Michelle Osborn
From the Desk of the Committee for Early-Career Anatomists
Harnessing the Power of Undergraduate Researchers
By Michelle Osborn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University
You, as a new faculty member, are challenged with balancing the stress of a new professional position in a new department, a new teaching load, service responsibilities, and the desire and necessity to build your own research lab. Adding to this challenge may be a heavy teaching load (as many anatomists have), little to no grant funding, difficulties in obtaining graduate students, or simply not feeling ready to mentor graduate students. But research, especially for those on the tenure track, must continue and preferably with as little time wasted as possible.
You can build your research lab with undergraduate researchers in a way that is mutually beneficial for you and the student(s). While you develop or fine-tune your mentoring style, and your lab organization and managerial skills, you will be introducing undergraduate students to research and professional science.
Undergraduates learn/practice many skills while doing research, including time-management, collaboration, lab/field techniques, and communication. They also develop on both personal (e.g., increased confidence from problem-solving with a faculty member) and professional (e.g., exploring career options with a mentor familiar with their personal skills, interests, and work ethic) fronts (Hunter et al., 2006). Students may remain in your lab for their entire undergraduate career, which is time to fully develop a nice project for an undergraduate thesis, local and national presentations, and publication. As students become “senior” in the lab, they can gain leadership experience by helping with the training of incoming students.
This arrangement can work extremely well, but there are, of course, potential pitfalls. You will need to carefully select research projects or portions of research projects for undergraduate researchers and keep a steady eye (perhaps more so than for graduate students) on their progress; they may be less reliable from inexperience or slower-moving than the graduate students for whom research is a top priority.
As with any student, maturity level will vary; students should be supervised in the lab and trust earned before freedoms or rewards are given. Also, not every student will want to stay with you for years; they are often still unsure about what they are looking for in a career and should be encouraged to explore all that is offered, while also being taught to finish what they have started. They may or may not come with this particular sensibility and this is the very time to teach it so that your own research program does not suffer. However, you should be prepared with potential “exit points” within the research that allow for the departure of a student; working closely with your students, listening to their comments, and asking probing questions will help you foresee such circumstances. This same can be done for those students that decide they are not interested in research, generally speaking, or the research done in your lab, specifically.
Many universities have an established mechanism that supports undergraduate research programs. These include: the presence of an honors college, where students may conduct research and prepare a thesis; various grant-funded undergraduate research programs [e.g., the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs); the NIH Bridges to Baccalaureate program involving community college students; the McNair Scholars program]; and summer undergraduate research programs at medical and professional schools. Research problems may also be given to promising and interested work study students. If your institution is currently lacking such a useful program, look into establishing one.
Hunter A-B, Laursen SL, Seymour E. 2006. Becoming a Scientist: The Role of Undergraduate Research in Students’ Cognitive, Personal, and Professional Development. Science Education 91:36-74.
Harnessing the Power of Undergraduate Researchers
By Michelle Osborn, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Louisiana State University
You, as a new faculty member, are challenged with balancing the stress of a new professional position in a new department, a new teaching load, service responsibilities, and the desire and necessity to build your own research lab. Adding to this challenge may be a heavy teaching load (as many anatomists have), little to no grant funding, difficulties in obtaining graduate students, or simply not feeling ready to mentor graduate students. But research, especially for those on the tenure track, must continue and preferably with as little time wasted as possible.
You can build your research lab with undergraduate researchers in a way that is mutually beneficial for you and the student(s). While you develop or fine-tune your mentoring style, and your lab organization and managerial skills, you will be introducing undergraduate students to research and professional science.
Undergraduates learn/practice many skills while doing research, including time-management, collaboration, lab/field techniques, and communication. They also develop on both personal (e.g., increased confidence from problem-solving with a faculty member) and professional (e.g., exploring career options with a mentor familiar with their personal skills, interests, and work ethic) fronts (Hunter et al., 2006). Students may remain in your lab for their entire undergraduate career, which is time to fully develop a nice project for an undergraduate thesis, local and national presentations, and publication. As students become “senior” in the lab, they can gain leadership experience by helping with the training of incoming students.
This arrangement can work extremely well, but there are, of course, potential pitfalls. You will need to carefully select research projects or portions of research projects for undergraduate researchers and keep a steady eye (perhaps more so than for graduate students) on their progress; they may be less reliable from inexperience or slower-moving than the graduate students for whom research is a top priority.
As with any student, maturity level will vary; students should be supervised in the lab and trust earned before freedoms or rewards are given. Also, not every student will want to stay with you for years; they are often still unsure about what they are looking for in a career and should be encouraged to explore all that is offered, while also being taught to finish what they have started. They may or may not come with this particular sensibility and this is the very time to teach it so that your own research program does not suffer. However, you should be prepared with potential “exit points” within the research that allow for the departure of a student; working closely with your students, listening to their comments, and asking probing questions will help you foresee such circumstances. This same can be done for those students that decide they are not interested in research, generally speaking, or the research done in your lab, specifically.
Many universities have an established mechanism that supports undergraduate research programs. These include: the presence of an honors college, where students may conduct research and prepare a thesis; various grant-funded undergraduate research programs [e.g., the NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs); the NIH Bridges to Baccalaureate program involving community college students; the McNair Scholars program]; and summer undergraduate research programs at medical and professional schools. Research problems may also be given to promising and interested work study students. If your institution is currently lacking such a useful program, look into establishing one.
Hunter A-B, Laursen SL, Seymour E. 2006. Becoming a Scientist: The Role of Undergraduate Research in Students’ Cognitive, Personal, and Professional Development. Science Education 91:36-74.
