The Student as Scholar: Undergraduate Research and Creative Practice

Association of American Colleges and Universities

The Student as Scholar: Undergraduate Research and Creative Practice

Conference Description, Program, and Resources

300 faculty and administrators gathered in Long Beach, California on April 19-21, 2007 for a conference focused on integrating research and scholarship into the undergraduate experience with the goal of expanding and deepening learning for all students. Conference sessions explored developmental models, research and assessment of student learning, and examples of campus practice.

KEYNOTE: From Convocation to Capstone: Developing the Student as Scholar

David Hodge, Kira Pasquesi, Marissa Hirsh / Miami University ; Paul LePore / University of Washington

In order to integrate undergraduate research most effectively into the learning experience, undergraduate education should focus on the “student as scholar” from the first to final year. President Hodge will offer a vision of the student as scholar, where ‘scholar’ is defined in terms of an attitude, an intellectual posture, and a frame of mind derived from the best traditions of an engaged liberal education. Fulfilling this vision of the student as scholar will require a fundamental shift in how we imagine and structure the curriculum. In this new paradigm, the curriculum is learning-centered, providing intentional pathways that culminate in capstone experiences, peer-reviewed research papers, and creative presentations.

... [T]he undergraduate research experience is often viewed too narrowly as an isolated component of the student’s education, or as suitable for only some of the most advanced students. In this paper we argue that undergraduate research should, in fact, be at the center of the undergraduate experience, that undergraduate education should adopt the “Student as Scholar” Model throughout the curriculum, where scholar is conceived in terms of an attitude, an intellectual posture, and a frame of mind derived from the best traditions of an engaged liberal arts education. With this framework, not only each research project, but also each course, is viewed as an integrated, and integrating, part of the student experience.

Developing the Student as Scholar Model requires a fundamental shift in how we structure and imagine the whole undergraduate experience. It requires, as a minimum, the adoption of the Learning Paradigm in everything from the first introductory course through the final capstone experience. It requires a culture of inquiry-based learning infused throughout the entire liberal arts curriculum that starts with the very first day of college and is reinforced in every classroom and program. It transcends the boundaries of the classroom and takes advantage of the vast amounts of raw material now available to undergraduates. And it draws heavily from a developmentally-appropriate perspective of undergraduate education, where students move from a more passive, externally motivated experience to the active, internally-motivated posture of a scholar.

At its core, this is a vision of undergraduate education that offers students sustained and consistent emphasis on their identity as learners and as scholars, gradually blurring the distinction between the two, and it provides opportunities to develop meaningful connections to faculty and other students in campus environments that establish and support vibrant learning communities. The adoption of the Student as Scholar Model is the culmination of fundamental shifts in our underlying educational philosophy, specifically from a teaching paradigm that emphasizes telling students what they need to know, to a learning paradigm that emphasizes inquiry in shaping how students learn what they need to know, to a discovery paradigm that emphasizes inquiry with no boundaries.

In this paper we first examine the shift in educational paradigms and define what it means to be a student as scholar. We emphasize how the changing context of technology and scholarship makes the discovery paradigm possible now and increasingly so in the future.

[Much More]

[http://www.aacu.org/meetings/undergraduate_research/documents/Keynote.pdf]

Presentation (ppt) / Address (pdf) / Podcast Recording (mpg)

A Related Presentation Was Deleivered By David C. Hodge At Learning Through Enquiry Alliance (LTEA) Conference 2008:
Inquiry In A Networked World Held At The University of Sheffield In Late-June 2008

[http://networked-inquiry.pbwiki.com/About+the+LTEA2008+keynote]

Select Conference Workshops, Posters, Roundtable Discussions Case Studies, Plenaries

WORKSHOPS

Sustainable Models of Student–Faculty Collaboration

Research and Creative Scholarship: An Integral Part of the Undergraduate Experience

Assessing the Impact of Undergraduate Research on Student Learning and Campus Culture

POSTERS

Providing Undergraduates with a Research Training Roadmap

Research Ethics Training for Undergraduates

Undergraduate Research: Theirs, Mine, and Ours

Experiences in Research: A Structured, Faculty-Mentored Program for First-Year Students

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

Collaborative Undergraduate Research Seminars: Providing a “Research I” Experience

Institutionalizing Student Research Opportunities: Creating Visibility and Promoting Collaboration for Engaged Learning

Implementing an Integrative Research Sequence: The “Scientific Core”

Interdisciplinary Research: Building a Bridge to Scientific Inquiry in the 21st Century

Integrating Theory and Practice: An Action Research Case Study

Supporting Undergraduate Research: Centralized and Decentralized Institutional Models and the Role of Statewide Programs

Students’ Expectations of the Analytic and Communications Skills Needed for Research

Co-Creating Pathways to Student Scholarship: A Developmental Trajectory of Experience, Reflection, Research, and Scholarship

CASE STUDIES

A Comprehensive Approach to Student Scholarship

A Developmental Approach to Undergraduate Research in the Sciences

Building a Learner-Centered Environment through Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity

Moving Undergraduate Research Beyond a Few Disciplines and a Few Student

Developing Student Scholars from Convocation through Commencement: An Institution-Wide Model

What Does the Research Tell Us about Undergraduate Research?

The Role of Undergraduate Research in Student Retention and Academic Success

Multiple Models for Incorporating Undergraduate Research into the Curriculum

Assessing Science Enrichment Programs: Measuring Students’ Development as Scholars

Collaborative Research and Creative Inquiry

Thinking Like a Scientist: Building Skills on the Way to a Culminating Research Experience

Integrating Undergraduate Research and Service-learning in Self-Designed Capstone Projects

Using an ePortfolio as a Personal Knowledge Management System

Educating Undergraduate Research Mentors

The Sociology of Everyday Life: Student Scholars in the Introductory Classroom

Adapting the UIW McNair Model to Engage Faculty and Students in Undergraduate Research

Designing and Implementing an Undergraduate Research Program

EUREKA! Building an Integrated University-Wide Model for Engaging Students in Undergraduate Research

Organizing and Implementing a Statewide Undergraduate Research Conference

The Importance of Institutional, Disciplinary, and Interdisciplinary Definitions of Scholarship

Fostering Undergraduate Research in the Arts and Humanities

Integrating Undergraduate Research and Engagement Programs across Departmental, Disciplinary, and Developmental Boundaries

Equal Partners: Participatory Research Involving Faculty, Students, and Community Members

Improving the Quality of Student Research through Information Fluency

Creating and Publishing Undergraduate Research Journals

PLENARIES

Enhancing Academic Excellence through Inquiry, Research, and Creative Practice

Toward a Collaborative, Learning-Centered Culture: Phases of Institutional Development

Key Elements to Building a Sustainable Undergraduate Research Program

SOURCE

[http://www.aacu.org/meetings/undergraduate_research/]

PODCASTS

[http://www.aacu.org/Podcast/UG07_podcasts.cfm]