Centering Graduate Students’ Research Projects in Data Management Education: A Pilot Program

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Data management education has been part of library service models for almost 2 decades. This paper describes a pilot graduate student education program whose framework shows interdependencies between data management practices, uses a flipped classroom model to allow maximum time for implementation, and whose primary activities are entirely student research based. LITERATURE REVIEW Education in data management encompasses many different formats (in-person, online, synchronous, asynchronous). Within this instruction, Data Information Literacy competencies help define student-learning objectives for data management tasks. Currently data management education is a combination of theory and active learning, with students asking for more hands-on practice. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION This program is an 8-week, inperson, flipped classroom series that addresses all data life cycle stages and aligns with many Data Information Literacy competencies. It is entirely student research data focused in that activities require that they use their projects, with significant time allocated to implement these practices while in the classroom. NEXT STEPS With a 69% retention rate and student improvement in seven foundational data management concepts, this program is considered a success. Future work involves converting this program to a credit-bearing course.

Knowledge and Practice Changes Following a Student Data-Focused Data Management Education Program

“…As previously described, students participated in an 8-week pilot data management program that used a flipped classroom approach, centered the activities entirely on their current research projects, and dedicated time for participants to implement data management infrastructure into their projects (Griffin, 2020). A pretest was distributed after acceptance to the program and was required to be completed before the sessions started.…”

“…In previous work, the author described an approach to data management curriculum that was novel, relative to the literature, in three respects: by framing instruction content in three themes (discovery, infrastructure, and sustainability) that highlight interdependencies between data management practices, by centering all active learning activities on students' research projects, and by using a flipped classroom to give students time for implementing what they learned into their own research projects (Griffin, 2020). This paper follows that work and analyzes the changes in students' knowledge and practices up to 6 months after completing the data management program.…”

Multi-Stakeholder Research Data Management Training as a Tool to Improve the Quality, Integrity, Reliability and Reproducibility of Research

“…Hence, assessing BRDM's results is based not only on the feedback and self-rating of the participants' competencies with further learning needs (typical measures of success in many previous trainings) but the returned DMPs. Fourth, a flipped classroom approach that is rarely used as a teaching method in previous RDM training (Griffin, 2020;Johnston & Jeffryes, 2015;Mithun & Luo, 2020), was adapted in the BRDM 2021 course. Fifth, many previous RDM trainings have been criticised for inadequate reporting (Goben & Griffin, 2019;Perrier et al, 2017).…”