Promoting Undergraduate Research through Integrative Learning.

s: writing and submission. Two workshops were conducted to help students with their progression in the research process. Faculty and staff covered abstract writing, outlined requirements for submitting an abstract, and offered students the opportunity to receive feedback from their peers and instructors. The workshops also helped create an environment where students could explore their connections with the curriculum. The process of providing feedback from peers, faculty, and staff created an venue where different perspectives of integrative learning were discussed and shared. A GoogleTM form was created for abstract submission. The link was shared on the listserv several times prior to the deadline. We decided to cap the number of accepted submissions to ten, realizing it was an optimistic number. We received six submissions, all meeting the criteria, and accepted them. Posters. After notification of acceptance I offered a workshop for poster design and printing. I also created a Microsoft PowerPointTM template and distributed the file to the participants. Students were already familiar with the application, were comfortable creating content, and knew how to navigate the program. The file contained the college logo and the printing dimensions were set, so students could modify the appearance of the poster without worrying about print dimension or output settings. They were not required to use the template; however, five of the six students did. Draft posters were printed for editing purposes ensuring image quality and layout. Arrangements were made with the campus print services so students were not responsible for printing their posters. They electronically submitted their final posters, and the department took care of the printing cost. Key considerations and benefits. There were 42 declared BSIS majors, approximately five students minoring in BSIS and about 125 students whom were nonmajors taking our courses. While the event was shared with all the students in our classes, targeting our BSIS majors and minors was the best strategic option. It was decided 10 posters would be our goal based on the time we set aside for the day (three hours) and the available space in the building. I estimated we would receive about 15 abstracts early in the semester. As the abstract deadline grew closer and students’ time commitments increased, I was hoping for two. In the end we had six submissions. The number of posters, venue, and judges are important considerations when deciding on a realistic Lewis Integrative Learning 548 size for the event. The venue may dictate the number of presenters and attendees. For our event it was important to replicate a setting similar to a professional conference. The presenters would be standing by their posters and talking to people about their work. The audience would be moving from poster to poster at different times. Fortunately, our building has wide hallways that accommodated this type of interaction. It is important to note that printing costs may be a deterrent for participants. Efforts should be made to absorb the costs and not pass them onto the students. I recommend contacting the printers early in the process to determine deadlines for printing, accepted file formats, and submission guidelines. The current décor in the hallways allowed for us to hang the posters on the walls from nails and hooks already there. Renting poster display boards is a significant addition to any budget. Had we not been able to use the building and existing hardware, the logistics of the event would have changed significantly. I recommend finding a venue and determining how the posters will be displayed early in the planning process. Holding BSIS Day in our building encouraged the faculty, staff, and others to interact with the participants. Several participants commented that they liked having the event in our building because it was a familiar, comfortable place. The administration liked that the building was the backdrop for the promotional materials created during the event. Four individuals were asked to serve as judges because of their roles in the community. The judges were from a variety of disciplines, but all were information professionals or had career paths similar to our students. For example, one judge was a graduate of the BSIS program and a student in our graduate program. Another judge was the Chief Information Officer for the State Library. The other factors I found significant when establishing a manageable number of posters were manpower and the ability to provide feedback. Providing quality feedback for the students was important. Most students had not participated in a research poster event, so they needed quite a bit of feedback and guidance. The two most timeintensive activities were refining their research ideas and printing drafts of the posters. I recruited help from colleagues to provide the students feedback and refine their ideas. Printing draft posters also took a fair amount of time and feedback. Throughout the entire semester participants provided feedback to each other during each phase. Peer feedback seemed to increase confidence and foster a sense of community. I had not anticipated this effect, but I was pleased to see it among the students. Phase 2 allowed students to work on several practical soft skills. Their writing and communication skills were refined during the proposal process. The creation of the posters allowed the participants to work on visual communication skills. Finally, the practice of providing and receiving constructive feedback occurred during the proposal writing and poster sessions. Phase 3: BSIS Day (Event Day). This is a timeline of the day. It describes what was occurring simultaneously and allows for better planning if this event is replicated. 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: Breakfast was served while announcements were delivered. I privately met with the judges to review logistics and procedures. Each judge received a packet with numbered ballots. The ballots contained a rubric for evaluating the poster content, design, and the participants’ communication methods. 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM: The judges were given two hours to evaluate the six participants. During this time faculty, staff, and students viewed the posters and talked with the participants. College staff interviewed and photographed the participants. The interviews and images were later used as promotional materials for the college. 11:00 am – 11:30 am: After the two hours, ballots were collected, and totals were tallied. The participants and attendees waited for a few minutes for the awards to be announced. Everyone received a certificate of participation (printed prior to the event), and the Best BSIS Poster Award (printed that day) was awarded to the student with the highest score from the judges. Incidentally, there was a tie for the best poster. Key Considerations and Benefits. The constructive feedback offered by the judges was invaluable. The judges also encouraged students to continue participating in these types of events because they gained practical skills needed in the profession. They also had suggestions on how to continue their professional development through other opportunities like internships and professional conferences. After the event, several participants commented that it was helpful to hear from working professionals and were excited for the chance to network in a smaller, less intimidating setting. In informal debriefings after the event, all the participants expressed an increase in confidence about presenting and talking about their research. They also reported a better understanding of what is required to present in a professional setting. I would be remiss not to mention the important role the parents and friends played in the day. Two of the six participants had parents who attended. One family drove 10 hours to attend the event and support their student. Another family drove two hours to surprise their student and brought along his grandfather. Friends came to the support the participants. Simply said, this was important to the students. Although not anticipated in the beginning, the excitement was passed on to their parents. We do not often get to meet to the students’ parents, so it was nice to be able to Lewis Integrative Learning 549 celebrate their accomplishments, demonstrate the benefits of integrative learning, and share the information science major. Phase 3 built on the soft skills from Phase 2. In addition to the skills, participants had to work on their presentation and networking skills. They refined their verbal skills by explaining their research. Students also dressed professionally and represented themselves in a professional manner during the event.