Inquiring minds want to share

Peter Wolf, the associate vice-provost (teaching and learning), is looking forward to attending his first Inquiry@Queen’s Undergraduate Research Conference.

“I am curious to see what questions students have asked and how they’ve gone about answering them,” says Mr. Wolf, who joined Queen’s in October 2014. “I can’t wait to see the excitement the undergraduate students bring to the table. I think that can be really inspiring and rejuvenating.”

[Inquiry at Queen's] — The Inquiry@Queen's Undergraduate Research Conference gives students the opportunity to practice their presentation skills in a welcoming and supportive environment.

The ninth annual edition of the conference, which occurs March 5-6, features a variety of oral presentations and poster displays of undergraduate student scholarship. Mr. Wolf is delivering the keynote address on March 5 with a focus on how undergraduate research connects with teaching and learning.

“I believe it’s important for undergraduate students to tackle questions and not just consume the answers,” Mr. Wolf says. “A big part of the university experience is to shape and nurture students’ curiosity, which will ultimately help them make sense of the world.”

While Mr. Wolf is new to Inquiry@Queen’s, Nicole Persall (Artsci’15) is a veteran presenter at the conference. Ms. Persall is participating in Inquiry@Queen’s for the fourth time. During her previous experiences, she presented research from course work and study projects, and last year she shared her thesis project.

Inquiry@Queen’s Undergraduate Research Conference
March 5-6
Queen’s Learning Commons in Stauffer Library

The psychology student, who will graduate this spring, says she originally saw the conference as a great way to practice presenting her research in public. As she prepared for her first conference, she enrolled in a Learning Strategies workshop that helped her develop her presentation skills.

Ms. Persall says Queen’s professors provided her with the knowledge base and guidance to ask research questions and formulate a method for answering them. Needless to say, she has enjoyed having a venue like the Inquiry@Queen’s conference to share that work.

“I tell students all of the time that they should participate. It’s a really supportive environment where people are interested in hearing about your research.”