Learning by Doing: Four Keys to Fostering Undergraduate Research in Your Laboratory

Ten Salient Practices of Undergraduate Research Mentors: A Review of the Literature

“…Once the preparations have been made and expectations for the work are established and communicated, effective mentors start instructing students in research procedures. Several articles have pointed out that teaching students the technical skills, methods, and techniques necessary to conduct scholarly work in the discipline is the mentor's primary responsibility (Benson, 2002;Bowman & Stage, 2002;Gafney, 2005;Lown, 1993;Merkel & Baker, 2002;Shore, 2005). Concurrently, mentors should emphasize the importance of engaging in research in a safe and ethical manner (Benson, 2002;Lown, 1993;Merkel & Baker, 2002).…”

“…Several articles have pointed out that teaching students the technical skills, methods, and techniques necessary to conduct scholarly work in the discipline is the mentor's primary responsibility (Benson, 2002;Bowman & Stage, 2002;Gafney, 2005;Lown, 1993;Merkel & Baker, 2002;Shore, 2005). Concurrently, mentors should emphasize the importance of engaging in research in a safe and ethical manner (Benson, 2002;Lown, 1993;Merkel & Baker, 2002). Depending on the discipline and the nature of the project, this more technical practice might include instruction related to following laboratory experiment protocols, navigating pertinent databases, utilizing studio equipment, accessing archival sources, and/or operating computational software.…”

“…Shore's (2005) review of UR mentoring practices indicated that successful mentors have approached their interactions with mentees as with those with a junior colleague. Several researchers have advocated for UR environments in which all students (a) understand how their tasks relate to the larger project goals, (b) feel welcome to provide opinions about the work, (c) are listened to with patience and openness, (d) become more autonomous as they are given ownership of specific tasks and important aspects of the overall project, and (e) do work that will ultimately help them clarify and prepare for their career goals (Benson, 2002;Craig, 1999;Mabrouk & Peters, 2000;Merkel & Baker, 2002; National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, 1997;Shellito et al, 2001;Shore, 2005). The experience becomes transformative for the undergraduate researchers when they have a sense of ownership in the project (Laursen et al, 2010;Malachowski, 1996).…”

Fisheries Volume 45 Number 11 November 2020

“…Peer and near-peer mentoring by technicians, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers (hereafter, postdocs) can also play a role in teaching technical skills but should not replace direct mentor-mentee interaction in this regard. Rather, interactions with other lab members provide students with critical emotional support and affi rmation that they are part of the team (Benson 2002 ;Gafney 2005 ). This type of training model also provides opportunities for graduate students and postdocs to obtain mentoring experience of their own without total responsibility for the student's success (Dolan and Johnson 2009 ;Edwards et al 2011 ;Packard et al 2014 ).…”

“…Departmental focus on undergraduate research; faculty buy-in; early student engagement Russell et al 2007 ;Graham et al 2013 ;McDevitt et al 2016 ;Hanauer et al 2017 Student selection Process for identifi cation and selection Auchincloss et al 2014 ;McDevitt et al 2020 Setting expectations Learning contract/syllabus with measurable outcomes and clear behavioral expectations Lown 1993 ;Gray 2000 ;Mabrouk 2003 ;Abdel-Qader 2004 Producing Skill acquisition Students receive training directly from faculty members; students are accepted and mentored by other members of the group Benson 2002 ;Gafney 2005 ;Dolan and Johnson 2009 ;Edwards et al 2011 ;Packard et al 2014 Interaction/community…”