COE Communicator October 2016 | Page 30

University of Kentucky College of Education

University of Kentucky College of Education

STEM EDUCATION

RESEARCH EXPERIENCES

College of Education Undergraduate Research Fellows Present Work at National Conference

The University of Kentucky College of Education ’ s STEM Education Department was recently a host site for the National Science Foundation ’ s Research Experiences for Undergraduates ( REU ) program .
Principal investigator associate professor and director of graduate studies Molly Fisher and co-PI professor and department chair Jennifer Wilhelm received funding for the project to help undergraduates explore and participate in research projects in STEM Education .
As an REU site , the STEM Education Department hosts a cohort of undergraduates who work in its research projects . Each student is associated with a specific research project and works closely with faculty mentors and other researchers
throughout the academic year .
As one of their culminating projects for this year ’ s cohort , Fisher recently took the students to the National Council of Undergraduate Research ( NCUR ) Conference in Asheville , North Carolina , where each undergraduate research team presented their work from this past year .
“ Being involved in undergrad research has helped me not only add great experience to my resume , but also given me an opportunity to see what graduate work could be like so I can plan my future ,” said student Meredith Davis , a special education major .
“ Getting an early start on resume building experiences and research has helped me get a step ahead of my peers ,
16 | COE COMMUNICATOR | OCTOBER 2016