Undergraduate Research: From Receivers to Inquirers Presented by Dorothy I. Mitstifer, Ph.D. Administrator, Undergraduate Research Committee Managing Editor, Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences Executive Director, Kappa Omicron Nu

Rationale for Undergraduate Research The Boyer Commission concluded that research-based learning must become... the standard for undergraduate education, noting that the ideal undergraduate education would turn the prevailing undergraduate culture of receivers into a culture of inquirers...

Benefits of Undergraduate Research Students will: Experience active vs. passive learning Advance career and graduate study options Apply learning to professional issues Prepare for a life-time of learning and a world of change Enhance self-directed learning skills Faculty will: Integrate teaching and research Develop deeper relation- ships with students Ignite student enthusiasm and the joy of discovery Experience the thrill of mentoring the next generation of professionals Utilize creativity to modify the learning culture

How does a new learning culture begin? Change doesnt happen from a leader announcing the plan. Change begins from deep inside a system, when a few people... respond to a dream of whats possible.... We dont have to start with power, only with passion.... Thinking together, deciding what actions to take, more of us become bold. And we become wiser about where to use our courage (Wheatley, 2002, pp ).

How do receivers become inquirers at your institution? By drawing on experience By exploring possible futures By experimenting By making messes and cleaning them upletting chaos find order By building on successes By celebrating new models

Summary The notion of sticky communities has relevance for enhancing undergraduate research. The business of community is the building of networks that bring together and support their members. Community is strategy; it is the manner of creating the social glue.

You are invited to be confused! For the next hour, we are going to form small groups: 4-6 to a group Discuss: How can we effectively involve undergraduates in research?

Directions 1. Each group should identify a flip chart recorder and a leader 2. Begin discussion in dyads 3. Share ideas in the large group and record on flip chart 4. Identify the value each idea produces 5. Vote to prioritize ideas – each person can vote for two (use colored dots) 6. Share ideas for an action plan for the top two choices and record on flip chart

References Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University. (1998). Reinventing undergraduate education: A blueprint for America's research universities. Internet: Duderstadt, J. J. (2000). A university for the 21st century. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press. Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Institutions. (2000). Renewing the covenant: Learning, discovery, and engagement in a new age and different world. Washington, DC: NASULGC. Killeen, T. L., & Katterman, L. C. (Eds.). (2000). New integrations of research, scholarship, and undergraduate education, Proceedings of the 1999 Jerome B. Wiesner Policy Symposium. Ann Arbor, MI: Office of the Vice President of Research, University of Michigan. URC. (2001, January). Undergraduate Research Community for the Human Sciences (URC) Planning Conference Proceedings. East Lansing, MI: Kappa Omicron Nu. Wheatley, M. J. (2002). Turning to one another. San Francisco: Berrett- Koehler.

You are invited to be confused! For the next hour, we are going to form two groups: students and faculty Students will discuss: What I learned (or want to learn) from research. Faculty will discuss: How can we effectively involve undergraduates in research?

Directions 1. Each group should identify a flip chart recorder and a leader 2. Begin discussion in dyads 3. Share ideas in the large group and record on flip chart 4. Identify the value each idea produces 5. Vote to prioritize ideas – each person can vote for two (use colored dots) 6. Share ideas for an action plan for the top two choices and record on flip chart