WHEN GROUP WORK WORKS: ACADEMIC-YEAR, COHORT-BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

We designed and implemented a paid, comprehensive undergraduate cohort research experience integrated into the academic-year curriculum, and co-mentored by two faculty members at one primarily undergraduate institution (PUI). For two academic years ('22-'23 and '23-'24) we transparently recruited a cohort of six Cal Poly Humboldt students via an interest survey to engage in tectonics and geochronology research. Students were asked about their career goals, cultural identities, and interest in collaboration; GPA, class standing, and prior research experience were not considered in our selection. The cohort met weekly throughout the academic year as part of a 1-unit course, and included field work planning, sample collection and (U-Th)/He thermochronology sample preparation, data analysis and modeling, and scientific poster creation and presentation at the ‘23 and ‘24 Cordilleran Section GSA meetings. We collaboratively worked on research objectives that were part of a broader NSF-Tectonics project with collaborators and partners at R1 institutions.

As faculty at a PUI, our goals are to center and expand access to authentic, original student research contributions, promote students’ sense of belonging in geology, and train them to acquire workforce or graduate school-ready skills and confidence. Anonymized pre- and post-experience survey results from the student cohort show an increase in sense of belonging, interest in pursuing a graduate degree in geology, and academic confidence and preparedness. Prior to the cohort experience, 5 out 6 students reported a 3 or less with 1 being “not confident or prepared” for graduate work, ranked on a 5-point Likert scale. By the end of the experience, all 6 students reported a 3 or higher with 5 being “very confident and prepared”. Our findings and experiences indicate that the academic-year integrated cohort research design had the following positive outcomes: i) the shared project workload and weekly tasks held students and faculty mentors accountable to stay on task, ii) senior class standing, a high GPA, or prior research experience were not strong predictors of student engagement, iii) students were capable of producing MS-level tectonics and geochronology results, analysis, and figures, and iv) this model, while teaching and mentorship-intensive, results in a higher level of research productivity for the PUI faculty.