Scholars Showcase - Student Engagement
Scholars Showcase recognizes the rich culture of student and faculty scholarly activity, creative endeavors, and high-impact practice across all areas of Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). It is an opportunity to engage in productive and inspiring dialogues, develop cross-disciplinary collaborations that lead to innovation, immerse in highly effective learning experiences, and advance academic practices related to the scholarship of teaching and learning and discovery.
Student Engagement during Scholars Showcase
Faculty support of student engagement during Scholars Showcase will foster awareness of cross-disciplinary collaborations as well as scholarship and creative innovations.
Following Scholars Showcase attendance and/or participation, students will:
- Establish a sense of community among other students and faculty;
- Learn about, with, and from other students in different disciplines;
- Develop new perceptions or interest of cross-disciplinary education;
- Increase knowledge and confidence of current discipline;
- Identify opportunities for research or creative innovations;
- Explore new opportunities available to them for scholarly research and creative endeavors at EKU; and
- Learn about a new method of research or increase knowledge of the research process.
Incorporating Scholars Showcase into Learning Experiences
Course-Level
These strategies will assist with integrating Scholars Showcase experiences into a spring undergraduate or graduate-level course. Scholars Showcase can be an ideal opportunity to showcase research and scholarly activity to first-year students, student researchers or research teams, and rising seniors, among many others. It also serves as an opportunity to increase cross-disciplinary awareness and knowledge.
Class
Schedule class time for all students to attend the Keynote Speaker’s presentation, UP Showcase or any other events. Prior to the event, students engage in preliminary discussions to make predictions about the content and its relationship to current classroom content, learning, or discovery at EKU. Following the presentation or event, students participate in debriefing as a group or through a class discussion board for deeper reflection about content learned, relation to current knowledge, and the role of collaboration.
Individual Student
Attend: Students attend a specified number of events during Scholar’s Showcase and provide a brief rationale for selection of events attended.
- Engage presenters and speakers: Students interview presenters to identify the relationship to current coursework, potential research or scholarly pursuits at EKU, scholarly inquiry, employability skills, or career preparation.
- Reflect: Students reflect on how they relate to the content or could contribute knowledge as well as questions or applications in areas related to the content.
- Participate: Students submit their work to a Scholars Showcase event.
Assignment-Level
These strategies will assist with integrating Scholars Showcase experiences into spring undergraduate or graduate-level assignments or designing assignments designed around these events. Scholars Showcase is the ideal opportunity to showcase campus research, scholarly, and creative activity to students, leading to moments of reflection and self-assessment. Consider the following:
Extra credit for attending a specified number of presentations, showcases, or events during Scholars Week. Project options include:
- Proof of attendance from event
- Reflection
- Summary
- Response
- Multimodal, creative, or technology-oriented project (digital collage using Jamboard,Canva,Adobe Spark, or similar visual tools
Extra credit or assignment credit for writing a one-page reflective essay:
- Students reflect on how they relate to the content or could contribute knowledge as well as the strengths and areas for growth of the presentation’s content.
- Students offer a response to the content.
- Students compose a reflection based on information learned and the experience.
Interview Presenters:
- Students interview presenters to determine the relationship between the presentation and current coursework, potential research idea, or future career.
- Students interview or compose a summary to understand the presenter’s approach, process, and experience conducting academic research or engaging in scholarly activity at EKU.
Case studies or Community-based Situation (scenario-based learning):
- Disciplines create a video of their role in relation to the case study/community-based situation and share with students from other disciplines (multidisciplinary education).
- Students collaborate to generate interview questions or a treatment plan for the individual within the case study or solution for the community-based situation (interdisciplinary education).
Collaborative Research Projects:
- Students in one course partner with faculty members from different programs to conduct a portion of a research project (literature review, data collection, analysis). The faculty member serves as a mentor.
- Student teams collaborate with a faculty member to extend course-based scholarly or creative activity for a Scholars Showcase event.
Multidisciplinary Project:
- Common learning lab or scenario using the same materials and case study within or across multiple areas (e.g., general education and special education). Students develop common, non-technical communication across both special education and general education.
- Students interview a student conducting research in an area of interest.
Hot Topics:
- Students research a “hot topic” within their major and provide recommendations based on pros and cons identified through Scholars Showcase events.
o Critically Appraised Research Topic (Barends et al., 2017):
The purpose of this project is to assist students in understanding the basic process of conducting a literature review or critical appraisal. A pair of students select a topic approved by the instructor, develop a research question and inclusion criteria, search the literature, evaluate or critically appraise the literature, and describe the results and conclusions of the literature review.
o Simulation-based Learning Experiences (Papadopoulos, 2019):
Following a video or active simulation-based learning experience about content within a program (therapeutic, environmental, or educational) students share perceptions of the simulation, its relationship to course content, other programs, or future decision-making in their career. Within this learning experience, students are exposed to a certain situation requiring their specific skill set. Students may also identify gaps that their current knowledge or skill set can’t fill, requiring cross-disciplinary involvement. Students identify opportunities through Scholars Showcase experiences.
o Community-based Learning Projects (Kolb & Kolb, 2005; Nario-Redmond et al., 2017; Tsilimingras et al., 2018):
As a final project, students in programs that provide community service in the form of therapeutic, social, or environmental support present (or explore) information related to involvement, perceptions, and outcomes.
Create an in-service training for healthcare providers, teachers, or community members related to your discipline based on information or questions related to Scholars Showcase experiences.
Resources
Optional spring 2024 Scholars Showcase Syllabus Statements:
1. Scholars Showcase (April 8-19, 2024) highlights creativity, scholarship, and research among EKU’s faculty and students. Within [course], students will participate in the [event name] as part of Scholars Week. Participation includes completion of [extra credit/project/assignment].
2. Each spring, EKU hosts Scholars Showcase (April 8-19, 2024), a university-wide showcase of the rich culture of scholarly and creative endeavors of students and faculty from all disciplines. Scholars Showcase provides students with the opportunity to learn about and participate in a variety of scholarly, cultural, and creative events. Learn more at https://ekuscholars.eku.edu/.
Examples of syllabus statements for extra credit projects related to attendance, participation, and/or involvement in Scholars Week.
- Attend [specify number] presentations during Scholars Week. Provide rationale for presentation selection [how it relates to current coursework or future career]. Submit [proof of attendance, reflection, project] by [date].
- As part of Scholars Showcase events, EKU will host the [list showcase, event, or presentation; e.g., University Presentation Showcase]. We will attend [event] as a class on [date].
- As part of Scholars Showcase events, EKU will host the [list showcase, event, or presentation; e.g., University Presentation Showcase]. Students are encouraged to attend [event] this event as part of the [course].
Assignment Examples and Templates:
- Multidisciplinary Video Project
- Multidisciplinary Case Study Project
- Interdisciplinary Research Project
- Hot Topics (Research and Scholarly Projects)
- Critically Appraised Research Topic
- Simulation-Based Learning Experience
- Community-Based Project
Examples of reflection assignments for students to explore information learned, how they relate to the content or could contribute knowledge, as well as the strengths and areas for growth of the presentation’s content.
- Write a one-page reflection about a University Presentation Showcase [or CHS Scholars Day] presentation or poster session:
o What new information did you learn about science or the scientific process, research or the research process, and/or value of interdisciplinary collaboration?
- Write a one-page reflective essay about a Scholars Showcase event. Include a reflection on one of the following prompts:
o How do you relate to the content (personally, academically, and/or professionally)?
o How could you contribute knowledge to the project (related to coursework)?
o What questions did this experience prompt?
o What did you learn from the experience (or presenter/showcase)?
Examples of assignments in which students interview presenters to identify the relationship to current coursework, potential research or scholarly pursuits at EKU, or future career.
- During Scholars Showcase, interview a student researcher in your discipline, similar to your discipline, or from a discipline different from your own.
- During Scholars Showcase, attend at least three presentations and interview presenters to determine the relationship between the presentation and current coursework, potential research idea, or future career. See discussion questions below.
Consider these sample questions and prompts to facilitate discussion and promote deeper understanding of the presentation’s content and its relationship to the student's own discipline or research interests. The questions and prompts may also encourage new research interests or opportunities for cross-disciplinary learning opportunities.
- Describe how the idea developed. Why did you choose this project?
- Discuss the benefits and challenges of the project.
- Describe what you learned from this project.
- How does this project relate to (include discipline-specific information)?
- What are your next steps?
Student Verification for Academic Activities
Faculty are encouraged to share information about Scholars Showcase with their students. The resources here offer multiple options.
- Scholars Showcase flyer (download, share with students in the classroom)
- University Presentation Showcase flyer (download, share with students in the classroom)
The following verification forms are provided to students at Scholars Showcase events. Please email the Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning (FCT&L) for more information.
- University Presentation (UP) Showcase proof of attendance
- University Presentation (UP) Showcase poster punch card
- Cultural Scholarship Showcase poster punch card
- Scholars Fair table punch card
References
Barends, E., Rousseau, D.M., & Briner, R.B. (2017). CEBMa Guideline for Critically Appraised Topics in Management and Organizations. https://cebma.org/resources-and-tools/
Barr, H. (2003). Ensuring quality in interprofessional education. CAIPE Bulletin, 23, Winter, 2 – 3.
Bridges D.R., Davidson, R.A., Odegard, P.S., Maki, I.V., & Tomkowiak, J. (2011). Interprofessional collaboration: Three best practice models of interprofessional education. Med Ed Online. 16, 6035.
Gilbert, J. (2005). Interprofessional learning and higher education structural barriers. Journal of Interprofessional Care, Supplement 1, 87-106.
Kahaleh, A.A., Danielson, J., Franson, K. L., Nuffer, W. A., & Umland, E. M. (2015). An interprofessional education panel on development, implementation, and assessment strategies. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 79(6) Article 78, 1-10.
Kolb, A., and Kolb, D. (2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: Enhancing experiential
learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(2), 193-212.
Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2008). Organisational behaviour (8th ed.). McGraw Hill/Irwin.
Lawlis, T. R., Anson, J., & Greenfield, D. (2014). Barriers and enablers that influence sustainability in interprofessional education: A literature review. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 28(4), 306-310.
Nario-Redmond,M. R., Gospodinove, D. & Cobb, A. (2017). Crip for a day: The unintended negative consequences of disability simulations. Rehabilitation Psychology, 62(3), 324-333.https://doi.org/10.1037/rep0000127
Papadopoulos, A. (2019). Integrating the natural environment in social work education: Sustainability and scenario-based learning. Australian Social Work, 72(2), 233-241. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2018.1542012
Tsiimingras, D., Scipio, W, G., Clancy, K., Hudson, L., Liu, X., Mendez, J., & Benkert, J. (2018). Interprofessional education during autism sessions. Journal of Communication Disorders, 76, 71-78.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2018.09.002
Credit
The resources and approaches included on this page were originally developed by Dr. Marie Manning & Dr. Susan Skees-Hermes.
Contact
Faculty Center for Teaching & Learning