The Entering Research Learning Assessment (ERLA) is a set of parallel research trainee and mentor surveys that assess trainee learning gains in the seven areas of research trainee development articulated in the Entering Research conceptual framework. Items to assess trainee gains in equity and inclusion awareness and skills expand upon the scope of previously available multidimensional research trainee assessment tools and the parallel survey results can be compared to measure the degree of alignment between research trainees’ and mentors’ assessments of trainee learning gains.
The Entering Research conceptual framework is grounded in the literature on research trainee development and research program effectiveness. It includes learning objectives in seven areas of trainee development that incorporate several theories shown to be relevant to various aspects of research trainee development.
WISCIENCE provides centralized common assessment and evaluation surveys that use the Entering Research Learning Assessment (ERLA) to promote and systematize the evaluation of undergraduate and graduate reserach experiences and training programs. These surveys are available to all trained facilitators of Entering Research (ER), regardless of whether they are using ER activities in their implementations. Programs using the ER curriculum can also used standardized program/course evaluation questions designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum in training program and workshop implementations.