Participating in research as an undergraduate can be a powerful learning experience, helping students form connections with faculty, put classroom knowledge into practice, develop research skills and prepare for graduate study. Undergraduate research is a "high impact" educational practice that can be particularly effective for engaging students from diverse backgrounds. The NSF makes a substantial investment in undergraduate research experiences, which it views as "one of the most effective avenues for attracting talented undergraduates" and preparing them for graduate study and careers in academia and industry. In an effort to better understand the day-to-day experience of undergraduate research, eight students participated in a self-study of their own experiences as undergraduate research assistants. These students were part of a larger summer program at Michigan State University, where students engaged in ten weeks of full-time research with faculty in various Engineering disciplines. With the summer program coordinator serving as their research mentor, these eight students participated in a series of online conversations to explore their own experiences as they engaged in undergraduate research. Facebook was used as a platform to facilitate these student interactions, which included both prompted and spontaneous discussions. After the summer research experience had concluded, the students and their mentor analyzed the conversational threads to find evidence of changes in students' domain knowledge, research abilities, and personal, academic and professional goals.
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