To be pedagogically effective, experiences must be carefully tied to the course and made the subject of some academic analysis or reflection. Most undergraduates never have an opportunity to engage in the kind of research that their professors practice. Often they are given assignments that insulate them from contact with the complexities and confusions of the research world, and also keeps them from experiencing the joy and pride of discovery. Professors in the social sciences might structure their courses entirely around research projects in which students are required to develop hypotheses, gather and analyze data, and report their findings. Although the level of research would not be as sophisticated as that performed by the faculty, it would be sufficiently complex to give students a taste of the real thing.
Similar assignments are possible in the natural sciences as well.
For example, student lab groups can be given the task of designing lab experiments rather than simply repeating pre-structured exercises. These changes not only require the development of new course plans, they imply a refocusing of the course outcomes, which may be difficult without curriculum reform. However, seeking ways to incorporate any research experience into our courses will bear fruit. Study groups can be focused on a group research project or used for reflection sessions to process activities in experiential learning. Experiential assignments in the community might also be combined with research projects, with the added benefit that the research results could have real-world impact.