Student and Faculty Outcomes of Undergraduate Science Research Projects by Geographically Dispersed Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Lawton; Kennepohl, Dietmar

2013-01-01

Senior undergraduate research projects are important components of most undergraduate science degrees. The delivery of such projects in a distance education format is challenging. Athabasca University (AU) science project courses allow distance education students to complete research project courses by working with research supervisors in their…

Traditional-Age Students Becoming At-Risk: Does Working Threaten College Students' Academic Success?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Torres, Vasti; Gross, Jacob P. K.; Dadashova, Afet

2011-01-01

Using survey information from undergraduate students who work while attending two urban commuter institutions in Indiana, this study explores evidence that on average undergraduates under 21 years of age worked more than 31 hours a week while also enrolled in a full course load. The findings in this study indicate that grade point average and…

An Analytical Tool to Determine Undergraduate Students' Use of Volume and Pressure when Describing Expansion Work and Technical Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nilsson, Tor; Niedderer, Hans

2012-01-01

In undergraduate chemical thermodynamics teachers often include equations and view manipulations of variables as understanding. Undergraduate students are often not able to describe the meaning of these equations. In chemistry, enthalpy and its change are introduced to describe some features of chemical reactions. In the process of measuring heat…

Health care voluntourism: addressing ethical concerns of undergraduate student participation in global health volunteer work.

PubMed

McCall, Daniel; Iltis, Ana S

2014-12-01

The popularity and availability of global health experiences has increased, with organizations helping groups plan service trips and companies specializing in "voluntourism," health care professionals volunteering their services through different organizations, and medical students participating in global health electives. Much has been written about global health experiences in resource poor settings, but the literature focuses primarily on the work of health care professionals and medical students. This paper focuses on undergraduate student involvement in short term medical volunteer work in resource poor countries, a practice that has become popular among pre-health professions students. We argue that the participation of undergraduate students in global health experiences raises many of the ethical concerns associated with voluntourism and global health experiences for medical students. Some of these may be exacerbated by or emerge in unique ways when undergraduates volunteer. Guidelines and curricula for medical student engagement in global health experiences have been developed. Guidelines specific to undergraduate involvement in such trips and pre-departure curricula to prepare students should be developed and such training should be required of volunteers. We propose a framework for such guidelines and curricula, argue that universities should be the primary point of delivery even when universities are not organizing the trips, and recommend that curricula should be developed in light of additional data.

Increasing Research Productivity in Undergraduate Research Experiences: Exploring Predictors of Collaborative Faculty-Student Publications.

PubMed

Morales, Danielle X; Grineski, Sara E; Collins, Timothy W

2017-01-01

Little attention has been paid to understanding faculty-student productivity via undergraduate research from the faculty member's perspective. This study examines predictors of faculty-student publications resulting from mentored undergraduate research, including measures of faculty-student collaboration, faculty commitment to undergraduate students, and faculty characteristics. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze data from 468 faculty members across 13 research-intensive institutions, collected by a cross-sectional survey in 2013/2014. Results show that biomedical faculty mentors were more productive in publishing collaboratively with undergraduate students when they worked with students for more than 1 year on average, enjoyed teaching students about research, had mentored Black students, had received more funding from the National Institutes of Health, had a higher H-index scores, and had more years of experience working in higher education. This study suggests that college administrators and research program directors should strive to create incentives for faculty members to collaborate with undergraduate students and promote faculty awareness that undergraduates can contribute to their research. © 2017 D. X. Morales et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

The Incidence and Influencing Factors of College Student Term-Time Working in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guo, Fei

2017-01-01

As the labor market pressure for college graduates keeps rising in the past decade, working while attending college becomes increasingly popular among undergraduate students in China. With a nationally representative dataset of 6,977 students from 49 institutions, this study examines the incidence and influencing factors on undergraduate student…

Doing Publishable Research with Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fenn, Aju J.; Johnson, Daniel K. N.; Smith, Mark Griffin; Stimpert, J. L.

2010-01-01

Many economics majors write a senior thesis. Although this experience can be the pinnacle of their education, publication is not the common standard for undergraduates. The authors describe four approaches that have allowed students to get their work published: (1) identify a topic, such as competitive balance in sports, and have students work on…

Introducing Problem-Based Learning to Undergraduate IT Service Management Course: Student Satisfaction and Work Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anicic, Katarina Pažur; Mekovec, Renata

2016-01-01

This paper describes the implementation of problem-based learning (PBL) principles in an undergraduate IT service management course, followed by the results about student satisfaction and work performance. The results indicate the students' general satisfaction with the course implementation, as well as some challenges regarding the…

Childhood Adversity and Self-Care Education for Undergraduate Social Work and Human Services Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newcomb, Michelle; Burton, Judith; Edwards, Niki

2017-01-01

Many students pursuing social work and human services courses have experienced adverse childhoods. This article focuses on their learning about self-care, an important skill for future practice. Interviews with 20 undergraduate students with a history of childhood adversity found unmet needs both for conceptualizing self-care and developing…

Introducing Ethics to Chemistry Students in a "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" (REU) Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Mark J.

2015-01-01

A three-day ethics seminar introduced ethics to undergraduate environmental chemistry students in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. The seminar helped students become sensitive to and understand the ethical and values dimensions of their work as researchers. It utilized a variety of resources to supplement lectures and…

Academic and Work-Related Burnout: A Longitudinal Study of Working Undergraduate University Business Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galbraith, Craig S.; Merrill, Gregory B.

2012-01-01

We examined the interaction between academic burnout and work-related burnout for a sample of working undergraduate university students. Using a longitudinal design we found that the factors of burnout (Exhaustion, Cynicism, and Efficacy) change significantly over the semester. In addition, the study suggests there are distinct differences in how…

The Impact of Work and Volunteer Hours on the Health of Undergraduate Students.

PubMed

Lederer, Alyssa M; Autry, Dana M; Day, Carol R T; Oswalt, Sara B

2015-01-01

To examine the impact of work and volunteer hours on 4 health issues among undergraduate college students. Full-time undergraduate students (N = 70,068) enrolled at 129 institutions who participated in the Spring 2011 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II survey. Multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression were used to examine work and volunteer hour impact on depression, feelings of being overwhelmed, sleep, and physical activity. The impact of work and volunteer hours was inconsistent among the health outcomes. Increased work hours tended to negatively affect sleep and increase feelings of being overwhelmed. Students who volunteered were more likely to meet physical activity guidelines, and those who volunteered 1 to 9 hours per week reported less depression. College health professionals should consider integrating discussion of students' employment and volunteering and their intersection with health outcomes into clinical visits, programming, and other services.

Near-peer mentorship for undergraduate training in Ugandan medical schools: views of undergraduate students

PubMed Central

Rukundo, Godfrey Zari; Burani, Aluonzi; Kasozi, Jannat; Kirimuhuzya, Claude; Odongo, Charles; Mwesigwa, Catherine; Byona, Wycliff; Kiguli, Sarah

2016-01-01

Introduction Masters Students are major stakeholders in undergraduate medical education but their contribution has not been documented in Uganda. The aim of the study was to explore and document views and experiences of undergraduate students regarding the role of masters students as educators in four Ugandan medical schools. Methods This was a cross-sectional descriptive study using qualitative data collection methods. Eight Focus Group Discussions were conducted among eighty one selected preclinical and clinical students in the consortium of four Ugandan medical schools: Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Makerere College of Health Sciences, Gulu University and Kampala International University, Western Campus. Data analysis was done using thematic analysis. Participants’ privacy and confidentiality were respected and participant identifiers were not included in data analysis. Results Undergraduate students from all the medical schools viewed the involvement of master's students as very important. Frequent contact between masters and undergraduate students was reported as an important factor in undergraduate students’ motivation and learning. Despite the useful contribution, master’ students face numerous challenges like heavy workload and conflicting priorities. Conclusion According to undergraduate students in Ugandan medical schools, involvement of master's students in the teaching and learning of undergraduate students is both useful and challenging to masters and undergraduate students. Masters students provide peer mentorship to the undergraduate students. The senior educators are still needed to do their work and also to support the master's students in their teaching role. PMID:27347289

An Evaluation of a Course That Introduces Undergraduate Students to Authentic Aerospace Engineering Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mena, Irene B.; Schmitz, Sven; McLaughlin, Dennis

2015-01-01

This paper describes the implementation and assessment of an aerospace engineering course in which undergraduate students worked on research projects with graduate research mentors. The course was created using the principles from cooperative learning and project-based learning, and consisted of students working in small groups on a complex,…

The impacts and "best practices" of undergraduate - graduate student mentoring relationships in undergraduate research experiences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campanile, Megan Faurot

With the growth of undergraduate research in the U.S., over the past two decades, faculty are more often assigning graduate students to mentor undergraduate students than providing the one-on-one mentoring themselves. A critical gap that exists in the literature is how undergraduate -- graduate student mentoring relationships in undergraduate research influences both students' academic and career paths. The research questions that framed this study were: (1) What, if any, changes occur in the academic and career paths of undergraduate and graduate students who participate in undergraduate research experiences? and (2) Are there variables that constitute "best practices" in the mentoring relationships in undergraduate research experiences and, if so, what are they? The study context was the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Illinois Institute of Technology and the 113 undergraduate researchers and 31 graduate student mentors who participated from 2006 -- 2014. Surveys and interviews were administered to collect pre- and post-program data and follow-up data during the 2014 -- 2015 academic year. Descriptive statistics, content analysis method, and constant comparative method were used to analyze the data. Key findings on the undergraduate researchers were their actual earned graduate degree types (Ph.D. 20%, M.D. 20%, M.S. 48%, other 12%) and fields (STEM 57%, medical 35%, other 8%) and the careers they were pursuing or working in. All the graduate student mentors were pursuing or working in the STEM fields (academia 50%, industry 40%, government 10%). More than 75% of both the undergraduate and graduate students reported that their mentoring relationships had a somewhat to extremely influential impact on their academic and career paths. A set of "best practices" of mentoring were developed for both the undergraduate and graduate students and focused on the mentoring experiences related to learning and teaching about research; relationship dynamics and roles; and, planning, practicing, and preparing for the future. Future studies recommended include additional longitudinal studies and comparative studies of programs with and without mentor training. Ultimately, by improving the mentoring relationships in undergraduate research it has the potential to improve both undergraduate and graduate education and produce a more highly qualified U.S. STEM workforce. oth undergraduate and graduate education and produce a more highly qualified U.S. STEM workforce.

Teaching undergraduate mathematics in interactive groups: how does it fit with students' learning?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheryn, Louise; Ell, Fiona

2014-08-01

Debates about how undergraduate mathematics should be taught are informed by different views of what it is to learn and to do mathematics. In this qualitative study 10 students enrolled in an advanced undergraduate course in mathematics shared their views about how they best learn mathematics. After participating in a semester-long course in combinatorics, taught using a non-traditional, formal group work approach, the 10 students shared their views about how such an approach fitted in with their experience of learning mathematics. A descriptive thematic analysis of the students' responses revealed that despite being very comfortable with the traditional approach to learning new mathematics, most students were open to a formal group work approach and could see benefits from it after their participation. The students' prior conceptions of the goal of undergraduate mathematics learning and their view of themselves as 'mathematicians' framed their experience of learning mathematics in a non-traditional class.

The characteristics of general practice and the attractiveness of working as a GP: medical students' views.

PubMed

Landstrom, Bjorn; Mattsson, Bengt; Nordin, Per; Rudebeck, Carl E

2014-03-15

The aim of the study was to investigate medical students' views on general practice based on their experiences in training, and to find out whether there were certain views associated with the intention to become a GP. A questionnaire, based on our earlier studies about GP working behaviour, was handed out to medical students in terms 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 11 of undergraduate studies in Gothenburg, Sweden. The analysis comprised statistical descriptions and comparisons. The students regarded general practice positively. They found the work environment good, the GP's awareness of patients' living conditions necessary, and that GP work requires medical breadth. The status of the GP in the medical profession was not considered high. One-fourth of the students strongly agreed with the possibility of a future as a GP. This attitude was statistically associated with support to the statements that general practice offers a good work environment and should be a major component in undergraduate training. Students with a negative attitude to working as GPs were also negative to having a major component of general practice in undergraduate training. Medical students with a positive stated attitude towards becoming GPs support changes in undergraduate training to include more general practice. The risk of increasing a negative attitude should be considered when changes are discussed.

Teaching Communication/Interviewing Skills to Urban Undergraduate Social Work Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mayo, Marjorie Hinton

1979-01-01

The use of the Interpersonal Communication Inventory (ICI) with urban undergraduate social work students is described. ICI measures the patterns, characteristics, and styles of communication along the dimensions of: self-concept, listening, clarity of expression, coping with angry feelings, and self-disclosure. (Author/MLW)

SPIN-UP and Preparing Undergraduate Physics Majors for Careers in Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howes, Ruth

2011-03-01

Seven years ago, the Strategic Programs for Innovations in Undergraduate Physics (SPIN-UP) Report produced by the National Task Force on Undergraduate Physics identified several key characteristics of thriving undergraduate physics departments including steps these departments had taken to prepare students better for careers in industry. Today statistical data from AIP shows that almost 40% of students graduating with a degree in physics seek employment as soon as they graduate. Successful undergraduate physics programs have taken steps to adapt their rigorous physics programs to ensure that graduating seniors have the skills they need to enter the industrial workplace as well as to go on to graduate school in physics. Typical strategies noted during a series of SPIN-UP workshops funded by a grant from NSF to APS, AAPT, and AIP include flexible curricula, early introduction of undergraduates to research techniques, revised laboratory experiences that provide students with skills they need to move directly into jobs, and increased emphasis on ``soft'' skills such as communication and team work. Despite significant success, undergraduate programs face continuing challenges in preparing students to work in industry, most significantly the fact that there is no job called ``physicist'' at the undergraduate level. supported by grant NSF DUE-0741560.

International Students on an American Campus: An Undergraduate Research Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Judith; Quattrocki, Carolyn

1981-01-01

Describes a seminar in which undergraduate students in home economics were provided with research training and the opportunity to work together on a research project which included housing, clothing, nutrition, consumer services, child development, and family relations. Students also explored difficulties international students encounter in…

Undergraduate Certificate in Leadership Studies: An Opportunity for Seamless Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guthrie, Kathy L.; Bovio, Becka

2014-01-01

In working to develop undergraduate student leadership capacity, Florida State University created the Undergraduate Certificate in Leadership Studies. This program, grounded in leadership theory and framed by a seamless learning model, has been influential in development of student leadership perceptions and capacity. This article addresses the…

Undergraduate research in geochemistry at a larger university: developing a community of undergraduate and graduate researchers.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryan, J. G.

2003-12-01

Faculty at state research universities can find the paired requirements of establishing research programs and developing a "pipeline" of graduate students to be the most challenging aspects of their jobs, especially with shrinking pools of graduate applicants. These problems may be more acute for laboratory-based geochemists, as few graduate candidates possess the requisite quantitative and chemical backgrounds. The need to "get my research going" at the University of South Florida led me to work primarily with undergraduates, as a) they were available and interested, b) they required no more laboratory training than M.S. students; and c) small-dollar funds were available to support them, both in-house and via NSF REU Supplements. Some senior colleagues argued that this approach would hinder my developing a graduate program as is necessary for tenure. This contention turned out to be untrue. My success in undergraduate research draws funding (in NSF REU Site and disciplinary research grants), has attracted outside MS and Ph.D. candidates, and has retained quality in-house students seeking MS degrees. Students working with me join a laboratory community in which undergraduate and graduate researchers are on equal footing in terms of access to instrumentation and other facilities. I work with all my students, irrespective of rank, as members of a cooperative research group. I encourage and expect that technical instruction I provide to any individual will be passed on to their colleagues, which helps develop a "lab culture" of best practices, and ingrains new knowledge and skills through the act of teaching them to others. Maintaining this research environment requires active recruitment of capable graduate AND undergraduate students, regular monitoring of laboratory practices, and ready availability for consultation and mentoring. One must be cognizant of the differing time commitment issues of undergraduates and graduates, and set research goals appropriately. Undergraduate research projects in which 3-4 students work together to collect necessary data can get around the class vs. research scheduling issues they face as they can share the laboratory workload through the week. Group projects can thus collect larger bodies of data, allowing students to address more substantive problems.

Student Assessment of Self-Efficacy and Practice Readiness Following Simulated Instruction in an Undergraduate Social Work Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Kimberly; Swanke, Jayme; Stonich, Jessica; Taylor, Stephanie; Witzke, Morgan; Binetsch, Michael

2018-01-01

The use of simulated instruction is a growing trend in social work education. This study examined the effectiveness of simulated instruction with undergraduate social work students. In this mixed methods study, the extent to which simulated instruction improved self-efficacy and practice readiness was assessed. Results of the study suggest that…

Undergraduate Social Work Students: Learning Interviewing Skills in a Hybrid Practice Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barclay, Barbara

2012-01-01

This action research case study explored undergraduate social work students' perceived learning of interviewing skills in a hybrid environment course delivery. The single case study consisted of 19 students enrolled in a practice course blending web-based and face-to-face (f2f) meetings (4 of 15 f2f) within a large urban college. As part of…

Science Matters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odell, Bill

2005-01-01

The spaces and structures used for undergraduate science often work against new teaching methods and fail to provide environments that attract the brightest students to science. The undergraduate science building often offers little to inspire the imaginations of young minds. The typical undergraduate science building also tends to work against…

Bringing Career Support into the Undergraduate Academic Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davis, Aimée Eubanks

2017-01-01

Braven partners with universities to help students put their hard-earned degrees to work. The credit-bearing career acceleration course is embedded within the undergraduate experience at San José State University and Rutgers-University Newark. This format allows students--many of whom are commuters and work full-time outside school--to fit career…

75 FR 12217 - Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-15

... DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Supplemental... undergraduate and graduate students to help pay for their education. The FWS Program encourages the part-time employment of needy undergraduate and graduate students to help pay for their education and to involve the...

Final-Year Education Projects for Undergraduate Chemistry Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

The Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme provides an opportunity for students in their final year of the chemistry degree course at the University of Reading to choose an educational project as an alternative to practical research. The undergraduates work in schools where they can be regarded as role models and offer one way of inspiring pupils to…

Validation and Application of the Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U): Identifying Factors Associated with Valuing Important Workplace Skills among Biology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marbach-Ad, Gili; Rietschel, Carly; Thompson, Katerina V.

2016-01-01

We present a novel assessment tool for measuring biology students' values and experiences across their undergraduate degree program. Our Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U) assesses the extent to which students value skills needed for the workplace (e.g., ability to work in groups) and their experiences with…

"Water and Environmental Systems": Achieving Student-Centered Learning Objectives with an Undergraduate Journal.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charlesworth, Susanne M.; Foster, Ian D. L.

1996-01-01

Describes and evaluates an unusual and innovative assessment procedure used in an undergraduate hydrology and oceanography class. Working in teams, English students produce research articles published by an in-house, though refereed, academic journal. Professors and students agree that the process stimulates students to perform at their highest…

Balancing Work and Academics in College: Why Do Students Working 10 to 19 Hours Per Week Excel?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dundes, Lauren; Marx, Jeff

2007-01-01

Given that 74% of undergraduates work an average of 25.5 hours per week while going to school, we know surprisingly little about how off-campus employment affects undergraduates and to what extent its impact varies by the number of hours worked. Our survey of undergraduates at a small liberal arts college found that the academic performance of…

Feasibility and outcomes of paid undergraduate student nurse positions.

PubMed

Gamroth, Lucia; Budgen, Claire; Lougheed, Mary

2006-09-01

An Undergraduate Nurse Employment Demonstration Project (UNDP) was implemented in four Health Service Areas in British Columbia with a concurrent evaluation study. This demonstration project comprised the development and implementation of a new position in the BC healthcare system. The position enabled third- and fourth-year nursing students to be employed at their level of education. The purposes of the evaluation were to explore the feasibility and outcomes of this type of paid undergraduate student nurse employment. The three-year project and evaluation included both implementation and outcome analysis. The implementation evaluation design was descriptive and prospective, involving multiple data sources. The outcome evaluation design was quasi-experimental, with intervention and comparison groups. Learning outcomes for undergraduate nurses were increased confidence, organizational ability, competency and ability to work with a team. Workplace outcomes were increased unit morale, help with workload and improved patient care. New graduates with undergraduate nurse experience reported less time required for orientation and transition than other graduates who did not have this experience, and workplace nurses viewed these new graduates as more job-ready than other new graduates. After 21 months, new graduates with undergraduate nurse experience were less likely to move to other employment than other new graduates. Results from the four Health Service Areas indicated that the paid undergraduate nurse position was feasible and that outcomes benefited students, new graduates and workplaces. The undergraduate nurse position is now being implemented throughout all Health Service Areas in British Columbia.By 2000, concerns in British Columbia about the nursing workforce, workplace and patient safety had escalated to the point where diverse stakeholder groups were prepared to work together in new ways to prepare nursing graduates to be more job-ready, to recruit and retain new graduates and to retain existing nurses. Stakeholder groups were administrators, labour organizations, professional associations, educators and government. One idea to support job readiness and retention focussed on the feasibility of implementing cooperative education for nursing students. The effort was unsuccessful owing to lack of funding, but resulted in a review of the literature on cooperative education and other work-study programs. Cooperative education connects classroom learning with paid work experience for the purpose of enhancing students' education (Fitt and Heverly 1990; Heinemann and De Falco 1992; Ryder 1987). Reported benefits for students were improved job preparation and graduate retention (Ishida et al. 1998), additional staffing and reduction in orientation time (Cusack 1990; Ishida et al. 1998), increased practice judgment (Cusack 1990; Siedenberg 1989) and better workload management (Ross and Marriner 1985). A work-study model reported in the literature offered benefits similar to those of cooperative education, with greater flexibility in design. An example was the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston's collaborative work-study scholarship program with local hospitals (Kee and Ryser 2001). Students in second clinical semesters were employed as unlicensed personnel by hospitals. The students, as unlicensed personnel, worked to the level of their nursing preparation. Reported benefits for students were academic credit, financial assistance, interaction with multidisciplinary teams, opportunity to refine clinical skills, understanding of nurses' roles and guaranteed interview for positions on graduation (Kee and Ryser 2001). Benefits for practice organizations were skilled help, the opportunity to recruit new nurses and increased interaction with a university nursing program. While nurse education stakeholders in British Columbia were exploring options, the concept of undergraduate student nurse employment was initiated by a group of fourth-year students at the University of Victoria who were completing the course "Nurses Influencing Change." The students were concerned about having enough practice experience to meet increasing nursing competency requirements and their survival as new graduates given workplace realities. Debt load also was a concern because extensive student practicum time limited opportunities for paid employment during the nursing education program. Students found that the idea of paid undergraduate nurse positions, based on the student employment model in Alberta, was supported by nurse leaders, many practising nurses and nursing faculty who also were concerned about meeting patient care standards and adequately preparing nursing students. In 2000, the BC Ministry of Health Services funded an Undergraduate Nurse Demonstration Project (UNDP) - one type of paid employment for undergraduate student nurses - in four Health Service Areas linked with four schools of nursing. A concurrent three-year evaluation study examined the feasibility and outcomes of the UNDP (Gamroth et al. 2004). This paper summarizes the findings of the evaluation. Evaluation Research An Undergraduate Nurse Employment Demonstration Project (UNDP) was implemented in four Health Service Areas in British Columbia with a concurrent evaluation study. This demonstration project comprised the development and implementation of a new position in the BC healthcare system. The position enabled third- and fourth-year nursing students to be employed at their level of education. The purposes of the evaluation were to explore the feasibility and outcomes of this type of paid undergraduate student nurse employment. The three-year project and evaluation included both implementation and outcome analysis. The implementation evaluation design was descriptive and prospective, involving multiple data sources. The outcome evaluation design was quasi-experimental, with intervention and comparison groups. Learning outcomes for undergraduate nurses were increased confidence, organizational ability, competency and ability to work with a team. Workplace outcomes were increased unit morale, help with workload and improved patient care. New graduates with undergraduate nurse experience reported less time required for orientation and transition than other graduates who did not have this experience, and workplace nurses viewed these new graduates as more job-ready than other new graduates. After 21 months, new graduates with undergraduate nurse experience were less likely to move to other employment than other new graduates. Results from the four Health Service Areas indicated that the paid undergraduate nurse position was feasible and that outcomes benefited students, new graduates and workplaces. The undergraduate nurse position is now being implemented throughout all Health Service Areas in British Columbia. By 2000, concerns in British Columbia about the nursing workforce, workplace and patient safety had escalated to the point where diverse stakeholder groups were prepared to work together in new ways to prepare nursing graduates to be more job-ready, to recruit and retain new graduates and to retain existing nurses. Stakeholder groups were administrators, labour organizations, professional associations, educators and government. One idea to support job readiness and retention focussed on the feasibility of implementing cooperative education for nursing students. The effort was unsuccessful owing to lack of funding, but resulted in a review of the literature on cooperative education and other work-study programs. Cooperative education connects classroom learning with paid work experience for the purpose of enhancing students' education (Fitt and Heverly 1990; Heinemann and De Falco 1992; Ryder 1987). Reported benefits for students were improved job preparation and graduate retention (Ishida et al. 1998), additional staffing and reduction in orientation time (Cusack 1990; Ishida et al. 1998), increased practice judgment (Cusack 1990; Siedenberg 1989) and better workload management (Ross and Marriner 1985). A work-study model reported in the literature offered benefits similar to those of cooperative education, with greater flexibility in design. An example was the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston's collaborative work-study scholarship program with local hospitals (Kee and Ryser 2001). Students in second clinical semesters were employed as unlicensed personnel by hospitals. The students, as unlicensed personnel, worked to the level of their nursing preparation. Reported benefits for students were academic credit, financial assistance, interaction with multidisciplinary teams, opportunity to refine clinical skills, understanding of nurses' roles and guaranteed interview for positions on graduation (Kee and Ryser 2001). Benefits for practice organizations were skilled help, the opportunity to recruit new nurses and increased interaction with a university nursing program. While nurse education stakeholders in British Columbia were exploring options, the concept of undergraduate student nurse employment was initiated by a group of fourth-year students at the University of Victoria who were completing the course "Nurses Influencing Change." The students were concerned about having enough practice experience to meet increasing nursing competency requirements and their survival as new graduates given workplace realities. Debt load also was a concern because extensive student practicum time limited opportunities for paid employment during the nursing education program. Students found that the idea of paid undergraduate nurse positions, based on the student employment model in Alberta, was supported by nurse leaders, many practising nurses and nursing faculty who also were concerned about meeting patient care standards and adequately preparing nursing students.

Media Exposure on Student Work: Spotlight on Undergraduate Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Klyve, Dominic

2017-01-01

This paper describes efforts by the author to engage and motivate students in undergraduate research by giving them a large audience and engaging the media in disseminating their work. I provide an introduction to public relations from the point of view of a mathematics professor, and describe some lessons I have learned in my own attempts to…

Undergraduate Students' Ability to Revise Text Effectively: Relationships with Topic Knowledge and Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Anne-Marie; Simmons, Fiona; Willis, Catherine; Pawling, Ralph

2010-01-01

In order to communicate understanding, students are often required to produce texts which present an explicit, coherent argument. This study examined the extent to which individual differences in undergraduates' topic knowledge and working memory skills were related to their ability to revise texts to better fulfil these goals. Forty-seven…

Assessing Student Perception of Practice Evaluation Knowledge in Introductory Research Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Lisa R.; Pollio, David E.; Hudson, Ashley

2011-01-01

The authors explored the use of the Practice Evaluation Knowledge Scale (PEKS) to assess student perception of acquisition and retention of practice evaluation knowledge from an undergraduate research methods class. The authors sampled 2 semesters of undergraduate social work students enrolled in an introductory research methods course.…

What Do Undergraduate Students Know about Scholarly Communication? A Mixed Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riehle, Catherine Fraser; Hensley, Merinda Kaye

2017-01-01

Amid movements that recognize undergraduate students as knowledge creators, transformative work is being done at the intersection of information literacy and scholarly communication. Absent from the literature so far is research related to students' perception and understanding of scholarly communication. This paper reports a mixed methods study…

AGU Activities to Promote Undergraduate Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grove, K.; Johnson, R.; Giesler, J.

2001-05-01

A primary goal of the AGU Committee on Education and Human Resources (CEHR) is to significantly increase the participation of undergraduate students at AGU meetings. Involving students in scientific meetings at this level of their education helps them to better prepare for graduate school and for a career in the geophysical sciences. Ongoing CEHR activities to promote undergraduate participation include: (1) sponsoring technical sessions to showcase undergraduate research; (2) sponsoring sessions about careers and other topics of special interest to students; (3) sponsoring workshops to inform faculty about doing research with undergraduates; (4) sponsoring meeting events to partner graduate student mentors with first-time undergraduate attendees; (5) working with sections to create situations where undergraduates and section scientists can interact; (6) creating a guide for first-time meeting attendees; (7) sponsoring an Academic Recruiting Forum at meetings to connect undergraduates with geophysical graduate programs; (8) running a Career Center at meetings to connect students and employers; (9) raising funds for more travel grants to provide more student support to attend meetings; (10) developing a listserve to inform AGU members about opportunities to do research with undergraduates and to involve more members in mentoring activities; and (11) collecting data, such as career outcomes and demographic characteristics of recent Ph.D. recipients, that are of interest to students.

Understanding the Working College Student

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perna, Laura W.

2010-01-01

Working is now a fundamental responsibility for many undergraduates. But understanding how employment affects students' educational experiences is complicated by why students work. Many students must work to pay the costs of attending college. Some traditional-age students may use employment as a way to explore career options or earn spending…

The Role of Humor in Learning Physics: A Study of Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berge, Maria

2017-01-01

We all know that they do it, but what do students laugh "about" when learning science together? Although research has shown that students do use humor when they learn science, the role of humor in science education has received little attention. In this study, undergraduate students' laughter during collaborative work in physics has been…

Connecting Self-Efficacy and Views about the Nature of Science in Undergraduate Research Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quan, Gina M.; Elby, Andrew

2016-01-01

Undergraduate research can support students' more central participation in physics. We analyze markers of two coupled shifts in participation: changes in students' views about the nature of science coupled to shifts in self-efficacy toward physics research. Students in the study worked with faculty and graduate student mentors on research projects…

Organizing an Undergraduate Psychology Conference: The Successes and Challenges of Employing a Student-Led Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pedersen, Cory L.; Lymburner, Jocelyn; Ali, Jordan I.; Coburn, Patricia I.

2013-01-01

Connecting Minds (CM) is a North American undergraduate research conference in psychology, hosted annually by Kwantlen Polytechnic University in British Columbia, Canada. However, CM is a conference with a twist: it is both student-focused and student-led. The organizing committee is comprised of both faculty and students working collaboratively.…

Five Years of the RoBOT "Rocks Beneath Our Toes" High School Outreach Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baxter, E. F.

2011-12-01

The "Rocks Beneath Our Toes" or RoBOT Program began in 2006 as part of an NSF CAREER award through the Geochemistry and Petrology Program. The educational outreach program engages Boston area high school students in a hands on study of rocks and minerals collected in their communities. The goal is to provide high school students a unique window into modern scientific methods of geochemistry and mineralogy and create a higher level of interest and awareness of geoscience amongst Massachusetts secondary school students who are less often exposed to earth science coursework. Beginning with a joint field trip to sampling sites identified by participants, high school students work with Boston University undergraduates enrolled in Mineralogy to analyze their samples in thin section. During the field trip, each BU undergraduate is paired with a high school student. The assignment of student pairings (started in year 2) dramatically increased student interactions and enjoyment. The program culminates with a visit by the high school group to tour BU's lab facilities and work with the undergraduates using the petrographic microscopes to explore their rock. At this visit, BU undergraduates present their semester's work in one-on-one powerpoint presentations from which discussion and microscope work follow. Thus far, >50 high school students, >40 undergraduates, and 7 high school educators were involved in the program. This included participants from three different suburban Boston area high schools and with students enrolled in the BU "Upward Bound" program: an existing program designed to enhance educational opportunities for Boston inner city high school students. Participant reviews indicate great success in achieving the program's goals. Notably, both BU undergraduates and high school students rated the opportunities for interaction with eachother among the best aspects of RoBOT. On a scale of 1 to 10, BU undergraduates rated the following four categories highest: powerpoint presentations to students (8.5); field trip (8.4); working together with microscopes (8.3); would you recommend RoBOT to others (8.2). The high school students rated the following four categories highest: RoBOT provided new geosciences experiences (9.3); working together with microscopes (9.0); tour of BU labs (8.7); powerpoint presentations by students (8.4). In addition, the PI was able to recruit top undergraduate students from Mineralogy and the RoBOT experience to join his research group where they could contribute to broader CAREER award research aims. Challenges and areas for improvement remain for the future of RoBOT. These include keeping participants engaged between the field trip and the BU visit, logistics of field trip scheduling especially with larger groups requiring more field sites and samples, and the ability to gain the interest and collaboration of secondary school educators to initiate the program in the first place. This has proven especially difficult for high schools that do not offer any earth science curriculum, indicating once again the uphill battle in perception that the geosciences face at the secondary school level.

Interprofessional education for first year psychology students: career plans, perceived relevance and attitudes.

PubMed

Roberts, Lynne D; Forman, Dawn

2015-05-01

Undergraduate psychology students have been largely excluded from interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives. In contrast to many health professions, undergraduate psychology students do not engage in work placements as part of their degree, and many enter careers outside the health care context. However, the collaborative skills gained through an IPE experience may well be beneficial to students who work in this wider context. This research examines whether undergraduate psychology students' views of IPE vary according to their planned career directions, and if so, whether the perceived relevance of IPE mediates the relationships. A sample of 188 Australian university undergraduate psychology students completed an online questionnaire following completion of a first-year IPE health sciences program. Path analysis indicated that psychology students' attitudes towards IPE are associated with both professional identification and practitioner orientation, fully mediated through the perceived relevance of IPE to future career and study plans. Stronger professional identification and practitioner orientation were associated with greater perceived relevance and more positive and less negative attitudes towards IPE. Placing a stronger emphasis on the generalizability of IP skills taught may increase students' awareness of the relevance outside of the health context, reducing disengagement of students planning alternative careers.

Field Research in the Teaching of Undergraduate Soil Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brevik, Eric C.; Senturklu, Songul; Landblom, Douglas

2015-04-01

Several studies have demonstrated that undergraduate students benefit from research experiences. Benefits of undergraduate research include 1) personal and intellectual development, 2) more and closer contact with faculty, 3) the use of active learning techniques, 4) creation of high expectations, 5) development of creative and problem-solving skills, 6) greater independence and intrinsic motivation to learn, and 7) exposure to practical skills. The scientific discipline also benefits, as studies have shown that undergraduates who engage in research experiences are more likely to remain science majors and finish their degree program (Lopatto, 2007). Research experiences come as close as possible to allowing undergraduates to experience what it is like to be an academic or research member of their profession working to advance their discipline. Soils form in the field, therefore, field experiences are very important in developing a complete and holistic understanding of soil science. Combining undergraduate research with field experiences can provide extremely beneficial outcomes to the undergraduate student, including increased understanding of and appreciation for detailed descriptions and data analysis as well as an enhanced ability to see how various parts of their undergraduate education come together to understand a complex problem. The experiences of the authors in working with undergraduate students on field-based research projects will be discussed, along with examples of some of the undergraduate research projects that have been undertaken. In addition, student impressions of their research experiences will be presented. Reference Lopatto, D. 2007. Undergraduate research experiences support science career decisions and active learning. CBE -- Life Sciences Education 6:297-306.

Journal of Undergraduate Research, Volume VIII, 2008

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stiner, K. S.; Graham, S.; Khan, M.

Th e Journal of Undergraduate Research (JUR) provides undergraduate interns the opportunity to publish their scientific innovation and to share their passion for education and research with fellow students and scientists. Fields in which these students worked include: Biology; Chemistry; Computer Science; Engineering; Environmental Science; General Sciences; Materials Sciences; Medical and Health Sciences; Nuclear Sciences; Physics; Science Policy; and Waste Management.

The Influence of Problems Faced during Internships on Interns' Views of Their Profession and Their Intention to Work in the Tourism Industry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kasli, Mehmet; Ilban, Mehmet Oguzhan

2013-01-01

Problem Statement: The problem of this research is identifying the difficulties that undergraduate students experience during their internships and assessing their future intention to work in the tourism industry. Purpose of Study: This research aims to identify the problems undergraduate students encounter as interns in tourism programs and to…

How the Experience of Assessed Collaborative Writing Impacts on Undergraduate Students' Perceptions of Assessed Group Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scotland, James

2016-01-01

A time-series analysis was used to investigate Arabic undergraduate students' (n = 50) perceptions of assessed group work in a major government institution of higher education in Qatar. A longitudinal mixed methods approach was employed. Likert scale questionnaires were completed over the duration of a collaborative writing event. Additionally,…

Effect of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy Program on the Symptoms of Burnout Syndrome Among Undergraduate Electronics Work Students in Nigeria.

PubMed

Ogbuanya, Theresa C; Eseadi, Chiedu; Orji, Chibueze T; Omeje, Joachim C; Anyanwu, Joy I; Ugwoke, Samuel C; Edeh, Nkechinyere C

2018-01-01

This research aimed to investigate the effect that rational-emotive behavior therapy had on the symptoms of burnout among undergraduate electronics work students in Southeast Nigeria. This study utilized a pretest-posttest design involving a no-intervention group versus an intervention group. Participants were 124 undergraduate electronics work students who met the inclusion criteria of the study. The intervention consisted of 12 weeks of rational-emotive behavior therapy treatment and 2 weeks of follow-up meetings conducted at 6 months. Self-report questionnaire was used for data collection. Repeated measures analysis of variance and t test were used for data analysis. The results show that rational-emotive behavior therapy had a significant effect on the symptoms of burnout syndrome among the electronics work students in the treatment group compared to their counterparts in the no-intervention group. Finally, the positive gains were significantly maintained by the treatment group at the follow-up. The current study suggests that rational-emotive behavior therapy program can be effective for dealing with burnout syndrome among the population of undergraduates in Nigeria. Further clinical evaluation is needed.

Undergraduate Students as Co-Producers in the Creation of First-Year Practical Class Resources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubbard, Katharine E.; Brown, Rachel; Deans, Sam; García, María Paz; Pruna, Mihai-Grigore; Mason, Matthew J.

2017-01-01

Undergraduate students are increasingly working with academic staff to evaluate and design teaching materials in Higher Education, thereby moving from being passive consumers of knowledge to genuine partners in their education. Here we describe a student partnership project run at the University of Cambridge, which aimed to improve undergraduate…

Using Paper Presentation Breaks during Didactic Lectures Improves Learning of Physiology in Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghorbani, Ahmad; Ghazvini, Kiarash

2016-01-01

Many studies have emphasized the incorporation of active learning into classrooms to reinforce didactic lectures for physiology courses. This work aimed to determine if presenting classic papers during didactic lectures improves the learning of physiology among undergraduate students. Twenty-two students of health information technology were…

"That's a Hard Question": Undergraduate Students Talk about Culture

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montague-Winebarger, Caitlin N.

2012-01-01

In this project I examine the ability of undergraduate students to articulate a working definition of culture and cross-culture. The students were predominately elementary education majors, enrolled in one of two culture-based elective courses at the University of Alaska Fairbanks during the 2010-2011 school year. Through the use of…

A Pictorial History of the Drury College Student: The First Fifty Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maddux, Mindy

2011-01-01

Established in 1873, Drury College in Springfield, Missouri, provided a unique experience for their undergraduate students. A limited amount of research has been conducted on the institution but no work has been done to specifically look at the undergraduate student experience. Using archival research methods and information from literature on…

Why Work with Undergraduate Researchers? Differences in Research Advisors' Motivations and Outcomes by Career Stage.

PubMed

Hayward, Charles N; Laursen, Sandra L; Thiry, Heather

2017-01-01

Undergraduate research is often hailed as a solution to increasing the number and quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduates needed to fill the high-tech jobs of the future. Student benefits of research are well documented but the emerging literature on advisors' perspectives is incomplete: only a few studies have included the graduate students and postdocs who often serve as research advisors, and not much is known about why research advisors choose to work with undergraduate researchers. We report the motivations for advising undergraduate researchers, and the related costs and benefits of doing so, from 30 interviews with research advisors at various career stages. Many advisors stated intrinsic motivations, but a small group of early-career advisors expressed only instrumental motivations. We explore what this means for how advisors work with student researchers, the benefits students may or may not gain from the experience, and the implications for training and retaining research advisors who can provide high-quality research experiences for undergraduate students. © 2017 C. N. Hayward et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Partners in Research: Developing a Model for Undergraduate Faculty-Student Collaboration.

PubMed

Reitmaier Koehler, Amy; Reveling Smith, Linda; Davies, Susan; Mangan-Danckwart, Deborah

2015-10-09

Maintaining scholarship while delivering an undergraduate nursing program is a challenge for nursing faculty. In this paper, we describe an approach that involves undergraduate nursing students in a program of faculty research, which evaluates new approaches to teaching and learning. Students work with faculty to develop a research proposal, identifying specific questions and exploring relevant literature. Projects may include original data collection with faculty supervision, or secondary analysis of existing datasets. Foci have included partnership learning between nursing students and older adults, models of sustainability for a traveling health clinic, and experiences of aging. Findings and recommendations feed into the broader faculty research agenda, provide a foundation for subsequent projects, and inform further development of educational programs. Students have presented at local and national conferences and developed papers for publication based on this joint work. We describe the benefits and challenges of these partnerships, drawing upon student and faculty reflections.

UK Institutional Responses to Undergraduates' Term-Time Working.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Brenda

2002-01-01

Examines research findings on the impact of working on undergraduate students' experience and academic performance, and considers UK institutions' responses, specifically the establishment of university job-shops and curriculum frameworks that try to "capture" learning derived from work experience. Considers to what extent these…

"I Hate Group Work!": Addressing Students' Concerns about Small-Group Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allan, Elizabeth G.

2016-01-01

This article identifies the strategies used by architecture professors and their undergraduate students to mitigate common issues that students raise about group work. Based on participant-observation, interviews with students and faculty, and analysis of instructional materials and student work, this IRB-approved ethnographic case study…

Undergraduate Student Advising: Options for Advertising Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marra, James L.; Schweitzer, John C.

1992-01-01

Investigates issues surrounding undergraduate student advising in advertising. Examines adviser work loads, advising practices, rewards or recognition for advising, and faculty attitudes toward advising. Finds that innovative solutions for solving advising problems are in scarce supply in business, advertising, and, presumably, journalism and mass…

Integrating Electronic Health Record Competencies into Undergraduate Health Informatics Education.

PubMed

Borycki, Elizabeth M; Griffith, Janessa; Kushniruk, Andre W

2016-01-01

In this paper we report on our findings arising from a qualitative, interview study of students' experiences in an undergraduate health informatics program. Our findings suggest that electronic health record competencies need to be integrated into an undergraduate curriculum. Participants suggested that there is a need to educate students about the use of the EHR, followed by best practices around interface design, workflow, and implementation with this work culminating in students spearheading the design of the technology as part of their educational program of study.

Pedagogy of the logic model: teaching undergraduates to work together to change their communities.

PubMed

Zimmerman, Lindsey; Kamal, Zohra; Kim, Hannah

2013-01-01

Undergraduate community psychology courses can empower students to address challenging problems in their local communities. Creating a logic model is an experiential way to learn course concepts by "doing." Throughout the semester, students work with peers to define a problem, develop an intervention, and plan an evaluation focused on an issue of concern to them. This report provides an overview of how to organize a community psychology course around the creation of a logic model in order for students to develop this applied skill. Two undergraduate student authors report on their experience with the logic model assignment, describing the community problem they chose to address, what they learned from the assignment, what they found challenging, and what they are doing now in their communities based on what they learned.

Want to Improve Undergraduate Thesis Writing? Engage Students and Their Faculty Readers in Scientific Peer Review

PubMed Central

Reynolds, Julie A.; Thompson, Robert J.

2011-01-01

One of the best opportunities that undergraduates have to learn to write like a scientist is to write a thesis after participating in faculty-mentored undergraduate research. But developing writing skills doesn't happen automatically, and there are significant challenges associated with offering writing courses and with individualized mentoring. We present a hybrid model in which students have the structural support of a course plus the personalized benefits of working one-on-one with faculty. To optimize these one-on-one interactions, the course uses BioTAP, the Biology Thesis Assessment Protocol, to structure engagement in scientific peer review. By assessing theses written by students who took this course and comparable students who did not, we found that our approach not only improved student writing but also helped faculty members across the department—not only those teaching the course—to work more effectively and efficiently with student writers. Students who enrolled in this course were more likely to earn highest honors than students who only worked one-on-one with faculty. Further, students in the course scored significantly better on all higher-order writing and critical-thinking skills assessed. PMID:21633069

Want to improve undergraduate thesis writing? Engage students and their faculty readers in scientific peer review.

PubMed

Reynolds, Julie A; Thompson, Robert J

2011-01-01

One of the best opportunities that undergraduates have to learn to write like a scientist is to write a thesis after participating in faculty-mentored undergraduate research. But developing writing skills doesn't happen automatically, and there are significant challenges associated with offering writing courses and with individualized mentoring. We present a hybrid model in which students have the structural support of a course plus the personalized benefits of working one-on-one with faculty. To optimize these one-on-one interactions, the course uses BioTAP, the Biology Thesis Assessment Protocol, to structure engagement in scientific peer review. By assessing theses written by students who took this course and comparable students who did not, we found that our approach not only improved student writing but also helped faculty members across the department--not only those teaching the course--to work more effectively and efficiently with student writers. Students who enrolled in this course were more likely to earn highest honors than students who only worked one-on-one with faculty. Further, students in the course scored significantly better on all higher-order writing and critical-thinking skills assessed.

What Makes a "Good Group"? Exploring the Characteristics and Performance of Undergraduate Student Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Channon, S. B.; Davis, R. C.; Goode, N. T.; May, S. A.

2017-01-01

Group work forms the foundation for much of student learning within higher education, and has many educational, social and professional benefits. This study aimed to explore the determinants of success or failure for undergraduate student teams and to define a "good group" through considering three aspects of group success: the task, the…

Mathematical Literacy in Plant Physiology Undergraduates: Results of Interventions Aimed at Improving Students' Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vila, Francisca; Sanz, Amparo

2013-01-01

The importance of mathematical literacy in any scientific career is widely recognized. However, various studies report lack of numeracy and mathematical literacy in students from various countries. In the present work, we present a detailed study of the mathematical literacy of Spanish undergraduate students of Biology enrolled in a Plant…

Campus Eco Tours: An Integrative & Interactive Field Project for Undergraduate Biology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boes, Katie E.

2013-01-01

Outdoor areas within or near college campuses offer an opportunity for biology students to observe the natural world and apply concepts from class. Here, I describe an engaging and integrative project where undergraduate non-major biology students work in teams to develop and present professional "eco tours." This project takes place over multiple…

Action Learning in Undergraduate Engineering Thesis Supervision

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stappenbelt, Brad

2017-01-01

In the present action learning implementation, twelve action learning sets were conducted over eight years. The action learning sets consisted of students involved in undergraduate engineering research thesis work. The concurrent study accompanying this initiative investigated the influence of the action learning environment on student approaches…

Selection of software for mechanical engineering undergraduates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheah, C. T.; Yin, C. S.; Halim, T.

A major problem with the undergraduate mechanical course is the limited exposure of students to software packages coupled with the long learning curve on the existing software packages. This work proposes the use of appropriate software packages for the entire mechanical engineering curriculum to ensure students get sufficient exposure real life design problems. A variety of software packages are highlighted as being suitable for undergraduate work in mechanical engineering, e.g. simultaneous non-linear equations; uncertainty analysis; 3-D modeling software with the FEA; analysis tools for the solution of problems in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, mechanical system design, and solid mechanics.

Introducing ethics to chemistry students in a "Research Experiences for Undergraduates" (REU) program.

PubMed

Hanson, Mark J

2015-01-01

A three-day ethics seminar introduced ethics to undergraduate environmental chemistry students in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. The seminar helped students become sensitive to and understand the ethical and values dimensions of their work as researchers. It utilized a variety of resources to supplement lectures and class discussion on a variety of issues. Students learned about the relevance of ethics to research, skills in moral reasoning, and the array of ethical issues facing various aspects of scientific research. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Hypothetical biotechnology companies: A role-playing student centered activity for undergraduate science students.

PubMed

Chuck, Jo-Anne

2011-01-01

Science students leaving undergraduate programs are entering the biotechnology industry where they are presented with issues which require integration of science content. Students find this difficult as through-out their studies, most content is limited to a single subdiscipline (e.g., biochemistry, immunology). In addition, students need knowledge of the ethical, economic, and legal frame work in which the industry operates. This article presents an approach to deliver these outcomes in a collaborative and active learning modality which promotes deep learning. In the model, groups of final year undergraduate students form hypothetical biotechnology companies and identify real issues of interest to industry, make integrative team decisions, use professional level technology, and develop appropriate communication skills. The final successful teaching paradigm was based on self reflection, observation, and student feedback to ensure appropriate attainment of content, group work skills and increased confidence in professional decision-making. It is these outcomes which will facilitate life long learning skills, a major outcome applicable for all tertiary education. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Developing Collaboration Skills in Team Undergraduate Research Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sturner, Kelly K.; Bishop, Pamela; Lenhart, Suzanne M.

2017-01-01

Interdisciplinary undergraduate research experiences often require students to work in teams with other students and researchers from different disciplines, creating a need for development of new skills in interdisciplinary collaboration. In this paper, we describe our unique efforts to mentor participants in developing these skills during our…

Enhancing Women's Undergraduate Experience in Physics and Chemistry Through a PUI/MRSEC Collaboration Emphasizing Materials Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldberg, Velda; Malliaras, George; Schember, Helene; Singhota, Nevjinder

2002-04-01

This three-year collaboration between a predominately undergraduate women's college (Simmons College) and a NSF-supported Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (the Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR)) provides opportunities for physics and chemistry students to participate in materials-related research throughout their undergraduate careers, have access to sophisticated instrumentation, and gain related work experience in industrial settings. As part of the project, undergraduate students are involved in all aspects of a collaborative Simmons/Cornell research program concentrating on degradation processes in electroluminescent materials. This work is particularly interesting because an understanding and control of these processes will ultimately influence the use of these materials in various types of consumer products.

A new model in teaching undergraduate research: A collaborative approach and learning cooperatives.

PubMed

O'Neal, Pamela V; McClellan, Lynx Carlton; Jarosinski, Judith M

2016-05-01

Forming new, innovative collaborative approaches and cooperative learning methods between universities and hospitals maximize learning for undergraduate nursing students in a research course and provide professional development for nurses on the unit. The purpose of this Collaborative Approach and Learning Cooperatives (CALC) Model is to foster working relations between faculty and hospital administrators, maximize small group learning of undergraduate nursing students, and promote onsite knowledge of evidence based care for unit nurses. A quality improvement study using the CALC Model was implemented in an undergraduate nursing research course at a southern university. Hospital administrators provided a list of clinical concerns based on national performance outcome measures. Undergraduate junior nursing student teams chose a clinical question, gathered evidence from the literature, synthesized results, demonstrated practice application, and developed practice recommendations. The student teams developed posters, which were evaluated by hospital administrators. The administrators selected several posters to display on hospital units for continuing education opportunity. This CALC Model is a systematic, calculated approach and an economically feasible plan to maximize personnel and financial resources to optimize collaboration and cooperative learning. Universities and hospital administrators, nurses, and students benefit from working together and learning from each other. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Discovery, Iteration, and Collaboration in Laboratory Courses on Undergraduates' Research Career Intentions Fully Mediated by Student Ownership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corwin, Lisa A.; Runyon, Christopher R.; Ghanem, Eman; Sandy, Moriah; Clark, Greg; Palmer, Gregory C.; Reichler, Stuart; Rodenbusch, Stacia E.; Dolan, Erin L.

2018-01-01

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide a promising avenue to attract a larger and more diverse group of students into research careers. CUREs are thought to be distinctive in offering students opportunities to make discoveries, collaborate, engage in iterative work, and develop a sense of ownership of their lab course…

Using Mung Beans as a Simple, Informative Means to Evaluate the Phytotoxicity of Engineered Nanomaterials and Introduce the Concept of Nanophytotoxicity to Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Shailise S.; Owen, Matthew J.; Pedersen, Brian P.; Liu, Gang-yu; Miller, William J. W.

2016-01-01

This work presents a lecture and lab series that focuses on teaching the concept of nanophytotoxicity to undergraduate students in a relatively simple experiment. In this experiment, students evaluated the phytotoxicity of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) using mung beans (i.e., "Vigna radiata") and industrially relevant, commercially…

Enticing Students to Enter into Undergraduate Research: The Instrumentality of an Undergraduate Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Behar-Horenstein, Linda S.; Johnson, Melissa L.

2010-01-01

To encourage students to seek research opportunities with campus faculty, one large university in the Southeast created a course entitled Science for All. A major goal of the course was to encourage students to work directly with faculty on research projects of their interest. Overall, the findings show that some of the participants began to…

The Undergraduate ALFALFA Team

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koopmann, Rebecca A.; Higdon, S.; Balonek, T. J.; Haynes, M. P.; Giovanelli, R.

2010-01-01

The Undergraduate ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA) Team is a consortium of 16 institutions engaged in an NSF-sponsored program to promote undergraduate research within the extragalactic ALFALFA HI blind survey project. In the first two years of the program, more than three dozen undergraduate students have been closely involved in ALFALFA science, observing, and data analysis. A total of 34 students have attended the annual undergraduate workshops at Arecibo Observatory, interacting with faculty, their peers, ALFALFA experts, and Arecibo staff in lectures, group activities, tours, and observing runs. Team faculty have supervised 26 summer research projects and 14 academic year (e.g., senior thesis) projects. Students and faculty have traveled to Arecibo Observatory for observing runs and to national meetings to present their results. Eight Team schools have joined to work collaboratively to analyze HI properties of galaxy groups within the ALFALFA volume. (See O'Brien et al., O'Malley et al., and Odekon et al. posters, this meeting.) Students involved in this program are learning how science is accomplished in a large collaboration while contributing to the scientific goals of a major legacy survey. This work has been supported by NSF grants AST-0724918, AST-0725267, and AST-0725380.

Computer Instructional Aids for Undergraduate Control Education. 1978 Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Volz, Richard A.; And Others

This work represents the development of computer tools for undergraduate students. Emphasis is on automatic control theory using hybrid and digital computation. The routine calculations of control system analysis are presented as students would use them on the University of Michigan's central digital computer and the time-shared graphic terminals…

A Framework for Teaching Social and Environmental Sustainability to Undergraduate Business Majors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brumagim, Alan L.; Cann, Cynthia W.

2012-01-01

The authors outline an undergraduate exercise to help students more fully understand the environmental and social justice aspects of business sustainability activities. A simple hierarchical framework, based on Maslow's (1943) work, was utilized to help the students understand, analyze, and judge the vast amount of corporate sustainability…

Can Flipping the Classroom Work? Evidence from Undergraduate Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casasola, Timothy; Nguyen, Tutrang; Warschauer, Mark; Schenke, Katerina

2017-01-01

Our study describes student outcomes from an undergraduate chemistry course that implemented a flipped format: a pedagogical model that consists of students watching recorded video lectures outside of the classroom and engaging in problem solving activities during class. We investigated whether (1) interest, study skills, and attendance as…

The Use of Technology in Group-Work: A Situational Analysis of Students' Reflective Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKinney, Pamela; Sen, Barbara

2016-01-01

Group work is a powerful constructivist pedagogy for facilitating students' personal and professional development, but it can be difficult for students to work together in an academic context. The assessed reflective writings of undergraduate students studying Information Management are used as data in this exploration of the group work situation…

Successful Undergraduate Research: Creating Win-Win-Win

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guswa, A. J.; Rhodes, A. L.

2003-12-01

Undergraduate involvement in research has the potential to advance science, enhance education, strengthen the research community, and raise general awareness of the importance and impact of scientific understanding. Rather than being competing objectives, these goals are synergistic. Effective research experiences are those that create win-win-win situations: benefits to the student, benefits to the project, and benefits to the scientific community. When structured appropriately, undergraduate research fits into a learner-centered paradigm that puts emphasis on student learning, rather than instructor teaching. Under such a paradigm the student and professor learn together, constructing knowledge by integrating information with critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, and use this knowledge to address issues in real-life contexts. Creating such a learning environment requires that the professor be vested in the outcome of the research, that the student take a meta-cognitive approach to the project and work at a level appropriate to her abilities, and that the student understand how her contribution fits into the project and the larger field. All of these factors lead to greater independence, confidence, and productivity on the part of the student. By providing undergraduates with these experiences, we introduce not only future scientists but also non-scientists to the excitement of discovery and the value of scientific research. Currently, we involve undergraduates in our research on the hydrology and geochemistry of a tropical montane cloud forest in Monteverde, Costa Rica. At the start of each student's involvement, we provide her with the big picture: our project goals, the relevant social issues, and the importance of watershed research. Each student then articulates her own educational and project objectives. Together, we choose tasks that match her skills and interests with our scholarly work. Specific activities range from literature review to experimental design to installation of field instrumentation to sampling and analysis of data. At the conclusion, each student produces a report on her work along with a written reflection on the value of her experience and how it affected her knowledge, values, and actions. In this learner-centered way, we look to create successful undergraduate research experiences that benefit the student, our project, and the broader scientific community.

Problem-based learning: an exploration of student opinions on its educational role in one UK pharmacy undergraduate curriculum.

PubMed

Wright, David; Wickham, Jane; Sach, Tracey

2014-06-01

Problem-based learning (PBL) was introduced into the first 3 years of the undergraduate degree course at the University of East Anglia (UEA) to both enhance the student learning experience and to enable it to meet external course accreditation criteria. Evidence to support both of these assertions is required. The objective was to determine student opinions on the value of PBL and the PBL learning process at one UK school of pharmacy. Utilising the professional accreditation criteria for UK schools of pharmacy a questionnaire was devised and piloted before being given to all UEA undergraduate pharmacy students for self-completion. The most appropriate method of dissemination was determined from a student-led focus group. A total of 201/329 (61.1%) students responded. The majority of students agreed that PBL improved their team working (83.1%), oral communication (89.1%) and problem-solving skills (61.7%). Additionally PBL improved students' ability to identify and address ethical dilemmas (74.5%) as well as enhancing their ability to manage their own learning (67.6%). Male students and those with a stated preference for team working were found to prefer PBL. Students generally believe that PBL develops a number of key skills and consequently inclusion of PBL alongside traditional teaching methods enables the school to meet a number of degree accreditation criteria. Male students, those who enjoyed team working and working with their current group were more positive about PBL. Further work is required to improve the experience for all students. © 2013 Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

College student mental health and quality of workplace relationships.

PubMed

Vaughn, Allison A; Drake, Richard R; Haydock, Sarah

2016-01-01

The goal of this study was to examine the effect of quality of workplace relationships on the mental health of employed undergraduates, with work-related variables as a potential mechanism. Participants were 170 employed students (76% female, average age = 19.9) recruited in March 2011. Most worked part-time and had been at their jobs over a year. Students were recruited from an undergraduate introductory psychology course and completed online surveys about the quality of workplace relationships, mental health (ie, somatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, and life satisfaction), and work-related variables (ie, job satisfaction, support, turnover and burnout). Students who reported having workplace relationships with co-occurring positivity and negativity had worse self-reported mental health outcomes than students reporting having wholly positive relationships. The relationship between workplace relationship quality and mental health was mediated by negative work-related variables. Workplace relationships-even in part-time employment settings-influence college students' mental health.

An Australian Study of Possible Selves Perceived by Undergraduate Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Dawn; Male, Sally A.

2017-01-01

In this study, we worked with second-year engineering students at an Australian university to examine previously identified threshold concepts within the theoretical framework of Possible Selves. Using workshops as the context for intensive work with students, students were encouraged to consider their future lives and work, including their…

Students' Perceptions about Peer Assessment for Writing: Their Origin and Impact on Revision Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, Julia H.; Schunn, Christian D.

2011-01-01

We investigate students' negative perceptions about an online peer assessment system for undergraduate writing across the disciplines. Specifically, we consider the nature of students' resistance to peer assessment; what factors influence that resistance; and how students' perceptions impact their revision work. We do this work by first examining…

Coming Out in Class: Challenges and Benefits of Active Learning in a Biology Classroom for LGBTQIA Students

PubMed Central

Cooper, Katelyn M.; Brownell, Sara E.

2016-01-01

As we transition our undergraduate biology classrooms from traditional lectures to active learning, the dynamics among students become more important. These dynamics can be influenced by student social identities. One social identity that has been unexamined in the context of undergraduate biology is the spectrum of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) identities. In this exploratory interview study, we probed the experiences and perceptions of seven students who identify as part of the LGBTQIA community. We found that students do not always experience the undergraduate biology classroom to be a welcoming or accepting place for their identities. In contrast to traditional lectures, active-learning classes increase the relevance of their LGBTQIA identities due to the increased interactions among students during group work. Finally, working with other students in active-learning classrooms can present challenges and opportunities for students considering their LGBTQIA identity. These findings indicate that these students’ LGBTQIA identities are affecting their experience in the classroom and that there may be specific instructional practices that can mitigate some of the possible obstacles. We hope that this work can stimulate discussions about how to broadly make our active-learning biology classes more inclusive of this specific population of students. PMID:27543636

Physics Problems Based on Up-to-Date Science and Technology.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Folan, Lorcan M.; Tsifrinovich, Vladimir I.

2007-03-01

We observe a huge chasm between up-to-date science and undergraduate education. The result of this chasm is that current student interest in undergraduate science is low. Consequently, students who are graduating from college are often unable to take advantage of the many opportunities offered by science and technology. Cutting edge science and technology frequently use the methods learned in undergraduate courses, but up-to-date applications are not normally used as examples or for problems in undergraduate courses. There are many physics problems which contain information about the latest achievements in science and technology. But typically, the level of these problems is too advanced for undergraduates. We created physics problems for undergraduate science and engineering students, which are based on the latest achievements in science and technology. These problems have been successfully used in our courses at the Polytechnic University in New York. We believe that university faculty may suggest such problems in order to provide information about the frontiers of science and technological, demonstrate the importance of undergraduate physics in solving contemporary problems and raise the interest of talented students in science. From the other side, our approach may be considered an indirect way for advertising advanced technologies, which undergraduate students and, even more important, future college graduates could use in their working lives.

Assessing ageist behaviours in undergraduate nursing students using the Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE) survey.

PubMed

Frost, Jane; Ranse, Kristen; Grealish, Laurie

2016-03-01

To describe the prevalence of ageist behaviours amongst first-year undergraduate nursing students. A cross-sectional survey design. The Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE) survey was administered to first-year undergraduate nursing students in one Australian university. One hundred and eighty-five students responded (response rate (RR) 85.3%). Up to 97.8% of students reported engaging in some ageist behaviours, with positive ageist behaviours ranked highest. Up to 87.5% of the cohort reported engaging in negative behaviours, such as talking slow and loud to an older person. Most students (63.2%) indicated that they would work in aged care in the future. Nursing students report engaging in ageist behaviours that can have a negative effect on their future relationships with older patients. The ROPE survey can be used to make collective ageist behaviours explicit to students. Combining explicit collective information on ageist behaviours with educational strategies is proposed to address ageism in undergraduate nursing curricula. © 2015 AJA Inc.

An Exploration of Students' Conceptions of Accounting Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sin, Samantha; Reid, Anna; Jones, Alan

2012-01-01

This study, undertaken at an Australian university, investigates undergraduate accounting students' conceptions of accounting work and discusses the relevance of such conceptions for the work readiness of graduates. Findings based on a phenomenographic investigation show variations in students' awareness of the functional and human aspects of…

Effectively using urban landscapes to teach biodiversity and echohydrology for introductory environmental science classes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pondell, C.; van Doorn, A.; MacAvoy, S. E.

2017-12-01

Urban environments offer students interesting opportunities to explore and examine how human modified landscapes influence biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and water quality. Students demanding applied field experiences from their undergraduate environmental science (ENVS) programs can be well served in urban settings. Here, we present strategies for integrating urban areas into the undergraduate field experience. Urban locations provide an opportunity for a different type of local "field-work" than would otherwise be available. In the intro level undergraduate ENVS class, we use our campus, the surrounding neighborhood and city as well as a nearby National Park for field exercises. Here we share lesson plans for field activities that can be completed with incoming undergraduate students, and show how these activities help students gain quantitative and investigative competency.

Teaching Old French Literature to Undergraduates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Harry E.

As a prelude to graduate-level work for French majors, medieval studies are proposed for undergraduate students. Problems inherent in the establishment of the undergraduate program are identified with some suggested solutions. Concepts related to historical grammar, teaching materials, literature, and linguistics are developed. A logical course…

What's Happening in "Their Space"? Exploring the Borders of Formal and Informal Learning with Undergraduate Students of Education in the Age of Mobile Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, Jane; Jones, Mark

2015-01-01

The changing nature of teaching and learning in an age of accessible technologies provides challenges and opportunities for the design of learning events. Working with a sample of undergraduate students of education in one UK higher education institution we use an exploratory, qualitative approach to investigate students' spontaneous uses of their…

A Teaching Strategy with a Focus on Argumentation to Improve Undergraduate Students' Ability to Read Research Articles

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Lacum, Edwin B.; Ossevoort, Miriam A.; Goedhart, Martin J.

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate a teaching strategy designed to teach first-year undergraduate life sciences students at a research university how to learn to read authentic research articles. Our approach--based on the work done in the field of genre analysis and argumentation theory--means that we teach students to read research articles by…

Robotics Laboratory to Enhance the STEM Research Experience

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-30

the Chemistry Program has a student working on the design and development of a Stirling Engine , which the student is planning to construct using...scale): Number of graduating undergraduates funded by a DoD funded Center of Excellence grant for Education, Research and Engineering : The number of... engineering or technology fields: Student Metrics This section only applies to graduating undergraduates supported by this agreement in this reporting

REU Students' Initial Perceptions of Scientific Ethics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Sytil; Zollman, Dean

2010-10-01

One goal of undergraduate research, particularly Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs, is to help students become aware of the importance of ethical conduct in research. The Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE) indicates that biology students believe they learn more about ethical conduct from their research experiences than physics students. Motivated by this, we initiated a study of both biology and physics REU students at Kansas State University consisting of pre- and post-interviews regarding their understanding of ethics with results to be compared to the SURE. This paper presents the students' initial perceptions (from the pre-interview) of how ethical issues impact science in general as well as their own specific work. We also discuss the differences in the interview responses of the two groups.

Work Placement in UK Undergraduate Programmes. Student Expectations and Experiences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leslie, David; Richardson, Anne

1999-01-01

A survey of 189 pre- and 106 post-sandwich work-experience students in tourism suggested that potential benefits were not being maximized. Students needed better preparation for the work experience, especially in terms of their expectations. The work experience needed better design, and the role of industry tutors needed clarification. (SK)

Generation Me or Meaning? Exploring Meaningful Work in College Students and Career Counselors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allan, Blake A.; Owens, Rhea L.; Duffy, Ryan D.

2017-01-01

Assessing the value of meaningful work among undergraduate students is important for guiding career counseling, especially because today's students are often stereotyped as entitled and uninterested in prosocial or meaningful work. Additionally, understanding the value of meaningful work from the perspectives of career counselors would clarify if…

Understanding Undergraduate Sports Coaching Students' Development and Learning: The Necessity of Uncertainty

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Martin-Silva, L.; Fonseca, J.; Jones, R. L.; Morgan, K.; Mesquita, I.

2015-01-01

Despite recent attention, research is yet to adequately focus on sports coaches' intellectual development as a consequence of their formal learning experiences. Drawing on the work of Perry, the aim of this article was to explore how the intellectual development of undergraduate sports coaching students was affected by the social pedagogical…

Exploring the Research Mindset and Information-Seeking Behaviors of Undergraduate Music Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Joe C.; Johnstone, Jennifer

2018-01-01

This article examines the mindset and process of undergraduate music majors conducting research in their discipline. While working with students in a writing-intensive music history class, the authors conducted several surveys, focus groups, and task-based assessments. Results indicated that most were overconfident in their research abilities,…

Undergraduate Management Students' Perceptions of What Makes a Successful Virtual Group

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gapp, Rod; Fisher, Ron

2012-01-01

Purpose: There are a number of factors that are essential to understanding the pedagogy, learning and knowledge requirements of developing virtual platforms for delivering effective course interaction using the World Wide Web (the web). The purpose of this paper is to focus on web-based group work amongst undergraduate management students, during…

Incorporating an Authentic Learning Strategy into Undergraduate Apparel and Merchandising Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ma, Yoon Jin; Lee, Hyun-Hwa

2012-01-01

An authentic learning strategy fostering students' active learning was studied using the scenario of a real-world project. Students from two different classes at two different universities worked as clients or consultants to develop an apparel sourcing strategy. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from 44 undergraduates enrolled in…

Development of Research Professionalism in Advanced Undergraduate and Beginning Graduate Students. Working Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, John J.

The paper describes an individualized approach to teaching social science research methodology. The approach is intended to make psychology research in college level courses an exciting and rewarding experience for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. Advantages of this approach over more traditional approaches include that it requires…

Undergraduate Internship Attachment in Accounting: The Interns Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Muhamad, Rusnah; Yahya, Yazkhiruni; Shahimi, Suhaily; Mahzan, Nurmazilah

2009-01-01

Increasingly, internship has become an essential component of the undergraduate programme. It provides students with a smooth transition from the on-campus environment to the working environment. It is often viewed as a "win-win" situation for both the intern and the intern's employers. Students are able to learn about the profession and…

Affecting Factors and Outcome on Intermittent Internet Pulling Behavior in Taiwan's Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Hui-Jen; Lay, Yun-Long

2011-01-01

Nowadays people's lives heavily rely on Internet facilities. Internet users generally have constant Internet connectivity and intermittently click on sites they want to access even amidst studying or working. In this study, we sought to examine the factors affecting intermittent Internet pulling behavior on undergraduate students. Furthermore, the…

So These Numbers Really Mean Something? A Role Playing Scenario-Based Approach to the Undergraduate Instrumental Analysis Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grannas, Amanda M.; Lagalante, Anthony F.

2010-01-01

A new curricular approach in our undergraduate second-year instrumental analysis laboratory was implemented. Students work collaboratively on scenarios in diverse fields including pharmaceuticals, forensics, gemology, art conservation, and environmental chemistry. Each laboratory section (approximately 12 students) is divided into three groups…

Teaching Bioprocess Engineering to Undergraduates: Multidisciplinary Hands-On Training in a One-Week Practical Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henkel, Marius; Zwick, Michaela; Beuker, Janina; Willenbacher, Judit; Baumann, Sandra; Oswald, Florian; Neumann, Anke; Siemann-Herzberg, Martin; Syldatk, Christoph; Hausmann, Rudolf

2015-01-01

Bioprocess engineering is a highly interdisciplinary field of study which is strongly benefited by practical courses where students can actively experience the interconnection between biology, engineering, and physical sciences. This work describes a lab course developed for 2nd year undergraduate students of bioprocess engineering and related…

Tracking Student Participants from a REU Site with NAE Grand Challenges as the Common Theme

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burkett, Susan; Dye, Tabatha; Johnson, Pauline

2015-01-01

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) Grand Challenges provides the theme for this NSFfunded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site. Research topics, with their broad societal impact, allow undergraduate students from multiple engineering disciplines and computer science to work together on exciting and critical problems. The…

Examining Student Work in the Preparation of Preservice Elementary School Teachers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Busi, Rich; Jacobbe, Tim

2014-01-01

This study investigated preservice teachers' perceptions of their knowledge and development resulting from analyzing student work in an undergraduate mathematics education course. Participants were given opportunities to view and analyze student work examples that portrayed errors in thinking as well as alternative solution methods. Thirty-eight…

Activity Coefficients of Acetone-Chloroform Solutions: An Undergraduate Experiment. Undergraduate Experiment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozog, J. Z.; Morrison, J. A.

1983-01-01

Presents information, laboratory procedures, and results of an undergraduate experiment in which activity coefficients for a two-component liquid-vapor system are determined. Working in pairs, students can perform the experiment with 10 solutions in a given three-hour laboratory period. (Author/JN)

Controversy in the classroom: How eighth-grade and undergraduate students reason about tradeoffs of genetically modified food

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seethaler, Sherry Lynn

Current issues in science provide a rich context for learning because they can involve complex tradeoffs that cut across traditional disciplinary boundaries. Despite this potential benefit, and the need for citizens to make decisions about such issues, science controversy remains rare in the classroom. Consequently, there is much unknown about how students make sense of complex, multidisciplinary science. This research examined eighth-grade (n = 190) and undergraduate (n = 9) students' reasoning about tradeoffs in the genetically modified food controversy (main study). To extend the findings from the main study, undergraduate students' reasoning was followed as they learned about ten additional science controversies (extension). The studies took place in the context of curricula designed on the basis of the Scaffolded Knowledge Integration Framework, which posits a set of design principles that help students form a rich, integrated network of ideas about a topic. Two new methodologies were developed for this work. The Embedded Perspective of Science Controversy was used to study students' integration of content in their written arguments (main study) and oral and written questions (extension). The Perspective views science controversy as a set of nested levels, where tradeoffs are one of the levels, but connecting to other levels (underlying scientific details, bigger picture context, etc.) is important for the weighing of tradeoffs. A scheme based on Toulmin's (1958) work on argumentation provided a way of comparing the structure of students' arguments. As indicated by pre and post test scores, the curriculum helped both eighth-grade students (t = 11.7, p < 0.0001) and undergraduates (t = 13.9, p < 0.0001) learn about genetically modified food. In their final papers, both eighth-grade and undergraduate students presented evidence for and against their positions, in contrast with prior literature showing individuals have difficulty coming up with evidence against their positions. The students were also moving across the levels in the Embedded Perspective, also in contrast with work that has shown individuals fail to consider tradeoffs in an appropriate context. There were differences in eighth-grade and undergraduate students' reasoning, including how well they weighed tradeoffs. These differences were linked to differences in content knowledge, metacognition, and students' views of what constitutes good evidence.

Research Experience for Undergraduates: A Non-Traditional Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrick, T. L.; Miller, K. C.; Hagedorn, E.; Velasco, A. A.

2012-12-01

Research experiences for undergraduates (REUs) have been documented to be an effective way to increase student retention in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by exposing students to research. REUs typically run during the summer months, allowing students to travel to different universities away from their home institutions. We created an REU program, Pathways Research Experience for undergraduates Program (PREP) that ran during the fall and spring academic semesters and focused on the geosciences. These students were provided with a monthly stipend to work with a research mentor, and they were required to attend a weekly professional development meeting led by the Pathways PIs and the program coordinator. The weekly training program focused on research skills, presentation skills, and graduate school preparation. Since a majority of students at University of Texas at El Paso (a Hispanic Serving Institution with 70% Hispanic and 10% Mexican students) must work outside the university while attending college, the stipends enabled students to remain on campus to "work", with the hope that this may contribute to their overall academic success. By spending more time on campus, the participants were able to interact more with faculty and other students, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Participants were chosen on a basis of GPA and the contents of an application that included a statement of purpose, a resume, a transcript, and at least one letter of recommendation. Once the student was selected, they were required to find a mentor and research project. Through an analysis of surveys, we have found that participants enjoy the meetings, which gave them a sense of belonging to a group, and an additional source of academic support. Participants were also expected to take part in outreach activities as part of our goal to create a geosciences network in El Paso. With this REU approach, we believe that our success rate suggests that this approach works well in Hispanic Serving Institutions: 51% of our participants have gone on to graduate school, 22% are still undergraduates, 17% are unknown, 5% are in industry and 5% are teaching.

The impact of collaborative groups versus individuals in undergraduate inquiry-based astronomy laboratory learning exercises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sibbernsen, Kendra J.

One of the long-standing general undergraduate education requirements common to many colleges and universities is a science course with a laboratory experience component. One of the objectives frequently included in the description of most of these courses is that a student will understand the nature and processes of scientific inquiry. However, recent research has shown that learners in traditional undergraduate science laboratory environments are not developing a sufficiently meaningful understanding of scientific inquiry. Recently, astronomy laboratory activities have been developed that intentionally scaffold a student from guided activities to open inquiry ones and preliminary results show that these laboratories are successful for supporting students to understand the nature of scientific inquiry (Slater, S., Slater, T. F., & Shaner, 2008). This mixed-method quasi-experimental study was designed to determine how students in an undergraduate astronomy laboratory increase their understanding of inquiry working in relative isolation compared to working in small collaborative learning groups. The introductory astronomy laboratory students in the study generally increased their understanding of scientific inquiry over the course of the semester and this held true similarly for students working in groups and students working individually in the laboratories. This was determined by the examining the change in responses from the pretest to the posttest administration of the Views of Scientific Inquiry (VOSI) survey, the increase in scores on laboratory exercises, and observations from the instructor. Because the study was successful in determining that individuals in the astronomy laboratory do as well at understanding inquiry as those who complete their exercises in small groups, it would be appropriate to offer these inquiry-based exercises in an online format.

What is the perception of biological risk by undergraduate nursing students?

PubMed Central

Moreno-Arroyo, Mª Carmen; Puig-Llobet, Montserrat; Falco-Pegueroles, Anna; Lluch-Canut, Maria Teresa; García, Irma Casas; Roldán-Merino, Juan

2016-01-01

Abstract Objective: to analyze undergraduate nursing students' perception of biological risk and its relationship with their prior practical training. Method: a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate nursing students enrolled in clinical practice courses in the academic year 2013-2014 at the School of Nursing at the University of Barcelona. Variables: sociodemographic variables, employment, training, clinical experience and other variables related to the assessment of perceived biological risk were collected. Both a newly developed tool and the Dimensional Assessment of Risk Perception at the worker level scale (Escala de Evaluación Dimensional del Riesgo Percibido por el Trabajador, EDRP-T) were used. Statistical analysis: descriptive and univariate analysis were used to identify differences between the perception of biological risk of the EDRP-T scale items and sociodemographic variables. Results: students without prior practical training had weaker perceptions of biological risk compared to students with prior practical training (p=0.05 and p=0.04, respectively). Weaker perceptions of biological risk were found among students with prior work experience. Conclusion: practical training and work experience influence the perception of biological risk among nursing students. PMID:27384468

Internationalizing undergraduate psychology education: Trends, techniques, and technologies.

PubMed

Takooshian, Harold; Gielen, Uwe P; Plous, Scott; Rich, Grant J; Velayo, Richard S

2016-01-01

How can we best internationalize undergraduate psychology education in the United States and elsewhere? This question is more timely than ever, for at least 2 reasons: Within the United States, educators and students seek greater contact with psychology programs abroad, and outside the United States, psychology is growing apace, with educators and students in other nations often looking to U.S. curricula and practices as models. In this article, we outline international developments in undergraduate psychology education both in the United States and abroad, and analyze the dramatic rise of online courses and Internet-based technologies from an instructional and international point of view. Building on the recommendations of the 2005 APA Working Group on Internationalizing the Undergraduate Psychology Curriculum, we then advance 14 recommendations on internationalizing undergraduate psychology education--for students, faculty, and institutions. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Study on diversified cultivation orientation and pattern of optoelectronic major undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhiying

2017-08-01

To improve the research quality preparation for graduate study and looking for job competition ability of undergraduates students, the education orientation objective need to be explicit. Universities need develop undergraduates' cultivation plan according to students' classification. Based on analysis of students export characteristic, there will be corresponding cultivation plan. Keep tracking study during the cultivation plan implantation process, the Curriculum system and related manage documents are revised corresponding to exist problems. There are mainly three kinds of undergraduates' career direction plan for opto-electronic major undergraduates. In addition to the vast majority university graduates opting for direct employment, nearly one third of university students choose to take part in the postgraduate entrance exams and other further education abroad, and also one-tenth choose their own businesses, university chooses are diversified. The exports are further studying as graduates, working and study abroad. Because national defense students are also recruited, the cultivation plan will be diversified to four types. For students, who go to work directly after graduation, the "Excellence engineers plan" is implemented to enhance their practice ability. For students, who will study further as graduate student, the scientific innovation research ability cultivation is paid more attention to make good foundation for their subsequent development. For students, who want to study abroad after graduation, the bilingual teaching method is introduced, and the English environment is built. We asked foreign professionals to give lectures for students. The knowledge range is extending, and the exchange and cooperation chance is provided at the same time. And the cultivation plan is revised during docking with Universities abroad. For national defense students, combat training and other defense theory courses are added to make them familiar with force knowledge. And with national defense students' excellence engineer plan, more army practice chance is provided. The students can integrate into army life much faster. The advantages of national defense students are much more highlighted. The graduates can serve motherland better than before. It is shown from the practice process that the revised cultivation plan is suitable for diversified undergraduates. And the education result is improved in a large amount consequently.

Out of the Comfort Zone: Enhancing Work-Based Learning about Employability through Student Reflection on Work Placements

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eden, Sally

2014-01-01

This paper examines the work-based learning about employability reported by 26 undergraduate Geography and Environmental Management students on part-time, unpaid work placements. The students' "reflective essays" emphasized their learning more in terms of emotional challenges than in terms of skills, as being pushed out of their…

Strategies for involving undergraduates in mentored research (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marin-Spiotta, E.

2013-12-01

Early engagement in research can transform the undergraduate experience and has a positive effect on minority student recruitment to graduate school. Multiple strategies used to involve undergraduates in research at a large R1 university are presented. During my first four years as an assistant professor, my lab has hosted 14 undergraduates, 9 of them women and 4 of them Hispanic. Institutional support has been critical for undergraduate student involvement. UW supports a research program for incoming underrepresented students. An advantage of this program is very early research participation, with the opportunity for long-term training. One disadvantage is that many first year students have not yet identified their interests. The Biology major also requires students to complete an independent project, which culminates in a research symposium. Competitive research fellowships and grants are available for students to conduct work under faculty mentorship. We have been successful at keeping students on even when their majors are very different from our research discipline, mainly by providing flexibility and a welcoming lab environment. This mentoring culture is strongly fostered by graduate student interest and involvement with all undergraduates as well as active mentor training. By offering multiple pathways for involvement, we can accommodate students' changing schedules and priorities as well as changing lab needs. Students can volunteer, receive course credit, conduct an independent project or honors thesis, contribute to an existing project, do lab work or write a literature review, work with one mentor or on multiple projects. We often provide employment over the summer and subsequent semesters for continuing students. Some will increase their commitment over time and work more closely with me. Others reduce down to a few hours a week as they gain experience elsewhere. Most students stay multiple semesters and multiple years because they 'enjoy being in the lab.' All undergrads are encouraged to participate in weekly lab meetings, are added to our email list, portrayed on our website, and included in social and professional activities, including meetings with visiting researchers and other campus labs. Beyond receiving research skills training and professional development, students gain a social community beyond their dorms and classes as well as peer and senior mentors in the lab. In a campus with 30,000 students, building a personal relationship with senior researchers and faculty provides an invaluable benefit for students' careers. We have hosted three Puerto Rican students to participate in an intensive summer research program, which provides professional preparation for graduate school. Much of our research is based in Puerto Rico, so we meet our students there and take them to our sites, which provides them with training in field skills as well as a context for their summer lab work at UW. We have learned the importance of setting out clear expectations at the beginning of each project. While getting students excited about our own research field is personally satisfying, we are learning to be more flexible in our measures of student success. Students can enjoy doing research for research sake while others enjoy it as another job. It is important that they all receive mentoring and learn about opportunities appropriate to their own career choices.

Development of concept-based physiology lessons for biomedical engineering undergraduate students.

PubMed

Nelson, Regina K; Chesler, Naomi C; Strang, Kevin T

2013-06-01

Physiology is a core requirement in the undergraduate biomedical engineering curriculum. In one or two introductory physiology courses, engineering students must learn physiology sufficiently to support learning in their subsequent engineering courses and careers. As preparation for future learning, physiology instruction centered on concepts may help engineering students to further develop their physiology and biomedical engineering knowledge. Following the Backward Design instructional model, a series of seven concept-based lessons was developed for undergraduate engineering students. These online lessons were created as prerequisite physiology training to prepare students to engage in a collaborative engineering challenge activity. This work is presented as an example of how to convert standard, organ system-based physiology content into concept-based content lessons.

Teaming introductory biology and research labs in support of undergraduate education.

PubMed

Heitz, Jean G; Giffen, Cynthia J

2010-09-01

Numerous studies have indicated the need to improve the general level of science literacy among students and to increase the number of students electing science as a career. One mechanism for doing this is to involve undergraduates in research. This article reports how our Introductory Biology 152 course has worked synergistically with mentors in research labs on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus to increase undergraduate retention in research and at the same time improve their higher order inquiry and communication skills.

Competencies Needed in Oral Communication in English among Thai Undergraduate Public Relations Students: A Substantial Gap between Expectations and Reality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pattanapichet, Fasawang; Chinokul, Sumalee

2011-01-01

This article investigates the competencies needed for oral communication in English among Thai undergraduate public relations students for handling public relations job interviews and performing entry-level public relations work. To identify these competencies, the study identified and involved all of the stakeholders in the data reliability…

Communication, and Team-Working Skills in Second-Year Undergraduate Chemistry Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mc Goldrick, Niamh B.; Marzec, Bartosz; Scully, P. Noelle; Draper, Sylvia M.

2013-01-01

Since 2002, a multidisciplinary program has been used to encourage science students to build on their chemical knowledge and to appreciate how it applies to the world around them. The program is interactive and instills a new set of core learning skills that are often underrepresented in undergraduate curricula, namely, cooperative learning,…

Teaching Transformational Leadership to Undergraduate Agricultural Leadership Students: Using the Personality Trait of Agreeableness to Improve Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamm, Kevan W.; Carter, Hannah S.; Stedman, Nicole L. P.; Lamm, Alexa J.

2014-01-01

Training undergraduate agricultural students to be strong, positive leaders will have a large impact on the industries they work within and therefore should be of utmost importance to agricultural educators. Transformational leaders (TL) tend to have higher performing, more satisfied teams; consequently, development of TL characteristics should…

Cognitive Computer Tools in the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Calculus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Borchelt, Nathan

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of a cognitive computer tool by undergraduate calculus students as they worked cooperatively on mathematical tasks. Specific attention was given to levels of cognitive demand in which the students were engaged as they completed in-class labs with the assistance of MathCAD. Participants were assigned…

Turning an Undergraduate Class into a Professional Research Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Hasok

2005-01-01

I describe here an ongoing pilot project aimed at a full integration of teaching and research at the undergraduate level. Our chief innovation is the mechanism of inheritance: each year students receive a body of work produced by the previous group of students and make improvements and additions to it; this process can be repeated until…

Term-Time Employment and the Academic Performance of Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wenz, Michael; Yu, Wei-Choun

2010-01-01

This article outlines a framework for evaluating the decision of undergraduate students to engage in term-time employment as a method of financing higher education. We then examine the impact of work on academic achievement and find that employment has modest negative effects on student grades, with a grade point average (GPA) falling by 0.007…

Predicting Performance in an Advanced Undergraduate Geological Field Camp Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dykas, Matthew J.; Valentino, David W.

2016-01-01

This study examined the factors that contribute to students' success in conducting geological field work. Undergraduate students (n = 49; 51% female; mean age = 22 y) who were enrolled in the 5-wk State University of New York at Oswego (SUNY Oswego) geology field program volunteered to participate in this study. At the beginning of the field…

"I Was Told It Was Going to Be Hard Work but I Wasn't Told It Was Going to Be This Much Work": The Experiences and Aspirations of Undergraduate Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Emma; Cooke, Sandra

2011-01-01

The recruitment and training of scientists is an area of international concern. Much of the research and policy focus around this issue in the UK has been on how science is taught in schools and in particular on the structure of the school science curriculum. Much less attention has been devoted to the undergraduate student experience and the…

Undergraduate students' development of social, cultural, and human capital in a networked research experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, Jennifer Jo; Conaway, Evan; Dolan, Erin L.

2016-12-01

Recent calls for reform in undergraduate biology education have emphasized integrating research experiences into the learning experiences of all undergraduates. Contemporary science research increasingly demands collaboration across disciplines and institutions to investigate complex research questions, providing new contexts and models for involving undergraduates in research. In this study, we examined the experiences of undergraduates participating in a multi-institution and interdisciplinary biology research network. Unlike the traditional apprenticeship model of research, in which a student participates in research under the guidance of a single faculty member, students participating in networked research have the opportunity to develop relationships with additional faculty and students working in other areas of the project, at their own and at other institutions. We examined how students in this network develop social ties and to what extent a networked research experience affords opportunities for students to develop social, cultural, and human capital. Most studies of undergraduate involvement in science research have focused on documenting student outcomes rather than elucidating how students gain access to research experiences or how elements of research participation lead to desired student outcomes. By taking a qualitative approach framed by capital theories, we have identified ways that undergraduates utilize and further develop various forms of capital important for success in science research. In our study of the first 16 months of a biology research network, we found that undergraduates drew upon a combination of human, cultural, and social capital to gain access to the network. Within their immediate research groups, students built multidimensional social ties with faculty, peers, and others, yielding social capital that can be drawn upon for information, resources, and support. They reported developing cultural capital in the form of learning to think and work like a scientist—a scientific habitus. They reported developing human capital in the forms of technical, analytical, and communication skills in scientific research. Most of the students had little, direct interaction with network members in other research groups and thus developed little cross-institutional capital. The exception to this trend was at one institution that housed three research groups. Because proximity facilitated shared activities, students across research groups at this institution developed cross-lab ties with faculty and peers through which they developed social, cultural, and human capital. An important long-term concern is whether the capital students have developed will help them access opportunities in science beyond the network. At this point, many undergraduates have had limited opportunities to actually draw on capital beyond the network. Nevertheless, a number of students demonstrated awareness that they had developed resources that they could use in other scientific contexts.

Fear, an unpleasant experience among undergraduate midwifery students: A qualitative study.

PubMed

Ahmadi, Golnoosh; Shahriari, Mohsen; Kohan, Shahnaz; Keyvanara, Mahmood

2018-03-01

Fear is a normal emotion that can evoke an appropriate response when facing threat. However, sometimes the consequences of fear can lead to responses that are maladaptive. Fear can have negative effects on learning. Research has focused on the experience of fear and its consequences among midwifery students during their undergraduate program. A qualitative analysis was conducted of interviews with ten midwifery students in different years of an undergraduate program. The data was analyzed through a content analysis approach. Two main categories and five subcategories emerged. The first category, areas of fear in midwifery students, consisted of the following subcategories: fear of doing harm, fear of encountering their first childbirth, and fear of penalties. The second category, consequences of fear, consisted of the following subcategories: general physical and psychological consequences and interference in adopting the professional role. In this study, fear not only raised the students' stress levels thereby, leading to physical and psychological issues but also hindered their adoption of their professional role. These findings will potentially inform support and retention strategies within midwifery undergraduate programs in the future. Maternity care in Iran is provided mainly within a medical model of care. The majority of women give birth in hospital, where care is provided by midwives who work under the direction and supervision of an obstetrician. Midwives within the medically dominated system lack autonomy and have very little opportunity to gain experience in providing continuity of care for women as midwife-led models of care are rare. This practice context means that midwifery students have very little opportunity to gain experience in autonomous midwifery practice. Midwifery undergraduate program in Iran is for four years. Admission to the undergraduate program is implemented via a direct entry route. Nearly all of the midwifery students are school leavers with their first exposure to university and hospital systems. Most of the midwifery students have chosen this career without sufficient understanding about midwifery and the work that it involves (Arfaee et al., 2008). The midwifery undergraduate program comprises theoretical and clinical elements. After the first semester, students enter clinical settings under the supervision of their clinical instructors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is That Graduate Degree Worth It? Comparing the Recruitment of Undergraduate and Graduate Degree Job Applicants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, R. M.

2001-12-01

One could argue from a business prospective that colleges and universities are not working hard enough to train students for life in the business and civic world, at either the undergraduate or graduate levels. What is it that employers are looking for in students? How different are the skills and attributes employers are looking for between undergraduate and graduate students? How unique are the geosciences in this respect? At the undergraduate level recruiters have spoken loud and clear about what they want. According to the dean of the business school here at the University of Arizona, recruiters at the undergraduate degree level in business base less than half of their hiring decision on specific content knowledge in the discipline, and correspondingly more than half on the so-called soft skills ... ability to apply knowledge in new situations, ability to think critically, ability to communicate with others in both written and oral forms, ability to work in teams, ability to work with a diverse set of employees and customers (especially, but not limited to, the global job market), etc. How true is this at the graduate level, where students have typically spent 4-6 years specializing in a discipline? Is there a set of fundamental knowledge that employers are looking for at the graduate level? Are the so-called soft skills correspondingly less important? I will present results from a survey of graduate programs and industry recruiters addressing these questions, and highlight the areas of overlap and difference between undergraduates and graduates looking for jobs. I will concentrate specifically on jobs in the oil industry and on both masters and Ph.D. programs.

Making a Virtue out of a Necessity: Part Time Work as a Site for Undergraduate Work-Based Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Sue; Ogilvie, Chrissy

2010-01-01

Purpose: This paper seeks to challenge the view that student part time employment detracts from academic attainment and presents evidence that when linked to formal undergraduate study provides rich learning experiences. It also explores the extent to which formerly accepted pre-requisites for work based learning (WBL) apply in this model and how…

Assessing Student Work at Disciplinary Crossroads

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mansilla, Veronica Boix

2005-01-01

Undergraduate programs across the nation are increasingly offering interdisciplinary study programs as markers of their commitment to educate individuals for the demands of contemporary life. Yet, as students engage in interdisciplinary learning projects, an unaddressed question looms large: how to adequately assess student interdisciplinary work.…

Predictors of Political Activism among Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swank, Eric W.

2012-01-01

This article identifies factors inspiring greater political participation among undergraduate social work students (N=125). When separating students into self-identified liberals and conservatives, the study uses resource, mobilizing, and framing variables to explain greater levels of activism. After several multivariate regressions, this article…

The Undergraduate ALFALFA Team: Outcomes for Over 250 Undergraduate Participants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troischt, Parker; Koopmann, Rebecca A.; Haynes, Martha P.; ALFALFA Team

2016-01-01

The NSF-sponsored Undergraduate ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA) Team (UAT) is a consortium of 19 institutions founded to promote undergraduate research and faculty development within the extragalactic ALFALFA HI blind survey project and follow-up programs. In this talk we present outcomes for the more than 250 undergraduate students who have who have participated in the program during the 8 years of funding. 40% of these students have been women and members of underrepresented groups. To date 148 undergraduate students have attended annual workshops at Arecibo Observatory, interacting with faculty, graduate students, their peers, and Arecibo staff in lectures, group activities, tours, and observing runs. Team faculty have supervised 159 summer research projects and 120 academic year (e.g., senior thesis) projects. 68 students have traveled to Arecibo Observatory for observing runs and 55 have presented their results at national meetings such as the AAS. Through participation in the UAT, students are made aware of career paths they may not have previously considered. More than 90% of alumni are attending graduate school and/or pursuing a career in STEM. 42% of those pursuing graduate degrees in Physics or Astronomy are women. This work has been supported by NSF grants AST-0724918/0902211, AST-075267/0903394, AST-0725380, and AST-1211005

Remediating lapses in professionalism among undergraduate pre-clinical medical students in an Asian Institution: a multimodal approach.

PubMed

Findyartini, Ardi; Sudarsono, Nani Cahyani

2018-05-02

Fostering personal identity formation and professional development among undergraduate medical students is challenging. Based on situated learning, experiential learning and role-modelling frameworks, a six-week course was developed to remediate lapses in professionalism among undergraduate medical students. This study aims to explore the students' perceptions of their personal identity formation and professional development following completion of the course. This qualitative study, adopting a phenomenological design, uses the participants' reflective diaries as primary data sources. In the pilot course, field work, role-model shadowing and discussions with resource personnel were conducted. A total of 14 students were asked to provide written self-reflections. Consistent, multi-source feedback was provided throughout the course. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify the key processes of personal and professional development among the students during remediation. Three main themes were revealed. First, students highlighted the strength of small group activities in helping them 'internalise the essential concepts'. Second, the role-model shadowing supported their understanding of 'what kind of medical doctors they would become'. Third, the field work allowed them to identify 'what the "noble values" are and how to implement them in daily practice'. By implementing multimodal activities, the course has high potential in supporting personal identity formation and professional development among undergraduate pre-clinical medical students, as well as remediating their lapses in professionalism. However, there are challenges in implementing the model among a larger student population and in documenting the long-term impact of the course.

Using a telehealth service delivery approach to working with an undergraduate student with a traumatic brain injury: A case study.

PubMed

Quaco, Carrie

2017-09-14

Project Career is a five year NIDILRR-funded interprofessional demonstration project aimed to improve the academic and career success of undergraduate students who have a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The information for this case study was collected and synthesized by an occupational therapy graduate student intern for one of the Project Career sites in collaboration with the Technology and Employment Coordinator for the site, the co-PI for Project Career, and the student participant. A case study is presented to provide an understanding of one of the Project Career participant's experience using a telehealth service delivery approach to working with Project Career for academic and career support. The participant's case notes, direct communication with the intern, and outcome assessments were used to perform a qualitative analysis. The participant reported that he believed Project Career was an effective support service for him. However, the participant's initial and 6-month outcome assessment scores are inconclusive regarding improvements in his academic abilities and satisfaction with academic and career attainment. Further research on the effectiveness of using a telehealth service delivery approach to working with undergraduate students with a TBI is needed.

Effects of Discovery, Iteration, and Collaboration in Laboratory Courses on Undergraduates' Research Career Intentions Fully Mediated by Student Ownership.

PubMed

Corwin, Lisa A; Runyon, Christopher R; Ghanem, Eman; Sandy, Moriah; Clark, Greg; Palmer, Gregory C; Reichler, Stuart; Rodenbusch, Stacia E; Dolan, Erin L

2018-06-01

Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide a promising avenue to attract a larger and more diverse group of students into research careers. CUREs are thought to be distinctive in offering students opportunities to make discoveries, collaborate, engage in iterative work, and develop a sense of ownership of their lab course work. Yet how these elements affect students' intentions to pursue research-related careers remain unexplored. To address this knowledge gap, we collected data on three design features thought to be distinctive of CUREs (discovery, iteration, collaboration) and on students' levels of ownership and career intentions from ∼800 undergraduates who had completed CURE or inquiry courses, including courses from the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI), which has a demonstrated positive effect on student retention in college and in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We used structural equation modeling to test relationships among the design features and student ownership and career intentions. We found that discovery, iteration, and collaboration had small but significant effects on students' intentions; these effects were fully mediated by student ownership. Students in FRI courses reported significantly higher levels of discovery, iteration, and ownership than students in other CUREs. FRI research courses alone had a significant effect on students' career intentions.

Teaching advanced science concepts through Freshman Research Immersion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahila, M. J.; Amey-Proper, J.; Jones, W. E.; Stamp, N.; Piper, L. F. J.

2017-03-01

We have developed a new introductory physics/chemistry programme that teaches advanced science topics and practical laboratory skills to freshmen undergraduate students through the use of student-led, bona fide research activities. While many recent attempts to improve college-level physics education have focused on integrating interactive demonstrations and activities into traditional passive lectures, we have taken the idea of active-learning several steps further. Working in conjunction with several research faculty at Binghamton University, we have created a programme that puts undergraduate students on an accelerated path towards working in real research laboratories performing publishable research. Herein, we describe in detail the programme goals, structure, and educational content, and report on our promising initial student outcomes.

Poster Day Showcases Student Work | Poster

Cancer.gov

By Nathalie Walker, Guest Writer, and Carolynne Keenan, Contributing Writer On July 31, NCI at Frederick hosted Student Poster Day, an annual event in which student interns can showcase the work they do in their various positions in NCI at Frederick labs and offices. Participating students are interns in the Student Internship Program, a program designed for undergraduate and

Investigation on the learning interest of senior undergraduate students in optoelectronics specialty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Shenjiang; Wang, Na; Li, Dangjuan; Liu, Chanlao

2017-08-01

With the increasing number of the graduate students, many of them have some troubles in job finding. This situation make a huge pressure on the senior students and loss them the interesting in study. This work investigate the reasons by questionnaire survey, panel discussion, interview, etc. to achieve the factors influence their learning interesting. The main reason of students do not have the motivation on study is that they do not understand the development and competition of photoelectric specialty, lack of innovation and entrepreneurship training, hysteresis of the learning knowledge and practical application. Finally, the paper gives some suggestions through teaching reform on how to improve students' learning enthusiasm. This work will contribute to the teaching and training of senior undergraduate students of optoelectronics specialty.

Paid part-time employment and academic performance of undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Rochford, Céire; Connolly, Michael; Drennan, Jonathan

2009-08-01

Nursing students are increasingly undertaking paid term-time employment to finance their living expenses and studies. However the type and duration of this part-time work is unknown; furthermore there is a limited evidence on the extent to which this part-time employment is impacting on academic performance and the student's experience of higher education. To address this shortfall this study undertook a cross-sectional survey of undergraduate nursing students to explore the incidence of student involvement in term-time employment and to develop an understanding of the relationship of employment on student's academic and clinical achievement, and on their experience of higher education. The results found that the vast majority of the sample were working in part-time employment during term-time. The average number of hours worked per week was sixteen. The number of hours worked per week was found to be a predictor of course performance, the student's experience of college and grades achieved. Students who worked greater hours reported negative outcomes in each of these three domains. The findings also support the contention that it is not working per se that has a detrimental effect on student outcomes but the numbers of hours' students are actually working while attending college. Therefore policy makers, educationalists and health service providers need to be aware of the burden that nursing students may have to contend with in combining work with their academic studies.

Assessing the Unassessable: Making Learning Visible in Undergraduates' Experiences of Scientific Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Anna; Howitt, Susan; Higgins, Denise

2016-01-01

We suggest that academics involved in the provision of research experiences to undergraduate science students may benefit by reconceptualising these experiences as work-based learning. In particular, drawing on the widespread use of reflective practice in work-based learning allows for a more effective focus on process-related learning. We…

A Combustion Laboratory for Undergraduates.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peters, James E.

1985-01-01

Describes a combustion laboratory facility and experiments for a senior-level (undergraduate) course in mechanical engineering. The experiment reinforces basic thermodynamic concepts and provides many students with their first opportunity to work with a combustion system. (DH)

"In Practice It Doesn't Always Work out Like That." Undergraduate Experiences in a Research Community of Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

John, Joanna; Creighton, John

2013-01-01

This paper examines the extent to which a structured undergraduate research intervention, UROP, permits undergraduate students early access to legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) in a research community of practice. Accounts of placement experiences suggest that UROP affords rich possibilities for engagement with research practice.…

Age Differences Explain Social Class Differences in Students' Friendship at University: Implications for Transition and Retention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubin, Mark; Wright, Chrysalis L.

2015-01-01

The present research tested the hypotheses that (a) working-class students have fewer friends at university than middle-class students and (b) this social class difference occurs because working-class students tend to be older than middle-class students. A sample of 376 first-year undergraduate students from an Australian university completed an…

Students' Reflections on Industry Placement: Comparing Four Undergraduate Work-Integrated Learning Streams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hughes, Karen; Mylonas, Aliisa; Benckendorff, Pierre

2013-01-01

This paper compares four work-integrated learning (WIL) streams embedded in a professional Development course for tourism, hospitality and event management students. Leximancer was used to analyze key themes emerging from reflective portfolios completed by the 137 students in the course. Results highlight that student learning outcomes and…

The Work-Study Experience of Indigenous Undergraduates in Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Shan-Hua

2014-01-01

Due to the large number of universities in Taiwan and the increased availability of scholarships for disadvantaged students, the number of college students from indigenous families has been on the rise in recent years. However, many indigenous students still find it necessary to work part-time. In this study, indigenous students were interviewed…

Professional development of undergraduates in wildlife ecology and management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moen, A.N.; Boomer, G.S.; Runge, M.C.

2000-01-01

This paper describes a cooperative learning environment and a course continuum in wildlife ecology and management which promote the professional development of undergraduates. Students learn about functional relationships in ecology and management in lecture periods that focus on concepts, with participation by students in active learning exercises. Laboratory periods are designed around learning groups, which consist of freshmen through graduate students who focus on a common theme as they work together, while each student is responsible for his or her own research. Undergraduate teaching assistants and senior wildlife management students coordinate the activities of the learning groups and supervise the student research, learning about personnel management by active participation in leadership roles. Publication of research results on a wildlife ecology and management information system in the department's Cooperative Learning Center enables students to share what they learn with their peers and with students who follow in later years.

Astrobites: The Astro-ph Reader's Digest For Undergraduates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanders, Nathan; Newton, E. R.; Czekala, I.; Rosenfeld, K.; Dressing, C. D.; Gifford, D.; Suresh, J.; Schneider, E.; Morley, C.; Kohler, S.

2011-05-01

Do you know an undergraduate embarking on a career in research in astronomy or a related field? Point them to Astrobites, a daily astrophysical literature blog for undergraduates written by graduate students (http://astroph.wordpress.com). Our goal is to present one interesting paper per day in a brief format that is accessible to undergraduate students in the physical sciences who are interested in active research. We not only try to summarize new work, but also to provide valuable context for readers not yet familiar with the astrophysical literature. For example, our posts discuss the long term goals motivating the field, astronomical jargon, and how the technical methods work. Special posts offer career guidance for undergraduates (e.g. how to select a graduate school) and detail personal experiences (e.g. observing at a Chilean telescope or attending a AAS meeting). We present sample Astrobites posts, readership statistics, and the results of our periodic reader surveys from our first semester of blogging (Spring 2011).

Alive and aware: Undergraduate research as a mechanism for program vitalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohs, C.

2013-12-01

Undergraduate research is a vital component of many geoscience programs across the United States. It is especially critical at those institutions that do not have graduate students or graduate programs in the geosciences. This paper presents findings associated with undergraduate research in four specific areas: The success of students that pursue undergraduate research both in the workforce and in graduate studies; the connections that are generated through undergraduate research and publication; the application of undergraduate research data and materials in the classroom; and the development of lasting connections between faculty and students to construct a strong alumni base to support the corresponding programs. Students that complete undergraduate research have the opportunity to develop research proposals, construct budgets, become familiar with equipment or software, write and defend their results. This skill set translates directly to graduate studies; however, it is also extremely valuable for self-marketing when seeking employment as a geoscientist. When transitioning from higher education into the workforce, a network of professional connections facilitates and expedites the process. When completing undergraduate research, students have a direct link to the faculty member that they are working with, and potentially, the network of that faculty member. Even more important, the student begins to build their own professional network as they present their findings and receive feedback on their research. Another area that benefits from undergraduate research is the classroom. A cyclical model is developed where new data and information are brought into the classroom by the faculty member, current students see the impact of undergraduate research and have the desire to participate, and a few of those students elect to participate in a project of their own. It turns into a positive feedback loop that is beneficial for both the students and the faculty members. Finally, it is important to look at the long-range benefit of undergraduate research as an investment that pays off through alumni in the years to come. These alumni have the potential to become the pillars in support of the geoscience program. With their support, the program and associated department becomes strengthened and continues to develop in order to provide for the geoscience workforce needs of the future.

Participation in Sex Work: Students' Views

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Ron; Sanders, Teela; Myers, Ellie; Smith, Debbie

2010-01-01

Increasing evidence points to student involvement in the sex industry. The current study comprised a cross-sectional sample of 315 undergraduates at a London university. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, data were gathered on students' financial and employment circumstances and their views on participation in sex work. Results suggested…

Proceedings of the ninth national conference on undergraduate research, 1995. Volume 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yearout, R.D.

1995-07-01

The Ninth National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR 95) was held at Union College in Schenectady, New York. This annual celebration of undergraduate scholarly activity continues to elicit strong nation-wide support and enthusiasm among both students and faculty. Attendance was nearly 1,650, which included 1,213 student oral and poster presenters. For the second year in a row, many student papers had to be rejected for presentation at NCUR due to conference size limitations. Thus, submitted papers for presentation at NCUR 95 were put through a careful review process before acceptance. Those students who have been selected to have their papermore » appear in these Proceedings have been through yet a second review process. As a consequence, their work has been judged to represent an impressive level of achievement at the undergraduate level. Volume 2 contains papers related to Engineering and Mathematics (41 papers) and Physical Science (18 papers).« less

What Works for Women in Undergraduate Physics?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitten, Barbara L.; Dorato, Shannon R.; Foster, Suzanne R.; Duncombe, Margaret L.

2005-10-01

The physics community in the U.S. has been concerned about the low participation by women for many years. Although some progress has been made, the percentage of undergraduate women in physics is still less than half that in mathematics and chemistry. While the percentage of women in physics declines at every step up the academic ladder, the largest decrease occurs in the undergraduate years. Therefore it is worthwhile to look at how undergraduate physics departments might make women students comfortable. We have conducted a study of undergraduate physics departments in order to learn "what works" in attracting and retaining women in the undergraduate physics major. With a team of women physicists, we visited nine undergraduate physics departments, five with high participation by women and four with average participation. We also visited six departments in women's colleges, which are known for producing accomplished women in all fields, including science. Three of the 15 schools are historically Black colleges, which produce disproportionate numbers of African-American women scientists. We found that the most important factor in a female-friendly physics department is a warm and inclusive culture that reaches out to introductory students. We also discuss the effects of curriculum, pedagogy, and institutional policy.

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Pathways into Geoscience (IUSE: GEOPATHS) - A National Science Foundation Initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, B.; Patino, L. C.

2016-12-01

Preparation of the future professional geoscience workforce includes increasing numbers as well as providing adequate education, exposure and training for undergraduates once they enter geoscience pathways. It is important to consider potential career trajectories for geoscience students, as these inform the types of education and skill-learning required. Recent reports have highlighted that critical thinking and problem-solving skills, spatial and temporal abilities, strong quantitative skills, and the ability to work in teams are among the priorities for many geoscience work environments. The increasing focus of geoscience work on societal issues (e.g., climate change impacts) opens the door to engaging a diverse population of students. In light of this, one challenge is to find effective strategies for "opening the world of possibilities" in the geosciences for these students and supporting them at the critical junctures where they might choose an alternative pathway to geosciences or otherwise leave altogether. To address these and related matters, The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) has supported two rounds of the IUSE: GEOPATHS Program, to create and support innovative and inclusive projects to build the future geoscience workforce. This program is one component in NSF's Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) initiative, which is a comprehensive, Foundation-wide effort to accelerate the quality and effectiveness of the education of undergraduates in all of the STEM fields. The two tracks of IUSE: GEOPATHS (EXTRA and IMPACT) seek to broaden and strengthen connections and activities that will engage and retain undergraduate students in geoscience education and career pathways, and help prepare them for a variety of careers. The long-term goal of this program is to dramatically increase the number and diversity of students earning undergraduate degrees or enrolling in graduate programs in geoscience fields, as well as ensure that they have the necessary skills and competencies to succeed as next generation professionals in a variety of employment sectors.

Developing Research Paper Writing Programs for EFL/ESL Undergraduate Students Using Process Genre Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuyen, Kim Thanh; Bin Osman, Shuki; Dan, Thai Cong; Ahmad, Nor Shafrin Binti

2016-01-01

Research Paper Writing (RPW) plays a key role in completing all research work. Poor writing could lead to the postponement of publications. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a program of (RPW) to improve RPW ability for EFL/ESL writers, especially for undergraduate students in Higher Education (HE) institutions, which has caught less attention…

Metadiscourse Repertoire of L1 Mandarin Undergraduates Writing in English: A Cross-Contextual, Cross-Disciplinary Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Ting; Wharton, Sue

2012-01-01

This article presents a qualitative, comparative study of metadiscourse in the academic writing of two groups of undergraduate students working in two different disciplines. The groups of students were: 1) Native speakers of Mandarin studying in China through the medium of English; 2) Native speakers of Mandarin studying in the UK through the…

Joined up Thinking? A Review of the Impact of a Higher Education and Industry Partnership on Undergraduate Product Design Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurn, Karl M.

2016-01-01

The aim of this paper is to provide educators and potential industrial partners with an insight into students' perceptions of working with industry during their undergraduate studies, and to highlight, through comments from academic staff, the effect on their design outcomes. The paper focuses on a collaborative design activity conducted with…

Linguistic analysis of project ownership for undergraduate research experiences.

PubMed

Hanauer, D I; Frederick, J; Fotinakes, B; Strobel, S A

2012-01-01

We used computational linguistic and content analyses to explore the concept of project ownership for undergraduate research. We used linguistic analysis of student interview data to develop a quantitative methodology for assessing project ownership and applied this method to measure degrees of project ownership expressed by students in relation to different types of educational research experiences. The results of the study suggest that the design of a research experience significantly influences the degree of project ownership expressed by students when they describe those experiences. The analysis identified both positive and negative aspects of project ownership and provided a working definition for how a student experiences his or her research opportunity. These elements suggest several features that could be incorporated into an undergraduate research experience to foster a student's sense of project ownership.

Differences in Work, Levels of Involvement, and Academic Performance between Residential and Commuter Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alfano, Halley J.; Eduljee, Nina B.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between work, levels of involvement and academic performance between residential and commuter students. One hundred and eight undergraduate students at a private college in the Northeast were surveyed. Surveys aimed at examining work and levels of involvement were administered to the…

A Research Experience for Undergraduates on Sustainable Land and Water Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalbotten, D. M.; Berthelote, A. R.; Myrbo, A.; Ito, E.; Howes, T.

2011-12-01

A new research experience for undergraduates is being piloted which supports student involvement in management of land and water resources with sustainability as the major focus. Working on two Native American reservations (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Flathead Reservation) and in conjunction with local tribal colleges, we particularly focus on management of tribal land and water resources. In this way we work to both increase the involvement of Native American students in the geosciences and support ethical partnerships for research on Native lands. Students also have the opportunity to work experimentally at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory in conjunction with the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics.

How to improve plastic surgery knowledge, skills and career interest in undergraduates in one day.

PubMed

Davis, C R; O'Donoghue, J M; McPhail, J; Green, A R

2010-10-01

Plastic surgery now occupies a negligible component of many undergraduate curricula. The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons Undergraduate Course aimed to introduce and improve students' plastic surgery knowledge and skills, as well as develop personal career interests. This research aims to quantify whether this was achieved. Students attending the one-day course were invited to complete a questionnaire before and after the course. Questions were self-reflective and incorporated four key themes: (1) plastic surgery knowledge; (2) awareness of the work of a plastic surgeon; (3) ability to perform basic plastic surgical skills; (4) career interest in plastic surgery. Non-medical students were given an identical questionnaire to quantify public perception of the work of a plastic surgeon. 121 students attended from 17 universities across the UK, with 93 completing the questionnaire (77% response rate). Paired analyses compared mean or median scores of the students' answers before and after the course. After completing the course, medical students significantly improved in all four key themes (p<0.01). 93 non-medical students completed questionnaires. Medical students were significantly more accurate at identifying plastic surgery procedures than non-medical students (P < 0.01), which was further strengthened after completing the course (P < 0.001). This study demonstrates the positive educational impact of a one-day plastic surgery event for medical students and supports the need for plastic surgery education at an undergraduate level. Copyright 2009 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solar powered rotorcraft: a multidisciplinary engineering challenge for undergraduate students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danner, Aaron J.; Henz, Martin; Teo, Brian Shohei

2017-08-01

Controlled, fully solar-powered flight in a rotorcraft is a difficult engineering challenge. Over the past five years, multidiciplinary teams of undergraduate engineering students at the National University of Singapore have built and test-flown a succession of increasingly impressive and larger, more efficient aircraft. While many other multidisciplinary or purely photonics projects are available to students in our programme, this particular project attracts an unusual level of excitement and devotion among students working on it. Why is that the case, and what, in general, makes a good final year undergraduate design project? These questions will be explored. Additionally, videos of solar helicopter test flights and spectacular crashes will be shown in the presentation for which the proceedings below have been prepared.

An Undergraduate Student's Perspective on Geoscience Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilder, A.; Feeley, T.; Michelfelder, G.

2011-12-01

Traditionally, the roles of field experiences in geoscience teaching have come from experienced instructors and researchers with a dedicated interest in how students learn. In this presentation we provide the opposite perspective; that of an undergraduate student at the beginning of her research career. We discuss the benefits and challenges associated with the initial field work and extend our discussion to include subsequent analytical-based laboratory studies. At Montana State University we are addressing key questions related to magma generation and differentiation at three volcanoes in the Central Andes. These are Volcan Uturuncu in southwest Bolivia and the Lazufre system consisting of Lastarria volcano and Cordon del Azufre in Chile and Argentina. To address these issues students collected rock samples and mapped lava flows in the field during the past two Spring Semesters. Upon return to campus the students prepared the samples for whole rock and mineral analyses, followed by travel to and work in external laboratories analyzing and collecting high precision geochemical data. The benefits these experiences provide include the following. First, due to the localities of the field sites, students become familiar with the difficult logistics associated with planning and performing field work in remote localities. Second, in performing the field work, students gain an appreciation of scale and exposure; topics not typically addressed in standard course work. Third, through close interaction with internal and external faculty, graduate students, and professional geologists, undergraduate students build strong relationships with scientists in the area of their interests. Fourth, by acquiring and interpreting high quality field and analytical data, they learn in-depth about modern philosophies, technologies, and data in the geosciences, providing them with skills and experiences that will be of value in their future careers or graduate work. They also learn how to formulate research questions, how to systematically investigate these questions, how to prioritize their time, and how to critique their work objectively. Finally, by presenting the results of their work at professional meetings and departmental seminars, they share in the excitement of making new discoveries and generating results that are truly used. The most significant challenges are time and money. Costs related to stipends, analytical expenses, and travel are substantial and likely prohibitive for many individual students without generous grant or institutional support. Time is equally prohibitive because it can involve periods of more than two years from initial planning to dissemination of the results, in addition to disruption of progression within the undergraduate course curriculum. The latter is particularly significant in this case where field work was conducted in the Southern Hemisphere during the traditional Spring Semesters. As such, success in field- and laboratory-based petrology research at the undergraduate level requires replacing the concept of a "senior thesis" with that of a longer term project beginning as early as, perhaps, the sophomore year.

Student Metacognitive Responses to Feedback: A Multiple Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeMello, Kate

2017-01-01

This study explored how undergraduate students perceive, self-regulate, and respond to feedback from instructors on written work. The general problem was that students in college are not prepared to practice metacognitive regulation to promote learning, particularly in the context of utilizing instructor feedback on written work to improve their…

Preparation and participation of undergraduate students to inform culturally sensitive research.

PubMed

Wells, Jo Nell; Cagle, Carolyn Spence

2009-07-01

Most student work as research assistants occurs at the graduate level of nursing education, and little is known about the role of undergraduate students as research assistants (RAs) in major research projects. Based on our desire to study Mexican American (MA) cancer caregivers, we needed bilingual and bicultural RAs to serve as data collectors with women who spoke Spanish and possessed cultural beliefs that influenced their caregiving. Following successful recruitment, orientation, and mentoring based on Bandura's social learning theory [Bandura, A., 2001. Social learning theory: an agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology 52, 1-26] and accepted teaching-learning principles, RAs engaged in various behaviors that facilitated study outcomes. Faculty researchers, RAs, and study participants benefitted greatly from the undergraduate student involvement in this project. This article describes successful student inclusion approaches, ongoing faculty-RA interactions, and lessons learned from the research team experience. Guidelines discussed support the potential for making the undergraduate RA role a useful and unique learning experience.

Classroom-based science research at the introductory level: changes in career choices and attitude.

PubMed

Harrison, Melinda; Dunbar, David; Ratmansky, Lisa; Boyd, Kimberly; Lopatto, David

2011-01-01

Our study, focused on classroom-based research at the introductory level and using the Phage Genomics course as the model, shows evidence that first-year students doing research learn the process of science as well as how scientists practice science. A preliminary but notable outcome of our work, which is based on a small sample, is the change in student interest in considering different career choices such as graduate education and science in general. This is particularly notable, as previous research has described research internships as clarifying or confirming rather than changing undergraduates' decisions to pursue graduate education. We hypothesize that our results differ from previous studies of the impact of engaging in research because the students in our study are still in the early stages of their undergraduate careers. Our work builds upon the classroom-based research movement and should be viewed as encouraging to the Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education movement advocated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Science Foundation, and other undergraduate education stakeholders.

Examination of a therapeutic-recreation based clinical placement for undergraduate nursing students: A self-determined perspective.

PubMed

Perlman, Dana; Taylor, Ellie; Moxham, Lorna; Sumskis, Susan; Patterson, Christopher; Brighton, Renee; Heffernan, Tim

2018-03-01

Nursing students across the globe are expected to undertake clinical placements. To date, there have been no studies that have examined the potential educational benefits for undergraduate nursing students engaged in a mental health clinical placement grounded in self-determination theory. The present study examined the experiences of undergraduate students engaged in a mental health clinical placement termed Recovery Camp. An ethnographic methodology within a case study approach was used. The researchers were immersed in the clinical placement, which took place at a YMCA camp facility. Participants were 20 3rd year undergraduate nursing students. To gain insight and understanding, the researchers used interviews, observations, and reflective journals. The constant-comparative method was used to analyse the data. Emergent themes identified from systematic analysis were: (a) social connection and (b) experiential learning. Recovery Camp facilitated a sense of inclusion and positive/supportive behaviour. It also enhanced student learning and understanding of symptoms of mental illness. Findings from this study support and extend findings for the use of therapeutic-recreation based work placement experiences in the clinical education of future nurses. Findings demonstrated a link between this type of placement and undergraduate student's development of deeper knowledge of symptoms and experiences associated with mental illness. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

SAGE as a Source for Undergraduate Research Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutz, Benjamin

2017-01-01

This article examines the use of the computer algebra system SAGE for undergraduate student research projects. After reading this article, the reader should understand the benefits of using SAGE as a source of research projects and how to commence working with SAGE. The author proposes a tiered working group model to allow maximum benefit to the…

Graduate Teaching Assistants' Perceptions of Teaching Competencies Required for Work in Undergraduate Science Labs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deacon, Christopher; Hajek, Allyson; Schulz, Henry

2017-01-01

Many post-secondary institutions provide training and resources to help GTAs fulfil their teaching roles. However, few programmes focus specifically on the teaching competencies required by GTAs who work with undergraduate students in laboratory settings where learning tends to be more active and inquiry based than in classroom settings. From a…

Aligning the Undergraduate Organic Laboratory Experience with Professional Work: The Centrality of Reliable and Meaningful Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alaimo, Peter J.; Langenhan, Joseph M.; Suydam, Ian T.

2014-01-01

Many traditional organic chemistry lab courses do not adequately help students to develop the professional skills required for creative, independent work. The overarching goal of the new organic chemistry lab series at Seattle University is to teach undergraduates to think, perform, and behave more like professional scientists. The conversion of…

Liberal Learning as Freedom: A Capabilities Approach to Undergraduate Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garnett, Robert F., Jr.

2009-01-01

In this paper, I employ the pioneering works of Nussbaum, Sen, Saito, and Walker, in conjunction with the U.S. tradition of academic freedom, to outline a capability-centered vision of undergraduate education. Pace Nussbaum and Walker, I propose a short list of learning capabilities to which every undergraduate student should be entitled. This…

BioTAP: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Scientific Writing and Evaluating Undergraduate Theses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reynolds, Julie; Smith, Robin; Moskovitz, Cary; Sayle, Amy

2009-01-01

Undergraduate theses and other capstone research projects are standard features of many science curricula, but participation has typically been limited to only the most advanced and highly motivated students. With the recent push to engage more undergraduates in research, some faculty are finding that their typical approach to working with thesis…

Undergraduate Research as a Fate Accompli: Innovation and Evolution of a Student Conference in Business

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buff, Cheryl L.; Devasagayam, Raj

2016-01-01

The benefits of undergraduate research continue to receive academic attention and it is becoming an engaged learning practice present on many college campuses today. As research participation grows, an opportunity exists to showcase the work being accomplished and to use this public presentation to foster a culture of undergraduate research on…

The Potential to use Publication of Undergraduate Research as a Teaching Tool

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brevik, Eric C.; Lindbo, David L.; Belcher, Christopher

2015-04-01

Several studies crossing numerous disciplinary boundaries have demonstrated that undergraduate students benefit from research experiences. These benefits include personal and intellectual development, more and closer contact with faculty, the use of active learning techniques, the creation of high expectations, the development of creative and problem-solving skills, and the development of greater independence and intrinsic motivation to learn. The discipline also gains in that studies show undergraduates who engage in research experiences are more likely to remain science majors and finish their degree program. Research experiences come as close as possible to allowing undergraduates to experience what it is like to be an academic or research member of their profession working to advance their discipline, therefore enhancing their professional socialization into their chosen field. If the goals achieved by undergraduate research include introducing these students to the advancement of their chosen field, it stands to reason the ultimate ending to this experience would be the publication of a peer-reviewed paper. While not all undergraduate projects will end with a product worthy of peer-reviewed publication, some definitely do, and the personal experience of the authors indicates that undergraduate students who achieve publication get great satisfaction and a sense of personal achievement from that publication. While a top-tier international journal probably isn't going to be the ultimate destination for many of these projects, there are several appropriate outlets. The SSSA journal Soil Horizons has published several undergraduate projects in recent years, and good undergraduate projects can often be published in state academy of science journals. Journals focused expressly on publishing undergraduate research include the Journal of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Excellence, Reinvention, and the American Journal of Undergraduate Research. Case studies of students who have published undergraduate research will be discussed.

Reflective Journaling as a Flipped Classroom Technique to Increase Reading and Participation with Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sage, Melanie; Sele, Patti

2015-01-01

Students in undergraduate social work practice courses come to class with varying levels of educational, life, and practice experience. Students require an introduction to the material through textbook reading before they are able to engage in critical discussions, yet reading adherence varies widely among students. This research explores the use…

Likes Attract: Students Self-Sort in a Classroom by Gender, Demography, and Academic Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeman, Scott; Theobald, Roddy; Crowe, Alison J.; Wenderoth, Mary Pat

2017-01-01

Although a growing literature has documented the effectiveness of informal group work during class sessions, virtually no data exist on which students are collaborating. As a result, instructors rarely know whether students are self-sorting in ways that maximize learning. This article explores which undergraduate students worked together on each…

Independent Study: The Culture of Mentored Undergraduate Research at The College of Wooster (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pollock, M.; Judge, S.; Wiles, G. C.; Wilson, M. A.

2013-12-01

The foundation of a Wooster education is the Independent Study (I.S.) program. Established in 1947, the I.S. program is widely recognized as an exemplary undergraduate research experience (AAC&U; US News and World Report; College that Change Lives by Loren Pope). I.S. requires every Wooster student to complete an original research project. This presentation describes the details of the Wooster I.S. and, based on our experiences, gives strategies for a successful mentored undergraduate research program. Overall, the I.S. process resembles a graduate research project. Students typically begin their work in the spring of their junior year when they review the literature, learn techniques, and write a proposal for their Senior I.S. research. Many students conduct field and lab work over the following summer, although this is not a requirement of the program. In their senior year, students work one-on-one with faculty members and sometimes in small (~4 person) research groups to drive their projects forward with an increasing sense of independence. I.S. culminates in a written thesis and oral defense. Most of our students present their work at national meetings and many projects are published in peer-reviewed journals. The success of the I.S. program is largely the result of two key components: (1) the integration of undergraduate research into the curriculum, and (2) the focus on student mentoring. We have thoughtfully structured our courses so that, as students move toward I.S., they progress from concrete to abstract concepts, and from simple to complex skills. The College also recognizes the value of I.S by assigning it credit; Students earn a full course credit for each semester of I.S. (3 courses total) and there is some credit in the faculty teaching load for I.S. advising. Advisors are really mentors who are invested in their students' academic and scholarly success. As mentors, we emphasize collaboration, provide guidance and support, and hold students accountable. It is the combination of professional and personal mentoring that makes the I.S. experience a significant event in the students' lives.

Dazed and Confused: Learning to Engage Non-Science Undergraduates in the Geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Price, J.

2014-12-01

Teaching science courses to non-science undergraduate is often times difficult and frustrating for instructors because of the lack of interest and knowledge from students. Additionally, students find it difficult to learn from instructors that are not engaging or are unable to simplify concepts, methods, and analyses. These complications multiple when graduate students try to teach non-science undergraduates. Graduate instructional/teaching assistants have less teaching experience, often do not care about teaching, and frequently get frustrated with non-science undergraduates more easily. This presentation will focus on teaching non-science undergraduates in marine science and geology classes by engaging students, simplifying concepts, working in groups, and making the material fun and interesting. Instructional/teaching assistants teach undergraduate courses as a way to pay for their graduate education and in doing so, often forget to express their passion and interest in the subject. Graduate instructional/teaching assistants will be asked not give up on undergraduates because of their lack of interest and experience but rather challenge them to remember what it is like to feel lost and disinterested. While we may not be able to turn them into scientists, we can share our passion, teach them scientific concepts, and hope they leave feeling more knowledgeable, comfortable, and with more appreciation for the geosciences.

NSF Support for Physics at the Undergraduate Level: A View from Inside

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McBride, Duncan

2015-03-01

NSF has supported a wide range of projects in physics that involve undergraduate students. These projects include NSF research grants in which undergraduates participate; Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) centers and supplements; and education grants that range from upper-division labs that may include research, to curriculum development for upper- and lower-level courses and labs, to courses for non-majors, to Physics Education Research (PER). The NSF Divisions of Physics, Materials Research, and Astronomy provide most of the disciplinary research support, with some from other parts of NSF. I recently retired as the permanent physicist in NSF's Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE), which supports the education grants. I was responsible for a majority of DUE's physics grants and was involved with others overseen by a series of physics rotators. There I worked in programs entitled Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement (ILI); Course and Curriculum Development (CCD); Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI); Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education (TUES); and Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE). NSF support has enabled physics Principal Investigators to change and improve substantially the way physics is taught and the way students learn physics. The most important changes are increased undergraduate participation in physics research; more teaching using interactive engagement methods in classes; and growth of PER as a legitimate field of physics research as well as outcomes from PER that guide physics teaching. In turn these have led, along with other factors, to students who are better-prepared for graduate school and work, and to increases in the number of undergraduate physics majors. In addition, students in disciplines that physics directly supports, notably engineering and chemistry, and increasingly biology, are better and more broadly prepared to use their physics education in these fields. I will describe NSF support for undergraduate physics with both statistics and examples. In addition I will talk about trends in support for undergraduate physics at NSF and speculate about directions such support might go. Contents of this paper reflect the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Science Foundation.

Flipping the Classroom without Flipping Out the Students: Working with an Instructional Designer in an Undergraduate Evidence-Based Nursing Practice Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matsuda, Yui; Azaiza, Khitam; Salani, Deborah

2017-01-01

The flipped classroom approach is an innovative teaching method to promote students' active learning. It has been used in nursing education and has showed positive results. The purpose of this article is to describe the process of developing a flipped classroom approach for an undergraduate evidence-based nursing practice course and discuss…

Differential Expression of Zinc Transporters in Prostate Epithelia of Racial Groups

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

proteins in the prostate cancers taken from AAs versus those from European Americans (EAs)?” Because there is a well-documented depression in zinc...research ( breast cancer , diabetes and miRNA research connected to 14 prostate cancer ). Each of the undergraduate student presented their...Prostate and breast cancers and role of zinc transporters. Jessica Abercrombie: Miss Abercrombie is a junior undergraduate student, currently working

Developing a Problem-Based Course Based on Needs Analysis to Enhance English Reading Ability of Thai Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bosuwon, Takwa; Woodrow, Lindy

2009-01-01

This paper reports on a needs analysis underlying a proposed business English reading course using a problem-based learning approach designed to enhance English reading abilities of Thai undergraduate students. As part of a work in progress, the needs analysis survey was done prior to the course design with the major stakeholders in business and…

Teaching Thermodynamics and Kinetics to Advanced General Chemistry Students and to Upper-Level Undergraduate Students Using PV Diagrams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iyengar, Srinivasan S.; deSouza, Romualdo T.

2014-01-01

We describe how complex concepts in macroscopic chemistry, namely, thermodynamics and kinetics, can be taught at considerable depth both at the first-year undergraduate as well as upper levels. We begin with a careful treatment of PV diagrams, and by pictorially integrating the appropriate area in a PV diagram, we introduce work. This starting…

Doctoral Student Learning and Development: A Shared Responsibility

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bair, Carolyn R.; Haworth, Jennifer Grant; Sandfort, Melissa

2004-01-01

Historically, student affairs professionals focused their work almost exclusively on undergraduate students. Doctoral faculty remained focused on the comprehensive needs of doctoral students. However, this situation is changing. Due largely to growth in numbers and diversity of graduate students, student affairs professionals at colleges and…

[Work activity of medical graduates at the University of Chile: Analysis per campus and graduation year].

PubMed

Vargas, Patricia; López, Nancy; Urrutia, Leonardo; Acevedo, Jhonny; Sandoval, Daniela; Cortés, Belén

2015-10-01

The University promotes practices and values that influence their students in the pursuit of their occupational interests. To determine working activity features of medical graduates from the University of Chile and their relationship with undergraduate characteristics. Medical graduates of the University of Chile were invited to complete a survey using a virtual server. The survey collected demographic, socioeconomic, work and guild characteristics. Undergraduate data, as campus and graduation years were obtained. The survey was completed by 333 physicians (167 men) aged 29 ± 2 years, graduated from 2007 to 2010. Ninety four percent had a paid work, 59% were employed in public hospitals and 28% in primary care health centers. The predominant type of work activity was performed in the public health service (55%), while 17% worked in private health services. Activity in public health services or primary care were significantly associated with the pursuit of undergraduate clinical activities in specific campuses of the University. The employment rate of medical graduates was high. Differences observed by graduation campus and type of work may be due to the modeling that students receive from teachers.

Federal Student aid Handbook, 2002-2003. Volume 6: Federal Work-Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Office of Federal Student Aid (ED), Washington, DC.

The Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program allows undergraduate and graduate students to work part-time to help pay for the cost of their education. Schools must use 75% of their FSW Program funds to compensate students employed in community service jobs. This volume describes the ways schools are required to use money from FSW program funds to…

Impact of Group Development Knowledge on Students' Perceived Importance and Confidence of Group Work Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coers, Natalie; Williams, Jennifer

2010-01-01

This study explored the impact of emphasis on the group development process on the perceived importance of and confidence in group work skills and students' perception of group work use in the collegiate classroom as developed by Tuckman and Jensen (1977). The purposive sample utilized in this study included 33 undergraduate students enrolled in…

The Adelphi Experiment: Accelerating Social Work Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenblatt, Aaron; And Others

The educational program adopted at Adelphi University School of Social Work provides students interested in obtaining the master's degree in social work with an opportunity to accelerate their professional education. As undergraduate students they can elect to major in social welfare, and if they do, some courses usually available only to graduate…

Definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse among undergraduate students of social work.

PubMed

Haj-Yahia, Muhammad M; Schiff, Miriam

2007-04-01

The article focuses on definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse among undergraduate social work students in Israel. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires. The vast majority of students in Study 1 acknowledged acts thought to constitute wife assault and disapproved of a husband's use of force against his wife. The majority of students in Study 2 did not justify wife abuse nor tend to believe that battered women benefit from beating, although they tended to blame the violent husband for his behavior. Significant amounts of the variance in dependent variables were explained by the students' marital role expectations (Study 1) and their attitudes toward women and sex role stereotypes (Study 2). The students' year of study and participation in family violence or wife abuse courses did not contribute toward explaining the variance in their beliefs. Results are discussed in light of the students' patriarchal ideology, and implications for future research are presented.

Exploring a pedagogical approach to integrating research, practice and teaching.

PubMed

Newton, Jennifer M; McKenna, Lisa G; Gilmour, Carole; Fawcett, Jacqueline

2010-01-01

Application of evidence is accepted as an important component of clinical practice. Teaching research to undergraduate students has been reported internationally as a challenge, particularly for nurse educators. In this paper, reported is a strategy designed to enhance research learning for undergraduate midwifery students at one university, which formed part of a larger, international investigation into women's responses to caesarean birth. Following theory classes and briefings, students worked with their clinical educators in practice to interview women using existing tools, and were engaged in qualitative data analysis. A number of challenges were encountered throughout the process, both for the educators and students. However, the teaching approach provided benefits for students in learning about midwifery research. Recommended as essential is for continued development of pedagogical approaches that make research tangible for students. Furthermore, provision of support for clinical staff working with students is important for success of such approaches.

Cohesion in Sports and Organizational Psychology: An Annotated Bibliography and Suggestions for U.S. Army Aviation (1993 to 2003)

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-04-01

serve as a deterrent to groupthink. The study consisted of 92 male and 56 female undergraduate students randomly assigned to groups. Directive and...attraction serves as the focus of this study. The study used 472 undergraduate psychology students divided into four-person groups. Some groups were made of...used 208 communication students over a one- year period. Work groups of five to seven members were formed and each group was assigned a project that

The ASSURE Summer REU Program: Introducing research to first-generation and underserved undergraduates through space sciences and engineering projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barron, Darcy; Peticolas, Laura; Multiverse Team at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Lab

2018-01-01

The Advancing Space Science through Undergraduate Research Experience (ASSURE) summer REU program is an NSF-funded REU site at the Space Sciences Lab at UC Berkeley that first started in summer 2014. The program recruits students from all STEM majors, targeting underserved students including community college students and first-generation college students. The students have little or no research experience and a wide variety of academic backgrounds, but have a shared passion for space sciences and astronomy. We will describe our program's structure and the components we have found successful in preparing and supporting both the students and their research advisors for their summer research projects. This includes an intensive first week of introductory lectures and tutorials at the start of the program, preparing students for working in an academic research environment. The program also employs a multi-tiered mentoring system, with layers of support for the undergraduate student cohort, as well as graduate student and postdoctoral research advisors.

The Roles of Life Course Resources on Social Work Minority Students' Educational Aspirations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paat, Yok-Fong

2015-01-01

This study seeks to investigate the importance of life course capital on the educational aspirations of 40 social work undergraduates who were predominantly visible ethnic minority, immigrant descendants or non-traditional students in the mainstream US. Applying the resource perspective in this context, minority students' academic successes hinge…

Gender Differences in Pay Histories and Views on Pay Entitlement among University Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Desmarais, Serge; Curtis, James

1997-01-01

Examines whether gender differences in recent pay experience influence entitlement views by providing different standards for female and male students' judgments of their entitlements. Responses from 309 undergraduate students reveal that income gaps in the full-time working world extended to their own recent work experiences and that these past…

Admissions Roulette: Predictive Factors for Success in Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pfouts, Jane H.; Henley, H. Carl, Jr.

1977-01-01

A multivariate predictive index of student field performance to be used as an admissions tool in graduate schools of social work is described. It measures the effect on field performance of (1) a measure of the student's intellectual ability, (2) undergraduate school quality, (3) prior work experience, and (4) student sex. (Author/LBH)

Analyzing Student and Employer Satisfaction with Cooperative Education through Multiple Data Sources

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Yuheng Helen; Lee, Sally Wai Yin; Golab, Lukasz

2015-01-01

This paper reports on the analysis of three years research of undergraduate cooperative work term postings and employer and employee evaluations. The objective of the analysis was to determine the factors affecting student and employer success and satisfaction with the work-integrated learning experience. It was found that students performed…

How Undergraduate Students Use Social Media Technologies to Support Group Project Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McAliney, Peter J.

2013-01-01

Technology continues to evolve and become accessible to students in higher education. Concurrently, teamwork has become an important skill in academia and the workplace and students have adopted established technologies to support their learning in both individual and team project work. Given the emergence of social media technologies, I examined…

What Predicts Health Students' Self-Reported Preparedness to Work in Indigenous Health Settings?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bullen, Jonathan; Roberts, Lynne; Hoffman, Julie

2017-01-01

Australian undergraduate programs are implementing curriculum aimed at better preparing graduates to work in culturally diverse settings, but there remains uncertainty over the role of extant student attitudes towards Indigenous Australians. To begin to address this, we obtained baseline data on student attitudes upon entry to tertiary education.…

Becoming a scientist: A qualitative study of the educational experience of undergraduates working in an American and a Brazilian research laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pascoa, Maria Beatriz Amorim

Because the production of scientific and technological innovations has been at the center of debates for economic growth, scientists are recognized as important actors in the current global market. In this study, I will examine the undergraduate education of future scientists by focusing on students working in research projects of faculty members. This research activity has been promoted by American and Brazilian public agencies as an attempt to attract more college students to scientific careers as well as to improve their future performance in science. Evaluations of these programs have focused on important quantitative indicators focusing mainly on the amount of students that later choose to pursue scientific careers. However, these studies fail to address important educational aspects of undergraduates' experience. In this research, I explore the educational processes taking place as students are introduced to the making of science in order to understand how and what they are learning. Three bodies of literature illuminates the formulation and the analysis of the research questions: (1) theories of globalization situate the education of scientists within the dynamics of a broader social, economic, cultural, and historical framework; (2) the critical pedagogy of Paulo Freire is the basis for the understanding of the pedagogical processes shaping undergraduate students' experiences within the research site; (3) Critical and Cultural Studies of Science and Technology illuminate the analysis of the complex interactions and practices constructed within the laboratory. In order to understand the educational processes shaping the experiences of undergraduate students engaged in research activities, I conducted a qualitative investigation based on participant-observation and in-depth interviews in an American and a Brazilian laboratories. The two sites constituted insightful case studies that illuminated the understanding of inquires about the training of students in science. In addition, the study of two countries enriched the research inquiry, adding to the findings reflections on the ways differences in national contexts affects scientific training and scientific practices. Mainly, this qualitative research of students in laboratories offers some concrete recommendations and illuminating reflections for science educators, science policy makers, and for those working in the understanding of science epistemologies.

Graduate teaching assistants' perceptions of teaching competencies required for work in undergraduate science labs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deacon, Christopher; Hajek, Allyson; Schulz, Henry

2017-11-01

Many post-secondary institutions provide training and resources to help GTAs fulfil their teaching roles. However, few programmes focus specifically on the teaching competencies required by GTAs who work with undergraduate students in laboratory settings where learning tends to be more active and inquiry based than in classroom settings. From a review of 8 GTA manuals, we identified 20 competencies and then surveyed faculty and lab coordinators (FIS) and GTAs from a Faculty of Science at a comprehensive Canadian university to identify which of those competencies are required of GTAs who work in undergraduate science labs. GTAs and FIS did not significantly differ in the competencies they view as required for GTAs to work effectively in undergraduate labs. But, when comparing the responses of GTAs and FIS to TA manuals, 'Clearly and effectively communicates ideas and information with students' was the only competency for which there was agreement on the level of requirement. We also examined GTAs' self-efficacy for each of the identified competencies and found no overall relationship between self-efficacy and demographic characteristics, including experience and training. Our results can be used to inform the design of training programmes specifically for GTAs who work in undergraduate science labs, for example, programmes should provide strategies for GTAs to obtain feedback which they can use to enhance their teaching skills. The goal of this study is to improve undergraduate lab instruction in faculties of science and to enhance the teaching experience of GTAs by better preparing them for their role.

The Chosen Tokens: Exploring the Work Experiences and Career Aspirations of Latina Midlevel Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pertuz, Sofia Bautista

2017-01-01

Student Affairs serves as a viable career option for professionals working in higher education, including Latinas, who have increasingly entered as undergraduate students and found careers in student affairs. Latinas seem to be bottlenecked at midlevel, with few advancing to senior level leadership positions. According to the literature, negative…

Creativity and Conflict: How Theory and Practice Shape Student Identities in Design Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tynan, Jane; New, Christopher

2009-01-01

By exploring the role of student identities in shaping attitudes to learning, this study asks how design students draw on experience to work across theory and practice. It explores how a specific group of design undergraduate students in a UK university perform on two distinct learning experiences on their course: work placement and dissertation.…

The Effects of the Federal Work-Study Program on Student Persistence and Accrued Loan Debt

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Ronatta Daphne

2012-01-01

This study examined the impact of participation and non-participation in a federal work-study (FWS) program on student persistence and accrued student debt for undergraduate students enrolled in a small, public, four-year, liberal arts college in the South. Sanford's (1967) theory of Challenge and Support and Tinto's (1986) Integration Model were…

Development and psychometric evaluation of the Undergraduate Clinical Education Environment Measure (UCEEM).

PubMed

Strand, Pia; Sjöborg, Karolina; Stalmeijer, Renée; Wichmann-Hansen, Gitte; Jakobsson, Ulf; Edgren, Gudrun

2013-12-01

There is a paucity of instruments designed to evaluate the multiple dimensions of the workplace as an educational environment for undergraduate medical students. The aim was to develop and psychometrically evaluate an instrument to measure how undergraduate medical students perceive the clinical workplace environment, based on workplace learning theories and empirical findings. Development of the instrument relied on established standards including theoretical and empirical grounding, systematic item development and expert review at various stages to ensure content validity. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed using a series of steps from conceptualization through psychometric analysis of scores in a Swedish medical student population. The final result was a 25-item instrument with two overarching dimensions, experiential learning and social participation, and four subscales that coincided well with theory and empirical findings: Opportunities to learn in and through work & quality of supervision; Preparedness for student entry; Workplace interaction patterns & student inclusion; and Equal treatment. Evidence from various sources supported content validity, construct validity and reliability of the instrument. The Undergraduate Clinical Education Environment Measure represents a valid, reliable and feasible multidimensional instrument for evaluation of the clinical workplace as a learning environment for undergraduate medical students. Further validation in different populations using various psychometric methods is needed.

Entering research: A course that creates community and structure for beginning undergraduate researchers in the STEM disciplines.

PubMed

Balster, Nicholas; Pfund, Christine; Rediske, Raelyn; Branchaw, Janet

2010-01-01

Undergraduate research experiences have been shown to enhance the educational experience and retention of college students, especially those from underrepresented populations. However, many challenges still exist relative to building community among students navigating large institutions. We developed a novel course called Entering Research that creates a learning community to support beginning undergraduate researchers and is designed to parallel the Entering Mentoring course for graduate students, postdocs, and faculty serving as mentors of undergraduate researchers. The course serves as a model that can be easily adapted for use across the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines using a readily available facilitator's manual. Course evaluations and rigorous assessment show that the Entering Research course helps students in many ways, including finding a mentor, understanding their place in a research community, and connecting their research to their course work in the biological and physical sciences. Students in the course reported statistically significant gains in their skills, knowledge, and confidence as researchers compared with a control group of students, who also were engaged in undergraduate research but not enrolled in this course. In addition, the faculty and staff members who served as facilitators of the Entering Research course described their experience as rewarding and one they would recommend to their colleagues.

A behavioral science/behavioral medicine core curriculum proposal for Japanese undergraduate medical education.

PubMed

Tsutsumi, Akizumi

2015-01-01

Behavioral science and behavioral medicine have not been systematically taught to Japanese undergraduate medical students. A working group under the auspices of Japanese Society of Behavioral Medicine developed an outcome-oriented curriculum of behavioral science/behavioral medicine through three processes: identifying the curriculum contents, holding a joint symposium with related societies, and defining outcomes and proposing a learning module. The behavioral science/behavioral medicine core curriculum consists of 11 units of lectures and four units of practical study. The working group plans to improve the current core curriculum by devising formative assessment methods so that students can learn and acquire attitude as well as the skills and knowledge necessary for student-centered clinical practice.

Multiple sex partner behavior in female undergraduate students in China: a multi-campus survey.

PubMed

Yan, Hong; Chen, Weiqi; Wu, Haocheng; Bi, Yongyi; Zhang, Miaoxuan; Li, Shiyue; Braun, Kathryn L

2009-08-22

China is realizing increases in women engaged in premarital sex and multiple sex partner behavior. Our aim was to examine prevalence and determinants of multiple sex partner behavior among female undergraduates in China. Anonymously completed questionnaires were received from 4,769 unmarried female undergraduates, recruited using randomized cluster sampling by type of university and students' major and grade. Items captured demographic, family, peer and work influence, and student factors (major, academic performance, and sex-related knowledge and attitudes). To examine risk factors for sexual behaviors, we used multi-level logistic regression, yielding odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Of 4,769 female students, 863 (18.10%) reported ever having sexual intercourse, and 5.31% reported having multiple sex partners (29.32% of all women having sexual intercourse). Several demographic, family, peer and work influences, and student factors (including major, performance, knowledge, and attitude toward sex) were risk factors for ever having sex. However, risk factors for multiple sex partners only included working in a place of entertainment, having current close friends that were living with boyfriends, poor academic performance, and positive attitudes toward multiple partners. These women also were more likely to practice masturbation, start having sex at a younger age, have sex with married men and/or men not their "boyfriends" at first coitus, and not use condoms consistently. A small but important subset of Chinese female undergraduates is engaged in unprotected sex with multiple sex partners. Interventions need to target at risk women, stressing the importance of consistent condom use.

Multiple sex partner behavior in female undergraduate students in China: A multi-campus survey

PubMed Central

Yan, Hong; Chen, Weiqi; Wu, Haocheng; Bi, Yongyi; Zhang, Miaoxuan; Li, Shiyue; Braun, Kathryn L

2009-01-01

Background China is realizing increases in women engaged in premarital sex and multiple sex partner behavior. Our aim was to examine prevalence and determinants of multiple sex partner behavior among female undergraduates in China. Methods Anonymously completed questionnaires were received from 4,769 unmarried female undergraduates, recruited using randomized cluster sampling by type of university and students' major and grade. Items captured demographic, family, peer and work influence, and student factors (major, academic performance, and sex-related knowledge and attitudes). To examine risk factors for sexual behaviors, we used multi-level logistic regression, yielding odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results Of 4,769 female students, 863 (18.10%) reported ever having sexual intercourse, and 5.31% reported having multiple sex partners (29.32% of all women having sexual intercourse). Several demographic, family, peer and work influences, and student factors (including major, performance, knowledge, and attitude toward sex) were risk factors for ever having sex. However, risk factors for multiple sex partners only included working in a place of entertainment, having current close friends that were living with boyfriends, poor academic performance, and positive attitudes toward multiple partners. These women also were more likely to practice masturbation, start having sex at a younger age, have sex with married men and/or men not their "boyfriends" at first coitus, and not use condoms consistently. Conclusion A small but important subset of Chinese female undergraduates is engaged in unprotected sex with multiple sex partners. Interventions need to target at risk women, stressing the importance of consistent condom use. PMID:19698132

Attitudes towards shared learning of trainee dental technicians and undergraduate dental students.

PubMed

Reeson, Michael G; Walker-Gleaves, Caroline; Ellis, Ian

2015-01-01

The challenges of health care are increasingly complex and subject to frequent change. Meeting these demands requires that health professionals work in partnership with each other and the patient. One way of contributing to this is for students to learn together. However, effective teamwork requires an education system that helps to foster understanding among all those entering the health workforce. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitudes towards shared learning of undergraduate dental students and trainee dental technicians in a university dental school/hospital in the United Kingdom. Twenty-five trainee dental technicians and 75 undergraduate dental students took part in the study over five academic years. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. A 100% response rate was achieved from the questionnaires. The results indicated the majority of students recognized the benefits of shared learning and viewed the acquisition of teamworking skills as useful for their future working lives, beneficial to the care of their patients, and likely to enhance professional working relationships. The study also found a positive association of being valued as an individual in the dental team by all student groups. Future dental curricula should provide opportunities to develop effective communication between these two groups and encourage teamworking opportunities. These opportunities need to be systematically developed in the dental curriculum to achieve the desired goals.

The Work Orientations of Australian University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taylor, Jeannette; Pick, David

2008-01-01

It is the aim of this paper to provide a better understanding of how university students in Australia are preparing for their future work in the labour market through their work orientations. It draws upon a survey of over 300 final-year undergraduates to present their rationales for engaging in paid work, and their preferences for different job…

Overcoming Barriers in Access to High Quality Education after Matriculation: Promoting Strategies and Tactics for Engagement of Underrepresented Groups in Undergraduate Research via Institutional Diversity Action Plans

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pierszalowski, Sophie; Vue, Rican; Bouwma-Gearhart, Jana

2018-01-01

Considerable work is still required to eliminate disparities in postsecondary STEM persistence and success across student groups. Engagement in faculty-mentored research has been employed as one strategy to promote personal, professional, and academic gains for undergraduate students, although barriers exist that make it more difficult for some to…

"I Know This Is Supposed to Be More Like the Real World, but . . .": Student Perceptions of a PBL Implementation in an Undergraduate Materials Science Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henry, Holly R.; Tawfik, Andrew A.; Jonassen, David H.; Winholtz, Robert A.; Khanna, Sanjeev

2012-01-01

This qualitative case study examines the initial implementation of a problem-based version of an undergraduate course in materials science for the purpose of identifying areas of improvement to the curriculum prior to a planned second implementation. The course was designed around problems that students work in small teams to solve under the…

Peering Inside the Black Box of Undergraduate Study Habits: The Centrality of Self-Regulated Learning in a Digitized World. WCER Working Paper No. 2015-3

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hora, Matthew T.; Oleson, Amanda K.

2015-01-01

Research suggests which study strategies are effective but little descriptive research focuses on how undergraduate students study in real-world settings. Thus, the mechanisms of students' actual learning remain a black box for the field of higher education, with far more attention paid to inputs and outputs of the learning process. Using a…

Time and space: undergraduate Mexican physics in motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Candela, Antonia

2010-09-01

This is an ethnographic study of the trajectories and itineraries of undergraduate physics students at a Mexican university. In this work learning is understood as being able to move oneself and, other things (cultural tools), through the space-time networks of a discipline (Nespor in Knowledge in motion: space, time and curriculum in undergraduate physics and management. Routledge Farmer, London, 1994). The potential of this socio-cultural perspective allows an analysis of how students are connected through extended spaces and times with an international core discipline as well as with cultural features related to local networks of power and construction. Through an example, I show that, from an actor-network-theory (Latour in Science in action. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1987), that in order to understand the complexities of undergraduate physics processes of learning you have to break classroom walls and take into account students' movements through complex spatial and temporal traces of the discipline of physics. Mexican professors do not give classes following one textbook but in a moment-to-moment open dynamism tending to include undergraduate students as actors in classroom events extending the teaching space-time of the classroom to the disciplinary research work of physics. I also find that Mexican undergraduate students show initiative and display some autonomy and power in the construction of their itineraries as they are encouraged to examine a variety of sources including contemporary research articles, unsolved physics problems, and even to participate in several physicists' spaces, as for example being speakers at the national congresses of physics. Their itineraries also open up new spaces of cultural and social practices, creating more extensive networks beyond those associated with a discipline. Some economic, historical and cultural contextual features of this school of sciences are analyzed in order to help understanding the particular way students are encouraged to develop their autonomy.

Outcomes of a clinical partnership model for undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Newton, Jennifer M; Cross, Wendy M; White, Karin; Ockerby, Cherene; Billett, Stephen

2011-08-01

Over the last decade several innovative approaches to enhance students' transition to graduate nurse year have been implemented or piloted. This paper describes a study that investigated how the social practices of clinical partnership placement model underpin workplace learning for undergraduate students as they transitioned to graduate. A mixed method approach was utilized comprising individual interviews with students, observation of clinical workplaces across six different areas of nursing practice, student surveys of the clinical learning environment and participant workshops. Three themes were identified that influenced participants' preparedness for work and enhanced the transition into the workplace: 'organizational familiarity', 'continuity' and 'social participation'. A clinical partnership model offers a degree of work readiness for novices when commencing their professional practice role. It enables individuals to participate and engage in workplace activities which are a central component of their learning.

Using Standardized Clients in the Classroom: An Evaluation of a Training Module to Teach Active Listening Skills to Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, Anissa; Welch, Benjamin

2009-01-01

This article describes the implementation of a module that utilizes drama students to teach social work students how to use active listening skills in an interview environment. The module was implemented during a semester-long micro skills practice course taught to 13 undergraduate social work seniors in a western liberal arts university. Four…

Building Your Undergraduate Physics Career

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-03-01

In this interactive event for undergraduates, students will learn important lessons about career preparation, including skill building, networking, and developing ``soft skills.'' Our expert panel of working physicists will be on hand to answer questions, offer advice, and share their stories. Light refreshments will be served.

Proceedings of the ninth national conference on undergraduate research, 1995. Volume 3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yearout, R.D.

The Ninth National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR 95) was held at Union College in Schenectady, New York. This annual celebration of undergraduate scholarly activity continues to elicit strong nation-wide support and enthusiasm among both students and faculty. Attendance was nearly 1,650, which included 1,213 student oral and poster presenters. For the second year in a row, many student papers had to be rejected for presentation at NCUR due to conference size limitations. Thus, submitted papers for presentation at NCUR 95 were put through a careful review process before acceptance. Those students who have been selected to have their papermore » appear in these Proceedings have been through yet a second review process. As a consequence, their work has been judged to represent an impressive level of achievement at the undergraduate level. Volume 3 contains papers related to Biological Sciences (46 papers); Chemical Sciences (21 papers); and Environmental Sciences (7 papers).« less

Proceedings of the ninth national conference on undergraduate research, 1995. Volume 1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yearout, R.D.

The Ninth National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR 95) was held at Union College in Schenectady, New York. This annual celebration of undergraduate scholarly activity continues to elicit strong nation-wide support and enthusiasm among both students and faculty. Attendance was nearly 1,650, which included 1,213 student oral and poster presenters. For the second year in a row, many student papers had to be rejected for presentation at NCUR due to conference size limitations. Thus, submitted papers for presentation at NCUR 95 were put through a careful review process before acceptance. Those students who have been selected to have their papermore » appear in these Proceedings have been through yet a second review process. As a consequence, their work has been judged to represent an impressive level of achievement at the undergraduate level. Volume 1 contains papers related to Arts and Humanities (52 papers), and Social and Behavioral Sciences (64 papers).« less

Baccalaureate Student Perceptions of Challenging Family Problems: Building Bridges to Acceptance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Floyd, Melissa; Gruber, Kenneth J.

2011-01-01

This study explored the attitudes of 147 undergraduate social work majors to working with difficult families. Students indicated which problems (from a list of 42, including hot topics such as homosexuality, transgender issues, abortion, and substance abuse) they believed they would find most difficult to work with and provided information…

The Epistemological Beliefs of Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson-Meger, Jennifer I.

2013-01-01

Research has shown that undergraduate students come into social work programs with an epistemological belief system that values personal experience over critical thinking processes. Epistemological development and self-efficacy are important factors to facilitating identity as a learner and developing critical thinking aptitudes. This qualitative,…

A Series of Computational Neuroscience Labs Increases Comfort with MATLAB.

PubMed

Nichols, David F

2015-01-01

Computational simulations allow for a low-cost, reliable means to demonstrate complex and often times inaccessible concepts to undergraduates. However, students without prior computer programming training may find working with code-based simulations to be intimidating and distracting. A series of computational neuroscience labs involving the Hodgkin-Huxley equations, an Integrate-and-Fire model, and a Hopfield Memory network were used in an undergraduate neuroscience laboratory component of an introductory level course. Using short focused surveys before and after each lab, student comfort levels were shown to increase drastically from a majority of students being uncomfortable or with neutral feelings about working in the MATLAB environment to a vast majority of students being comfortable working in the environment. Though change was reported within each lab, a series of labs was necessary in order to establish a lasting high level of comfort. Comfort working with code is important as a first step in acquiring computational skills that are required to address many questions within neuroscience.

A Series of Computational Neuroscience Labs Increases Comfort with MATLAB

PubMed Central

Nichols, David F.

2015-01-01

Computational simulations allow for a low-cost, reliable means to demonstrate complex and often times inaccessible concepts to undergraduates. However, students without prior computer programming training may find working with code-based simulations to be intimidating and distracting. A series of computational neuroscience labs involving the Hodgkin-Huxley equations, an Integrate-and-Fire model, and a Hopfield Memory network were used in an undergraduate neuroscience laboratory component of an introductory level course. Using short focused surveys before and after each lab, student comfort levels were shown to increase drastically from a majority of students being uncomfortable or with neutral feelings about working in the MATLAB environment to a vast majority of students being comfortable working in the environment. Though change was reported within each lab, a series of labs was necessary in order to establish a lasting high level of comfort. Comfort working with code is important as a first step in acquiring computational skills that are required to address many questions within neuroscience. PMID:26557798

A Survey of the Job Profiles of Biomedical Informatics Graduates.

PubMed

Macedo, Alessandra A; Ruiz, Evandro E S; Baranauskas, José A

2016-10-17

In 2003, the University of São Paulo established the first Biomedical Informatics (BMI) undergraduate course in Brazil. Our mission is to provide undergraduate students with formal education on the fundamentals of BMI and its applied methods. This undergraduate course offers theoretical aspects, practical knowledge and scientifically oriented skills in the area of BMI, enab- ling students to contribute to research and methodical development in BMI. Course coordinators, professors and students frequently evaluate the BMI course and the curriculum to ensure that alumni receive quality higher education. This study investigates (i) the main job activities undertake by USP BMI graduates, (ii) subjects that are fundamental important for graduates to pursue a career in BMI, and (iii) the course quality perceived by the alumni. Use of a structured questionnaire to conduct a survey involving all the BMI graduates who received their Bachelor degree before July, 2015 (attempted n = 205). One hundred and forty-five graduates (71 %) answered the questionnaire. Nine out of ten of our former students currently work as informaticians. Seventy-six graduates (52 %) work within the biomedical informatics field. Fifty-five graduates (38 %) work outside the biomedical informatics field, but they work in other IT areas. Ten graduates (7 %) do not work with BMI or any other informatics activities, and four (3 %) are presently unemployed. Among the 145 surveyed BMI graduates, 46 (32 %) and seven (5 %) hold a Master's degree and a PhD degree, respectively. Database Systems, Software Engineering, Introduction to Computer Science, Object-Oriented Programming, and Data Structures are regarded as the most important subjects during the higher education course. The majority of the graduates (105 or 72 %) are satisfied with the BMI education and training they received during the undergraduate course. More than half of the graduates from our BMI course work in their primary education area. Besides technical adequacy, the diverse job profiles, and the high level of satisfaction of our graduates indicate the importance of undergraduate courses specialized in the BMI domain are of utmost importance.

A Prototype Two-tier Mentoring Program for Undergraduate Summer Interns from Minority-Serving Institutions at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gens, R.; Prakash, A.; Ozbay, G.; Sriharan, S.; Balazs, M. S.; Chittambakkam, A.; Starkenburg, D. P.; Waigl, C.; Cook, S.; Ferguson, A.; Foster, K.; Jones, E.; Kluge, A.; Stilson, K.

2013-12-01

The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) is partnering with Delaware State University, Virginia State University, Elizabeth City State University, Bethune-Cookman University, and Morgan State University on a U.S. Department of Agriculture - National Institute for Food and Agriculture funded grant for ';Enhancing Geographic Information System Education and Delivery through Collaboration: Curricula Design, Faculty, Staff, and Student Training and Development, and Extension Services'. As a part of this grant, in summer 2013, UAF hosted a week long workshop followed by an intense two week undergraduate internship program. Six undergraduate students from partnering Universities worked with UAF graduate students as their direct mentors. This cohort of undergraduate mentees and graduate student mentors were in-turn counseled by the two UAF principal investigators who served as ';super-mentors'. The role of each person in the two-tier mentoring system was well defined. The super-mentors ensured that there was consistency in the way the internship was setup and resources were allocated. They also ensured that there were no technical glitches in the research projects and that there was healthy communication and interaction among participants. Mentors worked with the mentees ahead of time in outlining a project that aligned with the mentees research interest, provided basic reading material to the interns to get oriented, prepared the datasets required to start the project, and guided the undergraduates throughout the internship. Undergraduates gained hands-on experience in geospatial data collection and application of tools in their projects related to mapping geomorphology, landcover, geothermal sites, fires, and meteorological conditions. Further, they shared their research results and experiences with a broad university-wide audience at the end of the internship period. All participants met at lunch-time for a daily science talk from external speakers. The program offered a rich and gratifying experience for all participants. Undergraduate students got a sneak-peek into a career in higher academia before stepping into graduate school. Graduate students gained mentoring experience, and also learned the importance of good time management and setting clear expectations.

Approaches to learning among occupational therapy undergraduate students: A cross-cultural study.

PubMed

Brown, Ted; Fong, Kenneth N K; Bonsaksen, Tore; Lan, Tan Hwei; Murdolo, Yuki; Gonzalez, Pablo Cruz; Beng, Lim Hua

2017-07-01

Students may adopt various approaches to academic learning. Occupational therapy students' approaches to study and the impact of cultural context have not been formally investigated to date. To examine the approaches to study adopted by undergraduate occupational therapy students from four different cultural settings. 712 undergraduate occupational therapy students (n = 376 from Australia, n = 109 from Hong Kong, n = 160 from Norway and n = 67 from Singapore) completed the Approaches and Study Skills Inventory for Students (ASSIST). A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the ASSIST subscales for the students from the four countries. Post-hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean scores for the strategic approach were significantly different between Australia and the other three countries. The mean scores for the surface approach were significantly different between Australia and Hong Kong, and Hong Kong and Norway. There were no significant differences between the deep approach to studying between Australia, Norway, Singapore and Hong Kong. Culture and educational context do appear to impact the approaches to study adopted by undergraduate occupational therapy students. Academic and practice educators need to be cognizant of what approaches to studying the students they work with adopt.

Earth System Science Online: An Innovative Course for Non-traditional Students, Offered by Hampton University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, D. Q.; Kozusko, F.; Maggi, B. H.

2003-12-01

Hampton University (HU), a historically black university, is currently offering an innovative online course, Earth System Science Online, for teachers, future teachers, non-science undergraduate majors, and mature non-traditional students continuing their education. Supported by NASA and offered by the Interdisciplinary Science Center at HU, this course targets students interested in an asynchronous web-based learning environment. Often these students are working adults, such as those in the HU religious studies program, or undergraduate athletes who need the flexibility of taking their courses online in the evenings. Participants of this course earn three hours of science credit either graduate or undergraduate through their online explorations of the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere. The incorporation of specific problem-based case studies, allows students to investigate weather phenomena, deforestation, and the various instruments and satellite data systems that are used to collect and analyze this data. This web-based course utilizes the unique capabilities of the web allowing students to work at a self-regulated pace and at times most convenient to their schedules. The course delivers all lectures, text readings, and course assignments online. Assignments are given on a weekly basis, and participants are expected to conduct independent research that will enrich their online experience. The nature of the web allows the students to easily integrate text and graphics into their assignments and have access to their classmate's work. Participants meet online weekly and interact as a team.

Interprofessional education: merging nursing, midwifery and CAM.

PubMed

Netherwood, Maggie; Derham, Ruth

To ascertain the value of bringing together undergraduate students from nursing, midwifery, and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to determine what they could learn from each other. Interprofessional education (IPE) is a growing field promoting interaction between professional groups, collaborative working and quality of health. In conventional health, IPE has a role to play in undergraduate education. No studies have been undertaken to investigate the integration of CAM students and conventional undergraduate healthcare students. In a mixed-method study, in 2010, a sample of third-year students enrolled on adult nursing, midwifery, homeopathy and complementary therapies degree courses took part in two workshops and a focus-group discussion. Six themes were identified from qualitative data analysis: interaction; breaking down prejudices; knowledge of self; knowledge of others; common aims; and organisational limitations. The common aim of patient-centred care allowed students to recognise the benefits of a more integrated health system.

Utilizing International Clinical Practice to Build Inter-Cultural Sensitivity in Social Work Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krajewski-Jaime, Elvia R.; And Others

1996-01-01

Twenty-three undergraduate social work students from Eastern Michigan University completed a seven-week internship in a geriatric unit at a Mexico City hospital. Analyzes stages that students went through as they began to realize the importance of cultural context and to understand cultural differences in human behavior and service provision.…

Student-Authored Hypermedia in Veterinary Anatomy: Teaching and Learning Outcomes of Group Project Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garvin, Anthony; Carrington, Stephen

1997-01-01

Describes the Directed-Self Education program at the University of Bristol (England) for undergraduate small-group project work in veterinary science that was designed to support students in developing personal study and information technology skills. It also produced student-authored hypermedia tools which could be repurposed by staff as teaching…

The Role of Work Experience and Self-Efficacy in STEM Student Retention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raelin, Joseph A.; Bailey, Margaret B.; Hamann, Jerry; Pendleton, Leslie K.; Reisberg, Rachelle; Whitman, David L.

2015-01-01

The authors report the results of a three-year longitudinal study of retention among undergraduate engineering students enrolled at four major universities. The study demonstrates that self-efficacy can be a critical factor in student persistence and can be broken down into three components: work, career, and academic self-efficacy. The authors…

Work All Day, Study at Night: The Interactive Evening Lecture to Invigorate Working Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stone, Gerard

2014-01-01

Gerard Stone was asked to present the evening lecture in a first-year undergraduate accounting subject. The aim of the subject matter was to provide students with an understanding of fundamental accounting issues and concepts. The subject coordinator advised Stone that, from past experience, most students who attend the evening lecture would be…

Experiencing Work: Supporting the Undergraduate Hospitality, Tourism and Cruise Management Student on an Overseas Work Placement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson, Philip; Busby, Graham

2009-01-01

This paper reports on a funded research project into the experiences of tourism, hospitality and cruise management students on internship outside the UK as part of their British university degree between 2007 and 2009. The research reflected on the perceptions of students, course managers, placement officers and members of university placement…

The Human Rights Philosophy: Support and Opposition among Undergraduate Social Work Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steen, Julie A.; Mann, Mary; Gryglewicz, Kim

2016-01-01

In response to the rising importance of human rights, social work student attitudes toward human rights and the effect of human rights course content on these attitudes were assessed. Descriptive results from a sample of 77 students pointed to a few areas of low support for the human rights philosophy, specifically rights related to mental…

The Virtual Poster Showcase: Opportunities for students to present their research from anywhere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asher, P. M.; Furukawa, H.; Williams, B. M.; Holm Adamec, B.

2015-12-01

Although many students conduct research with faculty in organized summer programs or as part of their course work or their degree work, they often face barriers to traveling to present that research, especially at national or international conferences. This is especially true for students who are members of underrepresented minority populations and students studying outside of the United States. A new and exciting opportunity for undergraduate as well as graduate students to showcase their work is now available. AGU piloted three opportunities for an undergraduate and graduate virtual poster showcase in the fall of 2015. Student participants were recruited from a diverse array of groups including minority-serving organizations, two-year colleges, and internship programs at federal agencies and national laboratories. Students uploaded an abstract, poster, and short video explain their research, and then participated in Q&A sessions with peers as well as expert judges. This presentation will share characteristics of participating groups, lessons learned from this new program, and preliminary evaluation findings as well as plans for the future.

Musculoskeletal pain reports among Mashhad dental students, Iran.

PubMed

Movahhed, Taraneh; Ajami, Behjatalmolook; Soltani, Mostafa; Shakeri, Mohammad Taghi; Dehghani, Mahboobe

2013-01-15

Dental practitioners are susceptible to Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs). The symptoms may begin from education courses. The aim of this study was to assess prevalence of musculoskeletal pain reports and correlated factors among the Mashhad Dental School students, Iran. A total of 177 undergraduate and postgraduate dental students, who were involved in educational clinical training, completed a questionnaire focusing on pain reports of different body anatomical regions. Variables such as gender, academic grade, academic year, clinical working hour, regular exercise times and also pain characteristics including pain duration intensity and frequency were evaluated. As results 82% of undergraduate students and 90% of postgraduate students reported body pain in at least one region. The most prevalent pain locations were: chest/shoulder (46.9%), head/neck (41.8%), middle back (33.9%) and right hand (25.4%). Severity of reported pain was increased due to performing dental work, increased working stress and working fatigue. Regular exercise was associated with alleviated some pain characteristics. As conclusions musculoskeletal pain reports were highly prevalent among dental students. Attention to prevention of musculoskeletal disorders should be considered as priority in dental schools. For dental students exercise training courses for strengthening muscles of shoulder/chest, neck and back are necessary.

Mothering: an unacknowledged aspect of undergraduate clinical teachers' work in nursing.

PubMed

McKenna, Lisa; Wellard, Sally

2009-05-01

Clinical education is an important component of undergraduate nurse education, in which clinical teachers facilitate students' application of theoretical classroom knowledge into the clinical practice setting. Mothering as part of clinical teachers' work was a major finding from a larger study exploring clinical teaching work to identify what shaped their work and barriers to their work in clinical settings. The study used semi-structured interviews, informed by the work of Foucault. Maternal discourses emerged as a predominant one as participants presented their relationships with students describing examples of nurturing, protecting, supporting, guiding and providing discipline. The unexpected finding contradicted the dominant view of students as adult learners, and potentially positions them as dependent in their learning in clinical environments. Exploration of this discourse in the context of the study forms the basis of this paper. It is argued that the overall impact of maternal discourses on clinical teaching and learning is unclear but warrants more detailed investigation.

Journal of Undergraduate Research, Volume IX, 2009

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stiner, K. S.; Graham, S.; Khan, M.

Each year more than 600 undergraduate students are awarded paid internships at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Laboratories. Th ese interns are paired with research scientists who serve as mentors in authentic research projects. All participants write a research abstract and present at a poster session and/or complete a fulllength research paper. Abstracts and selected papers from our 2007–2008 interns that represent the breadth and depth of undergraduate research performed each year at our National Laboratories are published here in the Journal of Undergraduate Research. The fields in which these students worked included: Biology; Chemistry; Computer Science; Engineering; Environmentalmore » Science; General Science; Materials Science; Medical and Health Sciences; Nuclear Science; Physics; Science Policy; and Waste Management.« less

Self-reported changes in clinical behaviour by undergraduate dental students after video-based teaching in paediatric dentistry.

PubMed

Kalwitzki, M

2005-08-01

Four cohorts of undergraduate students (n = 113) were filmed on video tapes whilst performing paediatric treatments. Selected parts of these tapes were shown the day after. Thus, within one term each student was able to view his performance on a videotape as well as those of fellow students. After completion of the clinical course in paediatric dentistry students were asked by means of a questionnaire about behavioural changes in their clinical work regarding different topics. Considerable changes in behaviour were reported for various topics. Most of the students emphasised the viable role of the video for changing their behaviour. This was especially true for aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication where mainly female students benefited. Moreover, video was thought to have been useful for improving capacities to deal with patients in fear or pain and for ergonomics. About two-thirds of the students (64.6%) thought that watching the video had made it easier for them to put theoretical knowledge into action. Video does not seem to play an important role for confirmation and maintenance of behaviour patterns. In conclusion however, it can be stated that video has a high impact on the modification of behaviour patterns of undergraduate students for many aspects of clinical work. The use of video can thus attribute to dental education in an effective way.

Understanding Undergraduate Professional Development Engagement and Its Impact

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blau, Gary; Snell, Corinne M.

2013-01-01

Professional Development Engagement (PDE) is defined as "the level of undergraduate engagement in professional development." It reflects career-related work preparation for "life after college" and is a distinct externally-focused component of student engagement (SE). The increased college retention and subsequent job placement…

Environmental Chemistry in the Undergraduate Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wenzel, Thomas J.; Austin, Rachel N.

2001-01-01

Discusses the importance of environmental chemistry and the use of laboratory exercises in analytical and general chemistry courses. Notes the importance of lab work in heightening student interest in coursework including problem-based learning in undergraduate curricula, ready adaptability of environmental coursework to existing curricula, and…

A phenomenological research study: Perspectives of student learning through small group work between undergraduate nursing students and educators.

PubMed

Wong, Florence Mei Fung

2018-06-18

Small group work is an effective teaching-learning approach in nursing education to enhance students' learning in theoretical knowledge and skill development. Despite its potential advantageous effects on learning, little is known about its actual effects on students' learning from students' and educators' perspectives. To understand students' learning through small group work from the perspectives of students and educators. A qualitative study with focus group interviews was carried out. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were performed with 13 undergraduate nursing students and 10 educators. Four main themes, "initiative learning", "empowerment of interactive group dynamics", "factors for creating effective learning environment", and "barriers influencing students' learning", were derived regarding students' learning in small group work based on the perspectives of the participants. The results showed the importance of learning attitudes of students in individual and group learning. Factors for creating an effective learning environment, including preference for forming groups, effective group size, and adequacy of discussion, facilitate students' learning with the enhancement of learning engagement in small group work. The identified barriers, such as "excessive group work", "conflicts", and "passive team members" can reduce students' motivation and enjoyment of learning. Small group work is recognized as an effective teaching method for knowledge enhancement and skill development in nursing education. All identified themes are important to understand the initiatives of students and group learning, factors influencing an effective learning environment, and barriers hindering students' learning. Nurse educators should pay more attention to the factors that influence an effective learning environment and reduce students' commitment and group dynamics. Moreover, students may need further support to reduce barriers that impede students' learning motivation and enjoyment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NASA's Planetary Geology and Geophysics Undergraduate Research Program (PGGURP): The Value of Undergraduate Geoscience Internships

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gregg, T. K.

2008-12-01

NASA's Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program began funding PGGURP in 1978, in an effort to help planetary scientists deal with what was then seen as a flood of Viking Orbiter data. Each subsequent year, PGGURP has paired 8 - 15 undergraduates with NASA-funded Principal Investigators (PIs) around the country for approximately 8 weeks during the summer. Unlike other internship programs, the students are not housed together, but are paired, one-on-one, with a PI at his or her home institution. PGGURP interns have worked at sites ranging from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Through NASA's Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program, the interns' travel and lodging costs are covered, as are a cost-of-living stipend. Approximately 30% of the undergraduate PGGURP participants continue on to graduate school in the planetary sciences. We consider this to be an enormous success, because the participants are among the best and brightest undergraduates in the country with a wide range of declared majors (e.g., physics, chemistry, biology, as well as geology). Furthermore, those students that do continue tend to excel, and point to the internship as a turning point in their scientific careers. The NASA PIs who serve as mentors agree that this is a valuable experience for them, too, and many of them have been hosting interns annually for well over a decade. The PI obtains enthusiastic and intelligent undergraduate, free of charge, for a summer, while having the opportunity to work closely with today's students who are the future of planetary science. The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston, TX, also sponsors a summer undergraduate internship. Approximately 12 students are selected to live together in apartments located near the Lunar and Planetary Institute and the Johnson Space Center. Similar to PGGURP, the LPI interns are carefully selected to work one-on-one for ~10 weeks during the summer with one of the LPI staff scientists. Many LPI Summer Intern graduates have forged geoscience or planetary science careers after this rewarding experience.

Teaching the process of science: faculty perceptions and an effective methodology.

PubMed

Coil, David; Wenderoth, Mary Pat; Cunningham, Matthew; Dirks, Clarissa

2010-01-01

Most scientific endeavors require science process skills such as data interpretation, problem solving, experimental design, scientific writing, oral communication, collaborative work, and critical analysis of primary literature. These are the fundamental skills upon which the conceptual framework of scientific expertise is built. Unfortunately, most college science departments lack a formalized curriculum for teaching undergraduates science process skills. However, evidence strongly suggests that explicitly teaching undergraduates skills early in their education may enhance their understanding of science content. Our research reveals that faculty overwhelming support teaching undergraduates science process skills but typically do not spend enough time teaching skills due to the perceived need to cover content. To encourage faculty to address this issue, we provide our pedagogical philosophies, methods, and materials for teaching science process skills to freshman pursuing life science majors. We build upon previous work, showing student learning gains in both reading primary literature and scientific writing, and share student perspectives about a course where teaching the process of science, not content, was the focus. We recommend a wider implementation of courses that teach undergraduates science process skills early in their studies with the goals of improving student success and retention in the sciences and enhancing general science literacy.

Teaching the Process of Science: Faculty Perceptions and an Effective Methodology

PubMed Central

Coil, David; Wenderoth, Mary Pat; Cunningham, Matthew

2010-01-01

Most scientific endeavors require science process skills such as data interpretation, problem solving, experimental design, scientific writing, oral communication, collaborative work, and critical analysis of primary literature. These are the fundamental skills upon which the conceptual framework of scientific expertise is built. Unfortunately, most college science departments lack a formalized curriculum for teaching undergraduates science process skills. However, evidence strongly suggests that explicitly teaching undergraduates skills early in their education may enhance their understanding of science content. Our research reveals that faculty overwhelming support teaching undergraduates science process skills but typically do not spend enough time teaching skills due to the perceived need to cover content. To encourage faculty to address this issue, we provide our pedagogical philosophies, methods, and materials for teaching science process skills to freshman pursuing life science majors. We build upon previous work, showing student learning gains in both reading primary literature and scientific writing, and share student perspectives about a course where teaching the process of science, not content, was the focus. We recommend a wider implementation of courses that teach undergraduates science process skills early in their studies with the goals of improving student success and retention in the sciences and enhancing general science literacy. PMID:21123699

The Impact of an Educational Program in Brief Interventions for Alcohol Problems on Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Brazilian Context.

PubMed

Junqueira, Marcelle Aparecida de Barros; Rassool, G Hussein; Santos, Manoel Antônio dos; Pillon, Sandra Cristina

2015-01-01

Nurses are the prime movers in the prevention and harm reduction in alcohol-related harm especially for those patients who are unwilling to access specialist care. The aim of the study is to evaluate the attitudes and knowledge of nursing students before and after Brief Intervention Training for alcohol problems. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 120 undergraduate nursing students. Sixty recruited students were randomized into experimental and control groups (n = 60 each). Participants completed questionnaires on knowledge and attitudes before and after this training of brief intervention. The brief intervention program, 16 hours of duration, includes training for screening and early recognition, nursing, and the treatment of alcohol problems. Analysis of the data showed statistically significant positive change in the nursing students' knowledge (identifications and care) and personal and professional attitudes in working with patients with alcohol problems after the educational intervention. The experimental group differed significantly in all the variables measured at posteducational program. The provision of educational program on brief intervention in undergraduate nursing education can be an effective way for acquisition of knowledge and changes in attitudes in working with patients with alcohol problems.

Undergraduate Research as a Primary Pathway to STEM Careers: Perspectives from the Council on Undergraduate Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manley, P. L.; Ambos, E. L.

2012-12-01

Undergraduate research (UR) is one of the most authentic and effective ways to promote student learning, and is a high-impact educational practice that can lead to measurable gains in student retention and graduation rates, as well as career aspirations. In recent years, UR has expanded from intensive summer one-on-one faculty-student mentored experiences to application in a variety of educational settings, including large lower division courses. The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), founded in 1978, is a national organization of individual (8000) and institutional members (650) within a divisional structure that includes geosciences, as well as 10 other thematic areas. CUR's main mission is to support and promote high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship that develops learning through research. CUR fulfills this mission through extensive publication offerings, faculty and student-directed professional development events, and outreach and advocacy activities that share successful models and strategies for establishing, institutionalizing, and sustaining undergraduate research programs. Over the last decade, CUR has worked with hundreds of academic institutions, including two-year colleges, to develop practices to build undergraduate research into campus cultures and operations. As documented in CUR publications such as Characteristics of Excellence in Undergraduate Research (COEUR), strategies institutions may adopt to enhance and sustain UR often include: (1) the establishment of a central UR campus office, (2) extensive student and faculty participation in campus-based, as well as regional UR celebration events, (3) development of a consistent practice of assessment of UR's impact on student success, and, (4) establishment of clear policies for recognizing and rewarding faculty engagement in UR, particularly with respect to mentorship and publication with student scholars. Three areas of current focus within the international UR community are particularly important to considerations of broadening and strengthening the pipeline of students entering careers in geosciences and other STEM disciplines: (1) embedding UR more effectively and systematically throughout the undergraduate curriculum, (2) connecting UR experiences with student developmental arcs in content knowledge and skill integration, and, (3) growing the scholarship of study of impact of UR on student success and professional achievements. Case studies of institutions, particularly those that represent collaborations between two and four year colleges and universities, that are successfully addressing these focus areas will be presented, along with specific challenges to expanding the use of UR in lower division curricula.

Minority Student Success in College: What Works. Minority Student Success Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brewer, Carolyn

The Washington State Board for Community College Education and the Washington Center for Undergraduate Education undertook a national review of minority student success programs in 1990. Information was solicited from program directors, deans of instruction and student services, national organizations, state higher education boards, students,…

The Student Guide. Five Federal Financial Aid Programs. 88-89.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Education, Washington, DC.

Information on five U.S. Department of Education student financial aid programs and how to apply for them is presented: Pell Grants, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, College Work-Study, Perkins Loans (formerly National Direct Student Loans), and Guaranteed Student Loans (Parent Loans to Undergraduate Students and Supplemental Loans for…

Marketing and Student Recruitment Practices at Four-Year and Two-Year Institutions, 2011. Noel-Levitz Report on Undergraduate Trends in Enrollment Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noel-Levitz, Inc, 2011

2011-01-01

What's working in student recruitment and marketing at the undergraduate level? To find out, Noel-Levitz conducted a 97-item, Web-based poll in April of 2011 as part of the firm's continuing series of benchmark polls for higher education. Among the findings: (1) The "top 10" most effective practices in 2011--across public and private, two-year and…

Undergraduate Research in Physics as a course for Engineering and Computer Science Majors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Brien, James; Rueckert, Franz; Sirokman, Greg

2017-01-01

Undergraduate research has become more and more integral to the functioning of higher educational institutions. At many institutions undergraduate research is conducted as capstone projects in the pure sciences, however, science faculty at some schools (including that of the authors) face the challenge of not having science majors. Even at these institutions, a select population of high achieving engineering students will often express a keen interest in conducting pure science research. Since a foray into science research provides the student the full exposure to the scientific method and scientific collaboration, the experience can be quite rewarding and beneficial to the development of the student as a professional. To this end, the authors have been working to find new contexts in which to offer research experiences to non- science majors, including a new undergraduate research class conducted by physics and chemistry faculty. An added benefit is that these courses are inherently interdisciplinary. Students in the engineering and computer science fields step into physics and chemistry labs to solve science problems, often invoking their own relevant expertise. In this paper we start by discussing the common themes and outcomes of the course. We then discuss three particular projects that were conducted with engineering students and focus on how the undergraduate research experience enhanced their already rigorous engineering curriculum.

Mentoring Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Students via a Team Effort

PubMed Central

Karsai, Istvan; Knisley, Jeff; Knisley, Debra; Yampolsky, Lev; Godbole, Anant

2011-01-01

We describe how a team approach that we developed as a mentoring strategy can be used to recruit, advance, and guide students to be more interested in the interdisciplinary field of mathematical biology, and lead to success in undergraduate research in this field. Students are introduced to research in their first semester via lab rotations. Their participation in the research of four faculty members—two from biology and two from mathematics—gives them a first-hand overview of research in quantitative biology and also some initial experience in research itself. However, one of the primary goals of the lab rotation experience is that of developing teams of students and faculty that combine mathematics and statistics with biology and the life sciences, teams that subsequently mentor undergraduate research in genuine interdisciplinary environments. Thus, the team concept serves not only as a means of establishing interdisciplinary research, but also as a means of incorporating new students into existing research efforts that will then track those students into meaningful research of their own. We report how the team concept is used to support undergraduate research in mathematical biology and what types of team-building strategies have worked for us. PMID:21885821

Growing a Science Internship One Year at a Time: Updates to the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship Program D. Ortiz-Arias, A. Dominguez, A. Zwicker, S. Greco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz, Deedee; Dominguez, Arturo; Zwicker, Andrew; Greco, Shannon

2016-10-01

Between 1993-2014, the National Undergraduate Fellowship (NUF) program, sponsored by the DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, provided summer research internships for outstanding undergraduate students from around the country. Since then, the NUF program was merged into the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program, sponsored by the DOE Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Students. While there were many similarities between the two programs, the SULI program did not include the one-week introductory course in plasma physics or the opportunity for participants to present their summer research results at this meeting. In the past two years, working with representatives from both OFES and WDTS, we have again implemented some of the most important components of the NUF program. The week-long, introductory course in plasma physics is included and streamed live- especially important since most undergraduate physics students have not taken a plasma physics course before they begin their research. Students are again able to present their research to our community, a critical component of a full research experience and plans are underway to obtain additional funding to once again include universities as eligible host sites.

Research and Teaching: Development of Undergraduate Teaching Assistants as Effective Instructors in STEM Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Philipp, Stephanie B.; Tretter, Thomas; Rich, Christine V.

2016-01-01

This study examined the development of peer mentoring skills and deepening of content knowledge by trained and supported undergraduate teaching assistants working with students in entry-level STEM courses across nine departments at a large research-intensive U.S. university.

Training Undergraduate Physics Peer Tutors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nossal, S. M.; Jacob, A. T.

2004-05-01

The University of Wisconsin's Physics Peer Mentor Tutor Program matches upper level undergraduate physics students in small study groups with students studying introductory algebra-based physics. We work with students who are potentially at-risk for having academic trouble with the course. They include students with a low exam score, learning disabilities, no high school physics, weak math backgrounds, and/or on academic probation. We also work with students from groups under represented in the sciences and who may be feeling isolated or marginal on campus such as minority, returning adult, and international students. The tutors provide a supportive learning environment, extra practice problems, and an overview of key concepts. In so doing, they help our students to build confidence and problem solving skills applicable to physics and other areas of their academic careers. The Physics Peer Mentor Tutor Program is modeled after a similar program for chemistry created by the University of Wisconsin's Chemistry Learning Center. Both programs are now run in collaboration. The tutors are chosen for their academic strength and excellent communication skills. Our tutors are majoring in physics, math, and secondary-level science education. The tutors receive ongoing training and supervision throughout the year. They attend weekly discipline-specific meetings to discuss strategies for teaching the content currently being discussed in the physics course. They also participate in a weekly teaching seminar with science tutors from chemistry and biochemistry to discuss teaching methods, mentoring, and general information relating to the students with whom we work. We will describe an overview of the Physics Peer Mentor Tutor Program with a focus on the teacher training program for our undergraduate tutors.

Student Attitudes towards Group Work among Undergraduates in Business Administration, Education and Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottschall, Holli; Garcia-Bayonas, Mariche

2008-01-01

Group work is a widely used teaching technique in higher education. Faculty find themselves utilizing this method in their classes more and more, yet few studies examine what students actually think about group work. The current study surveyed Mathematics, Education, and Business Administration majors at a mid-sized southeastern university in…

An exploration of undergraduate nursing and physiotherapy students' views regarding education for patient handling.

PubMed

Kneafsey, Rosie; Ramsay, Jill; Edwards, Helen; Callaghan, Helen

2012-12-01

To ascertain the views of undergraduate student nurses and physiotherapists regarding their education in patient handling. Musculo-skeletal injuries are an important cause of staff sickness absence and attrition from the nursing profession and are a recognised problem within the physiotherapy profession. Nurses and physiotherapists are at risk of musculo-skeletal injuries as a result of their role in assisting patients with movement. A questionnaire survey was undertaken of undergraduate nursing and physiotherapy students (n = 371) at one university. Most students agreed that university teaching about moving and handling prepared them for clinical practice (64%). Over a third reported that they had never undertaken a written moving and handling risk assessment in clinical practice (38%). Almost half of the sample (40%) admitted undertaking unsafe moving and handling activities. Half (50%) also stated that they would rather 'fit' into the team than challenge unsafe practice. Almost a third (29%) stated that they had begun to experience pain since becoming a student. There were significant differences between nursing and physiotherapy students. Physiotherapy students were more likely to report being supervised when moving and handling and reported being more assertive about adhering to safe practice. The well-being of both nursing and physiotherapy undergraduate students is threatened when students undertake work placements in clinical settings. University-based education in safe patient handling, though important, can be undermined by workplace settings where unsafe practices occur. Collaboration is needed between university educators, managers and practice-based mentors to support students to maintain safe approaches to moving and handling patients. A third of students reported developing pain since becoming a healthcare student. Students entering their professions already injured may leave the workforce owing to poor physical well-being. It is vital that the clinical workplace supports safe systems of working. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Blending Curriculum with Research in an Undergraduate Petrology Course: A Recipe for Success?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzales, D. A.; Semken, S. C.

2009-12-01

In this presentation we discuss the design, key curricular elements, and strengths and weaknesses of an undergraduate course in the Department of Geosciences at Fort Lewis College that was recast to focus on petrologic studies in the Southern Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau. Redesign of the course retained an additional petrology option in the curriculum and offered undergraduates a richer opportunity to learn and practice science-research skills. This course emphasizes direct engagement and student responsibility for learning: traits valuable in transforming undergraduates into experienced and competent professionals. Previous offerings of this course have been field based, each having a unique context for research. The primary pedagogical strategy was to blend field studies with inquiry to promote authentic, student-driven research. Students applied and tested their prior knowledge, and used observational and interpretative skills, to investigate major regional rock bodies and geologic histories, as opposed to completing a set of activities with predefined outcomes. In 2010, students will work on an NSF-funded project to test hypotheses on the origin and evolution of mafic magmas of the Navajo volcanic field. This research will most involve petrographic and microanalytical techniques on rock specimens with a subordinate amount of field work. Formative and summative assessment data for previous offerings of this course reveal that these classes have an impact on the academic interests and future successes of students. Assessment data collected from students, and other faculty that interacted with them, indicate that students in this research-oriented petrology course have gained a greater understanding of the elements and complications of research. They have also developed geologic skills and a passion for geologic research that have influenced subsequent academic (and later career) paths of the students.

Validation and Application of the Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U): Identifying Factors Associated with Valuing Important Workplace Skills among Biology Students

PubMed Central

Marbach-Ad, Gili; Rietschel, Carly; Thompson, Katerina V.

2016-01-01

We present a novel assessment tool for measuring biology students’ values and experiences across their undergraduate degree program. Our Survey of Teaching Beliefs and Practices for Undergraduates (STEP-U) assesses the extent to which students value skills needed for the workplace (e.g., ability to work in groups) and their experiences with teaching practices purported to promote such skills (e.g., group work). The survey was validated through factor analyses in a large sample of biology seniors (n = 1389) and through response process analyses (five interviewees). The STEP-U skills items were characterized by two underlying factors: retention (e.g., memorization) and transfer (e.g., knowledge application). Multiple linear regression models were used to examine relationships between classroom experiences, values, and student characteristics (e.g., gender, cumulative grade point average [GPA], and research experience). Student demographic and experiential factors predicted the extent to which students valued particular skills. Students with lower GPAs valued retention skills more than those with higher GPAs. Students with research experience placed greater value on scientific writing and interdisciplinary understanding. Greater experience with specific teaching practices was associated with valuing the corresponding skills more highly. The STEP-U can provide feedback vital for designing curricula that better prepare students for their intended postgraduate careers. PMID:27856547

Vietnamese Students Employability Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tuan, Nguyen Minh

2011-01-01

This paper attempts to investigate if the International University (IU) students' core competencies can meet the requirements set by employers, what are the differences in core competencies in final year students (or undergraduates), and how they view themselves compared with ex-students after one or two years in working environment, how…

The Student/Library Computer Science Collaborative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hahn, Jim

2015-01-01

With funding from an Institute of Museum and Library Services demonstration grant, librarians of the Undergraduate Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign partnered with students in computer science courses to design and build student-centered mobile apps. The grant work called for demonstration of student collaboration…

The Student Experience of PACE at Macquarie University: Understanding Motivations for Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McLachlan, Kath; Rawlings-Sanaei, Felicity; Mason, Colina; Haski-Levanthal, Debbie; Nabeel, Hussein

2017-01-01

Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) at Macquarie University offers undergraduate students experiential learning opportunities with local, regional and international partners. Through PACE, students work on mutually beneficial projects that both meet the partner's organizational goals and enable students to strengthen graduate capabilities…

Student engagement in first year of an ICT degree: staff and student perceptions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheard, Judy; Carbone, Angela; Hurst, A. J.

2010-03-01

This article reports on a study of student engagement in the first year of their undergraduate information and communication technology (ICT) degree at an Australian university. The study was conducted at Monash University in the four undergraduate ICT degrees of the Faculty of Information Technology. The study draws on data collected from staff and students using interviews and a start of semester survey. Three aspects of engagement broadly classified as behavioural, cognitive and affective are used as a framework to analyse the data. Results show that staff perceived students as demonstrating low levels of engagement in their university study. Students presented many reasons to explain the nature and extent of their engagement. Many of their reasons relate to studying in an educational landscape of changing lifestyles and work patterns and a strong reliance on technology to support their learning. This article re-conceptualises the undergraduate student learning experience in the current tertiary climate. Implications of the perceived lack of student engagement are discussed and recommendations are made for ways to increase the level of student engagement.

Teaching Macro Practice: An Experiential Learning Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carey, Lois A.

2007-01-01

This paper presents a model for teaching an undergraduate social work macro practice course utilizing an experiential learning paradigm. The model provides a campus-based project with social work majors in simultaneous dual roles of students and grassroots leaders, focusing on rape and sexual assault prevention training for college students. This…

Industrial Work Placement in Higher Education: A Study of Civil Engineering Student Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tennant, Stuart; Murray, Mike; Gilmour, Bob; Brown, Linda

2018-01-01

For civil engineering undergraduates, short-term industrial work placement provides an invaluable learning experience. Notwithstanding the near-universal endorsement of short-term placement programmes, the resulting experience is rarely articulated through the student voice. This article provides an analysis of 174 questionnaires returned by…

Images of Pharmacy in the Arts: The Humanities in Pharmacy Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poirier, Suzanne; Mrtek, Robert G.

1985-01-01

An undergraduate professional elective course emphasizing the study of literary and fine arts works portraying pharmacy and pharmacists, developed to give pharmacy students a variety of experiences with role perceptions, is described. Students examine, discuss, and critique fiction, drama, music, the visual arts, and other creative works. (MSE)

Working for Skills. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bibby, Elizabeth; Jones, Andy; Marsland, Phil

A project aimed to use United Kingdom full-time undergraduate student work experience as the vehicle for development of the students' skills to improve their subsequent employability upon graduation. It took an employer-led approach to develop a model transferable to other employers and higher education (HE) institutions. Arrangements were made…

Investigating the Role of Socially Mediated Metacognition during Collaborative Troubleshooting of Electric Circuits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van De Bogart, Kevin L.; Dounas-Frazer, Dimitri R.; Lewandowski, H. J.; Stetzer, MacKenzie R.

2017-01-01

Developing students' ability to troubleshoot is an important learning outcome for many undergraduate physics lab courses, especially electronics courses. In other work, metacognition has been identified as an important feature of troubleshooting. However, that work has focused primarily on "individual" students' metacognitive processes…

Community hospitals and general practice: extended attachments for medical students.

PubMed

Grant, J; Ramsay, A; Bain, J

1997-09-01

The first year experience of an innovative experiment in undergraduate medical education is described. The study investigated the educational effectiveness of prolonged clinical attachments for medical undergraduates in community hospital-based general practice. It has also assessed the ability of students to take some responsibility for their own learning in a clinically challenging environment. A retrospective evaluation of the experience obtained during the 3 month attachments for a self-selected group of fourth year Dundee medical school undergraduates was made. These undergraduates were placed in 10 mainly rural Scottish general practices with attached community hospitals providing a wide spectrum of inpatient and outpatient medical and surgical care. Students were assessed on the satisfactory completion of a portfolio of learning experiences and a practical clinical skills list. They were also required to submit a clinical project based on some aspect of their work during the attachment. The initial results showed a high degree of student and tutor satisfaction with the attachments. The assessment of all 10 of the students' educational achievements in their attachment were regarded as satisfactory and two were assessed as outstanding. Tutor assessment confirmed the validity of the initiative. Prolonged attachments in community hospital-based general practice for medical undergraduates have proved educationally valid and popular with both students and tutors. The development and dissemination of this model on a wider scale has resource issues which require to be addressed.

2017 Campus RainWorks Challenge

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA’s Office of Water is pleased to announce its fifth annual Campus RainWorks Challenge for undergraduate and graduate students to design innvoative green infrastructure practices for stormwater management.

2016 Campus RainWorks Challenge

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA’s Office of Water is pleased to announce its fifth annual Campus RainWorks Challenge for undergraduate and graduate students to design innvoative green infrastructure practices for stormwater management.

Coming Out in Class: Challenges and Benefits of Active Learning in a Biology Classroom for LGBTQIA Students.

PubMed

Cooper, Katelyn M; Brownell, Sara E

As we transition our undergraduate biology classrooms from traditional lectures to active learning, the dynamics among students become more important. These dynamics can be influenced by student social identities. One social identity that has been unexamined in the context of undergraduate biology is the spectrum of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) identities. In this exploratory interview study, we probed the experiences and perceptions of seven students who identify as part of the LGBTQIA community. We found that students do not always experience the undergraduate biology classroom to be a welcoming or accepting place for their identities. In contrast to traditional lectures, active-learning classes increase the relevance of their LGBTQIA identities due to the increased interactions among students during group work. Finally, working with other students in active-learning classrooms can present challenges and opportunities for students considering their LGBTQIA identity. These findings indicate that these students' LGBTQIA identities are affecting their experience in the classroom and that there may be specific instructional practices that can mitigate some of the possible obstacles. We hope that this work can stimulate discussions about how to broadly make our active-learning biology classes more inclusive of this specific population of students. © 2016 K. M. Cooper and S. E. Brownell. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

The effect of graphic organizers on students' attitudes and academic performance in undergraduate general biology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cleveland, Lacy

High attrition among undergraduate Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) majors has led national and business leaders in the United States to call for both research and educational reform within the collegiate STEM classrooms. Included among suggestions for reform are ideas to improve retention of first-year students and to improve critical thinking and depth of knowledge, instead of covering large quantities of materials. Past research on graphic organizers suggest these tools assist students in learning information and facilitate conceptual and critical thinking. Despite their widespread use in high school science departments, collegiate humanities departments, and even medical schools, their use is considerably less prevalent in the undergraduate biology classroom. In addition to their lack of use, little research has been conducted on their academic benefits in the collegiate classroom. Based on national calls for improving retention among undergraduate STEM majors and research suggesting that academic success during an individual first major's related course highly determine if that individual will continue on in their intended major, the researcher of this dissertation chose to conduct research on an introductory general biology class. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the research in this dissertation examines the effectiveness of graphic organizers in promoting academic success and also examines their influence on student attitudes. This research is grounded in the theories of constructivism and cognitive load theory. Constructivism suggests that individuals must build their knowledge from their personal experiences, while the cognitive load theory recognizes the limited nature of one's working memory and suggests that instructional practices minimize cognitive overload. The results of this dissertation suggest that the use of graphic organizers in an undergraduate general biology classroom can increase students' academic success when the cognitive load is high; however, when the instructors make effort to reduce cognitive load, while providing the students an opportunity to participate in metacognitive activities and to engage their germane working memory, graphic organizers do not provide an additional benefit to the students.

One Approach to Formulating and Evaluating Student Work Groups in Legal Environment of Business Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Camara, Joan E.; Carr, B. Nathaniel; Grota, Barbara L.

2007-01-01

The principal focus of this study is an investigation of whether students' grade point average (GPA) is a viable criterion for forming student work groups in the undergraduate Legal Environment of Business course. More specifically, the research focuses on the impact of: (1) GPA-homogeneous (HO) and GPA-heterogeneous (HE) groups upon student…

The Impact of Work Study on the Integration and Retention of Undergraduate Students at the University of California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blandizzi, Maria Queta

2013-01-01

Consistent increases to the educational costs to attend the University of California are the current climate students and families find themselves grappling with. The federal work study program is one program employed to support students and their families in financing the cost of education. In an effort to further enhance the professional…

Improving Project Performance through Implementation of Agile Methodologies in the Renewable Energy Construction Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez Mendez, Arturo

Collaborative inquiry within undergraduate research experiences (UREs) is an effective curriculum tool to support student growth. This study seeks to understand how collaborative inquiry within undergraduate biology student experiences are affected within faculty mentored experiences and non-mentored experiences at a large private southeastern university. Undergraduate biology students engaged in UREs (faculty as mentor and non-mentor experiences) were examined for statistically significant differences in student self-efficacy. Self-efficacy was measured in three subcomponents (thinking and working like a scientist, scientific self-efficacy, and scientific identity) from student responses obtained in an online survey. Responses were analyzed using a nonparametric equivalent of a t test (Mann Whitney U test) to make comparisons between faculty mentored and non-mentored student groups. The conclusions of this study highlight the statistically significant effect of faculty mentoring in all three subcomponents. Faculty and university policy makers can apply these findings to develop further support for effective faculty mentoring practices in UREs.

Evolving Strategies for the Incorporation of Bioinformatics Within the Undergraduate Cell Biology Curriculum

PubMed Central

Honts, Jerry E.

2003-01-01

Recent advances in genomics and structural biology have resulted in an unprecedented increase in biological data available from Internet-accessible databases. In order to help students effectively use this vast repository of information, undergraduate biology students at Drake University were introduced to bioinformatics software and databases in three courses, beginning with an introductory course in cell biology. The exercises and projects that were used to help students develop literacy in bioinformatics are described. In a recently offered course in bioinformatics, students developed their own simple sequence analysis tool using the Perl programming language. These experiences are described from the point of view of the instructor as well as the students. A preliminary assessment has been made of the degree to which students had developed a working knowledge of bioinformatics concepts and methods. Finally, some conclusions have been drawn from these courses that may be helpful to instructors wishing to introduce bioinformatics within the undergraduate biology curriculum. PMID:14673489

Research Projects and Undergraduate Retention at the University of Arizona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker-LaFollette, Amanda; Hardegree-Ullman, K.; Towner, A. P.; McGraw, A. M.; Biddle, L. I.; Robertson, A.; Turner, J.; Smith, C.

2013-06-01

The University of Arizona’s Astronomy Club utilizes its access to the many telescopes in and around Tucson, Arizona, to allow students to fully participate in a variety of research projects. Three current projects - the exoplanet project, the radio astronomy project, and the Kepler project - all work to give undergraduates who are interested in astronomy the opportunity to explore practical astronomy outside the classroom and in a peer-supported environment. The exoplanet project strives to teach students about the research process, including observing exoplanet transits on the Steward Observatory 61” Kuiper telescope on Mt. Bigelow in Tucson, AZ, reducing the data into lightcurves with the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF), modeling the lightcurves using the Interactive Data Language (IDL), and writing and publishing a professional paper, and does it all with no faculty involvement. The radio astronomy project is designed to provide students with an opportunity to work with a professor on a radio astronomy research project, and to learn about the research process, including observing molecules in molecular clouds using the Arizona Radio Observatory 12-meter radio telescope on Kitt Peak in Arizona. The Kepler project is a new project designed in part to facilitate graduate-undergraduate interaction in the Astronomy Department, and in part to allow students (both graduate and undergraduate) to participate in star-spot cycle research using data from the Kepler Mission. All of these research projects and structures provide students with unique access to telescopes, peer mentoring, networking, and understanding the entire process of astronomical research.

An exploration of peer-assisted learning in undergraduate nursing students in paediatric clinical settings: An ethnographic study.

PubMed

Carey, Matthew C; Chick, Anna; Kent, Bridie; Latour, Jos M

2018-06-01

Peer-assisted leaning relates to the acquisition of knowledge and skills through shared learning of matched equals. The concept has been explored within the field of nurse education across a range of learning environments, but its impact in practice is still relatively unknown. This paper reports on findings when observing paediatric undergraduate nursing students who engage in PAL within the clinical practice setting. The aim of this paper is to report the findings of a study undertaken to explore peer-assisted learning in undergraduate nursing students, studying children's health, in the clinical practice setting. A qualitative ethnographic study using non-participant observations. A range of inpatient paediatric clinical settings across two teaching hospitals. First, second and third year paediatric student nurses enrolled on a Bachelor of Nursing Programme. Non-participant observations were used to observe a range of interactions between the participants when engaging in peer-assisted learning within the same clinical area. A total of 67 h of raw data collected across all observations was analysed using framework analysis to draw together key themes. Of the 20 identified students across two hospitals, 17 agreed to take part in the study. Findings were aggregated into three key themes; 1. Peers as facilitators to develop learning when engaging in peer-assisted learning, 2. Working together to develop clinical practice and deliver care, 3. Positive support and interaction from peers to enhance networking and develop working structure. Peer-assisted learning in undergraduate children's nursing students stimulates students in becoming engaged in their learning experiences in clinical practice and enhance collaborative support within the working environment. The benefits of peer-assisted learning in current clinical practice settings can be challenging. Therefore, education and practice need to be aware of the benefits and their contribution towards future strategies and models of learning. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Career preferences among medical students].

PubMed

Soethout, Marc B M; ten Cate, Olle Th J

2014-01-01

Research on the preference of medical specialty among medical students in the Netherlands and the attractiveness of aspects of the medical profession during the period 2009-2013. Retrospective, descriptive research. Data from medical students in the Netherlands who participated in the computer programme Inventory Medical Professionals Choice (IMBK) were analyzed with respect to their preference of medical specialty and the attractiveness of various aspects of the medical profession. The IMBK programme was available free of charge through the Royal Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) website 'Arts in Spe' (Future Physician) during the period 2009-2013. The content of the IMBK programme was based on the questionnaire from the medical profile book developed by the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). General practice was the most popular specialty, particularly among female medical students, with interest increasing during the undergraduate medical curriculum. Hardly any students were interested in insurance medicine, occupational medicine and elderly medicine. Direct patient care was the most attractive professional aspect for medical students. Female students were more attracted to direct and prolonged patient contact than their male counterparts. The number of hours students wished to work in future declined during the course of the undergraduate curriculum, and women were more inclined to prefer regular working hours with adequate leisure time than men. During the course of the undergraduate medical curriculum, medical students changed their preference for medical specialty. Major differences exist between male and female students in terms of preference of medical specialty and attractiveness of aspects of the medical profession.

Further Research on an Undergraduate Measure of Professional Development Engagement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blau, Gary; Pred, Robert; Andersson, Lynne; Lopez, Andrea B.

2015-01-01

Professional Development Engagement (PDE) refers to the level of undergraduate engagement in professional development. Professional Development (PD) involves activities designed to help students prepare for a successful college-to-work transition. This study tested a new 12-item measure of PDE for a complete-data sample of 246 undergraduate…

Teamwork: Education for Entrants to the Environment Professions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meehan, Barry; Thomas, Ian

2006-01-01

Numerous reports over recent years emphasise the importance of teamwork training in undergraduate programs in environment education at tertiary level. This paper describes a project undertaken by a team of final year undergraduate environment students from four faculties at RMIT University in Australia working on a multi-disciplinary environment…

Role of Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) in an Introductory Computer Concepts Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skudrna, Vincent J.

1997-01-01

Discusses the role of computer assisted instruction (CAI) in undergraduate education via a survey of related literature and specific applications. Describes an undergraduate computer concepts course and includes appendices of instructions, flowcharts, programs, sample student work in accounting, COBOL instructional model, decision logic in a…

Undergraduate Introductory Quantitative Chemistry Laboratory Course: Interdisciplinary Group Projects in Phytoremediation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Engelen, Debra L.; Suljak, Steven W.; Hall, J. Patrick; Holmes, Bert E.

2007-01-01

The laboratory course around the phytoremediation is designed to develop both individual skills and promote cooperative learning while starting students work on projects in a specific area of environmental chemistry and analysis. Many research-active undergraduate institutions have developed courses, which are interdisciplinary in nature that…

Transitioning from Expository Laboratory Experiments to Course-Based Undergraduate Research in General Chemistry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Ted M.; Ricciardo, Rebecca; Weaver, Tyler

2016-01-01

General chemistry courses predominantly use expository experiments that shape student expectations of what a laboratory activity entails. Shifting within a semester to course-based undergraduate research activities that include greater decision-making, collaborative work, and "messy" real-world data necessitates a change in student…

The Role of Internships in Raising Undergraduates' Awareness and Perception of Extension

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grotta, Amy; McGrath, Daniel

2013-01-01

Extension does not often reach out to undergraduates at their home institutions. Doing so might help Extension reach new audiences; leverage scarce resources; provide meaningful, community-based work experience; and perhaps recruit another generation of Extension professionals. We surveyed students who had completed internships with Extension…

An undergraduate placemement at the St John Eye Hospital, Jerusalem.

PubMed

Dickinson, Ruth

2017-06-08

The elective placement is an opportunity for nursing undergraduates to independently decide where to go and what to do to widen their clinical experience. Being able to decide on and participate in an elective placement provides student nurses with a chance to work in a different area and explore personal ambitions. This reflective account examines a student nurse's experiences while on an elective placement at an eye hospital in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Bringing Art, Music, Theater and Dance Students into Earth and Space Science Research Labs: A New Art Prize Science and Engineering Artists-in-Residence Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moldwin, M.; Mexicotte, D.

2017-12-01

A new Arts/Lab Student Residence program was developed at the University of Michigan that brings artists into a research lab. Science and Engineering undergraduate and graduate students working in the lab describe their research and allow the artists to shadow them to learn more about the work. The Arts/Lab Student Residencies are designed to be unique and fun, while encouraging interdisciplinary learning and creative production by exposing students to life and work in an alternate discipline's maker space - i.e. the artist in the engineering lab, the engineer in the artist's studio or performance space. Each residency comes with a cash prize and the expectation that a work of some kind will be produced as a response to experience. The Moldwin Prize is designed for an undergraduate student currently enrolled in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, the Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning or the School of Music, Theatre and Dance who is interested in exchange and collaboration with students engaged in research practice in an engineering lab. No previous science or engineering experience is required, although curiosity and a willingness to explore are essential! Students receiving the residency spend 20 hours over 8 weeks (February-April) participating with the undergraduate research team in the lab of Professor Mark Moldwin, which is currently doing work in the areas of space weather (how the Sun influences the space environment of Earth and society) and magnetic sensor development. The resident student artist will gain a greater understanding of research methodologies in the space and climate fields, data visualization and communication techniques, and how the collision of disciplinary knowledge in the arts, engineering and sciences deepens the creative practice and production of each discipline. The student is expected to produce a final work of some kind within their discipline that reflects, builds on, explores, integrates or traces their experience in the residency. This talk will describe the program, the inaugural year's outcomes, and plans to expand the program to other research labs.

Better understanding of homologous recombination through a 12-week laboratory course for undergraduates majoring in biotechnology.

PubMed

Li, Ming; Shen, Xiaodong; Zhao, Yan; Hu, Xiaomei; Hu, Fuquan; Rao, Xiancai

2017-07-08

Homologous recombination, a central concept in biology, is defined as the exchange of DNA strands between two similar or identical nucleotide sequences. Unfortunately, undergraduate students majoring in biotechnology often experience difficulties in understanding the molecular basis of homologous recombination. In this study, we developed and implemented a 12-week laboratory course for biotechnology undergraduates in which gene targeting in Streptococcus suis was used to facilitate their understanding of the basic concept and process of homologous recombination. Students worked in teams of two to select a gene of interest to create a knockout mutant using methods that relied on homologous recombination. By integrating abstract knowledge and practice in the process of scientific research, students gained hands-on experience in molecular biology techniques while learning about the principle and process of homologous recombination. The learning outcomes and survey-based assessment demonstrated that students substantially enhanced their understanding of how homologous recombination could be used to study gene function. Overall, the course was very effective for helping biotechnology undergraduates learn the theory and application of homologous recombination, while also yielding positive effects in developing confidence and scientific skills for future work in research. © 2017 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(4):329-335, 2017. © 2017 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Statistics teaching in medical school: opinions of practising doctors.

PubMed

Miles, Susan; Price, Gill M; Swift, Louise; Shepstone, Lee; Leinster, Sam J

2010-11-04

The General Medical Council expects UK medical graduates to gain some statistical knowledge during their undergraduate education; but provides no specific guidance as to amount, content or teaching method. Published work on statistics teaching for medical undergraduates has been dominated by medical statisticians, with little input from the doctors who will actually be using this knowledge and these skills after graduation. Furthermore, doctor's statistical training needs may have changed due to advances in information technology and the increasing importance of evidence-based medicine. Thus there exists a need to investigate the views of practising medical doctors as to the statistical training required for undergraduate medical students, based on their own use of these skills in daily practice. A questionnaire was designed to investigate doctors' views about undergraduate training in statistics and the need for these skills in daily practice, with a view to informing future teaching. The questionnaire was emailed to all clinicians with a link to the University of East Anglia Medical School. Open ended questions were included to elicit doctors' opinions about both their own undergraduate training in statistics and recommendations for the training of current medical students. Content analysis was performed by two of the authors to systematically categorize and describe all the responses provided by participants. 130 doctors responded, including both hospital consultants and general practitioners. The findings indicated that most had not recognised the value of their undergraduate teaching in statistics and probability at the time, but had subsequently found the skills relevant to their career. Suggestions for improving undergraduate teaching in these areas included referring to actual research and ensuring relevance to, and integration with, clinical practice. Grounding the teaching of statistics in the context of real research studies and including examples of typical clinical work may better prepare medical students for their subsequent career.

77 FR 20038 - Employment Authorization for Syrian F-1 Nonimmigrant Students Experiencing Severe Economic...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-03

... students so they may obtain employment authorization, work an increased number of hours while school is in... 2011. This notice applies to both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as elementary school, middle school, and high school students. F-1 students covered by this notice who transfer to other...

The Benefits of Volunteering for Psychology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bromnick, Rachel; Horowitz, Ava; Shepherd, Daniel

2012-01-01

Within the current economic climate students are seen as needing more than a degree to succeed in securing graduate employment. One way that students chose to enhance their employability is through engaging in voluntary work. In this empirical study, undergraduate psychology students' reasons for volunteering are explored within the context of…

Literacies in the Humanities: The Student Voice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNaught, Carmel; Ng, Sarah S. W.; Chow, Helen

2012-01-01

Humanities includes a diverse range of disciplines in which little literature has explored in any depth the desired learning outcomes. This study was designed to articulate and illustrate learning outcomes in the humanities from students' voices and work. Undergraduate students in their final year, postgraduate students and recent alumni from the…

Students' and Professors' Views on the Ethics of Faculty Behavior.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Betsy Levonian; And Others

This study compared students' and professors' perceptions of the ethicalness of faculty behavior. A total of 115 professors and 157 undergraduate students at a medium-sized public Midwestern university completed a 16-item faculty behavior scale adapted from Tabachnick and colleagues (1991) work. Significant differences between student and faculty…

Plan Your Future! Career Management Skills for Students of Languages

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Randall, Laurence

2016-01-01

At the University of Westminster, the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures has developed a student employability and work-integrated learning project, "Career Management Skills" (CMS), for undergraduate language students. The main objective was to develop a comprehensive employability strategy for all students on all undergraduate…

Psychological stress in undergraduate dental students: baseline results from seven European dental schools.

PubMed

Humphris, Gerry; Blinkhorn, Andy; Freeman, Ruth; Gorter, Ronald; Hoad-Reddick, Gillian; Murtomaa, Heikki; O'Sullivan, Robin; Splieth, Christian

2002-02-01

To determine the degree of psychological distress, the experience of emotional exhaustion, and the extent of stress associated with course work in dental students and to compare these measurements among seven European dental schools. Multi-centred survey. Dental Schools at Amsterdam, Belfast, Cork, Greifswald, Helsinki, Liverpool and Manchester. 333 undergraduate first-year dental students. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Dental Environment Stress Questionnaire (DES), demographic variables. Questionnaire administered to all students attending first year course. Completed questionnaires sent to central office for processing. Seventy-nine percent of the sampled students responded. Over a third of the students (36%) reported significant psychological distress (morbidity) at the recommended cut-off point (>3 on GHQ). These scores were similar to those reported for medical undergraduates. Twenty-two percent recorded comparatively high scores on emotional exhaustion. A wide variation in these 2 measurements was found across schools (p's<0.001). Stress levels indicated by the DES were less variable (p>0.5). Some evidence showed that contact with patients and the level of support afforded by living at home may be protective. Higher than expected levels of emotional exhaustion were found in a large sample of first-year undergraduate dental students in Europe.

Summer Undergraduate Research Program: Environmental studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McMillan, J.

1994-12-31

The purpose of the summer undergraduate internship program for research in environmental studies is to provide an opportunity for well-qualified students to undertake an original research project as an apprentice to an active research scientist in basic environmental research. The students are offered research topics at the Medical University in the scientific areas of pharmacology and toxicology, epidemiology and risk assessment, environmental microbiology, and marine sciences. Students are also afforded the opportunity to work with faculty at the University of Charleston, SC, on projects with an environmental theme. Ten well-qualified students from colleges and universities throughout the eastern United Statesmore » were accepted into the program.« less

Attitudes, motivators, and barriers to a career in surgery: a national study of U.K. undergraduate medical students.

PubMed

Sutton, Paul A; Mason, John; Vimalachandran, Dale; McNally, Scarlett

2014-01-01

Numerous factors influence the career choices of undergraduate medical students, although little work has focused specifically on the surgical specialties. We aimed to investigate medical students' early experiences of surgery along with the motivators and barriers to selecting a surgical career. All final-year medical students were invited to participate in an online survey. A range of quantitative data (expressed as a proportion of total respondents) and qualitative data (grouped and thematically analyzed) were collected to evaluate students' attitudes to careers in surgery and potential influences on these. A total of 482 students from 20 medical schools throughout England and Wales completed the survey. Overall, 91% of respondents had work experience before medical school, in which the greatest satisfaction was reported in the 21% who undertook placements in surgery. In addition, 58% expressed a desire to spend time working abroad and 59% to undertake a period of research; the primary motivator for both was career/professional development. Surgery was the most popular career choice amongst respondents. The 2 most important factors in decisions pertaining to their career were reported as interest in the specialty and work-life balance. Students draw career advice from numerous sources, most commonly mentors (49%) and student surgical societies (46%). Only 1% wanted more website information, with personal contact being paramount. It is vital for the continuing strength of the profession and the quality of surgery for the public that we continue to attract the best undergraduates into careers in surgery. Surgeons of all grades must be aware that how they are perceived by students affects future career choices. Early experiences of surgery are fundamental in assisting medical students to make informed career choices. Copyright © 2014 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The role and working conditions of Movement Science students employed in sport and recreational facilities: An Italian multicenter study.

PubMed

Gallè, Francesca; Di Onofrio, Valeria; Arpesella, Marisa; Bacci, Silvia; Bianco, Antonino; Brandi, Giorgio; Bruno, Stefania; Anastasi, Daniela; Carraro, Elisabetta; Flacco, Maria Elena; Giampaoli, Saverio; Izzotti, Alberto; Leoni, Erica; Bertoncello, Chiara; Minelli, Liliana; Napoli, Christian; Nobile, Carmelo; Pasquarella, Cesira; Liguori, Giorgio; Romano Spica, Vincenzo

2015-01-01

In Italy, students from Movement Science (MS) Degree Courses often work in sport and recreational facilities before graduation. The employment conditions of Movement Science students working in sport/recreational facilities were investigated, and the management and structural features of the facilities were evaluated, including safety policies. Regional differences were also considered. Questionnaires were administered to undergraduate and graduate students (N = 4,217) in 17 Universities. Students' perceptions of the quality of the facilities where they had been employed was evaluated using multivariate analysis. A latent class model with covariates was used to evaluate how variables relating to participants, employment facilities or regions influence their opinions. A high proportion of MS students were employed in sporting facilities (undergraduate level: 33% ; graduate level: 55%), in most cases without any formal employment contracts. Both the structural and hygienic features, as well as the professional knowledge of the staff, were considered good to excellent by the majority of participants (about 70%). Communication of the basic behavioral rules was considered adequate by 61-63% of undergraduate students and 71-75% of graduate students, while nearly half of the participants were dissatisfied with the staff safety training. Correlations between the perceived good structural/hygienic conditions, the presence of regulations and training programs for the staff were investigated. Differences regarding occupational level and safety training among different regions of Italy were also observed. Italian students in Movement Science were easily employed in sport/recreational facilities, but frequently without a formal contract. This is a consequence of the lack of specific regulations in the field of recreational/leisure employment and could have negative implications, especially in terms of safety.

Where do students struggle in the field? Computer-aided evaluation of mapping errors from an undergraduate Field Geology summer course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lang, K. A.; Petrie, G.

2014-12-01

Extended field-based summer courses provide an invaluable field experience for undergraduate majors in the geosciences. These courses often utilize the construction of geological maps and structural cross sections as the primary pedagogical tool to teach basic map orientation, rock identification and structural interpretation. However, advances in the usability and ubiquity of Geographic Information Systems in these courses presents new opportunities to evaluate student work. In particular, computer-based quantification of systematic mapping errors elucidates the factors influencing student success in the field. We present a case example from a mapping exercise conducted in a summer Field Geology course at a popular field location near Dillon, Montana. We use a computer algorithm to automatically compare the placement and attribution of unit contacts with spatial variables including topographic slope, aspect, bedding attitude, ground cover and distance from starting location. We compliment analyses with anecdotal and survey data that suggest both physical factors (e.g. steep topographic slope) as well as structural nuance (e.g. low angle bedding) may dominate student frustration, particularly in courses with a high student to instructor ratio. We propose mechanisms to improve student experience by allowing students to practice skills with orientation games and broadening student background with tangential lessons (e.g. on colluvial transport processes). As well, we suggest low-cost ways to decrease the student to instructor ratio by supporting returning undergraduates from previous years or staging mapping over smaller areas. Future applications of this analysis might include a rapid and objective system for evaluation of student maps (including point-data, such as attitude measurements) and quantification of temporal trends in student work as class sizes, pedagogical approaches or environmental variables change. Long-term goals include understanding and characterizing stochasticity in geological mapping beyond the undergraduate classroom, and better quantifying uncertainty in published map products.

Optical projects in the Clinic program at Harvey Mudd College

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Q.

2017-08-01

Clinic program is the senior capstone program at Harvey Mudd College (HMC). Multidisciplinary and industry-sponsored projects allow a team of students to solve a real-world problem over one academic year. Over its 50 plus years, Clinic program has completed numerous optics related projects. This report gives an overview of the Clinic program, reviews recent optical projects and discusses how this program supports the learning of the HMC engineering students. A few sample optical projects with more details are presented to provide an insight of what challenges that undergraduates can overcome. Students achieve learning within the optics discipline and the related engineering disciplines. The experiences in these optical projects indicate the great potential to bringing optical hands-on projects into the undergraduate level. Because of the general engineering curriculum at HMC, these projects often work the best with a multidisciplinary nature even if the core of the project is optically focused. Students gain leadership training, oral and written communication skills and experiences in team work. Close relationship with the sponsor liaisons allows for the students to gain skills in professional conduct, management of tight schedule and a specified budget, and it well prepares the students to their engineering practice. Optical projects have their own sets of specific challenges, so it needs to be chosen properly to match the undergraduate skill sets such as those of HMC engineering students.

Undergraduate nurses' preferred use of mobile devices in healthcare settings.

PubMed

Mather, Carey; Cummings, Elizabeth; Allen, Penny

2015-01-01

The growth of digital technology has created challenges for appropriate and safe use of mobile or portable devices in healthcare environments. There is perceived risk that the use of mobile technology for learning may distract from provision of patient care if used by undergraduate students during work-integrated learning. This paper reports on a study that aimed to identify differences in preferred behavior of student nurses in their use of mobile technology during and away from the clinical practice environment. A previously validated online survey was administered to students during a period of work integrated learning in a range of healthcare settings in two Australian states. Respondents agreed that mobile devices could be beneficial to patient care. Overall, students proposed they would use mobile devices for accessing information, during work integrated learning, less than when away from the workplace. The development of policy to guide the use of mobile devices, in situ, is important to the provision of safe and competent care and improved health outcomes for patients.

Assessing Student Outcomes of Undergraduate Research with URSSA, the Undergraduate Student Self-Assessment Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laursen, S. L.; Weston, T. J.; Thiry, H.

2012-12-01

URSSA is the Undergraduate Research Student Self-Assessment, an online survey instrument for programs and departments to use in assessing the student outcomes of undergraduate research (UR). URSSA focuses on what students learn from their UR experience, rather than whether they liked it. The online questionnaire includes both multiple-choice and open-ended items that focus on students' gains from undergraduate research. These gains include skills, knowledge, deeper understanding of the intellectual and practical work of science, growth in confidence, changes in identity, and career preparation. Other items probe students' participation in important research-related activities that lead to these gains (e.g. giving presentations, having responsibility for a project). These activities, and the gains themselves, are based in research and thus constitute a core set of items. Using these items as a group helps to align a particular program assessment with research-demonstrated outcomes. Optional items may be used to probe particular features that are augment the research experience (e.g. field trips, career seminars, housing arrangements). The URSSA items are based on extensive, interview-based research and evaluation work on undergraduate research by our group and others. This grounding in research means that URSSA measures what we know to be important about the UR experience The items were tested with students, revised and re-tested. Data from a large pilot sample of over 500 students enabled statistical testing of the items' validity and reliability. Optional items about UR program elements were developed in consultation with UR program developers and leaders. The resulting instrument is flexible. Users begin with a set of core items, then customize their survey with optional items to probe students' experiences of specific program elements. The online instrument is free and easy to use, with numeric results available as raw data, summary statistics, cross-tabs, and graphs, and as raw, downloadable data. Finally, URSSA has high content validity based on its research grounding and rigorous development. We will present examples of how URSSA has been used in evaluations of UR programs. A multi-year evaluation of a university-based UR program shows that URSSA items are sensitive to differences in students' prior level of experience with research. For example, experienced student researchers reported greater gains than did their peers new to UR in understanding the process of research and in coming to see themselves as scientists. These differences are consistent with interview data that suggest a developmental progression of gains as students pursue research and gain confidence in their ability to contribute meaningfully. A second example comes from a multi-site evaluation of sites funded by the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program in Biology. This study acquired data from nearly 800 students at some 60 Bio REU sites in 2010 and 2011. Results reveal differences in gains among demographic groups, and the general strength of these well-planned programs relative to a comparison sample of UR programs that are not part of REU. Our presentation will demonstrate the evaluative use of URSSA and its potential applications to undergraduate research in the geosciences.

Collaborating for Courseware.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Niguidula, David; Blumberg, Roger B.; van Dam, Andries

1999-01-01

Describes a seminar at Brown University where undergraduate students design and develop software for K-12 schools based on proposals of teachers in and around Providence (Rhode Island). Discusses seminar goals, working with schools, division of labor between teachers and seminar students, creating the software, student benefits, and using…

Service-learning: an integral part of undergraduate public health.

PubMed

Cashman, Suzanne B; Seifer, Sarena D

2008-09-01

In 2003, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) described public health as "an essential part of the training of citizens," a body of knowledge needed to achieve a public health literate citizenry. To achieve that end, the IOM recommended that "all undergraduates should have access to education in public health." Service-learning, a type of experiential learning, is an effective and appropriate vehicle for teaching public health and developing public health literacy. While relatively new to public health, service-learning has its historical roots in undergraduate education and has been shown to enhance students' understanding of course relevance, change student and faculty attitudes, encourage support for community initiatives, and increase student and faculty volunteerism. Grounded in collaborative relationships, service-learning grows from authentic partnerships between communities and educational institutions. Through emphasizing reciprocal learning and reflective practice, service-learning helps students develop skills needed to be effective in working with communities and ultimately achieve social change. With public health's enduring focus on social justice, introducing undergraduate students to public health through the vehicle of service-learning as part of introductory public health core courses or public health electives will help ensure that our young people are able to contribute to developing healthy communities, thus achieving the IOM's vision.

An Inquiry into Protein Structure and Genetic Disease: Introducing Undergraduates to Bioinformatics in a Large Introductory Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bednarski, April E.; Elgin, Sarah C. R.; Pakrasi, Himadri B.

2005-01-01

This inquiry-based lab is designed around genetic diseases with a focus on protein structure and function. To allow students to work on their own investigatory projects, 10 projects on 10 different proteins were developed. Students are grouped in sections of 20 and work in pairs on each of the projects. To begin their investigation, students are…

Making Social Work Count: A Curriculum Innovation to Teach Quantitative Research Methods and Statistical Analysis to Undergraduate Social Work Students in the United Kingdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teater, Barbra; Roy, Jessica; Carpenter, John; Forrester, Donald; Devaney, John; Scourfield, Jonathan

2017-01-01

Students in the United Kingdom (UK) are found to lack knowledge and skills in quantitative research methods. To address this gap, a quantitative research method and statistical analysis curriculum comprising 10 individual lessons was developed, piloted, and evaluated at two universities The evaluation found that BSW students' (N = 81)…

"Facebook," Social Integration and Informal Learning at University: "It Is More for Socialising and Talking to Friends about Work than for Actually Doing Work"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Madge, Clare; Meek, Julia; Wellens, Jane; Hooley, Tristram

2009-01-01

Whilst recent studies suggest that over 95% of British undergraduate students are regularly using social networking sites, we still know very little about how this phenomenon impacts on the student experience and, in particular, how it influences students' social integration into university life. This paper explores how pre-registration engagement…

Attitudes among students and teachers on vertical integration between clinical medicine and basic science within a problem-based undergraduate medical curriculum.

PubMed

Brynhildsen, J; Dahle, L O; Behrbohm Fallsberg, M; Rundquist, I; Hammar, M

2002-05-01

Important elements in the curriculum at the Faculty of Health Sciences in Linköping are vertical integration, i.e. integration between the clinical and basic science sections of the curriculum, and horizontal integration between different subject areas. Integration throughout the whole curriculum is time-consuming for both teachers and students and hard work is required for planning, organization and execution. The aim was to assess the importance of vertical and horizontal integration in an undergraduate medical curriculum, according to opinions among students and teachers. In a questionnaire 102 faculty teachers and 106 students were asked about the importance of 14 different components of the undergraduate medical curriculum including vertical and horizontal integration. They were asked to assign between one and six points to each component (6 points = extremely important for the quality of the curriculum; 1 point = unimportant). Students as well as teachers appreciated highly both forms of integration. Students scored horizontal integration slightly but significantly higher than the teachers (median 6 vs 5 points; p=0.009, Mann-Whitney U-test), whereas teachers scored vertical integration higher than students (6 vs 5; p=0.019, Mann-Whitney U-test). Both students and teachers considered horizontal and vertical integration to be highly important components of the undergraduate medical programme. We believe both kinds of integration support problem-based learning and stimulate deep and lifelong learning and suggest that integration should always be considered deeply when a new curriculum is planned for undergraduate medical education.

Factors That Affect Initial Enrollment of Working Adult, Graduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adrignola, Matt Nolan

2010-01-01

What factors lead working adults to initially enroll in graduate programs? Is the undergraduate degree no longer enough to sustain a rewarding career? Little is known as to why this segment of graduate students are building careers and pursuing advanced degrees simultaneously. Traditional institutions of higher learning have primarily focused on…

Assessing Undergraduate Student-Teacher Relationship Factors Using Working Alliance and Interpersonal Influence Theories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Clute, Shannon M.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to test the applicability of working alliance theory (Bordin, 1979; Castonguay, Constantino, & Grosse Holtforth, 2006) and interpersonal influence theory (Strong, 1968) as ways to articulate an empirically informed model of student-teacher relationships in order to extend the current body of knowledge on effective…

Undergraduate Social Work Students' Perceptions of a Team-Based Learning Approach to Exploring Adult Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watkins, Karen; Forge, Nicholas; Lewinson, Terri; Garner, Brittany; Carter, Larance D.; Greenwald, Lindsay

2018-01-01

Social work educators are challenged to adopt innovative instructional methods and pedagogies to prepare students to meet the contemporary needs of diverse client populations. A team-based learning (TBL) approach is a pedagogical strategy that utilizes cooperative and collaborative learning principles to inspire academic, professional, and…

Engaging Students in Social Welfare Policy Class Using Wiki Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McElveen, Donna M.

2014-01-01

Social Welfare History and Policy is among the least preferred courses in social work undergraduate education. Social work educators have introduced ideas to make the content more practical by connecting it to service learning or practicum experiences. However, none have reported to have used technological tools to help students interact with the…

The Impact of Term-Time Working on College Outcomes in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guo, Fei

2014-01-01

This dissertation study focuses on a current and controversial phenomenon in Chinese universities and colleges--student working during academic semesters. The massification of Chinese higher education since the year of 1999 raises the level of competition in the job market of college graduates. More and more undergraduate students participate in…

The Impact of Group Diversity on Class Performance: Evidence from College Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Zeynep; Owan, Hideo; Pan, Jie

2015-01-01

We combine class performance data from an undergraduate management course with students' personal records to examine how group diversity affects group work performance and individual learning. Students are exogenously assigned to groups. We find that, on average, male-dominant groups performed worse in their group work and learned less (based…

College Student Mental Health and Quality of Workplace Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vaughn, Allison A.; Drake, Richard R.; Haydock, Sarah

2016-01-01

Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the effect of quality of workplace relationships on the mental health of employed undergraduates, with work-related variables as a potential mechanism. Participants: Participants were 170 employed students (76% female, average age = 19.9) recruited in March 2011. Most worked part-time and had been…

Assessment in Work-Based Learning: Investigating a Pedagogical Approach to Enhance Student Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brodie, Pandy; Irving, Kate

2007-01-01

Work-based learning (WBL) is undertaken in a wide variety of higher education contexts and is increasingly viewed as a valuable, and increasingly essential, component of both the undergraduate and postgraduate student learning experience. However, the development of rigorous pedagogies to underpin WBL and its assessment is still embryonic. This…

The Dalhousie Career Portfolio Programme: A Multi-Faceted Approach to Transition to Work.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, W. Alan

2001-01-01

Describes Dalhousie University's new program to prepare students for work while enhancing undergraduate education. The overall purpose of the Dalhousie Career Portfolio program is to help students understand the value and transferability of their learning, knowledge, and skills to their personal and career development. Evaluation revealed a…

A Study of Homophobia among HBCU Undergraduate Students toward Gay and Lesbian Adoption

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCrary, Donna Gibson

2014-01-01

While recent research examines homophobia among social work majors, there is limited research devoted to social work students enrolled in a historically Black college and university (HBCU). Social workers are not immune to possessing homophobic attitudes; therefore, diversity training is important. This research explored whether there were any…

Poster Day Showcases Student Work | Poster

Cancer.gov

By Nathalie Walker, Guest Writer, and Carolynne Keenan, Contributing Writer On July 31, NCI at Frederick hosted Student Poster Day, an annual event in which student interns can showcase the work they do in their various positions in NCI at Frederick labs and offices. Participating students are interns in the Student Internship Program, a program designed for undergraduate and graduate students during their summer breaks, as well as interns in the Werner H. Kirsten Student Internship Program (WHK SIP), a program for high school seniors. All the students have an opportunity to present their scientific posters.

A community engagement project in an undergraduate oceanography course to increase engagement and representation in marine science among high school students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, C. D.; Prairie, J. C.; Walters, S. A.

2016-02-01

In the context of undergraduate education in oceanography, we are constantly striving for innovative ways to enhance student learning and enthusiasm for marine science. Community engagement is a form of experiential education that not only promotes a better understanding of concepts among undergraduate students but also allows them to interact with the community in a way that is mutually beneficial to both parties. Here I present on my experience in incorporating a community engagement project in my undergraduate physical oceanography course at the University of San Diego (USD) in collaboration with Mission Bay High School (MBHS), a local Title 1 International Baccalaureate high school with a high proportion of low-income students and students from underrepresented groups in STEM. As part of this project, the undergraduate students from my physical oceanography course were challenged to develop interactive workshops to present to the high school students at MBHS on some topic in oceanography. Prior to the workshops, the USD students met with the high school students at MBHS during an introductory meeting in which they could learn about each other's interests and backgrounds. The USD students then worked in teams of three to design a workshop proposal in which they outlined their plan for a workshop that was interactive and engaging, relying on demonstrations and activities rather than lecture. Each of the three teams then presented their workshops on separate days in the Mission Bay High School classroom. Finally, the USD students met again with the high school students at MBHS for a conclusion day in which both sets of students could discuss their experiences with the community engagement project. Through the workshop itself and a reflection essay written afterwards, the USD students learned to approach concepts in oceanography from a different perspective, and think about how student backgrounds can inform teaching these concepts. I will describe preliminary outcomes of this project and discuss the potential of community engagement projects in general to positively impact and integrate both undergraduate and high school education in ocean science.

Sexual Harassment Reported Among a Sample of Undergraduate Women in Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aycock, Lauren M.; Brewe, Eric; Clancy, Kathryn B. H.; Goertzen, Renee Michelle; Hazari, Zarha; Hodapp, Theodore

2016-05-01

The field of physics lags behind most other scientific fields in gender parity of students earning bachelor's degrees. The transition from enrollment in high school physics to graduating with physics degree represents the biggest decrease in the proportion of female students for any step in physics educational attainment. Sexual harassment contributes to an unwelcome climate. It is unknown how prevalent sexual harassment is in the field of physics and whether it's a contributing factor to the field's inability to recruit and retain female students. Our goal was to measure a quantitative baseline for sexual harassment--associated with physics--observed and experienced by a sample of female undergraduate students. As part of a larger conference evaluation survey, we conducted an internet-based survey (n = 632) of attendees of the APS Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics to measure the extent to which they personally experienced or observed sexual harassment in a context associated with physics. We will present results from this survey. Opinions, findings, or conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF, DOE, or APS. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation (PHY-1346627) and by the Department of Energy (DE-SC0011076).

Encouraging creativity and employability skills in undergraduate microbiologists.

PubMed

Verran, Joanna

2010-02-01

Key skills such as communication and critical thinking are essential for today's microbiology graduate. There are many opportunities within the undergraduate curriculum to help students to use, develop and appreciate their own unique set of skills. This article describes personal experiences of research-led teaching at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK) which have been used successfully to encourage creativity and other employability skills in both large and smaller classroom settings, and through individual student project work. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Supporting the whole student: Inclusive program design for making undergraduate research experiences accessible

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haacker-Santos, R.; Allen, L.; Batchelor, R. L.

2013-12-01

As undergraduate research experiences have become an unofficial pre-requisite to enter graduate school programs in the sciences, we have to make sure that these experiences are inclusive and accessible to all students. Program managers who make a conscious effort to recruit students from traditionally under-represented groups, including veterans, non-traditional students or students with disabilities, are often unaware of the financial and program implications these students require, and discover that their current program design might inadvertently exclude or not fully support these students. The SOARS Program, an undergraduate-to-graduate bridge program in the atmospheric sciences, has supported this group of students for over 15 years. We have found that we needed to adjust some program elements and secure extra funding sources to holistically support our students in their research experience, however, the program and the students have reaped tremendous benefits. Involving non-traditional students or veterans in our program has raised the maturity level and problem solving skills of the group, and having students with disabilities participate has been a vehicle for broadening perspective and diverse knowledge into the field of study, e.g. researching weather and climate beyond what you can 'see'. This presentation will highlight some of the findings from the SOARS program experience, and will share practices for recruitment and holistic support to ensure student success. We will share resources and tips on inclusive program design, including working with students with family commitments or physical disabilities, and will report on the enormous program benefits and peer learning these students have brought to the student cohorts and research labs they are working in.

Experiences of mentors training underrepresented undergraduates in the research laboratory.

PubMed

Prunuske, Amy J; Wilson, Janelle; Walls, Melissa; Clarke, Benjamin

2013-01-01

Successfully recruiting students from underrepresented groups to pursue biomedical science research careers continues to be a challenge. Early exposure to scientific research is often cited as a powerful means to attract research scholars with the research mentor being critical in facilitating the development of an individual's science identity and career; however, most mentors in the biological sciences have had little formal training in working with research mentees. To better understand mentors' experiences working with undergraduates in the laboratory, we conducted semistructured interviews with 15 research mentors at a public university in the Midwest. The interviewed mentors were part of a program designed to increase the number of American Indians pursuing biomedical/biobehavioral research careers and represented a broad array of perspectives, including equal representation of male and female mentors, mentors from underrepresented groups, mentors at different levels of their careers, and mentors from undergraduate and professional school departments. The mentors identified benefits and challenges in being an effective mentor. We also explored what the term underrepresented means to the mentors and discovered that most of the mentors had an incomplete understanding about how differences in culture could contribute to underrepresented students' experience in the laboratory. Our interviews identify issues relevant to designing programs and courses focused on undergraduate student research.

The New Mexico EPSCoR Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program: A Successful Summer Research Program for Community College and PUI College Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pullin, M. J.

2013-12-01

The statewide NSF New Mexico EPSCoR Program (Climate Change and Water in New Mexico) sponsored a summer undergraduate research program from 2009 to 2013. This program was open to undergraduates attending the state's community colleges and primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs). Participants who are chosen for the program attend a week of workshops on climate change, hydrology, water quality and professional development. Following that, they spend eight weeks working with an EPSCoR-funded scientist at a research intensive university or related field site. Participants are paired during their research project. This strategy has been shown to be a key factor in the success and comfort level of the participants. The program concludes with a research conference and many of the participants later present their work at national and regional conferences. The program has shown to be effective at introducing students from non-research institutions to authentic research in the Earth and Environmental Sciences and improving their confidence in future success at higher degree levels. The program is also successful at recruiting underrepresented minority students, mainly from Hispanic and Native American populations. We will also present data on participant degree completions, transfers to four year colleges, STEM career attainment, and graduate school admissions.

Nursing student feedback on undergraduate research education: implications for teaching and learning.

PubMed

Halcomb, Elizabeth J; Peters, Kathleen

2009-08-01

Teaching research to undergraduate students presents many challenges to nurse academics. Yet facilitating students to develop skills in critically analysing and interpreting research is vital if we are to achieve evidence-based nursing practice. This paper explores student feedback from a research unit undertaken by Australian undergraduate nurses in order to highlight the challenges for academics trying to engage students in this material. Three hundred and sixty nine (83.5%) second year nursing students provided qualitative and quantitative feedback at the completion of a research unit using a standardised student feedback form. From a combination of the qualitative and quantitative feedback, the most positive aspects of the unit were the teaching staff, the group work and interaction in the class room and the online assessment item. Participants were least satisfied with the way in which the unit was presented, the written assessment items and assessment feedback and the perceived relevance of the unit. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the theoretical underpinnings of adult learning and teaching in the development of future course materials.

Mathematical calculation skills required for drug administration in undergraduate nursing students to ensure patient safety: A descriptive study: Drug calculation skills in nursing students.

PubMed

Bagnasco, Annamaria; Galaverna, Lucia; Aleo, Giuseppe; Grugnetti, Anna Maria; Rosa, Francesca; Sasso, Loredana

2016-01-01

In the literature we found many studies that confirmed our concerns about nursing students' poor maths skills that directly impact on their ability to correctly calculate drug dosages with very serious consequences for patient safety. The aim of our study was to explore where students had most difficulty and identify appropriate educational interventions to bridge their mathematical knowledge gaps. This was a quali-quantitative descriptive study that included a sample of 726 undergraduate nursing students. We identified exactly where students had most difficulty and identified appropriate educational interventions to bridge their mathematical knowledge gaps. We found that the undergraduate nursing students mainly had difficulty with basic maths principles. Specific learning interventions are needed to improve their basic maths skills and their dosage calculation skills. For this purpose, we identified safeMedicate and eDose (Authentic World Ltd.), only that they are only available in English. In the near future we hope to set up a partnership to work together on the Italian version of these tools. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental Change Science Literacy Through Writing: Successes in an Undergraduate Writing and Composition Course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Small, J. D.

2007-12-01

Basic science literacy, especially with regards to environmental change science, is often lacking in traditional K- 12 and undergraduate education. This generally leads to broad misconceptions based on distorted presentations of science in the media. Current educational research suggests that the teaching and learning of science can happen in many ways, whether it is through lectures, labs, research, inquiry or informal learning activities. This study was motivated by the desire to investigate the ability to teach environmental change science content in the non-traditional mode of an undergraduate composition and writing course. This technique offers educators another option for the integration of climate and environmental change material into their curriculum. The study incorporates the assessment and evaluation of student writing, in-class participation and student self- evaluations from "Writing about Change: Global Environmental Change and Society" a writing course that fulfils a requirement to graduate from the University of California - Santa Cruz. The course was taught Winter Quarter 2007 with a total of 28 days of instruction and the participation of 20 undergraduate students. The overarching goals of this study can be broadly classified as attitudinal, skills development and content retention. This study was designed to address three broad questions related to the above broad goals: i) Did students leave the class more comfortable and confident with environmental change issues and content? ii) Did students develop skills that are useful for reading and writing about scientific material? iii) What did students learn (retain): more general concepts or specific facts regarding climate and environmental change? Preliminary analysis and coding of student work clearly show that students were successful in developing skills for understanding and utilizing scientific information via writing and making thoughtful judgments regarding the reliability of environmental change science in various media. More detailed analysis of student work and responses are necessary in order to fully evaluate the depth and breadth of student understanding and retention of scientific content and concepts.

A Course To Prepare Peer Leaders To Implement a Student-Assisted Learning Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tien, Lydia T.; Roth, Vicki; Kampmeier, J. A.

2004-09-01

This article reports our efforts to develop a two-credit course to train undergraduate students to implement a new pedagogical model, Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL). The leader training course is a collaborative effort of faculty and educational specialists to join pedagogy and chemistry. The syllabus is grounded in the research literature and situated in the context of the specific course in which the peer leaders will work, leading a weekly Workshop. Since the peer leaders take the training course while they are working as leaders, the pedagogical ideas find immediate application. We have taught the course since 1995 to more than 250 undergraduate and graduate students. In practice, our training course is the central mechanism to transform students from Workshop participants to skilled Workshop leaders. In turn, these carefully prepared peer leaders are essential forces for curricular change. In addition to the immediate practical benefits, the training course leads to new working relationships among students, faculty, and educational specialists. As a result, the training course becomes a mechanism to introduce current faculty to a new research literature and to encourage the development of future faculty.

Comparing the influence of physical and virtual manipulatives in the context of the Physics by Inquiry curriculum: The case of undergraduate students' conceptual understanding of heat and temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zacharia, Zacharias C.; Constantinou, Constantinos P.

2008-04-01

We compare the effect of experimenting with physical or virtual manipulatives on undergraduate students' conceptual understanding of heat and temperature. A pre-post comparison study design was used to replicate all aspects of a guided inquiry classroom except the mode in which students performed their experiments. This study is the first on physical and virtual manipulative experimentation in physics in which the curriculum, method of instruction, and resource capabilities were explicitly controlled. The participants were 68 undergraduates in an introductory course and were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. Conceptual tests were administered to both groups to assess students' understanding before, during, and after instruction. The result indicates that both modes of experimentation are equally effective in enhancing students' conceptual understanding. This result is discussed in the context of an ongoing debate on the relative importance of virtual and real laboratory work in physics education.

The Undergraduate ALFALFA Team: A Model for Involving Undergraduates in Major Legacy Astronomy Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Troischt, Parker; Koopmann, Rebecca A.; Haynes, Martha P.; Higdon, Sarah; Balonek, Thomas J.; Cannon, John M.; Coble, Kimberly A.; Craig, David; Durbala, Adriana; Finn, Rose; Hoffman, G. Lyle; Kornreich, David A.; Lebron, Mayra E.; Crone-Odekon, Mary; O'Donoghue, Aileen A.; Olowin, Ronald Paul; Pantoja, Carmen; Rosenberg, Jessica L.; Venkatesan, Aparna; Wilcots, Eric M.; Alfalfa Team

2015-01-01

The NSF-sponsored Undergraduate ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA) Team (UAT) is a consortium of 19 institutions founded to promote undergraduate research and faculty development within the extragalactic ALFALFA HI blind survey project and follow-up programs. The collaborative nature of the UAT allows faculty and students from a wide ​range of public and private colleges and especially those with small astronomy programs to develop scholarly collaborations. Components of the program include an annual undergraduate workshop at Arecibo Observatory, observing runs at Arecibo, computer infrastructure, summer and academic year research projects, and dissemination at national meetings (e.g., Alfvin et al., Martens et al., Sanders et al., this meeting). Through this model, faculty and students are learning how science is accomplished in a large collaboration while contributing to the scientific goals of a major legacy survey. In the 7 years of the program, 23 faculty and more than 220 undergraduate students have participated at a significant level. 40% of them have been women and members of underrepresented groups. Faculty, many of whom were new to the collaboration and had expertise in other fields, contribute their diverse sets of skills to ALFALFA ​related projects via observing, data reduction, collaborative research, and research with students. 142 undergraduate students have attended the annual workshops at Arecibo Observatory, interacting with faculty, graduate students, their peers, and Arecibo staff in lectures, group activities, tours, and observing runs. Team faculty have supervised 131 summer research projects and 94 academic year (e.g., senior thesis) projects. 62 students have traveled to Arecibo Observatory for observing runs and 46 have presented their results at national meetings. 93% of alumni are attending graduate school and/or pursuing a career in STEM. Half of those pursuing graduate degrees in Physics or Astronomy are women. This work has been supported by NSF grants AST-0724918/0902211, AST075267/0903394, AST0725380, and AST-1211005.

Advancing Graduate Limnology Education through Active Learning and Community Partnerships: A Pilot Program at the Large Lakes Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schreiner, K. M.; Katsev, S.; Steinman, B. A.; Sterner, R.; Williams, J.; Zak, K.

2017-12-01

At the Large Lakes Observatory at the University of Minnesota Duluth, we designed a flipped-classroom, interdisciplinary limnology course sequence that incorporates partnerships with industry, meaningful field and analytical work, and integrated skills learning for our graduate students. This new curriculum is co-taught by four instructors with different research backgrounds and is meant to teach incoming graduate students with a wide range of undergraduate preparation. The courses we developed include lecture and practice classes each semester in the graduate students' first year and are built around a course website, www.studywater.org, which will go public in fall of 2018 and contains new, interdisciplinary limnology curriculum applicable to both upper level undergraduate and graduate students. Because the lecture and practice sections were co-taught by the same instructor group, we had the opportunity to fully integrate meaningful skills training directly into the course, including laboratory and analytical training, sample collection in the field and ship work, and professional skills like working in teams, oral and written communication, and project management. Another important component of this project was the cultivation of community partnerships in order to teach our graduate students applicable skills for a variety of careers. In our first year of implementation we partnered with two environmental consulting companies who have local ongoing projects, and they designed and led capstone projects for the students, including advising them on the production of project deliverables and helping them to relay their results to the consulting companies' clients. While this pilot project was designed specifically for graduate limnology students, the principles we employed would be applicable to any interdisciplinary graduate program that attracts students from a variety of undergraduate majors who still must all be taught in the same classroom.

Incorporating Genomics and Bioinformatics across the Life Sciences Curriculum

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ditty, Jayna L.; Kvaal, Christopher A.; Goodner, Brad

Undergraduate life sciences education needs an overhaul, as clearly described in the National Research Council of the National Academies publication BIO 2010: Transforming Undergraduate Education for Future Research Biologists. Among BIO 2010's top recommendations is the need to involve students in working with real data and tools that reflect the nature of life sciences research in the 21st century. Education research studies support the importance of utilizing primary literature, designing and implementing experiments, and analyzing results in the context of a bona fide scientific question in cultivating the analytical skills necessary to become a scientist. Incorporating these basic scientific methodologiesmore » in undergraduate education leads to increased undergraduate and post-graduate retention in the sciences. Toward this end, many undergraduate teaching organizations offer training and suggestions for faculty to update and improve their teaching approaches to help students learn as scientists, through design and discovery (e.g., Council of Undergraduate Research [www.cur.org] and Project Kaleidoscope [www.pkal.org]). With the advent of genome sequencing and bioinformatics, many scientists now formulate biological questions and interpret research results in the context of genomic information. Just as the use of bioinformatic tools and databases changed the way scientists investigate problems, it must change how scientists teach to create new opportunities for students to gain experiences reflecting the influence of genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics on modern life sciences research. Educators have responded by incorporating bioinformatics into diverse life science curricula. While these published exercises in, and guidelines for, bioinformatics curricula are helpful and inspirational, faculty new to the area of bioinformatics inevitably need training in the theoretical underpinnings of the algorithms. Moreover, effectively integrating bioinformatics into courses or independent research projects requires infrastructure for organizing and assessing student work. Here, we present a new platform for faculty to keep current with the rapidly changing field of bioinformatics, the Integrated Microbial Genomes Annotation Collaboration Toolkit (IMG-ACT). It was developed by instructors from both research-intensive and predominately undergraduate institutions in collaboration with the Department of Energy-Joint Genome Institute (DOE-JGI) as a means to innovate and update undergraduate education and faculty development. The IMG-ACT program provides a cadre of tools, including access to a clearinghouse of genome sequences, bioinformatics databases, data storage, instructor course management, and student notebooks for organizing the results of their bioinformatic investigations. In the process, IMG-ACT makes it feasible to provide undergraduate research opportunities to a greater number and diversity of students, in contrast to the traditional mentor-to-student apprenticeship model for undergraduate research, which can be too expensive and time-consuming to provide for every undergraduate. The IMG-ACT serves as the hub for the network of faculty and students that use the system for microbial genome analysis. Open access of the IMG-ACT infrastructure to participating schools ensures that all types of higher education institutions can utilize it. With the infrastructure in place, faculty can focus their efforts on the pedagogy of bioinformatics, involvement of students in research, and use of this tool for their own research agenda. What the original faculty members of the IMG-ACT development team present here is an overview of how the IMG-ACT program has affected our development in terms of teaching and research with the hopes that it will inspire more faculty to get involved.« less

The UNSIN Project: Exploring the Molecular Physiology of Sins

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naji, Faysal; Salci, Lauren; Hoit, Graeme; Rangachari, P. K.

2012-01-01

Although active learning works, promoting it in large undergraduate science classes is difficult. Here, three students (F. Naji, L. Salci, and G. Hoit) join their teacher (P. K. Rangachari) in describing one such attempt. Two cohorts in a first-year undergraduate biology course explored the molecular underpinnings of human misbehavior. Students…

Structural Biology of Tumor Necrosis Factor Demonstrated for Undergraduates Instruction by Computer Simulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roy, Urmi

2016-01-01

This work presents a three-dimensional (3D) modeling exercise for undergraduate students in chemistry and health sciences disciplines, focusing on a protein-group linked to immune system regulation. Specifically, the exercise involves molecular modeling and structural analysis of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) proteins, both wild type and mutant. The…

Teaching Note--Keeping It Real: Program Evaluation Projects for an Undergraduate Research Class

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

John, Aesha; Bang, Eun-Jun

2017-01-01

This article describes a teaching innovation that focused on the redesign of an undergraduate social work research class. Students enrolled in the redesigned class had an opportunity to conduct program evaluation projects in community agencies. The projects included (a) pretest and posttest evaluation of reminiscence approach in improving the…

Geologic Problem Solving in the Field: Analysis of Field Navigation and Mapping by Advanced Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riggs, Eric M.; Lieder, Christopher C.; Ballliet, Russell

2009-01-01

Field instruction is a critical piece of undergraduate geoscience majors' education, and fieldwork remains a major part of the work of professional geologists. Despite the central importance of field education, there exists relatively little educational research exploring how students learn to solve problems in geological fieldwork. This study…

PRIME: An Integrated and Sustainable Undergraduate International Research Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arzberger, Peter; Wienhausen, Gabriele; Abramson, David; Galvin, Jim; Date, Susumu; Lin, Fang-Pang; Nan, Kai; Shimojo, Shinji

2010-01-01

Recently we have seen an increase in the calls for universities and the education community to re-think undergraduate education and create opportunities that prepare students as effective global professionals. The key motivator is the need to build a research and industrial workforce that works collaboratively across cultures and disciplines to…

A Green Polymerization of Aspartic Acid for the Undergraduate Organic Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, George D.

2005-01-01

The green polymerization of aspartic acid carried out during an organic-inorganic synthesis laboratory course for undergraduate students is described. The procedure is based on work by Donlar Corporation, a Peru, Illinois-based company that won a Green Chemistry Challenge Award in 1996 in the Small Business category for preparing thermal…

Time and Space: Undergraduate Mexican Physics in Motion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Candela, Antonia

2010-01-01

This is an ethnographic study of the trajectories and itineraries of undergraduate physics students at a Mexican university. In this work learning is understood as being able to move oneself and, other things (cultural tools), through the space-time networks of a discipline (Nespor in Knowledge in motion: space, time and curriculum in…

Team-Based Multidisciplinary Research Scholarship in the Geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wernette, P. A.; Houser, C.; Quick, C.

2016-12-01

The traditional approach to undergraduate research can be time-intensive for both the mentee and mentor, and can deter potential undergraduates and faculty from participating in research. The Aggie Research Leadership (ARL) and Aggie Research Scholars (ARS) programs represent a team-based, vertically-tiered, and multidisciplinary approach to research that can successfully address complex and relevant research questions. The program is structured such that faculty mentor one or more graduate students or postdocs, who, in turn, mentor teams of 2 to 8 undergraduate students. While it is the responsibility of the graduate student or postdoc to put together a team that works for their research question, undergraduate teams are encouraged to be multidisciplinary in order to leverage the experience and perspective that comes from students in different areas of study. Team leaders are encouraged to discuss their research teams with the faculty mentor regularly to address any potential issues that they might be having, but team leaders are required to meet regularly with other team leaders to discuss any issues that they might be having. Meeting with new and experienced team leaders is a valuable approach to a graduate student or postdoc developing their own set of best practices for mentoring. This experience is invaluable in their future careers, regardless of the field of study. By collaborating with students from other fields of study, no one student is required to become an expert in all topics relating to the research. Another significant advantage of the ARL/ARS programs is that complex research questions are able to be examined because teams typically continue longer than a single semester or academic year. Research teams are vertically-tiered and typically include freshman through seniors. In this way, younger students on the projects are mentored by senior students when they first arrive. Eventually, the younger students will advance through to senior students and will have the opportunity to serve as mentors for incoming students. The vertically-tiered ARl/ARS programs represents a significant advantage in undergraduate research that is beneficial to undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs, and faculty.

Epistemological Development in Social Work Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson-Meger, Jennifer

2014-01-01

Epistemological development is an important factor in facilitating learner identity and developing critical thinking aptitudes. This qualitative action research study explored undergraduate social work students' epistemological beliefs about knowledge, how knowledge is constructed, and implications for social work education. Data collection…

Undergraduate student nurses' perspectives of an integrated clinical learning model in the mental health environment.

PubMed

Boardman, Gayelene; Lawrence, Karen; Polacsek, Meg

2018-06-13

Providing nursing students with appropriate clinical practice during their undergraduate programme is critical to ensuring that graduates meet the competency requirements to gain registration as a nurse. In response to the predicted nursing workforce shortage, universities have been significantly increasing the enrolment of undergraduate nurses into Bachelor of Nursing courses. This has placed a demand on the availability of clinical placements and often universities struggle to find appropriate places. In this study, a Bachelor of Nursing course incorporated an Integrated Clinical Learning Model (ICLM) for the first time during a mental health placement. The model offered students the flexibility of attending their clinical placement over a 16-week period instead of a traditional block of 4 weeks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the student perspective of this model and whether it prepared them for the nursing workforce. Focus groups were conducted with undergraduate nursing students following their mental health clinical placement at an acute and extended care inpatient unit. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Main themes included preparedness for practice, maintaining a work-life balance, and perceiving they were part of a team. The ICLM deepened students' knowledge and had a positive impact on their overall clinical learning. © 2018 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Where Have All the Soils Students Gone?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Mary E.

2008-01-01

Where have all the soils students gone? Several articles have been published recently discussing the decline in undergraduate student enrollment in soil science. Those who work directly with these students have known that this trend has existed for many years. At first we thought this trend was temporary. Now we realize that this declining trend…

Incorporating Personality Assessment into Counseling To Help College Students Adopt and Maintain Exercise Behaviors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buckworth, Janet; Granello, Darcy Haag; Belmore, Jennifer

2002-01-01

The authors investigated the influence of several personality traits on exercise adherence and exercise self-efficacy for 168 undergraduate students. At all levels of exercise adherence, students with different personality traits had different amounts of exercise self-efficacy. Implications for college counselors working with students to improve…

Student Interpretations of Written Comments on Graded Proofs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Byrne, Martha; Hanusch, Sarah; Moore, Robert C.; Fukawa-Connelly, Tim

2018-01-01

Instructors often write feedback on students' proofs even if there is no expectation for the students to revise and resubmit the work. It is not known, however, what students do with that feedback or if they understand the professor's intentions. To this end, we asked eight advanced mathematics undergraduates to respond to professor comments on…

Patent Information Use in Engineering Technology Design: An Analysis of Student Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Margaret; Zwicky, Dave

2017-01-01

How might engineering technology students make use of patent information in the engineering design process? Librarians analyzed team project reports and personal reflections created by students in an undergraduate mechanical engineering technology design course, revealing that the students used patents to consider the patentability of their ideas,…

Staff-Student Collaboration: Student Learning from Working Together to Enhance Educational Practice in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dickerson, Claire; Jarvis, Joy; Stockwell, Lewis

2016-01-01

The association of research and teaching, and the roles and responsibilities of students and academic staff and the nature of their interrelationship are important issues in higher education. This article presents six undergraduate student researchers' reports of their learning from collaborating with academic staff to design, undertake and…

Using Contests to Provide Business Students Project-Based Learning in Humanitarian Logistics: PSAid Example

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Özpolat, Koray; Chen, Yuwen; Hales, Doug; Yu, Degan; Yalcin, Mehmet G.

2014-01-01

Business students appreciate working on classroom projects that are both enjoyable and useful in preparing them for future careers. Promoting competition among project teams is also used as a method to motivate students. The Humanitarian Logistics Project (HLP) teaches undergraduate students the logistical implications of unsolicited material…

Bringing Town and Gown Together: Using Local History to Engage Students and Create Collaborative Partnerships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Elyssa

2016-01-01

Local history projects allow undergraduate students to engage with their surrounding community and forge relationships between universities and museums. By assigning work that requires input from both students and the museums, these projects help create collaborative partnerships as students leave campus to conduct research, participate in and…

Undergraduate projects - do they have to be within the conventional medical environment?

PubMed

Murdoch-Eaton, D; Jolly, B

2000-02-01

Undergraduate medical curricula now include increasing amounts of project work aimed at developing skills related to lifelong learning. One course allows students to choose from a wide range of projects, including 'conventional' hospital specialties and also from topics outside the mainstream of medicine. 'Conventional' and 'external' projects were compared in terms of the prior academic abilities of the students undertaking them, the assessment results and student and supervisor feedback, in order to consider whether the unconventional projects were equally valid within the undergraduate medical curriculum. School of Medicine, University of Leeds, UK. Medical students. No difference between the assessment results of the student groups was present, with over 85% of all students reaching a standard of 'excellent' or 'good' in their overall final grade. There was no difference in prior academic abilities between the student groups. Enjoyment of modules was comparable between student groups ('conventional' 89%, 'external' 93%) with good levels of satisfaction with the quality of supervision. There were no differences in students' self-appraisal of generic skill acquisition. Students who had undertaken 'external' projects felt they had gained less experience in data-handling and problem-solving skills. However, 'external' projects were rated higher by students in terms of having realistic and achievable objectives, and the supervisors of these projects were also more realistic about time commitments involved in project supervision. 'External' modules were very popular, with over 45% of students requesting places which were available for fewer than 20% of students per year. Concerns regarding the appropriateness of self-directed undergraduate medical student projects outside the mainstream of medical practice were unfounded.

Game On! Students' Perceptions of Gamified Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buckley, Patrick; Doyle, Elaine; Doyle, Shane

2017-01-01

Gamification is presented in the literature as a pedagogical innovation that may increase student engagement and enhance learning. This study explores students' perceptions of a gamified learning intervention deployed in a large undergraduate module and a small postgraduate module. Given the dearth of previous empirical work, an exploratory…

Multilevel approach to mentoring in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonine, K. E.; Dontsova, K.; Pavao-Zuckerman, M.; Paavo, B.; Hogan, D.; Oberg, E.; Gay, J.

2015-12-01

This presentation focuses on different types of mentoring for students participating in Research Experiences for Undergraduates programs with examples, including some new approaches, from The Environmental and Earth Systems Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program at Biosphere 2. While traditional faculty mentors play essential role in students' development as researchers and professionals, other formal and informal mentoring can be important component of the REU program and student experiences. Students receive mentoring from program directors, coordinators, and on site undergraduate advisors. While working on their research projects, REU students receive essential support and mentoring from undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scientists in the research groups of their primary mentors. Cohort living and group activities give multiple opportunities for peer mentoring where each student brings their own strengths and experiences to the group. Biosphere 2 REU program puts strong emphasis on teaching students to effectively communicate their research to public. In order to help REUs learn needed skills the outreach personnel at Biosphere 2 mentor and advise students both in groups and individually, in lecture format and by personal example, on best outreach approaches in general and on individual outreach projects students develop. To further enhance and strengthen outreach mentoring we used a novel approach of blending cohort of REU students with the Cal Poly STAR (STEM Teacher And Researcher) Program fellows, future K-12 STEM teachers who are gaining research experience at Biosphere 2. STAR fellows live together with the REU students and participate with them in professional development activities, as well as perform research side by side. Educational background and experiences gives these students a different view and better preparation and tools to effectively communicate and adapt science to lay audiences, a challenge commonly facing researchers but rarely taught to future scientists. In addition, REU students act as mentors themselves to the middle and high school students in Biosphere 2 Science Academy sharing with them exciting research they are doing and their experiences about doing science and life in college.

Classroom-Based Science Research at the Introductory Level: Changes in Career Choices and Attitude

PubMed Central

Harrison, Melinda; Dunbar, David; Ratmansky, Lisa; Lopatto, David

2011-01-01

Our study, focused on classroom-based research at the introductory level and using the Phage Genomics course as the model, shows evidence that first-year students doing research learn the process of science as well as how scientists practice science. A preliminary but notable outcome of our work, which is based on a small sample, is the change in student interest in considering different career choices such as graduate education and science in general. This is particularly notable, as previous research has described research internships as clarifying or confirming rather than changing undergraduates’ decisions to pursue graduate education. We hypothesize that our results differ from previous studies of the impact of engaging in research because the students in our study are still in the early stages of their undergraduate careers. Our work builds upon the classroom-based research movement and should be viewed as encouraging to the Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education movement advocated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Science Foundation, and other undergraduate education stakeholders. PMID:21885824

Incorporating Scientific Publishing into an Undergraduate Neuroscience Course: A Case Study Using IMPULSE

PubMed Central

Jones, Leslie Sargent; Allen, Laura; Cronise, Kim; Juneja, Natasha; Kohn, Rebecca; McClellan, Katherine; Miller, Ashley; Nazir, Azka; Patel, Andy; Sweitzer, Sarah M.; Vickery, Erin; Walton, Anna; Young, Robert

2011-01-01

The journal IMPULSE offers undergraduates worldwide the opportunity to publish research and serve as peer reviewers for the submissions of others. Undergraduate faculty have recognized the journal’s value in engaging students working in their labs in the publication process. However, integration of scientific publication into an undergraduate laboratory classroom setting has been lacking. We report here on a course at Ursinus College where 20 students taking Molecular Neurobiology were required to submit manuscripts to IMPULSE. The syllabus allowed for the laboratory research to coincide with the background research and writing of the manuscript. Students completed their projects on the impact of drugs on the Daphnia magna nervous system while producing manuscripts ready for submission by week 7 of the course. Findings from a survey completed by the students and perceptions of the faculty member teaching the course indicated that students spent much more time writing, were more focused on completing the assays, completed the assays with larger data sets, were more engaged in learning the scientific concepts and were more thorough with their revisions of the paper knowing that it might be published. Further, the professor found she was more thorough in critiquing students’ papers knowing they would be externally reviewed. Incorporating journal submission into the course stimulated an in depth writing experience and allowed for a deeper exploration of the topic than students would have experienced otherwise. This case study provides evidence that IMPULSE can be successfully used as a means of incorporating scientific publication into an undergraduate laboratory science course. This approach to teaching undergraduate neuroscience allows for a larger number of students to have hands-on research and scientific publishing experience than would be possible with the current model of a few students in a faculty member’s laboratory. This report illustrates that IMPULSE can be incorporated as an integral part of an academic curriculum with positive outcomes on student engagement and performance. PMID:23494013

The Work-Study Nexus: The Challenges of Balancing Full-Time Business Degree Study with a Part-Time Job

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Mark; Evans, Carl; Gbadamosi, Gbolahan

2014-01-01

This study examined how full-time university students cope with part-time working during term time. A qualitative approach was used to examine how students simultaneously manage the two activities, and how part-time working affects their academic study. Semi-structured interviews were used to obtain data from a sample of 30 undergraduate business…

The Importance of Science Policy and its Challenges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preis, Benjamin

2015-03-01

I worked for physicist and Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) as the Mather Public Policy Intern through the American Institute of Physics and the Society of Physics Students during the summer of 2014. This internship is meant to connect undergraduate physics students with the policy process in Washington DC. As a Mather Public Policy Intern, I worked for Congressman Foster researching policy initiatives such as science funding, STEM education, and environmental regulations. This talk will discuss my experience and many of the things that I learned as an undergraduate physicist working on Capitol Hill. For example, through my experience with the internship, I attended lectures and hearings that illuminated for me how members of Congress conceive of scientific research. I also met with many physicists on Capitol Hill working to improve government interest in physics research -- AAAS Fellows, Members of Congress, and Government Relations Specialists -- and I will talk about how I saw physicists impacting governmental policies relating to scientific research and development. This internship is part of the Society of Physics Students internship program and was funded by the John and Jane Mather Foundation for Science and the Arts. This work was part of the Society of Physics Students internship Program.

Providing Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Research through Partnering two Undergraduate Research Programs: RESESS and SOARS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandya, R. E.; Eriksson, S. C.

2005-12-01

Undergraduate research provides a unique opportunity to explore scientifically novel questions, particularly those at the intersection of disciplines. This opportunity should be balanced with the need to provide the strong discipline-based training that undergraduate students require to continue their academic careers. This need for balance is especially acute for students from groups who are historically under-represented in geosciences; their status as minorities and women makes them especially vulnerable to the devaluing of their research if it isn't along traditional lines. Combining undergraduate research with a strong, diverse learning community is one way to balance the opportunity of interdisciplinary research with the need for depth of understanding in a field. In this model, students individually pursue focused research in partnership with a particular scientist as they work collaboratively across disciplines to prepare scientific papers, presentations, and posters to share the results of their research. Over time, programmatic success can even help insulate students from the risks of interdisciplinary work. Research Experience for Students in Solid Earth Science (RESESS) and Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Science (SOARS) implement this approach. SOARS is a program with a 10-year history in the atmospheric science; RESESS is a new program focused on Solid Earth Sciences. The two currently collaborate by merging their learning communities while maintaining distinct research focuses. While still in the pilot phase of partnering, initial discussions by the student participants indicate a growing awareness of potential for cross-disciplinary collaboration. In fact, two projects, both by graduate students who have participated for multiple summers, straddle the disciplines of geology and meteorology. One project characterized dust storms in the Southwest US using remote sensing, and a second project studied wind-driven migration of sand dunes on the Navajo Nation. Based on the RESESS/SOARS partnership in 2005 and plans for a three-year collaboration, we describe the ongoing process of navigating the partnership and developing a cohesive learning community. We also provide evidence of the growing acceptance of interdisciplinary research within the SOARS and RESESS students and the scientists who work with them.

"On the job" learning: A bioinformatics course incorporating undergraduates in actual research projects and manuscript submissions.

PubMed

Smith, Jason T; Harris, Justine C; Lopez, Oscar J; Valverde, Laura; Borchert, Glen M

2015-01-01

The sequencing of whole genomes and the analysis of genetic information continues to fundamentally change biological and medical research. Unfortunately, the people best suited to interpret this data (biologically trained researchers) are commonly discouraged by their own perceived computational limitations. To address this, we developed a course to help alleviate this constraint. Remarkably, in addition to equipping our undergraduates with an informatic toolset, we found our course design helped prepare our students for collaborative research careers in unexpected ways. Instead of simply offering a traditional lecture- or laboratory-based course, we chose a guided inquiry method, where an instructor-selected research question is examined by students in a collaborative analysis with students contributing to experimental design, data collection, and manuscript reporting. While students learn the skills needed to conduct bioinformatic research throughout all sections of the course, importantly, students also gain experience in working as a team and develop important communication skills through working with their partner and the class as a whole, and by contributing to an original research article. Remarkably, in its first three semesters, this novel computational genetics course has generated 45 undergraduate authorships across three peer-reviewed articles. More importantly, the students that took this course acquired a positive research experience, newfound informatics technical proficiency, unprecedented familiarity with manuscript preparation, and an earned sense of achievement. Although this course deals with analyses of genetic systems, we suggest the basic concept of integrating actual research projects into a 16-week undergraduate course could be applied to numerous other research-active academic fields. © 2015 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Supporting undergraduate nursing students through structured personal tutoring: Some reflections.

PubMed

Watts, Tessa E

2011-02-01

Support is imperative for nursing students worldwide as they face the many challenges associated with learning and working. Moreover enhancing student retention is an increasing concern for institutions across the globe. The personal tutor is a frequently hidden yet potentially significant figure in many students' experience of higher education. This paper offers some critical reflections on a structured approach to personal tutoring within an undergraduate nursing programme in a research focused Welsh university. Structured personal tutoring can provide an organised, coherent and proactive support system throughout students' educational programmes. However the approach changes the shape of personal tutoring and has the potential to increase academics' workloads and with it costs. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Creating a Research-Rich Curriculum at Miami University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rauckhorst, William H.

2007-10-01

Miami University has attempted in recent years to build upon a collection of individual student research participation opportunities at the University, and develop a comprehensive ``research-rich'' undergraduate curriculum. A major step in this direction was the creation of the Undergraduate Summer Scholars (USS) program. This program provides 10-week summer research experiences with faculty mentors for 100 juniors or seniors each year. The USS Program is not limited to science and engineering areas, as approximately 30 academic departments participate annually. Development of the USS program at Miami was motivated by the University's prior experience with student research appointments funded by the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and other sponsoring agencies. The University's evaluation of these earlier student research experiences provided evidence that such experiences were at least as significant in a student's education as formal course work. A second important step in Miami's effort was obtaining a grant from the National Science Foundation's Comprehensive Reform of Undergraduate Education program. This funding enabled the University to enhance the Undergraduate Summer Scholars (USS) Program and evaluate student intellectual growth within the program. Two outcomes of this NSF-funded project are noteworthy: first, the USS program now is firmly established within the University's offerings; second, the evaluation ndicated profound student intellectual growth as a result of mentored research experiences. We will describe the development of the Undergraduate Summer Scholars Program, our evaluation of the Program, and ongoing efforts to extend the benefits of research experience to more students by incorporating research components within traditional coursework.

KSC-2014-3032

NASA Image and Video Library

2014-06-27

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana talks to student interns during an event at the KARS Park I facility near the center. High school, undergraduate and graduate students participate in a team building exercise and received advice on leadership skills and working together from Kennedy's senior management. About 160 students are working and gaining experience in many of the directorates and programs during their time at Kennedy. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

Teaching dental public health to undergraduates using community profiles and patient case studies.

PubMed

Nandakumar, C; Robinson, P G

2011-03-01

Provide an example of how dental public health can be taught to undergraduates. Educational case study. General dental practice. Dental outreach placement and supporting project work. One project required students to study patients in the context of their environment via the social history. The student learned about the social determinants of health and differentiated between the causes of disease in the patient and the determinants of health affecting the practice population. Outreach training can help students learn about the social determinants of health. Dental schools may have missed an opportunity to use outreach to help their students learn from and about their environment and its impact on the health of their patients.

Using Student Learning and Development Outcomes to Evaluate a First-Year Undergraduate Group Video Project

PubMed Central

Jensen, Murray; Mattheis, Allison; Johnson, Brady

2012-01-01

Students in an interdisciplinary undergraduate introductory course were required to complete a group video project focused on nutrition and healthy eating. A mixed-methods approach to data collection involved observing and rating video footage of group work sessions and individual and focus group interviews. These data were analyzed and used to evaluate the effectiveness of the assignment in light of two student learning outcomes and two student development outcomes at the University of Minnesota. Positive results support the continued inclusion of the project within the course, and recommend the assignment to other programs as a viable means of promoting both content learning and affective behavioral objectives. PMID:22383619

Using student learning and development outcomes to evaluate a first-year undergraduate group video project.

PubMed

Jensen, Murray; Mattheis, Allison; Johnson, Brady

2012-01-01

Students in an interdisciplinary undergraduate introductory course were required to complete a group video project focused on nutrition and healthy eating. A mixed-methods approach to data collection involved observing and rating video footage of group work sessions and individual and focus group interviews. These data were analyzed and used to evaluate the effectiveness of the assignment in light of two student learning outcomes and two student development outcomes at the University of Minnesota. Positive results support the continued inclusion of the project within the course, and recommend the assignment to other programs as a viable means of promoting both content learning and affective behavioral objectives.

Characterizing Mystery Cell Lines: Student-driven Research Projects in an Undergraduate Neuroscience Laboratory Course.

PubMed

Lemons, Michele L

2012-01-01

Inquiry-based projects promote discovery and retention of key concepts, increase student engagement, and stimulate interest in research. Described here are a series of lab exercises within an undergraduate upper level neuroscience course that train students to design, execute and analyze their own hypothesis-driven research project. Prior to developing their own projects, students learn several research techniques including aseptic cell culture, cell line maintenance, immunocytochemistry and fluorescent microscopy. Working in groups, students choose how to use these techniques to characterize and identify a "mystery" cell line. Each lab group is given a unique cell line with either a neural, astrocyte, or Schwann cell origin. Working together, students plan and execute experiments to determine the cellular origin and other unique characteristics of their mystery cell line. Students generate testable hypotheses, design interpretable experiments, generate and analyze data, and report their findings in both oral and written formats. Students receive instructor and peer feedback throughout the entire project. In summary, these labs train students the process of scientific research. This series of lab exercises received very strong positive feedback from the students. Reflections on student feedback and plans for future improvements are discussed.

Characterizing Mystery Cell Lines: Student-driven Research Projects in an Undergraduate Neuroscience Laboratory Course

PubMed Central

Lemons, Michele L.

2012-01-01

Inquiry-based projects promote discovery and retention of key concepts, increase student engagement, and stimulate interest in research. Described here are a series of lab exercises within an undergraduate upper level neuroscience course that train students to design, execute and analyze their own hypothesis-driven research project. Prior to developing their own projects, students learn several research techniques including aseptic cell culture, cell line maintenance, immunocytochemistry and fluorescent microscopy. Working in groups, students choose how to use these techniques to characterize and identify a “mystery” cell line. Each lab group is given a unique cell line with either a neural, astrocyte, or Schwann cell origin. Working together, students plan and execute experiments to determine the cellular origin and other unique characteristics of their mystery cell line. Students generate testable hypotheses, design interpretable experiments, generate and analyze data, and report their findings in both oral and written formats. Students receive instructor and peer feedback throughout the entire project. In summary, these labs train students the process of scientific research. This series of lab exercises received very strong positive feedback from the students. Reflections on student feedback and plans for future improvements are discussed. PMID:23504583

Teaching Students about Research: Classroom Poster Sessions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crowley-Long, Kathleen; And Others

1997-01-01

Finds that undergraduate students in an introductory psychology class acquired more favorable attitudes toward research as a result of their active participation in the creation and presentation of a poster that illustrates their independent work. Appends poster session instructions. (RS)

The Impact of Wireless Keypads in an Interprofessional Education Context with Health Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Brett; Lewis, Belinda; Boyle, Malcolm; Brown, Ted

2011-01-01

The aim of this study was to identify if wireless keypads could facilitate interprofessional interaction among undergraduate paramedic, nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, health science, social work and midwifery students. Secondary research aims included the examination of students' perceptions of interprofessional education and how…

Grade Expectations: Redux

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miley, William M.; Gonsalves, Sonia

2004-01-01

We surveyed undergraduate students taking upper level psychology courses about their course and grade expectations as an extension of the work of Gaultney and Cann (2001) with introductory psychology students. More students believed success in a course was measured by good grades rather than by mastery of new material. They wanted effort to play a…

Advisory Board Engagement: Assisting Undergraduates with Resume Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunt, Irma; Taylor, Ronald; Oberman, William

2017-01-01

Resumes of students with limited work experience are by nature underdeveloped and frequently poorly designed. Although many tools and resources are available, students often underutilize them. Faculty at a northeastern university sought to address this problem by engaging members of its college of business advisory board to provide students with…

The Influence of Employment on College Students' Academic Experiences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Curl, Angela L.; Benner, Kalea

2017-01-01

This cross-sectional survey study (N = 222) examined the influences of employment on graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in majors with significant internship or practicum requirements (journalism, social work, nursing and health sciences). The study is unique in that student perceptions regarding the challenges and rewards of working…

Guns at College.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Matthew; Hemenway, David; Wechsler, Henry

1999-01-01

Surveyed undergraduate students nationwide concerning firearm possession. About 3.5% possessed working firearms. Students with guns were more likely to be male, White, or Native American; binge drink; live off-campus; and live with a spouse or significant other. Students with guns were more likely to engage in activities that put themselves and…

An Appreciative Approach to Training Undergraduate Admissions Student Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fippinger, Alex

2009-01-01

In most admissions offices, the focus of training sessions for student telecounselors and tour guides is on transmitting information about the institution. Although this transmission of institutional knowledge is important, these training sessions are opportunities for student admissions employees to consider how their work relates to their…

Online Lab Books for Supervision of Project Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badge, J. L.; Badge, R. M.

2009-01-01

In this article, the authors report a case study where Blackboard's wiki function was used to create electronic lab books for the supervision of undergraduate students completing laboratory based research projects. This successful experiment in supervision using electronic notebooks provided a searchable record of student work and a permanent…

Ageism and Gender among Social Work and Criminal Justice Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kane, Michael N.

2006-01-01

Undergraduate social work and criminal justice students completed 1 of 4 vignettes that were identical with the exception of the age and gender of the vignette's subject. In each vignette, the subject interacted with an opposite-sex 24-year-old waiter or waitress. Following each vignette, respondents answered 20 items relating to the age, gender,…

Effect of an Experiential and Work-Based Learning Program on Vocational Identity, Career Decision Self-Efficacy, and Career Maturity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Esters, Levon T.; Retallick, Michael S.

2013-01-01

This exploratory study examined the effect of an agriculturally-based experiential and work-based learning program, Science With Practice (SWP), on the vocational identity, career decision self-efficacy, and career maturity of undergraduate agriculture and life sciences students. The SWP experience helped clarify students' career interests and…

Student Financial Aid Handbook, 2000-2001. Volume 6: Federal Work-Study.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Education, Washington, DC. Student Financial Assistance.

The Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program encourages the part-time employment of undergraduate and graduate students who need the income to help pay the cost of their education and encourages FSW recipients to participate in community service activities. This volume describes the ways schools are required to use money from their FSW Program funds to…

Vocation is Not a Dirty Word. Carnegie Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Studley, Jamienne S.

2004-01-01

The writer comments on the need for more thoughtful ways to introduce undergraduate students to the world of work. Students want to know how to connect their values and goals, their intellectual passions and capacities, the myriad of learning experiences in which they engage during college, and the work of their lives. They are, however,…

Student Perceptions of the Value of Career Development Learning to a Work-Integrated Learning Course in Exercise Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reddan, Gregory; Rauchle, Maja

2012-01-01

Work-integrated learning has become a significant feature of Australian universities over the past decade. Earlier research indicates that some form of career development is essential to prepare undergraduate students for a competitive employment market. The 2008 National Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (NAGCAS) Symposium sought…

Making the Grade: The Quest for Validity in Admissions Decisions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pelech, William; Stalker, Carol A.; Regehr, Cheryl; Jacobs, Marilyn

1999-01-01

A study found that students having problems in a graduate social-work program are more likely to be older, be male, have lower undergraduate grades, have more experience in social service-related work, and be rated lower in emotional maturity based on personal statements. Implications for provision of support for such students are discussed.…

Crucial Choices: How Students' Financial Decisions Affect Their Academic Success.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

King, Jacqueline E.

This report demonstrates that by working long hours and attending school part time, students not only lengthen their time-to-degree, but also increase their likelihood of dropping out. More than half of all undergraduates attend college part time, and 80% work while enrolled. This report examines the most recent evidence on the effects of…

Working for College: The Causal Impacts of Financial Grants on Undergraduate Employment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broton, Katharine M.; Goldrick-Rab, Sara; Benson, James

2016-01-01

One way in which financial aid is thought to promote college success is by minimizing the time students spend working. Yet, little research has examined if this intended first-order effect occurs, and results are mixed. We leverage a randomized experiment and find that students from low-income families in Wisconsin offered additional grant aid…

Earth Science Pipeline: Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences Through Outreach and Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGill, S. F.; Fryxell, J. E.; Smith, A. L.; Leatham, W. B.; Brunkhorst, B. J.

2004-12-01

Our efforts to increase diversity in the geosciences have been directed towards pre-college students and their teachers as well as towards undergraduate students. We made presentations about the geosciences and careers in geosciences at local schools, and we invited school groups to visit our campus (located near the San Andreas fault) for hands-on activities related to Earth Science. We also led field trips for high school students to other areas of geologic interest in southern California. We hired undergraduate students, including several from under-represented groups, from both our introductory and upper-division geology courses to help with these outreach activities. During 2001-2004, we conducted 169 outreach sessions that involved over 12,000 contact hours with about 5700 students, mostly middle and high school students. The majority (about 74%) of the students participating in these activities were from ethnic groups that are under-represented in the geosciences. Ninety per cent of the students said they would like to go on another field trip like the one they took to our department. At many outreach events we conducted a pre- and post-survey in which we asked students to what extent they agreed with the statement: "It would be fun to be a geologist." The pre-surveys indicated that 42% of the students either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement before participating in the outreach event. After participating, 61% of the students agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. We have also offered summer field trips and research opportunities for high school teachers. In order to attract and retain undergraduate students to the geology major, we have recruited undergraduate students from under-represented groups (and high school teachers) to participate in various research projects. The two largest projects are (1) geologic mapping and monitoring of volcanoes on the island of Dominica, in the Lesser Antilles and (2) using the Global Positioning System (GPS) to monitor elastic strain accumulation across the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults along a 70-km-long transect near our campus. To date 80 participants have been involved in the GPS project, including 23 undergraduate students from under-represented ethnic groups and 23 teachers. Several participants have remained involved in the project, helping to process and model the GPS data, leading to presentations at SCEC and AGU meetings. In addition, all of our data has been submitted to the Southern California Earthquake Center's Data Center and is available for use by other scientists. Of the participants in the GPS project, 100% would recommend the program to other students or teachers, 93% regarded the experience as very worthwhile, and 81% said that the project had greatly increased their interest in the Earth Sciences. It is still too early to measure the long-term fruit of our work with middle and early high school students. However, our work with undergraduate students is already beginning to show some promise. During the four years prior to the start of our efforts, the average number of geology majors from under-represented groups in our department was 5 (22.7% of the total number of geology majors). During the three years of focused effort, the average was 8.3 students from under-represented groups (28.4% of the total). This work was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation's program Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences.

Towards a conceptual framework for preceptorship in the clinical education of undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Zilembo, Melanie; Monterosso, Leanne

2008-08-01

A recent study undertaken by the authors (2007) highlighted that undergraduate nursing students were subjected to varying experiences in clinical practice, which were mediated by a number of factors. Mediating factors included continuity of preceptors, student attitudes, the clinical setting environment, student and preceptor expectations of the clinical practice experience and interactions between the student and preceptor. Of note, interactions with preceptors were seen to 'make or break' the practical experience. Therefore, the relationship that is forged between preceptor and student is vital in shaping the student's experience of the clinical area and of the real world of nursing work. Early positive socialisation experiences have been shown to improve retention rates of new nurses (Greene & Puetzer 2002), which are issues of prime concern in an era of worsening nursing shortages at all levels of the profession. A conceptual framework designed to guide preceptorship may help alleviate some of the difficulties experienced by undergraduate nurses in building relationships within the complex interactions of the nursing environment. The framework proposed in this paper offers a conceptual model that links positive preceptor leadership qualities (such as compassion, care and empathy) with student characteristics. This model proposes that synergistic interactions between nursing students and preceptors results in positive implications for the nursing workforce. This framework also has the potential for further development to fill the void created by a lack of conceptual guidance for supervisory interactions within the undergraduate clinical context.

A "CASE" Study on Developing Science Communication and Outreach Skills of University Graduate Student Researchers in Alaska

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tedesche, M. E.; Conner, L.

2015-12-01

Well rounded scientific researchers are not only experts in their field, but can also communicate their work to a multitude of various audiences, including the general public and undergraduate university students. Training in these areas should ideally start during graduate school, but many programs are not preparing students to effectively communicate their work. Here, we present results from the NSF-funded CASE (Changing Alaska Science Education) program, which was funded by NSF under the auspices of the GK-12 program. CASE placed science graduate students (fellows) in K-12 classrooms to teach alongside of K-12 teachers with the goal of enhancing communication and teaching skills among graduate students. CASE trained fellows in inquiry-based and experiential techniques and emphasized the integration of art, writing, and traditional Alaska Native knowledge in the classroom. Such techniques are especially effective in engaging students from underrepresented groups. As a result of participation, many CASE fellows have reported increased skills in communication and teaching, as well as in time management. These skills may prove directly applicable to higher education when teaching undergraduate students.

Perceptions of Undergraduate Students and Faculty Regarding the Impact of Electronic Communication on the Written-Communication Skills of Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houser, Laura Ann Camlet

2012-01-01

This narrative-qualitative study investigated the perceived impact that electronic communication has on the written-communication skills of undergraduate students. Open-ended survey questions queried the experiences of undergraduate students who use electronic communication, as well as the perceptions of faculty who teach undergraduate students.…

2012 Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates at Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castelaz, Michael W.; Cline, J. D.; Whitworth, C.; Clavier, D.; Owen, L.

2013-01-01

Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI) offers research experiences for undergraduates (REU). PARI receives support for the internships from the NC Space Grant Consortium, NSF awards, private donations, and industry partner funding. The PARI REU program began in 2001 with 4 students and has averaged 6 students per year over the past 11 years. This year PARI hosted 8 funded REU students. Mentors for the interns include PARI’s Science, Education, and Information Technology staff and visiting faculty who are members of the PARI Research Faculty Affiliate program. Students work with mentors on radio and optical astronomy research, electrical engineering for robotic control of instruments, software development for instrument control and software for citizen science projects, and science education by developing curricula and multimedia and teaching high school students in summer programs at PARI. At the end of the summer interns write a paper about their research which is published in the annually published PARI Summer Student Proceedings. Several of the students have presented their results at AAS Meetings. We will present a summary of specific research conducted by the students with their mentors and the logistics for hosting the PARI undergraduate internship program.

Exploring the cultural competence of undergraduate nursing students in Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Halabi, Jehad O; de Beer, Jennifer

2018-03-01

To explore the cultural competence of undergraduate nursing students at a college of nursing, Saudi Arabia. A descriptive exploratory design was used to explore the Saudi undergraduate nursing students' level of cultural competency. The convenience sample included 205 nursing students affiliated with a college of nursing at a health science university in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using the Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence-Revised (IAPCC-R) consisting of 25 items. The tool reported acceptable reliability of Cronbach alpha 0.89. The majority of students were culturally aware and dealt with people from different cultures. One-third preferred to have training on culture over a period of time. Half the students preferred studying a special course related to working with people from different cultures. Cultural desire reported the highest mean while cultural knowledge scored the lowest among the cultural competence subscales despite students being exposed to some cultural knowledge content in their training. Implementing the guidelines for culturally competent care assure covering all aspects of care with consideration of cultural heritage as a main concept. Comparative study of nurses' and students' perception is further recommended. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Becoming a scientist: The role of undergraduate research in students' cognitive, personal, and professional development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunter, Anne-Barrie; Laursen, Sandra L.; Seymour, Elaine

2007-01-01

In this ethnographic study of summer undergraduate research (UR) experiences at four liberal arts colleges, where faculty and students work collaboratively on a project of mutual interest in an apprenticeship of authentic science research work, analysis of the accounts of faculty and student participants yields comparative insights into the structural elements of this form of UR program and its benefits for students. Comparison of the perspectives of faculty and their students revealed considerable agreement on the nature, range, and extent of students' UR gains. Specific student gains relating to the process of becoming a scientist were described and illustrated by both groups. Faculty framed these gains as part of professional socialization into the sciences. In contrast, students emphasized their personal and intellectual development, with little awareness of their socialization into professional practice. Viewing study findings through the lens of social constructivist learning theories demonstrates that the characteristics of these UR programs, how faculty practice UR in these colleges, and students' outcomes - including cognitive and personal growth and the development of a professional identity - strongly exemplify many facets of these theories, particularly, student-centered and situated learning as part of cognitive apprenticeship in a community of practice.

Progress update on a 2015 USIP interdisciplinary undergraduate student microgravity experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dove, A.; Colwell, J. E.; Brisset, J.; Kirstein, J.; Brightwell, K.; Hayden, R.; Jorges, J.; Schwartzberg, D.; Strange, J.; Yates, A.

2016-12-01

Our team was selected by the 2016 USIP program to build, fly, and analyze the results from a granular dynamics experiment that will fly in 2017 on a suborbital flight. The experiment will be designed to test technology and enable science relevant to low-gravity planetary objects, such as asteroids, comets, and small moons. Following on the success of previous NASA Flight Opportunities Program (FOP) and Undergraduate Student Instrumentation Project (USIP) projects, however, the primary driver of the project is to enable undergraduate student participation in the entire lifetime of a science and technology development project. Our mentoring team consists of faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students, who have experience with the past USIP program and similar projects, as well as with mentoring undergraduate students. The undergraduate team includes a diversity of major disciplines, including physics, mechanical/aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, business (accounting), and marketing. Each team member has specific project tasks, as outlined in the proposal, and all members will also help develop and participate in outreach events. In additional to their project roles, students will also be responsible for presentations and milestones, such as design reviews. Through these reviews and the outreach events, all team members have the chance to develop their technical and non-technical communication skills. Previous experience with the NASA USIP program demonstrated that students achieve significant growth through these projects -gaining a better understanding of the entire lifecycle of a project, and, likely more importantly, how to work with a diverse team. In this talk, we will discuss the status of the project, and present student impressions and thoughts on the project thus far.

Development of an Undergraduate Course in the Use of Digital Computers With Chemistry Instrumentation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilkins, Charles L.

Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) has proven useful in teaching chemistry instrumentation techniques to undergraduate students. The work completed at the time of this interim report has clearly shown that a general purpose laboratory computer system, equipped with suitable devices to allow direct data input from experiments, can be an effective…

When Rubrics Collide: One Undergraduate Writing Tutor's Experience Negotiating Faculty and Institutional Assessments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin, Kelli

2013-01-01

This article recounts one undergraduate writing tutor's experience helping a fellow peer navigate an institutional assessment rubric that seemed to contrast the assessment criteria provided by the student's instructor. This article presents a reflection on that experience, framed by Hutchings, Huber, and Ciccone's (2011) work on…

Civic Learning and Teaching as a Resource for Sexual Justice: An Undergraduate Religious Studies Course Module

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vasko, Elisabeth T.

2017-01-01

Civic learning and teaching, a form of critical and democratically engaged pedagogy, is utilized in an upper-level undergraduate sexual ethics course to leverage public problem solving around the sexual violence on a mid-size Catholic collegiate campus. Through the course, students, faculty, staff, and community members work together to deepen…

Career Choice Status among Undergraduates and the Influence of Career Management Competencies and Perceived Employability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Denise; Wilton, Nicholas

2017-01-01

This study examines the influence of career management competencies and perceived employability on career choice status (CCS) among undergraduates. Making informed and appropriate career choices is positively linked with well-being, work performance and academic and career success. Early career decision-making is now critical if students wish to…

Why Work with Undergraduate Researchers? Differences in Research Advisors' Motivations and Outcomes by Career Stage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayward, Charles N.; Laursen, Sandra L.; Thiry, Heather

2017-01-01

Undergraduate research is often hailed as a solution to increasing the number and quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduates needed to fill the high-tech jobs of the future. Student benefits of research are well documented but the emerging literature on advisors' perspectives is incomplete: only a few studies have…

Evaluation of a Voluntary Tutoring Program in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics for First-Year Undergraduates at Universidad Andres Bello, Chile

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiménez, Verónica A.; Acuña, Fabiola C.; Quiero, Felipe J.; López, Margarita; Zahn, Carmen I.

2015-01-01

This work describes the preliminary results of a tutoring program that provides personalized academic assistance to first-year undergraduates enrolled in introductory chemistry, physics and mathematics courses at Universidad Andres Bello (UNAB), in Concepción, Chile. Intervened courses have historically large enrolments, diverse student population…

Republication of "Experiencing Management: A Comprehensive, 'Hands-On' Model for the Introductory Undergraduate Management Course"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, John A.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe an experiential course designed to overcome the specific problems inherent in working with undergraduate students in introductory management courses. The article grew out of discussions among faculty at the 1988 Academy of Management meetings who shared deep concerns about the quality of undergraduate…

Academic Performance and Burnout: An Efficient Frontier Analysis of Resource Use Efficiency among Employed University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galbraith, Craig S.; Merrill, Gregory B.

2015-01-01

We examine the impact of university student burnout on academic achievement. With a longitudinal sample of working undergraduate university business and economics students, we use a two-step analytical process to estimate the efficient frontiers of student productivity given inputs of labour and capital and then analyse the potential determinants…

Factors Affecting Student Choice of the Undergraduate Research Project: Staff and Student Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harland, Janice; Pitt, Sarah; Saunders, Venetia

2005-01-01

As pressures on resources are growing and some question the value and types of final year research work for students in the biosciences and other disciplines, it is important to be well informed about student expectations of their project. In this case study within Biomolecular Sciences, questionnaires were used to compare staff and student…

Working and Learning: The Role of Involvement for Employed Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundberg, Carol A.

2004-01-01

Using a national sample of 3,774 undergraduates, this study investigated the effect of involvement in the college experience on learning for students who were employed off campus. Students employed more than 20 hours per week off campus engaged with faculty and peers less frequently than other students on all variables except discussing ideas with…

Where It All Began: Peer Education and Leadership in Student Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ganser, Stephanie R.; Kennedy, Tricia L.

2012-01-01

The emergence of undergraduate students serving in peer leader or peer educator roles is relatively recent in the history of higher education. Peer leadership positions were first recorded in 1959 in the field of student services, specifically working with students entering college and living in residence halls. Beginning with the Hazen Report of…

Effects of Person versus Process Praise on Student Motivation: Stability and Change in Emerging Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haimovitz, Kyla; Henderlong Corpus, Jennifer

2011-01-01

This study examined the effects of person praise and process praise on college students' motivation and how these effects change as students progress through their undergraduate years. Hundred and eleven college students worked on three puzzle tasks and received either person praise, process praise, or no praise. Following subsequent failure,…

[Tendencies on ability related to competence education when realizing undergraduate public health study system].

PubMed

Sveikauskas, Vaclovas

2006-01-01

The aim of this paper is to reveal tendencies on competence and ability education when realizing undergraduate public health study program in the interaction context of traditional and modern higher education features. Competence is implementation of qualification or the ability to act, conditioned by individual's knowledge, skills, motives, personal characteristics, and values. The integrated competence is necessary for the change of the internal and external work conditions; it is based on the integrity of behavior and knowledge that conditions the essential change of activity. The holistic competence is necessary for a new work development and the transfer of qualification to new situations; it is conditioned by holistic approach toward education. When researching undergraduate public health study program in the context of traditional and modern higher education features at Kaunas University of Medicine, the following problems were stated: insufficient qualities of student's self-analysis, self-directed learning and formation of communication skills; insufficient communication of teachers and students during study process; limited possibilities team work with representatives of other professions when solving problems of public health improvement.

Medical students' views on selecting paediatrics as a career choice.

PubMed

Bindal, Taruna; Wall, David; Goodyear, Helen M

2011-09-01

Despite increasing numbers of UK medical students, the number of trainees selecting paediatrics as their specialty choice has decreased. Previous studies show that most students will choose their ultimate career during undergraduate training. We therefore explored the views of students in the final year at Birmingham University about a career in paediatrics. Students completed a 27-item questionnaire during the penultimate week of their paediatric clerkship (PC) and 97% responded (127/131). Prior to the PC, 29% (37/127) of students had considered a career in paediatrics, rising to 50% (63/127) after the PC (p < 0.001). Students felt that paediatricians were enthusiastic and keen on teaching, and the ward working atmosphere was good. However, students perceived paediatrics as a difficult specialty with high competition for training posts. Students felt their paediatric experience was too limited and advice was needed on paediatric careers early in undergraduate training. This study confirmed that focusing on improving the PC is not sufficient if we are to inspire medical students to consider a career in paediatrics. Exposure to the specialty is needed from year 1 of undergraduate training along with career advice to dispel current myths about specialty training. Students would then be able to make more informed career decisions.

Short-term, informal, and low-stakes scientific laboratory and field experiences improve STEM student retention and academic success

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hintz, C.; Pride, C. J.; Cox, T.

2017-12-01

Formal internship experiences strongly improve student success in the STEM fields. Classical programs like NSF's Research Experiences for Undergraduates are highly successful for traditional and non-traditional students. Moreover when early undergraduate and at-risk (e.g., low income, academically-challenged) students engage in these experiences, their career paths are re-enforced or changed, academic progress and retention improves, and they are encouraged to continue into graduate school. Students build connections to their course-based learning and experience the life of a working scientist. However, NSF formal experiences are relatively expensive to provide (>5000 per student per experience) and are available to fewer than 5% of geoscience majors each year. Although other funded formal internship opportunities exist, they are likely available to no more than 10% of total enrolled geoscience students. These high-quality programs cannot impact enough early undergraduate students to encourage their remaining in science and improve the current overall retention and graduation rates in the US. Savannah State University faculty successfully completed multiple grants funding low-stakes undergraduate field-science experiences. These short-term (semester to year), part-time (5-10h/week) experiences provide similar classroom-to-real-world science connections, offer students direct laboratory and field experiences, build skill sets, and provide a small source of revenue assisting financially-challenged students to stay on campus rather than seeking off-campus employment. For a much lower investment in time and grant resources (500-1500 per student per experience), participant graduation rates exceeded 80%, well above the university 27-34% graduation rate during the same time period. Relatively small infusions of research dollars targeting undergraduate experiences in the field and laboratory could significantly impact long-term student outcomes in STEM disciplines. These findings supported by NSF OCE-1460457, OCE-1156525, GEO-0914680; ONR N00014-12-1-0969.

Undergraduate teaching of occupational medicine in European schools of medicine.

PubMed

Gehanno, J F; Bulat, P; Martinez-Jarreta, B; Pauncu, E A; Popescu, F; Smits, P B A; van Dijk, F J H; Braeckman, L

2014-05-01

General practitioners play or should play a role in occupational medicine (OM), either in diagnosing occupational diseases or in counseling on return to work. Nevertheless, their training has been reported to be insufficient in most single country studies. The objectives of this study were to analyze the content and extent of undergraduate teaching of OM in European medical schools. An e-mail questionnaire survey of the teaching of OM to undergraduates was undertaken from December 2010 to April 2011 in all medical schools and medical faculties listed in 27 European countries (n = 305). Among the 305 universities identified, 135 answered to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 44%. The mean number of hours given to formal instruction in occupational medicine to medical undergraduates was 25.5 h. Nevertheless, this number of hours varied widely between countries, but also within countries. Overall, 27% of medical schools gave their students 10 h of teaching or less, 52% 20 h or less and 69% 30 h or less. Whereas occupational diseases and principles of prevention were covered in most schools, disability and return to work were very poorly represented among the topics that were taught to students. Dedicated undergraduate teaching on occupational health or OM in European medical schools is present in most medical schools, usually at a low level, but is very variable between and within countries. Medical schools across Europe are very unequal to provide qualifying doctors education on the topics they will frequently come across in their working lives.

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Summer Student Programs in La Serena, Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaleida, Catherine C.; Smith, C.; Van Der Bliek, N. S.; James, D.

2014-01-01

The Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) offers positions for U.S. and Chilean student interns during the Chilean summer months of January-March (northern winter semester) at the CTIO offices in La Serena, Chile. CTIO is part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) of the United States, focused on the development of astronomy in the southern hemisphere. Six undergraduate research assistantships are offered for U.S. physics and astronomy undergraduate students through the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. The CTIO-funded Prácticas de Investigación en Astronomía (PIA) program is run concurrently with the REU program, and offers two research assistantships for Chilean undergraduate or 1st or 2nd year masters students, also at the CTIO offices in La Serena, Chile. The CTIO REU and PIA programs provide exceptional opportunities for students considering a career in astronomy to engage in substantive research activities with scientists working at the forefront of contemporary astrophysics. Student participants work on specific research projects in close collaboration with members of the CTIO scientific and technical staff, such as galaxy clusters, gravitational lensing, supernovae, planetary nebulae, stellar populations, star clusters, star formation, variable stars and interstellar medium. The CTIO REU and PIA programs emphasize observational techniques and provide opportunities for direct observational experience using CTIO's state-of-the-art telescopes and instrumentation. The programs run for 10 weeks, from mid-January to the end of March. A two-night observing run on Cerro Tololo and a field trip to another observatory in Chile are included for students of both programs. These positions are full time, and those selected will receive a modest stipend and subsidized housing on the grounds of the offices of CTIO in La Serena, as well as travel costs to and from La Serena. In addition, the students have the opportunity attend the American Astronomical Society (AAS) winter meeting to present their research the year following the program.

Strength Through Options: Providing Choices for Undergraduate Education in the Geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furman, T.; Freeman, K. H.; Faculty, D.

2003-12-01

Undergraduate major enrollments in the Department of Geosciences at Penn State have held steady over the past 5 years despite generally declining national trends. We have successfully recruited and retained new students through intensive advising coupled with innovative curricular revision aimed to meet an array of students' educational and career goals. Our focus is on degree programs that reflect emerging interdisciplinary trends in both employment and student interest, and are designed to attract individuals from underrepresented groups. In addition to a traditional Geosciences BS program we offer a rigorous integrated Earth Sciences BS and a Geosciences BA tailored to students with interests in education and environmental law. The Earth Sciences BS incorporates course work from Geosciences, Geography and Meterology, and requires completion of an interdisciplinary minor (e.g., Climatology, Marine Sciences, Global Business Strategies). A new Geobiology BS program will attract majors with interests at the intersection of the earth and life sciences. The curriculum includes both paleontological and biogeochemical coursework, and is also tailored to accommodate pre-medicine students. We are working actively to recruit African-American students. A new minor in Science and Technology in Africa crosses disciplinary boundaries to educate students from the humanities as well as sciences. Longitudinal recruitment programs include summer research group experiences for high school students, summer research mentorships for college students, and dual undergraduate degree programs with HBCUs. Research is a fundamental component of every student's degree program. We require a capstone independent thesis as well as a field program for Geosciences and Geobiology BS students, and we encourage all students to pursue research as early as the freshman year. A new 5-year combined BS-MS program will enable outstanding students to carry their undergraduate research further before pursuing employment or doctoral programs. Enrollments in courses for non-majors have also increased substantially over the past 5 years, while those of other PSU science departments have decreased. We attribute this success to changes in pedagogic approaches, focusing on active learning exercises in large (200+) and small (<75) courses. Innovative use of an electronic personal response system has also improved attendance, enrollment and student learning in our general education courses. This approach was developed by a fixed-term faculty hire in Geoscience Education. As per our departmental strategic plan, we plan to hire again in this area to further these successes and implement new approaches to learning and teaching in our undergraduate educational programs.

Why Study Geoscience? Identifying Effective Recruitment and Retention Strategies for an Undergraduate Earth & Environmental Sciences Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vajoczki, S.; Eyles, C. H.; Stewart, J.; Dasilva, L.

2005-12-01

McMaster University is a `research intensive' university with 17,000+ full time undergraduate students. The School of Geography and Earth Sciences (SGES) is located within the Faculty of Science, offers B.Sc., B.A., M.Sc., M.A. and PhD degree programs and teaches more than 70 undergraduate courses on an annual basis. The Honours B.Sc program in Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES) graduates approximately 25 students per year. Students enroll in undergraduate SGES programs in their second year, after completion of an introductory first year in the Faculty of Science in which they take compulsory science courses including math, physics, chemistry, and biology. First year students, as well as those in upper years, may also elect to take one or more of three introductory courses offered by SGES (Earth & the Environment, The Living Environment, Atmosphere & Hydrosphere) to complete their science requirements. Most students entering the Faculty of Science know little about geoscience as it does not form an important part of the Ontario secondary school curriculum. Hence, recruitment into the EES program is primarily via the first year courses. In order to establish reasons why students elected to take the introductory courses offered by SGES, and their reasons for considering subsequent entry to the B.Sc program, a survey of students taking one of the courses was conducted in the fall of 2003. Results from the survey indicate that students enroll in the course, and subsequently the EES program, for a variety of reasons including: general interest in how the planet works, concern for the environment, interesting title of the course and reputation of the instructor. Student concern over lack of potential jobs is cited as the main reason for not pursuing a degree in geoscience. This survey has helped to direct the multifaceted recruitment strategies used by SGES to continue to develop its undergraduate program through delivery of high quality first year courses. Additional recruitment strategies used to recruit and retain high quality students include an active undergraduate society and departmental events that contribute towards a culture of learning and sense of belonging that is sought by students.

The efficacy of high-fidelity simulation on psychomotor clinical performance improvement of undergraduate nursing students.

PubMed

Vincent, Mary Anne; Sheriff, Susan; Mellott, Susan

2015-02-01

High-fidelity simulation has become a growing educational modality among institutions of higher learning ever since the Institute of Medicine recommended that it be used to improve patient safety in 2000. However, there is limited research on the effect of high-fidelity simulation on psychomotor clinical performance improvement of undergraduate nursing students being evaluated by experts using reliable and valid appraisal instruments. The purpose of this integrative review and meta-analysis is to explore what researchers have established about the impact of high-fidelity simulation on improving the psychomotor clinical performance of undergraduate nursing students. Only eight of the 1120 references met inclusion criteria. A meta-analysis using Hedges' g to compute the effect size and direction of impact yielded a range of -0.26 to +3.39. A positive effect was shown in seven of eight studies; however, there were five different research designs and six unique appraisal instruments used among these studies. More research is necessary to determine if high-fidelity simulation improves psychomotor clinical performance in undergraduate nursing students. Nursing programs from multiple sites having a standardized curriculum and using the same appraisal instruments with established reliability and validity are ideal for this work.

Urban Field Experiences for Undergraduate Liberal Arts Students: Using Compromised Environments as Living Laboratories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacAvoy, S. E.; Knee, K.

2015-12-01

While urban environments may lack the beauty of relatively pristine field sites, they can be used to deliver an effective demonstration of actual environmental damage. Students demanding applied field experiences from their undergraduate environmental science programs can be well served in urban settings. Here, we present strategies for integrating degraded urban systems into the undergraduate field experience. Urban locations provide an opportunity for a different type of local "field-work" than would otherwise be available. In the upper-level undergraduate Environmental Methods class, we relied on a National Park area located a 10-minute walk from campus for most field exercises. Activities included soil analysis, measuring stream flow and water quality parameters, dendrochronology, and aquatic microbe metabolism. In the non-majors class, we make use of our urban location to contrast water quality in parks and highly channelized urban streams. Students spend labs immersed in streams and wetlands heavily impacted by the urban runoff their city generates. Here we share lesson plans and budgets for field activities that can be completed during a class period of 2.5 hours with a $75 course fee, show how these activities help students gain quantitative competency.

Assertiveness training for undergraduate midwifery students.

PubMed

Warland, Jane; McKellar, Lois; Diaz, Monica

2014-11-01

Assertiveness can be defined as an interpersonal behaviour that promotes the fact all people in a relationship are equally important. All health professionals including midwives must work with and care for people. At times this will include facilitating interactions that require skilful negotiation and assertiveness. Yet embedding assertiveness education into undergraduate midwifery curricula has not been widely adopted. This paper explores one method of delivering assertiveness training in an undergraduate midwifery course and provides comment on the effectiveness of this strategy in developing assertiveness skills in a cohort of undergraduate midwifery students. We used an assertiveness survey which was administered immediately before and 3-4 months after an assertiveness training workshop. All students (n = 55) attending the training day were invited to participate. Of these 41 (77% response) chose to participate in the pre intervention survey and 32 participated (9 students lost to follow-up) in the follow up survey. There was an overall improvement in self-perceived assertiveness scores following the assertiveness training workshop. These findings provide encouraging evidence that educational institutions that offer specific and targeted assertiveness education will be rewarded with more assertive graduates. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An IYPT-based undergraduate physics tournament in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chuanyong; Song, Feng; Liu, Yubin; Sun, Qian

2013-03-01

International Young Physicists' Tournament (IYPT) is a team-oriented scientific competition of secondary school students. The participants present their solutions to scientific problems they have prepared over several months and discuss their solutions with other teams. It can also be implemented in university level as its physics problems are all open questions and have no standard answers, especially suitable for undergraduates' ability training in China. The annual tournament of physics learning of undergraduates in our school of physics was started in 2008. Each year, there are 15-18 teams, 20 more student volunteers and 30 more faculty jurors involved. The students benefited in different ways. It is project-based, requiring students to solve the problems in a research way. Team work is developed in both experimenting and discussing stages. The knowledge learned in classrooms can be used to solve these practical and life-related problems, raising their interest and initiative in physics learning. Finally, they are building up their skills in scientific presentation and communication. An IYPT-based program called CUPT (China undergraduate physics tournament) was launched in 2010 and annually attracts about 40 universities to attend. It gains its important role in physics education. National Fund for Talent Training in Basic Sciences (J1103208)

Genome Consortium for Active Teaching: Meeting the Goals of BIO2010

PubMed Central

Ledbetter, Mary Lee S.; Hoopes, Laura L.M.; Eckdahl, Todd T.; Heyer, Laurie J.; Rosenwald, Anne; Fowlks, Edison; Tonidandel, Scott; Bucholtz, Brooke; Gottfried, Gail

2007-01-01

The Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) facilitates the use of modern genomics methods in undergraduate education. Initially focused on microarray technology, but with an eye toward diversification, GCAT is a community working to improve the education of tomorrow's life science professionals. GCAT participants have access to affordable microarrays, microarray scanners, free software for data analysis, and faculty workshops. Microarrays provided by GCAT have been used by 141 faculty on 134 campuses, including 21 faculty that serve large numbers of underrepresented minority students. An estimated 9480 undergraduates a year will have access to microarrays by 2009 as a direct result of GCAT faculty workshops. Gains for students include significantly improved comprehension of topics in functional genomics and increased interest in research. Faculty reported improved access to new technology and gains in understanding thanks to their involvement with GCAT. GCAT's network of supportive colleagues encourages faculty to explore genomics through student research and to learn a new and complex method with their undergraduates. GCAT is meeting important goals of BIO2010 by making research methods accessible to undergraduates, training faculty in genomics and bioinformatics, integrating mathematics into the biology curriculum, and increasing participation by underrepresented minority students. PMID:17548873

Genome Consortium for Active Teaching: meeting the goals of BIO2010.

PubMed

Campbell, A Malcolm; Ledbetter, Mary Lee S; Hoopes, Laura L M; Eckdahl, Todd T; Heyer, Laurie J; Rosenwald, Anne; Fowlks, Edison; Tonidandel, Scott; Bucholtz, Brooke; Gottfried, Gail

2007-01-01

The Genome Consortium for Active Teaching (GCAT) facilitates the use of modern genomics methods in undergraduate education. Initially focused on microarray technology, but with an eye toward diversification, GCAT is a community working to improve the education of tomorrow's life science professionals. GCAT participants have access to affordable microarrays, microarray scanners, free software for data analysis, and faculty workshops. Microarrays provided by GCAT have been used by 141 faculty on 134 campuses, including 21 faculty that serve large numbers of underrepresented minority students. An estimated 9480 undergraduates a year will have access to microarrays by 2009 as a direct result of GCAT faculty workshops. Gains for students include significantly improved comprehension of topics in functional genomics and increased interest in research. Faculty reported improved access to new technology and gains in understanding thanks to their involvement with GCAT. GCAT's network of supportive colleagues encourages faculty to explore genomics through student research and to learn a new and complex method with their undergraduates. GCAT is meeting important goals of BIO2010 by making research methods accessible to undergraduates, training faculty in genomics and bioinformatics, integrating mathematics into the biology curriculum, and increasing participation by underrepresented minority students.

Interprofessional simulation of birth in a non-maternity setting for pre-professional students.

PubMed

McLelland, Gayle; Perera, Chantal; Morphet, Julia; McKenna, Lisa; Hall, Helen; Williams, Brett; Cant, Robyn; Stow, Jill

2017-11-01

Simulation-based learning is an approach recommended for teaching undergraduate health professionals. There is a scarcity of research around interprofessional simulation training for pre-professional students in obstetric emergencies that occur prior to arrival at the maternity ward. The primary aims of the study were to examine whether an interprofessional team-based simulated birth scenario would improve undergraduate paramedic, nursing, and midwifery students' self-efficacy scores and clinical knowledge when managing birth in an unplanned location. The secondary aim was to assess students' satisfaction with the newly developed interprofessional simulation. Quasi-experimental descriptive study with repeated measures. Simulated hospital emergency department. Final year undergraduate paramedic, nursing, and midwifery students. Interprofessional teams of five students managed a simulated unplanned vaginal birth, followed by debriefing. Students completed a satisfaction with simulation survey. Serial surveys of clinical knowledge and self-efficacy were conducted at three time points. Twenty-four students participated in one of five simulation scenarios. Overall, students' self-efficacy and confidence in ability to achieve a successful birth outcome was significantly improved at one month (p<0.001) with a magnitude of increase (effect) of 40% (r=0.71) and remained so after a further three months. Clinical knowledge was significantly increased in only one of three student groups: nursing (p=0.04; r=0.311). Students' satisfaction with the simulation experience was high (M=4.65/5). Results from this study indicate that an interprofessional simulation of a birth in an unplanned setting can improve undergraduate paramedic, nursing and midwifery students' confidence working in an interprofessional team. There was a significant improvement in clinical knowledge of the nursing students (who had least content about managing birth in their program). All students were highly satisfied with the interprofessional simulation experience simulation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Successes and Challenges in the SAGE (Summer of Applied Geophysical Experience) REU Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braile, L. W.; Baldridge, W. S.; Pellerin, L.; Ferguson, J. F.; Bedrosian, P.; Biehler, S.; Jiracek, G. R.; Snelson, C. M.; Kelley, S.; McPhee, D.

2014-12-01

The SAGE program was initiated in 1983 to provide an applied geophysics research and education experience for students. Since 1983, 820 students have completed the SAGE summer program. Beginning in 1992, with funding from the NSF, SAGE has included an REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) experience for selected undergraduate students from U.S. colleges and universities. Since 1992, 380 undergraduate REU students have completed the SAGE program. The four week, intensive, summer program is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and involves students in learning geophysical theory and applications; collection of geophysical field data in the northern Rio Grande Rift area; data processing, modeling and interpretation; and presentation (oral and written) of results of each student's research results. Students (undergraduates, graduates and professionals) and faculty are together on a school campus for the summer program. Successful strategies (developed over the years) of the program include teamwork experience, mentoring of REUs (by faculty and more senior students), cultural interchange due to students from many campuses across the U.S. and international graduate students, including industry visitors who work with the students and provide networking, a capstone experience of the summer program that includes all students making a "professional-meeting" style presentation of their research and submitting a written report, a follow-up workshop for the REU students to enhance and broaden their experience, and providing professional development for the REUs through oral or poster presentations and attendance at a professional meeting. Program challenges include obtaining funding from multiple sources; significant time investment in program management, reporting, and maintaining contact with our many funding sources and industry affiliates; and, despite significant efforts, limited success in recruiting racial and ethnic minority students to the program.

Modern Process Studies in Kongsfjord, Svalbard: Arctic Geoscience Research Experience for U.S. Undergraduates (Svalbard REU)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powell, R. D.; Brigham-Grette, J.

2011-12-01

The Svalbard REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program focuses on understanding how high latitude glaciers, meltwater streams, and sedimentation in lakes and fjords respond to changing climate. Since summer of 2004, six under-graduate students have been selected to participate in the summer field program. Students work on individual projects and in close conjunction with faculty advisors and other student researchers. They formulate their own research questions, develop their project, and complete their field research during a five-week program on Svalbard, Norway. Following the summer program, students complete their projects at their home institution during the following academic year as a senior thesis. A spring symposium brings all participants back together again with their final results. The most recent field season was completed in Kongsfjord (79N) showing that the contemporary studies of tidewater glacier margins provide an unparalleled opportunity for introducing motivated third year undergraduate students to the challenges and rewards of polar geoscientific field research. Rates of rapid change in this high-latitude Arctic environment emphasize the complexity of the Earth System at the interface of the ocean, atmosphere and cryosphere. Given background information in glacial and marine geology, glaciology, hydrology, climatology and fjord oceanography not routinely offered in undergraduate curricula, students develop the science questions to be addressed and establish a field plan for instrumentation and sampling. Working together in small boats in one of the most challenging natural environments, the students expand their leadership skills, learn the value of teamwork and collaborative data sharing while maintaining a strong sense of ownership over their individual science projects. The rigors of studying an actively calving tidewater glacier also builds on their outdoor skills, especially when it is necessary to improvise and become resourceful due to instrumentation failures or weather-related delays. Self-confidence and problem solving skills emerge from both field and laboratory research operations when students draw upon and expand their base of practical knowledge via trial and error. Logistical facilities in Ny Alesund offer an international experience with opportunities for dialog with scientists of a wide variety of disciplines working at research stations representing more than 12 different European and Asian countries. The program is funded by the NSF's Office of Polar Programs and has close ties and collaboration with the Norwegian University in Svalbard (UNIS) and Norsk Polar Institute scientists. NSF also funds a science teacher as a PolarTREC participant.

Uncovering protein-protein interactions through a team-based undergraduate biochemistry course.

PubMed

Cookmeyer, David L; Winesett, Emily S; Kokona, Bashkim; Huff, Adam R; Aliev, Sabina; Bloch, Noah B; Bulos, Joshua A; Evans, Irene L; Fagre, Christian R; Godbe, Kerilyn N; Khromava, Maryna; Konstantinovsky, Daniel M; Lafrance, Alexander E; Lamacki, Alexandra J; Parry, Robert C; Quinn, Jeanne M; Thurston, Alana M; Tsai, Kathleen J S; Mollo, Aurelio; Cryle, Max J; Fairman, Robert; Charkoudian, Louise K

2017-11-01

How can we provide fertile ground for students to simultaneously explore a breadth of foundational knowledge, develop cross-disciplinary problem-solving skills, gain resiliency, and learn to work as a member of a team? One way is to integrate original research in the context of an undergraduate biochemistry course. In this Community Page, we discuss the development and execution of an interdisciplinary and cross-departmental undergraduate biochemistry laboratory course. We present a template for how a similar course can be replicated at other institutions and provide pedagogical and research results from a sample module in which we challenged our students to study the binding interface between 2 important biosynthetic proteins. Finally, we address the community and invite others to join us in making a larger impact on undergraduate education and the field of biochemistry by coordinating efforts to integrate research and teaching across campuses.

Uncovering protein–protein interactions through a team-based undergraduate biochemistry course

PubMed Central

Cookmeyer, David L.; Winesett, Emily S.; Kokona, Bashkim; Huff, Adam R.; Aliev, Sabina; Bloch, Noah B.; Bulos, Joshua A.; Evans, Irene L.; Fagre, Christian R.; Godbe, Kerilyn N.; Khromava, Maryna; Konstantinovsky, Daniel M.; Lafrance, Alexander E.; Lamacki, Alexandra J.; Parry, Robert C.; Quinn, Jeanne M.; Thurston, Alana M.; Tsai, Kathleen J. S.; Mollo, Aurelio; Cryle, Max J.; Fairman, Robert

2017-01-01

How can we provide fertile ground for students to simultaneously explore a breadth of foundational knowledge, develop cross-disciplinary problem-solving skills, gain resiliency, and learn to work as a member of a team? One way is to integrate original research in the context of an undergraduate biochemistry course. In this Community Page, we discuss the development and execution of an interdisciplinary and cross-departmental undergraduate biochemistry laboratory course. We present a template for how a similar course can be replicated at other institutions and provide pedagogical and research results from a sample module in which we challenged our students to study the binding interface between 2 important biosynthetic proteins. Finally, we address the community and invite others to join us in making a larger impact on undergraduate education and the field of biochemistry by coordinating efforts to integrate research and teaching across campuses. PMID:29091712

Environmental toxicology: Interconnections between human ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This presentation will discuss what has made a career in environmental toxicology rewarding, environmental and scientific challenges for the 21st century, paradigm shift in regulatory toxicology, adverse outcome framework, interconnections between human health and ecological integrity, SOT-SETAC Pellston Workshop findings, concepts for systems thinking in environmental toxicology The Eminent Toxicologist Lectures are historically relevant, high-quality presentations appropriate for senior undergraduate students, graduate students, or the scientifically oriented general public. This series of lectures is produced by the SOT Undergraduate Subcommittee of the Education Committee in conjunction with the Eminent Toxicologist Working Group.

Persistence of deaf students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics undergraduate programs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchut, Amber E.

Diversifying the student population and workforce under science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is a necessity if innovations and creativity are to expand. There has not been a lot of literature regarding Deaf students in STEM especially regarding understanding how they persist in STEM undergraduate programs to successfully become STEM Bachelor of Science degree recipients. This study addresses the literature gap by investigating six students' experiences as they navigate their STEM undergraduate programs. The investigation uses narrative inquiry methodology and grounded theory method through the lens of Critical Race Theory and Critical Deaf Theory. Using videotaped interviews and observations, their experiences are highlighted using narratives portraying them as individuals surviving in a society that tends to perceive being deaf as a deficit that needs to be treated or cured. The data analysis also resulted in a conceptual model providing a description of how they persist. The crucial aspect of the conceptual model is the participants learned how to manage being deaf in a hearing-dominated society so they can reach their aspirations. The essential blocks for the persistence and managing their identities as deaf undergraduate STEMs include working harder, relying on familial support, and affirming themselves. Through the narratives and conceptual model of the six Deaf STEM undergraduates, the goal is to contribute to literature to promote a better understanding of the persistence of Deaf students, members of a marginalized group, as they pursue their dreams.

Research Experience for Undergraduates: Understanding the Arctic as a System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexeev, V. A.; Walsh, J. E.; Arp, C. D.; Hock, R.; Euskirchen, E. S.; Kaden, U.; Polyakov, I.; Romanovsky, V. E.; Trainor, S.

2017-12-01

Today, more than ever, an integrated cross-disciplinary approach is necessary to understand and explain changes in the Arctic and the implications of those changes. Responding to needs in innovative research and education for understanding high-latitude rapid climate change, scientists at the International Arctic research Center of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) established a new REU (=Research Experience for Undergraduates) NSF-funded site, aiming to attract more undergraduates to arctic sciences. The science focus of this program, building upon the research strengths of UAF, is on understanding the Arctic as a system with emphasis on its physical component. The goals, which were to disseminate new knowledge at the frontiers of polar science and to ignite the enthusiasm of the undergraduates about the Arctic, are pursued by involving undergraduate students in research and educational projects with their mentors using the available diverse on-campus capabilities. IARC hosted the first group of eight students this past summer, focusing on a variety of different disciplines of the Arctic System Science. Students visited research sites around Fairbanks and in remote parts of Alaska (Toolik Lake Field Station, Gulkana glacier, Bonanza Creek, Poker Flats, the CRREL Permafrost Tunnel and others) to see and experience first-hand how the arctic science is done. Each student worked on a research project guided by an experienced instructor. The summer program culminated with a workshop that consisted of reports from the students about their experiences and the results of their projects.

Pencil-and-Paper Neural Networks: An Undergraduate Laboratory Exercise in Computational Neuroscience

PubMed Central

Crisp, Kevin M.; Sutter, Ellen N.; Westerberg, Jacob A.

2015-01-01

Although it has been more than 70 years since McCulloch and Pitts published their seminal work on artificial neural networks, such models remain primarily in the domain of computer science departments in undergraduate education. This is unfortunate, as simple network models offer undergraduate students a much-needed bridge between cellular neurobiology and processes governing thought and behavior. Here, we present a very simple laboratory exercise in which students constructed, trained and tested artificial neural networks by hand on paper. They explored a variety of concepts, including pattern recognition, pattern completion, noise elimination and stimulus ambiguity. Learning gains were evident in changes in the use of language when writing about information processing in the brain. PMID:26557791

Preparedness of final-year Turkish nursing students for work as a professional nurse.

PubMed

Güner, Perihan

2015-03-01

To determine the preparedness levels of final-year Turkish nursing students starting their careers as professional nurses. The transition from nursing student to professional nurse is challenging. One of the ways to help facilitate this transition is to determine how well students are prepared to start work. There are limited, but conflicting, results on this topic. Mixed-methods study. Undergraduate nursing students (n = 4490) in their final year of study from 74 Turkish universities were eligible to participate in this study. Of these, 1804 total students participated from 38 randomly selected universities. Data were collected through an investigator-developed questionnaire (n = 1804) and focus group interviews (n = 57). Students felt highly prepared to start work (57·6%). Those who were older, male, graduates of a vocational high school or already working as a nurse felt most prepared. Students who felt that their education preparation and resources were adequate felt more prepared. Focus group interviews revealed that students felt confident in their knowledge of educational theory, but not in clinical skills. Students may have felt prepared to start work, but insufficient clinical experience probably contributed to a lack of confidence in their skills. The resources of the school, the quality of the education, and the clinical practice environments were considered most important for the students' perceived preparedness levels. An undergraduate education provides the foundation for successful nurse preparation. A good clinical environment along with a high-quality education programme can help give students more confidence in their skills when they join the nursing workforce. Internship or residency programmes may also facilitate this learning. This is extremely important for safe, high-quality patient care. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The attitudes of undergraduate students and staff to the use of electronic learning.

PubMed

Gupta, B; White, D A; Walmsley, A D

2004-04-24

Computer-aided learning (CAL) offers advantages over traditional methods of learning as it allows students to work in their own time and pace. The School of Dentistry at the University of Birmingham has created an electronic learning website, named the Ecourse. This is designed to be a web-based supplement to the dental undergraduate curriculum. The aim of this study was to determine the attitudes of third year dental students and members of staff about the Ecourse website. A questionnaire was produced and piloted before being distributed to all 65 third year dental students to obtain their opinions about the Ecourse website. The views of Ecourse were sought from four members of staff by performing qualitative, semi-structured interviews. Lecture handouts and textbooks were reported as the sources used most often, by 96% of students. Eighty-six per cent of students are accessing the Ecourse mainly at the School of Dentistry, but 53% are also accessing it at home. Students liked the multiple-choice questions, downloading extra notes and looking at pictures and animation to explain clinical procedures. The majority of the students (79%) want the Ecourse to be used as a supplement to the undergraduate programme and 7% wanted it to replace formal lectures. Staff recognised the benefits of the Ecourse but were concerned about plagiarism, the effect on lecture attendance and the lack of feedback from students on existing CAL material. Students consider the Ecourse as a positive method of supplementing traditional methods of learning in the dental undergraduate programme. However in contrast teaching staff expressed negative views on the use of e-learning.

A Social Capital Perspective on the Mentoring of Undergraduate Life Science Researchers: An Empirical Study of Undergraduate–Postgraduate–Faculty Triads

PubMed Central

Aikens, Melissa L.; Sadselia, Sona; Watkins, Keiana; Evans, Mara; Eby, Lillian T.; Dolan, Erin L.

2016-01-01

Undergraduate researchers at research universities are often mentored by graduate students or postdoctoral researchers (referred to collectively as “postgraduates”) and faculty, creating a mentoring triad structure. Triads differ based on whether the undergraduate, postgraduate, and faculty member interact with one another about the undergraduate’s research. Using a social capital theory framework, we hypothesized that different triad structures provide undergraduates with varying resources (e.g., information, advice, psychosocial support) from the postgraduates and/or faculty, which would affect the undergraduates’ research outcomes. To test this, we collected data from a national sample of undergraduate life science researchers about their mentoring triad structure and a range of outcomes associated with research experiences, such as perceived gains in their abilities to think and work like scientists, science identity, and intentions to enroll in a PhD program. Undergraduates mentored by postgraduates alone reported positive outcomes, indicating that postgraduates can be effective mentors. However, undergraduates who interacted directly with faculty realized greater outcomes, suggesting that faculty interaction is important for undergraduates to realize the full benefits of research. The “closed triad,” in which undergraduates, postgraduates, and faculty all interact directly, appeared to be uniquely beneficial; these undergraduates reported the highest gains in thinking and working like a scientist. PMID:27174583

The "art" of science communication in undergraduate research training

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fatemi, F. R.; Stockwell, J.; Pinheiro, V.; White, B.

2016-12-01

Student creation of well-designed and engaging visuals in science communication can enhance their deep learning while streamlining the transmission of information to their audience. However, undergraduate research training does not frequently emphasize the design aspect of science communication. We devised and implemented a new curricular component to the Lake Champlain NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program in Vermont. We took a holistic approach to communication training, with a targeted module in "art and science". Components to the module included: 1) an introduction to environmental themes in fine art, 2) a photography assignment in research documentation, 3) an overview of elements of design (e.g., color, typography, hierarchy), 4) a graphic design workshop using tools in Powerpoint, and 5) an introduction to scientific illustration. As part of the REU program, students were asked to document their work through photographs, and develop an infographic or scientific illustration complementary to their research. The "art and science" training culminated with a display and critique of their visual work. We report on student responses to the "art and science" training from exit interviews and survey questions. Based on our program, we identify a set of tools that mentors can use to enhance their student's ability to engage with a broad audience.

Strengthening training in rural practice in Germany: new approach for undergraduate medical curriculum towards sustaining rural health care.

PubMed

Holst, Jens; Normann, Oliver; Herrmann, Markus

2015-01-01

After decades of providing a dense network of quality medical care, Germany is facing an increasing shortage of medical doctors in rural areas. Current graduation rates of generalists do not counterbalance the loss due to retirement. Informed by international evidence, different strategies to ensure rural medical care are under debate, including innovative teaching approaches during undergraduate training. The University of Magdeburg in Saxony-Anhalt was the first medical school in Germany to offer a rural elective for graduate students. During the 2014 summer semester, 14 medical students attended a two-weekend program in a small village in Northern Saxony-Anhalt that allowed them to become more familiar with a rural community and rural health issues. The elective course raised a series of relevant topics for setting up rural practice and provided students with helpful insight into living and working conditions in rural practice. Preliminary evaluations indicate that the rural medicine course allowed medical students to reduce pre-existing concerns and had positive impact on their willingness to set up a rural medical office after graduation. Even short-term courses in rural practice can help reduce training-related barriers that prevent young physicians from working in rural areas. Undergraduate medical training is promising to attenuate the emerging undersupply in rural areas.

Alkaloid-Derived Thioureas in Asymmetric Organocatalysis: A Cooperative Learning Activity in a Project-Based Laboratory Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Monge, David

2015-01-01

An experiment carried out by advanced undergraduate students in a project-based laboratory course is described. Taking into account the positive effects of working in teams, which has been key for successful research in industry and academia, a cooperative learning experience in the laboratory was developed. Students working in teams of four…

More than Just a Game: The Role of Simulation in The Teaching of Product Design and Entrepreneurship to Mechanical Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costello, Gabriel J.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this work is to contribute to the debate on the best pedagogical approach to developing undergraduate mechanical engineering skills to meet the requirements of contemporary complex working environments. The paper provides an example of using student-entrepreneur collaboration in the teaching of modules to Mechanical Engineering…

College Students' Views of Work-Life Balance in STEM Research Careers: Addressing Negative Preconceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan-Wilson, Anna; Stamp, Nancy

2015-01-01

In career discussions, female undergraduates said that if they were to attend graduate school in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and were to follow a career based on their research training, they would have to give up having a family. A subsequent survey showed that many students, both men and women, thought work-life…

The Influence of Cooperative Education and Reflection upon Previous Work Experiences on University Graduates' Vocational Self-Concept

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drewery, David; Nevison, Colleen; Pretti, T. Judene

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the relative effects of participation in cooperative education (co-op) and engagement in reflection upon previous work experiences on undergraduate students' vocational self-concept (VSC) at graduation. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey of graduating students (n = 1,483) from a…

Guiding Students from Matriculation to Graduation: Analysis of a Four Year Professional Development Program for Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maietta, Heather N.

2009-01-01

Career development is relevant for employees and employers, as well as a vital discipline for connecting school-to-work as educators struggle to facilitate the transition into employment for millions of students (Hoyt & Lester, 1995). The landscape of the world-of-work is ever changing, both in terms of economic stability and instability, and…

The Work-Study Relationship: Experiences of Full-Time University Students Undertaking Part-Time Employment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Ralph

2010-01-01

Work and study commitments of full-time undergraduate students at the University of New South Wales were investigated in four surveys conducted in 1994, 1999, 2006 and 2009. Respondents to the surveys reported the amount of time they spent during term time in paid employment, studying outside of formal class hours and in leisure activities (1999…

Young Women's Work Value Preferences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peterson, Karen L.; Roscoe, Bruce

A study examined the work value preferences of young women in their late teens and early twenties. A descriptive self-report instrument was administered to 496 female undergraduate students at a midwestern university. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of 30 work values that were organized into two groups--work values that directly…

Burnout syndrome among undergraduate nursing students at a public university.

PubMed

Tomaschewski-Barlem, Jamila Geri; Lunardi, Valéria Lerch; Lunardi, Guilherme Lerch; Barlem, Edison Luiz Devos; da Silveira, Rosemary Silva; Vidal, Danielle Adriane Silveira

2014-01-01

to investigate the burnout syndrome and its relationship with demographic and academic variables among undergraduate nursing students at a public university in Southern Brazil. a quantitative study with 168 students, by applying an adaptation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey, validated for this study. We used descriptive and variance analysis of the data analysis. we found that students do not have the burnout syndrome, manifesting high average scores in Emotional Exhaustion, low in Disbelief and high in Professional Effectiveness; that younger students who perform leisure activities have greater Professional Effectiveness, unlike students in early grades with no extracurricular activities; combining work and studies negatively influenced only the Professional Effectiveness factor, while the intention of giving up influenced negatively Disbelief and Professional Effectiveness factors. the situations that lead students to Emotional Exhaustion need to be recognized, considering the specificity of their study environments.

Burnout syndrome among undergraduate nursing students at a public university1

PubMed Central

Tomaschewski-Barlem, Jamila Geri; Lunardi, Valéria Lerch; Lunardi, Guilherme Lerch; Barlem, Edison Luiz Devos; da Silveira, Rosemary Silva; Vidal, Danielle Adriane Silveira

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: to investigate the burnout syndrome and its relationship with demographic and academic variables among undergraduate nursing students at a public university in Southern Brazil. METHOD: a quantitative study with 168 students, by applying an adaptation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey, validated for this study. We used descriptive and variance analysis of the data analysis. RESULTS: we found that students do not have the burnout syndrome, manifesting high average scores in Emotional Exhaustion, low in Disbelief and high in Professional Effectiveness; that younger students who perform leisure activities have greater Professional Effectiveness, unlike students in early grades with no extracurricular activities; combining work and studies negatively influenced only the Professional Effectiveness factor, while the intention of giving up influenced negatively Disbelief and Professional Effectiveness factors. CONCLUSION: the situations that lead students to Emotional Exhaustion need to be recognized, considering the specificity of their study environments. PMID:25591087

Differences in the Emotional Intelligence between Undergraduate Therapy and Business Students and the Population Norms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gribble, Nigel; Ladyshewsky, Richard K.; Parsons, Richard

2017-01-01

Students occasionally experience difficulties during work-integrated learning and clinical placements. The authors reasoned that these placement difficulties might be related to the students' emotional intelligence (EI) being underdeveloped before they commence full-time clinical placements. A cross-sectional survey design was used to measure the…

Degree of Fit: University Students in Paid Employment, Service Delivery and Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anderson, Marilyn J.

2006-01-01

This study examines the ease of, and proficiency in, accessing web based technology, and the convenience (or otherwise) of service delivery in the facilitation of combining study with paid work for undergraduate students of James Cook University (JCU), Cairns Campus, Far North Queensland. Considering that the typical new millennium student is…

Students' Changing Images of Engineering and Engineers. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jocuns, Andrew; Stevens, Reed; Garrison, Lari; Amos, Daniel

2008-01-01

This study analyzes the images of engineers and engineering that students construct over the course of their undergraduate engineering educations. Students in their first year of study to become engineers knew very little about the work they would be doing as an engineer and their expectations were more specific, hopeful, and high status than…

The Fear Factor: How It Affects Students Learning to Program in a Tertiary Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogerson, Christine; Scott, Elsje

2010-01-01

This paper examines how students' experiences of learning to program are affected by feelings of fear, using a phenomenological approach to elicit rich descriptions of personal experiences from the narratives of final year undergraduate students. In the course of reviewing current work concerning learning or teaching programming, certain focal…

Supporting the Development of Students' Academic Writing through Collaborative Process Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mutwarasibo, Faustin

2013-01-01

The study examines how undergraduate university students in Rwanda experience collaborative process writing as an instruction method capable of helping them improve their academic writing abilities in English. It involved 34 second-year students, divided into 12 small working groups. The data were collected by means of group interviews carried out…

A Case Study of University Honors Students in Humanities through a Disciplinary Literacy Lens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cisco, Jonathan

2016-01-01

Students face challenging texts in higher education, whether they are discipline-specific journal articles or great works of literature. Building on research in content area reading and disciplinary literacy, this case study explores the various stances undergraduate honors students take when coping with challenging texts while enrolled in a…

What Do You See? A Case Study of Community College Science Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Calhoun, Chantae M.

2012-01-01

Community colleges educate almost half of all American undergraduates. These students include but are not limited to under-prepared high school graduates, and individuals who are working full-time while attending school, as well as students of diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and ethnic backgrounds. With such a diverse student population, science…

How Do Students Work through Organic Synthesis Learning Activities?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flynn, Alison B.

2014-01-01

Organic chemistry has the long-standing reputation as a challenging course, and organic synthesis is an aspect of organic chemistry that requires students to make the most links between concepts and requires the highest order of thinking. One-on-one interviews were conducted with students from a second undergraduate organic chemistry course in…

The Business Writing Agenda, Part I: Collaboration between Business and the Undergraduate Student.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmitigal, Linda

Twenty-two students in a business communications course engaged in a collaborative project with several Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, business enterprises. After the students had acquired introductory skills that would enable them to perform effectively, they were divided into six groups and began working with representatives from local businesses…

Central Asian Students' Adjustment Experiences at a "Globalized" Korean University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Jinsook; Kim, Yejin

2014-01-01

This study investigated the academic and cultural experiences of undergraduate Central Asian students at a university in Ulsan, South Korea. The study was designed to examine the experiences of Central Asian students both in their adjustment to academic work, and to the cultural environment created by the internationalization policy of the…

Successful Students' Negotiation of Township Schooling in Contemporary South Africa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kapp, Rochelle; Badenhorst, Elmi; Bangeni, Bongi; Craig, Tracy S.; van Rensburg, Viki Janse; Le Roux, Kate; Prince, Robert; Pym, June; van Pletzen, Ermien

2014-01-01

This article draws on data from a larger longitudinal qualitative case study which is tracking the progress of students over the course of their undergraduate degrees at a South African university. For this paper, we used background questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with 62 first-year students from working-class, township schools who…

An Empirical Investigation of MPA Student Performance and Admissions Criteria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ragothaman, Srinivasan; Carpenter, Jon; Davies, Thomas

2009-01-01

The quality of a Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA) program, similar to other undergraduate and graduate programs in business and other disciplines, is typically directly related to the quality of its students. While there is a considerable published scholarly work on MBA student performance, there is very little research to predict student…

Drawing the Line with Google Earth: The Place of Digital Mapping outside of Geography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercier, O. Ripeka; Rata, Arama

2017-01-01

The "Te Kawa a Maui Atlas" project explores how mapping activities support undergraduate student engagement and learning in Maori studies. This article describes two specific assignments, which used online mapping allowing students to engage with the work of their peers. By analysing student evaluations of these activities, we identify…

Preparing Computing Students for Culturally Diverse E-Mediated IT Projects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Conrad, Marc; French, Tim; Maple, Carsten; Zhang, Sijing

2006-01-01

In this paper we present an account of an undergraduate team-based assignment designed to facilitate, exhibit and record team-working skills in an e-mediated environment. By linking the student feedback received to Hofstede's classic model of cultural dimensions we aim to show the assignment's suitability in revealing the student's multi-cultural…

Research Skills Development in Higher Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bergamini, Tiziana Priede; Navarro, Cristina Lopez-Cozar

2014-01-01

This case study presents the development of a research project in a third-year undergraduate course, Family Business Administration. The research project aimed at promoting research skills in students. The authors formed working groups of no more than six students, and each group had to select an original research topic after conducting a…

Exposing Baccalaureate Nursing Students to Transitional Care.

PubMed

OʼConnor, Melissa; Arcamone, Angelina; Amorim, Frances; Hoban, Mary Beth; Boyd, Regina M; Fowler, Lauren; Marcelli, Theresa; Smith, Jacalyn; Nassar, Kathleen; Fitzpatrick, M Louise

2016-10-01

Management and facilitation of care transitions from hospital to alternative settings requires skill and attention to avoid adverse events. Several interprofessional organizations and nurse leaders have called for the expansion and redesign of undergraduate nursing curricula to include care transitions. Yet there is little evidence describing how undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students are educated on this critical topic or how successful they are in improving student knowledge about care transitions. To address this gap, an in-classroom and clinical experience was implemented to prepare students to manage and facilitate care transitions from the hospital to alternative settings-including the home. Perceptions of undergraduate nursing students and home healthcare nurse preceptors were assessed via an electronic survey that was emailed to participants. Forty-eight responses to the survey were received. Students agreed this experience contributed to their understanding of caring for adults and older adults who are experiencing a care transition and they had a good understanding of care transitions to apply to their future nursing courses. Home healthcare nurse preceptors agreed they were able to demonstrate transitional care and that students were engaged. Future work should include expanding transitional care immersion to other care settings as well as the inclusion of additional healthcare disciplines in care transition education.

Undergraduate Student Involvement in International Research - The IRES Program at MAX-lab, Sweden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briscoe, William; O'Rielly, Grant; Fissum, Kevin

2014-03-01

Undergraduate students associated with The George Washington University and UMass Dartmouth have had the opportunity to participate in nuclear physics research as a part of the PIONS@MAXLAB Collaboration performing experiments at MAX-lab at Lund University in Sweden. This project has supported thirteen undergraduate students during 2009 - 2011. The student researchers are involved with all aspects of the experiments performed at the laboratory, from set-up to analysis and presentation at national conferences. These experiments investigate the dynamics responsible for the internal structure of the nucleon through the study of pion photoproduction off the nucleon and high-energy Compton scattering. Along with the US and Swedish project leaders, members of the collaboration (from four different countries) have contributed to the training and mentoring of these students. This program provides students with international research experiences that prepare them to operate successfully in a global environment and encourages them to stay in areas of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) that are crucial for our modern, technology-dependent society. We will present the history, goals and outcomes in both physics results and student success that have come from this program. This work supported by NSF OISE/IRES award 0553467.

Reflective Journaling as a Flipped Classroom Technique to Increase Reading and Participation With Social Work Students

PubMed Central

Sage, Melanie; Sele, Patti

2016-01-01

Students in undergraduate social work practice courses come to the class with varying levels of educational, life, and practice experience. Students require an introduction to the material through textbook reading before they are able to engage in critical discussions, yet reading adherence varies widely among students. This research explores the use of reflective journals as a Flipped Classroom technique to increase reflective thinking and reading adherence. This study surveys 27 students in two practice courses about the use of weekly reflective journaling as a flipped classroom assignment. Findings support that reflective reading journals increase student preparation and engagement, but require more work for students and instructors. Implications are discussed. PMID:27672301

Using a flipped classroom and the perspective of families to teach medical students about children with disabilities and special education.

PubMed

Sheppard, Mary E; Vitalone-Raccaro, Nancy; Kaari, Jacqueline M; Ajumobi, Taiwo T

2017-10-01

The need to teach medical students to care for children with disabilities, work effectively with these patients' families, and collaborate with schools has been well established. Yet, what is not clear is the exact nature of the content to be taught and how medical schools develop the systems and enabling structures required to ensure medical education responds to the needs of children with disabilities and their families. The aim of this study was to develop and assess the efficacy of an educational intervention designed to introduce the topics of special education law and practices and working with parents of children with disabilities into an undergraduate medical education pediatrics course. A new curricular element based upon the flipped classroom that included an on-line module followed by participation in a panel discussion comprised of parents of children with disabilities, and concluding with an on-line discussion was implemented. Medical students completed a pre- and post-assessment that evaluated their knowledge of special education law and practices. Students demonstrated increased understanding of special education laws and practices. Qualitative findings showed that students recognized the importance and value of learning the content to support their patients and their patients' families. Based upon study findings, the flipped classroom method improved student knowledge of the topic and students reported they valued the content. This addition to the undergraduate medical curriculum provided students with an effective introductory overview and demonstrated one viable option for incorporating necessary topics into the undergraduate medical curriculum. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Magical beliefs and discriminating science from pseudoscience in undergraduate professional students.

PubMed

Garrett, Bernard M; Cutting, Roger L

2017-11-01

Paranormal beliefs and magical thinking exist in the public, and amongst university students. Researchers have found that media can influence such beliefs. A 2012 study suggested pseudoscientific rationales can influence acceptance of reported paranormal phenomena. Using a paranormal belief survey and controlled experiment this work explores the paranormal beliefs and test the effects of three versions of a supernatural news story on undergraduate professional students. One version of the story presented a simple news article, another the same with a pseudoscientific rationale, and another gave a discrediting scientific critique. Results confirmed that many students do hold magical beliefs but discriminated between scientific and pseudoscientific narratives. However, pre-existing paranormal beliefs were associated with an increased likelihood of students finding paranormal reports scientific, believable and credible.

Making developmental biology relevant to undergraduates in an era of economic rationalism in Australia.

PubMed

Key, Brian; Nurcombe, Victor

2003-01-01

This report describes the road map we followed at our university to accommodate three main factors: financial pressure within the university system; desire to enhance the learning experience of undergraduates; and motivation to increase the prominence of the discipline of developmental biology in our university. We engineered a novel, multi-year undergraduate developmental biology program which was "student-oriented," ensuring that students were continually exposed to the underlying principles and philosophy of this discipline throughout their undergraduate career. Among its key features are introductory lectures in core courses in the first year, which emphasize the relevance of developmental biology to tissue engineering, reproductive medicine, therapeutic approaches in medicine, agriculture and aquaculture. State-of-the-art animated computer graphics and images of high visual impact are also used. In addition, students are streamed into the developmental biology track in the second year, using courses like human embryology and courses shared with cell biology, which include practicals based on modern experimental approaches. Finally, fully dedicated third-year courses in developmental biology are undertaken in conjunction with stand-alone practical courses where students experiencefirst-hand work in a research laboratory. Our philosophy is a "cradle-to-grave" approach to the education of undergraduates so as to prepare highly motivated, enthusiastic and well-educated developmental biologists for entry into graduate programs and ultimately post-doctoral research.

Mental health nurses' views and experiences of working with undergraduate nursing students: A descriptive exploratory study.

PubMed

Lienert-Brown, Mel; Taylor, Peta; Withington, John; Lefebvre, Evelyn

2018-05-01

The core of pre-registration nursing education is the learning that takes place during the clinical placement. However, despite the fact that registered nurse preceptors are key players in supporting students during their placements there is a lack of literature examining the views of preceptors working with nursing students in mental health settings. To explore mental health nurses' views and experiences of working with undergraduate nursing students and determine what factors influence this experience. A descriptive exploratory study approach using an on-line questionnaire was adopted for this study. A specialist mental health service (SMHS) within one District Health Board in New Zealand. 89 registered nurses who had been involved in working with nursing students participated in this study. Data was collected using an online questionnaire. The majority of the respondents in this study reported that they felt confident and well supported in the work they did with nursing students and had a positive perception of this role. However, one significant negative factor identified was the extra stress and workload pressure they reported when working with students, when no allowance was made for this. Another key finding was that engaging in some form of education related to the preceptorship role was positively correlated with nurses knowing what was required of them, feeling confident, the extent to which they planned clinical education, and feeling that they were sufficiently appreciated. Ensuring nurses have access to education related to clinical teaching and learning increases their confidence in the work they do with nursing students and has also been shown to have a positive impact on how they view this role. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparing the “New” Biologist of the Future: Student Research at the Interface of Mathematics and Biology

PubMed Central

Bishop, Pamela; Lenhart, Suzanne

2010-01-01

We describe a unique Research Experience for Undergraduates and Research Experience for Veterinary students summer program at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The program focused on interdisciplinary research at the interface of biology and mathematics. Participants were selected to work on projects with a biology mentor and a mathematics mentor in an environment that promoted collaboration outside of the students' respective disciplines. There were four research projects with teams of four participants and two faculty mentors. The participants consisted of a mixture of 10 undergraduates in biology- and mathematics-related disciplines, four veterinary students, and two high-school teachers. The activities included lectures on both the biological and mathematical backgrounds of the projects, tutorials for software, and sessions on ethics, graduate school, and possible career paths for individuals interested in biology and mathematics. The program was designed to give students the ability to actively participate in the scientific research process by working on a project, writing up their results in a final report, and presenting their work orally. We report on the results of our evaluation surveys of the participants. PMID:20810963

Preparing the "new" biologist of the future: student research at the interface of mathematics and biology.

PubMed

Duncan, Sarah I; Bishop, Pamela; Lenhart, Suzanne

2010-01-01

We describe a unique Research Experience for Undergraduates and Research Experience for Veterinary students summer program at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The program focused on interdisciplinary research at the interface of biology and mathematics. Participants were selected to work on projects with a biology mentor and a mathematics mentor in an environment that promoted collaboration outside of the students' respective disciplines. There were four research projects with teams of four participants and two faculty mentors. The participants consisted of a mixture of 10 undergraduates in biology- and mathematics-related disciplines, four veterinary students, and two high-school teachers. The activities included lectures on both the biological and mathematical backgrounds of the projects, tutorials for software, and sessions on ethics, graduate school, and possible career paths for individuals interested in biology and mathematics. The program was designed to give students the ability to actively participate in the scientific research process by working on a project, writing up their results in a final report, and presenting their work orally. We report on the results of our evaluation surveys of the participants.

Providing Undergraduate Research Opportunities Through the World Rivers Observatory Collaborative Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gillies, S. L.; Marsh, S. J.; Janmaat, A.; Peucker-Ehrenbrink, B.; Voss, B.; Holmes, R. M.

2013-12-01

Successful research collaboration exists between the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV), a primarily undergraduate-serving university located on the Fraser River in British Columbia, and the World Rivers Observatory that is coordinated through the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC). The World Rivers Observatory coordinates time-series sampling of 15 large rivers, with particular focus on the large Arctic rivers, the Ganges-Brahmaputra, Congo, Fraser, Yangtze (Changjiang), Amazon, and Mackenzie River systems. The success of this international observatory critically depends on the participation of local collaborators, such as UFV, that are necessary in order to collect temporally resolved data from these rivers. Several faculty members and undergraduate students from the Biology and Geography Departments of UFV received on-site training from the lead-PIs of the Global Rivers Observatory. To share information and ensure good quality control of sampling methods, WHOI and WHRC hosted two international workshops at Woods Hole for collaborators. For the past four years, faculty and students from UFV have been collecting a variety of bi-monthly water samples from the Fraser River for the World Rivers Observatory. UFV undergraduate students who become involved learn proper sampling techniques and are given the opportunity to design and conduct their own research. Students have collected, analyzed and presented data from this project at regional, national, and international scientific meetings. UFV undergraduate students have also been hosted by WHOI and WHRC as guest students to work on independent research projects. While at WHOI and WHRC, students are able to conduct research using state-of-the-art specialized research facilities not available at UFV.

The NSF Undergraduate ALFALFA Team: Partnering with Arecibo Observatory to Offer Undergraduate and Faculty Extragalactic Radio Astronomy Research Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribaudo, Joseph; Koopmann, Rebecca A.; Haynes, Martha P.; Balonek, Thomas J.; Cannon, John M.; Coble, Kimberly A.; Craig, David W.; Denn, Grant R.; Durbala, Adriana; Finn, Rose; Hallenbeck, Gregory L.; Hoffman, G. Lyle; Lebron, Mayra E.; Miller, Brendan P.; Crone-Odekon, Mary; O'Donoghue, Aileen A.; Olowin, Ronald Paul; Pantoja, Carmen; Pisano, Daniel J.; Rosenberg, Jessica L.; Troischt, Parker; Venkatesan, Aparna; Wilcots, Eric M.; ALFALFA Team

2017-01-01

The NSF-sponsored Undergraduate ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA) Team (UAT) is a consortium of 20 institutions across the US and Puerto Rico, founded to promote undergraduate research and faculty development within the extragalactic ALFALFA HI blind survey project and follow-up programs. The objective of the UAT is to provide opportunities for its members to develop expertise in the technical aspects of observational radio spectroscopy, its associated data analysis, and the motivating science. Partnering with Arecibo Observatory, the UAT has worked with more than 280 undergraduates and 26 faculty to date, offering 8 workshops onsite at Arecibo (148 undergraduates), observing runs at Arecibo (69 undergraduates), remote observing runs on campus, undergraduate research projects based on Arecibo science (120 academic year and 185 summer projects), and presentation of results at national meetings such as the AAS (at AAS229: Ball et al., Collova et al., Davis et al., Miazzo et al., Ruvolo et al, Singer et al., Cannon et al., Craig et al., Koopmann et al., O'Donoghue et al.). 40% of the students and 45% of the faculty participants have been women and members of underrepresented groups. More than 90% of student alumni are attending graduate school and/or pursuing a career in STEM. 42% of those pursuing graduate degrees in Physics or Astronomy are women.In this presentation, we summarize the UAT program and the current research efforts of UAT members based on Arecibo science, including multiwavelength followup observations of ALFALFA sources, the UAT Collaborative Groups Project, the Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs (SHIELD), and the Arecibo Pisces-Perseus Supercluster Survey (APPSS). This work has been supported by NSF grants AST-0724918/0902211, AST-075267/0903394, AST-0725380, AST-121105, and AST-1637339.

The Role of Humor in Learning Physics: a Study of Undergraduate Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berge, Maria

2017-04-01

We all know that they do it, but what do students laugh about when learning science together? Although research has shown that students do use humor when they learn science, the role of humor in science education has received little attention. In this study, undergraduate students' laughter during collaborative work in physics has been investigated. In order to do this, a framework inspired by conversation analysis has been used. Empirical data was drawn from two video-recorded sessions in which first-year engineering students solved physics problems together. The analysis revealed that the students' use of humor was almost exclusively related to physics. Five themes identified summarize the role of humor in the group discussions: Something is obvious, Something is difficult, Something said might be wrong, Something is absurd, and Something said is not within informal norms.

Framing Undergraduate Public Health Education as Liberal Education: Who Are We Training Our Students To Be and How Do We Do That?

PubMed

Kiviniemi, Marc T; Mackenzie, Sara L C

2017-01-01

The rapid development of the undergraduate major in public health over the past 15 years has led to a debate about the most appropriate framing for the degree. Should it be viewed as a liberal education degree (akin to academic disciplines such as psychology and political science) or as a professional training degree (akin to disciplines such as nursing and management)? This paper presents an overview of both the liberal education and the professional training degree approaches to the undergraduate public health degree. The reality of public health work in the modern era and the constraints on undergraduate-level training lead to our conclusion that the liberal education framing is a more optimal way to design the degree program. Such a framework optimizes career opportunities, especially long-term opportunities, for graduates, acknowledges the reality of the complex and diverse career paths that one can take under the general umbrella of public health, and accounts for the important role of critical thinking skills in undergraduate education. Ultimately, the distinction between liberal education and professional training may be fuzzier than the debate often highlights-an intentional, well-designed, and thoughtfully implemented undergraduate public health curriculum can address the range of student needs underlying both the liberal education and professional training approaches to the degree, thus optimizing both learning goals and career outcomes for undergraduate public health students.

Framing Undergraduate Public Health Education as Liberal Education: Who Are We Training Our Students To Be and How Do We Do That?

PubMed Central

Kiviniemi, Marc T.; Mackenzie, Sara L. C.

2017-01-01

The rapid development of the undergraduate major in public health over the past 15 years has led to a debate about the most appropriate framing for the degree. Should it be viewed as a liberal education degree (akin to academic disciplines such as psychology and political science) or as a professional training degree (akin to disciplines such as nursing and management)? This paper presents an overview of both the liberal education and the professional training degree approaches to the undergraduate public health degree. The reality of public health work in the modern era and the constraints on undergraduate-level training lead to our conclusion that the liberal education framing is a more optimal way to design the degree program. Such a framework optimizes career opportunities, especially long-term opportunities, for graduates, acknowledges the reality of the complex and diverse career paths that one can take under the general umbrella of public health, and accounts for the important role of critical thinking skills in undergraduate education. Ultimately, the distinction between liberal education and professional training may be fuzzier than the debate often highlights—an intentional, well-designed, and thoughtfully implemented undergraduate public health curriculum can address the range of student needs underlying both the liberal education and professional training approaches to the degree, thus optimizing both learning goals and career outcomes for undergraduate public health students. PMID:28239603

Strategies for exposing students to potential careers in the geosciences and preparing them with skillsets valued by today's workforce: a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sloan, V.; Haacker, R.

2016-12-01

Students, graduate students, and postdocs facing the job market cite a lack of familiarity with non-academic careers in the geosciences, uncertainty about the skills needed, and fear of the future. We work with these groups in several education programs at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and have interviewed and polled them about these issues. Surveys of and focus groups with alumni from two of these programs, an undergraduate career development program and a postdoctoral study program, provided insight into their employment and the skills that they see as valuable in their careers. Using this data, we redesigned the one-week undergraduate program, called the NCAR Undergraduate Leadership Workshop, with the goals of: (1) exposing students to the diversity of careers in the geosciences; (2) providing students with practice developing their non-technical skills, and; (3) creating content about careers in the atmospheric sciences for sharing with other students in the community. Students self-organized into consulting groups and had to propose and design their projects. During the course of the week, students interacted with approximately twenty professionals from fields in or related to the geosciences through lectures, lunch conversations, and student-led interviews. The professionals were asked to described their own work and the meanders of their career paths, to illustrate the range of professions in our field. The teams then developed creative materials intended for sharing these profiles, such as websites, powerpoint presentations and videos, and presented them formally at the week's end. In this presentation, we will share about this case study, the survey results on competencies valued in today's STEM workforce, and techniques for giving students practice developing those skills.

Class and Home Problems: Modeling of an Industrial Anaerobic Digester: A Case Study for Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durruty, Ignacio; Ayude, María A.

2014-01-01

The case study discussed in this work is used at the chemical reaction engineering course, offered in fifth-year of the chemical engineering undergraduate program at National University of Mar del Plata (UNMdP). A serial-parallel reaction system based on the anaerobic degradation of particulate-containing potato processing wastewater is presented.…

Correlation, Necessity, and Sufficiency: Common Errors in the Scientific Reasoning of Undergraduate Students for Interpreting Experiments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coleman, Aaron B.; Lam, Diane P.; Soowal, Lara N.

2015-01-01

Gaining an understanding of how science works is central to an undergraduate education in biology and biochemistry. The reasoning required to design or interpret experiments that ask specific questions does not come naturally, and is an essential part of the science process skills that must be learned for an understanding of how scientists conduct…

Gender and Belonging in Undergraduate Computer Science: A Comparative Case Study of Student Experiences in Gateway Courses. WCER Working Paper No. 2016-2

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benbow, Ross J.; Vivyan, Erika

2016-01-01

Building from findings showing that undergraduate computer science continues to have the highest attrition rates proportionally for women within postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines--a phenomenon that defies basic social equity goals in a high status field--this paper seeks to better understand how student…

Hopes for the Future: Demographic and Personal Resources Associated with Self-Perceived Employability and Actual Employment among Senior Year Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kasler, Jonathan; Zysberg, Leehu; Harel, Nofar

2017-01-01

Undergraduates approaching completion of their studies may embrace the prospect of entry into the world of work as a challenge or conversely, may view it with trepidation. This study explores three major personal resources that may be associated with how young undergraduates view their future employability: perceived hope, grit and emotional…

"Anisakis Simplex" Infection in Mackerel: A Reliable Laboratory Exercise to Demonstrate Important Principles in Parasitology to Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coombs, I.; Tatner, M.; Paterson, V.

2013-01-01

Practical laboratory work in parasitology can be very limited, due to the difficulty in maintaining multi-host parasite life cycles, especially for a large, once-yearly undergraduate laboratory class for life science students. The use of mackerel, "Scomber scombrus," bought from a local fishmonger, is an ideal model to investigate important…

First Generation College Students in Engineering: A Grounded Theory Study of Family Influence on Academic Decision Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Simmons, Denise Rutledge

2012-01-01

This work develops a constructivist grounded theory describing the influence of family and those that serve a role similar to family on the academic decision making of undergraduate first generation in college (FGC) students majoring in engineering. FGC students, in this study, are students with neither parent having attained a bachelor's…

Students' Responses to Ethical Dilemmas in an Academic Setting and in the Work Place

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teer, Faye P.; Kruck, S. E.

2012-01-01

It is important for students to be prepared to act ethically when they face real world situations that test their ethical leadership. The purpose of this study was to examine university students' responses to ethical dilemmas. One hundred and sixty two students in numerous majors and both undergraduate and graduate classifications responded to a…

Empowering Students to Design and Evaluate Synthesis Procedures: A Sonogashira Coupling Project for Advanced Teaching Lab

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ong, Jun-Yang; Chan, Shang-Ce; Hoang, Truong-Giang

2018-01-01

A Sonogashira experiment was transformed into a problem-based learning platform for third-year undergraduate students. Given a target that could be synthesized in a single step, students worked in groups to investigate which method was the best for large-scale production. Through this practical scenario, students learn to conduct a literature…

Audio-Conferencing and Social Work Education in Alaska: New Technology and Challenges.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleinkauf, Cecilia; Robinson, Myrna

1987-01-01

Reports on the use of teleconferencing to deliver undergraduate courses to geographically remote social work students of the University of Alaska, Anchorage. Describes telecommunications system, courses, teaching methods, and measures of educational effectiveness. (LFL)

Quantum interactive learning tutorial on the double-slit experiment to improve student understanding of quantum mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sayer, Ryan; Maries, Alexandru; Singh, Chandralekha

2017-06-01

Learning quantum mechanics is challenging, even for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. Research-validated interactive tutorials that build on students' prior knowledge can be useful tools to enhance student learning. We have been investigating student difficulties with quantum mechanics pertaining to the double-slit experiment in various situations that appear to be counterintuitive and contradict classical notions of particles and waves. For example, if we send single electrons through the slits, they may behave as a "wave" in part of the experiment and as a "particle" in another part of the same experiment. Here we discuss the development and evaluation of a research-validated Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial (QuILT) which makes use of an interactive simulation to improve student understanding of the double-slit experiment and strives to help students develop a good grasp of foundational issues in quantum mechanics. We discuss common student difficulties identified during the development and evaluation of the QuILT and analyze the data from the pretest and post test administered to the upper-level undergraduate and first-year physics graduate students before and after they worked on the QuILT to assess its effectiveness. These data suggest that on average, the QuILT was effective in helping students develop a more robust understanding of foundational concepts in quantum mechanics that defy classical intuition using the context of the double-slit experiment. Moreover, upper-level undergraduates outperformed physics graduate students on the post test. One possible reason for this difference in performance may be the level of student engagement with the QuILT due to the grade incentive. In the undergraduate course, the post test was graded for correctness while in the graduate course, it was only graded for completeness.

Engaging Undergraduate Biology Students in Scientific Modeling: Analysis of Group Interactions, Sense-Making, and Justification

PubMed Central

Bierema, Andrea M.-K.; Schwarz, Christina V.; Stoltzfus, Jon R.

2017-01-01

National calls for improving science education (e.g., Vision and Change) emphasize the need to learn disciplinary core ideas through scientific practices. To address this need, we engaged small groups of students in developing diagrammatic models within two (one large-enrollment and one medium-enrollment) undergraduate introductory biology courses. During these activities, students developed scientific models of biological phenomena such as enhanced growth in genetically modified fish. To investigate whether undergraduate students productively engaged in scientific practices during these modeling activities, we recorded groups of students as they developed models and examined three characteristics: how students 1) interacted with one another, 2) made sense of phenomena, and 3) justified their ideas. Our analysis indicates that students spent most of the time on task, developing and evaluating their models. Moreover, they worked cooperatively to make sense of core ideas and justified their ideas to one another throughout the activities. These results demonstrate that, when provided with the opportunity to develop models during class, students in large-enrollment lecture courses can productively engage in scientific practices. We discuss potential reasons for these outcomes and suggest areas of future research to continue advancing knowledge regarding engaging students in scientific practices in large-enrollment lecture courses. PMID:29196429