Paula Myatt

It is widely believed that authentic research experiences in science are pivotal in providing context to undergraduate student learning and providing a true sense of what it means to be a 'scientist' (Boyer Report, 1998, Healey & Jenkin,s 2009). Research intensive universities might be expected to have the greatest potential for involving students in authentic research (Turner, Wuetherick & Healey,

... View all references), and in the way that research experiences are provided to undergraduate students (Jenkins, Healey and Zetter 200729. Jenkins, A., Healey, M. and Zetter, R. 2007. ... http://www.uq.edu.au/sbms/staff/dr-kirsten-zimbardi View all references). ...

SoTL stands for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. The acronym, said "sottle" or "sote-all," describes research that involves rigorous examination of teaching and learning by faculty who are actively involved in the educational process. The number of natural-science faculty engaged in SoTL is increasing, and their important work has broad implications for the measurement and improvement of college teaching and learning outcomes. The data show, however, that many faculty who conduct SoTL projects in science departments begin their education research careers with no training in SoTL research methodologies, and find they are working alone, with few colleagues who can nurture (or even understand) their efforts. In this article we provide a guide intended to help natural-science faculty initiate SoTL projects while they negotiate the mechanics and politics of developing and maintaining a SoTL research program in a science department.

It is established that authentic undergraduate research experiences in science are pivotal in providing context to student learning and providing a true sense of what it means to be a 'scientist'. It is also recognised that with the current reduction in the number of students ...

ABSTRACT A recent survey of undergraduate students in the Health Sciences revealed that a substantial proportion of physiotherapy students, occupational therapy students and speech pathology students at The University of Queensland do not prepare themselves for laboratory classes, and a substantial proportion of students fail to attend some laboratory classes. Recent studies (Krause et al 2005) have reported that today’s full-time students are likely to have an enormous workload based on full-time study and part-time (or full-time) work. Students tend to have individual coping mechanisms that rely on prioritising. Adequately preparing for laboratory classes becomes a low priority resulting in a diminished quality of the student learning experience and poor student outcomes may result. This project will develop Video on Demand broadcast (VODcast) ‘snapshots’ of the laboratory classes for students to access via mobile phone technology or the internet just prior to laboratory sessions. These VOD casts will show the main class activities and provide an introduction to the class topics and their wider implications. This project will harness the immediate nature and ease of access of new mobile learning (mLearning) technologies to motivate students to improve their laboratory class preparations and increase laboratory class attendance. By providing relevance and immediate purpose to their learning, students should be more engaged, leading to enhancement of their class experience and improved success rates. This in turn should increase the efficacy of the laboratory classes. The main aim of this presentation is to seek discussion with participants who have utilised similar technologies and to seek feedback as to whether such an approach and its wider application could be of benefit to these learners and also students in other disciplines.

ABSTRACT This seminar explores the undergraduate research experiences of second year science students at an Australian research intensive university through evidence gathered from survey, interview and narrative techniques. The pilot study uses a previously tested instrument adapted from the University of Colorado (Seymour et al, 2004) and forms part of a larger scale focus on undergraduate research activities across the university. It has been established that authentic undergraduate research experiences in science play an important role in providing context to student learning and providing a sense of what it means to be a 'scientist' (Boyer, 1998). There has been, however, some concern over the validity of the claims made relating to the extent of the impact that research experiences have on undergraduate students. Recent literature indicates that many authors are now concentrating on establishing credible instruments for assessing (Seymour etal 2004) and even measuring (Lopatto, 2004) the extent of the impact of research experiences. At The University of Queensland (UQ) there exists an array of programs and student-centred activities aimed at creating a strong link between undergraduates and the research culture which exists at UQ. The diversity of opportunities for students to engage in research at different levels, and to different extents, is often driven by discipline-specific differences and also by the level of experience of the student and the teacher. This is a widely recognised model for diversity within research experiences (Healey, 2005). However at UQ there has been little emphasis on the development of evaluation tools, or a focus on the need to provide evidence, to support the further development or expansion of undergraduate research experiences in science. Furthermore, there has been little growth in staff development activities to promote or expand the occurrence of quality research experiences for undergraduates. This pilot study focussed on the summer research experience of second year students in an undergraduate science course which involved independent research in a laboratory environment for 8-10 weeks. The study investigated student perceptions of the benefits they gained from the research experience they undertook. The study, which is still underway, will also investigate which benefits are still perceived by students almost a year after the experience, and if the experience influences student career plans. The study looked in detail at which experiences (positive and negative) occurred; at the frequency, similarities and differences of these experiences; looked at characteristics of the most ‘beneficial’ experiences; and investigated ‘student-identified benefits’ in a comparison to the Seymour etal study (2004) at University of Colorado at Boulder. In addition to the Seymour instrument and methodology, this study supplemented the investigation using narrative techniques to collect student stories. Narrative techniques are open ended in a way that surveys and structured interviews are not (Rixon, 2008). This combination of techniques produced rich data and provided a broad picture of student experiences. This seminar will build strongly on the conference themes of course and programme design and teaching methods, as well as promoting discussion on the theme of faculty development. In this seminar we will report on the data gathered in early 2009 and the first stage in our analysis, and lead discussion in three major areas: the role of undergraduate research experiences in shaping students the use of combinations of techniques for gathering data – survey, interview and narrative techniques the role for staff development initiatives that not only promote the value of undergraduate research experiences but also expand the diversity of design options available to provide research experiences in innovative ways.