Undergraduate Research as Teaching Practice

Undergraduate research is an exciting way to introduce students to the scientific method and to engage them in critical thinking and problem solving skills. The materials in this module were developed as part of a collaborative project of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) and the On the Cutting Edge program for geoscience faculty development with funding from the National Science Foundation. Workshop participants were asked to create a set of web-based modules that aggregate the community knowledge, experience and resources that can encourage and support undergraduate research across the geoscience curriculum.

For more information on undergraduate as a pedagogy, see the Undergraduate Research module from Pedagogy in Action, which details why and how to use undergraduate research in your course as well as hosts a collection of example activities and resources related to undergraduate research.

Essays of community knowledge, experiences, and resources supporting undergraduate research written by the participants of the 2011 CUR-Cutting Edge Writing Retreat (learn more about this project)

• An Overview of Undergraduate Research as Teaching Practice, including the benefits to students, faculty, institutions, and the community.
  
• Preparing for Research in the Geosciences provides practical considerations for preparing your students for research, including the scientific habits of mind and classroom strategies to prepare students for research.
• Undergraduate Research across the Geoscience Curriculum provides a portal for incorporating undergraduate research in a variety of forms across various environments.
  
• Inquiry & Discovery-based Projects in Intro Courses
  
• Research Embedded in Geo-Majors Courses
• Independent Study and Senior Theses
• Undergraduate Research in the Field
• Undergraduate Research and Service Learning
• Case Studies for the introductory level and for majors
  
• Learn more about Recruiting & Mentoring Undergraduate Research Students, both internal and external to your institution.
• Management & Sustainability of Research Programs provides tips and considerations for managing and sustaining your undergraduate research projects and programs, including obtaining grant support.
  
• See Optimizing Instrumentation in Support of Research for advice on how to effectively get students using research instrumentation and important considerations for students using instrumentation.
• The Role of Technology in Undergraduate Research is becoming more and more popular. This section provides information on utilizing technology, including social media like Facebook at Twitter, as well as blogs, and mobile technology into undergraduate research.
• Assessment of Undergraduate Research offers information about available instruments and methodologies for evaluating undergraduate research and assessment of student gains and mentor experiences and includes case studies.
• Dissemination, Presentation, & Communication is an important final step for sharing research findings with the greater community. This page provides some ideas for how to disseminate, communicate, and present at different venues and scales.

Resources from CUR

There is a wealth of information in the articles of the CUR Quarterly. Take some time to browse through back issues!

There is also a very rich collection of Special Publications from CUR that cover a broad range of topics related to undergraduate research. Check out these informative and useful publications!

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