EAGER GERMINATION: TRANSPIRE – A transdisciplinary pedagogy for postdoctoral development

该项目由美国国家科学基金会工程萌芽计划理事会资助，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性结果的研究问题和想法的能力。该项目旨在为培养和指导博士后研究人员制定一种基于证据的、可转移的教学策略。计划中的项目包括：一系列旨在介绍特定跨学科技能的每周训练营；一个研究间隔，让参与者与他们的主管一起重新构想他们自己的问题；进一步训练;最后将以粉笔演讲的形式结束。这些研讨会旨在灌输与跨学科工作相关的技能和技术，然后在导师的支持下使用这些技能和技术来设计一个独立的研究项目。鉴于博士后阶段是一个关键的转折点，该项目可能会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而产生更广泛的影响。该项目将试点和评估TRANSPIRE作为一种变革理论模型，并评估思维习惯是否、如何以及为什么从传统的孤立学科焦点转变为更以系统为导向的世界观。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发展研究问题，参与迭代写作，并向高级教师小组展示他们的想法。用于评估TRANSPIRE模型的方法包括调查、访谈、反思日志、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的功能，(b)将模型作为变革理论进行评估，以及(c)评估模型的潜在可扩展性。将探索通过利用专业组织来扩大规模的机会。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

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.