Presentation:

In many fields of study, success in research requires not only sophisticated experimental and analytical skills, but good mentoring and managerial skills as well. In 2001, Janet Rankin of the Division of Engineering at Brown University established the "Facilitating Effective Research" (FER) program to provide graduate students and post-doctoral students with a forum to discuss issues inherent in the effective management of research activities and the mentoring of undergraduates. The need for this program arose from the fact that graduate students and post-docs are often responsible for the day-to-day supervision of undergraduate research.

The FER program, now offered annually at the beginning of the summer, is designed to help participating graduate students and post-docs in their management roles during their time at Brown, and to help prepare them for successful careers when they enter academe or industry. Additionally, by helping graduate students and post-docs consider the issues and factors inherent in effective management and mentoring, the FER program greatly enhances the research experiences of the undergraduates.

In many science departments, graduate students and post-docs are often responsible for the day-to-day supervision of undergraduates in laboratory and other research settings. This close working-relationship between graduate students/post-docs and undergraduates can be very rewarding for all parties, but often, the graduate students and post-docs are given little explicit guidance about planning research tasks, or how best to guide and manage undergraduate students. To help make the research experience more meaningful for the undergraduates and more rewarding for the graduate students and post-docs, the Division of Engineering (supported by the National Science Foundation through a MRSEC grant), together with Brown’s Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, developed this week-long program. In order to make the program attractive to and logistically practical for the Division’s graduate students and post-docs, the program consists of a series of five sessions which are held from noon until 1:30 p.m. on consecutive days. Lunch is provided for all participants. The topics of the five sessions are: 1) Presentations of Various Extreme Management Styles, 2) Faculty Perspectives, 3) Managing Research Projects in the Industrial Sector, 4) Role-playing Scenarios, and 5) Facilitating Undergraduates in the Optimization of their Potential as Researchers. Descriptions of each session follow:

Session 1: Presentations of Various Extreme Management Styles
In order to demonstrate various extreme management styles, trained Sheridan Center Teaching Consultants assume the roles of hypothetical characters such as: “The Control Freak,” “Dr. Overextended,” “Prof. Disinterested,” and “Prof. Hypersensitive.” Participants discuss the positive and negative attributes of each of the characters presented and consider how undergraduates might perceive the statements, actions and attitudes of each character. They then are asked to identify their own management styles and to explore the impact that these styles may have on co-workers.

Session 2: Faculty Perspectives
Faculty from the Division of Engineering offer their perspectives on advising, including their own graduate school experiences and the ways in which their “management/mentoring styles” have changed over time. By considering the faculty experiences, participants begin to think critically about mentoring relationships, and learn how to respond constructively to difficult situations.

Session 3: Managing Research Projects in the Industrial Sector
Adjunct faculty from the Division of Engineering, who are currently working in industry, and faculty who have previously done so, offer their perspectives on the similarities and differences between managing research in industry and in academe.

Session 4: Role-playing Scenarios
Participants act out a variety of scenarios involving hypothetical graduate– undergraduate student interactions and reactions to a variety of problems and issues that can arise in a research setting. Through these role-playing activities, students develop a better understanding of undergraduate perspectives on issues of advising and management, and learn how to address advising/management issues as they arise.

Session 5:Facilitating Undergraduates in the Optimization of their Potential as Researchers
Based on their own experiences and the previous sessions, participants discuss how to best motivate and coach undergraduates possessing a variety of abilities , learning styles and personalities. Participants also discuss organizational logistics such as: long and short term planning, contextualizing research tasks within larger research objectives and goals, establishing and maintaining a group meeting format and dealing with "unexpected" situations. In addition, program evaluations are distributed and collected during this session.

Although the FER program was developed for Brown’s Division of Engineering, it can be easily adapted for a wide variety of disciplines. The objectives, discussion questions and all related materials for each session are available at: http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Advanced_Materials_Research/

Discussion:

There was considerable interest in expanding the FER program across the disciplines and, in particular, establishing a program like this for the humanities. The group considered what alterations would need to be made to create an effective format. In the humanities, the main obstacles are the individualistic nature of research and the funding structure, which means that graduate students rarely have the opportunity or need to oversee undergraduate research.

Participants considered ways in which the program could be adapted to address the needs of non-native English speakers. The group was particularly interested in learning how the FER program deals with potentially sensitive issues that arise in cross-cultural advising and mentoring. It was suggested that campuses and/or departments could initiate a FER-like program specifically tailored to the needs of graduate students who are non-native English speakers.

The group debated whether graduate students should, in fact, be the primary research contacts/advisors for undergraduates. Some participants felt that undergraduates benefit more from research experience when they are directly overseen by faculty members. In defense of a system where graduate students are the primary undergraduate research supervisors, some participants observed that graduate students are actually closer in age and world-view to undergraduates, and are consequently more likely to form successful research partnerships. In addition, it was noted that good mentoring by graduate students is better than poor, or no mentoring from faculty members.

Members of the group observed that in most science disciplines it is relatively easy to involve undergraduates with strong academic records in research activities. Students who perform well in a particular class often approach the instructor to inquire about research opportunities. It was noted that students with less than optimal grades, as well as high-performing students from less privileged socioeconomic groups are less likely, to seek out faculty members in general, and to inquire about undergraduate research opportunities, in particular. The group discussed strategies for reaching out to a broader group of students when faculty are hiring for summer projects. A member of the group described how he announces in large lecture classes undergraduate research opportunities for the summer/academic year, and also holds open houses so that students do not have to approach faculty on their own about such opportunities. Participants suggested that once undergraduates have been hired, they be assigned to work in pairs in order to minimize any sense of intimidation they might feel.

Recommendations:

For Individual Campuses

• Universities that do not have programs like FER should establish them.
• Universities with similar programs should expand them to include graduate students from a wider range of disciplines, particularly the humanities.
• International graduate students should be encouraged to participate in FER-like programs.
• Campuses should sponsor forums at which undergraduate and graduate students who have benefited from these kinds of programs share their experiences with faculty and offer perspectives on program efficacy.
• Undergraduates should be invited to participate in at least one of the FER programs sessions so that graduate students and post-docs can learn more about the undergraduate perspective.

For The Reinvention Center

• Faculty are encouraged to consider specific gender and cultural issues which might arise in multicultural education, and to develop FER-like programs or sessions to address these issues. The Reinvention Center can play a role in facilitating discussions on these issues.
• Graduate students who have participated in the FER program should be invited to the Reinvention Center’s annual conference to share their perspectives on the efficacy of the program.

References/Resources:

Website

Center for Advanced Materials Research at Brown University http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Advanced_Materials_Research/