Map and Measures for CISER Assessment

Assessment has been vitally important to the CISER STEM Education Program since its inception in 1992. Part of the assessment consists of tracking students who are involved in the program and documenting their achievements while they are in the program and after they leave. These achievements consist of presentations at regional and national conferences, publications in professional journals, and entry into and completion of graduate programs. Other elements of assessment include reviewing annual reports submitted by CISER Scholars and their faculty mentors; forming focus groups to study the strengths and respond to the weaknesses of components of the program; and collecting questionnaire data to better understand Scholars' experiences in research and science teaching.

Citations of Work

One accessible source of information about the CISER STEM Education Program is the book 'Creating Effective Undergraduate Research Programs in Science.'

Click on the book for details.

 

A formal assessment of the CISER Traveling Labs program, which is a component of the CISER Pre-College Outreach grant component can be found at:

Taraban, R., Box, C., Myers, R., Pollard, R., & Bowen, C. (2007). Effects of active-learning experiences on achievement, attitudes, and behaviors in high-school biology. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(7).960-979.

A discussion of the role of research experiences in the lab, like those in the CISER program (1992-2014), in the context of instructional technology can be found at:

Taraban, R. (2008). An impoverished machine: Challenges to human learning and instructional technology. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 639-646.

Dr. Taraban published an article in May, 2012, "Academic Factors that Affect Undergraduate Research Experiences", in the Journal of Education Psychology that includes data he has gathered from undergraduate researchers, including CISER Scholars. Dr. Taraban et al found that peer support had a significant positive impact on the undergraduate research experience. Find the abstract at Psycnet on APA.org.

Assessment Questions

For questions, contact the CISER Assessment Coordinator, Dr. Roman Taraban, at (806)742-3711×247, roman.taraban@ttu.edu, or visit his TTU page here.

• History of CISER
• CISER Donations
• CISER Assessment
• Vision, Values and Goals
• Important Links
• Contact Us
• Blanton Scholarship
• Christopher Rodriguez Legacy
• CISER Medical Mission Trips