Inquiry-Based Showcase Features Freshman Best at Franklin Pierce University

Rindge, New Hampshire – Franklin Pierce University held an Inquiry-Based Showcase and Awards Ceremony on Dec. 3 on the Rindge campus, which highlighted a diverse array of research projects. The Showcase was the culmination of the semester’s class work done by close to 600 students, mostly freshmen, who participated in the First-Year Inquiry class, an integral part of the University’s new General & Liberal Education curriculum.

Thirty sections of the First-Year Inquiry class were taught by 26 faculty members with as many different themes. A unifying element of the First-Year Inquiry class is that students in all sections share an assignment designed to utilize a well-defined inquiry process leading to research findings on a subject of their own choosing; the research findings are then delineated in a poster and presentation format. The students who produced the top 58 posters/presentations were selected to participate in the First Annual Inquiry-Based Showcase.

The Inquiry-Based Showcase allowed those attending the event to engage with each of the selected students about their chosen subject matter on a one-to-one basis, as they stood ready to expound on the findings represented on their respective posters. An Awards Ceremony followed, during which President James