2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Challenge

Undergraduate research is a high-impact learning opportunity that helps students develop academic, personal, and professional skills. However, there are numerous barriers to entry into undergraduate research that limit students' ability to participate. To address this problem, we developed a one-credit, peer-taught course designed to help students overcome these barriers. One skill that is necessary for student success in a research lab, especially in biomedical engineering (BME), is the ability to read and interpret scientific literature, which can be daunting for students who have not yet participated in research. Yet, this skill is not directly taught in our institution’s first-year engineering curriculum.

Learning Objective

To fill this gap, we created a series of scaffolded activities with the objective of helping students develop strategies to read and discuss primary research articles.

Implementation

We began by introducing a framework to systematically approach a research article rather than reading an article from start to finish. We developed the acronym ACT FAST, which guides students through the steps for reading a research article: A (Abstract), C (Conclusion and Discussion), T (Tables and Figures), F (Focus on Methods), A (Analyze Results), S (Skim the article), and T (Takeaways). During class, the instructor demonstrated how to apply the ACT FAST method using an example article. For homework, students selected one of three research articles to independently practice the method. In the following class session, students participated in a mock journal club using their chosen articles. After the discussions ended, the instructor presented strategies for finding relevant research articles. For homework, students were tasked with finding and analyzing an article on their own. In the final session of the three-week module, students worked together with five peers to create a concept map using the articles they analyzed for homework. By the end of the three weeks, students had increased their confidence in their ability to read, interpret, and discuss scientific literature.

Situational Factors

This course included 40 first-year engineering students who met once a week for 50 min. Most students were first-year engineering students, and approx. 40% intended to declare biomedical engineering majors. The choices of research articles should align with the research interests of the students to maximize their motivation (e.g., using expectancy value theory). Class size and classroom space configuration are important factors to consider when designing team-based discussion activities, since they impact strategies for in-class teamwork and assessment. Finally, student background experiences affect the depth of discussion, since upper-level undergraduate and graduate students are typically more well-prepared for discussion of scientific literature.