Undergraduate Research, Graduate Mentoring, and the University's Mission

Abstract

Undergraduate research and graduate mentoring have received a great deal of attention in recent times. What do these activities have in common? They both speak to the primary mission of the research university, which is not merely carrying out research but training students to do research. The knowledge-based global economy, with its wealth of information and opportunities, has increased undergraduate students' need for research skills as well as graduate students' desire for personal guidance. As the research university matures, the boundaries between graduate and undergraduate education are blurring. Indeed, if we focus on the learning process, we find not two but five levels of learning at the research university: lower division, upper division, master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral. All five levels form a continuum, a series of gradual steps. The mission of the university is to introduce students to research, to inspire in them a passion for discovery at each of these levels.

Linking Meteorological Education To Reality: A Prototype Undergraduate Research Study of Public Response to Hurricane Rita Forecasts

“…Such discussion has motivated atmospheric scientists to develop applied meteorology classes and programs (e.g., Changnon 1998Changnon , 2004Carr et al 2002), explore teaching techniques that better link theory with applications (e.g., Roebber 2005), provide research experiences for undergraduates (e.g., Cortinas et al 1996;Pandya 2005), and incorporate inquiry and interdisciplinary experiences into classrooms (e.g., Pandya et al 2004). A similar movement to enhance inquiry-based, collaborative, and interdisciplinary learning is also building in scientific and undergraduate education as a whole (e.g., NRC 1996NRC ,1999; Boyer Commission on Educating Undergraduates in the Research University 1998; Gonzalez 2001;Wood 2003;Lawler 2004;CUR/NCUR 2005). The study and class we developed illustrate one way that undergraduate teachers can link theory to applications and incorporate collaborative inquiry, active learning, and interdisciplinarity into meteorology classrooms, while motivating students and preparing them for a range of future opportunities.…”

Do Graduate Teaching Assistants Benefit from Teaching Inquiry-Based Laboratories?

“…lthough the debate about the balance between research and teaching at the university level has yet to be settled (Brand 2000), it is indisputable that a principal role of the research university is to teach students to do research (Gonzàlez 2001). Because learning takes place most rapidly when students are actively involved in the learning process (Leonard 1989), students should learn how to do research not by listening or reading about it, but by doing it.…”

Undergraduate Summer Research in Structural Engineering

“…This author also notes that coaching undergraduates through a research experience requires a considerable investment of time and effort from the faculty, pointing out that at one small college that requires undergraduate research ''many faculty members seem to view it as more of a burden than a benefit'' (Mervis 2001(Mervis , p. 1615. González (2001González ( , p. 1624 reviewed the link between under graduate research and graduate mentoring and their importance to the university's mission, noting that ''they both speak to the pri mary mission of the research university, which is not carrying out important place in a continuum that starts at those levels and continues through master's, doctoral, and postdoctoral research. This paper will review the writer's experience with the UAB site and discuss the program objectives, how the participants are recruited, how the program is carried out, the student research products, and the results of the program evaluation.…”