Pitching Research: A Pilot Experiment with UQ Winter Scholars

Abstract

Based on Faff’s (2015 & 2016a) template tool, Faff (2016b) explains how meaningfully layered “pitching research” tasks can be designed to accommodate a wide range of student mastery, that enable a clear/easily implementable pedagogic strategy. The current paper describes a real example of this strategy, piloted for three UQ Winter Scholars sponsored by the UQ Advantage Office – as part of a program aimed at undergraduate and coursework masters students. Superficially, our goal is a narrowly-focused guide for future UQ Winter and Summer Scholars. However, this paper strives for a much deeper objective: to serve more generally as a highly relevant resource for a vast array of broadly similar scenarios in which instructors and research mentors are looking for practical guidance on how to “ease in” undergraduate students, to the confronting world of scholarly research.

Keywords: Pitching Research, Undergraduate Research, Research Journey, UQ Winter Scholars

JEL Classification: G00, M00, B40, A20, B00, C00, D00, E00, F00, H00, I00, J00, L00, Q00, R00, Z00