Learning is a noble action one does
knowingly and unknowingly. Learning happens mainly in three different ways.
They are self-learning, external-learning and natural-learning. These
classifications are not strictly exhaustive. In self-learning, the primary
initiative is from the self whereas in external-learning the role of the other
is very important. In natural learning, the roles of the self and the other are
not very well articulated.
Learning that is happening in
structured institutions such as school, college or university comes under the
external-learning. Though the learning is always subjective and is by the
individual, in external-learning, the responsibility is apparently with that of
the institutions. It is strange to note that, although humans are the only
beings with rationality, they are the ones who depend largely on
external-learning. The so-called progress in the world is mainly due to this. Human
beings change their style of living, keep improving living environment and are
always in pursuit of better comfort and improved happiness. In fact, primarily
for these reasons human beings are ready to take efforts in learning. The role
of institutions for learning hence is very large in the progress of society.
There are many who contributed to the
progress of the society substantially without even having earned a graduation
from any educational institution. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are the most famous
among them. They changed the way human beings live. There are a good number of
people who consider Gates and Jobs as models and consider formal education
meaningless. However, the number of drop-outs employed by the companies founded
by both Gates and Jobs are nearly negligible. The intuition, innovation and
inspiration of these legendary men are commendable.
How do we address the question of
usefulness of formal learning? Any preliminary analysis will help us to
conclude that the influence of formal learning on an individual’s progress in
life and eventually to that of the society is very large than that of the
influence of non-formal education. How do we maximize the impact of formal
learning? For this, educational institutions across the globe design many
strategies. One of the strategies is to involve students in research projects
and encourage students to involve in research projects.
There are a good number of people who
had done their research projects while at University which eventually changed
the course of human history. Let us know about some of them.
Martin (1969- ) was from a remote
Western Australian desert village. Most of his primary education was through
distance learning being a single student of his school. While doing his tertiary
studies in Curtin University, Australia, he undertook a host of minor projects [3]which eventually resulted in his
PhD dissertation and in the birth of the most famous course management system
MOODLE. Martin has postgraduate degrees in both Computer Science and Education.
Moodle is used by millions of teachers and students worldwide.[4] Martin Dougiamas made
distance-learning more attractive and near-learning more effective. He
shortened the mutual distance among student, teacher and course content.
Sergey Brin (1973- ) met Larry Page
(1973- ) at Stanford University, while the former was doing his PhD and the
latter was just a fresher for PhD there. The two went on to do combined
projects making use of the available algorithms and concepts. This lead to the
development of one of the most famous search engines in the internet, Google.
Google Search Engine was first implemented in their alma mater.[5] Google went on to mint money using
their superior technology and democratic approach. They offer tremendous support
to educational institutions worldwide in an unimaginable way.
As an intern at Bell
Labs, Eric Schmidt (1955- ) did a complete rewrite of Lex, a program to
generate lexical analysers for the UNIX computer operating system.[8] Schmidt is a PhD in Computer
Science.
What is research?
Research is ‘repeated
search.’ Education is a search for knowledge. The result what one gets in the
first search may not be always true. Holding the results and accepting them at
their face value, a genuine seeker of knowledge continues to search. Every time
one reaches the result, one reaffirms the truth in the true result. This
process is repeated several times and is known as ‘research.’
Student research projects
In a usual classroom
environment, the teacher transfers the knowledge that is already confirmed and
accepted by the academic community. In many educational institutions,
research-supported learning is promoted. This is with the view that the learner
is more self-reliant and independent in the future. One of the
research-supported pedagogies is to insist students to take up minor projects
which are supervised by the teachers. Research projects are mostly time bound
and result oriented. During the undergraduate and postgraduate studies, student
research projects are greatly beneficial to the students in many ways.
Major advantages of student research projects
Student research projects are the best modules for an effective career preparation. Students
may take up projects of their choice in consultation with the supervisors
appointed by the educational institution. There are cases when the supervisors
assign the project to the students too. In either case it augments learning with enjoyment. As there is no
strict course content to be covered for the sake of grading, students start
enjoying learning by doing.
A
person who is confident in his/her abilities will naturally be a successful
person. Hence successful completion of research projects enhances the faith and
confidence in own abilities of the participating students. In a supervised
research project, the accompaniment of the supervisor builds trust and security
among the researcher.
Many
research projects are complementary in nature. They help the students to
understand the things discussed in the classroom or read from a book. Getting
sharpened in the critical and analytical skills, the preparedness of the
student is better in taking up challenging tasks after graduation. Those
students who continue to do their studies such as MPhil or PhD, involvement in
research projects are an added advantage. Great inventions in science are done
by people who started research while young.
Involvement in a research project helps the student to relook
into one’s own learning methods. The ‘why’ and ‘how’ of learning is better
understood for a person who completes couple of minor research projects. While
doing the research, the researcher is led to new avenues of knowledge.
How to begin a research project?
Before
the actual commencement of the research, it is advisable that a student should
consider his/her goals, interests, and time commitments. It is better to ask
oneself questions such as
▪ What
do I know about research in the field?
▪ What
are my interests?
▪ What
do I hope to gain through my research project?
▪ What
is my contribution to the world through the research?
▪ How
much time can I realistically commit to working on a research project?
Some tips for a budding researcher
A
beginner in research project should venture into the work with absolute
humility. As a beginner, however
intelligent one is, one should accept the fact that one is a beginner. With few
skills, the type of project one can undertake will be limited and the
inter-dependence will be at a higher level. Hence, choose only projects fitting
to one’s capabilities with utmost prudence
and care. There is no shortage for such projects in any discipline. Extreme
care must be taken to avoid ambitious or
unreasonable projects during a short research period.
More
than the topic or the area of research, the method in which the research is
carried out matters in research. The genuinity in the research supported with
absolute honesty and integrity will assure a promising career for the young
student researcher.
Role of a supervisor
In
student research projects, supervisors are like parents and elders who take
children around for walk. Children see things but understand it by the timely
and right input from the parents or elders.
Hence building up a healthy and professional rapport with the supervisor
is always advisable. Students must be open enough to discuss with the
supervisor the scholarly interests and career goals.
It looks
always fitting to explore the research interests of faculty supervisor well in
advance. This will help the student to choose the topic of research.
The
researcher should have a reasonable estimate of what he/she expects from the
research project. Moreover, this should in some way reflect on what one expects
from the supervisor too. It is worth noticing that the actual researcher is the
student not the supervisor. As everybody is endowed with his or her distinct
personality traits, student should learn to enjoy working with the supervisor
with a professional approach. Research project in most cases is an academic
requirement and hence if the things are not going in a smooth manner, student
should take initiative in getting back to the right track.
Scheduled
briefing with the supervisor is unavoidable. The collaborations with a good
supervisor not only speed up the learning process of the student but also
explore fresh avenues of knowledge.
In
most of the cases supervising does not attract any kind of financial gains for
the supervisors. On the contrary, they are set to shed their personal time and
other related comforts. The motivation for supervising is derived from the
commitment to scholarly development and the passion for engaging in
collaborative inquiry. The experience and skill sets of the supervisors,
however little they are, will be an asset for the researcher.
In a
healthy mentoring by the supervisor, there will develop a positive environment
such that it encourages questions and fosters curiosity needed for the research
project. It would also lead to consider new or alternative approaches. In
addition to this, a constructive and reciprocal feedback will mould the right
research mentality in the researcher.
When selecting
a topic, a researcher can always wait for the green signal from the supervisor.
Many supervisors have completed small or big research projects, or supervised
at different levels. Hence, an extension of the work of the supervisor or that
of a work supervised by the same supervisor will have many advantages.
Primarily, the comfort level of the supervisor will be very high. Then, such
works can fill the gaps in the existing systems and improvise them.
Present or Perish
One of
the major goals in any research project is to augment the progress of the
society. Research results contribute to the knowledge in a field when they are
shared with other practitioners in the discipline. Considering the research
project as a mere academic requirement cannot be treated as a positive sign. Every
researcher should work towards a presentable research project.
Presentability
is double-pronged. On the one hand, the research project is to be carried out
with prevalent norms of the discipline. On the other hand, the researcher
should have the humility and openness to display it in the public space. A
substandard project work or a ‘closed’ project will perish in no time.
Presentation
of a research project means either the public presentation in front of a peer
group or the publishing in an appropriate space. Discipline-specific
professional meetings and conferences have no shortage at all during any season
of the year. The work may be shared at least in a comfortable atmosphere with
fellow students, faculty, and community members.
Publishing
is a superior form of presenting the research outcome. Publishing in a
peer-reviewed journal is not a small achievement. But it will not only build up
the profile of the researcher but also bring laurels to the supervisor and to
the alma mater. Blogs, websites, newsletters, magazines, forums etc. will
comparatively be easier spaces for publishing.
Students
actively participating in the research projects, teachers proactively
supporting and institutions positively promoting them can always contribute
substantially to form a balanced society.
Talk to the postgraduate
students of Computer Science and Computer Applications on November 7, 2014.
[4] "Martin Dougiamas (Moodle) | EDUCAUSE.edu."
2012. 8 Nov. 2014 <http://www.educause.edu/members/martin-dougiamas>
[5] "Our history in depth – Company – Google."
2012. 8 Nov. 2014 <http://www.google.com/about/company/history/>
[8] "Management team – Company – Google." 2012.
8 Nov. 2014 <https://www.google.com/about/company/facts/management/>
R- Rethinking always...
ReplyDeleteE- Enigmatic ideas...
S- Scientific search...
E- Enthusiastic moods...
A- Altruistic attitude...
R- Rational hardwork...
C- Crisis management skills &...
H- Holding on to the end...
Joe, please share more deeply on RESEARCH!