scholarly journals Expectations for and Quality Experiences in Undergraduate Research Over Time: Perspectives of Students and Faculty

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jillian Kinzie ◽  
Allison BrckaLorenz
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Instructional Practice ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Faculty Involvement ◽  
Faculty Perspectives ◽  
Time Perspectives ◽  
Faculty Survey ◽  
Senior Students

Attention to undergraduate research (UGR) is not surprising given its widespread appeal and evidence of educational benefit. Tracking participation and identifying equity gaps in UGR are important markers of access to and equity in educationally beneficial experiences. Information about students’ exposure to elements of quality in UGR and how this corresponds to faculty perspectives and instructional practice can help inform efforts to advance and improve UGR. In this article, we use 7 years of data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to explore the national landscape of UGR by examining the responses of 972,088 1st-year students who reported that they planned to participate in UGR before they graduated and the responses of 1,248,854 senior students who reported that they had done or were currently involved in a UGR experience. To complement our student perspectives, we present perspectives on faculty importance of and instructional practice in UGR with data from NSSE’s companion survey, the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement, by examining the experiences of 106,000 faculty respondents. Our presentation of descriptive statistics provides a national overview of UGR participation by a variety of salient institutional and student characteristics, a broad summary of faculty involvement in UGR, and baseline data about students’ exposure to elements of high-impact UGR.

scholarly journals Undergraduate Research as a High Impact Practice in Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
Shari Lanning ◽  
Mark Brown
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
High Impact ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Research Initiatives ◽  
High Impact Practice

Higher education research indicates that student engagement is the most critical factor in retention programs for undergraduate students (Upcraft, Gardner and Barefoot, 2005; Tinto, 2012; Pascarella, Seifert, and Whitt, 2008). These studies illustrate that if students do not feel engaged, they are at high risk for leaving their institution prematurely. Among high impact practices, undergraduate research has been shown to have the most positive effects with regard to promoting student engagement (Kuh, 2018; Kuh, 2008). Herein we highlight the use of mentored research as a high impact practice in undergraduate education, Further, we call upon the education community to share their models, approaches, observations, and research findings related to undergraduate research initiatives.

scholarly journals Undergraduate Research as an Institutional Ethos-A Case Study Examining a Faculty Sponsored Research Symposium

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M. Settlage ◽  
Latisha A. Settlage
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
High Impact ◽  
State University ◽  
Faculty Involvement ◽  
Student Research ◽  
Research Mentoring ◽  
Institutional Ethos ◽  
Transformative Impact

This article describes a high-impact, institutional approach of embedding undergraduate research. Using a regional, teaching-focused state university as a case study, the article documents the formation of a campus-wide annual undergraduate research symposium (URS) and examines changes in the institution’s culture toward student research. The URS has played the dual role of increasing undergraduate involvement with research and increasing faculty involvement in collaborative research. Key to the effectiveness of the URS is its openness to a wide variety of disciplines and promotion of faculty-student research mentoring. This case study provides background and direction to those wishing to replicate the transformative impact of integrating undergraduate research at their own institutions by forming a high-impact, campus-wide undergraduate research symposium.

scholarly journals Undergraduate Research at a Teaching-Oriented College: Seniors’ Perspectives and Approaches to Consider

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Herlands Cresiski ◽  
Qingmin Shi ◽  
Sandip Thanki ◽  
Lori Navarrete
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
College Seniors ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
Public College ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Senior Students

This study examines the relationship of undergraduate research (UGR) participation on senior students’ reported engagement, perceived gains, satisfaction with their educational experience and retention, and graduation status compared to peers that have not participated in UGR. Data were drawn from 1,472 senior students at a comprehensive, teaching-oriented public college, and collected from administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) from 2015 to 2019, along with institutional data. This examination uniquely investigates outcomes of UGR participation besides persistence and graduation (which are already well documented) and leverages the lens of senior students in particular. In addition, this study contributes to the literature on UGR at teaching-oriented colleges, which has been sparse most likely because there are many more opportunities for UGR at research institutions. In line with several conceptual frameworks of student engagement, data analysis revealed that relative to their peers who have not participated in UGR, UGR-participating students have higher levels of engagement, perceived gains, and overall satisfaction. UGR-participating students also continued enrollment and/or graduated at a higher rate after reaching their senior status compared to non-participating peers. The implications for teaching-oriented colleges, as well as suggestions for how these institutions can enhance their undergraduate research programming, are discussed.

Making Undergraduate Research a Central Strategy in High-Impact Practice Reform: The PASSHE Journey

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 (169) ◽  
pp. 61-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Moran III ◽  
Marilyn J. Wells ◽  
Angela Smith-Aumen
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
High Impact ◽  
High Impact Practice

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.

Mentoring High-Impact Undergraduate Research Experiences

2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
Jessie L. Moore ◽  
Angela Myers ◽  
Hayden McConnell
Keyword(s):  
Research Team ◽  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
High Impact ◽  
English Studies ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Research Experiences ◽  
Undergraduate Research Experiences ◽  
One To One

Abstract This article illustrates the Ten Salient Practices of Undergraduate Research Mentors with examples for English studies. The authors include both one-to-one and research-team examples, recognizing that although much English scholarship is solitary, peers and near peers play key roles in high-quality, mentored undergraduate research experiences.

scholarly journals “Best of both worlds”: A students-as-partners near-peer moderation program improves student engagement in a course Facebook group

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-181
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jay ◽  
Michelle Lim ◽  
Khalid Hossain ◽  
Tara White ◽  
Syed Reza Naqvi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
The Third ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Senior Students ◽  
Traditional Learning Environments

Social media platforms like Facebook are designed to facilitate online communication and networking, primarily around content posted by users. As such, these technologies are being considered as potential enhancements to traditional learning environments. However, various barriers to effective use may arise. Our research investigated the effectiveness of a students-as-partners near-peer moderation project, arising from collaboration between instructors and senior students, as a vehicle for enhancing student interaction in a Facebook group associated with a large introductory science course. The quantity and quality of sample posts and comments from Facebook groups from three successive academic years were evaluated using a rubric that considered characteristics such as civility, content accuracy, critical thinking and psychological support. Two of these groups were moderated by near-peer students while the third group was not moderated.  We found improved course discussion associated with moderated groups in addition to benefits to moderators and the faculty partner. This suggests that near-peer moderation programs working in collaboration with faculty may increase student engagement in social media platforms.

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