Making Learning Matter

Undergraduate research is no longer confined to lab benches and computer labs – it belongs in classrooms, studios, archives, and community sites across the liberal arts. Making Learning Matter is a call to action for educators across disciplines to embrace course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) as a powerful, equitable tool for student learning, engagement, and transformation. This book offers practical guidance, real examples, and theoretical grounding for integrating CUREs into both lab and non-lab settings. Drawing from diverse disciplines, it demonstrates how research can be scaffolded into courses at every curriculum level, starting with introductory courses. We focus specifically on non-major general education courses as vehicles to engage and excite all students in exploring a wide range of disciplines. Whether designing a data-driven research project in a statistics class or incorporating archival inquiry into a literature seminar, faculty will find frameworks and inspiration to make authentic research experiences part of their teaching practice. Grounded in the model of embedded High-Impact Pedagogy, the book makes a case for course-based research as a transformative practice that promotes inclusion, reflection, critical thinking, and collaboration. The book tackles timely tools and topics, integrating generative AI into CUREs, helping students develop not only research skills but also digital and ethical literacies essential for the future. Making Learning Matter speaks to a wide audience: instructors interested in new ways to engage students in STEM, humanities faculty eager to embed research more deeply, as well as any other faculty wishing to create more meaningful, research-based experiences in their classroom. We expect that the book will appeal to institutions seeking scalable, inclusive, and accessible models for undergraduate research. It celebrates what’s possible when curiosity, creativity, and inquiry meet meaningful pedagogical design – making research a common language across the liberal arts.