K-12 Participation Is Instrumental In Enhancing Undergraduate Research And Scholarship Experience

Abstract

This article reports a case of incorporating a field-based ecological project as a resource into an undergraduate research and scholarship (RS) intensive course. Student research projects were conducted in an outdoor experimental compound with wetland mesocosms as well as in local created wetlands to study soil organic matter content as part of an on-going research project that focuses on the abilities of wetland in sequestering carbon. The course, designated as a RS intensive course by the university in both biology and environmental science, was also newly designed with a K-12 outreach component for training undergraduates in science education and communication. The public presentation component required all participating undergraduates to present and communicate their semester-long science project outcomes to and with K-12 students invited from local middle and high schools at the end of the semester. This activity challenged the students to review their study backgrounds, concepts, and results thoroughly to be able to explain them to and answer a variety of questions from K-12 students. The activity seemed to enhance research and scholarship experiences among the undergraduate students, being more effective than presenting to their own peers in a classroom setting. The students also learned all major steps in doing science, including exercises in literature review, building hypotheses, lab/fieldwork and data analysis. The experience obtained and approach taken in the study may be considered and adopted in reinforcing undergraduate RS experiences at other institutions and in other disciplines.