Developing research skills through an experimental physics course-based undergraduate research experience

Laboratory courses play a key role in helping students build experimental skills and develop scientific reasoning. However, many lab structures still emphasize verification over inquiry, which can limit students’ opportunities to develop skills such as experimental design and navigating the messiness inherent to experimental science. One model that addresses these challenges is a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE), which provides cohorts of students with opportunities to engage in authentic research as part of their regular coursework. While they have been widely adopted in other STEM disciplines, CUREs are relatively rare in physics, but expanding their implementation can help students build the skills and practices central to research.

In collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), we are in the fourth semester of implementing an experimental physics CURE focused on improving metal halide perovskite solar cells. Through analysis of several data sources, we identified a range of skills students developed throughout the course. Students show growth not only in technical abilities, such as equipment use, data collection and analysis, and coding, but also in professional skills including collaboration, communication, and time management. Collaboration was the most frequently cited area of growth, often framed around navigating team dynamics. The skills developed in the course closely match those identified in workforce studies as keys for success in physics and related careers, including both technical and professional skill sets.