We outline an emerging framework for the design, delivery and evaluation of learning experiences for undergraduates through their involvement in professional interdisciplinary research arising from our experiences with undergraduate students participating in professional research projects. Two case studies are discussed, one in serious games and one in astrophysics visualisation, where the research was partly designed, carried out and disseminated in a collaboration between professional researchers and undergraduate students of creative technologies, with both research projects resulting in quality research articles in professional outlets, each with the student participant as one of the main authors [1], [2].

[1] reports on creating the conceptual design, implementation, testing and initial validation of the Horn of ODin (HOD), which was a new generation mobile learning object for undergraduate mathematics in the form of a viking age adventure. This serious game was designed to encourage extended student engagement with some mathematical topics. HOD was a novel learning object developed within a scalable, modular and extensible software framework Quest for Wisdom. Virtual community building technologies play an important role in Q4W for synchronous and asynchronous learner collaboration. We describe how the very creative student input in both the design and implementation phase of this project made HOD a very unique and very innovative learning object that could not have come into existence without the student’s contribution.

[2] reports on a web-based interactive visual exploration of large datasets. The datasets were sourced from the Theoretical Astrophysical Observatory (TAO) which is a virtual laboratory that provides pipelines to build mock observations of galaxy survey data and other derived data products based on different cosmological dark matter simulations and semi-analytic galaxy formation models. We used an adaptation of a high performance volume rendering technique firmly founded on the creative technology experiences of the student involved to build a unique object that required the student to accommodate specific TAO requirements, and the subsequent collaborative paper discussed, with significant student input, how to expose a number of functionalities through a suitable web interface.

Using our two case studies as examples, we discuss the potential benefits for students, researchers and for the research outcomes gained by involving undergraduate students more widely in professional research projects and how the core principles of a number of pedagogical learning approaches such as Discovery-, Problem- and Action-Based Learning are being supported by such learning activities. We touch upon our wider range of research projects with student involvement and outline the learning framework emerging from our experiences of such integrated research and learning projects, partly novel and partly based on some well-known Design Science Research principles [4].

Keywords: Student engagement, emerging technologies, visualisation, serious games, astrophysics, STEM education.