Abstract
University College Maastricht is the undergraduate honours programme of Maastricht University. The project PEERS was introduced in the Fall of 2008 and served as a pilot for the Maastricht Research-Based Learning project. During a PEERS semester, students either participate in a prearranged staff-initiated research project or submit their own research project. This chapter reflects on the various opportunities and limitations of undergraduate research as a form of teaching and learning, as well as those of the educational context it is a part of. The advantages and challenges that problem-based learning and research-based learning environments pose to undergraduate research within PEERS are elaborated. Based on such opportunities and limitations, it is suggested that research, conducted by undergraduate students, can best be approached as research-based learning. This may require a shift in perspective for the academic or the researcher who works with students in such a project. Working with students in projects like these implies that supervisors need to be actively aware of educational needs and appropriate interventions that help students reach a higher level of scientific thinking.
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van den Wijngaard, O. (2017). University College Maastricht: The PEERS Project. In: Bastiaens, E., van Tilburg, J., van Merriënboer, J. (eds) Research-Based Learning: Case Studies from Maastricht University. Professional Learning and Development in Schools and Higher Education, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50993-8_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50993-8_8
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