The Office of Student Engagement and Experiential Learning (OSEEL) invites faculty to engage students in discussing and reflecting on the Council on Undergraduate Research's definition of undergraduate research.
This is part of a multi-faceted effort to engage the NIU community in the question "What is knowledge creation?" This effort arises from the recognition that "research" takes on different meanings when attached to various disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary inquiry-based endeavors.
Share the recently revised definition on undergraduate research and the previous definition with your students. Ask students to consider the similarities and differences between the two definitions to facilitate a discussion about the meaning of "research."
Undergraduate research, scholarship and creative inquiry is fundamentally a pedagogical approach to teaching and learning. With an emphasis on process, CUR defines undergraduate research as: A mentored investigation or creative inquiry conducted by undergraduates that seeks to make a scholarly or artistic contribution to knowledge.
An inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate student that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline.
Employ the following prompts to facilitate a conversation:
Encourage students to submit their reflections to OSEEL. Reflection statements will be shared on the CURE webpage. Students will be encouraged to participate in the Undergraduate Research Month kickoff event where further exploration of knowledge creation will be facilitated among faculty and students across disciplines.