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SIRIUS Project College of Natural Science & Mathematics

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What Are Ales?

Authentic Learning Experiences (ALEs) use the same disciplinary knowledge and processes as a professional would employ in the field to solve real-world problems with unknown outcomes.

The goal of ALEs is to improve students’ research and/or project-based skills as well as their understanding of the importance of interdisciplinary work. Through improvement of these skills in an authentic context, students will also experience enhanced self-efficacy, science identity, sense of belonging and intention to attain a degree and pursue a career in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Why Design an ALE?

Undergraduate research experiences (UREs) show increases and/ or improvements in:

  • Cognitive skills
  • Self-efficacy
  • Science Identity
  • Motivation
  • Sense of Belonging
  • Graduation rates
  • Career clarification

Course-based Undergraduate Research (CUREs), which are a subset of ALES, respond to barriers and equity of access to UREs.

Some reasons faculty choose to incorporate ALEs into their course include:

  • Student Outcomes: 1) Build Knowledge and Skills, 2) Develop Attitudes and Dispositions, 3) Develop Identity and Networks, 4) Increase Equity and Inclusion, 5) Educational and/or Career Pursuits/Clarification
  • STEM Outcomes - produce and disseminate new knowledge/products or solve problems
  • Faculty Outcomes - enjoyment, relationship-building, career advancement, scholarship

Bauer and Bennet, 2003; Lopatto, 2004, 2007; Seymour et al., 2004; Hunter et al., 2007; Laursen et al., 2010

How does an ALE differ from a CURE or Inquiry-based Learning?

The SIRIUS I Project trained faculty to incorporate Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) into science courses. ALEs are similar to CUREs but allow for the expansion into other disciplines using learning practices that don’t fit neatly into a scientific inquiry model, like engineering design projects and work related to data analytics/mining and artificial intelligence.

ALEs:

  • Use of Disciplinary Practices (Inquiry)
  • Conducting Novel Work (Inquiry)
  • Broader Relevance
  • Collaboration (Inquiry)
  • Iteration (Inquiry)
  • + Dissemination

CUREs:

  • Use of Scientific Practices
  • Discovery of Novel Data
  • Broader Relevance
  • Collaboration
  • Iteration
  • + Dissemination

As noted above, Inquiry-based learning is similar to an ALE, but lacks broader relevance and dissemnation which are key components to professional work related to real-world problems.