Initial Publication Date: May 21, 2014

Engage Students in Research

Research experiences provide a wide array of benefits for students including:

  • Pre-professional training on how to "be" a scientist
  • Initiating students into the "community of practice" through access to key knowledge, skills and the value system of a responsible investigator
  • Helping them identify and choose a good career track
  • ...and many others.

In addition, there are benefits for faculty and institutions when undergraduates are engaged in the act of hands-on science.

SOLARIS Geo-Ventures Trip

The SOLARIS program provides a bridge between the A.S. and B.S. degrees, allowing up to 10 EPCC geological science majors per year to conduct geological research using equipment and facilities at both El Paso Community College and the University of Texas - El Paso and receive mentoring by both instructors at both institutions.

Undergraduate Research as Teaching Practice »
In collaboration with the Council on Undergraduate Research, On the Cutting Edge has developed extensive modules that aggregate community knowledge, experience, and resources that make the case for research as a valuable method of teaching in the geosciences.Undergraduate Research »
Pedagogy in Action developed this module on the What, Why, and How of having undergraduate students conduct research and the many ways that it can be done.Undergraduate Research with Two-year College Students »
As more students, especially students from traditionally underrepresented minorities, begin their undergraduate education at two-year colleges (2YCs) and then transfer to complete their bachelors degree, it becomes increasingly important that they have similar research experiences in their time at those institutions if they are to be as successful as the students who begin college at four-year institutions.Generate Community Involvement »
Using community-centered activities creates the necessary environment for awareness, planning, and change. By taking ownership of community environmental challenges, partnerships between community members, students, faculty, and institutions can be empowered to find mutually agreeable solutions that benefit each and all of the parties.
From a synthesis of lessons learned by InTeGrate Implementation Programs