Undergraduate Biology Lab Courses: Comparing the Impact of Traditionally Based “Cookbook” and Authentic Research-Based Courses on Student Lab Experiences

Over the past decade, several reports have recommended a shift in undergraduate biology laboratory courses from traditionally structured, often described as “cookbook,” to authentic research-based experiences. This study compares a cookbook-type laboratory course to a researchbased undergraduate biology laboratory course at a Research 1 institution. The research-based lab course had several hallmarks of authentic research: a single longitudinal research focus, research questions with currently unknown answers, studentdetermined experimental designs, and collaboration among lab peers. Twenty students in the researchbased lab were matched with 20 students in the cookbook lab on the basis of five demographic characteristics. This study found that students in the research-based lab had more positive attitudes toward authentic research, higher self-confidence in lab-related tasks, and increased interest in pursuing future research compared with students in the cookbook laboratory course. This study provides empirical evidence supporting the recommendations for incorporating more authentic research components in laboratory courses. Recent publications, including BIO 2010: A New Biology for the 21st Century (National Research Council [NRC], 2003), Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education (American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 2010), and A New Biology for the 21st Century (National Academy of Sciences [NAS], 2010), highlight needed changes for undergraduate biology, including a shift away from traditionally structured lab courses toward more authentic research experiences in undergraduate biology laboratories. The traditionally structured lab, common to high school and undergraduate settings (McComas, 2005; Sundberg and Armstrong, 1993), provides students with stepby-step instructions by which to carry out an investigation, earning the name cookbook lab that we will use henceforth. Cookbook labs typically engage students at a minimal intellectual level (Holt, Abramoff, Wilcox, & Abell, 1969; Modell & Michael, 1993); the recipe-like activities leave many students unaware of the significance of experimental results (Germann, Haskins, & Auls, 1996; Modell & Michael, 1993). Perhaps most disconcerting, cookbook lab courses often expose students to inaccurate representaUndergraduate Biology Lab Courses: Comparing the Impact of Traditionally Based “Cookbook” and Authentic Research-Based Courses on Student Lab Experiences