Prince, Felder & Brent () Does Faculty Research Improve Undergraduate Teaching? An Analysis of Existing and Potential Synergies

Short summary of the scope and focus in the article

This article discusses whether faculty research can support teaching in principle and whether it has been shown to do so in practice.

The article reviews the literature on the current state of the research teaching nexus and then examines three specific strategies for integrating teaching and scholarship: bringing research into the classroom, involving undergraduates in research projects, and broadening the definition of scholarship beyond frontier disciplinary research. Ways are suggested to better realize the potential synergies between faculty research and undergraduate education.

Quote a statement that summarizes what the author claims they contribute to the field.

“… we examine in this paper three commonly proposed strategies for strengthening the nexus: (1) bringing research into the classroom; (2) involving students in research projects; and (3) broadening the model for academic scholarship. In the sections that follow, we examine the literature to determine whether and how much each strategy has improved teaching in the past, suggest ways to strengthen the research-teaching nexus based on the findings, and identify research questions deserving further investigation.”

In your own words, compare the results/arguments presented in the article with the authors’ claim(s) you identified in question 1.

The paper has highlighted the importance of promoting a strong link between faculty research and undergraduate teaching. According to the authors,  the evidence for the existing link is weak at best. However, the authors conclude that research has a clear potential to make significant contributions to the quality of undergraduate education. They have suggested 7 measures for moving universities in this direction. The contents and conclusions are therefore consistent with the communicated scope and focus of the article.

Is the argument that the authors provide solid enough based on the evidence and/or theoretical considerations to convince you of their claim(s)?

The authors have referred to and sited a number of papers and previous research. However, many of the problems discussed have not been documented by detailed investigations yet. Hence, there is a lack of definite results, and results so far are only indicative and suggestive.

What is missing in the article?

The article discusses only how research activity enhances undergraduate teaching by increasing learning or related student benefits such as higher retention in academic programs. The enhancement of research as a result of teaching is not discussed, nor is mentoring graduate students. These should be included in the analyses, since there is a strong link between these elements. It is difficult to discuss one isolated element.

What was most interesting for you?

According to the article, the implication is that integrating research into undergraduate courses may be beneficial provided that the research illuminates essential course content without distracting from it or confusing more than it clarifies. Inductive teaching, including inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, and project based learning are also proposed for undergraduate teaching.

How does this article relate to your own teaching?

The article points out that first-class teaching and first-class research are each effectively full-time jobs, so that time spent on one activity is generally time taken away from the other. This can be one of the explanations of missing correlation between faculty research and effective teaching. The challenges with fulfilling the expected 50/50 split on research and teaching in my own position is in line with this description.

It is also suggested that the findings are a result of the fact that some professors excel at both teaching and research, many excel at one and not at the other, and some are unexceptional in both.

What can you learn from it?

I have planned to try to bring more research into an undergraduate course. Based on the findings of this article, this may be beneficial and enhance the learning, provided the research illuminates essential course content without distracting from it or confusing more than it clarifies. Hence, if articles are used in teaching, they must be selected with utmost care.

Involvement in research has been shown to correlate positively with student retention. Most participants in undergraduate research programs report that their experiences were both instructive and enjoyable. However, this is only an alternative for the strong students. Research involvement may have a positive effect on students’ plans to pursue graduate study, and it could therefore be used as a tool for identifying and recruiting students.