TABLE 2.

CURE components with cited authors’ definitions and examples of each component from articles included in this review

Component	Definition	Example	Aspects that met criteria of the definition
General science practices	Students participate in activities, including but not limited to designing studies, evaluating models, analyzing data, communicating findings, and use of scientific techniques and methods.	“Techniques included: RNA isolation, reverse-transcription, polymerase chain reaction” (Periyannan, 2019, p. 3).“Students collect data according to project’s scientific goals, but they also analyze data, and in lab reports interpret data, communicate their findings” (Petrie, 2020, p. 2).	Scientific techniques, methods, and tools were used.Collection of data, analysis, interpretation, communication of findings were noted.
Specific science practice:Student-selectedhypothesis	Students generate hypotheses and/or are allowed to choose the direction of their research, their gene of choice, etc.	“The students identified questions of interest and created lists of differentially expressed genes for conditions relevant to their questions” (Makarevitchet al., 2015, p. 5).“Each team’s project is guided by a hypothesis it develops” (Kean et al., 2019, p. 67).	Students selected the genes for their research.Students developed their hypotheses.
Specific science practice:Student-designed methodology	Students determine how best to answer their questions by creating their own methods or selecting an option from existing methods.	“This involves performing a literature survey, developing a hypothesis and designing experiments to test the hypothesis” (Coticone and Van Houten, 2020, p. 2).“Having chosen one target gene to test, students will then design gene specific primers for qPCR” (Idica et al., 2015, p. 3).	Article explicitly states design of experiments.Students were required to design their own primers.
Specific science practice:Student review of primary literature	Students use literature to determine the state of knowledge surrounding their research topics.	“Write a short summary of an article from the primary literature on animal movement” (Ouifiero, 2018, p. 6).“Students conducted a literature search” (Indorf et al., 2019, p. 5).	Students summarized primary literature.Students consulted the primary literature.
Specific science practice:Studentdissemination	Students share results outside the class where the project took place; this may be through a poster, a presentation, a publication, or sharing results with another researcher.	“Students use a Google Form to submit their results to the online database” (Bell et al., 2020, p. 7).“Student groups presented their research findings … at a symposium” (McLaughlin et al., 2018, p. 104).	Results were shared to an online database available to other researchers.Students shared their results at a symposium.
Discovery	New knowledge or insight is obtained from student work.	“Analysis affords students the opportunity to discover novel sequences … of previously undetected microorganisms” (Sanders and Hirsch, 2014, p. 2).“Each student’s ultimate goal is to biochemically determine the function of their protein … for which no experimental functional data exist” (Gray et al., 2015, p. 245).	Students discovered novel sequences from undetected microbes.Students determined the function of a protein whose function was yet unknown.
Relevance	Student work has an impact outside the classroom.	“The main goal of this program is to help predict shifts in the patterns of canid species space-use in response to perturbation” (Sorensonet al., 2018, p. 3).“Bean beetles are agricultural pests that occur throughout the tropics and subtropics” (Cotner and Herbert, 2016, p. 233).	Student data would predict real-life species’ distributions.Student data would provide information about an agricultural pest and its impacts.
Collaboration	Students work in groups throughout the CURE.	“The group research model in this study attempts to balance group and individual accountability for work” (Kinner and Lord, 2018, p. 51).“Each mutant strain was generated at least in duplicates by groups of three or four students” (Bakshiet al., 2016, p. 452).	Article explicitly stated that groups were formed in this CURE.Article clearly stated that students worked in groups.
Iteration	Students continue to build upon knowledge and reassess when procedures must be modified and/or continue to build upon knowledge from other students.	“Students isolated total RNA … visualized their RNA by agarose gel electrophoresis and determined the RNA concentration by UV spectroscopy” (Griffinet al., 2003, p. 54).“Feedback was provided … so students could identify gaps in their knowledge” (Ochoa et al., 2019, p. 550).	Students used multiple techniques to collect data within the same project.Students were required to make revisions based on feedback.