Undergraduate Field Experiences Research Network (UFERN) Application for 2019 Network Meeting

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UFERN seeks to build a vibrant, supportive, and sustainable collaborative network that fosters effective undergraduate field learning experiences. UFERN will be holding the 2019 network meeting October 15 - 18, 2019 at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon. We have a select number of fully funded slots to participate in this meeting. We are looking for candidates who can commit to attending the network meeting, have the expertise and capacity to contribute to collaborative projects, and the enthusiasm to co-learn with colleagues from diverse disciplines.

Our goal for the meeting is to bring a variety of perspectives together. We welcome those who are new to UFERN as well as those who have been involved from the beginning, and we welcome applicants from various stages in their careers.

APPLICATION DUE August 1, 2019
Review of applications and invites will be sent out by August 15th.
Questions can be directed to Kari O'Connell, UFERN PI or Kelly Hoke, UFERN Program Coordinator
kari.oconnell@oregonstate.edu
kelly.hoke@oregonstate.edu

Goals of the 2019 UFERN Network Meeting are to:

1. Reinvigorate UFERN with clear direction and enthusiasm.
2. Support current and identify new UFERN project groups with clear direction, leadership, and products on which to collaborate.
3. Define next steps for involving a broad network of undergraduate field programs in common assessment of student outcomes distinctive to field learning.
4. Develop a research agenda focused on undergraduate field learning experiences.
5. Support participants to form positive connections with each other, see the value of the network and leave motivated to remain engaged participants of the network.

Tell us about you

First and Last Name *

Professional Title *

Email Address *

Institution and Department *

Do you identify as... (Check all that apply)

an instructor or director of an undergraduate field course, research experience, or other field learning program?

a STEM Education researcher?

leader in a professional network, association, or society?

a broker or expert in broadening participation?

Other:

Institution type (Check all that apply)

Research intensive

Primarily undergraduate

Community College

HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)

HSI (Hispanic Serving Institutions)

TCU (Tribal Colleges and Universities)

Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions

Other:

UFERN Involvement

New interest and seasoned UFERN participants are encouraged to apply! If you have engaged with UFERN, please tell us how.

What has your involvement been with UFERN thus far? Please check all that apply.

Attended one or more webinars

Presented a webinar

Listserv member

Just heard about UFERN, and I’m excited to be involved!

Attended the first Network Meeting

Presenter or facilitator at the UFERN Inspire Session at the 2019 Ecological Society of America Meeting

Other:

UFERN Project Group Interest

Current goals of each project group are listed. The Network meeting will be used to work towards these goals, and to build on these projects to organize new project groups. Please keep in mind that as a Research Coordination Network, our efforts need to build upon, support, or expand existing efforts or consist of small, pilot projects that can facilitate submission of proposals for bigger efforts. If you have an existing effort that aligns with UFERN and that the network can build upon, there is also space below to suggest it for a new collaborative project group. Please reach out to Kari O’Connell (kari.oconnell@oregonstate.edu) or Kelly Hoke (kelly.hoke@oregonstate.edu ) if you have any questions.

In which project group are you interested (Check all that apply)? *

Connecting field program design to the student experience: This group is collaborating to add questions about place attachment, environmental attitudes and connection to nature to an existing student assessment of the Transformative Learning Program at University of Michigan and to pilot a short survey for faculty about field course design. This small group will present data from this effort at the October network meeting and foster a discussion to decide upon next steps to involve more field stations and field programs in this or a similar effort in the future.

Student recruitment and selection: This group is planning a pilot review of recruitment and selection processes of field-based REU or similar programs that will inform the development of a project to describe current practice and characterize promising approaches for making these processes more inclusive for undergraduate field programs.

Field program quality/field work standards: This group is focused on field program quality and the Ecology practice of field work in the recently adopted Ecological Society of America 4D Ecology Education Initiative. This group will discuss connections between how employers, such as USGS, want their future employees to be trained and what is actually happening in undergraduate field programs across UFERN.

(Tentative) Mentoring training for faculty, instructors, and research mentors: This group is leading a concurrent session at the 2019 Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) that introduces the Entering Mentoring training curriculum, which is an evidence-based, interactive, facilitated mentor training program. In this approach, mentors engage in collective problem solving and connect with resources to optimize their mentoring practices. Depending on the interest at OBFS and by participants in this application, this may or may not become a UFERN project group or it might have a slightly different focus.

Or do you have an interest in starting a new project group? If yes, please tell us more about your idea.Please keep in mind that as an RCN, our projects need to build upon, support, or expand existing efforts or consist of small, pilot projects that can facilitate submission of proposals for bigger efforts.

Other:

Required

How will you bring a diverse lens to the network meeting?

What expertise or capacity for impact do you bring to the project group of interest and UFERN overall?

What projects or efforts are you working on currently that would benefit from and/or contribute to UFERN?

What would you like to take away from the network meeting and/or from being involved in UFERN?

Are you able to fund your travel or do you need UFERN to cover travel expenses? This information is for planning purposes only, and will help us decide how many participants we can fully fund to attend the meeting.

I can fund my travel to the Network Meeting

I can partially fund my travel to the Network Meeting

Participation at the Network Meeting is reliant on UFERN funding my travel

Other:

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