Teaching the Responsible Conduct of Research
Kenneth Pimple, creator and director of the Poynter Center's highly successful Teaching Research Ethics annual international seminar, has been working with the National Center for Professional and Research Ethics, based at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to develop a certificate program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in Teaching Responsible Conduct of Research.
Participants will enroll in a two-part course in two successive semesters for a total of four graduate credit hours. TRCR I will begin with a two-day intensive, face-to-face workshop at the University of Illinois, and TRCR II will end with a similar workshop. In between, teaching and learning will be mediated by the Internet, primarily through the Ethics CORE.
C.K. Gunsalus, director of the National Center for Professional and Research Ethics, leads the program. She describes the need this way:
"The cohort of existing RCR (Responsible Conduct of Research) instructors is graying. We must develop a new pool of capable instructors in this area. The Teaching RCR Certificate program will feature hands-on, high-quality instruction in best teaching practices and will produce a cohort of qualified faculty with RCR expertise for the future while enriching RCR offerings on our campuses.
"We hope to contribute to developing faculty leaders and promoting change in how RCR practices are taught. If this TRCR certificate becomes the mark of distinction we hope it will for those completing the program, it will contribute to changing the dynamic for faculty development and RCR instruction on our campuses, helping to reinforce the personal responsibilities of every scholar and researcher to research integrity and faculty leadership."
The lead teacher will be Michael Loui, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a leader in research ethics education. Pimple will play a key supporting role teaching at the workshops and during the online portion.
