scholarly journals Adapting a Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience into Independent Student Research Projects at a Small Liberal Arts College

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (3) ◽  
pp. 450a
Author(s):  
Andrea A. Carter ◽  
Paul A. Craig
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Student Research

Undergraduate Research at a Liberal Arts College during a Time of Disruption

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-78
Author(s):  
Christopher Fuse ◽  
◽  
Ashley Cannaday ◽  
Whitney Coyle ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
Computational Studies ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Practices ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Usual Research

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors, who have expertise in acoustics, optics, and astrophysics, decided to pivot from the experimental components of their research and focus instead on computational studies. Many of their usual research practices were adapted, creating new techniques to optimize the remote research experience for their undergraduate students.

High-Impact Practices in Materials Science Education: Student Research Internships Leading to Pedagogical Innovation in STEM Laboratory Learning Activities

MRS Advances ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (31-32) ◽  
pp. 1667-1672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lon A. Porter
Keyword(s):  
Computer Aided Design ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Science Research ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Digital Design ◽  
Education Student ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Student Research ◽  
Pedagogical Innovation

ABSTRACTTraditional lecture-centered approaches alone are inadequate for preparing students for the challenges of creative problem solving in the STEM disciplines. As an alternative, learnercentered and other high-impact pedagogies are gaining prominence. The Wabash College 3D Printing and Fabrication Center (3D-PFC) supports several initiatives on campus, but one of the most successful is a computer-aided design (CAD) and fabrication-based undergraduate research internship program. The first cohort of four students participated in an eight-week program during the summer of 2015. A second group of the four students was successfully recruited to participate the following summer. This intensive materials science research experience challenged students to employ digital design and fabrication in the design, testing, and construction of inexpensive scientific instrumentation for use in introductory STEM courses at Wabash College. The student research interns ultimately produced a variety of successful new designs that could be produced for less than $25 per device and successfully detect analytes of interest down to concentrations in the parts per million (ppm) range. These student-produced instruments have enabled innovations in the way introductory instrumental analysis is taught on campus. Beyond summer work, the 3D-PFC staffed student interns during the academic year, where they collaborated on various cross-disciplinary projects with students and faculty from departments such as mathematics, physics, biology, rhetoric, history, classics, and English. Thus far, the student work has led to three campus presentations, four presentations at national professional conferences, and three peer-reviewed publications. The following report highlights initial progress as well as preliminary assessment findings.

scholarly journals Harnessing the Undiscovered Resource of Student Research Projects

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 605-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon E. Grahe ◽  
Alan Reifman ◽  
Anthony D. Hermann ◽  
Marie Walker ◽  
Kathryn C. Oleson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Educational Experience ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Student Research ◽  
Good Test ◽  
Geographic Locations ◽  
Student Researchers ◽  
Hypothetical Question ◽  
Psychological Studies

This article suggests that undergraduate research can help advance the science of psychology. We introduce a hypothetical “question-list paradigm” as a mechanism to do this. Each year, thousands of undergraduate projects are completed as part of the educational experience. Although many of these studies may not contain sufficient contributions for publication, they provide a good test of the replicability of established findings across populations at different institutions and geographic locations. Thus, these projects could meet the needs of recent calls for increased replications of psychological studies while simultaneously benefiting the student researchers, their instructors, and the field in general.

scholarly journals Putting student partnership and collaboration centre-stage in a research-led context

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henk Huijser ◽  
James Wilson ◽  
Yao Wu ◽  
Shuang Qiu ◽  
Kangxin Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Poster Presentation ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Fellowship ◽  
Practical Research ◽  
University Degree ◽  
The University

In this case study, we evaluated the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) initiative at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), an extracurricular programme that focuses on academic staff-student partnerships and collaborations. While not directly integrated into university degree programmes, SURF provides students with the opportunity to develop practical research skills related to knowledge they have acquired in class. Participating students receive an authentic research experience, which involves collaboration on research projects with academic staff. All students are required to present results of their projects at a public poster presentation event organised by the university. This case study is a partnership between Academic Enhancement Centre (AEC) staff, who organize and run SURF, SURF students, and a lecturer (M.B.N. Kouwenhoven), and it presents a reflection on their experiences of the SURF programme, and in particular on the notions of partnership and collaboration and the potential tension between those two concepts.

scholarly journals Effect of Time on Perceived Gains from an Undergraduate Research Program

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omolola A. Adedokun ◽  
Loran C. Parker ◽  
Amy Childress ◽  
Wilella Burgess ◽  
Robin Adams ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Analysis Of Variance ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Student Research ◽  
Research Skills ◽  
Undergraduate Research Program ◽  
Repeated Measures Analysis

The current study examines the trajectories of student perceived gains as a result of time spent in an undergraduate research experience (URE). Data for the study come from a survey administered at three points over a 1-yr period: before participation in the program, at the end of a Summer segment of research, and at the end of the year. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to examine the effect of time on perceived gains in student research skills, research confidence, and understanding of research processes. The results suggest that the students experienced different gains/benefits at developmentally different stages of their UREs. Participants reported gains in fewer areas at the end of the Summer segment compared with the end of the yearlong experience, thus supporting the notion that longer UREs offer students more benefit.

scholarly journals Updating MoonProt From Home: An Online Student Research Project During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Constance J. Jeffery
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Professional School ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
School Students ◽  
Student Research ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Online Student ◽  
The Many

During the spring of 2020, labs around the world suddenly closed to help slow the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Among the many effects on science and education, the lab closures resulted in undergraduates losing the opportunity to work on research projects during that spring and summer and throughout the 2020–2021 academic year. Participating directly in a research project is important for undergraduate students to gain research experience and with it the mentoring and training needed to prepare them for graduate school or professional school and a future career in science. To address this need during the pandemic, I organized an online, remote, collaborative project for a team of undergraduates at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) that grew to include additional undergraduates from other universities as well as several high school students and their teachers. My experience in organizing this project could serve as a model for organizing online student research projects in the future.

Using Multidisciplinary Research Experiences to Enhance STEM Learning through Undergraduate, Team-Based, Summer Research Projects for At-Risk Students

2014 ◽  
pp. 198-220
Author(s):  
Jennifer Yantz ◽  
Brittany D. Smith ◽  
Ginger Holmes Rowell ◽  
Thomas Cheatham ◽  
Donald Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Stem Learning ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Faculty Mentor ◽  
And Mathematics

Undergraduate research can be one of the most important and influential learning experiences during a student's college career (Light, 2001). Significant retention value is achieved both through one-on-one contact with a faculty mentor (Campbell, 1997; Jacobi, 1991) and by interaction with peers in a learning community (Johnson, 2001). Colleges and universities are using undergraduate research experiences to help improve student retention, graduation, and success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). However, undergraduate research is frequently reserved for the best and brightest students who have achieved junior or senior class status. This case study describes a team-based research experience designed for first-year, at-risk undergraduate students. For this project, the term “at-risk” is defined to be first-time, full-time freshman declared STEM majors with a weak mathematics background as measured by having an ACT-Mathematics sub score of 19 to 23, inclusive. In particular, this case study focuses on the multidisciplinary nature of some of the research projects and the benefits for the students in terms of confidence, depth of learning in STEM, and progress in understanding the scientific process.

Assessing Efficacy of a New Research-Oriented Peer Mentoring Program: YOU’RE@CU

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Y. Tsai ◽  
Daria Kotys-Schwartz ◽  
Virginia Ferguson ◽  
Beverly Louie
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Student Interest ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Engineering Research ◽  
University Of Colorado ◽  
New Research ◽  
The University

At the University of Colorado, Boulder, a new program designed to link graduate students with 1st and 2nd year undergraduate students through engineering research projects and mentoring relationships was initiated in Spring 2011. Your Own Undergraduate Research Experience at the University of Colorado (YOU’RE@CU) has three main goals: (1) increase retention of undergraduate students in engineering, particularly women and underrepresented minorities (URMs); (2) excite undergraduate student interest in research projects and future careers in academia or industry; (3) provide graduate students with training and hands-on mentoring experience with the expectation that this will positively influence graduate student choices to seek a career in academia. This paper illustrates the details of the YOU’RE@CU program during its pilot implementation in Spring 2011. The assessment strategy and methods are also explained, with presentation of qualitative data and discussion of the overall data analysis process.

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