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Research

Jennifer Turns

Spring 2025

Advancing communal experiences DRG

Instructors:

  • Tyler Fox
  • Jennifer Turns

In this Directed Research Group (DRG), we will explore both a hypothesis and a design question:

  • Hypothesis: There are currently varied experiences of community in the HCDE BS program, with multiple factors contributing to these experiences.
  • Design Question: How might we advance a community orientation in the HCDE BS program?

Our work will unfold in three phases:

Part 1: Research and Exploration (3 weeks)

  • Share personal perspectives as a starting point for our investigation
  • Conduct research beyond our group by interviewing other BS program students (each participant will speak with approximately five peers)
  • Examine the history of the BS program and how it relates to the current state of community
  • Explore the concept of community broadly—its possible understandings, contributors, and consequences
  • Discuss our own experiences with community—where we've felt connected and what factors contributed to that feeling
  • Investigate how community experiences connect with course engagement, participation, attendance, learning outcomes, and professional success

Part 2: Ideation (2 weeks)

  • Develop possible design directions based on our research findings

Part 3: Design Implementation (5 weeks)

  • Form groups around the most promising design directions
    Work toward creating deliverables to share at the end of the term
    Projects may range from speculative designs to pragmatic prototypes

Enrollment information

  • Meeting time: Tuesdays, 2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
  • Credits: 2
  • Who should apply: 
    We are seeking up to 12 participants to create a critical mass that can support initial design research and eventually form 3-4 group design efforts. We prioritize a range of experiences and perspectives.
    We encourage you to apply if:
    • You have strong feelings and/or curiosity about community in the HCDE BS program (maybe you appreciate the community you have, feel a lack of community)
    • You want to help advance community initiatives
    • You are both drawn to and perhaps skeptical of community-building efforts
    • You are curious about what "community" means in an academic setting
    • You are interested in helping shape community efforts or learning about community development
    • This DRG does not count toward the directed research requirement for PhD students.
  • Application: To apply, please fill out our Google Form including:
    • Confirmation of your availability for Tuesday meetings from 2:30-4:30 PM
    • Your major, program, and year
    • The perspective you bring to this research (e.g., someone looking for community, someone frustrated with current community conversations, someone who appreciates existing community efforts)
  • Application deadline: Friday, March 14
  • Anticipated notification date: Tuesday, March 18

 

Dr. Turns' Research Group archive