Interdisciplinary Scientific Immersion Program for entering PhD students

STEM的研究生教育通常侧重于深入研究某一特定研究领域的细节。大多数研究生课程不包括向学员介绍其他STEM领域的机会，因为这会增加他们的培训时间。然而，结合学科的研究推动了许多令人兴奋的发现和创新，这往往会带来新的技术和产品。重要的是，不同领域的科学家能够交流和合作，继续推动影响我们社会的创新和发展。事实上，大多数机构都提供广泛的STEM项目，这一事实可以被用来将学员与其他学科的同行聚集在一起，并与我们的下一代研究人员一起创造一条通向新合作和更广泛的科学思维的道路。美国国家科学基金会研究生教育创新奖(IGE)授予华盛顿大学，将决定来自不同STEM学科的学生参与的简短、身临其境的体验是否将加强年轻科学家之间的跨学科交流、批判性思维和网络联系。学员还将培养团队合作的技能，这些技能对于在学术和非学术工作环境中作为一名研究人员的成功至关重要。结果将决定与不同学科的受训者在团队中工作的短暂、身临其境的经历是否可以为他们为跨学科研究和工作做好准备而增加价值。该项目将使应届毕业生受训人员沉浸在跨学科学习体验中，这种学习体验是研究的协作性质的典范，可以在STEM项目中广泛使用。华盛顿大学拥有广泛的生物科学项目，这些项目将结合在一起，为应届研究生创造机会，在努力培养关键核心能力(批判性思维、团队合作、科学沟通、职业准备)的同时，培养他们的社区意识和归属感，并在跨学科科学沉浸计划(ISIP)中建立广泛的同行网络。Isip的总体目标是提供框架，在提供以学科为重点的博士培训的机构中促进跨学科知识和研究。国际能力培养方案的教学方法是基于合作小组的学习，这一方法已显示出对所有学生的学习有重大优势，而那些背景不足的学生获得的收益最高。该计划将包括广泛的教职员工作为团队联合协调人，跨学科的学生团体将朝着一个共同的目标努力，这将允许不同的学习体验和跨学科的同行网络。开发的方案将可移植到多种类型的STEM方案和机构。将使用的评估工具包括调查前和调查后的问题，这些问题涉及对以下方面的信心的自我评估：跨学科沟通技能、基于文献的研究、阐明假设、制定具体目标以及管理自我和他人。该项目对传统STEM博士项目的附加价值将是积极促进应届研究生的跨学科思维和交流，这将在他们的论文工作和职业阅读能力方面对许多人产生变革。研究生教育创新(IGE)项目专注于研究生教育研究。IGE的目标是试验、测试和验证研究生教育的创新方法，并产生将这些方法推广到更广泛社区所需的知识。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Graduate education in STEM typically focuses on diving deep into the details in one particular field of study. Most graduate programs’ curricula do not include opportunities to introduce trainees to other STEM fields because it would increase their time in training. However, research that combines disciplines drives much exciting discovery and innovation that often leads to new technologies and products. It is important for scientists in different fields to be able to communicate and work together to continue to drive the innovation and development that impacts our society. The fact that most institutions offer a wide array of STEM programs can be leveraged to bring trainees together with their peers in other disciplines and create a path to new collaborations and more breadth in scientific thinking with our next generation of researchers. This National Science Foundation Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) award to Washington University will determine whether a short, immersive experience that involves students from different STEM disciplines will enhance the cross-discipline communication, critical thinking, and networking among young scientists. The trainees will also develop skills in teamwork that are crucial to success as a researcher in both academic and non-academic work settings. The results will determine whether short, immersive experiences with trainees in a variety of disciplines working in teams can have added value in preparing them for interdisciplinary research and the workforce.This project will immerse new graduate trainees in an interdisciplinary learning experience which models the collaborative nature of research and can be broadly utilized in STEM programs. Washington University has a breadth of bioscience programs that will be combined to create an opportunity for new graduate students to simultaneously develop their sense of community and belonging while working towards key core competencies (critical thinking, teamwork, scientific communication, career readiness) and establishing a wide network of peers in the Interdisciplinary Scientific Immersion Program (ISIP). The overarching goal of ISIP is to provide the framework to promote interdisciplinary knowledge and research at institutions that offer discipline-focused PhD training. The pedagogical method for ISIP is cooperative team-based learning, a methodology that has demonstrated significant advantages for learning for all students with the highest gains for those students from underrepresented backgrounds. The program will involve a wide range of faculty as team co-facilitators, and interdisciplinary student groups will work towards a common goal that will allow for varied learning experiences and cross-discipline peer networking. The developed program will be transferable to many types of STEM programs and institutions. The assessment tools that will be utilized include pre- and post- survey questions addressing self-assessment of confidence in: interdisciplinary communication skills, literature-based research, articulation of hypothesis, writing specific aims, and managing self and others. The added value of this program to traditional STEM PhD programs will be in actively promoting interdisciplinary thought and communication for new graduate students that will be transformative for many in both their thesis work and career readiness.The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program is focused on research in graduate education. The goals of IGE are to pilot, test and validate innovative approaches to graduate education and to generate the knowledge required to move these approaches into the broader community.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.