Collaborative Research: NRT-IGE: Employing Model-Based Reasoning in Environmental Science (EMBeRS)

NRT-IGE：跨学科的科学综合是应对重要挑战的核心，例如全球变化的影响，水，粮食和能源生产之间的权衡，以及对可持续城市的需求。跨学科研究团队的研究表明，团队成员努力实现跨学科的知识综合。问题的出现是由于团队成员无法在其他学科的前沿发展深厚的知识，并将这些知识与自己的专业知识联系起来，以提供一条合作的前进道路。在一个研究团队中与其他可能持有非常不同观点的人合作的能力是培养当今学生满足未来劳动力需求的一个关键方面。这个国家科学基金会研究培训（NRT）奖在研究生教育创新（IGE）轨道是由德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校领导的合作项目，涉及来自多个机构的研究生和教师。该项目将测试一种新的模式，用于培训环境科学研究生团队，以克服知识整合和综合方面的挑战。该模型将借鉴认知，学习和社会科学的研究结果，为研究生和教师开发和测试基于模型的推理方法的培训。基于模型的推理理论认为，人类通过构建他们遇到的情况，事件和过程的内部心理模型进行推理，并且外部表征可以用来促进这些心理模型的构建。外部表示包括使用类比、隐喻、视觉模型、图表和/或其他表示来抽象和传达复杂概念。在团队环境中，这些外部表示称为边界协商对象。该项目将把博士生放在多学科团队中，并促进一个结构化的参与过程，其中包括标准，个人和团体基于模型的推理活动的进展，以及有目的地共同创建边界谈判对象的指导。来自多个机构的学生将通过为期两周的暑期体验一起学习;与大型跨学科团队一起进行研究的学生将成为目标。此外，该项目还将培训来自多个机构的教师。该项目将由10名教员检查实施情况。调查，访谈和数字数据将被收集，以检查研究生如何回应被直接接触到的方法背后的理论，以及该方法的有效性，因为教师在他们的研究生课程中使用它。这种设计将允许从指导学生做什么，与教学生为什么和如何做的结果进行比较。NSF研究培训（NRT）计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的，新的，潜在的变革性和可扩展的STEM研究生教育培训模式。研究生教育创新轨道专门致力于试点，测试和评估新颖，创新和潜在的变革性研究生教育方法。

NRT-IGE: Employing Model-Based Reasoning in Environmental Science (EMBeRS) Scientific synthesis across disciplines is at the heart of addressing important challenges, such as impacts of global change, trade-offs between water, food, and energy production, and the need for sustainable cities. Studies of interdisciplinary research teams indicate that team members struggle to achieve knowledge synthesis across disciplines. Issues arise due to the inability of team members to develop deep knowledge at the frontier of other disciplines and to connect that knowledge with their own expertise to provide a collaborative path forward. The ability to work collaboratively in a research team with others who may hold very different perspectives is a critical aspect of preparing today's students to meet future workforce demands. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award in the Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) track is a collaborative project led by the University of Texas at El Paso involving graduate students and faculty from multiple institutions. The project will test a new model for training graduate student teams in environmental sciences to overcome knowledge integration and synthesis challenges. This model will draw on findings from cognitive, learning, and social sciences to develop and test training for graduate students and faculty in model-based reasoning approaches. Model-based reasoning theory posits that humans reason by constructing an internal mental model of the situations, events, and processes that they encounter, and that external representations can be used to facilitate construction of these mental models. External representations include the use of analogies, metaphor, visual models, diagrams and/or other representations for abstraction and communication of complex concepts. In a team setting, these external representations are called boundary negotiating objects. This project will place doctoral students in multidisciplinary teams and facilitate a structured, participatory process that includes a progression of standard, individual, and group model-based reasoning activities as well as instruction on the purposeful co-creation of boundary negotiating objects. Students from multiple institutions will learn together through two-week summer experiences; students who are conducting research in conjunction with larger interdisciplinary teams will be targeted. In addition, the project will train faculty from multiple institutions in the model. The project will examine the implementation by ten faculty members. Survey, interview, and digital data will be collected to examine how graduate students respond to being directly exposed to theories behind the approach as well as the efficacy of the approach as faculty employ it in their graduate classes. This design will allow comparison of the outcomes from guiding students on what to do, versus teaching students why and how to do it. The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, potentially transformative, and scalable models for STEM graduate education training. The Innovations in Graduate Education Track is dedicated solely to piloting, testing, and evaluating novel, innovative, and potentially transformative approaches to graduate education.