Motlow Students Present at Symposium

December 1, 2023

In November, students from four Motlow classes participated in the second annual online Undergraduate Research Symposium. These 18 History, English, and Psychology students enrolled in courses that allowed for additional opportunities to apply knowledge learned in the classroom. All the students will graduate with a High Impact Practice badge on their transcript, indicating the additional effort they put forth to make these presentations.

Psychology Students, from left to right: Noah Gary, Luke Yates, Alyssa Morris, Haley Miles, Olivia Jones, Briana Phillips, Aubrey Rogers, and Tabitha Zagone.

Part of accomplishing the College’s mission of student success is incorporating High-Impact Practices (HIP) into class curricula. These practices give students an opportunity to learn how to put knowledge into action and practice communicating ideas effectively.

According to the Tennessee Board of Regents, Motlow’s governing board, “The College System of Tennessee believes HIPs are an important part of the Teaching and Learning culture of our institutions. Research indicates that HIPs can address college completion goals by fulfilling equity, strengthening collaboration, harnessing innovation, and enhancing institutional and operational capacity.”

Four Motlow professors helped these 18 students develop their presentations and made the symposium possible. Dr. Charles Wexler, Assistant Professor of History; Dr. Stephen Guerin, Professor of Psychology; Ramona Shelton, Associate Professor of History; and Dr. John Butwell, Associate Professor of English; all taught classes with HIP options available for their students.

Pictured: Alexis Mullins and Dr. Charles Wexler

According to Dr. Wexler, “To earn the Undergraduate Research badge for their digital transcript, students have to complete a research project and then present their findings in a public setting. Due to these strict requirements, the Undergraduate Research badge is one of the hardest High-Impact Practices for students to earn at Motlow. This semester, 18 students presented from English, History, and Psychology sections across Motlow campuses. The symposium is conducted via Zoom each semester so that everyone across our service area can participate in the online forum.”

Dr. Guerin stated about his students, “The individual research projects and papers these students conducted through the semester provided them with their first opportunity to engage in guided yet independent research with scholarly sources in psychological science and to engage in critical thinking using scientific evidence to support their conclusions. Composing their research papers in APA (American Psychological Association) style was also a new learning experience for them.  The entire learning experience was intended to spark the students’ interest in research and to help prepare them for future research in their upper division courses.”

The 18 students who completed the project are as follows:

Carly Kuhar
Tabitha Zagone
Aubrey Rogers
Luke Yates
Briana Phillips
Alyssa Morris
Olivia Jones
Haley Miles
Noah Gary
Abigail Nieman
Alexis Mullins
Kayla Abed
Christopher Brennan
Cynthia Arellano
Lanya Byars
Addison King
Nick Robinson
Katlynn Foster

Professors interested in teaching classes where students can make such presentations can visit library.mscc.edu/arc. Students interested in presenting can enroll in HIP-coded classes when they register for the next semester.