🔬Research Projects

Apply to a Research Lab

Faculty and Undergraduates in our program collaborate on original scholarship. Consider joining a faculty research lab or working with a mentor toward your career goals. Find the research lab and project that interests you the most and submit your application or express your interest today!

The Saga Research Lab

PI: Dr. Dylan Goldblatt

Visit us at sagalabs.org for podcasts, news, and project updates.

OWLS-CARE

PI: Dr. Sabine Smith

Optimizing With Leadership Skills: Career Advancement Resources Explored

Visit us at owls.care for articles, news, and project updates.

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The Saga Research Lab

About

In 2023 Dr. Goldblatt inaugurated Saga at KSU. This research lab exists to facilitate student success in language education at KSU, where the curriculum emphasizes the learning and retention of high frequency vocabulary in support of rapid second language acquisition.

Currently, Dr. Goldblatt is leading students on the following project:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLM) as Learning Supports for Second Language Acquisition (SLA)

This undergraduate research project will explore the potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) to support second language learning and instruction. As AI and natural language processing advance rapidly, there is great interest in how these technologies could be leveraged to enhance language learning outcomes and experiences. Our team of undergraduate researchers from linguistics and literature backgrounds will conduct a literature review, propose use cases, and potentially build prototypes to demonstrate the value of AI/LLMs in this domain.

Visit us at sagalabs.org for more information and to follow us for updates.

PI

Dr. Dylan Goldblatt

The Primary Investigator (PI) of the Saga Research Lab is Dr. Dylan Goldblatt.

• Delivered digital pedagogy workshops on topics like gamification, ePortfolios, and workflows for faculty and grad students at University of Virginia (2013)

• Expertise in narrative, German cinema, and interactive media to inform hypermedia development and analysis for this project

• Chaired "Interactive Digital Narratives" panel and presented theories of mediated encounter at International Conference on Narrative at MIT (2014)

• Collaborated on iterative improvements to email drafting and web articles for L2 learning, published in academic journals (2007-2009)

• Opened and digitized language learning through projects like the open textbook Der und mehr (2020) and as Co-PI on an NSF Cyberlearning grant application

Apply

Application

The application for AY 2023-24 is now closed. Please contact Dr. Goldblatt to express informal interest and stay in the loop for opportunities as they arise.

Responsibilities

Weekly duties will vary by project phase. Students can expect to participate in the following:

1. Background research on AI/LLMs and their capabilities for language tasks

2. Literature review on existing work applying AI/LLMs to language learning

3. Brainstorming and prototyping possible AI applications and learning interactions

4. User testing and evaluation of prototypes (time permitting)

5. Analysis and writeup of findings

6. Preparation of conference presentation.

Funding

Undergraduates in the First-Year Scholars Program earn stipends for up to $2,000 for the first academic year in the lab. There is an additional extension program that students can apply for, and that extension is granted based on successful completion of all project milestones in the first year.

Outcomes

Students will conduct this start-to-finish research project and in doing so will build valuable skills for in project management, analysis, software development, language assessment, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. These include:

Content-Based Outcomes - definitions of LLM/AI terms, improved understanding of linguistics; understanding of prior work through literature review, articulation of the study and its contributions to the field.

Skill-Based Outcomes - design a study to answer a research question, develop a hypothesis, write a research paper, present their research to an audience (e.g., poster)

Eligibility

First-year Scholars

• Students must be in their first year of college at KSU with fewer than 30 transfer credits (not including AP and dual enrollment credits).

• To remain in the First-Year Scholars Program in the Spring, students must be enrolled in classes and in good academic standing.

• To receive stipend payments each semester, students in the First-Year Scholars Program are expected to participate in mandatory orientation meetings, as well as attend events and/or workshops hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Peer Mentors.

• The project will be presented at the Symposium of Student Scholars in April.

• Progress Reports and end of semester evaluation forms will be submitted on time to the Office of Undergraduate Research.

All KSU Students

• Students must demonstrate academic achievement, efficient time management, and clarity of digital and face-to-face communication.

• To join the lab, students will perform domain-specific research and apply for grants to fund their participation.

• To continue with the lab, students must achieve milestones as scheduled and pursue research assignments and professional development opportunities as provided.

Team

The Saga Research Lab is pleased to welcome the following First-Year Scholars in AY 2023-24

Cheryl Nguyen

Daisi Sheridan

Chloe Johnson

The OWLS-CARE Lab

About

In 2023 Dr. Smith inaugurated the OWLS-CARE Lab at KSU. OWLS-CARE connects OWLS and CARE because it brings together KSU Owls and the intentional act of caring for and about your leadership skills through exploration and practice. The lab name is also an acronym for Optimizing With Leadership Skills: Career Advancement Resources Explored, which is the focus of its research. This research exists to facilitate student success in undergraduate education at KSU, where the curriculum emphasizes the development of critical career competencies and leadership skills.

Visit us at owls.care for more information and to follow us for updates.

Projects

Currently, Dr. Smith is recruiting students for the following OWLS-CARE projects:

Leadership Skills as Career Competencies: Intentional Practice of Communication in Teams

This undergraduate research project explores how intentional practice of communication in teams supports critical leadership skills as career competencies. Student success in navigating project-based teamwork is of great interest to educators and employers. As demographics in local and international work environments diversify, there is need to learn and practice how we communicate with one another to get the job done. Our team/s of undergraduate researchers will prepare for a transnational seminar in Spring 2024 hosted at KSU by researching, proposing, and potentially implementing community-based projects. Project completion in teams will demonstrate the value of understanding and practicing critical communication skills as well as career competencies identified by ACTFL and NACE.

Arolsen Group: Rethinking the Past – Digital Archives, Restitution and the Culture of Remembrance

Engage with student peers from KSU, Germany, Austria, and the UK to discuss critical issues in the Humanities and Social Sciences, such as digitization in archives and museums, and ethics of commemorating the past. Identify and research local sites or objects in your community and explore how the past is integrated into lived current culture. Or: Trace an object and its history in collaboration with Germany’s Arolsen Archives, the International Center on Nazi Persecution, and explore how to deal with the legacy of WW2 in terms of remembrance and digitalization

Student Success at KSU: A Comparative Study of German Learners of English

Each year, KSU hosts cohorts of young Germans and KSU students’ lives are enriched by their presence on campus. Join us in a study of this experience by developing fundamental research skills as you assist KSU scholars in a quasi-experimental research design of a mixed-method study. Interested in finding out how international students fare at KSU and how to conduct quantitative and qualitative research by analyzing data from surveys and focus groups? This Project is for you!

Emergent Leaders in Glocal Partnerships: Critical Issues in Cultures and Communities

You’ve been told you are a “born leader”? Or a “perfect teamplayer”? Join us to find out what may be hidden behind these labels for leadership styles and practices. We study the complex systems undergirding often not-so-smooth operations, as well as the processes entailed in getting work done – ideally to the satisfaction of all involved. From identifying your own strengths and needs-improvement skills to recognizing in others preferred (cultural) ways of addressing tasks, this project moves you toward finding and advancing your own leadership skills.

PI

The Primary Investigator (PI) of the OWLS-CARE Lab is Dr. Sabine Smith. Sabine Smith is Professor of German at Kennesaw State University in the Department of World Languages and Cultures. She has over 30 years of teaching experience with a sustained research interest in cross-cultural comparisons. She facilitates in-class learning and study-/work-away programs in diverse and inclusive modalities. With approx. 50 publications and funded grants, she has been recognized in local and international contexts. Her research has focused on learners’ development of intercultural competence via global learning experiences. Most recently, co-authored publications report on interdisciplinary, collaborative studies, e.g ”Advancing Intercultural Communication Skills in Diverse Teams: An Intervention Program for Project-Based Engineering Courses“ (JHETP, 2023), “Improving Communication Skills in Global Engineers: Adapting the UNESCO Story Circles Method in an Undergraduate Engineering Course“ (ASEE, 2022), and „Cross-Cultural Contexts of Teaching and Learning: Experiences of International Faculty at a Southeastern University in the United States” (Currents in Teaching and Learning, 2022).

Apply

How to Apply

The OWLS-CARE project PI Dr. Smith provides stipends in support of participating students upon satisfactory contract completion and based on specified OWLS-CARE contract criteria. Applications to work with specific OWLS-CARE projects go through our online application.

Funding for OWLS-CARE Research Assistants

The OWLS-CARE project provides a total of 6 students’ stipends at $ 2,000/each. This compensation off-sets lost employment time in 100-hours of leadership training and research on German-US cultural issues in professional settings. This funding support is co-sponsored by KSU with in-kind contributions. Payment is contingent upon completion of learning contract.

Eligibility

• Students must be enrolled in a KSU undergraduate WLC-GRMN class and in good academic standing – and submit a signed OWLS-CARE contract.

• To receive the stipend payment, students are expected to participate in mandatory meetings, report on progress and findings prior to and during the transnational seminar, as well as attend events and/or workshops hosted by Dr. Smith as appropriate.

• Students will present at the annual KSU Symposium of Student Scholars or at alternative appropriate venues.

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