Student Inquiry and Research Program Details
Advisor Responsibilities
The advisor is involved with the student in all stages of the SIR investigation, starting with discussions about the proposal and ending with input to determination of the final grade and academic credit. This involvement helps to ensure that the student works on an investigation of substance, has clear expectations and timelines, understands how the specific investigation fits into a larger context, and is directed to relevant literature for reference material.
General Advisory Duties
When an on-campus or off-campus professional agrees to serve as the advisor for a student's investigation, the role of that adult is to support and guide the student who is conducting the investigation. The recommended way that the advisor approaches this duty is called "ERRATIC" behavior, an acronym for "Encourage," "Remove Road Blocks," "Accountability," and "Teach Intense Concentration." In broad outline, it is the same task with which any teacher at the Academy is charged.
It is expected that the advisor will secure institutional support and clearance for having an IMSA student work in the laboratory or place of business, and will make sufficient time available to guide the student's research. The advisor may work individually with the student, or may set up a collaborative team of colleagues to guide student work and assist the student with learning and practicing the higher level tools of the trade.
The advisor will introduce the student to professional standards and processes acceptable to the discipline, and disucss the ethical or societal implications of the investigation with the student. The advisor, or advisory team will explicitly model, and continually reinforce ethical and safe practices for investigation.
The advisor will communicate with the student to probe for student knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, assess the student's skill level, and provide appropriate guidance throughout the investigation, including reading and commenting on the student's required written work related to the investigation. The advisor will also assist SIR staff in monitoring student attendance and participation on scheduled investigation days, ensure timely communication with the SIR Coordinator regarding any concerns, and provide input to the student's final grade on the investigation.
Specific Advisory Duties
The advisor will support the student in the following specific ways as the investigation proceeds:
1. Proposal Preparation
a. The advisor will review and provide feedback on the student's proposed investigation, considering content and reasonable expectation of a successful learning experience, though not necessarily successful completion of all investigation goals. Once satisifed with the proposal, the advisor will sign the student's updated investigation proposal form.
b. Prior to signing off on the proposal, the advisor will help the student to identify needed resources (e.g. what's available and what is still needed) and ensure that the investigation is viable.
2. Safety Considerations
a. The advisor will assess safety issues prior to signing off on the proposal.
b. With on-campus laboratory investigations, the student may work in the Grainger Center for Imagination and Inquiry (GCII) or the Grainger Inventors' Workshop only with adult supervision after completing the safety agreement for those facilities. Staff of these facilities will need "heads-up" safety information for experiments and procedures that they do not have specific experience with.
c. With on-campus investigations requiring the use of tools, the advisor will provide supervision when work cannot be conducted in the Grainger Inventors' Workshop or the GCII.
3. Academic Supervision during the Investigation
a. The advisor will collect, assess, give feedback, and sign off on investigation progress reports and the investigation abstract. The student will turn these documents in to the SIR Coordinator, who will help monitor the completion of all checkpoints.
b. The advisor will monitor the work for a successful learning experience, and assist the student with the investigation as necessary.
c. The advisor will meet with the student approximately every week to assess progress and assist with direction. The meeting frequency may vary given the student, advisor, and topic of investigation.
d. The advisor may share his or her particular expertise with the student, if such assistance will promote completion of the investigation without interfering with the student's learning.
4. Preparation for and Feedback on the Final Presentation
a. The advisor will review and provide feedback on material developed for the student's oral presentation and poster presentation noting quality of the work, discussing and addressing any deficiencies with the student.
b. At IMSAloquium, an assigned evaluator will monitor the student's oral presentation and poster presentation; off-campus advisors are invited, but not required to attend IMSAloquium to provide presentation feedback. Upon completion of the oral presentation, the evaluator will complete the oral presentation assessment form and forward it to the Coordinator of Student Inquiry and Research.
5. Input to Final Assessment and Academic Credit
a. The advisor will review the student's final report, discuss a final summary and evaluation of the investigation with the student, complete the final evaluation form, and forward it to the Coordinator of Student Inquiry and Research.
b. The advisor will provide significant input to the Coordinator of Student Inquiry and Research on the student's SIR grade, regarding the quality of the student's investigation, the extent to which the investigation goals were met, and whether the work is deserving of academic credit. The Coordinator of Student Inquiry and Research will use the advisor's input and the student's record of meeting administrative requirements and deadlines to determine final grade and academic credit for the student's investigation.