scholarly journals Snowflake Selfies: A Low-Cost, High-Impact Approach toward Student Engagement in Scientific Research (with Their Smartphones)

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (6) ◽  
pp. E917-E935
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Kumjian ◽  
Kevin A. Bowley ◽  
Paul M. Markowski ◽  
Kelly Lombardo ◽  
Zachary J. Lebo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
State University ◽  
Engaged Scholarship ◽  
Mesoscale Meteorology ◽  
Penn State ◽  
Atmospheric Thermodynamics ◽  
Term Paper ◽  
Upper Level ◽  
Intensive Course

Abstract An engaged scholarship project called “Snowflake Selfies” was developed and implemented in an upper-level undergraduate course at The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). During the project, students conducted research on snow using low-cost, low-tech instrumentation that may be readily implemented broadly and scaled as needed, particularly at institutions with limited resources. During intensive observing periods (IOPs), students measured snowfall accumulations, snow-to-liquid ratios, and took microscopic photographs of snow using their smartphones. These observations were placed in meteorological context using radar observations and thermodynamic soundings, helping to reinforce concepts from atmospheric thermodynamics, cloud physics, radar, and mesoscale meteorology courses. Students also prepared a term paper and presentation using their datasets/photographs to hone communication skills. Examples from IOPs are presented. The Snowflake Selfies project was well received by undergraduate students as part of the writing-intensive course at Penn State. Responses to survey questions highlight the project’s effectiveness at engaging students and increasing their enthusiasm for the semester-long project. The natural link to social media broadened engagement to the community level. Given the successes at Penn State, we encourage Snowflake Selfies or similar projects to be adapted or implemented at other institutions.

scholarly journals International design collaboration and mentoring for tertiary students through Facebook

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josh McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
State University ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
Penn State ◽  
The University ◽  
Industry Professionals

<span>This study explores the efficacy of the online social networking site </span><em>Facebook</em><span>, for linking international digital media student cohorts through an e-mentoring scheme. It reports on the 2011 collaboration between the University of Adelaide in Australia, and Penn State University in the United States. Over one semester, twelve postgraduate students in Australia and ten undergraduate students in the United States took part in an online mentor scheme hosted by </span><em>Facebook</em><span>. Students were required to submit work-in-progress imagery each week to a series of galleries within the forum. Postgraduate students from Adelaide mentored the undergraduate students at Penn State, and in turn, staff and associated industry professionals mentored the Adelaide students. Interaction between the two student cohorts was consistently strong throughout the semester, and all parties benefitted from the collaboration. Students from Penn State University were able to receive guidance and critiques from more experienced peers, and responded positively to the continual feedback over the semester. Students from the University of Adelaide received support from three different groups: Penn State staff and associated professionals; local industry professionals and recent graduates; and peers from Penn State. The 2011 scheme highlighted the efficacy of </span><em>Facebook</em><span> as a host site for e-mentoring and strengthened the bond between the two collaborating institutions.</span>

scholarly journals Branding matters: Reimagine your library services

2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Wengler
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Library Services ◽  
State University ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Reference Services ◽  
Penn State ◽  
Convention Center ◽  
The City

While attending ACRL 2017 in Baltimore, I came upon a poster titled “Cultivating Curiosity: Intersecting Century-Old Services for 21st Century Impact,” which suggested that a simple rebranding of traditional reference services could markedly increase student engagement. I was intrigued by these findings but somewhat skeptical. How could such a low-cost, low-tech strategy generate such high-impact results? Thankfully, presenters Jennifer Hunter and Christina Riehman-Murphy of the Penn State University Libraries-Abington College were on hand to answer all my questions. Hunter and Riehman-Murphy outlined their program and outcomes, and they convinced me: branding matters. I left the convention center inspired, ready to bring their marketing blueprint back to Queensborough Community College (QCC) of the City University of New York (CUNY).

scholarly journals Engineering and Engaged Scholarship at Penn State Part II: The Existing Ecosystem

2014 ◽  
pp. 114-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas H Colledge
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Education ◽  
Student Organizations ◽  
State University ◽  
Engaged Scholarship ◽  
Pennsylvania State University ◽  
Deep Knowledge ◽  
The Core ◽  
Penn State ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
The University

The objective of engineering education is to educate students who are ‘ready to engineer’.  This implies that students should be broadly prepared with not only deep knowledge and understanding of the technical fundamentals, but also the pre-professional skills required to be successful in the engineering workplace of today and tomorrow1.  Part I of this paper includes a brief rationale and need for ‘Engaged Scholarship’ and the inherent need for a robust ecosystem to support it.  Part II details the existing curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular efforts which form the core for the engaged scholarship ecosystem in the College of Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University.  Curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular opportunities for students are detailed.   Part III provides an overview of how this assortment of minors, certificates, programs, courses, and student organizations is being integrated and institutionalized into a strategic mission for the University.

Text Encoding and Processing as a University Writing Intensive Course

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa E. Beshero-Bondar
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Writing Across The Curriculum ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Algorithmic Problem ◽  
State University ◽  
Task Management ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Intensive Course

Can learning markup languages and coding constitute a “writing intensive” experience for university students? Having taught undergraduate students from a wide range of majors from humanities to the sciences to develop web-based research projects with the the XML family of languages, the author proposes that such coursework should fulfill a common state university requirement of a research-oriented “writing intensive” or "writing-across-the-curriculum" course. Although coding and programming skills are often represented as a kind of literacy, the idea that learning markup technologies may constitute an intensive writing experience is less familiar. This paper calls for teaching markup technologies widely in a cross-disciplinary context to give students across the curriculum an accessible yet intensively challenging course that integrates coding and writing to investigate research questions. Not just any course that introduces students to markup should be considered writing intensive. Arguably, a class that involves tagging exercises without project development and that invites students to write reflectively about the experience is not engaging in an intensive way with the writing work we associate with coding in the full experience of developing a project. This paper argues that a writing intensive course involving the XML family of languages should require algorithmic problem-solving and decision making, research and citation of related projects, task management, and documentation to share the work and help others to build upon it. A course offering such experiences should be accessible to students from several disciplines, whether to a junior year English or history major with little to no programming experience, or a junior year computer science or information technology major with an interest in applied programming, unused to research questions that drive humanities scholarship. In presenting its case, this paper discusses the pedagogical theory and practice of teaching composition and code as well as the concepts of blind interchange and literate programming important to the XML markup community.

scholarly journals International design collaboration and mentoring for tertiary students through Facebook

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josh McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
State University ◽  
Postgraduate Students ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
Penn State ◽  
The University ◽  
Industry Professionals

<span>This study explores the efficacy of the online social networking site </span><em>Facebook</em><span>, for linking international digital media student cohorts through an e-mentoring scheme. It reports on the 2011 collaboration between the University of Adelaide in Australia, and Penn State University in the United States. Over one semester, twelve postgraduate students in Australia and ten undergraduate students in the United States took part in an online mentor scheme hosted by </span><em>Facebook</em><span>. Students were required to submit work-in-progress imagery each week to a series of galleries within the forum. Postgraduate students from Adelaide mentored the undergraduate students at Penn State, and in turn, staff and associated industry professionals mentored the Adelaide students. Interaction between the two student cohorts was consistently strong throughout the semester, and all parties benefitted from the collaboration. Students from Penn State University were able to receive guidance and critiques from more experienced peers, and responded positively to the continual feedback over the semester. Students from the University of Adelaide received support from three different groups: Penn State staff and associated professionals; local industry professionals and recent graduates; and peers from Penn State. The 2011 scheme highlighted the efficacy of </span><em>Facebook</em><span> as a host site for e-mentoring and strengthened the bond between the two collaborating institutions.</span>

scholarly journals With Our Powers Combined: Teaming Up with the Writing Center to Improve Information Literacy

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Lauren Mross
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Writing Center ◽  
Learning Center ◽  
State University ◽  
Pennsylvania State University ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Willingness To Seek Help ◽  
Penn State

Write, Research, Revise (WRR) is a partnership between the Library and the Russell E. Horn Learning Center at Penn State Harrisburg, a campus of The Pennsylvania State University serving approximately 5,000 graduate and undergraduate students. This program provides two-on-one appointments, combining research and writing help for students in freshman-level, introductory writing courses. During WRR, participants have a scheduled appointment with a librarian and a writing tutor to comprehensively workshop nearly-completed research papers. At the appointment, students receive feedback and strategies to improve both the writing and research components of their assignments. Participating students and course faculty responded positively to the program. None of the participants previously utilized individual research assistance from campus librarians, and they indicated a greater willingness to seek help from the library in the future.

scholarly journals Engineering and Engaged Scholarship at Penn State Part I: The Rationale

2014 ◽  
pp. 97-113
Author(s):  
Thomas H Colledge
Keyword(s):  
Student Organizations ◽  
State University ◽  
Engaged Scholarship ◽  
Pennsylvania State University ◽  
Penn State ◽  
Personal Competencies ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
College Of Engineering ◽  
The University

The objective of engineering education is to educate students who are ‘ready to engineer’.  This implies that students should be broadly prepared with not only deep knowledge and understanding of the technical fundamentals, but also the pre-professional skills required to be successful in the engineering workplace of today and tomorrow1.  Part I of this paper includes a brief rationale and need for ‘engaged scholarship’ to help accomplish these goals, and the inherent need for a robust ecosystem to support it.  A summary is provided of the outcome-based objectives for the training of engineers as well as the industry-identified personal competencies required.  The role of the university in engaged scholarship is examined along with the benefits and impediments to its implementation.  A definition of educational ecosystem is provided.  Part II details the existing engaged scholarship ecosystem in the College of Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, while Part III provides an overview of how this assortment of minors, certificates, programs, courses, and student organizations is being integrated and institutionalized into a strategic mission for the University.

scholarly journals An Interview with Professor Squire J. Booker: on Science and Diversity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel Vera ◽  
Franklin Avilés Vázquez ◽  
Edward Badding
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Underrepresented Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Steering Committee ◽  
State University ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
National Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Chemical Research ◽  
Penn State ◽  
University Professor

Squire J. Booker is an Evan Pugh University Professor of Chemistry and of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). He obtained a Ph.D. in biochemistry from MIT under Prof. JoAnne Stubbe. Prof. Booker’s research on radical-dependent enzymes has unraveled some mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and natural product biosynthesis, and he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2018. He is also an advocate for promoting diversity in science. He created and co-directs the Penn State Department of Chemistry Summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, which allows 10 undergraduate students from the United States to conduct chemical research on the topic of “catalysis and motion” every year at Penn State. The program mainly recruits women, students from underrepresented groups, and students from universities and colleges that lack strong research infrastructure. Prof. Booker is also on the steering committee of the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), one of the largest professional conferences for underrepresented students with over 5000 yearly attendees, and is the Chair of the ABRCMS Chemistry Division. Here, we learn about Prof. Booker’s trajectory in science, how he became a faculty member, and his efforts to increase diversity in science. This interview was edited for clarity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document