HIGHLIGHT #1 | 115
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH (UR): CONTEXT, BENEFITS AND UR IN ACTION
research, and may be considered in future iterations of the project.
Conclusions - Next Steps
The conference project has so far made encouraging progress.
Keynote speakers are confirmed and the process of confirming the
running order of undergraduate presenters will be completed by the
middle of March. Several development opportunities are available to
those selected to present at the conference. The Student Learning
team is offering informal coaching and mentoring, as well as more
formal workshops to develop academic and presentation practices.
The undergraduate student body will be made aware, over the
coming months, of how they can sign up to attend this conference.
Once it has been held, all conference abstracts will be published in
JADE detailing the conference proceedings and we then expect to
see a gradual stream of publications arising from the event from
both the students who took part and the team delivering it.
UR presents an opportunity to engage students as consumer and
creators of knowledge. The following quote sums up the pedagogical
potential of UR in allowing students to enact the full cycle of a
complete research cycle leading to further areas of inquiry:
“To research, we embark on a voyage of discovery launched
by curiosity or need...The education of students should lead
them to ask research questions of increasing sophistication,
specificity, depth and breadth which set them on a journey
towards making the unknown known”. (Willison & O’Regan,
2007: 400)
As well as the significant skills and knowledge benefits for those
students taking part, this is a growing field of research that allows
us, as staff members, to potentially understand the motivations
behind students to learn and produce once we remove the carrot
- or stick, depending on your perspective - of assessments and
summative grading.
Acknowledgements
The JADE Student Learning Undergraduate Conference is part
of a funded Teaching Innovation Project (TIP), funded by Keele’s
Learning and Professional Development Centre (LPDC). I would like
to thank colleagues in the Student Learning team for their support
in this project as well as Jo Lea for her help in promoting the
conference to learners in her role as Vice-President for Education
with Keele University Student’s Union.