First-year university students involved in research-like laboratory projects

Research-based teaching is considered a cornerstone of university teaching. Nevertheless, international studies and local experiences also evidence challenges referring to students not yet having the qualifications needed to engage meaningfully with research literature and methods. The present study focused on the student perspective, examining first-year students’ perceived outcomes from working with research in the form of research papers and laboratory work in two second semester courses Introduction to Chemistry Research and Biotechnological Project. The students have answered questionnaires (pre and post), including questions relating to agency and the experience of mastering in the form of both Likert-scale format and open reflections. Data is collected in two consecutive years and data from the second round will be included at the conference. Students in the first round emphasised outcomes from meeting researchers in an authentic environment and being involved in activities with a degree of autonomy. Challenges were related to making sense of the complex theory at this early state of their studies and hence scaffolding and feedback appeared to be crucial. Across courses it is discussed how each of the two courses contribute with a research-like experience.