HR: 0830h
AN: ED11B-0103    [PDF]
TI: Research and Research-Type Experiences Throughout an Undergraduate Liberal Arts Curriculum
AU: * Reinen, L A
EM: lreinen@pomona.edu
AF: Pomona College, 609 North College Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711
AU: Grosfils, E B
EM: egrosfils@pomona.edu
AF: Pomona College, 609 North College Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711
AB: During the past several decades there has been a growing awareness of the educational benefits to students who participate in undergraduate research experiences. These benefits include, among others, increased communication skills, ability to work as part of a research team, and enhanced self-confidence in personal problem-solving skills. Several programs have been developed which provide summer research opportunities for undergraduates; however these programs must limit the number of students participating each year. In order for all of our students to reap the benefits of participating in research experiences, during the past eight years the Pomona College Geology Department has focused on developing a Community of Research for all members of our department which incorporate multiple research experiences into the geology curriculum. Students in geology courses at Pomona College participate in research and research-type experiences - including introductory-level and mid-tier courses through the required senior thesis. A central component of this research curricular "thread" is the mid-tier Research Methods course required of all geology majors. The research experience varies between courses and projects, but all share two elements which we find to be key to a successful experience: (1) The research results are unknown by both the student and the professor prior to the start of the project. The investigative nature of research is highlighted when students and professors are learning new results together. (2) Each student is responsible for deciding some important aspect of the project (e.g., defining the question to be addressed, the methods to be used, the area to be studied). This ownership helps students remain engaged in projects through difficult times and over long durations; the students thus become vested in the project results. In this session, we will present several examples of research projects and research-type experiences. The projects presented include a watershed investigation from an introductory-level course for majors and non-majors, a remote-sensing research project from a mid-level course for non-majors, both field-based research projects and investigations of planetary surfaces using satellite data from the Research Methods course, and senior theses.
UR: http://www.geology.pomona.edu
DE: 6605 Education
SC: Education and Human Resources [ED]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting