Affinity Research Groups (Case Study 2)
Using REUs to Retain Female Undergraduates
The Affinity Research Group model (ARG) integrates student participation in research teams and a structured cooperative learning environment. The ARG model is especially effective for reaching out to students who are competent, but who lack confidence — students who are often not invited to do research. The result is greater engagement, increased confidence, increased likelihood of pursuing a graduate degree, and the development of collaboration skills. The components of ARG are:
The foundation of the ARG model is cooperative learning, which has five elements:
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Face-to-face promotive interaction: Regular meetings create opportunities for sharing resources, mutual encouragement, and applauding each other’s efforts to accomplish challenging research tasks.
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Individual and group accountability: The group as a whole and each member are held accountable for meeting project milestones. Each task is associated with a deliverable and each member is assigned responsibility for completing tasks.
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Group and professional skills: Because ARGs include students with varying experience levels, faculty members must explicitly teach and model interpersonal skills necessary for group work. Basic skills include active listening, active participation, and recording minutes. More advanced skills include summarizing, providing direction, synthesizing ideas, asking questions, facilitating brainstorming sessions, and offering constructive criticism.
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Group processing: While faculty mentors direct programmatic changes, all members are involved in discussions reflecting on the group’s progress: what activities and behaviors to continue or change.
References
- Gates, A. Q., Roach, S., Villa, E., Kephart, K., Della-Piana, C., & Della-Piana, G. (2008). The Affinity Research Group Model: Creating and Maintaining Effective Research Teams. IEEE Computer Society. www.computer.org/arg
- The Cooperative Learning Center at the University of Minnesota: www.co-operation.org
Case Study Contributors: Stephanie Hamilton and Sarah Sutter
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Authors: Lecia Barker