Title: Embedding Undergraduate Research in the Community College Curriculum
Abstract: Several years ago, one of the authors (Nancy Hensel) became aware that students transferring from community colleges to four-year colleges or universities often needed an extra year to complete their science degree because they had missed having an undergraduate research experience. To address this issue, the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and the National Council of Instructional Administrators (NCI A), an affiliate of the American Association of Community Colleges, agreed to collaborate on a project to increase undergraduate research in community colleges.LAUNCHING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT COMMUNITY COLLEGE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHCUR and NCIA initially applied for and received an Advanced Technological Education grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant provided funds to host six regional conversations with community college faculty and representatives from government, business, and industry to explore undergraduate research at community colleges. Conversations were held in Illinois, Massachusetts, Washington, California, Georgia, and Oklahoma and asked three broad questions:* What is currently happening regarding undergraduate research at community colleges?* In what kind of research activities would community colleges like to involve undergraduates?* How could CUR and NC1A help community colleges realize their goals for students' participation in undergraduate research?We found great interest in undergraduate research with community colleges developing their own ways of engaging students in research. Research was viewed primarily as a teaching strategy for students to develop skills and abilities for transfer to a four-year college or to enhance their work skills. We also found that undergraduate research was almost always the result of individual effort or possibly a small group rather than an institutionalized program across the campus.Participation in undergraduate research has been found to be an effective method for developing students' problem-solving skills and work habits, connecting classroom experiences to the world of work, and improving student retention. Community colleges play a significant role in preparing America's work force. The skills students develop through undergraduate research-such as the ability to work in teams, communicate effectively, and solve problems-are skills that are needed in any job (Hart Research Associates 2015). As more and more students are completing the first two years of their education at community colleges, providing undergraduate research opportunities at community colleges becomes increasingly important.TAILORING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH TO COMMUNITY COLLEGESBased on the findings of the conversations at the six regional meetings, we applied for and received a second National Science Foundation grant in the Transforming Undergraduate Education (TUES) program. The goals of the second grant were to (l) develop a workshop curriculum to implement undergraduate research tailored to the needs of community colleges, (2 ) provide workshops for community colleges considering undergraduate research programs, and (3) develop an undergraduate research mentoring network of community college faculty. A total of 104 community colleges across the country and more than 400 faculty members were involved in three-day regional workshops. While we found community college faculty to be highly enthusiastic about engaging their students in undergraduate research, logistically, the heavy teaching loads of community college faculty, the lack of facilities dedicated to research, and the limited funds available to support research provide challenges to initiating undergraduate research programs. From the institutional perspective, there is a sense on the part of some that the community college mission of teaching is incompatible with research, even when students are engaged in the research as a teaching pedagogy.The workshop curriculum emphasized embedding research projects into courses to ensure that the greatest numbers of students have the opportunity to participate in research. …
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-10-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 8
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