Summer 2006 -- Vol. 59, No. 3

At first you think you’re seeing an antidote to the latest “bad news” headlines:

Successful hospital evacuation plans … childhood obesity treatment … bullying prevention … eating disorder recovery … improved elder care … new cancer research.

And, in a way, you are. These and many other relevant topics are driving Clemson’s fresh approach to undergraduate research — called “creative inquiry” — real-world research for real-life results.

Although it may sound like a new name for an old educational tool, it’s much more. For a start, creative inquiry requires multiple semesters, often four. It combines critical thought, careful research, clear communication and personal commitment.

Put simply, it’s “engaged learning” throughout the undergraduate experience.

“Creative inquiry crosses boundaries between different majors and promotes teamwork,” says Provost Dori Helms, who began introducing the concept several years ago. “Problem-solving carries far beyond the classroom and the single semester.

“This interactive environment engages the faculty, student body and community in discovery, enriching the lives of all involved.”

Win-win-win situation

Led by a task force of representatives from all academic colleges, the initiative has gained momentum with faculty.

Creative inquiry is designed to give faculty new teaching environments and mentoring opportunities. It generates fresh concepts and topics they can incorporate into their classes, and they get to interact more often with peers from other disciplines.

“We’re having more and more faculty members apply for grants as they see how the whole concept fits into their curriculum,” says Jeff Appling, curriculum associate dean and task force leader.

Then there’s the community, the University community, the surrounding towns and counties, the state and the “greater community” of all people. When students become lifelong, ethical problem-solvers, our quality of life improves in every way.

Of course, the main beneficiaries are the students themselves.

“In addition to engaged learning, having a mentor and earning academic credit, students get more say-so in their own education,” says Jan Murdoch, undergraduate dean. “Specifically, they can pursue their intellectual and creative passions whether child care or cardiovascular research.”

Coming to a hospital near you

An ongoing creative inquiry project may soon affect hospitals, especially those at risk for hurricane damage. And it illustrates just how the creative inquiry project has a life of its own.

Students led by industrial engineering professor Kevin Taaffe began in January 2005 considering several project options including effective airport operations modeling and hospital evacuation planning. After a thorough literature review, problem-scoping and other early research methods, they decided to pursue the complexity of hospital evacuation, specifically to provide insight into the allocation of resources during an evacuation.

By fall 2005, the students had split into two subgroups to work on separate approaches during the academic year. One subgroup — working on an optimization model — compiled results illustrating the trade-off between evacuation completion time and evacuation costs through several computational tests. The second group — working on a simulation model — took into account the fact that task durations are not known ahead of time and the resulting uncertainty is a factor. Based on input from coastal hospitals, they defined the rules for how resources would be allocated and then ran tests on several different allocations to see how well the system performed.

One of the group members, a civil engineering student, studied abroad during spring semester. As part of her research responsibilities, she documented hospital evacuation practices in Australia. Others contacted local and regional hospitals to gather pertinent information.

Work continues this fall. The students have already presented findings at a national conference. In fact, they received an undergraduate research award in the industrial engineering department in recognition of their achievements earlier this year. And the work has led to a research grant through the University Transportation Center at South Carolina State University.

Their project could have an impact on the state and well beyond. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control recently issued an emergency order that requires all health-care facilities to have evacuation plans in place. Outcomes generated from the Clemson project may help define some of these requirements.

The group’s research will be useful for individual hospitals that choose to integrate the models as part of a decision support system. Through published reports, the research may provide guidelines for hospitals across the nation in developing effective evacuation plans.

New league of learning

The projects are as different as the students’ interests, and their methods of problem-solving are as varied as their majors.

Projects may result in scientific-based findings, such as breast cancer cell research. A biological sciences undergraduate is working with a team to study binding qualities of particular anticancer agents in the development of therapeutics that can destroy cancer cells.

Other projects may establish a continuing service-learning activity such as the Clemson Challenger Baseball League to enhance athletic skills and enjoyment for youth with disabilities. Led by special education professor Joe Ryan, students formed a 10-event program for area youth. They served as buddies to the athletes, helping when needed and assessing improvements throughout the season. One of the students, a vocational technology major, developed a batting device for athletes with limited motor skills. The group is compiling findings and making plans for the coming year’s league.

Projects may create art such as The Decameron Project, an award-winning play, resulting from a creative inquiry project that began two years ago in performing arts. It has since earned its way to the regional competition of the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and performance at the prestigious Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Creative inquiry groups may make highways safer such as the research team investigating transportation issues, vision in particular, associated with both drivers and pedestrians. Psychology students have interacted with individuals in the community ranging from high school students to senior citizens to roadway workers. This fall they’ll take their research on the road from their in-house driving model to mobile vehicles fitted with instruments for data collecting on the highway.

Other students’ work might result in a new facility and service. For example, one group of public health students looked into the possibility of bringing child care to the University. They assessed the need, studied models at similar universities, visited peer institutions and investigated financial requirements and safety concerns. They met with administrators and specialists in master planning, child care and other critical areas and created maps for possible sites.

Of course, many creative inquiry projects aren’t aiming for a finished product at all. They’re designed to add an element of improvement or understanding to a complex problem. Each student’s particular project provides an avenue for that quest. And following that quest helps prepare them for a lifetime of problem-solving.

“In a world of rapid change, all of our graduates must be both educated and ‘self-educating,’” says President Jim Barker. “Creative inquiry does both.”

For more information about Clemson’s creative inquiry, visit the Web at www.clemson.edu/ugs/creative_inquiry. For specific information about the featured projects and many others, click on “ongoing projects.”

Leading the ACC

Clemson is leading the way in the Atlantic Coast Conference for reinventing the undergraduate experience. Earlier this year, the University hosted the first ACC Meeting of the Minds conference on Advancing Undergraduate Research Excellence.

The two-day event showcased the results of undergraduate student research projects, giving students from a variety of disciplinary and institutional backgrounds the opportunity to come together as both exhibitors and audience with the goal of highlighting research excellence from across the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“Clemson received the backing of all the ACC presidents to host the first conference,” says Barbara Speziale, associate undergraduate dean and conference organizer. “It was exciting to see students from each ACC school participating, and it gave us an opportunity to emphasize Clemson’s commitment to engage all undergraduates in research.”