Students Building Skills

Research

Students Building Skills through Research, Inquiry and Creative Expression

Presented by Michael Blanda, Darryl Borgonah, DeDe Gonzales, and Eric Paulson

Brief Description

Undergraduate and graduate student research and creative expression will be enhanced through a formal process of inquiry, either independently or collaboratively, whereby existing information is built upon to create new knowledge that will drive innovation in their respective disciplines or across disciplines.

Goals

  • Increase opportunities for innovative research, inquiry, and creative expression experiences at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
  • Foster a university-wide culture for innovative research, inquiry, and creative expression.
  • Increase student utilization of resources designed to support research, inquiry, and creative expression.
  • Increase university-wide recognition for undergraduate and graduate student research, inquiry, and creative expression.

Strategies for Implementation

  • Establish an undergraduate research office to serve as a research clearinghouse that connects students and faculty research interests.
  • Increase resources for undergraduate research.
  • Increase professional development opportunities for faculty to include inquiry and research skills into coursework.
  • Emphasize interdisciplinary research.
  • Introduce the concept of research into US 1100 courses and/or other freshmen level courses.
  • Collaborate with academic advisors to increase student awareness of research opportunities.
  • Market student research opportunities.
  • Institutionalize research opportunities created/initiated by externally funded projects.
  • Offer more merit-based research scholarships.
  • Increase the number of graduate research assistantships.

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Student Learning Outcome 1: Students will demonstrate the ability to comprehend, synthesize, and interpret information associated with research, inquiry, or creative expression appropriate to their discipline.
  • Student Learning Outcome 2: Students will demonstrate the ability to design and implement a research, inquiry, or creative expression project appropriate to their discipline.
  • Student Learning Outcome 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate and disseminate the results of research, inquiry, or creative expression project in a way appropriate to their discipline.
  • Student Learning Outcome 4: Students will demonstrate the ability to understand ethical aspects of research, inquiry, or creative expression in a way appropriate to their discipline.
  • Student Learning Outcome 5: Students will demonstrate an increase in the perceptions they place on the value of research, inquiry, or creative expression.

Justification of the Topic

As we attest in our new mission statement, Texas State University is a doctoral-granting, student-centered institution dedicated to excellence and innovation in teaching, research, including creative expression, and service. The university strives to create new knowledge, to embrace a diversity of people and ideas, to foster cultural and economic development, and to prepare its graduates to participate fully and freely as citizens of Texas, the nation, and the world.

In fulfillment of its mission, Texas State University plans to institute a research-based quality enhancement plan for student learning outcomes that encompasses our shared values:

  • Teaching and learning based on research, student involvement, and the free exchange of ideas in a supportive environment;
  • Research and creative activities that encompass the full range of academic disciplines—research with relevance, from the sciences to the arts, from the theoretical to the applied;
  • The cultivation of character, integrity, honesty, civility, compassion, fairness, respect, and ethical behavior in all members of our university community;
  • A diversity of people and ideas, a spirit of inclusiveness, a global perspective, and a sense of community as essential conditions for campus life;
  • A commitment to service and leadership for the public good;
  • Responsible stewardship of our resources and environment; and
  • Continued reflection and evaluation to ensure that our strengths as a community always benefit those we serve.

The mission and core values of the university are manifested in the student learning outcomes identified in this summary and serve as justification for the investment of time, talent, money and other resources required for this is endeavor as demonstrated by the specific goal to “Achieve significant progress in research and creative activity as measured by national standards” that is articulated in our 2017-23 University Plan.

Indeed, there are many efforts currently underway including classroom-based instruction, field studies, independent projects, theses, and dissertations. Programmatically, there are student-centric research programs such as the Undergraduate Research Fund and Research Conference sponsored by the Honors College and the International Graduate Research Conference.

Furthermore, reviewing the National Research University Fund (NRUF) eligibility criteria along with with the research strategic plan reinforces the synergy between research (as broadly defined to include all disciplines) and the highest quality college education. The inclusive culture of research that has developed here is a particular strength of the university that will ultimately propel us towards our institutional goals and beyond. Accordingly, our commitment to become a research university should serve as the framework for the learning environment we create to foster both graduate and undergraduate education in all academic disciplines. Regardless of the students’ career path, a constant infusion of hands-on, inquiry-based experiential learning opportunities will better prepare our students to face the rigors of a rapidly changing world and equip them with skills that will enable their success. In doing so, we would mirror our credo of “Research with Relevance” by establishing complementary “Instruction with Relevance”.

Moreover, the educational environment and culture should seamlessly integrate research into the curriculum as well as extracurricular activities. In doing so the student learning outcomes listed above are not only achievable but inevitable.

Benefits to the Institution and Students

Institutional Benefits

  • Aid in the efforts of Texas State to achieve its goal as one of the Emerging Research Universities (ERU) in the State of Texas by creating a campus-wide culture of research.
  • Increase student retention, especially among underrepresented and minority groups.
  • Increase graduate student enrollment by providing an internal pipeline.
  • Increase external funding particularly in programs like the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates and the McNair Foundation’s Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program.
  • Provide opportunities for the university to garner donations and support from corporations, foundations, and professional societies.

Student Benefits

  • Work one-on-one with faculty
  • Work in diverse teams
  • Prepare for graduate-level study
  • Contribute to the creation of new knowledge
  • Sharpen critical and analytical thinking skills
  • Complement and extend classroom learning
  • Enhance confidence in abilities
  • Explore interests and clarify career goals
  • Learn about research ethics
  • Present and publish results
  • Share in developed intellectual property

Evaluation and Assessment Strategies

Measuring Student Learning Outcomes

  • Student Learning Outcome 1 will be measured through a pre/post assessment of knowledge about research, inquiry, or creative expression information. The assessment will be developed in-house. The pre-assessment will be deployed in an introductory course in each discipline and the post-assessment will be deployed in an upper-division course in the same discipline.
  • Student Learning Outcome 2 will be measured by a rubric developed in-house and completed by the instructor (or chair of the committee) that evaluates the project.
  • Student Learning Outcome 3 will be measured by an increase in the number of students publicly presenting their project of research, inquiry, or creative expression in a public forum appropriate to their academic discipline. (If a competition is developed, each college would host public presentations of research which are evaluated using a rubric. A composite score would be developed for each college. In addition, the rubric would be used for judging a campus-wide event. The composite score would be reported.)
  • Student Learning Outcome 4 will be measured through a pre/post assessment of ethics knowledge about research, inquiry, or creative expression. The assessment will be developed in-house. The pre-assessment will be deployed in an introductory course in each discipline and the post-assessment will be deployed in an upper-division course in the same discipline.
  • Student Learning Outcome 5 will be measured by a pre/post assessment scale developed in-house.

Other Evaluation Metrics

  • Number of participating students
  • Diversity of majors represented
  • The number of students presenting or publishing research work
  • The number of students co-authoring refereed papers with faculty
  • Increased enrollment in graduate programs
  • Increases in undergraduate theses
  • Increases in graduate theses and dissertations
  • Increases in internships
  • Increased international experiences resulting from research opportunities

Description of How the University Mission and Goals will be Met

Mission Statement - Texas State University is a doctoral-granting, student-centered institution dedicated to excellence and innovation in teaching, research, including creative expression, and service. The university strives to create new knowledge, to embrace a diversity of people and ideas, to foster cultural and economic development, and to prepare its graduates to participate fully and freely as citizens of Texas, the nation, and the world.

The QEP theme of “Students Building Skills through Research, Inquiry, and Creative Expression” aligns with the mission statement by recognizing that the learning outcomes of all students are at the heart of everything we do as an institution and by explicitly acknowledging the processes of research and creative expression as mechanisms for the creation of new knowledge that can impact both economic and cultural development. By including all students and disciplines in research and creative expression we strive to be all-inclusive in creating access and encouraging participation in this theme.

University Plan Goals that are met by this QEP theme.

  • Goal 1: Promote the Success of All Students.
  • Initiative 1.3: Increase student retention and graduation rates. Research has shown that involving students in research-related activities increases both retention and graduation rates, particularly for underrepresented groups.
  • Goal 2: Offer high quality academic and educational programming.
  • Initiative 2.4: Improve the capabilities in our learning spaces and learning environments to better foster creativity, enable collaboration, and encourage discovery. Enhancing the research infrastructure (e.g. Library, labs and other learning environments) is a continuous improvement process.
  • Initiative 2.7: Increase national and international visibility and presence by supporting curricular and co-curricular initiatives that prepare students to be responsible citizens. Research/creative opportunities greatly enrich all students’ learning experiences and enhance their preparation for the work force, certification programs and professional and graduate school. Ultimately it will provide a stronger foundation to face the challenges and opportunities of our modern society.
  • Goal 3: Achieve significant progress in research and creative activity as measured by national standards.
  • Initiative 3.1: Achieve National Research University Fund (NRUF) eligibility. The quality of incoming Freshman classes is an optional requirement of the NRUF eligibility.
  • Initiative 3.2: Develop new graduate programs to advance the university’s research goals. The quality of graduate programs is an optional requirement of the NRUF eligibility.
  • Initiative 3.3: Encourage and promote student research opportunities. This directly ties to the QEP theme and is the prime mechanism for its operationalization and assessment.
  • Initiative 3.5: Foster a university-wide culture that promotes, rewards, and celebrates interdisciplinary research, scholarship, creative activity, innovation, and community engagement. Instilling in students the value of cross-pollination of ideas and people in research and creative expression will broaden their perspectives gained through their academic majors.