Santa Clara University

Enhancing the Research-Teaching Nexus

by Diane Jonte-Pace

Must we envision teaching and research as eternal adversaries?  Many faculty are moving away from viewing teaching as oppositional to research, seeking instead to find creative ways to foster the "research-teaching nexus" (Jenkins 2003). A growing body of literature in higher education examines the integration of teaching and research, reporting significant benefits for both students and faculty. 

For faculty, the most immediate and direct benefit involves time: students can help us move forward more efficiently and productively with our research.  There are indirect benefits as well: the process of teaching can invigorate scholarship. Through interactions with students I often discover connections I previously overlooked. And most of us know the sense of having contributed to our fields by sending a fine student to an excellent graduate school.

Benefits for students are widely documented.  Student-faculty interaction represents one of the primary "educational practices empirically linked to high levels of learning and development" (NSSE 2002). Students involved in faculty research become "more confident as learners and more capable of thinking independently" (Jenkins 2003). They learn how research within their discipline leads to the creation of knowledge, and they express greater satisfaction with their educational experiences.

Creative innovations in the "teaching-research nexus" are widespread at SCU.  I've gathered a few examples from recent conversation with colleagues: Jane Curry in Political Science and Diane Dreher in English have both developed annotated bibliography assignments asking their students to focus on areas they are investigating in their own research.  Students learn writing skills, information literacy, critical thinking, and course content.  In addition, faculty benefit as scholars: student projects assist Curry and Dreher in staying aware of important developments in their fields.  Another integration of research and teaching is Matthew Bell's "grant writing exercise" in a Psychology of Learning course.  Students who develop excellent grant proposals are encouraged to submit them for research funding.  Matt explains to his students, "If you develop an interest in behavior analysis, you may be able to apply for funding and conduct this research with me.  However, the grant writing skills will be useful to you no matter what career you choose."  Everyone benefits in this integration of teaching and research. 

Some integrations of teaching and research occur at the level of curricular design.  Our Chemistry Department offers a one unit seminar for majors.  Students receive copies of faculty c.v.s and publications. Faculty discuss with students the goals of their research and the relationship of current to earlier work.  Students are well situated to initiate senior research projects that intersect with faculty research interests.

Other SCU faculty integrate pedagogy and research through scholarly inquiry into the process of teaching and learning itself -- Boyer (1990) has called this the "scholarship of teaching." Pedro Hernandez-Ramos has written on teaching and learning with technology. Carol Giancarlo publishes on critical thinking. Susan DeLaPaz studies historical learning among culturally diverse students. Jeanne Gunner's research is on composition and writing instruction. Sukhi Singh has written on interactive approaches to engineering education.  And Shelby McIntyre has published on the substantial learning effects that result from having students write test questions in marketing courses.

Not everyone agrees that scholarship and teaching can be integrated.  Critics of this position fall into two camps. One group claims that the job of the university is solely to educate students, and that burying oneself in research is a selfish escape from an honorable task.  The other group argues that the role of the scholar is to contribute to knowledge in the discipline, and that teaching pulls us away from this important vocation.  To my mind, however, teaching provides an opportunity to frame courses around questions I want to address in my research: teaching and research are most effective when they're connected.

Are there ways we can enhance the integration of scholarship and teaching at SCU?  I've listed a few proposals below:

* A Faculty-Student Research Assistant Program built on the federally funded Work-Study program.

* A lecture by a representative of the Carnegie Foundation for the Scholarship of Teaching.

* A reading group focused on the integration of research and teaching.

* An award or grant to support innovative strategies in the integration of scholarship and teaching.

Innovative ways of promoting the "research-teaching nexus" are already widespread at SCU.  Our dual identity as "teaching-scholars" gives us a vocabulary for the balance and integration that can benefit both faculty and students.  I invite your reactions to the proposals above and encourage you to think further about how SCU can enhance the research-teaching nexus.

References

Boyer, E. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Jenkins, A. et al. (2003). Reshaping Teaching in Higher Education: Linking Teaching and Research.   Stylus.

NSSE (National Survey of Student Engagement), 2002. Institutional Benchmark Report, http://www. scu.edu/ir/instrsch/scuonly/NSSE