Quality Enhancement Plan: Experiential Inquiry and Research November, 2015 Co-chairs Maria Oden Bob Stein Office of Institutional Effectiveness Stephanie Post Rice University Reaffirmation of Accreditation

QEP Planning Committee Maria Oden (Co-chair), Engineering Robert Stein (Co-chair), Political Science Kathleen Beckingham, Biosciences Janet Braam, Biosciences Holli Clements, Director of External Affairs, School of Music Lynn Fahey, Graduate Student Association Jeffrey Fleisher, Anthropology Rob Griffin, Civil and Environmental Engineering Rosemary Hennessy, English Matthias Henze, Religion John Hutchinson, Dean of Undergraduates Steve Lewis, Senior Fellow, Associate Director Chao Center for Asian Studies Amanda Macune, Kinder Institute for Urban Research Ipek Martinez, Associate Dean, School of Social Sciences Seiichi Matsuda, Dean Of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies Gia Merlo, Vice Dean For Health Professions Jake Nyquist, Student Association Caroline Quenemoen, Executive Director, Center for Civic Leadership Matt Taylor, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Associate Dean of Undergraduates Madhuri Venkateswar, Student Association Ron Witte, Architecture Jie Wu, Kinder Institute for Urban Research Stephanie Post, Office of Institutional Effectiveness John Cornwell, ex officio, Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Overview The goal of the QEP is to expand and enhance experiential inquiry and research* opportunities for Rice undergraduates and to provide training opportunities for graduate students. *Research is broadly defined to include research, design, and other forms of creative work as appropriate within each discipline.

Definition of Experiential Inquiry and Research Experiential Inquiry is a creative and reflective process where students learn a hands-on approach to examining and investigating open-ended, authentic questions through discovery-based methods. Students are taught to explore content knowledge in unfamiliar areas. They learn the processes, skills and tools necessary to rigorously and objectively inquire about challenges in their topic of interest. With these experience-based skills and knowledge, they can address questions or challenges as defined by their academic discipline. Ultimately, students will actively pursue solutions to these open- ended, authentic challenges and will produce a tangible work product such as a report, journal article, composition, performance, or prototype.

Experiential Inquiry QEP Program Experiential Inquiry Courses Experiential Research Courses and Opportunities Freshman/sophomore school-based project courses New or existing course(s) topic focused Module in existing course Full course(s) topic focused Research with faculty Co-curricular/Center based projects Work Product Journal article Report Poster Composition Performance or Final Prototype Provide students the scaffolding necessary to conduct research Students take the skills they have acquired in inquiry phase and participate in an authentic research project Graduate Fellows: Trained to Support Courses Pathway for undergraduates in each discipline to participate in research

Learning outcomes Undergraduate Students Identify a course plan that prepares them for and leads to experiential research opportunities. Acquire rigorous, discipline-specific inquiry skills. Apply theories or construct models to explore, address, and/or solve open-ended, authentic questions or problems. Enhanced communication skills to present their work effectively to diverse audiences. Graduate Students Acquire pedagogical knowledge and skills concerning experiential inquiry and research