Associate Professor of Religious Studies Toddie Peters co-edited a volume on undergraduate research titled "Teaching Undergraduate Research in Religious Studies," which offers an introduction to the philosophy and practice of undergraduate research in religious studies and takes up several significant ongoing questions related to it.
The volume was published as part of the “Teaching Religion” series of Oxford University Press and is the culmination of work from two grants from the Wabash Center for the Study of Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion. Peters co-edited the volume with Bernadette McNary-Zak of Rhodes College. Both were co-PIs of both grants.
Lynn Huber, Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Elon also participated in both grants and co-authored two chapters in the volume.
The volume was highlighted in the Sept. 25 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education in an article on “Selected Publications in Higher Education.”
About the volume:
This volume emerges from sustained conversations about the pedagogy of Undergraduate Research by a group of teacher-scholars in the discipline, and it seeks to extend those conversations. For those new to Undergraduate Research, this book provides an overview of fundamental issues and pedagogical questions and practical models for application in the classroom. For seasoned mentors, it acts as a dialogue partner on emerging issues and offers insight into pertinent questions in the field based on the experience of recognized experts.
Individual chapters focus on select theoretical and practical topics including the nature of collaboration between faculty and students, what it means for undergraduate students to make an “original contribution” in their research, how to identify and shape a research project that is appropriate and manageable, the types of institutional and professional support systems needed to adequately support and reward faculty who participate in this kind of pedagogy, and procedures for adequate and appropriate assessment. Student perspectives highlight the importance of Undergraduate Research to student learning.