Implementation of a class-tested bean beetle CURE in a few sections of your biology laboratory course will likely have a very positive effect on student outcomes early in their academic career.  Student will perform better in their biology lecture course when they are doing laboratory work that is more authentic scientific research.  Students who perform better at the early in their academic career are more likely to remain in a science major and to graduate.

When faculty and administrators see how effective a CURE laboratory can be for students, they will be more likely to support changing curriculum to provide these more effective laboratories in all biology laboratory courses both at the introductory and upper-level.  The capacity of any institution to provide mentored research experiences for undergraduates is limited, but CUREs provide similar experiences in the context of undergraduate classes.

The CURE laboratory model is not limited to biology.  A successful implementation in biology could serve as a model for other STEM departments at your institution to adopt similar curriculum changes to improve student outcomes in all of the sciences.

Conducting a CURE is real research and should result in the collection of data that are new to science.  Your research with students will provide opportunities to present research findings at conferences and publication of your findings.

The microbiome research data collected by all participants will be made freely available to everyone in our project, so there will be opportunities for collaborations between students and faculty at different institutions exploring similar questions.