"It is the function
of the teacher not only to present important results, but
to provide a method of criticism by means of which their
significance may be discovered and appreciated. Nothing
servs (sic) the student so well in this connection as actual
experience with real problems and at the same time nothing
so stimulates discriminating observations. Students are
invited, therefore, to avail themselves of every facility
the Department affords -- lectures, laboratories, gardens,
collections, field trips library -- and develop their resourcefulness
and powers of imagination by free contact with concrete
facts." (from the Reed College Record, #5, First Annual
Catalog, 1911-1912)
"The Biology Department at Reed College is not typical of
those found in other undergraduate institutions. While its
main goal is to provide an educational experience of the
highest quality for its students, it is committed as well
to the pursuit of basic research. Thus the faculty is composed
of individuals who have chosen to place their primary emphasis
on teaching and working with undergraduates, yet have maintained
research involvement in their biological specialties. That
this research activity is not trivial is evidenced by the
facts that over the last 10 years $2,005,528 in grant support
funds have been received from federal and private sources,
and the current staff has published over 100 research reports,
reviews, and chapters in the scientific literature". (from
Department of Biology, Reed College, Self-Study Report,
October, 1976.)
From
the very beginnings of the Department, it was a matter of
policy to include students in all aspects of the scientific
endeavor that could be offered by the resources of the institution.
This soon translated into research participation by students
in the research activities of the faculty. A significant academic
year research component for the faculty, however, was not
to be fully realized for some years because the departmental
staff and facilities were limited - but whatever was available
was also available to the students. The faculty members of
the Biology Department have been, from the beginning, publishing
scientists. The extent of their activities were limited by
time and facilities, but most members of the department have
left a record of research activity. Summers became a time
to emphasize experimental work, and students were often invited
to participate in that research.
Introduction
The Curriculum
The Research Paradigm
Research Time—Principles
and Expectations (1997)
Student Research: The Senior
Thesis
Outcomes
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