Religious Studies News

In my institution, undergraduate research (UR) projects extend over multiple — usually three or four — semesters. Ideally, the mentor and student draw up a learning contract at or near the beginning of the project and/or at the beginning of one phase of the project. In addition to the student and mentor outlining a general plan of study for the project as a whole, at the start of each semester a new contract typically is outlined and agreed upon by both participants. Students sign up for “independent research” credit, ranging from one to four hours per semester, and the contract should reflect the amount of work appropriate for the student’s credit hours. In practice, students who are eager to do UR often want to “bite off more than they can chew” and sometimes have to be reined in by the mentor. Developing a contract together allows the mentor to help the student set realistic expectations — something your student will thank you for in the end!

Before sitting down with the student to outline the contract, I usually make contact via e-mail and encourage the student to start thinking about what he hopes we will accomplish together over the semester. Even if this is the first semester of working together, I have usually met with the student already to talk about his project and potential areas of research. Especially if you have worked with a student in the past, you might consider asking him to reflect upon where he has been, where he is, and where he wants to go in relation to the independent research project (Anderson, Boud, and Sampson, 18). Not only will answers to these questions provide a helpful starting point for your conversation, but the questions remind the student that his research can and should build upon what he has done in the past, either in other UR contexts or in coursework.

When drafting a learning contract with a student, I typically work from a form that I have developed based upon models from other faculty and the expectations of my institution’s UR programs. I have a blank version ready for the student and me to fill out together by hand (Boak, 44), although one of us eventually types up a formal copy for our records. The document includes three sections. In the top section, there are blanks for designating the student and mentor’s names, indicating the semester, year, and credit hours, the name of the project, and regular meeting time and place. More importantly, in the top section of the form there is space to indicate how many hours of work the student should expect to do each week. Generally, I ask that students complete three hours of work per week for each hour of credit. 

In the bottom third of the contract form, I have places for both the student and myself to sign and date the contract. This act signals both of our commitments to accomplish the goals and tasks outlined in the main part of the contract. While I am sure people differ on this, I do think that even after the contract is signed there remains an option to renegotiate it if the research project demands rethinking (Anderson, Boud, and Sampson, 25). Even though the contract represents the student’s and the mentor’s forethought and should be taken seriously, UR projects often involve dead ends and reformulations; thus, one is advised not to be beholden to the contract in itself. 

The central section of the contract includes places for learning objectives, specific learning outcomes, and assessment criteria. This part of the contract serves the important function of providing a guideline for the student as she works through the semester. Devising and articulating these elements requires thought and time and may require more than one meeting with the student; however, having these clearly articulated makes the research process move more smoothly. One way of organizing this information is to name the general objective and to identify a specific learning outcome or set of outcomes related to the objective, as well as describing how the outcome will be assessed and appropriate due dates (see below). In addition to outlining specific products for assessment, it can be helpful to explain to your student what type of work she needs in order to earn particular letter grades. For example, I typically inform students that satisfactory completion of the assignments for assessment are equivalent to a “B,” while work that pushes beyond these expectations will result in a higher grade.