Thinking About Design: A
Multiplicity of Options
Cathryn A. Manduca
SERC, Carleton College
With help from the Keck Geology
Consortium
The Importance of Design
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What are your goals?
What are your resources?
What are your constraints?
Program success depends on
designing activities that meet your
goals, taking advantage of
resources, and working around
constraints. There are many
possible goals and successful
designs.
Possible Goals
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For Students
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Applying classroom
learning to a research
problem
Testing interest in
geoscience careers
Exploring what it is like to
do science
Job skills: technical,
communication,
collaboration
Self-confidence
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For Faculty
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Explore a new research area
Publishable research
Collaboration with students,
community or scientists
For Institution
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Connections to community
High visibility program
Faculty professional
development
What are your resources?
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Who are your students? What are their
strengths? Goals?
What research facilities or field sites are
available?
Who are your natural collaborators?
What funding is available or obtainable?
Critical Elements of a Project
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Defining the
Problem
Developing the
Research Plan
Collecting and
Interpreting the Data
Communicating the
Results
Defining the Problem
What are the issues?
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Student ownership of problem
Meaningful well-defined problem
Doable within time, equipment, logistical
and funding constraints
Aligned with lab priorities and research
plan
Student preparation and knowledge
level
Possible strategies
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Mentor student through literature and
guide them in developing project
Introduce to a problem and choose from
a list of possible projects
Whole group collaborates to pick
projects
Students are given a project
Developing the Research Plan— What
are the issues?
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Will it answer the question?
Is it doable with reasonable time,
equipment, personnel costs?
Can the student learn the techniques?
Interpret the results?
Does the plan address learning goals?
Does the plan maximize the experience
for all of the students?
Possible Strategies
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Proposal writing and review cycle
Student develops plan using specified
techniques
Standard protocols for data collection
Collecting and Interpreting Data—
What are the Issues?
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Teaching techniques
Catching bad data early
Technical glitches/lab schedules
Managing time and interdependencies
Support vs. independence
Meeting responsibilities to funders and
project
Possible Strategies
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One-on-one mentoring
Peer mentoring/research teams
Structured reporting/check points
Communicating Results
What are the issues?
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Successful quality presentation
Meaningful venue
Review and debate
Possible Strategies
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In-class research group presentations
On-campus or national research fairs
Professional society meetings
Community presentations
Internet discussion groups
Papers reviewed by students or
scientists
How to decide?
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Goals
Opportunities
Constraints
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Time
Number of Students
Preparation of
Students
Finances
Lab/field set-up
Evaluation shows there are
many pathways to success
Pictures of different kinds of projects
References
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Council on Undergraduate Research (www.cur.org)
Keck Geology Consortium (keck.carleton.edu)
Broadly Defined Goals for Undergraduate Research Projects: A Basis
for Program Evaluation, CUR Quarterly, December 1997, 64-68
Learning Science Through Research: The Keck Geology Consortium
Undergraduate Research Program, Geotimes, October 1997, 27-30
The Value of Undergraduate Research Experiences: Reflections from
Keck Geology Consortium Alumni, CUR Quarterly, March 1996, 176178
Project Kaleidoscope, Research Rich Environment, www.pkal.org