Mellon Fellowship for Undergraduate Research: Ideas, Innovations & Impacts Elizabeth Dupuis, University of California, Berkeley EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, August 2007

“We need scholars who not only skillfully explore the frontiers of knowledge, but also integrate ideas, connect thought to action, and inspire students.” Ernest Boyer, Scholarship Reconsidered “Effective, collaborative models of academic support on leading campuses urgently need to be developed and explored from a variety of perspectives...” Mellon Foundation,“Models of Academic Support”

Initiative Overview  Mellon Library/Faculty Fellowship for Undergraduate Research ( )  Three campus administrators as co-PIs  Six academic units as collaborative partners  Focus on redesign of courses and assignments to incorporate research-based learning  Year-long collaborations between faculty and staff of campus academic support units

Initiative Infrastructure  Principal Investigators:  Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education  University Librarian  Dean, Undergraduate Division, Letters & Science  Steering Committee / Academic Partners:  American Cultures Center  Division of Undergraduate Education  Educational Technology Services  Graduate Student Instructor Teaching and Resource Center  Office of Educational Development  University Library

Initiative Objectives  Strengthen a community of faculty and academic partners committed to undergraduate research and able to serve as change agents in the academy  Energize and redesign large enrollment and high impact courses across disciplines, and create a model for sustaining changes in courses and curricula  Enable undergraduate students to develop their information literacy and research skills, including use and appreciation of libraries and library collections, throughout their academic careers

Collaboration Highlights  Meetings with department chairs to identify key courses and faculty  Institute curriculum developed by academic partners  Implementation Teams created for each faculty to contribute to the design of assignments and implementation in advance of the semester the course is taught  Innovation Funds to encourage teaching innovations and promote sustainability

Community Highlights  Multi-day summer institute for peer-to-peer contact to foster a faculty-driven ‘culture of change’  Series of sessions to introduce staff from various academic support units and enrich their understanding of the expertise each brings  Students formally supported by academic partners to extend learning beyond the classroom  Semi-annual Salons to encourage ongoing conversations and collaborations across departments

Curriculum Highlights  Institute Sessions:  Undergraduates as Learners  Information Landscape & the Student Explorer  Learning Outcomes for Research Assignments  Crafting and Staging Assignments  Assignment Incubator  Discussion Starters  Daily assignments to apply to own course  Use of learning management system as students

“The Mellon Project allowed me to break down expectations related to the creation of new knowledge…placing the assignment in stages the students can grasp and hook into…and weighting those places with grading…allowing them to realize the importance of the process as well as the product…” Victoria Robinson, Ethnic StudiesVictoria Robinson

Evaluation Highlights  Impact on individual Berkeley faculty  Teaching approaches, obstacles, professional and personal benefits, preferred learning environment  Impact on campus culture of learning  Program interactions, characteristics of effective environments, needs to support course redesign  Impact on student learning  Students’ perceptions of value, instructors’ perception of impact, effective assessments

“The way that course was undertaken…shapes the way I perceive American history now…I now approach [ideas] in a very analytical way and I would feel compelled to research beneath and beyond what I am being given, what I am being told.” Joseph Scalice, UC Berkeley undergraduateJoseph Scalice

Outcomes and Benefits  Ongoing collaboration between academic partners  Council of Academic Partners  Campus-wide symposia focused on teaching and learning  Institutionalization of positions and curricula  Associate University Librarian for Educational Initiatives  AC embedded in lower division and across campus  Support for community of faculty as change agents  New Faculty Orientation | AC Spotlight Series  Departmental conversations

For Further Information Mellon Fellowship for Undergraduate Research offering details and documents related to the grants, collaboration, Institute, courses, and evaluation

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