Strong faculty relationships and academic motivation as potential outcomes of undergraduate research

Abstract

Student benefits of faculty-mentored research have become a widely celebrated component of undergraduate education in many disciplines. The popularity of undergraduate research experiences (URE) has been on the rise as an alternative method of teaching outside the classroom, especially in the last couple of decades (Landrum & Nelson, 2002; Locks & Gregerman, 2008), and the belief in the benefits of such experiences are evidenced by an accompanying rise in the number of studies attempting to ascertain exactly what undergraduate research students are doing that makes them successful after graduation. The purpose of this study was to examine academic motivation and positive student-faculty relationships as benefits of an individually mentored undergraduate research experience. Types of Undergraduate Research Experiences There are numerous models of how students can engage in undergraduate research. Some of these experiences are gained during the academic year while others are concentrated over a summer term (Lopatto, 2004). Many larger institutions have highly competitive selection processes where faculty members are able to select among seasoned student researchers. Undergraduates may also be mentored by graduate students or post-doctoral students instead of full time faculty members at these institutions (Whiteside, et al., 2007). On the other end of the spectrum, a faculty member and student may simply agree to spend time on a project that began as a class assignment or that the faculty member is already pursuing. Another model has students travel away from their home institution to be mentored individually or as part of a team by other faculty or research staff (e.g., Page, Abramson & Jacobs-Lawson, 2004). Some student researchers receive funding, but many pay tuition for the experience. The Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR) lists different types of student research, including introductory or advanced classroom research courses, independent research projects such as theses, paid research positions, and volunteer positions (Cooley, Garcia, & Hughes 2008). Benefits of Undergraduate Research Experiences The list of beneficial outcomes generated by students' research experiences is long and varied. In general, research experiences may make participants better students (Lopatto, 2010) and provide more meaningful academic experiences (Kuh, 2003). Numerous studies indicate that students involved in undergraduate research possess specific skills that employers value, such as good time management (Bauer & Bennett, 2003; Campbell & Skoog, 2004; Kardash, Wallace & Blockus, 2008; Trosset, Lopatto, & Elgin, 2008), strong leadership qualities (Kardash, 2000), effective problem solving and critical thinking (Hakim, 1998; Ishiyama, 2002; Lopatto, 2007; 2010), a stronger sense of professional competence (Searight, Ratwick & Smith, 2010), an ability to handle uncertainty (Guterman, 2007), and improved organization and statistical skills (Starke, 1985). Preliminary evidence suggests that students with undergraduate research experience are more likely to be retained (Locks & Gregerman, 2008; Lopatto, 2004; Nagda, Gregerman, Jonides, von Hippel, & Lerner, 1998). Likewise, Craney and colleagues (2011) found retention to be more likely, especially for students who received funding to participate in research experiences. While one of the most commonly proclaimed benefits of UREs is likelihood to attend (Bauer & Bennet, 2003) or be accepted into more competitive graduate schools (Kremer & Bringle, 1990; Page, et al., 2004), more recent reports suggest this may be the case for only a small subset (Lopatto, 2005; 2010). Schneider (2004) proposed that students who participate in undergraduate research and subsequently attend graduate school may arrive better prepared and with less naivete about research than students without such research experience. A less commonly assessed but interesting benefit of student research is improved attitudes toward science and deeper understanding of research methods (Campisi & Finn, 2011; Laursen & Hunter, 2012). …