Searle Teaching-as-Research (STAR)

The STAR program is open to any graduate student or postdoctoral fellow who has a project context and is a current or past participant of ONE of the following programs:

• Reflective and Effective Teaching or its former iteration, the Teaching Certificate Program
• Mentored Discussions of Teaching (MDT)
• STEM MOOC-Centered Learning Community (MCLC)

STAR will launch in winter 2024.

To apply, please complete this application form (links to external site) by Friday, December 15th, 2023. Participants will be notified in late December about their acceptance.

The STAR program online application includes:

• Identification and description of the project context (e.g., classroom) in which your STAR project will take place; traditionally participants implement their projects in the spring quarter
• Preliminary description of STAR project research question(s) that will be addressed
• Indication of faculty member with whom the participant will work, if known or applicable 

A faculty mentor is not required but suggested if you are implementing your project in their class. 

Participants will

• Develop research questions in a classroom context
• Build awareness of human subject research
• Review literature to inform the project design
• Engage with Human Subjects Research training content
• Discuss the importance of Human Subjects Research ethics in the context of a classroom-based research project
• Select and implement appropriate research methods
• Collect, analyze, and interpret research data
• Reflect and present on research findings and implications

STAR runs for two consecutive quarters. The program begins in winter quarter and runs through spring quarter. Participants are expected to engage in both quarters. 

• During winter quarter, participants attend monthly seminars with Searle Center staff to design their research projects and to iteratively work through their projects both synchronously and asynchronously.
• During spring quarter, participants implement their projects, attend monthly STAR meetings, and present findings at a poster/presentation session in June (see examples of past participants’ STAR projects below.)

Planning ahead?

Meeting 1 will take place the week of January 22nd

Meeting 2 will take place the week of February 12th

Meeting 3 will take place the week of March 4th

Meeting 4 will take place the week of April 1st

Meeting 5 will take place the week of April 29th

Hold at least one mentor-mentee meeting in the Winter and Spring quarters. If you are on the IRB*, we suggest meeting more frequently. 

Suggested meetings:

• Attend Meeting 1 to discuss project as well as the teaching context for the project, and planned involvement of Faculty Mentor (e.g., will you be on the IRB?) 
• Attend Meeting 2 to discuss components of IRB application (i.e., IRB protocol) prior to submission; IRB must be approved before project implementation  
• Attend Meeting 3 to discuss data collection

• Attend Meeting 4 to discuss findings and final presentation 

*Please note that being on the IRB-approved protocol for the STAR project is optional. All study team members must complete the Human Research Participants Training prior to IRB protocol submission. Faculty mentors interested in serving as the PI for the IRB-approxved project, can visit Northwestern’s IRB office flowchart for eligibility.