Undergraduate Research Teams That Build Bridges, Produce Publishable Research, and Strengthen Grant Proposals.

Abstract

Engaging undergraduates in the research process is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a professor because it more deeply connects us to our work and helps shape the professional futures of students by immersing them in the culture of research (including peer-to-peer mentoring and authoring publications; Russell et al., 2007). But there is a real trick to working with undergraduates in a way that both shapes students' futures and produces high-quality, publishable research because mentors must invest a great deal of time developing undergraduates' technical and writing abilities, and this effort is time not spent on the research itself. In this article, we describe a powerful, flexible approach that makes the production of publishable research possible. For context, we teach and conduct research at a small liberal arts college with a population of just over 2,000 undergraduates. Research at primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs) does not benefit from a system of graduate students, post-docs, and paid research staff, so we have found it necessary to develop a structured, team-based approach to faculty-student research that provides excellent mentorship and produces publishable research (see Detweiler-Bedell and Detweiler-Bedell, 2013). Importantly, this team-based model can be put into practice with a broad array of students, including underrepresented and first-generation students. What we have learned in adopting this approach reflects a deeper appreciation of why certain details of faculty-student research (i.e., systematically laddering students' experiences to foster a sense of belonging and increase the efficiency of research) matter as much as they do, as well as the importance of best practices in designing and managing effective teams. Specifically, the most effective teams, according to Hackman (2002): (1) have clear boundaries, interdependence, and stability of membership (yet are semi-permeable) over time; (2) are given and share a compelling direction; (3) utilize a structure that enables teamwork; (4) have a supportive social context; and (5) receive competent coaching to help navigate challenges and take advantage of opportunities. Although it is beyond the scope of this short article to describe every aspect of our approach to structuring and mentoring undergraduate research teams, the value of this approach to a few key aspects of producing publishable research stand out: enhancing students' sense of belonging in order to build bridges to more diverse student populations, teaching collaborative writing, and securing funding for one's research.