This chapter provides a description of the activities undertaken by participants after the Institute in Jordan in September 2012 to implement what they had learned.
GRANTS TO INSTITUTE PARTICIPANTS
One of the requirements in the call for applications was that “Applicants must use one or more of the instructional materials developed at the Institute in their teaching in the [next] semester.” Through a competitive Request for Applications (RFA), grants in the amount of $1,500 each were offered to enable participants to carry out these activities.54 Of the 28 participants at the Institute, 23 applied for these grants either as individuals or as teams. Project staff reviewed the applications and awarded a total of eight grants based on the quality of application. The successful applications addressed the following issues: overall learning goals of the proposed activity; teaching methods to be used; expected audience; budget (including any in-kind support from the home institutions) and timeline; anticipated difficulties and how they might be addressed; and any attempts to sustain the teaching and promotion of responsible science in their home institutions and their country of residence.
Each of the successful grantees submitted a report about the resulting project and all but one attended the reunion to present and discuss the work. Four participants who did not receive funding also provided information about their implementation activities; one of these nonfunded projects also was presented at the reunion.
The various proposals (details in Table 5-1) related, to a greater or lesser extent, to the topics discussed at the Institute. The funded proposals called for introducing active learning techniques modeled at the Institute with topics related to responsible conduct of science; workshops on safe laboratory practices/biosafety; mentor-trainee relationships and responsibilities; misconduct/improper behavior; authorship; and ethical values in science and research. Some grantees collected data on their target audiences’ knowledge of responsible science before and after implementing teaching modules on responsible science. Others focused on teaching how to design an experiment to implement a research project as a segue to discussing responsible conduct of science. The awardees focused on strengthening problem-solving abilities, enhancing critical thinking, and building capacity among educators. Some emphasized overall awareness of scientists’ professional responsibilities. Within the context of the principal investigator’s (PI’s) country and institution, all proposals were to receive some form of institutional support (financial or in kind) and all provided a plan for sustaining their projects.
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54 The application form may be found in Appendix G.
The materials created, sessions and workshops conducted, and results of these activities were the focus of the reunion meeting.
REUNION
The reunion meeting took place on April 20, 2013, at a hotel in Amman, Jordan, and on the campus of the Jordan University for Science and Technology (JUST) in Ibrid on April 21. Dr. Elizabeth Heitman represented the National Academies committee that planned the Institute along with project staff members Drs. Lida Anestidou and Jay Labov. Nine Institute participants from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen, seven of whom received grants to catalyze their implementation work after the Institute, attended the reunion, gave presentations about their individual projects, and contributed to the general discussions that serve as the basis for the remainder of this chapter and for the discussion and conclusions in Chapter 6. The names of participants, their institutions and countries, and a brief overview of their projects are presented in Table 5-1.
The Best Laid Schemes55: Several conference calls with the National Academies team that organized the reunion resulted in an agenda that was sent to participants before the reunion. Participants were scheduled to work in small groups on day 1, to
• Provide brief overviews of their projects to the other members of the group.
• Discuss aspects of their projects that worked as originally envisioned.
• Describe to other group members any surprises, new insights, and unexpected opportunities that presented themselves during and after their implementation activities.
• Expand on the kinds of assessments they used to measure what their intended audiences had learned and the evaluations they developed to determine the efficacy of their projects.
• Consider how their projects might be improved and sustained over time.
The second day at JUST was to be devoted to each group summarizing its discussions from the previous day, followed by full group discussion of surprises, insights, opportunities, assessments, and sustainability issues.
The organizing group thought that formal presentations should be short, with greatest emphasis on the other points for discussion noted above. However, all participants came prepared to describe their projects more extensively and to a person asked for the agenda to be altered to accommodate more detailed discussion of each individual project. Accordingly, day 1 and the morning of day 2 were devoted to detailed presentation and discussion of each project. The afternoon of day 2 focused on the sustainability of individual initiatives and consideration of how the Institute participants might collaborate both with each other and with members of the NRC organizing committee and staff to bring a much needed emphasis on teaching responsible science (“scientific integrity,” as proposed by one Institute participant) to the Middle East–North Africa (MENA) region.
The lessons that the committee has drawn from the reunion are presented in the next chapter. Combined with other efforts to evaluate the Institute, these provide the basis for the committee’s conclusions about next steps in its work in the MENA region and beyond.
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55 Burns, Robert. 1785. Poem: To A Mouse.
TABLE 5-1 Projects funded and/or presented at the reunion.
| GRANT IMPLEMENTERS | PROGRAM FORMATS AND AUDIENCES | TOPICS | INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT AND SUSTAINABILITY |
| ALGERIA | |||
| Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research | |||
| Halima Benbouza, Biotechnology Research Center (CRBt) Noureddine Yassaa, University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene Abdelkader Bouyakoub, University of Oran (Es-Sénia) Ben Amar Cheba, University of Oran (Es-Sénia) |
1-day workshop: - Interactive presentations with Q&A, presenter, and 3 facilitators - Brainstorming - Case studies - Audience response cards - Postcourse questionnaire 26 researchers/PhD students at the CRBt |
Potential threats from biotechnology and life sciences: What is dual use research? Collaborative science Mentor and trainee relationships Being a responsible author Research integrity and misconduct |
The CRBt offered facilities to hold the workshop. Implementers to propose that RCS course be included in the student curriculum of their institutions. Team also willing to give the RCS module in different scientific institutions. |
| EGYPT | |||
| Future Perspective of “Responsible Conduct of Science” at South Valley University | |||
| Mahmmoud Sayed Abd El-sadek, South Valley University Farag Khoday Moalla Hamed, South Valley University Hamdy Saad Sadek El-Sheshtawy, South Valley University |
Five 3-hour workshops: - Interactive discussion - Case studies by the presenters and the audience - Brainstorming 45 faculty and graduate students on 3 campuses of South Valley University |
Authorship responsibilities Scientific misconduct Responsible research practices |
South Valley University offered infrastructure including seminar rooms and multimedia suppliers at the university’s three campuses (Qena, Hurghada, and Luxor). The team plans to integrate |
| this module into the current program “Improving Skills of Staff Members.” | |||
| Principles of Professionalism in Science | |||
| Yahya Zakaria Eid, Kafrelsheikh University | Two 3-hour workshops: - Lecture - Interactive discussions 35 academic staff and graduate students |
Components of responsible conduct of research and science: - Authorship and publication practices - Plagiarism - Conflict of interest - Scientific integrity |
Kafrelsheik University offered the conference hall and projector. New and more specialized teachable units will be developed to cover the needs of the participants. Negotiations with the university to allow these workshops to occur on a regular basis. |
| Teaching Safe Laboratory Practice in Mansoura University by Active Learning | |||
| Mohamed Mostafa Elhadidy, Mansoura University Mohamed Salah El-Tholoth, Mansoura University |
Learner-centered teaching course consisting of 4-5 blocks: - Brainstorming - Small group discussion: Safety scenarios, multiple choice questions - Poster design - Role play - Case studies 20 undergraduate students |
Components of safe laboratory practice: - General safety practices - Laboratory hazards - Biological safety levels - Personal protective equipment - Spill response and waste disposal - Decontamination - Emergency response |
The university provided seminar halls, facilities, and materials for the course. It also supported the time spent by the instructors to teach the course. The team plans to disseminate the teaching course to different research units as it grows and evolves |
| 2 90-minute facilitator training modules (4 facilitators) | based on the university’s needs. They also plan to provide workshops on a regular basis for current and future faculty and students. They further plan to apply for grants to support their work. | ||
| Study of Responsible Conduct of Science in the Curricula of Scientific Schools | |||
| Mohamed El-Sayed El-Shinawi, Ain Shams University 65 members of the Ain Shams Medical Students Research Association |
2-day awareness campaign on the campus of Ain Shams University Medical School: - Booklet about RCR - Interactive maze with stations - Pre- and postcampaign questionnaire Lecture day 340 medical students (campaign) 185 medical students (lecture day) |
Responsible conduct of research: - Animal welfare - Research misconduct - Protection of human subjects - Mentor-trainee relationships regarding authorship - Conflict of interest Lectures: - Medical research ethics - Cancer biology research lab: Progress and achievements - From operation room to research lab: Solving health problems and improving the quality of life |
Ain Shams University provided lecture halls and space for the booths free of charge. The data collected from the questionnaires will be analyzed to inform the content of future workshops on RCS as well as an elearning platform for students. |
| Responsible Conduct of Scientific Research | |||
| Mohamed Labib Salem, Tanta University Marwa Ahmed Ali, Tanta University |
Three 2-hour workshops/week, each devoted to one topic. The workshops will be repeated three times (2nd time in May and 3rd in June 2013) | Research integrity and misconduct Biosafety Mentor-trainee relationships and responsibilities |
The proposed workshops will be integrated into the Faculty Leadership and Development Program (FLDP) that aims to |
| Yahya Ahmed S. Al-Naggar, Tanta University Amal Hashish, Tanta University Atef Nwair, Tanta University Eman Balah, Tanta University Soha Helmy, Tanta University |
- Presentation - Open discussion - Small group work - Case studies 75 graduate students |
enhance the skills of faculty members at all levels. The materials used during the course will serve as the foundation for core undergraduate and postgraduate courses in research responsibility, biosafety, and the mentortrainee relationship in the university. |
|
| Interactive Learning for Teaching Nursing Administration Course* | |||
| Yaldez K. Zein ElDin, Damanhour University | A block of four lectures in each of two semesters - Jigsaw - Small group discussion - Brainstorming - Role play 90-120 students/semester |
Staffing Documentation Quality of patient care Scheduling |
Use the outcomes from the evaluation to modify the lecture format, presentation and content Provide learning workshops for faculty |
| YEMEN | |||
| Mentor-Trainee Relationships and Responsibilities | |||
| Samira Al-Eryani, Sana’a University Huda Omer Basaleem, University of Aden Khaled Abdulla Al-Sakkaf, University of Aden Ahmed Moharem, Thamar |
Two-day workshop - Presentations with active learning - Colored audience response cards - Small group work/discussion - Sharing discussions with other groups |
Mentoring: origin of mentoring; about mentor-trainee qualities and relationships; what is mentoring; ethics of mentoring; Authorship Mentor trainee conflicts |
The University covered 20% of the projected cost. The Center for Medical Education, Sana’a University will provide modest future |
| University Qais Abdullah Nogaim, Ibb University Fayza Hamood Eyssa, Sana’a University Abdusalem Mohammed Al-Mekhlafi, Sana’a University |
- Case studies with role playing - Videos presenting cases 24 members of the academic teaching staff from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and training staff from the National Centre of Public Health Laboratories |
Current situation of postgraduate regulations in universities in Yemen and mentoring programs | funding and venue to support future workshops. |
| Planning and Implementing Scientific Research | |||
| Huda Omer Basaleem, University of Aden Khaled Abdulla Al-Sakkaf, University of Aden |
4-day workshop - Backward design - Interactive learning - Case studies - Group discussion - Colored audience response cards 23 assistant and 2 associate professors from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences |
Planning and implementing scientific research: - Steps of the research process - Design of a scientific proposal - Research methods - Manuscript writing and publication Analysis of scientific misconduct Communicating research findings |
The College of Medicine provided the venue, paid for the cost of 72 Internet hours, and covered the expenses for 3 facilitators. The team will continue to offer this training and incorporate the teaching methods in other courses. |
| *This activity was not funded by a project grant. | |||
