Involving Students in Research Within the Classroom: Challenges and Opportunities

• In Event: Teaching and Learning Symposium Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 5: Mentorship and Research in the Classroom

Abstract

Involving undergraduate students in research as part of course design can be a tricky, but valuable pedagogical tool. In this session, I discuss my experience with having students across courses and across semesters conduct peer-facilitated interviews as part of a larger research project on Gen Z dating app use, a topic many of the students were familiar with and interested in exploring. I will discuss the processes, including helping students obtain their necessary IRB credentials, developing and providing training for undergraduate students to conduct qualitative interviews, and more. Importantly, I will illustrate approaches to address some of the challenges of having undergraduates collect data for a course assignment. Additionally, I will detail the pedagogical strengths, including increasing student engagement, commitment, and enthusiasm for the course material and assignment. In my experience incorporating this approach in my courses, tasking students with working on an IRB-approved research project with the potential for publication increased student participation and investment in the material and skills being taught in the course. Students showed excitement about the opportunities to provide feedback on interview guide, and their insight led to important and valuable changes in later iterations of the interview questions. This session will be particularly useful to teacher-scholars that prioritize involving students in scholarly inquiry within the classroom.

Author

• Shelby Lynn Clark, University of Arkansas