Student and Faculty Perceptions of Undergraduate Research Experiences in Computing

Abstract

Undergraduate research experiences are promoted and funded for their potential in increasing students’ likelihood of pursuing graduate degrees, increasing their confidence, and expanding their awareness of their discipline and career opportunities. These outcomes, however, depend on the social, organizational, and intellectual conditions under which students conduct research. Large-scale comparative studies suggest that computer science undergraduate researchers participate in fewer of the activities that lead to membership in a “culture of research.” This interview-based study illuminates the experiences of both undergraduates and their faculty research mentors in computer science summer and academic year programs. Twenty-five undergraduates and 31 faculty mentors, the majority women, were interviewed. Their stories reveal best and worst case research conditions for students, the special benefits to women who have experienced harassment in their classes, unconscious biases of faculty, the wisdom of faculty who guide undergraduates to successful research outcomes, and faculty’s perceptions of benefits for themselves, their departments, and the students they mentor.

Problem-centric Process for Research-based Learning

“…Thus, the relationship between IbL/PbL and RbL can be shown in a Venn diagram as shown in Figure 1, where RbL represents a subset of IbL/PbL. RbL enhances students' perception and interest in science careers [57][58][59], confidence and self-capacity [31,52,60]; learning outcomes [53,61,62]; management, communication, organizational, and leadership skills [24,61]; and likelihood to pursue graduate studies [31]. Nevertheless, due to lack of maturity and motivation, undergradu-PAPER PROBLEM-CENTRIC PROCESS FOR RESEARCH-BASED LEARNING ate students especially those new to RbL can show skepticism to RbL [50,63].…”

“…There are limited studies on research-integratedcourses [57] since this practice is not widely spread; however, it is considered as an effective and low cost way for incorporating larger portions of undergraduate students in the research experience [52].In this paper, we introduce a process and a learning experience that exercises applied research in two computing subjects for senior students at two leading research institutions. The process has its roots in engineering design, and software development methodologies, which are both normally of a problem centric nature.…”

Exploring the Dynamics of Directed Studies Courses: Student, Instructor, and Administrator Perspectives

“…This sharing might even take place in instructor mentoring programs or teaching-related courses for graduate students, some of whom will be teaching in universities later on (Boyle & Boice, 1998). Overall, Barker (2009) has noted that student benefits from an URE are most likely to result from teaching situations involving a true research mentor (i.e., an instructor willing to take their obligations seriously in terms of time and energy).…”

“…Major benefits listed by supervisors included having assistance in research grant writing, manuscript writing, and enjoyment of the experience. Based on interviews with computer science faculty and students, Barker (2009) tested the thesis that the conditions under which students conduct research can influence students' overall positive perception of the URE. Results supported this thesis, demonstrating that specific institutional features can lead to increased admissions success to graduate school.…”

“…Some studies have focused specifically on faculty perspectives of student benefits from participating in UREs (Zydney, Bennett, Shahid, & Bauer, 2002), while others highlight student perceptions alone (Bauer & Bennett, 2003;Seymour et al, 2004); only a few have attempted to compare the two perspectives (Barker, 2009;Lei & Chuang, 2009). The limited scholarship that does explore the motivations of faculty mentors has in large part been the work of Potter, Abrams, Townson, and Williams (2009).…”