Empower Your First-Year Students Through Research
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Join this transformative workshop series to equip your first-year students with the tools and mindset to engage in undergraduate research from day one—maximizing their career impact when it matters most. You’ll gain ready-to-use resources, expert consultation, and practical strategies to seamlessly integrate research exploration and library services into your FYS curriculum.
Dear First-Year Seminar Faculty,
The SPARK Center, in collaboration with Adelphi Swirbul Library faculty, invites you to the three workshop series.
- M 2/23/26 -12:00PM-1:30PM – Session 1, UC 113-114
- M 3/23/26 – 12:00PM-1:30PM – Session 2, Swirbul 201 (Hay Lab)
- M 4/20/26 – 12:00PM-1:30PM – Session 3, Swirbul Library Room 200B – 3-4 weeks period for faculty to schedule one-on-one sessions, for example from 4/20/26-05/18/2026
Session 1: A Structured Workbook Approach
This first session introduces a transformative resource designed specifically for college freshmen: “Getting Started with Undergraduate Research – A Workbook for College Freshmen.”
While undergraduate research is widely recognized as transformative, very few students participate early in their academic careers. This workshop presents a practical, step-by-step workbook that translates impactful undergraduate research stories into actionable exercises your students can complete independently or as part of your curriculum.
What You’ll Learn:
The workbook guides freshmen through five structured parts over approximately 4-5 hours of engagement:
- Get a Feel for UG Research – Students explore curated podcast stories from the “College Matters. Alma Matters.” series, featuring real experiences from STEM, humanities, and social sciences disciplines.
- Why Do UG Research? – Students examine career trajectory impacts, knowledge creation, and skill development through additional podcast segments.
- Is UG Research for Me? – Students synthesize their observations to create personalized criteria for selecting research opportunities.
- Create a Shortlist – Students apply their criteria to identify 3-5 research areas within your institution that align with their interests and goals.
- Choose a Research Area – Students conduct informational interviews, shadow researchers, and select their first undergraduate research opportunity.
Why Attend:
This workshop will equip you to integrate research exploration into your first-year seminar curriculum, helping students discover research pathways early when they can have maximum impact on career trajectory. The workbook’s customizable structure allows your institution to adapt Part 5 to reflect your specific research infrastructure and opportunities.
Join us to learn how you can inspire our freshmen to transform their college experience through early engagement with undergraduate research.
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Presented by: Prof. Dr. Justyna Widera-Kalinowska, SPARK Center, Adelphi University
Workbook Created by: Venkat Raman, Host of “College Matters. Alma Matters.” Podcast
Contact: SPARK@adelphi.edu | 516-877-4135
Location Session 1: UC 113-114
Session 2: Beyond the Stacks
Modern Library Ecosystems for First-Year Success
Think the library is just a place to check out books? Think again. The first of two one-hour workshops—led by library faculty—pulls back the curtain on the digital and human infrastructure built to support FYS teaching and first-year students as they transition into college-level research.
By the end of the session, instructors will leave with:
- An understanding of library services and resources that support undergraduate research and serves as a foundation for future assignments.
- A ready-to-use student checklist for using AI responsibly in research assignments.
- Concrete scaffolding strategies for breaking research into manageable steps (e.g., annotated bibliography by week 4; source evaluation reflection by week 6).
- A direct link to the new FYS Student LibGuide with curated, course-ready library resources and tools.
Session 3: The Library Assignment Lab
Designing Research-Rich Learning Experiences
Ready to transform a standard research paper into an engaging inquiry project? Join us for the second of two one hour workshops focusing on a hands-on “design clinic.” Whether you are building a new assignment or refining a long-standing one, this workshop provides the space and expert consultation to integrate library resources seamlessly into your curriculum. Bring your drafts, your ideas, and your laptops for one-on-one feedback from library faculty and support from other FYS instructors. You will leave with the final stages of a “librarian-approved” research assignment!
Presented by: Prof. Sandra Urban, Prof. Kimberly Mullins, Swirbul Library, Adelphi University
Location:
Session 2: Swirbul 201 (Hay Lab)
Session 3: Swirbul Library Room 200B
Contact:
surban@adelphi.edu, 516.877.3542 (Sandra Urban),
kmullins@adelphi.edu, 516.877.3593 (Kimberly Mullins)
Please register for this workshop using the link.
Registration deadline: 2/10/2026