The SOLution-oriented, STudent-Intiated, Computationally-Enriched (SOLSTICE) Training Grant is funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) Program. This grant aims to teach graduate students to solve complex problems, think critically, and effectively communicate across inter-generational, trans-disciplinary research terms. Using a data-intensive, project-based learning approach, graduate students work collaboratively to design, evaluate, and disseminate research in team environments. As data scientists, these students will learn how to pose research questions, translate information into potential actions, develop data collection, analysis and visualization schemes and protocols, and exchange information, data methods, and results in a tailored manner to various audiences. Principal Investigators (PIs) for the grant are Dr. Elena Naumova (Friedman School), Dr. Barbara Brizuela (), and Dr. Remco Chang (). The Research Coordinator (RC) for the grant is Ryan Simpson (Friedman School).
Principal Investigators (PIs) for the grant are Dr. Elena Naumova (Friedman School), Dr. Barbara Brizuela (), and Dr. Remco Chang (). The Research Coordinator (RC) for the grant is Ryan Simpson (Friedman School).
- Teach students to solve complex problems and think critically about data analytics
- Train students to effectively communicate research findings across disciplines and diverse audiences
- Use a data-intensive, project-based learning approach to design, evaluate, and disseminate research in team environments
- Build strong technical and leadership skills to lead and evaluate research projects
The project-based design of the SOLSTICE approach centers on feedback and collaboration. This includes students providing feedback on one another's works as well as providing feedback on the feedback they are given to ensure transparent, communicative teamwork. Students will also be challenges to organize and manage their semester-long projects by creating data management flows and building and executing data analysis plans. To do this, SOLSTICE employs team role-play where students serve as Team Leaders, Collaborators, and Reviewers of their own and their peers’ works.
- As a Team Leader, students will serve as principal investigator to direct their own individual project. This includes defining a testable hypothesis, proposing a plan of execution, and designing a plan of evaluation for their project. Students will also perform data cleaning, analyses, and summaries for in-class presentations and a final report.
- As a Collaborator, students will serve as a co-principal investigator to revise the works of their partners. This includes helping to find solutions for identified challenges and evaluating whether partners' study results are communicated to a broad range of stakeholders in a suitable language.
- As a Reviewer, students will provide constructive criticism to partners by identifying flaws and weaknesses of presentations, manuscripts, and analysis plans. The reviewer is not meant to play an adversary role - all feedback should offer possible solutions by providing a big picture perspective that may have been missed by investigators.
Students are the integral part of the study! Survey questionnaires, assessments, and in-class performance are reported anonymously to evaluate if and how the SOLSTICE approach impacts data-intensive courses across Tufts campuses. At the end of the study, this information will be used to recommend a better design and structure of data analytics coursework. All participants will be updated of study results as the grant progresses. Please note: all surveys and assessments are anonymous to instructors, has no influence on course grades, and is informational in nature!
Involvement is easy and we need your help to complete the following five tasks:
- Complete the IRB Consent Form to allow us to use your survey answers and class performance grades for assessing the value of the SOLSTICE approach. Please use this link to access the form and submit signed forms here.
- Complete the Anonymous Entry Survey to establish a baseline of your knowledge, skills, and attitudes in data science and answer questions on your opinions of data-science related topics. Access the survey here.
- Complete the Anonymous Entry Assessment to establish a baseline of student's knowledge, skills, and attitudes in data science. This assessment asks a series of multiple choice questions related to the aims and objectives of the grant. Please use this link to access the assessment and submit completed assessments here.
- Complete the Anonymous Exit Survey and Assessment to determine end-of-term progress in achieving SOLSTICE aims and goals. These evaluations are similar to entry assessments. The exit survey can be found here while the exit assessment can be found here.
- Complete a Follow Up Survey approximately six months after your enrollment in a SOLSTICE-participating course. This will allow us to monitor lessons learned and changes made to your graduate training over time.
Students are the integral part of the study! Survey questionnaires, assessments, and in-class performance are reported anonymously to evaluate if and how the SOLSTICE approach impacts data-intensive courses across Tufts campuses. At the end of the study, this information will be used to recommend a better design and structure of data analytics coursework. All participants will be updated of study results as the grant progresses. Please note: all surveys and assessments are anonymous to instructors, has no influence on course grades, and is informational in nature!
Involvement is easy and we need your help to complete the following five tasks:
- Complete the IRB Consent Form to allow us to use your survey answers and class performance grades for assessing the value of the SOLSTICE approach. Please use this link to access the form and submit signed forms here.
1. Is enrollment in the study mandatory if a student is enrolled in a SOLSTICE-participating course?
While we hope students and faculty will join the SOLSTICE grant, enrollment is not mandatory. Students have the choice of consenting to the study when completing the IRB Consent Form above.
2. How can the study be anonymous if surveys and assessments collect student names?
All student responses remain anonymous to faculty and instructors of their enrolled course and principal investigators of the SOLSTICE grant. Only the Research Coordinator has access to names of student participants.
3. How will student personal, private information be protected during the study?
After completing surveys and assessments, the Research Coordinator will assign every student participant a study identification number. The student's name will be replaced with this identification number to protect student privacy. Even after de-identification, survey results and assessments will not be distributed to faculty and instructors. However, de-identified results will be shared with Principal Investigators on the SOLSTICE grant.
4. What is the time commitment expected for completing the tasks above?
Completion of consent forms will take no more than 5 minutes. All surveys and assessments have been designed to take no more than 15 minutes each. This means that baseline information will be recorded in ~30 minutes, end-of-term progress information will be recorded in ~30 minutes, and follow-up information will be recorded in ~15 minutes.
5. Who can students and faculty contact for more information?
For more information, please contact PI Dr. Elena N. Naumova (Elena.Naumova@tufts.edu) and RC Ryan Simpson (Ryan.Simpson@tufts.edu).
