The Student as Scholar:
Undergraduate Research and Creative Practice
Conference Description, Program, and Resources
300 faculty and administrators gathered in Long Beach, California on April 19-21, 2007 for a conference focused on integrating research and scholarship into the undergraduate experience with the goal of expanding and deepening learning for all students. Conference sessions explored developmental models, research and assessment of student learning, and examples of campus practice.
The resources below document approaches to undergraduate education that embrace and educate our students as scholars – preparing them not only to be active members in the campus community of scholars, but also preparing students to be informed, engaged citizens and successful professionals in an increasingly complex and diverse world.
California State University of Long Beach contributed to this conference as a sponsor.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
2:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Pre-conference workshops
Workshop 1: Curricular Responses to Academic and Societal Challenges of the Next Three to Five Years (ppt)
This workshop will consider ways in which colleges and universities can re-think their undergraduate curriculum so that it both reflects and responds to complex challenges arising from the changing state of knowledge, the changing demography of the undergraduate population, and the changing needs of an increasingly mobile and global society. The workshop will begin with a discussion of the implications these challenges have for higher education, including strategies for addressing them within the contexts of general education, undergraduate research, and special initiatives. Through hands-on exercises, participants will explore critical questions related to new conceptualizations of undergraduate education and innovative pedagogies. The workshop will conclude with participants outlining specific actions to take on their own campuses.
Wendy F. Katkin, Director, The Reinvention Center, University of Miami, and David Potash, Associate Provost and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Hunter College, City University of New York
Workshop 2: Sustainable Models of Student–Faculty Collaboration
Participants will discuss and design sustainable models of student–faculty collaboration that focus on the educational aims and needs of minority students and women. The workshop will highlight lessons learned from a program that has successfully engaged minorities and women in science and engineering and nurtured within them a lasting commitment to research and creativity. Participants will explore the perennial question of what constitutes undergraduate research. They will learn how to organize and sustain a minority student research group that emphasizes building excitement among students to help overcome challenges and frustrations encountered in their fields of study. They will also learn about selecting conferences and journals to present and publish student research.
What is Undergraduate Research (pdf)
An Administrator's Role (pdf)
Georgia Southern University Student Research Award Application (pdf)
Undergraduate Research Perspectives (ppt)
Carolus Boekema, Professor of Physics, San Jose State University; Anny Morrobel-Sosa, Dean, Allen E. Paulson College of Science and Technology, Georgia Southern University; and Janette Ruiz, Process Engineer, Lam Research Corporation
Workshop 3: Research and Creative Scholarship: An Integral Part of the Undergraduate Experience (pdf)
Undergraduate research has been an effective educational model for many years, but establishing an effective, sustainable institution-wide undergraduate research program is still a highly challenging undertaking. Specific challenges include offering a meaningful research experience to a significant number of undergraduates, integrating research experience with students’ overall undergraduate education, and providing the optimal mix of faculty leadership and administrative support to sustain a dynamic undergraduate research program. Using examples from quite different institutions—a private liberal arts college and a major state university—this workshop will offer participants specific strategies that can be adapted to their own institutions and help them identify barriers that still prevent research from reaching all undergraduates.
Royce Engstrom, Provost, University of South Dakota; and Jeff Abernathy, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Augustana College
Workshop 4: Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research on Student Learning and Campus Culture (ppt)
Undergraduate research and inquiry-driven study have proven effective in developing student ownership of their learning and in advancing their understanding and commitment to real-world issues. These activities can also promote a richer campus culture of collaboration and excellence. How can assessment help us better understand the ways in which research advances student learning and engagement? How can we use assessment to explore the impact of research, collaborative and interdisciplinary teaching, and inquiry-driven student learning on campus culture? Participants in this workshop will explore these questions and approaches for addressing them.
Annotated Bibliography (pdf)
David Brakke, Dean, College of Sciences and Math, James Madison University; and Mary Crowe, Director of Undergraduate Research, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Welcome
Carol Geary Schneider, President, Association of American Colleges and Universities
Keynote: The Student as Scholar in Research and Practice
Presentation (ppt)
Address (pdf)
Podcast Recording
In order to integrate undergraduate research most effectively into the learning experience, undergraduate education should focus on the “student as scholar” from the first to final year. President Hodge will offer a vision of the student as scholar, where ‘scholar’ is defined in terms of an attitude, an intellectual posture, and a frame of mind derived from the best traditions of an engaged liberal education. Fulfilling this vision of the student as scholar will require a fundamental shift in how we imagine and structure the curriculum. In this new paradigm, the curriculum is learning-centered, providing intentional pathways that culminate in capstone experiences, peer-reviewed research papers, and creative presentations.
David C. Hodge, President, Miami University
8:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Posters and Reception
Poster 1: Providing Undergraduates with a Research Training Roadmap (ppt)
Participants will learn about a comprehensive plan at the University of Toronto to engage undergraduate students in research. The plan progresses from seminars to special projects and from courses to summer employment. The poster will feature a model that expands institutional capacity for meaningful undergraduate research experiences by providing “stepping stones” over the successive undergraduate years. This model led University of Toronto faculty to identify and enhance developmental stages of the student-as-scholar, as well as identify opportunities for students to gain sustained experiences. By increasing the number of opportunities available in established programs and introducing a new program, the Roadmap embodied strategies to increase the pool of faculty engaged in innovative student-as-scholar pedagogy. This poster will be particularly useful for faculty and academic administrators interested in this kind of “scale-up” activity. The types of opportunities included in the Roadmap are either already available or relatively easy to initiate at any institution. The presenter will be on-hand to discuss common challenges and strategies to overcome them.
Jose C. Sigouin, Manager, Research Information Analysis, University of Toronto
Poster 2: Research Ethics Training for Undergraduates
How can faculty teach research ethics, particularly when the student researcher’s schedule and curriculum are already packed with so many other competing responsibilities? This poster will demonstrate research ethics training for groups of as many as 80 students by combining behavioral simulations, small group discussion, and interviews with laboratory members. The ethics component begins with a role-playing simulation that highlights key research ethics topics such as authorship, data ownership, integrity, and publication funding. This model indirectly involves research mentors and other laboratory personnel,and extends beyond research program participants to benefit graduate students, laboratory technicians, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty.
Catherine Quiñones, Associate Director of the Emory College Center for Science Education, and Patricia A. Marsteller, Director of the Emory College Center for Science Education, Emory University
Poster 3: Undergraduate Research: Theirs, Mine, and Ours
This poster presentation will focus on one aspect of Hampton University’s Riverdale Scholars project—identifying undergraduate scholars and enhancing their development using modules that integrate technology into the research process. The modules offer students a timeline of research events that supplement their programs of study and provide support and additional instruction in the areas of research in which both novice and veteran undergraduate scholars most often seek assistance.
Anne L. Pierce, Assistant Professor of Education, Hampton University
Poster 4: Legislative Influence: Preparing Undergraduates to Present their Research to Elected Officials
The Council on Undergraduate Research sponsors an annual "Posters on the Hill" event in Washington D.C. Based on the success of this event, public and private institutions have now organized legislative-focused undergraduate research days in more than 15 states to promote the value of higher education and research to elected officials. In addition to serving as valuable public relations and outreach events for the institutions, the state capitol days enhance student communication skills and provide a direct experience in civic engagement. This poster will describe the preparation process used at the University of Missouri-Columbia to (1) help students communicate the benefits of their research with respect to their academic field and their own professional development, and (2) provide students with a deeper understanding of the role that state lawmakers play in higher education, research funding, and policy decisions. The poster will include examples developed by students for a legislative audience.
Linda Blockus, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, University of Missouri-Columbia
Poster 5: First Experiences in Research: A Structured, Faculty-Mentored Program for First-Year Students (pdf)
Designed for second-term, first-year students, the University of Pittsburgh’s First Experiences in Research program provides undergraduates the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research with natural science, social science, and humanities faculty members. Students in the program meet regularly with their faculty mentors and work on a research project for 5 to 10 hours per week for course credit or workstudy. Students also meet every other week as a group to explore topics about research and scholarship, including how to conduct literature searches, how to present research, and how to “read” research presentations. This program was adapted internally into a First Experiences in Teaching program, and is easily adaptable to other institutional contexts. This poster will be of interest to campus leaders who want to create formal opportunities to engage young students in traditional, faculty-mentored, research experiences. The presenter will also share insights about challenges and unexpected events (e.g., the creation of additional teams to accommodate more students) that occurred during implementation.
Joseph J. Grabowski, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Director of Undergraduate Research for Arts and Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
Friday, April 20, 2007
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Roundtable Discussions and Continental Breakfast
Table 1: Collaborative Undergraduate Research Seminars: Providing a “Research I” Experience
This roundtable will highlight the Collaborative Undergraduate Research Seminars sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts at California State University, Long Beach. These seminars provide a “Research I Institution” experience for promising undergraduates by having them work side-by-side with excellent teacher-scholars on year-long projects. These projects address an immediate need on campus, in the local community, or in the surrounding region. Administrators and faculty from other large institutions who are seeking to develop undergraduate research projects and use them to combine interdisciplinary work, active learning, scholarship, and faculty development will benefit from attending this session.
Norbert Schürer, Assistant Professor of English, Shaheera Ali, Student and Alison Cochrane, Student, California State University, Long Beach
Table 2: Institutionalizing Student Research Opportunities: Creating Visibility and Promoting Collaboration for Engaged Learning
Dickinson College has multiple programs across the curriculum to provide students with research opportunities that cross disciplinary, institutional, and geographic boundaries. This roundtable will help participants generate strategies for (1) institutional infrastructure and planning, (2) seeking external support, and (3) identifying and encouraging collaboration to help build a community of inquiry. Brainstorming will also focus on ways to create an institutional ethos that expects and celebrates research.
Brenda Bretz, Associate Provost, Dickinson College
Table 3: Implementing an Integrative Research Sequence: The “Scientific Core” (pdf)
The interdisciplinary Behavioral Sciences Department at Drury University has just begun implementation of a new undergraduate curriculum, the “scientific core”, funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Department faculty developed a progressive model that affords students the opportunity to both understand and do science through a coordinated sequence of courses. The sequence includes instruction in scientific writing, research methodologies, statistical analysis, and behavioral ethics, as well as a 32-week capstone research application where students participate in a team-based, student-initiated, hands-on research project that culminates in a public presentation. Such a model is designed to facilitate problem-solving skills, disciplinary socialization, and a more informed citizenry. In this roundtable, facilitators will describe this “scientific core” and how it might be modified for use at other institutions, and they will also seek participant feedback on its components. The session will be particularly applicable to those in the behavioral, social, and natural sciences.
Valerie J. Eastman, Associate Professor of Psychology, and R. Robin Miller, Associate Professor of Sociology, Drury University
Table 4: Interdisciplinary Research: Building a Bridge to Scientific Inquiry in the 21st Century (ppt)
At Hope College, students, faculty, and administrators strongly believe that learning science is best achieved by doing science, and the college is committed to delivering an excellent undergraduate program of study that includes opportunities for cutting-edge research. With the recent and rapid expansion of biology and a call for more interdisciplinary research initiatives by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Academies’ BIO2010, Hope faculty have made interdisciplinary research a centerpiece of the undergraduate research program. Campus leaders intentionally developed such a research culture through curricular changes, construction of new facilities that fosters collaboration across disciplines, careful hiring of faculty with interests in multidisciplinary projects, and successful grantsmanship and allocation of resources that promote interdisciplinary research. In this roundtable, presenters will describe the Hope College model for creating collaborative research activities for undergraduates that cross disciplinary boundaries. They will also share challenges, successes, and assessment results, the latter which are focused on how students value interdisciplinary over disciplinary research and how interdisciplinary research has enriched their education.
Thomas L. Bultman, Chairperson, Biology Department, and Moses N. Lee, Dean, Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Hope College
Table 5: Integrating Theory and Practice: An Action Research Case Study
Using a case study example from the College of Education at Morehead State University, a regional Appalachian institution, this roundtable will focus on creating action research opportunities for undergraduate students in preservice teaching situations. Action research encourages students to pose practical, inquiry-driven questions that are directly related to field-based learning opportunities. Participants will work together to define action research and to identify appropriate opportunities for similar projects within their home institutions. The case study presented will address the integration of theory and practice through student research opportunities, and the facilitator will address issues such as obtaining institutional review board approval and creating connections with local stakeholders.
Diana L. Haleman, Associate Professor of Education, Morehead State University
Table 6: Promoting Active Learning: Connecting Students with their Community through Curricular Design
This discussion will begin with an overview of a pilot project implemented by Northern Arizona University's Honors Program to engage first-year students in their community and model learner-centered curriculum and pedagogy. Ideas and materials will be offered for adopting and adapting the model in various curricular settings. Faculty involved with first-year students or interested in learner-centered models of education are especially encouraged to participate in a discussion of ways to create educational opportunities that actively engage students in their community and in their own learning.
Ellen Riek, Instructor, Honors Program and Doctoral Student, Educational Anthropology, Northern Arizona University Honors Program
Table 7: Supporting Undergraduate Research: Centralized and Decentralized Institutional Models and the Role of Statewide Programs
In this roundtable, presenters will describe undergraduate research programs at two universities—a decentralized model from Northern Kentucky University and a centralized model from Murray State University. In each case, presenters will highlight resources that are available, the decision-making structures that allocate those resources, opportunities for students to showcase research and creative activities, and the impact on undergraduate participants. They will also discuss programs that are offered to all universities in Kentucky to support and showcase research, and they will share evaluation data regarding the impact these programs have had on undergraduate research in the state.
Overview of MSU Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity Office (pdf)
Phillip H. Schmidt, Director, Center for Integrative Natural Science and Mathematics, Northern Kentucky University; and John Mateja, Director, Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity Office/McNair Scholars Program, Murray State University
Table 8: Students’ Expectations of the Analytic and Communications Skills Needed for Research
Undergraduate student involvement in, and persistence in, research typically comes about as a result of multiple forces. Social cognitive theory (Bandura 1986) suggests that students’ confidence in attempting research (i.e., self-efficacy expectations) and valuing of research (i.e., outcome expectations) would be two critical forces. At this roundtable, presenters from the University of Akron will discuss the importance of attending to students’ self-efficacy and outcome expectations related to analytic and communications skills when developing and promoting undergraduate research experiences. The presenters will describe their theoretical framework and share data from a student sample related to self-efficacy and outcome expectations for these skills and their relation to students’ interest in undergraduate research. The presenters will also provide qualitative, “case study” data drawn from conversations with students involved in undergraduate research activities at Akron. Participants will be able to consider how they can apply the theoretical constructs and methods of assessment and intervention to their own undergraduate research programs.
Billi F. Copeland, Director of the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program, Richard P. Steiner, Professor of Statistics, and Linda M. Subich (collaborator, not attending), Professor of Psychology, University of Akron
Table 9: Building Partnerships Across Campus for Innovative Curricular Designs
This roundtable will engage participants in discovering ways that institutions of any type or size can build partnerships within their walls to create innovative curricular designs. At the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, leaders from the Honors Program, the School of Natural Resources, and the university’s undergraduate research program, UCARE, have come together to create a team-taught, 16-week course that includes a service-learning component and an opportunity for students to participate in a subsequent mentored summer research experience. This small, interactive course involves an introduction to the integrated earth system, an overview of research methods, and facilitated discussions with community and government agencies to assess their needs. The second phase of the program involves an 8-week summer field research experience with a community or government agency. Community partners will be active participants in the course and will benefit from the knowledge-generating mission of the University.
Laura Damuth, Director, Undergraduate Research, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Table 10: Undergraduate Research on a Shoestring
Undergraduate research is often perceived to be very expensive and time-consuming in terms of incorporating it into the curriculum. Concerns typically revolve around (1) faculty time spent developing and conducting undergraduate research; (2) the impact of this work on faculty development, including tenure and promotion; (3) the role of administrative personnel, including chairs, deans, and provosts; (4) the financial impact of carrying out undergraduate research, especially in the sciences; and (5) the need to attract interested students. In this roundtable, presenters will discuss ways in which the University of San Diego, Dominican University of California, and business partners are addressing these issues. A special effort will be made to discuss the financial impact of undergraduate research, including ways to attract initial financial support from public and private funding agencies. Participants will learn ways to establish viable collaborative research between universities and business partners; how to select affordable undergraduate research projects that have potential for peer-reviewed publications; and methods for attracting students and faculty in the process of institutionalizing undergraduate research.
Sibdas Ghosh, Professor, Biology, Dominican University of California; and Steven Morrison, Chief Executive Officer, Answers for Agriculture
Table 11: University–Community Collaborations to Engage Students as Scholars: Hurricane Preparedness
The University of South Florida has developed a collaborative research program to foster student scholarship through critical inquiry into a real-world problem—hurricanes. The program matches students with faculty mentors from a variety of social science disciplines who focus on enhancing skills of the “emerging student scholar” through an intensive research experience. Program objectives for students include: (1) an intensive and substantive mentored research experience, (2) training in qualitative and quantitative research methods, (3) increasing knowledge of systems and networks integral to disaster preparedness and response, and (4) knowledge of ethical issues in research. The American Red Cross provides certification training in disaster management and mass care, and students present their work at university and Gulf Coast community events, at the Governor’s Hurricane conference, and the National Hurricane Conference. Long-term evaluation will track participants’ application to, and participation in, graduate programs.
Naomi Yavneh, Director, Undergraduate Research, University of South Florida
Table 12: Teaching Historiography and Research Methods at a Small Liberal Arts College
In this roundtable, presenters will describe Wofford College’s course, Historiography and Research Methods, and then facilitate a discussion of how such a course helps to meet goals for student learning in research, critical thinking, and writing across the curriculum. The presenters will focus on how to (1) design peer-reviewed projects, (2) set up a series of projects that culminates in a final project of critical assessment and writing, and (3) adapt changing technological capabilities to the needs of undergraduates.
Anne B. Rodrick, Associate Professor of History, and Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities, Mark Byrnes, Associate Professor of History, and Ellen Tillett, Director of Public Services, Wofford Library, Wofford College
Table 13: Co-Creating Pathways to Student Scholarship: A Developmental Trajectory of Experience, Reflection, Research, and Scholarship
This discussion will examine a case study of a developmental trajectory including a variety of opportunities enabling students to grow as scholars. The trajectory was mapped by students and faculty/staff in our service-learning program as we examined how students began working on co-designed research projects.
Myra Moses, Associate Director, and Alissa Respet, Program Assistant, Service Learning Program, North Carolina State University
Liberal Education and America’s Promise
Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) is AAC&U’s new campus-action and advocacy initiative to engage the public with what really matters in college. This session will introduce participants to the initiative’s goals and activities. It will provide participants with an overview of initiative resources as well as the principles and practices guiding the campus action component of the campaign. Participants will discuss how their institutions can be involved and use the campaign and the emerging national consensus around important liberal education outcomes to guide educational planning and practice on campus.
Carol Geary Schneider, President, and Debra Humphreys, Vice President, Office of Communication and Public Affairs, AAC&U
9:15 – 10:30 a.m.
CS1: A Comprehensive Approach to Student Scholarship (ppt)
Student scholars emerge from a set of intellectual values built into every level of their experience. To advance student self-direction and scholarship, Bentley College has developed strategies for connecting the passion faculty have for their own scholarship with the special interests of students. At the individual level, students engage in scholarly research and creativity across a range of courses and through professional presentations and publications. At the curriculum level, students design their own liberal studies second major, which includes using general education credits for a self-designed course of study. At the public engagement level, students join faculty in scholarly research and systemic program development through such venues as service-learning, community work, and grant writing. In this session, participants will learn about (a) strategies for stimulating student research interests; (b) tools for setting up a student-designed liberal studies major including general education credits; and (c) student leadership development models that focus on community-based scholarship and program development and that are national and international in scope.
Gesa E. Kirsch, Professor of English, Director of Communication Across the Curriculum, Maureen Goldman, Professor of English, Director of Interdisciplinary Studies, Daniel Bocza, Student, and Stephen Kennedy, Student, Bentley College
CS2: A Developmental Approach to Undergraduate Research in the Sciences (ppt)
How can faculty help students develop the ways of knowing and habits of a scholar? Session facilitators will share a program model that offers student scholars a solid foundation of scientific methodology and enables them to transition from faculty-directed activity to student-driven, faculty-supervised investigations. Facilitators will discuss how to separate the developmental stages of the student as scholar into a series of courses, where (a) the beginning learner focuses on the scientific method, introduction to basic statistics, and introduction to writing papers for biological sciences; (b) the intermediate learner experiences two semesters of experimentation, data collection, and data analyses; and (c) the advanced learner undergoes a culminating experience in the form of an oral and written thesis presentation. Participants will also learn how the activities put forth in this model contribute positively to tenure and promotion for faculty.
Diara D. Spain, Assistant Professor of Biology, and Sibdas Ghosh, Department Chair and Professor of Biology, Dominican University of California
CS3: Building a Learner-Centered Environment through Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity
In recent years, the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Alabama has increasingly emphasized the role of undergraduate research and creative activity in fostering a learner-centered environment. The associate deans responsible for the College’s natural sciences/mathematics, social sciences, and fine arts/humanities departments will share strategies they employed to increase faculty participation in undergraduate research and creative activity. Together with participants, they will explore the benefits of active learning, increased interaction among students, and increased interaction between students and faculty members who are engaged in research/creative activity. They will also discuss the role of assessment in understanding how these efforts contribute to a learner-centered environment. Participants will examine ways to increase faculty participation in undergraduate research and creative activity and build a learner-centered environment on their own campuses. This session will be particularly useful for participants who are thinking about starting or are currently managing undergraduate research and creative activity programs.
Joe Benson, Senior Associate Dean, Carmen Taylor, Associate Dean, and Tom Wolfe, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Alabama
CS4: Moving Undergraduate Research Beyond a Few Disciplines and a Few Students
Science and engineering fields offer numerous opportunities for student involvement in research, but relatively fewer exist outside of laboratory-based disciplines. At the same time, many campuses have implemented undergraduate research through boutique programs that benefit the lucky few rather than the entire student population. Oftentimes, the research experience is vaguely connected to the learning experiences that proceed and follow it. In this session, the facilitator will (a) highlight sustainable models of student–faculty collaboration, particularly in the fine arts, humanities, social sciences; and (b) describe innovative ways of incorporating and infusing research throughout the entire liberal arts curriculum. Through discussion, the facilitator will help participants identify institutional, disciplinary, and pedagogical impediments that stand in the way of increasing the number and scope of research opportunities for undergraduates and develop solutions for overcoming these obstacles.
Paul C. LePore, Assistant Dean for Educational Programs, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Washington
CS5: Developing Student Scholars from Convocation through Commencement: An Institution-Wide Model (ppt)
This session will explore a process to help campus leaders plan and implement an institution-wide model for helping students become engaged scholars as they progress through their educational careers. Facilitators will discuss issues of communication, governance, capacity, and support, including engaging faculty in creating a conceptual framework for such a model. Participants will work with a series of templates to help them apply this institution-wide model to their own campuses. The model and methods shared will be directly relevant to any college or university that would benefit from a more holistic approach to inquiry-based learning—one that leverages an institution’s unique characteristics, attributes, and practices.
Session Worksheets (pdf)
Gisela Escoe, Senior Associate Dean, McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, and Pamela Person, Director, Center for First Year Experience and Learning Communities, Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost for Baccalaureate and Graduate Education, University of Cincinnati
CS6: What Does the Research Tell Us about Undergraduate Research?
Empirical evidence can help practitioners understand when and how undergraduate research works to foster an important set of outcomes in students. In this session, facilitators will discuss how they identified student gains in the areas of scientific thinking, professional socialization, skills, personal development, and career clarification and preparation through a five-year study of student and faculty participation in undergraduate research programs. Using the findings from this study as a basis, facilitators and participants will discuss how to (a) create meaningful undergraduate research experiences for students and faculty, (b) foster better program evaluation through the documentation of both successes and challenges, and (c) develop effective practices to assess students on an important set of outcomes.
Bibliography (pdf)
Heather Thiry, Research Associate, Anne-Barrie Hunter, Senior Professional Research Assistant, and Sandra Laursen (collaborator, not attending), Research Associate, University of Colorado at Boulder
CS7: The Role of Undergraduate Research in Student Retention and Academic Success
This session will discuss the role undergraduate research can play in student retention, academic and social integration and engagement, and the pursuit of graduate education for historically underrepresented students and transfer students. Drawing from the relevant literature, the facilitator will discuss (a) the rationale for using undergraduate research to retain and engage students, (b) promising program components and administrative structures, and (c) strategies for recruiting students and faculty. They will share data from a longitudinal study of the impact of undergraduate research on student retention and academic success to graduate school. Participants will conduct an institutional audit of the feasibility of adapting program models designed to engage and retain diverse students to their own campus contexts. The facilitator’s institution serves primarily rural/urban students, including sizeable numbers of first-generation students, low-income students, transfer students, and students of color.
Sandra Gregerman, Director, Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, University of Michigan
CS8: Developing Responsible Citizens Through Community-Based Research and Service-Learning (ppt)
Community-based research and service-learning programs may vary in terms of context, but they share similar conceptual and practical aspects that are applicable across a range of institutional types. How do differences in institutional type, geographic setting, community partners, student populations, and disciplinary perspectives influence the learning experiences in service-learning and community-based research? This seminar will present three academic programs that employ community-based research and service-learning to enhance multi-disciplinary learning and promote civic responsibility. Participants will learn about (a) goals of service-learning and community-based research, (b) guidelines for developing service-learning and community-based research programs, (c) strategies for assessing these programs, and (d) common challenges and successful strategies for overcoming them.
Alba Rueda-Riedle, Director, Community Based Research Fellowship (CBRF) Program, and Deirdra Stockmann, PhD Student and CBRF Program Assistant, University of Michigan; Sofia Kearns, Associate Professor of Spanish, and Lisa Mulvey, Student and Service-Learning Assistant, Furman University; and Colleen Pilgrim, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Schoolcraft College
11:00 a.m. – Noon
Plenary: Enhancing Academic Excellence through Inquiry, Research, and Creative Practice
Podcast Recording
This plenary will feature innovative programs and practices from two institutions that have established interdisciplinary, collaborative, inquiry-driven, community-based, and active approaches to learning in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Montana State University requires all 11,000 undergraduates to complete a research/creativity course and four inquiry courses as part of the core curriculum. The research requirement is fulfilled through a combination of grant-funded undergraduate research experiences; research mentoring by emeritus professors; interdisciplinary research seminars in the honors program; and advanced tutorials for small groups of undergraduate researchers. Louisiana State University’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professors program and the Louisiana–STEM program house successful models for enhancing the educational experiences of a diverse group of undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through mentoring, research, and educational tools. Each program enhances the educational performances of both under-prepared and high-achieving students.
Louisiana Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Research
Scholars Program (ppt)
Montana State University Undergraduate Research Programs (ppt)
Nancy Hensel, Executive Officer, Council on Undergraduate Research; Isiah Warner, Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives, Boyd Professor of Chemistry and Philip W. West Professor of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry, Louisiana State University; and Greg Young, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Montana State University
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
CS9: Multiple Models for Incorporating Undergraduate Research into the Curriculum
From summer programs to national conferences to freshman and capstone experiences, there are numerous opportunities for engaging students in research. In this session, facilitators will present a range of models for creating a student-as-scholar culture on campus, such as traditional academic year student–faculty collaborative programs (including a program for freshman) and a summer program that offers considerable interaction among students and faculty from the arts and humanities, sciences, social sciences, business, and education. The facilitators will also discuss celebrating and supporting students’ work through a student research conference, an undergraduate research journal, and funds for regional and national conference presentations. Participants will be encouraged to share their own perceptions and experiences, and they will leave the session with a number of options for introducing similar act ivies on their own campuses.
Ken Nikels, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and John Falconer, Director of Sponsored Programs, University of Nebraska at Kearney
CS10: Assessing Science Enrichment Programs: Measuring Students’ Development as Scholars
Strong assessment is central to refining and sustaining a quality research-based enrichment experience, yet program assessment is often overlooked or poorly executed. This session will focus on how to measure both (a) the educational outcomes of a program or educational initiative and (b) the evolving identity of students as scholars. Data shared in this session will be drawn from each of four cohorts in the Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences (PEERS), a program in the first two years of college that aims to retain underrepresented students in the sciences and facilitate their movement into undergraduate research. Participants will gain an understanding of how to craft, implement, and sustain a comprehensive assessment model and how to measure students’ movement along a student-to-scholar continuum.
Linda DeAngelo, Research Analyst, and Marc Levis-Fitzgerald, Director Undergraduate Evaluation and Research, University of California-Los Angeles
CS11: Collaborative Research and Creative Inquiry
The Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry was founded on the premise that subjects come alive when students convert theory into practice and fashion something new. In this session, faculty and students from Ball State University will reflect on the challenges of collaborative research and demonstrate how research projects evolve out of interdisciplinary teams to yield creative products for community partners. Participants will review excerpts of students’ award-winning products created during their semester of immersion.
Joseph Trimmer, Director, Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry, Laura Huffman, Media Director,Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry, Jon Tyler Core, Student, Jennifer Shea, Student, and Christopher Patten, Student, Ball State University
CS12: Thinking Like a Scientist: Building Skills on the Way to a Culminating Research Experience
The Honors in Biological Sciences program at California State University, Long Beach was created in 2000 with grant assistance from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The program’s goal is to increase the value of the undergraduate research experience. This is done through a curriculum designed to stimulate students’ interest in biomedical research careers and develop their skills in oral and written communication, analytical and critical thinking, and research design, all in preparation for a culminating research experience and a senior honors thesis. The session will focus on two parts of the curriculum. The facilitators will present exercises from a critical thinking class created for freshmen science majors, which introduces students to research principles, including hypothesis testing, and encourages them to “think like scientists.” The facilitators will also share information about a junior-level course in research design, which is a prerequisite to a year-long research experience. The facilitators will share results of program assessment as well as ongoing challenges and lessons learned.
Margaret L. Merryfield, Associate Vice President for Academic Personnel, and Zed Mason, Professor of Biological Sciences, California State University-Long Beach
CS13: Integrating Undergraduate Research and Service-learning in Self-Designed Capstone Projects
In this session, participants will examine a model for implementing self-designed service-learning capstone projects. Such projects nurture students as scholars and connect active learning efforts on campus (e.g., undergraduate research, service-learning, scholarship of engagement). Initiated by motivated students, the capstone project combines the scholarly elements of undergraduate research with the academic, civic engagement, and personal growth foci of service-learning. The students design content and methodology with the support of faculty mentors, and thus show themselves ready to assume responsibility for their own learning and to advance knowledge and its application. In other words, they show themselves to be burgeoning scholars. Participants will assess the resources needed for such projects and discuss the possibilities for collaboration across units and departments inherent in them.
Patti H. Clayton, Director, North Carolina State Service Learning Program, North Carolina State University; and Brandon C. Whitney, Graduate Student, Yale University
CS14: Using an ePortfolio as a Personal Knowledge Management System
Undergraduate research experiences are often less structured and broader in scope than a typical class and can be difficult for students to situate within their overall objectives for learning. The facilitators will introduce the concept of a personal knowledge management system, implemented through ePortfolio software, as a way to help students understand the role of their undergraduate research projects within broader learning objectives. The goal is to help students grasp the “personal and disciplinary significance” (Brooks 2002) of concepts and skills developed through their undergraduate research experience. Using this system, students can readily document and understand their progress as a scholar within the academic community and as a professional in their chosen field. In this way, an ePortfolio can serve as a personal knowledge management system for students as much as it can serve as an assessment tool for faculty and administrators.
Pamela Sherer, Associate Professor of Management, Providence College; Eric Kristensen, Senior Instructional Consultant, University of Ottawa; and Timothy Shea, Associate Professor of Decision Sciences, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
CS15: Educating Undergraduate Research Mentors
A strong relationship with a mentor can contribute greatly to the success of undergraduate research, yet mentors often have little more than personal experience to guide them in this role. In this session, facilitators will discuss a training seminar on mentoring undergraduate researchers that is based on a program, Entering Mentoring, created by Handelsman et al. The facilitators will discuss how they adapted the program to science and non-science disciplines at Emory and diversity issues at Missouri. Participants will discuss mentoring challenges at different school types and in different disciplines and will adapt the models presented to their own settings. This session will be especially useful for directors of undergraduate research as well as faculty and administrators.
Patricia A. Marsteller, Director, Center for Science Education and Senior Lecturer in Biology, and Rachelle Spell, Lecturer in Biology, Emory University; and Linda Blockus, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, University of Missouri-Columbia
2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
CS16: The Sociology of Everyday Life: Student Scholars in the Introductory Classroom (pdf)
How can faculty foster intentional learning and development of the sociological imagination through the hands-on application of sociological methods? This session will challenge the “mile-wide, inch-deep” model common to introductory courses and assert that students learn more by engaging in substantive inquiry than through exposure to large quantities of information. Session facilitators will present a model that involves ongoing collaboration, assessment, and feedback through peer and faculty-student conferences. Participants will examine an introductory sociology project that asks students to perform qualitative research and to place their findings into a larger sociological and historical context. Participants will be asked to engage in two components of the research project and to brainstorm how this model might be used in their own fields. Faculty and curriculum designers are particularly encouraged to attend.
Jeanne A. Cameron, Professor of Sociology, and David VanArsdale, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Tompkins Cortland Community College
CS17: Adapting the UIW McNair Model to Engage Faculty and Students in Undergraduate Research (ppt)
McNair scholars receive a stipend to conduct research and engage in other scholarly activities with faculty mentors in the areas in which they hope to pursue graduate study. This session will address how the UIW McNair scholars program has helped to situate student research and faculty mentoring of students within the specific learning goals of the institution. Participants will develop ideas for how students, especially from underrepresented and underserved populations, can be exposed to scholarly, graduate-level research in preparation for graduate school. Group activities will accompany the presentations to identify ways to encourage undergraduate research at different types of institutions, recruit scholars, and create forums for presenting undergraduate research.
Roberta Leichnitz, Coordinator, McNair Scholars Program, and Phyllis Duncan, Project Assistant, McNair Scholars Program, University of the Incarnate Word
CS18: Student Scholars as Community-Based Researchers: Program Evaluation of Public Health Non-Profits
In what ways are students engaging the complex issues of politics and ethics to better understand the impact of social programs on the quality of life in their communities? This session will examine how to integrate inquiry-driven, community-based, and active approaches to learning into a research methods course in program evaluation to improve learning for student scholars and the quality of life for local residents. Facilitators will introduce participants to a service-learning course that enrolls undergraduates and community partners, where members of the class conduct community-based research and program evaluation for a public health non-profit situated in a diverse community. In this course, students construct original methodologies and present findings in creative ways that tell the story of their analyses, discoveries, and problem-solving. Session participants will have an opportunity to view student PowerPoint presentations designed to share evaluation results with policymakers and stakeholders related to a variety of research projects.
Kathy O'Byrne, Director, University of California-Los Angeles Center for Community Learning, and Jacqueline Tak, Student, University of California-Los Angeles
CS19: Designing and Implementing an Undergraduate Research Program (ppt)
The session will help participants navigate the terrain of undergraduate research by highlighting established undergraduate research programs at a large public university, a small liberal arts institution, and a medium-sized private research university. Participants will analyze these programs in detail, consider the applicability of various program models to their own institutions, and explore how to set up and/or expand their own undergraduate research programs. The session is directed at all college and university leaders who are interested in creating a wider array of research opportunities for undergraduates. Participants will leave with a set of issues to consider at their own institutions and an action plan to help them begin to implement their goals.
Stephanie Wallach, Director of Undergraduate Research and Fellowship Resources, Carnegie Mellon University, Janet E. Stocks, Director, Center for Academic and Professional Success, Baldwin-Wallace College; and Sandra R. Gregerman, Director, Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, University of Michigan
3:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Campus Visit and Reception: Showcasing Research and Creativity: California State University, Long Beach
President F. King Alexander, Provost Karen Gould and Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Margaret Merryfield of California State University-Long Beach welcome conference participants to meet students and faculty and visit the campus’s state-of-the-art Molecular and Life Sciences Center. Students and faculty will talk about their research and creative projects in the context of the campus's exceptional learning environments.
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
CS20: Developing Scholars, Developing Citizens
Faculty and administrators at a large, urban, community college developed and implemented a model for student community research and civic engagement that draws on methods from the humanities and social sciences. The model generated alliances with both federal and city officials by linking community service, community research, and collaboration with governmental agencies and organizations. Student research projects explored quality of life issues in the city using public health, housing, safety, and police records. In this session, participants will evaluate several versions of the community studies model that reflect its evolution over time. Participants will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each iteration and discuss how community-based research is a changing process that reflects the learning experiences of both the faculty and students involved.
Julian J. DelGaudio, Professor of History, and Craig H. Hendricks, Professor of History, Long Beach City College
CS21: Watershed-Based Field Semesters: Participatory Teaching and Learning in the Eye of the Hurricane
Dickinson College’s Department of Environmental Studies has introduced a creative curricular initiative entitled “Watershed-Based Integrative Field Semesters in Environmental Studies.” The goal of this initiative is to better prepare students to address the complexity and diversity of community-based environmental issues. The program links the departments’ curricular offerings to a co-curricular program that immerses students in coursework, independent study, and intensive empirical research in two comparative watershed regions: the Chesapeake Bay and the lower Mississippi River basin. The arrival of Hurricane Katrina prior to the first field semester of the program created logistical nightmares as well as unprecedented learning opportunities. In this session, participants will study the design and implementation of this model for participatory pedagogy and consider its valuable lessons with regard to promoting inquiry-driven, community-based active learning to enhance students’ capacities as intentional learners and active citizens.
Candie Wilderman, Professor of Environmental Science and Chair of the Environmental Studies Department, Dickinson College
CS22: EUREKA! Building an Integrated University-Wide Model for Engaging Students in Undergraduate Research (ppt)
Although the educational value of undergraduate research is widely acknowledged, many colleges and universities continue to struggle with practical and cultural obstacles to involving undergraduates in research. At the University of Texas at Austin, campus leaders developed the EUREKA! model to address these challenges. The centerpiece of the model is the EUREKA! Web site (http://www.utexas.edu/research/eureka/), which provides access to a searchable database of faculty research profiles. The EUREKA! model provides a forum for raising awareness about undergraduate research with all the crucial players on campus—faculty, students, advisors, and administrators—and for promoting participation in research as a university-wide priority. Session facilitators will discuss the collaborative process behind developing the EUREKA! model, with an emphasis on identifying and involving key stakeholders, addressing obstacles and on-going challenges, and planning for the growth and sustainability of the program. Participants will gain tools needed to create a similar model on their own campuses.
Course Contract (pdf)
Lynda K. Gonzales, Research Coordinator, and Patricia Micks, Academic Advisor, University of Texas at Austin
CS23: Organizing and Implementing a Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference (ppt)
In Utah, statewide conferences have been very effective in promoting institutional collaboration and expanding institutional capacity for undergraduate research. This session will provide a roadmap to participants on how to organize and implement a statewide undergraduate research day. The model featured draws on Utah’s initiative, in which all institutions within the state (public and private) joined with the state system office and Campus Compact to offer undergraduate researchers, scholars, and artists an opportunity to present their work. The Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research also featured a special strand on community-based research to highlight the intersection of service-learning and undergraduate research. Session facilitators will share details about the Utah conference, including planning for the event, drawing important stakeholders (government officials, business leaders, graduate faculty, and parents), and preparing a reasonable budget.
Joyce Kinkead, Associate Vice President for Research, and Steve Roens, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Director, Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, University of Utah; and Matthew Maddox, Grants Administrator, Brigham Young University
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
The Idea Exchange
Conference participants are invited to join this informal gathering and reflect on the conference sessions and individual learning with colleagues. Whether you are part of a team or traveling alone, we hope that you find this time useful in discussing potential applications of new data, theories, models, and strategies.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Roundtable Discussions and Continental Breakfast
9:15 – 10:15 a.m.
Plenary: Toward a Collaborative, Learning-Centered Culture: Phases of Institutional Development
Podcast Recording
How does an institution foster a more collaborative, learning-centered culture that weaves inquiry, research, and discovery throughout every student’s undergraduate learning experience? How can an institution identify its aspirations for integrating student research into the campus culture? What are the benchmarks for charting the progress of, and challenges to, including undergraduate research as a topic in strategic planning for incorporating research into the undergraduate curriculum? This plenary will provide insight into developing undergraduate research as a valuable campus resource for learning, innovation, and social responsibility.
Williams Presentation (pdf)
Katherine Whatley, Dean of Natural Sciences, University of North Carolina at Asheville; and Andrew B. Williams, Associate Professor, Computer and Information Sciences, Spelman College
Moderator: Lori Bettison-Varga, Associate Dean for Research and Grants, The College of Wooster, incoming Provost/Dean of Faculty, Whitman College, and President, Council on Undergraduate Research
10:45 a.m. – Noon
CS24: The Importance of Institutional, Disciplinary, and Interdisciplinary Definitions of Scholarship
The theme of the 2007 AAC&U association meeting, “The Student as Scholar: Undergraduate Research and Creative Practice,” raises many fascinating questions about the meaning of the phrase “student as scholar” and even more specifically the term “scholar” itself. While many undergraduate programs already offer, and some feature, general and selected programs based on a student-as-scholar model, in most cases these student opportunities float upon unstated or unexamined assumption that faculty members across campus share stated or unstated understandings of those terms. The seminar will begin with an overview of the Essential Learning Outcomes that all students need from higher learning as recommended by AAC&U’s Liberal Education and America’s Promise National Leadership Council. Participants will then explore viable operating definitions of the student-as-scholar model from the perspectives of institutions already providing college-wide programs based on such a model.
Nancy Grace, Professor of English, John Neuhoff, Associate Professor of Psychology, and Mark Snider, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, The College of Wooster; and Debra Humphreys, Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs, Association of American Colleges and Universities
CS25: Key Elements to Building a Sustainable Undergraduate Research Program (ppt)
The Undergraduate Research program at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has grown over the past ten years due to the collective support from students, faculty, staff, and administrators. This session will focus on the key elements, shared responsibility, and resources necessary to build a sustainable undergraduate research program. The first presenter will discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise with developing and sustaining an externally funded undergraduate research program, including how research can be incorporated into the curriculum. The second presenter will talk about how and why support from departments is critical to building and maintaining undergraduate research programs. Finally, the third presenter will provide an overview of the institutional commitment that is needed to sustain an undergraduate research program, including various funding sources and infrastructure support.
Michael Jackson, Professor of Physics, Gubbi R. Sudhakaran, Professor and Department Chair, Physics, and Vijendra K. Agarwal, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
CS26: Engaging Community College Students in Authentic Undergraduate Research (pdf)
Engaging community college students in research is one of higher education’s most important investments in advancing liberal education outcomes, promoting successful transfer to four-year institutions, and helping ensure completion of baccalaureate degrees. This session will examine three different but complementary programs that engage community college students in authentic undergraduate research in chemistry and biology. Participants will discuss strategies for (a) recruiting students, (b) increasing their confidence and ability to become effective science practitioners, (c) promoting faculty collaboration between two- and four-year colleges, and (d) helping students successfully transition from two-year to four-year institutions and complete baccalaureate degrees—usually in science. Methods for mobilizing institutional support and seeking outside funding will also be presented.
Thomas Higgins, Associate Professor of Chemistry, City Colleges of Chicago Harold Washington College; David Brown, Professor of Chemistry, Southwestern College; and Kelly McConnaughay, Professor of Biology, Bradley University
CS27: Fostering Undergraduate Research in the Arts and Humanities
In this session, participants will address the nature of the research culture in the humanities, fine arts, and performing arts, and talk about the obstacles to conducting undergraduate research in these disciplines. The session leaders will describe programs at their institutions, how these programs train undergraduates to be useful and productive research apprentices, and how they draw on existing resources. Following the presentations, session leaders will facilitate an interactive discussion of best practices for undergraduate research in the arts and humanities, with participants moving among topics every 10 minutes and convening for the final 10 minutes to draw conclusions.
Naomi Yavneh, Associate Professor of Humanities and Director of Undergraduate Research, University of South Florida; and Laura Damuth, Director of Undergraduate Research, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
CS28: Integrating Undergraduate Research and Engagement Programs across Departmental, Disciplinary, and Developmental Boundaries
Campuses large and small house both traditional liberal arts and sciences disciplines and professional programs such as engineering, nursing, and business. This session will use examples from a college with an unusual mix of disciplines and departments to illustrate how collaboration across units can strengthen opportunities for student learning and the effectiveness of research and mentoring programs. Facilitators will describe activities in the curriculum and co-curriculum, and participants will consider how examples can best be adapted to the mix of departments at their own institutions.
Laura F. Huenneke, Dean, College of Engineering and Natural Sciences, and Barry Lutz, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Northern Arizona University
CS29: Assessing a Capstone Experience: Senior Thesis Evaluation
Although many would agree that a substantive capstone experience is critical for integrative liberal education, there has been relatively little done to systematically evaluate capstone work. This session will offer a new method for assessing one prevalent form of capstone experience, the senior thesis. The session facilitators will present a thesis evaluation rubric that was developed by members of the Consortium for Innovative Environments for Learning (CIEL). This rubric allows for a systematic analysis of senior theses, independent of area of study. Participants will examine the validity and reliability of the instrument and consider ways in which it can be employed in a variety of college and university settings. In addition to individual assessment, the rubric can be used to promote institutional-level assessment, greater intentionality across course sequences, and faculty development.
Steven E. Weisler, Dean of Academic Development, and Carol Trosset, Director of Institutional Research, Hampshire College
CS30: Equal Partners: Participatory Research Involving Faculty, Students, and Community Members
This interactive session will highlight a community-based participatory research project that is part of a two-semester, interdisciplinary research seminar. Facilitators will first describe key elements of community-based participatory research, including a focus on co-learning and reciprocal transfer of expertise, shared decision-making, and mutual ownership of the process and products of the research enterprise. Participants will then discuss how such research can promote a deeper understanding of a community’s unique circumstances and effectively develop students as scholars. Information derived from small-group exercises and other activities will be relevant to faculty at all types of learning institutions (including large state universities, small liberal arts colleges, and community colleges), students, and community professionals.
Beth Manke, Associate Professor of Human Development, Stephanie Brown, Assistant Professor of Human Development, and José Moreno, Assistant Professor of Chicano and Latino Studies, California State University-Long Beach
1:30 – 2:30 p.m.
CS31: Communicating the Value of Liberal Education to Colleagues, Students, and External Constituents
This session will draw on research conducted as part of AAC&U’s Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) campaign. Participants will learn about what students, recent graduates, and business leaders view as the most important liberal education outcomes for success in today’s world. They will also be introduced to messages and language proven effective in making the case for liberal education, as well as practices, such as undergraduate research, that advance liberal education outcomes. The facilitator will also introduce participants to a new self-study guide designed to help leaders align institutional practices with the messages campuses convey to different constituent groups via the curriculum, admissions materials, Web sites, and external relations.
Debra Humphreys, Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs, Association of American Colleges and Universities
CS32: Promoting Gender Equity through Undergraduate Research: Women@CENS
The UCLA Center for Embedded Network Sensing (CENS) has developed Women@CENS, a National Science Foundation-funded project that was informed by best practices and strategies from other undergraduate research programs. Women@CENS developed as a demonstration model to promote promising practices in undergraduate research internships that increase women’s self-confidence and long-term commitment to science and engineering. In this session, facilitators will share data from a longitudinal, comprehensive CENS program evaluation, first-year findings from an innovative summer school course for high school and community college students, and results from a national survey of research experiences for undergraduates in the sciences. This session will be useful for administrators, faculty, and staff who are developing or refining undergraduate research programs and those interested in discussing the most efficacious elements of research experiences for women. Audience members will participate in a moderated dialogue on practices that support women interns as well as program elements that are still needed.
Amy Fann, Women@CENS Project Manager, and Kim Misa, Women@CENS Project Evaluator, University of California-Los Angeles
CS33: Fast-Tracking Freshmen and Sophomore Minority Students into Biomedical Research
The purposeful, early exposure of minority students to research laboratories can increase the number of these students who (1) participate in faculty-mentored research teams, (2) complete junior- and senior-level research projects, and (3) earn academic awards. This session will examine how the EXPRESS program engages minority freshmen and sophomores in research labs as peer mentors and in developmental workshops (personal, academic, and professional) to promote their active engagement in the biomedical field and related science research fields. Although developed for the biomedical sciences, the EXPRESS program structure can be adapted for use in other academic disciplines. Session participants will learn about this model for engaging traditionally underrepresented undergraduate students (and others) in research settings early in their academic careers and about the potential of programs like EXPRESS to enhance students’ retention, development, mentoring, and career clarification.
Linda Blockus, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, University of Missouri-Columbia
CS34: Improving the Quality of Student Research through Information Fluency (pdf)
Have you encountered a decline in the quality of research being submitted by students within your courses? Are your students able to locate information, but unable to critically evaluate and think about what they have discovered? These dilemmas can be changed into opportunities by integrating information fluency principles into assignments, research papers, and more. This session will describe how faculty can enhance students’ information fluency through (1) collaboration with college and university librarians and (2) exposing students to resources, tools, search strategies, and information evaluation concepts. Participants will learn about a tiered approach to information fluency developed for social science courses and consider how this can be adapted to other disciplinary contexts.
Exercise and Resources (pdf)
Michael R. Howser, Information Literacy/GIS Librarian, Miami University
CS35: Creating and Publishing Undergraduate Research Journals
Conducting research involves both creating new knowledge and sharing this knowledge with a scholarly community. While undergraduates have opportunities to present their work at local, regional, and national conferences, there are precious few venues for publication. As a consequence, many colleges and universities have begun developing their own undergraduate research journals to disseminate student work. In this session, presenters will (1) share their experiences in creating and publishing both print and online journals, (2) identify common obstacles that stand in the way, and (3) facilitate a dialogue with participants about overcoming these obstacles.
William E. Campbell, Director, Grants and Research, University of Wisconsin-River Falls; Katherine M. Whatley, Associate Vice Chancellor for Natural Sciences, University of North Carolina at Asheville; and John Falconer, Director, Office of Sponsored Research, University of Nebraska at Kearney
CS36: Budgeting for a Centralized Office of Undergraduate Research (ppt)
Directors of centralized undergraduate research offices are charged with expanding institutional capacity for meaningful undergraduate research experiences. Appropriate financial support is critical, but many directors, drawn from the faculty ranks, may not adequately predict the resources they will need to be effective. In this session, facilitators will share budgetary data from more than 50 centralized undergraduate research offices, broken down by institution type and size of the undergraduate student body. After reviewing the summarized information, participants will develop detailed budgets for a typical programmatic activity, such as a celebration of research. The facilitators will also work with participants to ensure that the budget they develop for their office reflects their institutional mission, goals, and objectives.
Karl Sienerth, Director, Undergraduate Research Program, and Associate Professor, Chemistry, Elon University; and Mary Crowe, Director, Office of Undergraduate Research, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
2:45 – 3:45 p.m.
Facilitated Discussions
Campus leaders with expertise in research, creative practice, and engaged pedagogies will facilitate discussions where participants share what they have learned from the conference and further prepare themselves to effectively use their insights when they return to their institutions.
Community-Based and Action Research
Alba Rueda-Riedle, Director, Community Based Research Fellowship (CBRF) Program, and Deirdra Stockmann, PhD Student and CBRF Program Assistant, University of Michigan
Integrating Other High-Impact Practices with Undergraduate Research
Paul C. LePore, Assistant Dean for Educational Programs, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Washington
Structuring a Research-Rich Curriculum
Gisela Escoe, Senior Associate Dean, McMicken College of Art and Sciences, University of Cincinnati
Restructuring Faculty Work for Undergraduate Research
Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen, Vice President for Education and Institutional Renewal, AAC&U
Funding Options
Karl Sienerth, Director, Undergraduate Research Program, and Associate Professor, Chemistry, Elon University; and Mary Crowe, Director, Office of Undergraduate Research, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
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