Integrative, Interdisciplinary Graduate Education: NewConcepts and Approaches for Assessment

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Innovative, interdisciplinary and integrative (or I3) graduate education and training programs are on the rise throughout the U.S. Individual programs are conducting self-assessments and organizational contractors are evaluating performance in conventional ways. To date, however, these efforts have not assessed I3 programs in terms of both program processes and program outcomes as they relate to changes in and effects on student and faculty learning, academic identity, career trajectory, and institutional mentality. To this end, this project, which is itself interdisciplinary and integrative, is both a formative and a summative evaluation of the organization, functioning, and performance of I3 programs. By exploring how, why, and in what context I3 programs lead to new individual, professional, and institutional practices, this study accumulates knowledge about how specific I3 programs develop, adapt, and perform under varied conditions, as well as collects information about the generalizable purpose, the intrinsic value, and essential components of such programs. The former knowledge will be used to design new and/or improve existing I3 programs, whereas the latter information will enhance current or future I3 evaluations. Given (a) the unique goals and objectives of I3 programs as compared to more traditional graduate education and training programs and (b) the paucity of knowledge and information related to I3 program processes let alone outcomes, it is critical that the empirical research be conducted in order to acquire the right knowledge and information from which to develop the proper theoretical framework and design the best practical methods for evaluating I3 programs. Thus, this study is a two-stage evaluation - exploratory evaluation research (stage 1) followed by evaluation practice design and development (stage 2). In stage 1, the study develops a theoretically informed but empirically grounded understanding of: (a) the skills, attributes, and attitudes that scientists and engineers need to succeed in the new modes of knowledge production and the new positions of scientific employment; (b) the strategies, structures and experiences that could successfully develop these skills, attributes, and attitudes; and (c) indicators for measuring programmatic success with the implementation of relevant practices, processes and outcomes. This framework is then applied to a sample of 30 I3 programs (and 60 non-I3 programs for purposes of comparison) to analyze the conditions and processes likely to influence these individual outcomes as well as broader professional and institutional developments. The combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques applied to this sample of I3 and non-I3 programs during stage 1 will produce a set of definitions, features, and metrics of I3 program "success" from which an evaluation framework based on valid and relevant questions, variables, and indicators will be developed and disseminated for use by others in stage 2 of the study.