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XRT: A Reproducible and Scalable Training System that Produces Students Capable of Conducting Novel Molecular Biology Research
Author(s) -
Groshong Tyler L.,
Fong Megan J.,
Madejski Irene R.,
Leeman Jacob T.,
Sundaresan Avirath,
De Luke
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2020.34.s1.07282
Subject(s) - troubleshooting , class (philosophy) , set (abstract data type) , curriculum , computer science , scalability , staffing , medical education , mathematics education , engineering management , psychology , pedagogy , medicine , engineering , nursing , database , artificial intelligence , programming language , operating system
Many high‐school science education programs do not train students to be independent researchers that make novel contributions to the scientific community, which is arguably the primary goal of a scientist. There are many possible explanations for this paradox. Due to high student/teacher ratios, teachers are unable to give the individualized attention necessary to cultivate a scientist from a student. Class schedules, student motivation, and diverse intellectual support are also huge barriers. As a result, most high‐school programs struggle to establish a system that allows for university and graduate‐level laboratory education of a significant number of students. Here, we report a curriculum that trains students to design, conduct, manage, lead, and present novel research projects, but also a program that is self‐sustaining and scalable. The system produces a three‐tiered system of research students, each with an increasing set of laboratory and troubleshooting, goal‐setting, and project management skills. This management system is scaffolded. It can be completed at different speeds. These teams design projects that are novel and real. Trained teams come together and systematically create projects that can not only sustain themselves and pursue novel intellectual discovery, but also projects that are able to expand and adapt through multiple years and to a changing number of students, independent of staffing. Support or Funding Information This work was supported by The Nueva School.