Pedagogy and Professional Development

Developing Wool Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences in Apparel and Civil Engineering at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

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Abstract

Undergraduate research experiences provide a unique opportunity for students to apply critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration skills for sustainability research. Many CUREs are in STEM; however, approaches are expanding across different majors. The purpose of this study is to develop undergraduate research experiences based on USDA priorities for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) including curricula design, materials development, library resources, and experiential learning in an Apparel and Civil Engineering course. The following are primary questions to evaluate students’ research experiences: (1) After taking the Apparel or Civil Engineering research courses, are there differences among students’ perceptions of their (a) research self-efficacy, (b) research identity, (c) research community values, (d) intention to pursue a related research career, and (e) library skills? (2) What aspects of the research courses are most helpful to students? (3) What external factors are impacting student learning? This study contributes to emerging Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences.

Keywords: wool, sustainability, pedagogy, undergraduate research

How to Cite:

Trejo, H. X. & Li, S., (2024) “Developing Wool Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences in Apparel and Civil Engineering at a Hispanic-Serving Institution”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 80(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.17532