Professional Development Challenges and Undergraduate Research Opportunities at Teaching-First Universities Laura Wilson (University of Mary Washington) Paula Mullineaux (Hamline University) Michael Knepp (University of Mount.
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Professional Development Challenges and Undergraduate Research Opportunities at Teaching-First Universities Laura Wilson (University of Mary Washington) Paula Mullineaux (Hamline University) Michael Knepp (University of Mount Union) Elizabeth Vella (University of Southern Maine) Purpose of Symposium Over the past decade and a half, there has been a growing movement in academia to further integrate undergraduate students into the research process (Blanton, 2008). Although much of the focus has been on conducting undergraduate research at larger, research-oriented institutions, Hu, Kuh, and Gayles (2007) found that baccalaureate programs with a focus on the liberal arts may be growing undergraduate research programs at an even faster rate than their larger counterparts. Webber, Laird, and BrckaLorenz (2013) found that being at smaller institutions increased the likelihood of student engagement in research. The purpose of this symposium was to provide an avenue for APS members from primarily teaching-first schools to see what others have done to increase their research opportunities as well as integrate the learning back into the classroom. The goal was to share successes along with the various issues that have arisen for each speaker with their undergraduate laboratory work. Setup of Symposium Dr. Laura Wilson of Mary Washington will cover the benefits and challenges experienced as a first year faculty member Dr. Paula Mullineaux of Hamline University will explore the practice of student-faculty collaborative research Dr. Michael Knepp of Mount Union will discuss how to maintain and schedule laboratory projects while integrating material into the classroom Dr. Elizabeth Vella of the University of Southern Maine will focus on creating a publication record conducive to tenure Being a New Faculty Member at a Small, Teaching Intensive Institution Dr. Laura Wilson Association for Psychological Science 2014 Convention "Piled Higher and Deeper" by Jorge Cham The Disconnect Between Graduate School and Your New Job • Graduate school (Gaff, 2002) • Research is priority • Very little teaching training • Most graduates feel ill-prepared for faculty positions • Your new job • Research is no longer your priority • Teaching-Research-Service expectations • “Hit the ground running” (Whitt, 1991) • Get over “the imposter dream” (McCormick & Barnes, 2008) What’s the Reality? It’s Stressful • Many new faculty members report feeling isolated, receiving little mentoring, and feeling overwhelmed by the large number of (often competing) responsibilities (Gaff, 2002) "Piled Higher and Deeper" by Jorge Cham The Good, The Bad, The Ugly • Ugly • You were hired for your teaching, but the reality is your teaching abilities may be largely untested. • Bad • Even though teaching is your priority, the research and service expectations are still high. • Good • The relationships with colleagues and students, and academic climate. Get a Feel for Your Institution • Find a faculty mentor • Attend faculty workshops • Find ways to interact with faculty outside your department • Know the evaluation process • Start to ask questions about the tenure process (Gazza, 2004) Teaching • Be thoughtful when scheduling your courses • Limit the number of new preps • Ask about campus presence expectations • Ask for syllabi, textbook recommendations, course descriptions, requirements • Ask for student feedback throughout the semester • Select a textbook you can use for several years • Request an advising-free year • Get to know your students Research • Typically the most stressful part of the job • Internal and external collaborations • Find funding • Be smart when requesting start-up funds • Have multiple projects and papers going at once • Use successful writing strategies • Find great undergraduates • Some class projects may be publishable • Schedule time (Silverman, 2000; Thorsen, 1996) Service • Find something that you’re passionate about • Become involved with student organizations within your area of interest • Start at the department level and then expand out • Learn to say “no” • Don’t sacrifice activities that are key to tenure and promotion • Service can be lots of different things (McCormick & Barnes, 2008; Powers, 2004) New Clinical Psychology Faculty • Clinical practice or not? • You are not your students’ psychologist • Establish boundaries in class • Expect students to bring crises to you • Clinical skills can come in handy Life Outside the Department • Self-care • Family and friends "Piled Higher and Deeper" by Jorge Cham Thank you! Engaging in Student-Faculty Collaborative Research at a Teaching Focused Institution Dr. Paula Y. Mullineaux High-Impact Educational Practices What are they? ◦ Educational experiences which foster.. active engagement by the student learning that goes beyond the class room Application to their personal or work lives ◦ Undergraduate Research Involve students in active, systematic investigation and research— complete research cycle Utilizes empirical observation Increases in Undergraduate Research at Small Universities Psychological research has become a core component of undergraduate psychology curriculum (Dotterer, 2002). Smaller colleges and universities face many challenges when engaging in undergraduate psychology research. ◦ Little internal support ◦ Higher teaching loads ◦ Absence of graduate or postdoctoral students Common Types of Undergraduate Research Research Assistant Research Methods Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Project Independent Study Honor’s Project Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Project How is S-F Collaborative research different? ◦ Differ in how they are conducted ◦ Differ in outcomes expected S-F Collaborative Research Project Goals: ◦ Deeper understanding of topic ◦ Result in some scholarly product ◦ Facilitate authentic interaction between the student and faculty member Benefits of Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Students ◦ Further develop critical thinking and scientific inquiry skills ◦ Academically challenging and deep learning experience ◦ Helpful in graduate school admission Faculty ◦ Fresh perspective of undergraduate students ◦ Allows for more time to focus on other responsibilities ◦ Often results in products valuable to both parties Student Attributes to Consider Intellectual curiosity Highly motivated Ability to work well with others Committed Socially-emotionally mature Some psychology research experience Family Interaction and Development Lab Ongoing, longitudinal study examining social emotional development in middle childhood ◦ Multi-method and multi-method informant approach (observational and questionnaire data) Participants: 6-11 year old sibling and twin pairs Procedure: parent-child interactions in two cooperative tasks and family interaction in a competitive task Student-Faculty Collaborative Research in the Family Interaction and Development Lab Team Approach (Faculty-driven Program) A primary student collaborator with the support of foursix research assistants Parental Cognition Project Initial collaboration supported the establishment of the lab Additional collaboration resulted in increased Empathy Development Project Resulted in an ongoing, related research project Increased main study sample Student Collaborators Faculty Benefits Literature review Clarification of research question Protocol development Data collection Lab management Data analyses and presentation Presentations at: NCUR, MUPC, MPA, and APS Fresh perspectives and infusion of energy for project Freed up time to attend to other teaching, research, and service obligations Imposed a strict timeline Moved forward own research activities while counting toward teaching Results of the SFCR Team Approach How to Stay on “Track” When Engaging in Student-Faculty Research Experiences Consider the time investment Create a research culture and invest in your students Work within a faculty-driven research framework Use a student-faculty research agreement ◦ OTRP Utilize a team approach Take advantage of existing programs ◦ CUR FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN TEACHING AND RESEARCH Michael Knepp University of Mount Union PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CHANGES 4 pillars to tenure at Mount Union Teaching Effectiveness Professional Development Campus Service Service to the Community A changing landscape Teaching Effectiveness has been and continues to be the main component for continuation and promotion As the academic landscape changes, the professional development piece takes on greater importance A focus on higher impact practices MODEL CHANGES AT MOUNT UNION 4-credit model Faculty move from 4 3-credit courses to 3 4-credit courses Goal 1: To lower course preparations and allow for more professional development Goal 2: Within the classroom, allow more time to move beyond the lecture aspects of a course Goal 3: Integration of written and oral communication across the general education requirements Expectation Changes 3-credit model: Continue to show scholarly and professional development that can be used within the classroom 4-credit model: Focus on assessment of professional development outcomes both in and out of the classroom Differences: Moving from presentations and potential published works to needing a publishing record to support teaching effectiveness DEPARTMENTAL FOCUS ON RESEARCH The Psychological Sciences General Education Requirement Written and Oral Communication focuses on learning how to conduct background research to build arguments Research Methods 1 and 2 A combined methods and stats class Both courses involve designing a small research study to run in the classroom and early work with writing a research report Senior Research 1 and 2 Fall Term: Teams of students prepare a research proposal with full IRB approval Spring term: Collect/Analyze Data, Present at University conference, Write full report THE UNDERGRADUATE LABORATORY Independent Study The research design counts as a course 2 credit or 4 credit option with the difference in hours worked per week Developed for students primarily interested in going to graduate school Lab meetings are weekly at first, then biweekly each term Laboratory Team Between 4 and 8 students so far Each student works on every project; Projects created by faculty mentor All aspects of the project: Background Research, Data Collection, Data Quantification Beyond the Course Conference Presentation Opportunities Publication opportunities RESEARCH SETUP Recruitment through the SONA system 120 majors across psychology, neuroscience, and human development/family science 180 minors and 125-150 introductory students Not all courses provide extra credit 2-3 studies at any given time Fall Term: 1 neuropsychological study and 1 psychophysiological study Early Spring Term: 2 studies in our neuropsychology room; Senior Research uses physio equipment Late Spring: Begin new psychophysiological study Balance: Quicker task-based studies or questionnaire-specific research Typically have less independent study students in the spring due to recruitment competition with senior research Key Balance: Staggering study beginning and ending periods LABORATORY WING FACILITIES BALANCING THE SCHEDULE: FALL TERM July/August Submit IRB application for new neuropsychological/task based study Set up topic areas for literature searches Incoming IS students complete human subjects training Strongest returning student(s) typically assist as laboratory managers First weekly lab meeting is determining work schedules and explaining psychophysiology study 9am to 5pm for potential timeslots; In fall term, there is overlap due to two rooms in use First 2 weeks of term Students conduct background research on all studies Requirements on amount of literature found Practice psychophysiological study until ready for subject running Weeks 4 and 5 of term Begin training on neuropsychological study Continuing literature searches and psychophysiological study data collection Once a student is ready, they spend half of their time on each study or split their time across three studies if we are running multiples END OF FALL TERM SCHEDULING Late October/Early November Solicit feedback for spring term research study interests/ideas Determine number of returning IS students; recruit from relevant classes to maintain 5-6 IS students Submit revisions from summer journal articles End of Fall Semester Literature reviews for manuscript Give one month; Student submissions due at end of semester Organize conference submissions Relevant authors work on abstracts for submission over winter break (receive data analysis portions when completed) Psychophysiology study ends at least two weeks before end of term Time for data quantification to be done by IS students Winter Break Submission of IRB for next psychophysiological study Spring student human subjects training Submission of psychophysiological study paper week before the semester SPRING TERM OVERVIEW Early Spring Term Only neuropsychological/task based studies during senior research Train and re-train; potentially add a smaller study to give more data collection time Conference abstract submissions Spring Break Begin training on new psychophysiological study Conference poster creation Before registration, larger recruitment email sent to all majors about IS opportunities Invite to meetings and laboratory tours Continue targeted recruitment All other details mirror spring term/including revisions End of Spring Semester Mirrors fall term with neuropsychological study in place of psychophysiology projects Could have two studies finishing if shorter study used to balance is done Neuropsychological manuscript goal is June TEACHING THROUGH RESEARCH Literature Search Skills Focus on the practical skills of the literature search, strategies to use on course papers This year: Bibliography write-ups Data Collection/Quantification Diversify projects Use different tasks and study designs to entice strong students to take multiple terms Skill set focus for improving CVs Having a returning undergraduate is important here Revision process Invite students as part of the presentation and publication revision process, not just the initial stages Show samples of changes throughout drafts to improve their own writing samples THE LAB IN THE CLASSROOM Journal Article Days Bring in relevant topic articles in 200 and 300 level course Out of class work to read the paper with in-class discussion Laboratory demonstrations Show various examples of past research in the classroom and relate it to the topic at hand Seeing is believe; greater buy-in Related Written and Oral Communication Experiential projects that recreate previous works Grant proposals that hit at different skills Oral communication assignments that build towards graduate experiences ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Graduated Students Erin Krafka, Sam Stilson, Kevin Joyner, Ashley Boutin, Morgan Myers, Angela Paridon, and Logan Cook Current students at Mount Union Rebecca Kritschil, Emily Quandt, Veronica Zaczyk, Alex Tomaino, and Erica Druzina Fall Students Erin Bell, Chad Gentry, Amanda Glorioso, Rachel Horseman, Casey Lambert, Natalie Ricciutti, Dekota Toot, and Jeffrey Yoza Lab Mascot and Materials Samson the cat Establishing a Research Program Conducive to Tenure in an Exclusively Undergraduate Department Elizabeth Vella Associate Professor of Psychology University of Southern Maine Pre-tenure Landscape Increasing need to master juggle and strike balance amid teaching, research, and service. Junior faculty at contemporary liberal arts colleges may find themselves pulled from multiple directions simultaneously Demonstrate teaching excellence Establish a productive research program Provide service to department, campus, and local community. Successful candidates will excel in time management skills and ability to blur the lines across the 3 areas of evaluation. Focus: Integrative Models to Maintain an Active Publication Record Like Mount Union, USM has a research-driven undergraduate psychology curriculum. Stats, Research Methods Lecture & Lab, Upper Level Research Assistantship. Faculty teach 3-3 load, and expected to average 1 senior author pub per year. Goal: Establish models conducive to maximize publication record, in addition to annual conference presentations. Model 1: Lab-Based (blend teaching with research) Model 2: Field-Based (blend service with research) Getting Started Use Your Time Strategically First things First: If you have publishable data left over from graduate school or postdoc, use the summer before year 1 of professorship to write it up. Seek out top performing students in your classes to work as undergraduate research assistants (particularly if teaching research methods/stats) Select service opportunities that will both nurture your development as a campus citizen and further your development as a researcher. Institutional Review Board Service Psi Chi Faculty Advisor Summer Institutes Presentations/Faculty Workshops Model 1: Lab-Based Science Organize your time during the summer to achieve 2 key tasks Protocol generation for late summer/early fall IRB submission Prepare manuscript(s) for publication review If you are successful in using your summer months for these purposes, it will essentially ensure regular data generation during the academic year, and regular manuscript review conducive to annual publications. Avoid teaching summer session if possible; protect this time for scholarly work. Additional Strategy: Plan teaching schedules during fall and spring terms to permit clear blocks of time scheduled exclusively for manuscript preparations (e.g., McCormick & Barnes, 2008). Aim to develop lab protocols that incorporate elements of undergraduate research assistant interests. Enhances quality of faculty-student relationship Facilitates assignment of assistants to take the lead on poster presentations The Lab-Based Scholarly Cycle Summer: Protocol Development & Manuscript Preparation Spring: Finish data collection on lab study & Conference presentations Fall: Begin data collection on new study & Analyze data from old study for conference abstract submission Winter Session: Prepare conference presentations & Address manuscript reviews Model 2: Field Based Science Many junior faculty may be charged with the lofty pursuit of maintaining an annual publication record w/o a lab space Under these circumstances, faculty may benefit from exploring program evaluation research opportunities. Make connections with colleagues and community partners that will enable you to establish a productive research program. Potential Campus Resources: Office of Community Service: http://usm.maine.edu/cbl/ Office of Research Development: http://usm.maine.edu/researchadmin Examples of Program Evaluation Research Pilot study: Retreat intervention predicts improved quality of life and reduced psychological distress among breast cancer patients (Vella & Budd, 2011). Participation in outdoor recreation program predicts improved psychosocial wellbeing among veterans with PTSD (Vella, Milligan, & Bennett, 2013). Wayfinder Schools: Psychosocial and physiological correlates for those undergoing alternative residential high school program for at risk youth. Thank you!