HONORS EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROJECT PROPOSAL FORM

Basic Information
Full Name: Rachel Tan
UC Email: tanrv@mail.uc.edu
College: Arts and Sciences (McMicken)
Major: Biological Sciences/Pre-medicine
Title of Project: The Department of Pediatrics Summer Undergraduate Research Program
Thematic Area: Research
Expected Project Start Date: May 27, 2014 or June 2, 2014
Expected Project End Date: August 1, 2014 or August 8, 2014
Project Information
1. Provide a detailed abstract of your proposed honors experiential learning project.
The goal of this project is to explore different areas of research that occur in a laboratory at
a university setting. It is a free-range project with the areas of research including research in
biochemistry, genetics, physiology, and behavioral research for those interested in studying child
psychology. Once accepted into the program, the student will be assigned one or more
(depending) laboratory mentors to help with performing the arduous tasks of the laboratory
procedures. It is a major learning experience and introduction into real-world laboratory work.
The student will then pick the context they would want to work on, and a project is established. In
the beginning, the major requirements will be coming up with a plan for how the next several
weeks will be spent. For the rest of the summer, the student will be performing experiments in
order to form a conclusion on a research subject. In the final days of the program, each student
will present their final project in intricate detail to the rest of the students.
If I were to be accepted into the program, I would want my project to be based on genetics.
The genetics-based research would focus on isolating different genes from a set of DNA, and then
possibly modifying the sequences to observe effects on the original host or a new host
(implantation). However, the main goal and hypothesis for the project would not be determined
until the first day of the program. The program is a 10-week, hands on opportunity in which
students work with investigators at Case Western Reserve University in the Department of
Pediatrics. It is a full time research position, meaning the work is Monday-Friday ranging from
30-40 hours a week. After 10 weeks of research, approximately 300 hours at the least would have
been spent on the self-designed project.
Other than the actual planning and execution of the project, there is a significant amount of
reflection necessary in order to complete the process. Since it is a research position, the data will
reflect the successes and failures of the numerous experiments that will be performed. The final
project will include not only the raw data, but also the lab journals, observations, and conclusions
from the work. Also, the actual presentation will be a full reflection on the outcomes of the
research. These will serve as the major reflection sections of the program.
As a result of this project, I will have learned things that I can relate to the rest of my
college experience. Through the program, I will learn research techniques. My laboratory mentor
will help me design a project, and during the process, I will be learning how to develop laboratory
procedures. I will also be taught how to perform more extensive experiments than those I do now
and learn how to correctly document my data. The data that I collect will also give me knowledge
on the topic that I am assigned. Other than the literal lessons, this program will give me the

laboratory experience that I need in order to design my career path. Although I am a pre-med
student, research could be my actual calling in life. With the experience from this program, I will
be able to make a better decision on what I want to do for the future.
Clearly and thoroughly address how each of the following elements will be exhibited in your work:
2. Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area
One of the Learning Outcomes that this project would meet is the ability to frame and
develop the research question or problem. The description of this program is very ambiguous
because those who are in charge want each student to design his or her own project. At the
beginning of the project, I would be given a mentor who will help me to pick an area within the
context to focus on. From this point on, a map of the next 10 weeks will be made as an itinerary
for the research. The itinerary cannot be made unless the research question or problem is created.
Basically, I am responsible for developing the actual research question for my final project that I
will be presenting.
A second Learning Outcome that this project would meet is the ability to identify and
apply appropriate methodologies to design research study, and collect and analyze the data. As
mentioned before a few times already, the goal of this program is to give students the ability to
design a research project and perform it with a lab mentor in order to obtain results about a certain
context. I would be completely designing the experiments for each aspect of the research project.
The failures and successes of my experiment will be analyzed and discussed within my lab reports.
Also, all of the data that I will collect over the weeks will be combined and analyzed to determine
its importance in the real world.
A third Learning Outcome that this project would meet is the dissemination of the research
results and knowledge gained. Not only would I be creating lab reports as a way to disseminate
the results of my research, but I would also be giving a final presentation of my work at the very
end of the summer (August). This final project would be presented to everyone in the program:
the lab mentors, the other students in the program, and the committee members who were
responsible for the application decisions. This program could open doors for further research
because if the results are monumental or still unclear, other doctorates and scientists may offer
opportunities for continued research of the topic in their labs.
3. Connection to Goals and Academic Theories
This program would be very important to the development of my academic and
professional interests. Since I am a biology major, the topics being researched could relate to
several of the learning outcomes that I have studied this year. For my academic goals, I will be
learning more about my research topic, and this knowledge could come in handy in later years of
college and the subjects learned then. For my professional goals, this experience will help
influence my future career path. As mentioned above, I am still in a position where I can change
my career plans. I really want to work hard and go to medical school to become a pediatrician, but
I may decide on doing research at a laboratory instead of being a doctor. By finishing this
program, I will have simulated what laboratory workers undergo every day of their lives, and I
will be able to understand their jobs better. Reflecting on this experience will help me see what I
am passionate about.

In connection and correlation with academic theories, there are a few options. Since I am
not assigned the focus of my research until the program begins, I do not know the actual
information that I will need to gather and do background research for. However, I have a general
idea of the type of theories or concepts that I will be learning. The theories will range from
neuroscience to child psychology, so these concepts will need to be researched before the projects
experiments officially start. Based on my topic, the theories surrounding it and other possible
research experiments should be studied. This will give a history of the topic and help give a
direction on what I should be doing for my project. A second idea would be using one of the lab
experiments studied in my first year courses. During my general biology class, Dr. Kinkle would
review real-life studies and experiments, so these could be beneficial to look at if they relate to my
research topic. I can then use these theories and concepts as models for my individual project.
4. Initiative, Independence, and Creativity
Many aspects of this self-designed project demonstrate degrees of independence. The
whole goal of the project is to allow students freedom in a laboratory-based research project.
Although a lab mentor is given, their main purpose is for instruction on proper use of experimental
equipment and to help guide the student toward a purposeful project. Most methods used in the
experiments will not be completely original because they are laboratory procedures. These
methods, however, will be used to lead to individual conclusions. Since everyone will be creating
unique projects, each project will bring a new aspect to the program.
5. Reflection
Other than the reflective essay I am required to write and the section in my learning
portfolio dedicated to this honors experience, I will be reflecting daily or weekly on everything
that will happen throughout my time working there. I plan to keep a journal throughout the whole
summer about the successes and failures I undergo during the program. This journal will be made
hopefully a few times a week to summarize the days between each entry. This reflection will
include what happened, how I felt about each occurrence, and how it can help me change my
approach to the rest of the summer. A second thing I plan to do is keep a lab notebook. This lab
notebook will have a summary of all of the data I have collected (including the good and the bad
data) and will be used to reflect upon the progress of my observations.
6. Dissemination
This program has a built-in dissemination process. At the end of the summer, each
participant is required to create a final presentation in order to show everyone the conclusions of
each of the research experiments/projects. This presentation will be for the other students, the lab
mentors, and the application committee with Case professors and other personnel. The
presentation could consist of posters and power points; it all depends on the focus of the project.
Also, I might develop a blog or website relating to my experience. There is the possibility of
getting the research published, but the chances of that happening could be slim.
7. Project Advisor (list the persons name, title, and contact information)

Possible project advisors include the lab mentor that would be assigned to me, my preprofessional advisor, and Doctor Drumm from the program. The lab mentor would be a good
project advisor because they would be able to answer my questions on the requirements of my
project. My pre-professional advisor would be a good project advisor because they could help me
chose a focus for the project that might later benefit me in my future career plans and later
research opportunities. Doctor Drumm would be a good project advisor because he is a friend of
my family, and I know that he could help me prepare for my presentation.
Contact Information:
Lab Mentor
*would be determined after acceptance into program
Pre-Professional Advisor: James N. Gaffney, M.A.
james.gaffney@uc.edu
513-556-6142
Dr. Mitchell Drumm
mitchell.drumm@case.edu
216-368-6893
8. Budget (if applicable)
I am not applying for an honors grant for this experience because I would be getting
funding from Case Western Reserve University. They would be paying me a total of $3,000 for
working full-time through the program all summer.