Dr. Susan Larson, provost and dean of Concordia College, co-authored a chapter in “Transforming Academic Culture and Curriculum: Integrating and Scaffolding Research Throughout Undergraduate Education.”
She co-wrote the chapter, Transformation Through Research on Student and Faculty Success, with Jillian Kinzie, associate director of the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research and the National Survey of Student Engagement Institute.
The two stress the importance of infusing high-impact practices to help eliminate access and success gaps for historically underrepresented students.
An example of an effective high-impact practice is creating opportunities for undergraduates to conduct research. This provides students with unique learning experiences; however, the implementation must be tailored and systematically assessed to be the most impactful.
To do that, Larson and Kinzie, along with other project leaders from the Council on Undergraduate Research, promote a break from tradition in higher education. They suggest using backward design, which is when instructors first set goals before choosing teaching and assessment methods.
Before becoming provost, Larson taught courses for the psychology and neuroscience programs at Concordia and was the inaugural director of undergraduate research and student scholarship at Concordia. Larson is also involved with the Council on Undergraduate Research, having served as a past president, councilor, and facilitator.