A Longitudinal Study on the Effectiveness of the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program at Missouri University of Science and Technology

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF), from 2011 to 2013. We examine the experiences of selected undergraduate students from across the country who came to Missouri S&T to participate in active art of researching; more specifically within the field of additive manufacturing. The student participants' experiences were monitored and evaluated through a set of qualitative and quantitative measures. Quantitative data for each year was gathered through a survey distributed at the beginning of the first week and at the end of the last week. Additional quantitative feedback was provided from either weekly or bi-weekly presentation evaluations. A follow-up survey was also conducted for all three years participants. Qualitative data was gathered through two semi-structured interviews, administered near the beginning and the end of the program in each year. Based on the results and analysis from gathered data, our evaluation indicates that the Missouri S&T Additive Manufacturing REU program improved each year and succeeded in its goals of increasing students' knowledge of the additive manufacturing processes. Our results also show improvement in the students' abilities to conduct individual research projects, work in an interdisciplinary environment, utilize computer- Aided tools and laboratory facilities, and improving students' communication and presentation skills. Some limitations of the REU program are explained in the paper. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2014.

Department(s)

Business and Information Technology

Second Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2024 The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2014

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