Engaging Students in Authentic

Research in the Classroom

May 2, 2013Center for Teaching Excellence

Emily GrossnickleSarah Balcom

Dylan Selterman

What is Research?

Compare to what Davis & Shade (2000) refer to as Apprentice Work:

“Process of creating new knowledge

--Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research

“Not making knowledge as much as reporting the known”

What is Research?

Searching for

information in libraries

and archives

Creating models

Conducting

fieldwork

Surveying and

interviewing subjects

Performing computatio

ns

Communicating results

Theory testing

Composing creative

works

Ways in which students can engage with research

1. Research-led: Learn about current research

2. Research-tutored: Engage in discussions about research

3. Research-oriented: Develop skills and techniques

4. Research-based: Undertake research

--Jenkins and Healy (2000)

Why engage your students in research and what might be stopping you?

Goals for your students

Potential Barriers

Other

Motivational goals

Critical thinking goals

Knowledge goals

Other

Pragmatic

Student/Learning

Instructor/Instructional

Maryland Center for Undergraduate Research

www.ugresearch.umd.edu2100D McKeldin Library

Undergraduate research dayDatabase of projectsResources for faculty and students

RESEARCH IN THE CLASSROOM:EXAMPLES FROM MY ANSC COURSESSarah Balcom, DVM, MS

Animal and Avian Sciences

2 May 2013

WHY I TEACH RESEARCH IN THE CLASSROOM

Students don’t understand how to do it

Students don’t evaluate existing research well

It engages students

It develops skills for life-long learners

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Generate specific

questions

Discover what is already known

Evaluate prior research

Formulate a new area of inquiry/hypothesis

Conduct an experiment

Consider design and execution

Evaluate results

Share the results-Papers-Posters

-Oral presentations

Encounter a phenomenon that

cannot yet be explained

1. LEARNING TO SEARCH THE MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE

Asking the right questions

Generating good search terms

Using academic search engines

Sorting results

1. LEARNING TO SEARCH THE MEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE

Ex. ANSC 275- Introduction to Veterinary Medical Science and Practice

Case discussion: Heartworm disease in dogs

Concept: Is it a good idea to keep dogs on year round heartworm preventative? Pros: Compliance, control of GI parasites, income for vet Cons: Cost to owner, possibility of the worms evolving

resistance to the dewormer

Research question: Is resistance to dewormers a problem with canine heartworm disease?

2. FIELD METHODS IN CLASS

Skills learned Data collection appropriate to the discipline

Not everything goes as planned

Revising and refining until you know how you need to make your observations, collect your data, run your experiment, etc.

The study design process

2. FIELD METHODS IN CLASS

Ex. “Epidemiology in action” class for ANSC 340- Health Management of Animal populations

Flipped class: Pre-work about monitoring animal health, making observations, basic epidemiology

Students designed means of measuring respiratory disease among UMD students in Feb.

45 minutes (90 min course) to make observations Groups of 5-6 students 6 different locations on campus

30 minutes to discuss what worked what didn’t work results

2. FIELD METHODS IN CLASS

2. FIELD METHODS IN CLASS

Discussion of data and its collection, what to do with results

Refine ideas on data collection incorporated into animal disease surveillance

plan (final project component)

another level on which to judge epidemiology studies

3. ARTICLE CRITIQUES

Skills learned Evaluation of authorship, content, format and

style, applicability of articles

Critical thinking

Writing

3. ARTICLE CRITIQUES

Ex. ANSC 250- Companion Animal Care and Management Groups evaluate a scientific or medical article

using a set of guided questions Discussion of some of the major points that came

out in the critiques Study design Funding sources Assumptions, biases, and other pitfalls Usefulness of different types of resources for different

groups of people involved with comp aml care

3. ARTICLE CRITIQUES

Basis for selecting references for take-home final exam scenarios

Same process used to evaluate our guest speakers as well

4. CONDUCTING A MINI-RESEARCH PROJECT

Ex. ANSC 225- Love me, Hate me, Use me, Save me: Our conflicting views of animals. Some students interested in conducting a short

study Ethnographic interviews and participant

observations Coding for themes uncovered in the interviews Guidance from me in design, execution, and

analysis of the research

4. CONDUCTING A MINI-RESEARCH PROJECT

Example: Why does hitting an animal on the side of the road bother some people and not bother others? Study sample Question guide Analysis

CONCLUSIONS

It’s a lot of fun.

It certainly beats lecturing!

It takes planning.

Many students enjoy it.

Research in Undergraduate Education

Dylan Selterman, Ph.D.

Department of Psychology

Courses & Format/Goals

PSYC 221 – Social Psychology (S in P) Large; blended; content + scholarly activities

PSYC 334 – Interpersonal Relationships Large; upper-level; content

PSYC 420 – Social Psych Research Lab Small; upper-level; student-led research

Psychology lab (420)

Semester-long project 2-hr lab sections run by TAs (2 hr lecture) Emphasis on replication

Eases burden on students & teachers Plus extension (new variable)

Content (broad) VS. Application (specific) Focus on 1-2 key concepts to apply 1-3 sub-disciplines (faculty expertise) Unlike graduate methods/stats courses

Issues & Concerns

Time Resources (Qualtrics; Facebook) Class size Student ideas can be poor Most research fails Repeating content from previous courses Students struggle to communicate ideas

Strategies in other courses

Scientific creativity & innovation Focus on pieces of the research process

Literature review; summary of findings Scale creation (measures, items) Discuss/debate, communicate findings Propose new theories (MFT) & hypotheses Propose new methods/studies Peer review Scientific writing (APA style)

Popular media writing Science of Relationships; In-Mind Magazine

Issues & Concerns

Little previous education in the field Emphasis on the basics

Pushback from students Difficulty & motivation

Need strong TA support (GTA & UTA) Devote class time and extended office hours

for Q&A