Scholarship and Practice of Undergraduate Research
Latest Publications

A simulation of the international climate negotiations was designed for more than 50 students of political science and other study programs dealing with sustainability. A key advantage of such simulations is that they are highly adaptable to groups of different sizes, academic backgrounds, or learning levels and can be used to teach a number of major concepts within the same framework.. the primary objective of such simulations is that students grasp the difficulties to achieve collective action

The authors present student self-reported learning gains from two undergraduate courses that embed research within study abroad courses. Students in one course worked in small groups on original research projects; students in the second course collectively contributed to one ongoing, professional research project. Differences in student learning between courses raise questions about the relationship of course structures to high-impact practices.

Reviewed by Gita Bangera. Erin L. Dolan (University of Georgia) and Gabriela C. Weaver (University of Massachusetts Amherst) have set out on an ambitious venture to create a comprehensive guide to course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) in the natural sciences. Their goal is to support faculty, and to some extent administrators, who would like to develop and implement CUREs as a pedagogical tool in higher education.

The Polaris Project, a National Science Foundation–funded program at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, aims to comprehensively address minority participation in climate and Arctic science research. Critical participant outcomes included development of interdisciplinary research projects, involvement in self-efficacy and advocacy experiences, and increased awareness and discussion of Arctic research careers.

Through interviews with 28 students and 17 mentors from a campus-wide undergraduate research program, common themes in the responses to COVID-19-related impacts were found. Students had to adjust to the type or scope of their research obligations while handling academic responsibilities, and mentors explicitly considered students’ well-being above expectations related to research.

From 2012 through 2020, students in an introductory environmental engineering course have used a service-learning project to research climate resilience challenges and solutions. Issues of local significance exacerbated by climate change are connected to global concerns in three to four sessions of the three-hour laboratory portion of the course. The research is reported in briefs, reports, or conversational blogs.

Issue editor Lisa Gates provides an introduction to the fall 2021 SPUR issue

To improve model performance and study climate change impacts across physical, biological, and social systems, model intercomparison projects (MIPs) are regularly conducted. MIPs represent a crucial tool for undergraduate researchers to meaningfully contribute to climate change research.

The authors present a new approach to show how interdisciplinary collaborations among a group of institutions can provide a unique opportunity for students to engage across the science-policy nexus using the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Through collaboration across seven higher education institutions in the United States and Australia, virtual student research teams worked together across disciplines.

In recent years, advocates for research-based education have publicized many examples of passive research involvement, defined as undergraduates learning about the content and lived experience of research at their institution. But the qualitative dimensions of passive research involvement remain unknown. The results show a range of experiences in student learning about faculty research.