Helping Students Pace Research and Writing

Overview:

Student research projects have to be completed in finite time periods—often within one semester. Some student research at Lafayette, especially when completed in a lab with a team of fellow student researchers, is structured around a set timeline. There are a variety of steps that students can take to help keep them on track to produce high-quality work. How can faculty mentors guide students when it comes to research and project completion?

Advice from Lafayette Faculty:

On October 30, 2019, four faculty members gathered for a panel discussion about best practices to help students with research pacing. They were Prof. Tamara Carley (Geology), Prof. Brett Hendrickson (Religious Studies), Prof. Megan Rothenberger (Biology), and Prof. Ryan Van Horn (Chemical Engineering). You can view the full session here. 

Some of the principal themes that emerged during the panel had to do with structure:

• Make sure to have frequent meetings with students, at least weekly. These meetings let you talk about the content of the research and also to ensure they are writing as they go. 
• Provide a “syllabus” for the research experience that includes a plan with various goals and due dates. One option is to develop this syllabus in partnership with the student(s).
• Build student accountability into the project. For example, link part of the student’s grade to meeting certain benchmarks in a timely manner.
• Have students present their research even before the project is complete. For instance, they could present to fellow students on campus, or instructors could help them find undergraduate research conferences to attend.
• Scaffold longer projects with doable steps. For instance, have students turn in research notes, annotated bibliographies, outlines, etc. prior to completing the final project. For more ideas on scaffolding student research, see John C. Bean, Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom, 2nd ed. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011), 241-50.

Reference List:

Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2011.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. Fitzgerald. The Craft of Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016.

Crawford, Iain, Sara E. Orel, and Jenny Olin Shanahan, eds. How to Get Started in Arts and Humanities Research with Undergraduates. Washington, DC: Council on Undergraduate Research, 2014.

Deyrup, Martha, and Beth Bloom, eds. Successful Strategies for Teaching Undergraduate Research. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2013.

Jacobs, Heidi L. M. “Research Questions and the Research Question: What Are We Teaching When Teach Research?” In Successful Strategies for Teaching Undergraduate Research, edited by Marta Mestrovic Deyrup and Beth Bloom, 1–12. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2013.

Lattimer, Heather. Surviving and Thriving with Teacher Action Research: Reflections and Advice from the Field. New York: Peter Lang, 2015.

Lipson, Charles. How to Write a BA Thesis: A Practical Guide from Your First Ideas to Your Finished Paper. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005.

McNary-Zak, Bernadette, and Rebecca Todd Peters. Teaching Undergraduate Research in Religious Studies. Book, Edited. New York: Oxford University Press, 2011.

Temple, Louise, Thomas Q. Sibley, and Amy J. Orr, eds. How to Mentor Undergraduate Researchers. Washington, DC: Council on Undergraduate Research, 2010.

Vandermaas-Peeler, Maureen, Paul C. Miller, and Jessie L. Moore. “Considering Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research in Context.” In Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research, edited by Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Paul C. Miller, and Jessie L. Moore, 1–18. Washington, DC: Council on Undergraduate Research, 2018.

Walkington, Helen, Eric E. Hall, Jenny Olin Shanahan, Elizabeth Ackley, and Kearsley Stewart. “Striving for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research: The Challenges and Approaches to 10 Salient Practices.” In Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research, edited by Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Paul C. Miller, and Jessie L. Moore, 105–30. Washington, DC: Council on Undergraduate Research, 2018.