The Council for Undergraduate Research (2011) defines undergraduate research as “An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline.” Undergraduate research has been identified as one of the high-impact educational practices, leading to gains in critical thinking skills, information literacy and communication skills (Kuh 2008; Lopatto 2010). Often people associate undergraduate research with honours projects and research assistantships available only to a few; however, if undergraduate research leads to learning gains, it should be available to all students at multiple points during their studies (Healey and Jenkins 2009). This workshop outlines one possible model that can be adapted to very different classroom contexts. Participants will learn about a scaffold for original undergraduate research used in a first-year writing class, a second-year psychology class, and a fourth-year literature seminar in Fall 2013. In each class students completed a research log. Each entry encouraged reflection on the research process. Students participated in poster sessions prior to their final papers/projects, so that we could frame research as a process of knowledge creation that should be presented publicly for peer review and critique. This session includes data about student attitudes towards research coming into the courses and their reflections on the research process at the end. We reflect upon challenges involved in embedding undergraduate research in classroom contexts. Participants will be encouraged to consider possibilities and challenges for undergraduate research in their own classes through activities during the session.
References
Council on Undergraduate Research. (2011). Retrieved January 7, 2015, from http://www.cur.org.
Healey, M. & Jenkins, A. (2009). Developing undergraduate research and inquiry. York: Higher Education Academy.
Kuh, G. (2008). High impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: AAC&U.
Lopatto, D. (2010). Undergraduate research as a high-impact student experience.” Peer Review 12 (2), 27-30.
