Innovations in Undergraduate Research and Honors Education Proceedings of the Second Schreyer National Conference
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln NCHC Monographs Series National Collegiate Honors Council 2004 Innovations in Undergraduate Research and Honors Education Proceedings of the Second Schreyer National Conference Josephine M. Cambia Schreyer Honors College Renata S. Engel Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nchcmono Part of the Higher Education Administration Commons Cambia, Josephine M. and Engel, Renata S., "Innovations in Undergraduate Research and Honors Education Proceedings of the Second Schreyer National Conference" (2004). NCHC Monographs Series. 12. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nchcmono/12 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the National Collegiate Honors Council at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in NCHC Monographs Series by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Innovations in Undergraduate Research and Honors Education Proceedings of the Second Schreyer National Conference The Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pennsylvania March 30 - April 1, 2001 National Collegiate ~ Honors Council •: ••) YOUR LINK TO UNDERGRADUATE HONORS EDUCATION A Publication ofthe National Collegiate Honors Council Innovations in Undergraduate Research and Honors Education Proceedings of the Second Schreyer National Conference The Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pennsylvania March 30 - April 1, 2001 Editors Josephine M. Cambia, Schreyer Honors College Renata S. Engel, Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence ©Copyright 2004 the National Collegiate Honors Council Table of Contents Preface 1 I. Making the Case for Undergraduate Research 2 Introduction: Unpacking the Research Encyclopedia 3 Josephine Carubia, Renata Engel How (Or Whether?) To Integrate Research into Classroom Teaching for All 11 Students and All Higher Education Institutions Alan Jenkins Why Involve Students in Research? 24 Rodney A. Erickson II. Curriculum Models that Include Undergraduate Research 30 The Maryland Gemstone Program 31 William W. Destler Creating an Undergraduate Culture of Science by Integrating Inquiry, Project- 36 based Learning and Research into the Curriculum RichardA. Niesenbaum THE INSIDERS: Undergraduates Critically Examine the Pros and Cons of a 42 Team-based Marine Research Program Traci J. Heincelman, EdwardJ. Majzlik, Christie A. Robinson, Lindsey J. Wise MASS Program at Penn State 48 Serge Tabachnikov Issue Reaction: Honors Theses in the Creative and Performing Arts 51 Joanne Rutkowski III. Course Models that Include Undergraduate Research 53 Multi-disciplinary Study, Responsible Policy-making and Problem-based 54 Learning in Honors Courses Michael Edwards Honors Collaborations: The Presidency in Speech and Composition 59 Sandy Feinstein, JeffKurtz Leaving Home with IT: Using Information Technology to Create Cross-national 63 Design Teams Richard Devon, Pierre Buvat Ancient Myths in a Modern World: A Multi-media Approach to Honors 70 Education and Undergraduate Research RichardErnest Walker Honors Colloquium: Berlin in the 1940s 74 Charles F. Pennacchio IV. Undergraduate Research via Service Learning and Outreach 78 Patterns of Engagement in Service Leadership: First Year to Senior Year 79 Josephine Carubia, Sara Faber, Soma Kedia, Nicole Sandretto, Adam Tarosky, JoAnn C. Vender Community Action Research: A Three-part Service-learning Course Model 90 JoAnn C. Vender Issue Reaction: Integrating Service Learning into Academic Courses 99 M A. Dupont-Morales Issue Reaction: Introducing Students to Social Inquiry Research 101 Alfred G. Mueller II Enriching the Academic Community through a Semester-long Honors 103 Symposium Earl Brown, Jr., Margaret C. Brown V. Learning Strategies that Support Undergraduate Research 107 Promise, Peril, and Potential: Developing, Implementing, and Assessing 109 Problem-based Learning at the Undergraduate Level Carol F. Whitfield Meeting the Boyer Challenge: A Model for Team-based, Student-directed 115 Ul}dergraduate Research Douglas F. Williams, Peter Sederberg, Stejka Eddins A Historical Perspective on Interdisciplinarity and Undergraduate Research in 121 Honors Education Julianna Chaszar Issue Reaction: Inquiry-based Learning in the College Classroom 127 Jill L. Lane, Joanne M Cawley The Role of Libraries in Honors Thesis Research: A Lib-rary Credit Course as a 130 Model for Thesis Research Support Carol A. Wright VI. The Next Challenges 135 Diversity Issues & Honors Education 136 Anthony A. Pittman What's Missing in Honors Education: A Theory-driven Approach 141 Cheryl L. Achterberg The Schreyer National Conference Proceedings: Innovations in Undergraduate Research and Honors Education Preface I recall the excitement ofmy undergraduate experiences with research even though it was twenty years ago and the advances that have been made since then dwarf the contributions I stated in my now yellowed thesis. At that time in my life, research was the way to apply the engineering and science topics I was studying in my courses, to do something purposeful and of interest to others, and to be part of a team-responsible for my research while recognizing its place in the bigger picture. The research connected me to my profession in a way that courses did not. Now as I lead my own research projects, I try to engage as many undergraduates as I can. I know the value of framing a hypothesis, creating an approach to test it, discovering its validity and limitations, and reporting the results in appropriate forums. I want more students to experience what I experienced, to be thrilled by their discoveries, to be challenged by the complexities and intricacies of the research topic, to be buoyed up by the steps forward, and to be able to pose the next questions after each stage so as to advance the research. When Cheryl Achterberg, Dean of the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State, and I began planning the conference that led to this collection of papers, we found that our interests and motives were quite similar around the topic of undergraduate research; thus, we chose it as the conference theme. The conference included keynote papers, short presentations, and thematic roundtable discussions. This compilation ofpapers reflects all ofthese forms ofpresentation and discourse. In the chapters that follow, you will see that they are organized by topic. The first section "Making the Case for Undergraduate Research" includes three papers that set the stage for the remaining sections. The papers provide examples of undergraduate research experiences and justification for embracing research as an extremely valuable active learning experience for undergraduate students. The next four chapters deal with specific topic areas: Curriculum Models that Include Undergraduate Research, Course Models that Include Undergraduate Research, Undergraduate Research via Service Learning and Outreach, and Learning Strategies that Support Undergraduate Research. The papers in these chapters vary in length-some are full-length papers, while others are 'reaction papers' that resulted from the roundtable discussions that took place at the conference. Overall, this collection is rich with ideas and models that I hope will be helpful to you as you explore ways to include or expand the undergraduate research opportunities at your university or college. The proceedings close with the section "The Next Challenges," which includes two papers that place challenges before us to consider as we create programs and opportunities to engage undergraduate students in research. Renata S. Engel Director, Schreyer Institute for Innovation in Learning I. Making the Case for Undergraduate Research In this section Josephine Carubia and Renata Engel introduce the topic of undergraduate research by focusing on the current definitions of scholarship. They place those definitions in the context of specific disciplines and research opportunities. Next, two distinguished educators engage scholarship and also reflect upon the reasoning and purposes that support the practice of undergraduate research. Alan Jenkins probes data on the impacts of undergraduate research in an attempt to answer the most preliminary and crucial questions of whether educators should support this experience, and if so, why and how. He starts out a skeptic and slowly persuades himself, along with his readers, of the value of undergraduate research. Rodney Erickson, by contrast, begins on a positive note and builds evidence thoughtfully on the beneficial outcomes of undergraduate research on students, faculty, and the university. Erickson draws upon many years of experience to offer evidence of how undergraduate research motivates students, guides them in finding relevance, and helps them develop strategies and relationships that lead to deeper and deeper understandings. Together, these three papers establish a frame and a context for the more specific studies, case histories, and narratives that follow. 2 INTRODUCTION: UNPACKING THE RESEARCH ENCYCLOPEDIA JOSEPHINE M. CARUBIA, RENATA S. ENGEL THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP - THE FOUNDATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION Ernest Boyer's work is the touchstone for most contemporary discussions about research and scholarship and is as pertinent to undergraduate research as to the professional research of faculty. This introduction will begin with Boyer so that his definitions and philosophies may inform