-level STEM majors. There is limited data on how CUREs affect students in general education settings, particularly those who do not identify with science as part of their future goals (Cooper et al., 2019). This study explores whether participating in CUREs increases student engagement, motivation, and confidence in general education, and whether it helps students see greater relevance in these foundational courses.

Introduction to Environmental Science and Sustainability is a free and open textbook that enables students to develop a nuanced understanding of today’s most pressing environmental issues while also discussing the essentials of sustainability and best practices to incorporate ways we can incorporate socially and environmentally sustainable communities. This text helps students grasp the scientific foundation of environmental topics so they can better understand the world around them and their impact upon it. This book collaborates with various authors and organizations committed to providing students with high-quality and affordable textbooks. Mainly, this text draws from the following open sources, in addition to new content from the editor:

Biology by OpenStax is licensed under CC BY 3.0
Sustainability: A Comprehensive Foundation by Tom Theis and Jonathan Tomkin, Editors, is licensed under CC BY 3.0
Essentials of Environmental Science by Kamala Doršner is licensed under CC BY 4.0
The Introduction to Environmental Science and Sustainability cover features images provided by the University of West Florida (UWF) and the UWF Photography Library.

As coastal communities are experiencing increased impacts from climate stressors, it is becoming more important for policy makers to establish sound policy objectives for the protection of these communities. Top-down focused policies are not always successful as they do not always align with the wants and needs of a community. Bottom-up information, on the other hand, can be highly insightful for local policy makers to help design management strategies that include social needs and potential conflicts as they take into account the public's attitudes, perceptions, and expectations of the environment. This study sought to assess how beach users - local residents and tourists - perceive the environmental and economic ecosystem services that coastal dunes provide as well as their views on management strategies for the protection of these environments at Pensacola Beach. A total of sixty surveys were conducted at various beach locations in Pensacola Beach, Florida. Results indicated that beach users, both local and tourist, understood the environmental and economic value of coastal dunes, yet the different user groups showcased differing levels of willingness to support dune management initiatives. Local residents showed a substantially higher propensity to support dune management both financially as well as through action.

The UWF GeoScholars program was designed based on the inherently interdisciplinary nature of geoscience research and careers. Specifically, we sought to demonstrate to undergraduate geoscience students the need for including content and skills from other academic areas, while also showing non-geoscience undergraduate majors the application of their fields of study to a range of geoscience topics, including climatology, soil science, and geomorphology. We secured NSF IUSE funding to pair faculty and undergraduate researchers from the UWF Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences with faculty-student partners from non-geoscience UWF departments, including Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Information Technology, and Mathematics & Statistics. Research team faculty mentors collaborated to identify an interdisciplinary geoscience research project that employed specific areas of interest and expertise from the geoscience and non-geoscience participants. Faculty then worked with the UWF GeoScholars directors to identify and recruit students from a targeted pool of eligible undergraduate students. Research teams then conducted related research, with students funded as part of the UWF Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) and continuing through the subsequent academic year(s) culminating in each student presenting research at a regional or national geoscience conference, also attended by the non-geoscience faculty mentors. Additionally, the UWF GeoScholars program developed a series of professional development engagement activities that began in the UWF SURP program and continued in regular GeoScholars programs during the academic year. Professional development highlights included student researcher sessions with regional geoscience employers and representatives from national geoscience PhD graduate programs. Now in its third year, the UWF GeoScholars has facilitated multiple new interdisciplinary faculty collaborations, trained more than 20 undergraduate students in research and professional skills, and engaged regional industry partners with the University community as demonstration of the multitude of paths into the geosciences.