Background to the current study:

During the fall semester of 2005, IU Biology graduate students were invited to participate in a survey that was meant to a) gain information that might help faculty to consider how much control to allow graduate students to accept over their educations and b) promote more consideration and discussion about ends and means and higher education. In the description of that study, prospective participants (i.e., graduate students) were told that "This study will probe participants' views about a) what they consider to be most important to learn in graduate school, b) what activities they think might be most useful toward helping them toward those objectives, c) when and how often they would like to do each of those activities, d) which of those activities they would like to be required to do (as opposed to simply being afforded opportunities to do), and e) their reasons for wanting to be required to do those activities. This study will also probe participants' views about responsibilities of graduate students with respect to faculty and of faculty with respect to students." The results of that survey are shown at http://www.bio.indiana.edu/~bender/resources/GradStudents.html.

The current study:

Faculty members in the IU Department of Biology were invited to participate in a study, to be conducted during the spring semester of 2006, in which they read and offer comments about responses given by graduate students in the above survey.

Week 1

Graduate students' responses to the first week's question:
Graduate Students' Responses to the First Week's Question

In case this might be useful, I have organized students' responses into categories:
Organization of Graduate Students' Responses to the First Week's Question

1. Do you think that the graduate students who participated in this study tend to have fairly accurate understandings of what Biology faculty members tend to need and want from graduate students?

2. What other thoughts, if any, do you have about the students' responses.

Responses of Faculty to Week 1's Questions

Week 2

One question that students were asked last semester is:
What sorts of skills would you guess that graduate students in our department tend to care most about working to improve?
Students' responses to that question: Graduate Students' Responses to that First Question
In case this might be useful, I have organized into categories students' responses to that first question: Organization of Students' Responses to that First Question

A second question that students were asked last semester is:
What skills do you, yourself, care most about working to improve while in graduate school?
Students' responses to that question: Students' Responses to that Second Question
In case this might be useful, I have organized into categories students' responses to that second question: Organization of Students' Responses to that Second Question

What thoughts, if any, do you have about students' reesponses to the above two questions?

Responses of Faculty to Week 2's Question

Week 3

Students were asked: What do you think ought to be some of the main roles of hyour graduate program?
Their responses to that question: Students' Responses

What specific thoughts (found in any ones of the students' responses) do you consider to be most significant and/or interesting? Why?

Responses of Faculty to Week 3's Questions

Week 4

Last semester, students were asked:

1. Do you think that graduate students should be encouraged, or at least allowed, to have a say in decisions that are made about what educational and advising opportunities are made available to them as well as in decisions that are made about which of those opportunities they should be required to take advantage of?

2. Do you think that graduate students should be encouraged, or at least allowed, to have a say in decisions that are made about the goals and design of their preliminary examinations?

Their responses to those questions: Students' Responses

In case this might be useful, I have tried to pick out relevant main points from those responses: Possible Main Points from Students' Responses

The questions for you are:

1. Does it seem to you that there was much agreement among the students who participated in this study about how much control students ought to be encouraged, or at least allowed, to have?

2. Which thoughts, from any ones of the responses, do you consider to be most significant and/or interesting? Why?

Responses of Faculty to Week 4's Questions

Week 5

Last semester, students were asked:

1. Suppose that each student were involved in deciding the goals and design of hiw or her own prelim exam.
a. In what way(s), if any, can you imagine that your own education might be harmed by your having this involvement?
b. In what way(s), if any, can you imagine that your own education might benefit from your having this involvement?

2. Suppose that there were no prelim exams.
a. In what way(s), if any, can you imagine that your education might be harmed by your not having any sort of prelim exam?
b. In what way(s), if any, can you imagine that your education might benefit from your not having any sort of prelim exam?

Students' responses to those questions: Students' responses and Students' responses organized somewhat differently

The questions for you are:

What do you consider to be the most significant and/or revealing and/or interesting thought(s) expressed in the responses to each question (to 1a, to 1b, to 2a, and to 2b)? Why?

Responses of faculty to Week 5's questions

Weeks 6 & 7

Last semester, students were asked:

Based on previous responses, it sounds as though the prelim exam can be a very useful educational experience. It also sounds as though there is a perception that students tend to be reluctant to think carefully about their research unless required to do so. With those ideas in mind, I'd like to ask:
1. What does it seem to you are some of the main skills that prelims are meant to help students to improve?
2. What would you guess might be some of the main reasons why students might tend to be reluctant to take time to think carefully about their research projects?
3. How often do you think that students should be required, through an examination, to think carefully about their research projects? Is it sufficient to require them to do so only twice during the whole time that they are in graduate school (i.e., for just their prelim exam and their thesis defense)?
4. If, after completing prelims, a student decides to develop a new research project, should that student be required to take the prelim exam again, to make sure that s/he thinks carefully about the new project?

Students' responses to those questions: Students' responses and Students' responses organized somewhat differently

The question for you is:

What does it seem to you that these students consider to be the main roles of prelims?

Responses of faculty to Weeks 6&7's question

Week 8

Last semester, students were asked:

Most of this week's questions are meant to probe views about what sorts of writing graduate students ought to be required to do.
1. Do you think that each student should be required to design and write at least one manuscript that s/he submits for publication?
2. Do you think that each student should be required to design and write at least one research proposal that s/he submits to a funding agency?
3. Do you think that students should be required to take a course that is meant to help them to design and write manuscripts?
4. Do you think that students should be required to take a course that is meant to help them to design and write research proposals?
5. In general, do you think that it tends to be better to 1) first conduct a good deal of experimental research before trying to design a manuscript that reports results of that research or 2) first design a manuscript before doing much experimental research, so that the design of the manuscript can guide decisions about what sorts of experiments to conduct in the first place?

Students' responses to those questions: Students' Responses and Students' Responses organized somewhat differently

The question for you is:

Suppose that a) the responses of these seven students accurately reflected the views of our department's entire graduate student population and b) the requirements for gaining a Ph.D. in our department were largely based on views of graduate students.

In the above scenario, which of the following do you think that our department would decide to require that each Ph.D. student in our graduate programs does?
1. Design and write at least one manuscript that s/he submits for publication.
2. Design and write at least one research proposal that s/he submits to a funding agency.
3. Take a course that is meant to help her/him to design and write manuscripts.
4. Take a coruse that is meant to help her/him to design and write research proposals.

Responses of faculty to week 8's question

Week 9

Last semester, students were asked:

1a. What do you think ought to be the main roles of departmental presentations that are given by students about their own research? What would you like for such presentations to accomplish? (Who ought to be trying to benefit in what ways from them?)
1b. How often do you think that each student whould be required to give a presentation to the department about his or her own research?
1c. How often do you think that each student should be required to attend such presentations. given by other students?
2a. What do you think ought to be the main roles of departmental presentations that are given by students about other people's research (e.g., journal club presentations)? What would you like for such presentations to accomplish? (Who ought to be trying to benefit in what ways from them?)
2b. How often do you think that each student should be required to give this type of presentation?
2c. How often do you think that each student should be required to attend such presentations, given by other students?

Students' responses to those questions: Students' Responses and Students' Responses organized somewhat differently

The questions for you are:

1. Suppose that a) the responses of these seven students accurately reflected the views of our department's entire graduate student population and b) the requirements for gaining a Ph.D. in our department were largely based on views of graduate students.

In the above scenario, how often do you think that our department would require students to do each of the following?
a. Give a presentation to the department about his or her own research?
b. Attend presentations given by other students about their own research?
c. Give a journal club presentation?
d. Attend journal club presentations given by other students?

2. What comments, if any, do you have about any of the students' responses to any of the questions?

Week 10

Last semeseter, students were asked:

Graduate students and post-docs are sometimes considered to be professor apprentices (who are gaining training to become professors).
1. For which aspects of being a professor does it seem to you that graduate students and post-docs tend to gain the most training?
2. For which aspects of being a professor does it seem to you that graduate students and post-docs tend to gain the least training?

Students' responses to those questions: Students' Responses and, organized somewhat differently: Students' Responses to Question 1 and Students' Responses to Question 2

The question for you is: What thoughts, if any, do you have about students' responses to either or both questions?

Week 11

Last semester, students were asked:

1. Do you think that graduate students who are planning to teach in their future jobs should be encouraged to take courses about teaching and learning?
2. What reasons, if any, can you imagine that faculty might have for not wanting to encourage graduate students to take courses about teaching and learning?
3. Do you think that graduate students who are planning to teach in their future jobs should be allowed and encouraged to design and teach portions of undergraduate courses?
4. What reasons, if any, can you imagine that faculty might have for not wanting to allow and encourage graduate students to design and teach portions of undergraduate courses?

Students' responses to those questions: Students' Responses and Students' Responses organized somewhat differently

The question for you is: What thoughts, if any, do you have about students' responses to any one(s) of the above questions?

Week 12

Last semester, students were asked:

This week's question is meant to probe views about possible roles and responsibilities of graduate students. Here's the question:
How important do you think that each of the following issues ought to be in faculty deliberations about whether or not to allow any student to pass the prelim exam (and so to allow any student to continue on in the Ph.D. program)?
1. Does the student seem to be maturely committed to being in the graduate program? a. Does he seem to have an accurate sense of his current abilities and of his career prospects? b. Has he thought carefully about what exactly he wants to learn during the remainder of his stay in graduate school, and has he planned carefully how we will actually learn those things?
2. Does the student seem to be genuinely and deeply engaged in his research?
3. Does it seem likely that the student will produce enough publishable research data to make up for the money, time, and effort that's going to be invested in him by his advisor and by the department? Or, might that money, time, and effort instead be better spent on other people or things (e.g., on a technician, a post-doc, or supplies and equipment)?
4. If this student seems to be weak in critical-thinking and/or other skills, does it seem likely that he will nevertheless be able to adequately improve those skills during the next few years (perhaps with the help of tutuoring)?

Students' responses to that question: Students' Responses and Students' Responses organized somewhat differently

The question for you is:

What thoughts, if any, do you have about any of the students' responses?

Week 13

Last semester, students were asked: What do you consider to be some of the main roles to society of graduate programs in biology?

Students' responses to that question: Students' Responses.

The question for you is:

What thoughts, if any, do you have about any of the students' responses?