UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROJECTS AS A TEACHING AND LEARNING DEVICE

An existing program which has incorporated undergraduate research projects into its curriculum is evaluated. The goals of the program are to provide students with opportunities to apply their newly acquired skills to real problems and, in so doing, to gain specialized familiarity with a topic and/or occupation. The results of the program have been good, in general, despite some limitations. The conclusion reached is that the program offers many short and long run benefits to students in that it improves their performance both in the classroom and in their career positions