Transcript Benefits of Undergraduate Research

Undergraduate Research:
From Receivers to Inquirers
Presented by
Dorothy I. Mitstifer, Ph.D.
Administrator, Undergraduate Research Committee
Managing Editor, Undergraduate Research Journal for
the Human Sciences
Executive Director, Kappa Omicron Nu
Rationale for Undergraduate
Research
The Boyer Commission concluded that
research-based learning must become
“. . . the standard for undergraduate
education, noting that the ideal
undergraduate education would turn
the prevailing undergraduate culture of
receivers into a culture of inquirers . . .”
Benefits of
Undergraduate Research
Students will:
Experience active vs.
passive learning
Advance career and
graduate study options
Apply learning to
professional issues
Prepare for a life-time of
learning and a world of
change
Enhance self-directed
learning skills
Faculty will:
Integrate teaching and
research
Develop deeper relation-ships
with students
Ignite student enthusiasm
and the joy of discovery
Experience the thrill of
mentoring the next
generation of professionals
Utilize creativity to modify
the learning culture
How does a new learning
culture begin?
Change doesn’t happen from a leader
announcing the plan. Change begins from
deep inside a system, when a few people
. . . respond to a dream of what’s possible.
. . . We don’t have to start with power, only
with passion. . . . Thinking together, deciding
what actions to take, more of us become
bold. And we become wiser about where to
use our courage (Wheatley, 2002, pp. 25-26).
How do receivers become
inquirers at your institution?
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By drawing on experience
By exploring possible futures
By experimenting
By making messes and cleaning them
up—letting chaos find order
By building on successes
By celebrating new models
Summary
The notion of “sticky communities” has
relevance for enhancing undergraduate
research. The business of community is
the building of networks that bring
together and support their members.
Community is strategy; it is the manner
of creating the social glue.
You are invited to be confused!
For the next hour, we are going to form
small groups: 4-6 to a group
Discuss:
How can we effectively involve
undergraduates in research?
Directions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Each group should identify a flip chart
recorder and a leader
Begin discussion in dyads
Share ideas in the large group and record on
flip chart
Identify the value each idea produces
Vote to prioritize ideas – each person can vote
for two (use colored dots)
Share ideas for an action plan for the top two
choices and record on flip chart
References
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Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University.
(1998). Reinventing undergraduate education: A blueprint for America's research
universities. Internet: http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Pres/boyer.nsf/
Duderstadt, J. J. (2000). A university for the 21st century. Ann Arbor, MI: The
University of Michigan Press.
Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Institutions. (2000).
Renewing the covenant: Learning, discovery, and engagement in a new age and
different world. Washington, DC: NASULGC.
Killeen, T. L., & Katterman, L. C. (Eds.). (2000). New integrations of research,
scholarship, and undergraduate education, Proceedings of the 1999 Jerome B.
Wiesner Policy Symposium. Ann Arbor, MI: Office of the Vice President of
Research, University of Michigan.
URC. (2001, January). Undergraduate Research Community for the Human
Sciences (URC) Planning Conference Proceedings. East Lansing, MI: Kappa
Omicron Nu.
Wheatley, M. J. (2002). Turning to one another. San Francisco: BerrettKoehler.
You are invited to be confused!
For the next hour, we are going to form two
groups: students and faculty
Students will discuss:
What I learned (or want to learn)
from research.
Faculty will discuss:
How can we effectively involve
undergraduates in research?
Directions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Each group should identify a flip chart
recorder and a leader
Begin discussion in dyads
Share ideas in the large group and record on
flip chart
Identify the value each idea produces
Vote to prioritize ideas – each person can vote
for two (use colored dots)
Share ideas for an action plan for the top two
choices and record on flip chart