Testimonies from participants of the 2007 Graduate Student Research Poster Session
Barbara Ball, Mathematics graduate-degree recipient
My research experience at the College of Charleston has been one of the most positive experiences I've ever had. It has been a life-turning event because I now have the confidence to attempt any goal, especially if I am working together with a team.
It is hard for me to comprehend how someone couldn't see the benefits of the research experience for any student, undergraduate or graduate. Research breathes life into the skills learned in the classroom.
Our research group consists of a combination of undergraduate and graduate students, all working together on related but separate topics. The interaction amongst the students is fundamental to the success of the projects. We each bring separate skills to the team. For example, one undergraduate has become proficient in creating web pages, and now she is teaching other group members this skill. A graduate student in our group has been a school teacher for several years and she has taught us how to present our projects using good visual aids and clear verbal communication. Other students offer particular academic strengths and we all benefit from seeing these students explain ideas in a new manner. Our meetings are like a forum for suggestions and when we leave, we each know the next steps to solving our problems.
Through this interaction, we have all acquired skills much sought after by employers today. We have learned to use the web and the library to find pertinent research material. We have learned how to read academic papers and critique them for their content as well as writing skill. We have learned to present material, even complex mathematical ideas, so that anyone can understand it. We have learned to work as a team and to constructively criticize and help one another to achieve each individual's goals. We have learned "how to learn": to independently find the resources we need and use them to accomplish almost any task. And we have learned about advanced topics and applications in our field of study. These skills are the what many professors hope to see their students take away from the classroom, but most will acknowledge there is not enough time to do so and cover the course material. Researc h groups can accomplish this. They can also provide a depth of discovery for the subject area that stimulates him or her to continue on in academia or into the professional world.
In the Charleston area, a lot of attention has been focused on bringing in more technology and high-skill level commerce. Students with our skills will attract these companies or will create this environment through entrepreneurial ventures. Again, it is hard for me to comprehend how someone couldn't see the benefits of the research experience for any student, undergraduate or graduate. The community will benefit as well.
Testimonial from Clare Rodgers, Mathematics Master's degree recipient
Small research groups are interactive and progressive in their teaching styles. Most students are not purely visual or auditory learners, but also require active participation in the exploration of class material. An interactive learning environment always greatly increases understanding of the material. Thus, research groups create a cooperative learning curriculum for graduates and undergraduates that truly involve the students in the entire process.
As a graduate student, I started working with a partner, Barbara, in weekly presentations for my final graduate class. Only in my capstone class as an undergraduate, had I ever experienced the frightening prospect of teaching myself. However, in the capstone class, we were given a single book and, as groups, had to read and understand certain sections to present to the class. Outside materials were applauded, but not necessary to understand the subject. Furthermore, the professor was extremely versed in the subject matter, and could correct or re-teach when a group did not do well. The capstone experience was a crucial baby-step toward my understanding of what research truly means.
In this final graduate class, Barbara and I had one goal to work toward the entire semester. We were given an open hot-topic in the math world and were asked to research it. Of course, the professor, Dr. Langville, was knowledgeable in the subject area and had ideas about what to research, but the findings were completely up to us. We then had weekly presentations that were successively more demanding in expectations. That is, the first presentation was done on the chalkboard and had no goals for the next week. The professor then told us what she expected in our next presentation (for example: a power point, pictures along with concrete examples, research references, and short-term and long-term goals). Each week, we learned to be more independent in our research and more professional in our presentation.
The summer after I earned my masters, I continued researching with Barbara and Dr. Langville in order to continue the research we had begun. Dr. Langville also had undergraduates who were doing summer research for credit. This was their first time doing independent research as well. However, their topics were not open questions, so Barbara and I were able to make suggestions and help them meet the expectations of the coursework.
Until that last class as a graduate student, I never truly grasped the concept of discovering new mathematical information. I knew that brilliant minds had uncovered the secrets of the Pythagorean theorem or the triangle inequality, and I fully grasped the proofs, but how did they even think to make the theorem? Did it just hit them in the middle of the night? Did Pythagoras wake up and say (in Greek, of course), “If I have a right triangle, then the sum of the squares of the legs equals the square of the hypotenuse! Now, let me prove it.” Or was it a process of little discoveries that led to that conclusion and then the proof? In the research groups, I was able to make my own little discoveries and experiments. It was like being in a hands-on lab, but one that I was creating and re-creating. My partner and I could bounce ideas off each other and try things out, then go back to the drawing board. I could experience the drive of discovery that I knew was there somewhere, but did not really understand before. I am a high school math teacher, and my students often laugh at me when I try to explain how excited I am about math. I can absolutely see their points. To them, even though we do sometimes do hands-on labs, math seems discovered. More like a book to be read than one to be written. I cannot even begin to explain the needs for the skills they are learning, because it is like explaining the alphabet to a child who cannot yet read. What is the importance of knowing a letter, if the idea of reading is not there? However, when that child reads for the first time, it becomes clear why she struggled to learn phonics. And when she writes a story she loves, it becomes clear why she struggled to read the classics. That is what researching did for me. It made me understand the love for math that was already there.
Emmeline Douglas, Mathematics Bachelor's degree candidate
This past summer I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Langville’s research group, (comprised of one other undergraduate and a few graduate students) as a part of the Summer Undergraduate Research with Faculty program at the College of Charleston. Even though my research was the graduate students, I learned a lot through working alongside them. I learned what research on a graduate level looked like, and I received feedback from them on my own research, which helped improve the quality of my work. Since I have been thinking about and planning to attend graduate school myself, working with them encouraged me to pursue this goal. Their presence and work certainly enriched my undergraduate research experience.
Ibai Basabe, Mathematics graduate degree candidate
More than just an experience, an adventure of knowing oneself, working with others and challenging the limit of one’s capacities; Dr. Langville’'s research group has guided me from undergraduate to graduate studies at the College of Charleston. Dr. Langville’'s research group connected me with graduate students and their work. What I have learned from them has been not only valuable but crucial for my future. Before joining the research group, I was an undergraduate student with just a vague idea of graduate studies, but once I became involved with the graduate work, I realized that I wanted to continue my studies and pursue a Master’s degree in mathematics. Dr Langville’'s research group has, no doubt, prepared me for graduate school and the work that is expected of a graduate student. It would be a fantastic experience for any undergaduate student to be part of a small research group with graduate students and to learn from their experience and their knowledge.
Luke Ingram, Mathematics graduate degree candidate
Conducting research with Dr. Langville’s mathematics research group has directly influenced me to continue my research and pursue a PhD in mathematics. Without this experience, I would have most likely finished my MS with minimal knowledge in mathematics research and would be entering the 9-5 working crowd. I have learned the perks of academic research that I was not made privy to as an undergraduate.