FIGURE 4.

Student perspectives on laboratory skill proficiency following the microbiome ALURE. Student confidence was measured through responses to survey questions in 2012 (n = 130) and 2013 (n = 197) on a 0–4 scale (0 = Do not know how to do; 1 = Not competent; 2 = Need practice; 3 = Competent; 4 = Highly competent). The mean survey response ± SEM is plotted above. * denotes a statistically significant difference between student survey responses before and after the laboratory experience as determined by the Mann-Whitney U-test (p < 0.05). ALURE = authentic large-scale undergraduate research experience; SEM = standard error of the mean.