Recommendations for course-based undergraduate research experiences in mathematics

Abstract

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have benefits for course instructors, undergraduate STEM students, and underrepresented students. CUREs consist of five essential components which include the use of science practices, discovery, broadly relevant or important work, collaboration, and iteration (Auchincloss et al., 2014). Over the past decade, a broad range of CUREs have been developed within and across STEM disciplines. However, resources to assist instructors to develop CUREs in mathematics are limited. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the extant literature on course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), especially in mathematics, to provide future directions for reforming mathematics courses to incorporate research experiences through CUREs, and to provide recommendations for developing CUREs in mathematics.