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Abstract Research experiences and opportunities are growing in availability and significance for undergraduate students. Furthermore, undergraduate students can offer a distinct perspective and a unique form of assistance compared to graduate students and faculty. This also applies to the classroom. Participation in research in the undergraduate years, shows to provide all engineering student populations (including marginalized groups) to consider a job in the academic and research fields. At a mid-size minority serving institution, undergraduate students are utilized as teaching assistants (termed as teaching fellow) in several undergraduate classes. This program was developed in 2013 in two engineering departments and expanded to the entire College of Engineering in 2017. In 2022, due to their practitioner experiences, these students were offered to participate in earning a certification in Scholarship of Teaching, Research and Learning from a Nationally Recognized Program. To obtain the certification, students are required to engage in two seminar classes: Seminar One, covering the Fundamentals of Engineering XXXX (XXXX) and Seminar Two, Engineering XXXX (XXXX), which delves into Advanced Topics of XXXX. In Seminar One, the primary focus is on instructing students about research and learning essentials while aiding them in shaping their teaching philosophy. In Seminar Two, students are challenged to participate in more advanced workshops and concentrate on the development, creation, and execution of a teaching action research project. Upon the successful completion of both seminar classes and the research project, students will attain their undergraduate XXXX certification. This study, a continuation from previous assessments and studies1, will focus on the second seminar class, analyzing the students research efficacy. Description of Second Seminar Course Furthering the knowledge and comprehension of engineering and computational learning, Teaching Assistances in the realms of teaching, learning, and research, participants engaged in various workshops and seminars centered on the latest and most effective practices in Engineering and Computing education Since this course is primarily hands-on, students take on the role of peer advisors for new students in the first seminar course. They actively participate in guiding and fostering advanced learning and research in Engineering and Computing Education. These students are anticipated to delve into more complex subjects related to teaching, research, and learning. The topics covered in Engineering XXX encompassed the following (but not limited to), Completing a Research project related to a topic around Scholarship, Research, Teaching and Learning (SoTL), Peer Mentoring and Team lead and facilitating one of the first seminar discussions/lectures. This study focuses on the second seminar class and examines the research skills of two groups of students who have already finished the first seminar class. It assesses their capacity to lead and navigate research in the field of engineering and computer science education, specifically looking at aspects like idea generation, research implementation, and presenting their findings. We are currently conducting analysis using a validated survey, which will be completed before the initial draft. So far, students participating in these seminars are demonstrating strong efficacy in most areas.
Gurganus et al. (Sun,) studied this question.