Abstract
The math biology program at UNCG has been running since 2006 when we first received the funding from NSF. Every year, we provided integrated research projects at the interface of biology and mathematics to eight UNCG undergraduate students who worked in interdisciplinary teams. Up to date, our project resulted in 32 peer-reviewed publications and over 200 presentations; this demonstrates the extent to which undergraduate research can produce genuine scientific advancement. Moreover, our program also prepared UNCG students for rigorous interdisciplinary graduate studies and career opportunities and set them on a path toward productive careers as twenty-one century scientists and educators. We hope our experience will motivate and encourage others to pursue similar efforts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alexander, B.B., Foertsch, J., Daffinrud, S., Tapia, R.: The spend a summer with a scientist (sas) program at rice university: a study of program outcomes and essential elements, 1991–1997. CUR Q. 20(3), 127–133 (2000)
Barker, W., Bressoud, D., Epp, S., Ganter S., Haver B., Pollatsek, H.: Undergraduate Programs and Courses in the Mathematical Sciences: CUPM Curriculum Guide. ERIC (2004)
Barratt, N.M.: Field botanist for a day: a group exercise for the introductory botany lab. Am. Biol. Teach. 66(5), 361–362 (2004)
Bauer, K.W., Bennett, J.S.: Alumni perceptions used to assess undergraduate research experience. J. High. Educ. 74(2), 210–230 (2003)
Campbell, A., Skoog, G.: Preparing undergraduate women for science careers: facilitating success in professional research. J. Coll. Sci. Teach. 33(5), 24–26 (2004)
Chandra, U., Stoecklin, S., Harmon, M.: A successful model for introducing research in an undergraduate program. J. Coll. Sci. Teach. 28, 113–116 (1998)
Ganter, S.: Creating networks as vehicles for change. In: Steen, L.A., Madison, B.L. (eds.) The Future of Quantitative Literacy. National Council on Education and the Disciplines, Princeton (2003)
Hakim, T.: Soft assessment of undergraduate research: reactions and student perceptions. Counc. Undergrad. Res. Q. 18, 189–192 (1998)
Hathaway, R.S., Nagda, B.R.A., Gregerman, S.R.: The relationship of undergraduate research participation to graduate and professional education pursuit: An empirical study. J. Coll. Stud. Dev. 43(5), 614–631 (2002)
Hippel, W., Lerner, J.S., Gregerman, S.R., Nagda, B.A., Jonides, J.: Undergraduate student-faculty research partnerships affect student retention. Rev. High. Educ. 22(1), 55–72 (1998)
Houlden, R.L., Raja, J.B., Collier, C.P., Clark, A.F., Waugh, J.M.: Medical students’ perceptions of an undergraduate research elective. Med. Teach. 26(7), 659–661 (2004)
Ishiyama, J.: Undergraduate research and the success of first-generation, low-income college students. Counc. Undergrad. Res. Q. 22(1), 36–41 (2001)
Ishiyama, J.: Does early participation in undergraduate research benefit social science and humanities students? Coll. Stud. J. 36(3), 381–387 (2002)
Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T., Smith, K.A.: Active Learning: Cooperation in the College Classroom. Interactive Book Company, Edina (1998)
Kardash, C.A.M.: Evaluation of undergraduate research experience: perceptions of undergraduate interns and their faculty mentors. J. Educ. Psychol. 92(1), 191 (2000)
Kremer, J.F., Bringle, R.G.: The effects of an intensive research experience on the careers of talented undergraduates. J. Res. Dev. Educ. 24(1), 1–5 (1990)
Lopatto, D.: Survey of undergraduate research experiences (sure): first findings. Cell Biol. Educ. 3(4), 270–277 (2004)
Lord, T.R. 101 reasons for using cooperative learning in biology teaching. Am. Biol. Teach. 63(1), 30–38 (2001)
Nnadozie, E., Ishiyama, J.T., Chon, J.: Undergraduate research internships and graduate school success. Journal of College Student Development 42, 145–156 (2001)
Seymour, E., Hunter, A.B., Laursen, S.L., DeAntoni, T.: Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates in the sciences: first findings from a three-year study. Sci. Educ. 88(4), 493–534 (2004)
Tenney, A., Houck, B.: Learning about leadership: team learning’s effect on peer leaders. J. Coll. Sci. Teach. 33(6), 25–29 (2004)
Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant numbers DMS 0634182 and DBI 0926288. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this paper
Cite this paper
Crowe, M.L., Rychtář, J., Rueppell, O., Chhetri, M., Remington, D.L., Gupta, S.N. (2013). Proving the “Proof”: Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Research Positively Impacts Students. In: Rychtář, J., Gupta, S., Shivaji, R., Chhetri, M. (eds) Topics from the 8th Annual UNCG Regional Mathematics and Statistics Conference. Springer Proceedings in Mathematics & Statistics, vol 64. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9332-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9332-7_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-9331-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9332-7
eBook Packages: Mathematics and StatisticsMathematics and Statistics (R0)