2014-2015 Peer Advisor Application Cover Sheet Name: __________________________________________________________________

2014-2015 Peer Advisor Application
Cover Sheet
Name:
__________________________________________________________________
Campus Address:
_________________________________________________________
Summer 2014 Address: ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Permanent Address: _______________________________________________________
Cell Phone Number: __________________________________________
UM ID ______________________
UM uniquename: ________________
E-mail address: __________________________________________________________
(Please note all communication regarding Peer Advisor applications will be done via email. Please
provide us with an email account which you will be checking on a regular basis.)
Research Peer Group Preference
Please list your first and second choice
__ Biomedical/Health Sciences
(pre-med, dental, nursing)
__ Social Science
__ Environmental Studies
(ecology, earth sciences, policy)
__Social Science (business)
__ Women in Science &
Engineering
__ Humanities
__ Physical Science
__ Research Scholars
__ Engineering
__ Changing Gears
__ Life/Natural Sciences (biology, genetics, chemistry)
Checklist of Application Materials:
__ Cover Sheet
__ Short Answer Questions
__ Syllabus Exercise (included with short answer questions)
__ Two letters of recommendation ( __ peer advisor
__ Transcript (can be unofficial)
__ Resume
__ faculty research sponsor)
Peer Advisor Application 2014-2015
Section I: Short Answer Questions
[Please type your answers on a separate sheet of paper]
1.
Why would you like to be a peer advisor? (Be sure to include what you think the most
important role a peer advisor can/should play and what skills/qualities you think you will bring to this
position?)
2. Explain how your undergraduate research experience has contributed to your
academic coursework and benefited your overall UM undergraduate experience.
3. Describe your experience facilitating group meetings or activities.
4. How would you explain to your students the connection between their research
experience and UROP research seminars? (Be sure to include what you think the primary
role of the research seminars should be and what steps you might take to help your seminar fulfill this
purpose?)
5. What was the most effective seminar you attended and why? How would you
improve the seminars? What elements would you incorporate into the seminars to
make them more dynamic for the students?
6. Please describe briefly your idea for an “interdisciplinary seminar.” (Also note how
your students would find these topics relevant and interesting to their individual research projects
and why you think it is important to have a meeting focused on interdisciplinary research.)
7. Name 2 topics you would like to cover in your one-on-one meetings. How could
you make one-on-one meetings more useful to your students?
8. Name 2 important/valuable things you learned in your research seminars.
9. What skill building workshops did you attend and how did you apply what you
learned in your project?
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Section II.
Planning Research Seminars for Your Peer Group
If you are hired to be a peer advisor, you will be given a prescriptive template to follow for your
research seminars and are required to cover specific topics. Peer Advisors plan on average 6
seminars in Fall Term and 7 seminars in Winter Term.
For this application, we want you to provide us with ideas and plans for two research seminars.
You should select topics from those provided below. You need to plan the seminars based on the
broad topics listed below, e.g. Research Methods in the Social Sciences. However we expect you
to provide us with your own ideas about the content, potential speakers, relevance to your
students’ area of research etc. based on the type of seminar you hope to lead. Prepare a
detailed plan for the topic including substantive content and how it relates to research
conducted in your disciplinary area.
First, decide what type of group you wish to lead: biomedical health sciences, social science,
humanities, engineering, environmental studies, women in science & engineering, physical
sciences, life sciences, Changing Gears or Research Scholars.
Your sample seminar planning sheet should include:
1. Title for the Seminar (be creative)
2. Purpose of the seminar and learning outcomes for your students. Include how and why the
proposed seminar relates to your students research and academic/professional goals.
3. Format (e.g. speaker, panel, fieldtrip, activities, a mixture)
4. Pre-Seminar Assignment and learning outcomes for the assignment.
5. Post-seminar Assignment and goals.
6. Resources you used to identify speakers, topics, and background information for your
students.
7.
Please choose two of the following topics.
Create your sample seminar planning sheets on a separate sheet of paper.
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Seminar Topics
(2 seminar plans - 1 from Research Methods ,RU,,and 1 from another topic)
Research Methods in Your Discipline: Session I
Social Science: Survey Research
Engineering: Experimental Design or Simulations
Physical Science: Experimental Design or Simulations
Biomedical: Experimental Design. Clinical Research, Translational
Research, Genetic Methods in the Life Sciences
Environmental Science: Field Research
Humanities: Archival Research, Oral History, Performance Practice
Research, Critical Analysis
Interdisciplinary: Survey Research, or one of the other methods listed above
Research Methods in Your Discipline: Session II
Social Science: Case Studies, Community-Based, Ethnography, Experimental
Design
Engineering: Simulations, Observational Research, Computational
Physical Science: Observational Research, Experimental, Theoretical,
Computational
Biomedical: Clinical Research, Survey Research, Experimental
Natural Science/Environmental Studies: Field Research, Experimental
Design, Survey Research
Humanities: Archival Research, Creative Design and Practice, Literary
Analysis, Digital Humanities
Current Research in the Field
This seminar lends itself to many different formats including fieldtrips to
research sites on campus, a panel discussion with several faculty who are
approaching the same or different topics that are on the cutting edge of the
discipline or field, a lecture/discussion, etc.
Interdisciplinary Research
To introduce students to the importance of interdisciplinary research in all fields and
how interdisciplinary research teams work together to answer a research question
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