Getting a big team on the same page

While admitting she was initially fazed by the size of her class, which averages 100 students, Gamberi has found strength in numbers. She splits the large class into groups of four or five students and assigns one article to each.

Every student in the course learned how to perform an initial guided research of published literature, Gamberi says.

Next, the students learned to compose a written contribution as a group. After the course was over, three students volunteered to assemble and edit the article under Gamberis direct mentorship and supervision.

Tarin Sultana is one of the studys co-editors. This initiative moved forward as a pedagogical approach that demonstrated the value of teamwork, collaboration and painstaking review of original research works, she says.

This undertaking has marked a milestone in many next-generation scientific careers.

Susannah Selber, a fellow co-editor and the articles first author, adds that opportunities to write scientific papers at the undergraduate level are scarce.

This writing project was my second grand endeavour with Dr. Gamberi (Selber participated in Gamberis first co-published paper).

Many assignments involve writing, yet few require the tools and skills necessitated in published works. Dr. Gamberis approach adds great value to the other regular skills students obtain from their university education.

Dr. Gamberi brought a whole new meaning to the classroom experience, where a simple assignment may lead to a concrete contribution to the scientific community, says third co-editor W, adding they hope the project inspires others.

This next-generation approach allows students involved in a course to create something that can be remembered.

Gamberi also credits the Georges P. Vanier Library team as an invaluable resource in helping students to navigate the world of academic publishing and avoiding the perils of plagiarism.

Katharine Hall has been a tremendous resource, she says. Hall is the biology and health, kinesiology and applied physiology subject librarian. The two faculty members co-authored an article about the subject.

I am extremely grateful to her for all she has done to support my students and her collaboration in this educational initiative, Gamberi says.

Encouraged by two successful iterations of her model, Gamberi is ready to move ahead with a third, this one focusing on the role hormones play in regulating kidney function.

Now we know the model works. I dont plan to stop, she says.

I love working closely with students, to encourage their curiosity and to see how much it opens minds and doors to foster their love of learning and of science.

Read the cited paper, Metabolic networks of the human gut microbiota.

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Researcher leads a team of 94 undergrads to explore gut health - Mirage News