Themes
Three themes were identified from the findings of this project:
- The key benefit of linking research and teaching is to enthuse a future generation about the excitement of exploration; understanding the research process itself is as important as comprehending the detail of the discipline's current cutting-edge research, which may be either too dynamic to keep up with, or too cumulative in nature.
- It is important to de-mystify research at an early stage and this can be done through exposure to what excites teachers about their research from day one. Direct student participation in research projects is most common at final year undergraduate and taught post-graduate levels. It is particularly appropriate to applied subjects.
- Students are particularly excited by research that can be related to an application or real-world problem. It can be inspirational and aspirational for some, with less tangible but still valuable benefits to others, even where it is not directly motivating for all students.
