NRT-IGE: Advancing Graduate Education in the Chemical Sciences

显然有必要重新考虑化学科学的博士课程。培养研究生的学徒制由来已久，博士生向一名硕士导师学习，这种模式假设大多数即将毕业的博士生将成为一所大学的教员，或者进行行业研究，以解决科学中的基础问题。今天，大多数化学博士不寻求学术任命，更少的基础研究是在化学工业进行的。此外，博士生预期掌握的知识和技能基础继续扩大，而教职员工为获得拨款、合同和专利而采取的类似市场的行为可能会造成博士培训背景，在这种背景下，博士研究技能的发展不均衡或不必要地延长。在俄克拉荷马大学的研究生教育创新(IGE)轨道上，这项国家科学基金会研究培训(NRT)奖将在化学和生物化学系试行一项创新的研究生课程，强调定制个人学生项目并仔细监测进展情况。学习结果和评估数据将被用来确定这一变革性的课程是否有效地促进了有效的个人博士培训，同时减少了获得学位的时间。本课程预计将为全国化学科学博士课程的修订和振兴提供一个模板。虽然这一创新课程模式的组成部分是基于关于STEM研究生教育的具有里程碑意义的国家研究的建议，但这一试点将在一个全面的课程修订项目中测试这些组成部分。课程模式将采用基于能力的评估、加速学习和具体里程碑，以实现扩大化学博士项目参与度的目标，同时减少获得学位的时间。通过加强监督、定制课程和使用学生主导的个人发展计划，由于最大限度地减少自然减员和缩短获得学位的时间，预计每年的毕业生人数将会增加。将更加重视专业发展和超越传统的、狭隘的化学定义的技能组合，以便毕业生能够更好地为日益多样化的劳动力做出贡献。新课程的有效性将通过与俄克拉荷马大学的历史数据以及一些同行机构的当前做法和数据进行比较来评估。该项目将记录学生和教职员工的实时经历，并详细说明课程制定过程中的紧急挑战，从而勾勒出如何最好地在博士项目中复制课程模式，并将其作为全国其他大学的资源。项目传播将包括开发一个基于网络的资源工具箱，以促进成功组成部分的广泛采用。来自同行机构的教职员工和管理人员的网络改进社区将被用来促进文化变革，活跃全国辩论，保持改革势头，并克服体制障碍。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验、测试和评估研究生教育的新颖、创新和潜在的变革性方法。

A clear need for reconsidering the doctoral curriculum in the chemical sciences has emerged. The long-established apprenticeship model for training graduate students, whereby a doctoral student learns from one master advisor, assumes that most graduating Ph.D. students will become faculty members within a university or conduct industry research to address foundational questions in the sciences. Today most Ph.D. chemists do not seek academic appointments and much less basic research is being conducted in the chemical industry. In addition, the knowledge and skill base doctoral students are expected to master continues to expand, while market-like behaviors undertaken by faculty to secure grants, contracts, and patents may create doctoral training contexts in which doctoral research skill development is uneven or unnecessarily extended. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award in the Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) track to the University of Oklahoma will pilot an innovative graduate curriculum in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry that emphasizes customization of individual student programs and careful monitoring of progress. Learning outcomes and evaluation data will be used to determine if this transformative curriculum effectively promotes efficient individual doctoral training while decreasing the time to degree. This curriculum is anticipated to provide a template for revision and reinvigoration of doctoral programs in the chemical sciences nationwide. While the components of this innovative curriculum model are based on recommendations from landmark national studies concerning STEM graduate education, this pilot will test these components within a comprehensive curricular revision project. The curriculum model will employ competency-based assessment, accelerated learning, and concrete milestones to meet the goals of broadening participation in the chemistry Ph.D. program while decreasing the time to degree. Through greater oversight, customized curricula, and the use of student-led Individual Development Plans, the number of graduates per year is expected to increase as a result of minimizing attrition and decreasing the time to degree. Greater emphasis will be placed on professional development and skill sets that reach beyond the traditional, narrow definition of chemistry so graduates will be better positioned to contribute to an increasingly diverse workforce. The effectiveness of the new curriculum will be evaluated by comparison with historical data at the University of Oklahoma and current practices and data from a number of peer institutions. The project will document "real time" student and faculty experiences and detail emergent challenges as the curriculum is enacted, thereby delineating how the curriculum model may be best replicated across doctoral programs and serve as a resource for other universities nationwide. Project dissemination will include the development of a web-based toolbox of resources to facilitate widespread adoption of successful components. Networked Improvement Communities of faculty and administrators from peer institutions will be used to promote cultural change, invigorate the national debate, maintain reform momentum, and to navigate institutional barriers. The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, potentially transformative 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.