Professional Development Opportunity: Integrate Ethics/RCR Education into Your CURE
Dear Colleagues,
The Ethics Network for Course-based Opportunities in Undergraduate Research (ENCOUR), an NSF-funded RCN-UBE consortium, is pleased to announce a call for applications for its 2021 – 2022 cohort of ENCOUR Fellows. Recent national efforts to reform postsecondary laboratory education in STEM have resulted in the genesis of course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). While evidence in the literature demonstrates positive gains in students' academic and professional growth following participation in a CURE, little attention has been placed on how to effectively integrate ethics/responsible conduct of research (E/RCR) education within such contexts. ENCOUR fellows will work collaboratively with the ENCOUR leadership team to develop an E/RCR resource (e.g., curricular activity; assessment tool) that they can field-test in their CURE and, ideally, disseminate to the broader community. Specific details regarding the fellowship are as follows:
ENCOUR Fellows will:
* Participate in a one-year program to develop and field-test a novel resource for integration of E/RCR education into their CURE, which will include small- and large-group virtual professional development experiences
* Receive mentoring from a team of experienced ENCOUR leaders, including individuals with expertise in bioethics as well as in CURE development, implementation, and evaluation
* Participate in an initial summer workshop that will consist of two, 90-minute virtual sessions. These sessions will be scheduled at all participants' convenience.
* Disseminate their newly-developed resource(s) to the broader community at a conference of their choice and at an E/RCR in CUREs conference to be organized in 2023. Travel awards will be available to attend both conferences.
* Receive a $1,000 stipend for program completion
* Join the ENCOUR network, a community of professionals interested in promoting the advancement of teaching, professional development, and scholarship in areas that explore the intersection of E/RCR and CUREs
Fellowship Eligibility
We invite applicants with all levels of experience in developing, designing, and/or facilitating CUREs to apply to the fellowship program. Interested applicants must:
* Be a graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, or instructor/faculty member (tenure or non-tenure track) in the biological sciences or related STEM field
* Be currently involved in the development or facilitation of at least one CURE in the biological sciences or related STEM field
* Be able to implement their newly-developed E/RCR resource in their CURE during the 2021 – 2022 academic year for the purposes of field-testing their resource
* Have full support for program participation from their immediate supervisor(s) (e.g., department chair; dean; graduate advisor)
Submitting Your Application
In order to assist you in preparing your application, we strongly encourage you to download the application form template (https://bit.ly/3s2HY28), which provides an indication of the items required for submission. Interested individuals should please complete the online application (https://bit.ly/2Npyxuk) no later than 11:59pm local time on Friday, April 16th, 2021. All complete applications will be reviewed, and determinations will be sent by May 1st.
In the event that you have any questions or concerns regarding the ENCOUR fellowship program and/or the application process, please do not hesitate to reach out to Dr. Jeffrey Olimpo at jtolimpo@utep.edu. Thank you in advance for your attention to the above items, and we look forward to receiving your application.
Best,
Jeff (on behalf of the ENCOUR leadership team)