EAGER GERMINATION: TRANSPIRE – A transdisciplinary pedagogy for postdoctoral development

该项目由NSF工程萌芽计划理事会资助，该计划旨在促进教学方法的发展，以提高学术研究人员制定具有潜在变革成果的研究问题和想法的能力。该项目旨在为博士后研究人员的培训和指导制定一个基于证据的，可转移的教学策略。计划的方案包括：一系列每周训练营，旨在介绍特定的跨学科技能;研究间隔，让参与者重新制定自己的问题与他们的主管;进一步训练营;并将在粉笔谈话为基础的演示达到高潮。这些讲习班旨在灌输与跨学科工作相关的技能和技术，然后在其主管的支持下，利用这些技能和技术设计独立的研究项目。考虑到博士后阶段是一个关键的转折点，该项目可能会产生更广泛的影响，通过培养具有广泛思维和跨学科参与能力的新一代科学家的发展。该项目将试点和评估TRANSPIRE作为变革模型的理论，并评估是否，如何，以及为什么思维习惯从传统的孤立的学科焦点转变为更加系统导向的世界观。教学模式整合了团队科学，反思实践和成人学习理论的实践，为跨学科训练营的设计提供信息。博士后研究员将被引导开发研究问题，参与迭代写作，并将他们的想法提交给高级教师小组。用于评估TRANSPIRE模型的方法包括调查、访谈、反思性期刊、观察和焦点小组。话语/内容分析将（a）描述模型及其在实践中如何运作，（B）评估模型作为变革理论，以及（c）评估模型的潜在可扩展性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

This project is funded through the NSF Directorate for Engineering Germination program, which seeks to foster the development of pedagogical approaches to increase the ability of academic researchers to formulate research questions and ideas with potentially transformative outcomes. This project seeks to develop an evidence-based, transferrable pedagogical strategy for training and mentoring postdoctoral researchers. The planned program involves: a series of weekly bootcamps designed to introduce specific transdisciplinary skills; a research interval for the participants to work on reformulating their own problems with their supervisors; further bootcamps; and will culminate in chalk talk-based presentations. The workshops are designed to instill skills and techniques associated with working across disciplines and then to use those in service of designing an independent research project, with the support of their supervisors. Given that the postdoctoral years represent a key inflection point, this program may yield substantial broader impacts through fostering the development of a new generation of scientists with well-developed capacity for broad thought and interdisciplinary engagement.This project will pilot and evaluate TRANSPIRE as a theory of change model and assess whether, how, and why habits of mind transform from a traditionally siloed disciplinary focus towards a more systems-oriented worldview. The pedagogical model integrates practices from team science, reflective practice, and adult learning theories to inform the design of transdisciplinary bootcamps. Postdoctoral fellows will be guided to develop research questions, engage in iterative writing, and present their ideas to a panel of senior faculty. Methods used to evaluate the TRANSPIRE model will include surveys, interviews, reflective journals, observations, and focus groups. A discourse/content analysis will (a) describe the model and how it functions in practice, (b) evaluate the model as a theory of change, and (c) assess the potential scalability of the model. Opportunities for scaling through leveraging professional organizations will be explored.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.