Could Instructor Talk Drive CURE Effectiveness? A Comparative Study of Instructor Talk in Introductory Lab Courses.

ABSTRACT: Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) are thought to enhance students' motivation to continue in college, in science, and in research. Yet, how CUREs enhance student motivation is largely undefined. Theories of instructor immediacy, self-efficacy, and task values suggest that CURE instructors may talk in ways that influence students' motivational beliefs. To set the stage for testing this hypothesis, we characterized the non-content-related talk of instructors teaching 48 introductory biology lab courses, half CUREs and half non-CUREs. We identified 14 types of instructor talk that fit these theoretical perspectives: fostering students' closeness with their instructor (i.e., immediacy talk), building students' confidence in their scientific abilities (i.e., self-efficacy

SUBMITTER: Zajic CJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12930262 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature