Becoming a bioscientist: Undergraduate laboratory experience as a portal to bioscience identity

Abstract

Students' perceptions of bioscience research are influenced by their experiences in laboratories. For many students, whole-class laboratory sessions are their only exposure to practical bioscience. These can give a misleading impression of what bioscience research is like if they only involve following step-by-step instructions to achieve a 'correct' answer. One solution is to give students experimental design freedom, ownership of and a stake in their laboratory work, so that they can experience the creativity of research, and something of what it is like to be a bioscientist. Such opportunities allow our students legitimate peripheral participation in our bioscience research community of practice and help them acquire bioscience research identity.