Short Description:
Students interview their professor(s) and ask them to describe how they do research, how research gets disseminated in their discipline, etc. Each student can ask one question below. This assignment can be useful as a “first day of class” activity for a First Year Seminar. Novice researchers are introduced to scholarly discourse and discipline-specific approaches to producing knowledge by experts.
Learning Outcomes:
• Students will articulate the processes of information creation and dissemination in a particular discipline.
Course Context (e.g. how it was implemented or integrated):
Variations: 1. The writing instructor interviews the content faculty member in front of the class. 2. Interview two of your professors from different disciplines. Compare and contrast their answers. How are the disciplines similar and how are they different? Discuss the differences in the role of publication and scholarly communication across disciplines. Assessment: Students are asked to listen critically and carefully to their professor’s interview and then write a brief reflective essay/journal entry/writing response. Writing prompt: How are questions and new ideas formulated, introduced, and disseminated your professor’s field? Describe the “typical” research process.
