This is a short, 10 minute, presentation at a Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) institute hosted by Truman. The presentation outlined the highlights of the Good Things we do to provide undergraduates with high quality learning experiences through research with faculty.

1. The Undergraduate Research
Machine at Truman
Jason Miller, Ph.D.
Assoc. Prof. of Mathematics
STEP Office, Director
25 October, 2008
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

2. Context
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

3. Context
• Truman has a long history with UR
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

4. Context
• Truman has a long history with UR
• Pres. Krueger, “first Truman research team
in `70s”
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

5. Context
• Truman has a long history with UR
• Pres. Krueger, “first Truman research team
in `70s”
• 20+ years ago, full-day Student Research
Conference (now 300+ students participate),
http://src.truman.edu
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

6. Context
• Truman has a long history with UR
• Pres. Krueger, “first Truman research team
in `70s”
• 20+ years ago, full-day Student Research
Conference (now 300+ students participate),
http://src.truman.edu
• now, 30+ internal grants ($2-3k) for
undergraduate scholars, artists, and researchers
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

7. Context
• Truman has a long history with UR
• Pres. Krueger, “first Truman research team
in `70s”
• 20+ years ago, full-day Student Research
Conference (now 300+ students participate),
http://src.truman.edu
• now, 30+ internal grants ($2-3k) for
undergraduate scholars, artists, and researchers
• a ‘distributed’ organizational model; campus-
wide coordinating committee but no ‘UR office’
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

8. Two Innovations
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

9. Two Innovations
• Use the pedagogy of UR as a vehicle for
interdisciplinary training in mathematical
biology (NSF UBM program)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

10. Two Innovations
• Use the pedagogy of UR as a vehicle for
interdisciplinary training in mathematical
biology (NSF UBM program)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

11. Two Innovations
• Use the pedagogy of UR as a vehicle for
interdisciplinary training in mathematical
biology (NSF UBM program)
• Use high-quality, faculty mentored research
experiences, delivered in a community setting,
to expand the talent pool of STEM students
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

12. Two Innovations
• Use the pedagogy of UR as a vehicle for
interdisciplinary training in mathematical
biology (NSF UBM program)
• Use high-quality, faculty mentored research
experiences, delivered in a community setting,
to expand the talent pool of STEM students
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

13. Two Innovations
• Use the pedagogy of UR as a vehicle for
interdisciplinary training in mathematical
biology (NSF UBM program)
• Use high-quality, faculty mentored research
experiences, delivered in a community setting,
to expand the talent pool of STEM students
(NSF UBM #0436348)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

14. Two Innovations
• Use the pedagogy of UR as a vehicle for
interdisciplinary training in mathematical
biology (NSF UBM program)
• Use high-quality, faculty mentored research
experiences, delivered in a community setting,
to expand the talent pool of STEM students
(NSF UBM #0436348) (NSF STEP #0431664)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

15. Math+Biology+CS
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

16. Math+Biology+CS
• in 2003 and 2004, a group of faculty received
NSF UBM awards
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

17. Math+Biology+CS
• in 2003 and 2004, a group of faculty received
NSF UBM awards
• train undergraduates in the ‘New Biology’
using the pedagogy of undergraduate
research
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

18. Math+Biology+CS
• in 2003 and 2004, a group of faculty received
NSF UBM awards
& faculty
• train undergraduates in the ‘New Biology’
using the pedagogy of undergraduate
research
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

19. Math+Biology+CS
• in 2003 and 2004, a group of faculty received
NSF UBM awards
& faculty
• train undergraduates in the ‘New Biology’
using the pedagogy of undergraduate
research
• use a community-of-learners model
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

20. Math+Biology+CS
• in 2003 and 2004, a group of faculty received
NSF UBM awards
& faculty
• train undergraduates in the ‘New Biology’
using the pedagogy of undergraduate
research
• use a community-of-learners model
• now, we have 22 MathBio faculty, four
interdisciplinary courses, and an
interdisciplinary minor in MathBio
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

21. Learning
Community
Community
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

22. Learning
Community
Community
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

23. Learning
Community
Community
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

24. Learning
Community
Community
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

25. Learning
Community
Community
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

26. Learning
Community
Community
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

27. Learning
Community
Community
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

28. Learning
Community
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

29. Learning
Community
Residence Hall
Meals
Small Group Meetings + Mentors
Weekly Discussions/Workshops
Social Events
MathBio Seminar
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

30. Learning
Community
Residence Hall
Meals
Small Group Meetings + Mentors
Weekly Discussions/Workshops
Social Events
MathBio Seminar
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

31. Talent Expansion
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

32. Talent Expansion
• in 2004, an NSF STEP grant allowed Truman to
step-up its efforts to attract more students to
STEM baccalaureate degree programs
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

33. Talent Expansion
• in 2004, an NSF STEP grant allowed Truman to
step-up its efforts to attract more students to
STEM baccalaureate degree programs
• targets 1st or 2nd year on-the-fence students,
and community college (transfer) students
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

34. Talent Expansion
• in 2004, an NSF STEP grant allowed Truman to
step-up its efforts to attract more students to
STEM baccalaureate degree programs
• targets 1st or 2nd year on-the-fence students,
and community college (transfer) students
• delivers research using an all-STEM summer
research community (10-15 pairs)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

35. Talent Expansion
• in 2004, an NSF STEP grant allowed Truman to
step-up its efforts to attract more students to
STEM baccalaureate degree programs
• targets 1st or 2nd year on-the-fence students,
and community college (transfer) students
• delivers research using an all-STEM summer
research community (10-15 pairs)
• coordinated program to foster academic,
professional, and social growth of participants
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

36. The Articulation Pipeline
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

37. The Articulation Pipeline
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

38. The Articulation Pipeline
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

39. STEP Office
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

40. STEP Office
• STEM Talent Expansion Efforts supported by a
full-time Administrative Coordinator
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

41. STEP Office
• STEM Talent Expansion Efforts supported by a
full-time Administrative Coordinator
• manages studentother administrativa
workers, budgets,
purchasing, and
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

42. STEP Office
• STEM Talent Expansion Efforts supported by a
full-time Administrative Coordinator
• manages studentother administrativa
workers, budgets,
purchasing, and
• allows mentors to devote energy to
mentoring, supporting students
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

43. STEP Office
• STEM Talent Expansion Efforts supported by a
full-time Administrative Coordinator
• manages studentother administrativa
workers, budgets,
purchasing, and
• allows mentors to devote energy to
mentoring, supporting students
• the resource has been leveraged (economies of
scale) to support other programs (e.g., MathBio)
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

44. STEP Office
• STEM Talent Expansion Efforts supported by a
full-time Administrative Coordinator
• manages studentother administrativa
workers, budgets,
purchasing, and
• allows mentors to devote energy to
mentoring, supporting students
• the resource has been leveraged (economies of
scale) to support other programs (e.g., MathBio)
In Effect: is an OUR for STEM programs
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

45. Summary
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

46. Summary
• Truman employs a distributed model for UR
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

47. Summary
• Truman employs a distributed model for UR
• in STEM, a centralized office for a targeted
program has energized the STEM community
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

48. Summary
• Truman employs a distributed model for UR
• in STEM, a centralized office for a targeted
program has energized the STEM community
• multidisciplinary programs have
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

49. Summary
• Truman employs a distributed model for UR
• in STEM, a centralized office for a targeted
program has energized the STEM community
• multidisciplinary programs have
• broken down disciplinary boundaries,
fostered interaction
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

50. Summary
• Truman employs a distributed model for UR
• in STEM, a centralized office for a targeted
program has energized the STEM community
• multidisciplinary programs have
• broken down disciplinary boundaries,
fostered interaction
• energize the scholarship of many many
faculty members
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

51. Summary
• Truman employs a distributed model for UR
• in STEM, a centralized office for a targeted
program has energized the STEM community
• multidisciplinary programs have
• broken down disciplinary boundaries,
fostered interaction
• energize the scholarship of many many
faculty members
• created a needed STEM expansion
mechanism
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

52. More Information
• Student Research Conference
http://src.truman.edu/
• STEM Talent Expansion program
http://step.truman.edu/
• Mathematical Biology program
http://mathbio.truman.edu/
Jason Miller
millerj@truman.edu
660.785.7430
Wednesday, April 1, 2009