Pair-Researching Helps Undergraduate Atmospheric Science Students

The pedagogic method of implementing mentor-led collaborative undergraduate student pairings (i.e., student-student-mentor group) has been used with success since 2005 while conducting research during a multi-week summer research program at Hobart & William Smith Colleges. The approach, benefits, and outcomes will be shared to encourage an alternative pedagogical method within the atmospheric science community. Collectively, Drs. Laird and Metz have supervised 27 collaborative undergraduate student pairings during summer research experiences. The two students in each pairing typically spend the first several weeks working together to develop their paired-project in collaboration with their mentor. Each pair focuses on understanding the relevance of their research topic by reviewing the scientific literature, assembling and exploring data relevant to their collaborative research topic, and developing original research questions and scientific hypotheses connected to the collaborative topic. The remainder of the summer research experience allows each student to pursue a goal of completing an individual research investigation that builds upon the paired early summer effort while maintaining a close partnership with their mentor and the other undergraduate student in their research pairing. This pair-researching approach replicates the collaborative nature of conducting a scientific investigation, develops a strong peer-to-peer supportive partnership, and allows undergraduates to advance more rapidly on their research compared to working in isolation with their research mentor.