Abstract

Independent of institution size and faculty research expectations, a growing number of colleges and universities encourage their undergraduates to engage in some form of research experience. To mee...

Highlights

  • Undergraduate research is quickly becoming the expectation rather than the exception among college undergraduates, especially among those students planning to attend graduate school

  • This article includes advice gleaned from the National Science Foundation-sponsored Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics (CURM) faculty workshop in conjunction with personal experiences from the author, a CURM mini-grant recipient

  • This is one aspect of CURM that sets this experience apart from summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs), where students often have the research as their primary and, in many cases, only focus

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Summary

Introduction

Undergraduate research is quickly becoming the expectation rather than the exception among college undergraduates, especially among those students planning to attend graduate school. The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs) model, which. While REUs provide excellent opportunities for students to conduct research and gain experiences in working in research groups, this model often provides little training for the mentors, many of whom are either still in graduate school or have freshly crossed over into the role of assistant professor. While I had many opportunities in graduate school to interact with and collaborate with undergraduates, I was never an official research mentor. My co-mentoring experience as a postdoc provided valuable insight, yet when it came time for me to step into the primary and sole mentor role, I harbored significant apprehension. The information I came away with from the CURM faculty workshop changed the way I mentor and gave me the confidence I needed to successfully lead and sustain an undergraduate research programme in biomathematics at my institution. I include questions to consider when planning for undergraduate research in mathematics, with an emphasis in applied and interdisciplinary projects, and suggestions for tackling various aspects of undergraduate research mentoring

The CURM model
Determine your desired outcomes
Pick an appropriate research problem
Select students
Let the research begin
Set expectations early and often
Provide support and encouragement
Reading mathematics
Writing skills
Presentation skills
Anticipate conflict
Things to try next time
Conclusion
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