A Curriculum Centered on Reproducible Research for the Psychologists of the Future

Cleland Woods, H. , McAleer, P. and Paterson, H. (2021) A Curriculum Centered on Reproducible Research for the Psychologists of the Future. Division Of Academics, Researchers and Teachers In Psychology Annual Conference (DARTP 2021), 23-24 June 2021.

Abstract

Objective: Within Psychology at the University of Glasgow we have redesigned our teaching across all levels of the curriculum with a focus on robust and reproducible methods, in order to develop and improve academic communication practices, in our students and graduates, consistent with Reproducible Research and Open Science. Design: In terms of research methods, our curriculum now promotes a student's own independence in their research practice by emphasizing traditionally overlooked skills, including data wrangling, visualisation, and dynamic reports. In addition, students learn about concepts through simulation and working with open datasets, building practical skills through regular coursework to help improve their competence and confidence in all areas of academic and data literacy. These developments have been made possible through a wholesale change to our practice and to the tools we use to teach our students the required data skills; such as moving away from point-and-click based approaches for analytical software to a more coding-based approach through R and associated packages. Regarding academic communication, we promote the importance of the research question and hypothesis, as opposed to the outcome, by regular sessions with group work aimed at teaching students to write Registered Reports, as well as other report styles including working with open datasets, and by taking a deconstructed approach to teaching the art of communication through reflection. Outcomes: We will discuss solutions to various implementation challenges, ranging from staff training, to building an inclusive and supportive student community, and computer-assisted assessment of coursework as well as opportunities which have arisen such as recognition of the value of our student’s data, collaboration and communication skills. Conclusions: In this session we will share our rationale, experiences and materials behind enabling our students to become future Psychologists, with a view to promoting and developing discussions with anyone interested in focusing their teaching around an open and reproducible curriculum.

• Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Cleland Woods, Heather and McAleer, Dr Phil and Paterson, Dr Helena
• Authors: Cleland Woods, H., McAleer, P., and Paterson, H.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Psychology

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