PREP Workshops by Subject Area

Sept. 10 RCR: Investing in Responsibility & Integrity for a Productive Career

This first program in the Responsible Conduct of Research series is intended to focus attention on the broad issues of Integrity in Research and Creative Studies that will be discussed in more detail throughout the remainder of the series and to stress the importance of conducting research with integrity and the consequences when it is not, both at MSU during graduate school and afterward within professional disciplines and in diverse employment situations. Presenters: Karen L. Klomparens, Associate Provost for Graduate Education & Dean of the Graduate School

The Graduate School & Professor of Electron Optics Center for Advanced Microscopy; Stan Soffin, University Ombudsman & Professor of Journalism; Doug Gage. Pfizer, Inc. & Adjunct Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

PREP thematic area: Planning

Career stage: Early

Sept. 25 RCR: Responsible Decision-making in Academic Research: Ethical & Moral Perspectives

Dr. Leonard Fleck (Professor of Philosophy and Medical Ethics) will set the stage for subsequent discussions of specific aspects of academic responsibility by offering lessons to be learned from his perspective as a medical ethicist. He will provide a lay summary of common perspectives on ethical and moral values, features that guide a moral point of view, types of moral inquiry, and recurring dilemmas or problems in ethical decision making. He will discuss how these relate to matters of integrity and academic freedom and raise important questions for discussion concerning decision-making in academia and the conduct of research. He will consider the ethical dimensions of such things as academic freedom in relation to professional standards of conduct (academic duty); conflicting responsibilities and duties of faculty in relation to graduate students (multiple roles, expectations, and needs of students); and institutional responsibility to oversee and promote free and objective inquiry.

PREP thematic area: Planning

Career stage: Mid

Oct. 15 RCR: Maintaining a Productive & Responsive Environment for Conducting Graduate Research

This program will highlight issues of interest to both graduate students and faculty where expectations may differ, leading to conflicts that are ultimately unproductive to all. We will discuss what we are attempting to achieve through responsible conduct of research education with examples of mutual responsibilities by students, faculty, and staff in creating and maintaining a productive and responsive environment for achieving our collective personal goals - for students, a productive graduate experience leading to a rewarding professional career. Presenters: Terry A. May, The Graduate School & Office of the Vice President for Research & Graduate Studies, Interim Faculty Conflict of Interest Information Officer; Karen L. Klomparen, Associate Provost for Graduate Education & Dean of the Graduate School, Professor of Electron Optics Center for Advanced Microscopy; Jim Pivarnik Intellectual Integrity Officer & Professor of Kinesiology

PREP thematic area: Professionalism

Career Stage: Mid

Jan. 15 RCR: Personal Responsibility in Conducting Graduate Research & Advancing Your Career

Academic research is based on trust in the work of others. Also, information generated may often be used just as readily for destructive purposes as for helping mankind in a constructive manner. Therefore, researchers have a great personal responsibility, both individually and collectively, to others. This workshop highlights university guidelines, policies, procedures, and regulations related to institutional and public expectations about personal responsibilities and the consequences if personal actions violate or do not meet these expectations. Karen L. Klomparens Associate Provost for Graduate Education & Dean of the Graduate School The Graduate School & Professor of Electron Optics Center for Advanced Microscopy; J. Ian Gray, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies Professor of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Jim Pivarnik Intellectual Integrity Officer & Professor of Kinesiology; Michael Poterala Executive Director, Office of Inventions and Copyrights

PREP thematic area: Professionalism

Stage: Late

Feb. 3 RCR: Responsibility to the Subjects of Research: Animals

Many research questions to benefit the health and welfare of humans, as well as animals, could not be answered without studying animals in laboratories and in their natural environments. It is important that individuals and institutions conducting such studies recognize the significant responsibilities that this carries with it to do all possible to treat these animals with care and respect. This workshop will highlight historical perspectives and events in the public discussions of whether or not it is ethically appropriate to use animals in research. It will also stress the key laws and policies that have been implemented by the Federal government to accomplish this. Examples and case studies will also be presented to explain how MSU's Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee reviews proposed research and teaching protocols to ensure that research animals are cared for in a humane and ethical manner to minimize pain and distress. J.R. Haywood Professor and Chairperson, Pharmacology and Toxicology

PREP thematic area: Planning

Career stage: Mid

Feb. 5 RCR: Responsibility to the Subjects of Research: Humans

With emphasis on university policies and procedures for acceptable practices and procedures for conducting studies of humans (concern for vulnerable populations, obtaining informed consent, maintaining confidentiality, etc.), this session will also highlight the historical basis for human research protections and how to obtain institutional approval for the conduct of such research. Kristen Burt Education Coordinator, Office of Regulatory Affairs

PREP thematic area: Planning

Career stage: Mid

Feb. 18 RCR: Objectivity & Conflicting Interests in Academic Research

Michigan State University is now advancing a strategic commitment to become recognized worldwide as the United States’ leading land-grant research university for the 21st century. One of the foundations for earning this recognition is public trust, in Michigan and worldwide. One factor contributing to public trust is faith that university efforts are carried out as objectively as possible. The Spring 2007 issue of the Research Integrity Newsletter addresses the meaning of "objectivity" and the importance of striving to minimize bias. This workshop will highlight and discuss issues and examples from varying disciplinary perspectives, including why objectivity is important to graduate students and why graduate students themselves should strive to be objective. Terry A. May Faculty Conflict of Interest Information Officer,The Graduate School & Office of the Vice President for Research & Graduate Studies; Lawrence Busch University Distinguished Professor of Sociology; Stephanie Watts, Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology

PREP thematic are: Professionalism

Career stage: Late

April 5 Planning, Managing, and Funding the research project

Planning, writing, and getting funding for a research idea as a doctoral student, new post-doc or a faculty member can be a daunting task. How do you manage a research project from proposal to completion, and how does this process vary by discipline? Are there foundations, agencies, non-government organization or corporations you should apply to for funding your type of project? How should you “package” your research proposal to meet the criteria of funding sources and what are the various components of a budget you will need to include? For those working in research teams, receiving a grant is only the first step in pursuing a project. What type of personnel do you need to hire for timely completion of the project, and how will they be supervised and evaluated? What types of project reports have to be filed, when, and how will you develop them to make sure they are of high quality? How will project expenditures be tracked to insure the project is completed on budget and meets the requirements of the contract?

This workshop will address research project management skills and proposal writing for a variety of disciplines. Panel members in the morning representing various government agencies and foundations will talk about what it takes to develop a fundable research proposal in their respective organizations and suggestions for managing new projects. Afternoon breakout sessions will provide workshop participants with disciplinary specific practical experiences in searching for potential funding sources, developing ideas for grants, and getting an inside look at how their proposals will be scrutinized by review panels. Participants will have ample opportunity to interact with breakout session facilitators to get tips for initiating their professional research careers.

PREP thematic area: Professionalism

Career stages: Mid, Late

Oct. 2 Creating a Teaching Philosophy You Can Use, Part I: Establishing the Basics

Writing a teaching philosophy is one of the most rewarding and, unfortunately, often one of the hardest tasks to complete. How many times have we sat down to pen an artful statement describing our roles as teachers only to end up slinking away from the computer, despairing over the difficulty of putting down often nebulous thoughts about an enterprise that often is hard to describe? How can we begin to create that ultimately meaningful description of why we do what we do, how we do it, and how our approach reflects some deeper (dare we say, “unique?”) thinking about teaching? Join me, Kevin Johnston, MSU TA Director, as we use writing exercises to help get you thinking and talking (AND putting pen to paper) about the seminal points you need to begin to address in your teaching philosophies. This workshop will give you a solid foundation from which you can start to write what will be one of the most important records you create of your teaching life. Bring with you writing materials and a cheerful willingness to share your “teaching philosophy travails” with your colleagues! To ensure that we can create workable cooperative-learning groups, workshop participation is limited to 35. This workshop fulfils the MSU CCTP competency:

PREP thematic area: Professionalism

Career stages: Early, Mid, Late

Nov. 13 Effective Test Making

Measuring student achievement is like any scientific measurement - it depends in part on the equality of the instrument used. Multiple-choice questions can be written in ways that will reduce student confusion, frustration, and successful guessing while still being appropriately challenging. The result is a test that fairly and more accurately assesses what students have learned. This session will allow participants to think about the context in which they may use multiple-choice tests and learn to compose questions that conform to standards for well-written questions. Professor Doig holds an MS in Clinical Laboratory Science and a PhD in Adult Education from Michigan State University. She has served as Examination Council chairperson for the National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel, which provides medical credentialing examinations nationwide. In this capacity, she has taught test item writing to individuals who prepare questions for the national examinations as well as college teachers in multiple scientific disciplines. Dean Kathy Doig – Natural Science This workshop fulfils the MSU CCTP competency: Assessment of Learning.

PREP thematic Area: Engagement

Career stages: Mid, Late

Jan. 22 Creating a Teaching Philosophy You Can Use, Part II: Developing Professional Praxis

In Developing a Teaching Philosophy, Part I, we laid foundations for a teaching philosophy, meaningfully describing issues concerning our ideas about and approaches to teaching. We also began to consider how the teaching philosophy statement could serve as a reflective document affecting all of your professional experience. Join me as we continue a workshop begun in September 2008 helping you develop further the seminal points you need to address in your teaching philosophies. This workshop will delve more deeply into the process of finding answers to questions most often addressed in effective teaching philosophies and it will challenge you to find those links between philosophy and practice. Bring with you the writing and materials I distributed at the last TP workshop. (NOTE: There will be another TAP Teaching Philosophy workshop in May 2009. It is a condensed experience, focusing on the key issues one needs to address when crafting a teaching statement. Check the TAP website for scheduling and registration details.) This workshop fulfils the MSU CCTP competency: Adult Students as Learners/Creating Learning Environments

PREP thematic area: Engagement

Career stages: Early, Mid, Late

Feb. 26 Teaching Across Cultures

Within the context of teaching American students, participants will address issues concerning the role of diversity in effective instruction, classroom management, facilitating discussion, and assessment. Utilizing “Learning through “Diversity” resources from the Center for the Integration of Teaching and learning (CIRTL), this workshop is part of a series of TAP workshops focusing specifically on multiculturalism, inclusion, and the role of culture in teaching. To ensure that we can create workable cooperative-lear ning groups, workshop participation is limited to 35. This workshop fulfils the MSU CCTP competency: Adult Students as Learners/Creating Learning Environments/Understanding the University

PREP thematic area: Engagement

Career stages: Early, Mid, Late

April 9 Discussions that Work: Engaging Students, and Getting Them to Engage One Another

What kinds of questions prompt what kinds of answers? What queries facilitate rather than debilitate discussion? How can we make discussion and cooperative learning the centerpieces of our teaching? Modeling the collaborative learning experience, this TAP Workshop spurs participants to work with one another using case study analysis to find practical answers to those questions. This workshop fulfils the MSU Certification in College Teaching competency: Adult Students as Learners/Creating Learning Environments

PREP thematic area: Engagement

Career stages: Mid, Late

April 30 Understanding and Handling Classroom Incivility

Most TAs rank handling classroom conflict as their number one concern. Although there are no simple solutions for handling troublesome dilemmas posed by uncivil behavior, there are many organizational and behavioral strategies TAs can employ to avoid and handle conflict. Through case-study analysis and role-play interaction, participants will investigate approaches they can use to solve difficult situations they may encounter and better, create preventive planning strategies that obviate most of the circumstances that create conflict in the classroom. This workshop fulfils the MSU Certification in College Teaching competency: Adult Students as Learners/Creating Learning Environments

PREP thematic area: Engagement

Career stages: Early, Mid, Late

Oct. 1 Developing Your Written Credentials: CV’s, Resume’s, and More

In developing your written credentials it is crucial to represent your professional experience, accomplishments, expertise, and qualities in the most impactful manner possible. This workshop is designed to help Ph.D. students learn how to present their CV’s, resumes, and cover letters in the strongest possible manner and to provide insight from the perspective of the search committee. Learn what the search committee is looking for and how to write your way into an interview. Participants should bring a copy of their curriculum vitae. Presenter: Dr. Matt Helm, Director, Ph.D. Career Services

PREP thematic area: Plannning

Career stages: Mid, Late

Oct 22 What’s Out There?: Identifying Non-Academic Options in the Ph.D. Job Market

This workshop will discuss job search strategies for graduate students seeking employment in business, government, or non-profits. It will provide information about how to begin and organize the job search, what strategies are most effective, how to research organizations, and where to find other helpful resources.

Presenter: Dr. Linda Gross, Assistant Director of Career Services and Placement

PREP thematic area: Engagement

Career Stages: Mid, Late

Oct. 25 Securing Academic Positions at 2 and 4-year Colleges and Universities

As you transition from being a graduate student to a working professional at an academic institution what are the survival skills you'll need to know to be successful? What will be the professional-level expectations of your new colleagues, your department chair, and the university? In graduate school you work diligently on your research, make presentations at professional conferences, and perhaps have opportunities to teach courses, but what type of additional “insider knowledge” do all graduate students need to know about their future professional opportunities? Presenters at this workshop will discuss and answer questions on what research reveals about the match between graduate school training and life as a faculty member, as well as on survival skills students should cultivate now to better prepare them for future academic positions, including developing strong mentoring relationships in graduate school and the first faculty position. The afternoon breakout sessions will focus on expectations for promotion and tenure, on making transition from graduate student to faculty member, and on teaching and managing teams in the classroom, the lab, and professional work environments. A panel of nationally known researchers, educators, and administrators from Michigan State University will also present their insights and answer questions on how to prepare for and survive the tenure and promotion process. This workshop is aimed at doctoral students at all levels in their programs, from those just beginning their coursework and planning ahead to acquire the skills they need to successfully navigate academic culture, to those starting on their job searches and making the transition from graduate student to faculty colleague.

PREP thematic area: Planning

Career stages: Mid, Late

Oct 30 Talking about Teaching in the Interview

“So what is your Teaching Philosophy?” How do you assess your students’ performances?” (Have you) Ever conducted formative evaluation or an SGID?” What’s the difference between collaborative and cooperative learning?” Can you answer these questions? When should you expect to answer them in an interview? What other concerns about representing your teaching should you have when out on the job market? We’ll explore in this workshop many of the ways you could be confronted with these issues during your job search AND we’ll talk about ways that you can effectively negotiate these conversations, put your best teaching “foot” forward, and out-distance peers who show up to their interviews unprepared to engage in meaningful dialogue about teaching. I will provide you with resources to help you negotiate your own searches and get you started piecing together your teaching portfolio, which should represent your teaching life in a variety of ways. To ensure that we can create workable cooperative-learning groups, workshop participation is limited to 35. This workshop fulfils the MSU CCTP competency: Professional Development/Understanding the University

PREP thematic area: Professionalism

Career stage: late

Feb. 11 Networking or Not-working for Ph.D.’s : Building Relationship for Your Future

In a tightly competitive job market learn how to position yourself for an effective job search. It is estimated that 75% of all jobs are not advertised, creating a “hidden” job market. Most people l ocate job openings through a networking process of referral, personal relationships, and informational interviewing. This workshop is intended to expose Ph.D. students to a variety of techniques associated with successful networking including the art of “small talk” and how to combat fear and anxiety in the networking process. Presenter: Dr. Linda Gross, Associate Director of Career Services

PREP thematic area: Engagement

Career stages: Mid, Late

Mar 18 Mastering the Interview

The interview is a dynamic process designed to help employers and candidates gauge mutual fit. This workshop is designed to help graduate students optimize their interview performance in academic and nonacademic settings and will discuss general interview questions, strategies for preparation and self presentation, recommendations about how to respond to tough questions, and topics to avoid. Presenter: Dr. Matt Helm, Coordinator of Ph.D. Career Services

PREP thematic area: Professionalism

Career stage: Late

Sept. 17 The PREPed Ph.D.: A Model for Career and Professional Development for New Ph.D. Students

Early career planning and strategic professional development is essential to completing the Ph.D. and achieving positive career outcomes after graduation. This workshop is designed to expose new Ph.D. students to the Graduate School’s PREP model for Career and Professional development and to help students take a proactive approach to career planning during graduate school. As part of the workshop, students will begin developing a strategic plan for their career and professional development.

PREP thematic area: Planning Focus: Academic and non-academic

Career stage: Early

Sept. 27 Planning for a Sustainable Career: For a Professional

Doctoral programs are the first stage in a long professional career; preparing for that career requires not just disciplinary training, but the development of a range of skills necessary to adapt to professional and personal changes. The workshop will help you to identify those skills and to learn how and where to acquire them. How do you achieve a workable balance between your personal and professional life? How do working professionals deal productively with setbacks, life changes, competing priorities? What kind of planning can you do now to avoid emotional, physical, and financial burnout both now and in the long term? What does it take to develop a “sustainable” career in graduate school and beyond? Presenters at this workshop will discuss and answer questions on what current research reveals about developing a productive long-term career within and outside the academy. The morning session will feature two prominent researchers who will present the results of their studies on work-life balance and on faculty at mid-career, and who will translate those results into planning ideas you can use now. In addition, a panel of two-career couples will talk candidly about the choices they have made in conducting job searches, considering career choices and decisions, and balancing family and career. The afternoon breakout sessions will feature financial planners who will talk about such issues as paying for graduate school, balancing students loans, budgeting, negotiating starting salaries, paying off loans while starting a new position. Students will leave these sessions with a framework for their own financial plan. This workshop is aimed at post docs and at doctoral students at all levels of their programs, from those just beginning their coursework, to those starting on their job searches and making the transition from graduate student to a new career.

PREP thematic area: Resilience

Career stages: Early, Mid, Late

Oct. 20 Navigating the Ph.D

This is a two-part workshop series. The series is targeted to doctoral students in the early stages of their graduate program. The titles of the parts are: Part 1: Demystifying the Dissertation, Personal Management, Forming Committees, Working with Committees, & Comprehensive Exams Part 2: Topics and Proposals, Writing Strategies, Revision Strategies, The Defense...and Beyond, & Graduate Writing Groups

Each part will be limited to 30 doctoral students.

PREP thematic area: Resilience

Career stage: Early, Mid

Nov. 10 Navigating the Ph.D.

This is a two-part workshop series. The series is targeted to doctoral students in the early stages of their graduate program. The titles of the parts are: Part 1: Demystifying the Dissertation, Personal Management, Forming Committees, Working with Committees, & Comprehensive Exams Part 2: Topics and Proposals, Writing Strategies, Revision Strategies, The Defense...and Beyond, & Graduate Writing Groups

Each part will be limited to 30 doctoral students.

PREP thematic area: Resilience

Career stage: Early, Mid

Oct. 17 Developing Communication and Conflict Management Skills to Save Time and Enhance Productivity (full day version)

Description: The graduate student/faculty advisor relationship is an important component of a successful graduate education experience. As with any relationship, conflict is inevitable. Conflict can negatively impact our relationship which, in turn, takes time away from our main objectives and leads to decreased productivity. Learning to prevent conflict through setting expectations and manage the conflict which may occur later will serve to build strong life skills and enhance one’s graduate education experience.

PREP thematic area: Resilience

Career stages: Early, Mid

Nov 5 The Art and Science of Project Management for Ph.D.s:

PREP thematic area: Focus: Academic/Nonacademic

Skill: Planning

Stage: Early, Mid

Lead: Matt

Nov 19 Negotiation Skills for Overcoming Personal and Professional Barriers: Make the World Your Oyster!

Presenter: Presenter: Meredith Gore, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Wildlife Biology

PREP thematic area: Resilience

Career stages: Mid, Late

March 25 Developing Communication and Conflict Management Skills to Save Time and Enhance Productivity (2 Hour Version)

Description: The graduate student/faculty advisor relationship is an important component of a successful graduate education experience. As with any relationship, conflict is inevitable. Conflict can negatively impact our relationship which, in turn, takes time away from our main objectives and leads to decreased productivity. Learning to prevent conflict through setting expectations and manage the conflict which may occur later will serve to build strong life skills and enhance one’s graduate education experience.

PREP thematic area: Resilience

Career stages: Early, Mid

Oct. 15 Staying Steady Come What May: Navigating Graduate School Effectively

This workshop will focus on helping each participant understand what their daily stressors are, reduce their personal stress level and gain a bettersense of perspective about how to move through the challenges of work/family/academic studyPresenter: Lisa L. Davidson, ACSW/LMSW, Coordinator, Employee Assistance Program

PREP thematic area: Resilience

Career stages; Early, Mid, Late

Nov. 6 Stress Management and Enhancing Performance in Graduate School

How much time do you spend worrying about things out of your control? What can you control? How can you become more proactive? Beginning graduate school is one of the most exciting, but stressful times of your life. Understanding how to better plan, react and adapt to stressful pressures, and create supportive networks can help you overcome challenges as they occur. From a presentation they delivered at the National Association for Graduate –Professional Students Midwest Regional conference, Angela, Eric, and Sheila will work with participants to help them develop their own strategies for handling stress. To ensure that we can create workable cooperative-learning groups, workshop participation is limited to 35. Angela Fifer, Eric Bean, and Sheila Kelly – Kinesiology This workshop fulfils the MSU CCTP competency – Professional Development/Understanding the Academy

PREP thematic area: Resilience

Career stages: Early, Mid

Feb 16 Banishing Burnout: From Stress to Strength

In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and lose your essential humanity and sanity. Anxiety and stress are responsible for the vast majority of visits to the family practice physician; they contribute substantially to absenteeism; they compromise creativity; and they diminish the joy and meaning of life. In the pressure cooker of graduate school in academic medicine at Harvard Dr. Joan's nickname was "Psychosomatic Sally." Hurry and worry conspired to create physical symptoms ranging from migraine headaches to an immune disorder. Learning the essential skills of life balance set her priorities straight and restored her health. Humorist Loretta LaRoche asks whether the epitaph on your tombstone might read, "Got it all done, dead anyway." In this high-spirited, informative lecture Dr. Borysenko provides simple, practical tools for being happier at home, more effective at work, and less likely to suffer from burnout and stress. You can preview them in her book, Inner Peace for Busy People: 52 Strategies for Transforming Your Life that inspired the monthly Staying Centered column that Dr. Borysenko wrote for Prevention magazine from 2004-2007. Presenter: Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.

PREP thematic area: Resilience