Seven Principles for Reimagining Undergraduate Research in the “Next Normal”

This article examines how to increase access to undergraduate research within the interdisciplinary field of writing studies. Drawing on experiences with this effort, the authors argue that students need a more diverse range of opportunities to participate in undergraduate research. The article presents and analyzes three case studies of undergraduate research in writing studies that expand traditional models.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the migration to online learning have presented unique challenges to undergraduate research, reducing opportunities to participate in highimpact practices, including in-person summer research programs. To mitigate some of these effects, Loyola Marymount University adapted its summer undergraduate research program, traditionally held as a six-week program on campus, to a remote structure. This article describes methods for migrating an existing program online and utilizes a mixed-methods approach to analyze student satisfaction and self-perceived changes in transferable knowledge and life skills and confidence in research ability. The data supported the hypothesis that a virtual summer research program can provide meaningful student research experiences, supportive relationships with faculty mentors, and an increase in students’ desire to pursue research opportunities in the future.

In an attempt to overcome barriers faced by engineering students, a strengths-based approach to an Introduction to Engineering course was developed and deployed at a minority-serving institution in the US Midwest. This course-based research experience provided an environment that allowed students to learn about various engineering disciplines and improve their communication skills while engaging in a constructivist-grounded process. Students were asked to construct their knowledge and make meaning of the engineering disciplines through the creation of a children’s book that introduced young readers to engineering. Although book creation in an engineering course may seem unconventional to many, this course produced students with sound communication skills and a fundamental understanding of engineering that has laid the foundation for their academic careers.

Research Experiences for Undergraduate (REU) programs often introduce students to scientific research and STEM career possibilities. However, the program impact on students and their research skill development is not well understood. In a case study with 10 REU students, the authors used eye-tracking and self-report data to determine student strategies for reading scientific papers and interpreting graphs at the beginning and end of the program. The strategies of REU students and science experts were then compared. The REU students changed their strategies and performed more like experts at posttest. These findings indicate that, during the REU, students acquired expert-like strategies necessary to engage with scientific articles and extract key information from graphs. The study demonstrates that eye-tracking can document skill growth in REU students.