Teaching through (Experimental) Research

1. Teaching through (Experimental) Research • Paul A. Flowers • Department of Physical Science

3. Categories of Scientific Research

5. Who Conducts Scientific Research? • Ph.D. scientists in all settings (ideas and direction) • M.S. scientists in some industrial settings (“right-hand” people) • B.S. scientists in industry (“technicians”) • B.S. scientists in academia (graduate students in M.S. and Ph.D. programs) • non-degree scientists in academia (undergraduate research assistants)

7. Support forUndergraduate Research • financial support from the “usual” sources, best chances with those programs targeting PUIs (NSF-RUI, NSF-REU, ACS-PRF(B), etc.) • modest funding (e.g., for supplies) might be obtained via departmental budgets or other internal sources (e.g., UNCP Faculty Research & Development Committee) • “nonfunds” support from colleagues and various organizations (e.g., CUR, NCUR)

9. ...the CUR Quarterly is devoted to truly “front-line” issues in undergraduate research in physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and psychology...

10. Conferences for Presentation of Undergraduate Research • on-campus (often discipline-specific, sometimes interdisciplinary, more common at large universities) • state/regional (NCAS, SOARS, sectional meetings of professional organizations like ACS, etc.) • national (NCUR, special symposia at professional society conferences, etc.)

11. …many universities highlight the research efforts of their undergraduates in campus publications, e.g., the UNCA Journal of Undergraduate Research...

12. …in its seventh year, the annual North Carolina Conference on Undergraduate Research provides a forum for presentation of undergraduate research in various disciplines...

13. ...the annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research is the premiere, nationwide forum for presentation of undergraduate scholarship of all disciplines...

14. stimulates student and faculty intellect may further professional development of faculty enhances student credentials nearly ideal vehicle for student learning requires large amounts of time (student supervision, quest for funds, publication, etc.) rarely carries “credit” towards faculty workloads (inherently small student-teacher ratio) Good News Bad News

15. Thoughts on a “Remedy”(...smells like curriculum reform...) • design research projects both scientifically sound and conducive to undergraduate involvment (may require alterations of faculty “interests”) • incorporate project-related research activities into existing, traditional curricula, hence receiving workload credit by default • strive towards individual, department, and university commitment (sequentially)

16. One Example Nearly Begun... • “Electrochemistry of Carbon Dioxide Dissolved in Molten Ammonium Salts” • project’s experimental work encompasses the techniques typically included in a traditional advanced analytical chemistry course • students in CHM 327 will become a “research group” during the semester’s second half, working independently on various aspects of the project • exploits a recently implemented, laboratory-intensive course format (for details, see the course webpage at www.uncp.edu/home/pwf/327.htm)

19. Concluding Thoughts • in learning science, there’s no substitute for traditional experimental research, closely supervised by a faculty mentor • in many PUI environments, there’s no way to realistically engage a justifiable enrollment in such research (“justifiable” in terms of concrete administrative realities like FTEs) • consequently, undergraduate research supervision is essentially pro bono in regard to faculty workloads • in this light, complementation of research and traditional curriculum concepts might be a viable compromise