Opportunity for Certification in Teaching the Responsible Conduct of Research

Background
The Teaching RCR Certificate Program features hands-on, guided experiential learning in how to develop and lead high quality Responsible Conduct of Research workshops and courses. Led by nationally-recognized faculty experts on RCR from Illinois and the Teaching Research Ethics Program at IU's Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions, participants will acquire a distinguishing credential. The pilot cohort will be kept small (around 10-12 participants) and include representatives from other Big 10 institutions. It will provide those completing the program with a distinguishing credential in an environment where federal and institutional requirements increasingly require RCR offerings to be incorporated in research programs.

Application and Information: http://www.csl.illinois.edu/sites/drupal1.csl.illinois.edu/files/application_teaching_rcr.pdf (Note that the December 7, 2012 application deadline has been extended).

Elements of the Program
(a) A two-day face-to-face workshop January 17-19 focused on RCR content, pedagogy and assessment techniques; participants depart the workshop with a set of principles and case models for program design as well as resources for assessment

(b) A two-part graduate course (Eng 598) in Spring and Fall 2013, each carrying two graduate credit hours. These credit hours generate University of Illinois transcripts.

(c) In the first semester, participants develop instructional events (workshops, seminars, courses or other approaches) that will be offered on the home campus in the second semester

(d) Working groups of the cohort interact in areas of interest through online collaboration tools using Ethics CORE through both semesters of the program

(e) TRCR faculty will consult with participants and provide feedback on developing projects through virtual and additional face-to-face site meetings

(f) Participants will submit their materials for review and pilot their instructional activities (offering a course or workshop/series of events) at their home institutions with program faculty oversight, and then

(g) Participate in a closing one-two day meeting reporting on their projects and discussing with faculty and other participants ways to improve them.
 

Upon satisfactory completion of the requirements, participants are awarded the TRCR certificate.

We will form working groups within the cohort of those within similar disciplines so that participants gain both a wide perspective on the RCR field as well as a focus on the issues in their disciplines. Where feasible given home campus conditions, the RCR offering designed and implemented by program participants will be disciplinarily-focused and based in relevant departments (e.g., chemistry or political science, rather than the graduate school at large). As the first cohort is a pilot program, this aspect may evolve in the first program cycle.

The program will be led by C. K. Gunsalus, director of NCPRE, with participation from NCPRE core team members Michael Loui (Engineering) and Nicholas Burbules (Education) and Ken Pimple, longtime director of the Teaching Research Ethics Workshop at the Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions.

Materials will be gathered by the NCPRE digital library team and collaboration space made available on Ethics CORE, the national online ethics resource center.