In our previous post, we, the members of the Infant Development Lab, shared advice for students on how to prepare to present research posters. In Part 2 of this series, we will now share several ways faculty mentors can support…

“No idea is fully formed until it can be communicated.”   The Boyer Commission 1998 As we near the end of the academic year, many undergraduate research students and their mentors are planning to present research posters showcasing their accomplishments. In…

This semester, we have found ourselves thinking about the importance of research spaces for undergraduate research mentoring and research productivity. Dr. Thurman recently returned from a post-promotion sabbatical and rebuilt the infrastructure for her lab. Her psychology research program centers…

Making College “Worth It” – Season 2, Episode 4 In this episode, we consider how undergraduate research impacts a student’s inquiry, sense of belonging, and long-term career. Drawing from in-depth interviews with alumni across the disciplines, Kristine Johnson and Michael…

Hensel, Nancy, ed. 2024. Course-Based Undergraduate Research: Educational Equity and High-Impact Practice. Routledge. Coleman,  Jennifer, Nancy Hensel, and William E. Campbell, eds. 2024. Undergraduate Research in Online, Virtual, and Hybrid Courses. Routledge. Undergraduate research has long been recognized as a high-impact educational…

We are approaching the time of year many mentors begin thinking about onboarding new undergraduate (and graduate) student mentees in their research programs. This exciting time marks the beginning of what will hopefully become a meaningful and productive relationship (if…

Making College “Worth It” – Season 2, Episode 1 Dawn Whitehead and Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, two of the co-editors of Mentored Undergraduate Research in Global Contexts: Integrated High-Impact Practices for Student Success, join our podcast to talk about the intersection of…

As I come to the close of my work as the Faculty Fellow for Internships in Elon’s College of Arts and Sciences, I am transitioning into a role in our Undergraduate Research Program. In part due to fortuitous timing in…

Recently, I co-facilitated an undergraduate workshop about intentionally building connections with supportive faculty, staff, and peer mentors. In alignment with principles from relational mentoring, we collectively acknowledged that embracing some personal vulnerability was crucial for building meaningful interpersonal connections (Johnson…

Since 2019, I’ve been working with my colleague Paul Miller to create an institutional toolkit for fostering both students’ self-reflection and their mentoring conversations with peers, staff, and faculty in order to deepen students’ educational experiences. Our institution, Elon University,…