1 Enhancing the student learning experience through undergraduate research dissemination – a framework for staff and students Helen Walkington and Martin Luck In association with: Jay Brodeu, Tara Kajaks, Paula Myatt, Rachel Spronken-Smith, Brad Wuetherick and An Verburgh

2 Outline The importance of UGR Research ‘in its entirety’ –Dissemination and completing the loop Framework Examples

3 What is undergraduate research? Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR): –An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline. Brew and Boud (1995): –Research and inquiry can be an investigation into the “commonly known”, “commonly unknown” and “totally unknown”

4 Research development framework [Willison and O’Regan 2006] Level 5 open enquiry with self determined guidance Level 4 open enquiry within structured guidance Level 3 closed enquiry working independently Level 2 closed enquiry some structure / guidance Level 1 closed enquiry, high degree of structure and guidance

5 High impact practices [Kuh, 2008] First year seminars and experiences, common intellectual experiences, learning communities, writing-intensive courses, collaborative assignments and projects, undergraduate research, diversity/global learning, service learning, internships, capstone courses/projects

6 Justice et al 2007 Inquiry cycle

7 The Research Cycle Mind the gap! “Dissemination of results is an essential and integral part of the research process” Boyer Commission, 1998: 24

8 Benefits of communication Communication is universally listed as a graduate attribute and is highly regarded as a generic skill (de la Harpe & David, 2011) Communication is also a key part of understanding disciplinary “ways of thinking and practising” (Hounsell & McCune, 2002).

9 Student autonomy axis framework

10 Exposure axis framework

11 The framework - examples of progressive application Year 1 module: –Poster session Year 2 module: –Journal Clubs - presenting a research paper to the rest of the class Year 3: –Seminar presentation on final year project

12 The framework – further examples Departmental seminar presentation –Students develop confidence in front of faculty Bite-sized pre-lectures –5 minute mini-presentations on key topics, preceding each lecture or practical class

13 Co-authorship e.g. a public wiki developed by a class Year 1 Architecture students. Tutor-mediated student publishing to a public blog and photo-sharing space (Flickr)

14 Undergraduate research journals

15 BCUR

16 Posters in Parliament

17 The framework for students The STEM student journey Year 3 Year 1 Year 2

18 The framework for staff Critical to the success of research dissemination (particularly in the broader senses of ‘public-ness’) is institutional commitment to dissemination –Course and curriculum development/delivery –Conferences (departmental, institutional, national) –Journals (departmental/disciplinary, institutional, national) –Connections to communities (academic and public) –Direct link between research and teaching

19 Conclusion CLOSE THE RESEARCH LOOP through ‘dissemination’ If we are committed to embedding undergraduate research we must also commit to embedding the teaching of dissemination skills in our curricula. We have provided a framework for staff and students to support the structuring of research dissemination experiences for students to build confidence and capabilities.

20 Acknowledgements