biostudies-literatureUnknown19(2)Laungani RReports such as <i>Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education</i> call for integration of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) into biology curricula and less emphasis on "cookbook" laboratories. CUREs, often characterized by a single open-ended research question, allow students to develop hypotheses, design experiments, and collaborate with peers. Conversely, "cookbook" labs incentivize task completion and have pre-determined experimental outcomes. While research comparing CUREs and "cookbook" labs is growing, there are fewer comparisons among CUREs. Here, we present a novel CURE built around an invasive grass, <i>Bromus inermis</i>. We evaluated this CURE's effectiveness in improving students' understanding of the <i>Vision and Change</i> competency relating Journal of microbiology & biology education19.2.68https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC6022745biostudies-literatureFinding Some Good in an Invasive Species: Introduction and Assessment of a Novel CURE to Improve Experimental Design in Undergraduate Biology Classrooms.PMC6022745Dworak SDoyle ESchofield BLaungani RElder BBrooks TDTanner CClement BMarley KClouse MfalseFinding Some Good in an Invasive Species: Introduction and Assessment of a Novel CURE to Improve Experimental Design in Undergraduate Biology Classrooms.Reports such as <i>Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education</i> call for integration of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) into biology curricula and less emphasis on "cookbook" laboratories. CUREs, often characterized by a single open-ended research question, allow students to develop hypotheses, design experiments, and collaborate with peers. Conversely, "cookbook" labs incentivize task completion and have pre-determined experimental outcomes. While research comparing CUREs and "cookbook" labs is growing, there are fewer comparisons among CUREs. Here, we present a novel CURE built around an invasive grass, <i>Bromus inermis</i>. We evaluated this CURE's effectiveness in improving students' understanding of the <i>Vision and Change</i> competency relating 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z20182026-07-15T18:37:51.393Z2019-03-26T23:45:47ZS-EPMC60227452998384510.1128/jmbe.v19i2.1517