Project Director
Linda Watts, PhD lwatts@uwb.edu
Student Researchers
Mona Halcomb
Anna Hiroyasu
Brad Lund
Angela McLeod
Jaclyn Schwartz
Description
At the end of Winter Quarter, I recruited a team of five undergraduate researchers. All five had completed a course with me during Winter Quarter, and each volunteered to join the research team. The team members met individually with me to identify their learning goals for the quarter. Together, we decided to focus most of our work around landmark legal cases in the United States, ones in which matters of principle were at stake. We called these cases "Cases of Conscience." Each student chose a case that held particular interest for him/her. For example, one team member elected to concentrate on the Japanese American internment camps, and along with archival research, she interviewed relatives of hers who had lived in the camps as children. Each member of the research team participated in developing instructional materials appropriate to college-level study, and each designed materials that might coincide with a week in the course during which their trial would form the focus. In addition to individual meetings, team meetings, and online postings, the team members completed four major writing assignments each: an annotated bibliography, an in-class activity, a writing assignment prompt, and an exemplary response to that prompt.
As we concluded our activities, I had the opportunitiy to reflect with the group about their experiences. All reported becoming more effective in their research strategies. Since I had worked with all of these students before, I can confirm those findings on the basis of reviewing work this term. Team members' impressions of collaborative undergraduate research were remarkably positive. In fact, of the five participating students, three wish to enroll in my senior seminar so that they can continue building their research skills. One student even inquired about doing a senior thesis. The remaining student is a business major, but I expect she will continue to take courses as her curriculum permits. On the whole, I feel that the project was quite successful. I am grateful for the opportunity to pursue this vital work with our students.