A Different Kind of Classroom
Typical to the daily activities of college students are classes, taking notes, completing homework assignments, preparing for exams, and then celebrating hard earned grades.
“Exploring new phenomena, designing experiments, breaking through roadblocks, reporting findings is a different kind of classroom,” suggests VCSU physics instructor and Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program director Dr. David DeMuth.
“While more common to NDSU and UND students, undergraduate research is a high-impact learning practice that creates connections between students and researchers.” DeMuth contends that research work should not be exclusive to the so-called research institutions. His passion is to ensure that students at the smaller campuses in North Dakota also have access to this impactful practice.
Supported by the ND EPSCoR office at NDSU, the UROP seeks to incentivize faculty-mentored undergraduate research at the four 4-year, five 2-year, and five tribal colleges in North Dakota. Interested students solicit the program office with a short proposal which outlines their methods, timeline, and budget. A faculty-mentor of their liking provides guidance. Together they solve complex problems and then report findings at local or regional conferences.
For example, at VCSU, then undergraduate Victoria Christensen had a notion that the whelping of herding dogs used on her father’s Montana ranch were being challenged by an unknown toxic environment. Partnering with toxicologist and VCSU professor Dr. Hilde van Gijssel, over one year’s time the explored the symptoms, designed an experiment that would provide clues to abating the situation in subsequent years; Victoria’s project proposal “Canine Parvovirus-2 Prevention Study“.
The skillset acquired in butting one’s head against a tough problem and tenaciously solving, then explaining the problem is valued in nearly every profession, and the workforce and industry in the region knows that. Victoria’s experiences at VCSU and her dual chemistry and biology degree were just the right mix to now be working as a chemist in western North Dakota.
Undergraduate research opportunities programs are relatively common at teaching-focused campuses such as VCSU in Valley City, North Dakota but the number of participants is often constrained by the institution’s faculty members whose desired focus tends to be teaching. That’s okay, according to DeMuth, faculty who are accomplished teacher deserve applause, as do those steeped in service such as advising, but some of us have a real knack for research, and the UROP seeks to support that interest.
