Scholarly Identity Development of Undergraduate Researchers

Students who participate in undergraduate research (UR) have been shown to have increased GPAs, higher retention rates, and a better view of themselves as active participants in scholarly and learning processes. Programs that support UR demonstrate better student learning outcomes when they incorporate activities that holistically support students’ learning, including their professional and personal development. This lesson plan showcases one such professional development (PD) workshop that has been used at Albion College during a ten-week summer research fellowship program for undergraduate students. The workshop was designed to assist students in crafting narratives that translate their scholarly work into a portfolio or resume. Students were asked to think about both the discipline specific description, but also use this as a chance to highlight the soft skills that were developed as part of their research experience.