Characteristics of a SAIL Experience
Characteristics of a SAIL Experience
A variety of course experiences can fit under the SAIL Experience. Not all courses will have the same characteristics, but there are some common characteristics you'll find in many SAIL experiences.
Characteristics of a SAIL experience in SCSE include:
Students make discoveries that are of interest to stakeholders outside the classroom (e.g., the broader scientific and/or engineering community). This could be demonstrated by a stakeholder request for collaboration, a literature review describing the state of the field, and other similar approaches.
Students' work is iterative, meaning that students must trouble-shoot, problem-solve, and repeat aspects of their work. Evaluation of student work should reflect the idea that both careful planning and responding to results are essential elements of professional work in STEM.
Students communicate their results to stakeholders. This could be demonstrated by publication, presentation to a disciplinary conference, oral or written communication to stakeholders, or other similar mechanisms.
Students work with industry or community partners. Partnerships should be reported to the SCSE Coordinator for Internships and Strategic Partnerships.
New research questions and directions are generated each term and the course is unlikely to look the same from year to year.
Students may engage in a range of professional practices such as collecting and analyzing data, building and defending arguments, and collaborating with one another and more experienced professionals.
Project-based learning extends beyond a single semester, providing the time and context for students to gain deeper insights into their field of study, to learn and practice professional skills, to make substantial contributions to real-world projects, and to experience different roles on large, multidisciplinary teams.
Mentorship plays a key role in the project, with faculty and graduate students mentoring teams, experienced students mentoring new members, and students moving into leadership roles as others graduate.
Students from many disciplines participate and enable the completion of ambitious projects, which strengthens and expands faculty scholarship and exploration. Faculty members create projects around their own interests, so they bring both expertise and enthusiasm to each team.
Students collaborate in groups with an intentional faculty-designed plan for generating groups and supporting the growth of groups through the project.