Modeling Effective Research Ethics Education in Graduate International Collaborations: A Learning Outcomes Approach

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The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) proposes a collaborative, three-year education project to coordinate, develop, and evaluate research ethics education programs that respond to research integrity issues that arise in international collaborations in science and engineering (S&E). The project addresses two specific national needs: the preparation of S&E researchers at U.S. institutions to face the ethical challenges of international research collaborations, and the need for effective methods of assessing and improving the preparation of U.S. graduate students to conduct collaborative research in an international context. The Council of Graduate Schools will address these needs through the following activities: (1) convene an international, interdisciplinary team of experts in research ethics education, S&E collaboration, and learning assessment together with graduate education leaders to identify core research ethics skills needed in graduate international collaborations; (2) publish a framework paper and a preliminary learning outcomes rubric for graduate international collaborations; (3) develop and issue a request for proposals for pilot projects that develop and assess research ethics education programs in existing international collaborations; (4) convene an external selection committee to nominate five institutions to receive awards of $24,000 each to develop pilot projects in the development of coordinated research ethics curricula; (5) begin to assess curricular and institutional innovations in this area and develop an infrastructure for ongoing common assessment of their impact over time through a multi-tiered assessment strategy; (6) develop CGS electronic resources to feature project outcomes from the five pilot projects, including a Learning Outcomes Repository; (7) synthesize project results in CGS hardcopy and electronic publications that will reach nearly every U.S. university in S&E graduate education; and (8) further disseminate best practices and findings through technical workshops and sessions at national and international meetings on research ethics and/or international collaboration.