# Preliminary model for student ownership of projects

## TL;DR

This paper presents an exploratory model of student ownership in multiweek lab projects, highlighting how students' engagement and decision-making evolve through project phases, based on data from multiple institutions.

## Contribution

It introduces a preliminary model of student ownership in projects, linking student interactions with project phases and aligning with existing literature.

## Key findings

- Model maps well onto student and instructor conceptions of ownership.
- Ownership involves decision-making during project phases.
- Data from five institutions supports the model's validity.

## Abstract

In many upper-division lab courses, instructors implement multiweek student-led projects. During such projects, students may design and carry out experiments, collect and analyze data, document and report their findings, and collaborate closely with peers and mentors. To better understand cognitive, social, and affective aspects of projects, we conducted an exploratory investigation of student ownership of projects. Ownership is a complex construct that refers to, e.g., students' willingness and ability to make strategic decisions about their project. Using data collected through surveys and interviews with students and instructors at five institutions, we developed a preliminary model for student ownership of projects. Our model describes student interactions with the project during three phases: choice of topic, execution of experiment, and synthesis of results. Herein, we explicate our model and demonstrate that it maps well onto students' and instructors' conceptions of ownership and ideas presented in prior literature.