PURM 7.1 (2018)

Special Issue: Mentoring Undergraduate Research (UR) in Global Contexts

Letter from the Guest Editors for Issue 7.1

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Amy L. Allocco, Elon University
Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Elon University

Research Article

What to Know Before You Go: Benefits and Challenges of Conducting Undergraduate Research in Global Contexts

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Abstract: Through focus groups, students shared benefits and challenges of undergraduate research experiences conducted in diverse, off-campus settings. The findings were utilized to develop mentoring recommendations. A case study focused on a multidisciplinary research group wherein faculty mentors scaffolded students’ knowledge and experiences through a series of instrumental and psychosocial mentoring practices exemplifies these recommendations.

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Ph.D., Elon University, U.S.
Amy L. Allocco, Ph.D., Elon University, U.S.
Cynthia Fair, Ph.D., Elon University, U.S.

Dialogue

Mentoring in Global Contexts: Embodying Feminist Ethnography in South India

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Abstract: This article presents a faculty and student perspective on an engaged mentoring model for individual and joint ethnographic research conducted in global contexts. It details the student’s scaffolded undergraduate research project and a culminating collaborative fieldwork experience in India that powerfully intersected with feminist methodologies and transformed the research project itself.

Amy L. Allocco, Ph.D., Elon University, U.S.
Anya Fredsell, 2018-19 Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Fellow in India, A.B., Elon University, U.S.

Dialogue

Mentoring Students in Research and Communication Across the Ocean

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Abstract: A program was developed that sent an interdisciplinary cohort of students to conduct scientific research in Denmark. In addition to working with researchers overseas, students were mentored in public science communication through participation in a documentary project and their own contributions to social media, fostering their awareness of the essential role of public communication in science.

Caryn L. Heldt, Ph.D., Michigan Technological University, U.S.
Erin Smith, Ph.D., Michigan Technological University, U.S.
Hannah Cunningham, Michigan Technological University, U.S.
Cameron Miller, Michigan Technological University, U.S.

Dialogue

Mentoring Undergraduate Research through a South Africa Study Abroad Program

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Abstract: This paper describes the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing a research-centered, short-term study abroad program in South Africa. The faculty directors represent the fields of History and Psychology, and discuss their experiences mentoring undergraduate students in the program. Student quotes are incorporated throughout to highlight their perspectives.

Kelly Campbell, Ph.D., California State University, San Bernardino, U.S.
Tiffany F. Jones, Ph.D., California State University, San Bernardino, U.S.

Dialogue

Linguistic Fieldwork in a Short-Term Study Abroad Course

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Abstract: The benefits of both undergraduate research and study abroad are well-established. Linking them together provides an opportunity to combine two high-impact practices through course-integrated research. In this dialogue, a faculty member and a student who have participated in course-integrated research (linguistic fieldwork) during embedded study abroad programs discuss the opportunities and challenges offered by this format, in particular the benefits it brings to social science and language science fields.

Evan D. Bradley, Ph.D., Penn State Brandywine, U.S.
Sofi Teitsort, Penn State Brandywine, U.S.

Dialogue

Enhancing Short-term Undergraduate Research Experiences in Study Abroad: Curriculum Design and Mentor Development

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Abstract: This paper presents a curriculum design project for a study abroad program in which students are afforded opportunities to participate in undergraduate research. It also offers a framework of salient mentoring practices that can be used in the preparation and development of undergraduate research initiatives in study abroad programs.

Eric E. Hall, Ph.D., Elon University
Helen Walkington, Ph.D., Oxford Brookes University
Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Ph.D., Elon University
Jenny Olin Shanahan, Ph.D., Bridgewater State University
Rikke Kolbech Gudiksen, M.Sc., DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia
Margaret Mackenzie Zimmer, B.A., DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia

Research Article

Digital Mentorship, Global Service-Learning, and Critically-Engaged Undergraduate Research: Case Studies from Omprakash EdGE

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Abstract: This article explores pedagogical dimensions of distance mentorship for students who pursue self-directed research projects aimed at “raising consciousness” (Freire, 1970) while simultaneously working as interns within grassroots social impact organizations. We examine cases from one particular program, Omprakash EdGE, with the intent of highlighting broader themes relevant to critically engaged mentorship across many contexts.

Willy Oppenheim, Ph.D., University of Washington; Founder and Executive Director of Omprakash, U.S.
Alex Knott, M.A., Director of Outreach and Curation at Omprakash, U.K.

Dialogue

Bringing Study Abroad back to Campus: A Collaborative Student Project on Acquiring, Researching and Exhibiting Artifacts

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Abstract: From 2016 to 2017, a collaborative project supported student research in three contexts, two countries and two disciplines. This essay brings multiple voices into a conversation to demonstrate how this layered student project deepened a study abroad experience and brought it back to campus while also mentoring cross-disciplinary undergraduate research.

Xiaolin Duan, Ph.D., North Carolina State University, U.S.
Deandra Little, Ph.D., Elon University, U.S.
Sarah Williams, M.Ed., Elon University, U.S.
Spencer Wagner, A.B., Elon University, U.S.
Katherine Moritz, Elon University, U.S.

Dialogue

Teaching and Mentoring across Traditional Boundaries: Two Institutions, Three Mentors, 10 Students, and One Global Data Set

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Abstract: In a projects-based undergraduate course, students collaborated with faculty and museum curators on research projects using digitized natural history collections. Easy accessibility of the international specimen-based dataset combined with a collaboration across institutions provided students with opportunities to expand their understanding of global biological issues and experience different research communities.

Janice L. Krumm, Ph.D., Widener University, U.S.
Evan A. Perkowski, Ph.D. Student, Texas Tech University, B.S., Widener University, U.S.
Katelyn E. Mecouch, B.S., Widener University, U.S.
Jean L. Woods, Ph.D., Delaware Museum of Natural History
Elizabeth K. Shea, Ph.D., Delaware Museum of Natural History
Imrin Goraya, Widener University, U.S.
Theresa Tran, Widener University, U.S.

Call for Papers for our next Special Issues on Mentoring Undergraduate Creative Scholarship (2019): Call for Papers