Dear Colleagues,
We are writing to let you know about a symposium that will be held this spring, titled “Instruction in Reproducible Research: Educational Outcomes.” The symposium is being sponsored jointly by Project TIER, the Sheffield Methods Institute, and the UK Reproducibility Network, and will consist of virtual sessions to be held on a series of Fridays between March 5 and May 14.
Two of the talks will be by keynote speakers Nicole Janz and Nick Horton.
We invite you to join the symposium as a participant. Registration is free.
We are also soliciting proposals for presentations at the symposium. Slots for about six presentations are open. Each presenter will receive an honorarium of $500.
What the symposium is about
The purpose of the symposium is to move beyond the nuts and bolts of technology and software, and focus instead on educational outcomes. What does teaching students reproducible methods of quantitative research contribute to their learning and education? Examples of potential outcomes this symposium seeks to explore include:
- Students who learn reproducible methods in an introductory class are likely to adopt those methods in future classes and research experiences.
- Constructing a research compendium not only ensures that results are reproducible, but also enhances students’ conceptual understanding of how their results were generated and how they should be interpreted.
- Does knowing that their results can be reproduced increase students’ confidence in their ability to conduct reliable research and generate original insights that are reliable and justifiable?
- Does training in reproducible methods reinforce the principle that if you assert a claim about a certain issue you should be prepared to defend it with a reasoned argument supported by verifiable evidence? Do students who internalize this principle engage in civil discourse more constructively than those who do not?
- What do we know about these questions from research in education or educational psychology, or what kinds of studies could be done to generate credible empirical evidence about them?
- Although technology and software will not be the focus, presentations on ways in which particular technologies or software promote specific types of learning would also be of interest.
The topics listed above are meant to suggest the kinds of questions the symposium will address; the list is definitely not meant to be exhaustive.
How the symposium will work
The format of the symposium will be a bit atypical, but we believe it will be an efficient and effective way of sharing ideas and generating discussion given the COVID-related restrictions on in-person interactions.
Each speaker will be asked to record a video presentation of about 45-50 minutes in length. The video will be posted on the symposium website so that symposium participants can watch it at their convenience. About a week after the presentation is posted, there will be a one-hour live discussion via Zoom, in which a discussant makes remarks, the presenter replies, and then the floor is opened up for general discussion among participants. These live sessions will take place on Fridays, at 11:00 am Eastern Standard Time (4:00 pm GMT), between March 5 and May 14.
Proposals for presentations should be submitted using this form. The proposal deadline is February 5. We will continue reviewing proposals until all slots are filled, but proposals received after February 5 may not receive full consideration.
Project TIER is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation