Lessons From the Trenches: Students’ Perspectives of Their Own Marine Transdisciplinary Education

Recent environmental changes have demonstrated that the Earth has entered the Anthropocene. In this new age, complex interactions between human and natural systems exacerbate “wicked problems” that challenge researchers to engage both deep disciplinary expertise and broad integrative knowledge to ad...

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Main Authors: Megan N. Wilson, Adrian E. Laufer, Erin M. Howard, Jennifer A. T. K. Wong-Ala
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-01-01
Series:Frontiers in Marine Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.592368/full
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spelling doaj-6e33e545f45849d6a7fcef850f1b22d72021-01-14T06:28:47ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452021-01-01710.3389/fmars.2020.592368592368Lessons From the Trenches: Students’ Perspectives of Their Own Marine Transdisciplinary EducationMegan N. Wilson0Adrian E. Laufer1Adrian E. Laufer2Erin M. Howard3Jennifer A. T. K. Wong-Ala4Integrative Biology Department, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United StatesSchool of Public Policy, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United StatesOregon Coastal Management Program, Department of Land Conservation and Development, Salem, OR, United StatesStatistics Department, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United StatesCollege of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United StatesRecent environmental changes have demonstrated that the Earth has entered the Anthropocene. In this new age, complex interactions between human and natural systems exacerbate “wicked problems” that challenge researchers to engage both deep disciplinary expertise and broad integrative knowledge to address these societally relevant problems. Researchers and practitioners are making an increased effort to bridge the divide between human and natural systems research by facilitating multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary collaborations. Despite 21st century changes to the research environment, the structure of a typical graduate education remains largely unchanged over the past several decades. Wicked problems necessitate communication and collaboration expertise; innovative transdisciplinary training and research opportunities can equip graduate students with these necessary skills. Oregon State University has offered such an opportunity through an NSF-funded Research Traineeship Program (NRT) for students focusing on Risk and Uncertainty Quantification and Communication in Marine Science. Herein, we reflect on the experience of graduate students who successfully completed the NRT and assert that support for transdisciplinary training and research at the graduate stage is urgently needed. We present five lessons learned from our year-long transdisciplinary project focused on the development of an approach for integrating diverse data sets within a social-ecological systems framework to reach a broader understanding of the interconnections between a marine reserve system, people, and the environment. Finally, we present current challenges and paths forward to enhance the success of early career transdisciplinary research.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.592368/fullsocial-ecological systems (SES)graduate educationwicked problemstransdisciplinary trainingmarine reservesqualitative network analysis
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Megan N. Wilson
Adrian E. Laufer
Adrian E. Laufer
Erin M. Howard
Jennifer A. T. K. Wong-Ala
spellingShingle Megan N. Wilson
Adrian E. Laufer
Adrian E. Laufer
Erin M. Howard
Jennifer A. T. K. Wong-Ala
Lessons From the Trenches: Students’ Perspectives of Their Own Marine Transdisciplinary Education
Frontiers in Marine Science
social-ecological systems (SES)
graduate education
wicked problems
transdisciplinary training
marine reserves
qualitative network analysis
author_facet Megan N. Wilson
Adrian E. Laufer
Adrian E. Laufer
Erin M. Howard
Jennifer A. T. K. Wong-Ala
author_sort Megan N. Wilson
title Lessons From the Trenches: Students’ Perspectives of Their Own Marine Transdisciplinary Education
title_short Lessons From the Trenches: Students’ Perspectives of Their Own Marine Transdisciplinary Education
title_full Lessons From the Trenches: Students’ Perspectives of Their Own Marine Transdisciplinary Education
title_fullStr Lessons From the Trenches: Students’ Perspectives of Their Own Marine Transdisciplinary Education
title_full_unstemmed Lessons From the Trenches: Students’ Perspectives of Their Own Marine Transdisciplinary Education
title_sort lessons from the trenches: students’ perspectives of their own marine transdisciplinary education
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Marine Science
issn 2296-7745
publishDate 2021-01-01
description Recent environmental changes have demonstrated that the Earth has entered the Anthropocene. In this new age, complex interactions between human and natural systems exacerbate “wicked problems” that challenge researchers to engage both deep disciplinary expertise and broad integrative knowledge to address these societally relevant problems. Researchers and practitioners are making an increased effort to bridge the divide between human and natural systems research by facilitating multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary collaborations. Despite 21st century changes to the research environment, the structure of a typical graduate education remains largely unchanged over the past several decades. Wicked problems necessitate communication and collaboration expertise; innovative transdisciplinary training and research opportunities can equip graduate students with these necessary skills. Oregon State University has offered such an opportunity through an NSF-funded Research Traineeship Program (NRT) for students focusing on Risk and Uncertainty Quantification and Communication in Marine Science. Herein, we reflect on the experience of graduate students who successfully completed the NRT and assert that support for transdisciplinary training and research at the graduate stage is urgently needed. We present five lessons learned from our year-long transdisciplinary project focused on the development of an approach for integrating diverse data sets within a social-ecological systems framework to reach a broader understanding of the interconnections between a marine reserve system, people, and the environment. Finally, we present current challenges and paths forward to enhance the success of early career transdisciplinary research.
topic social-ecological systems (SES)
graduate education
wicked problems
transdisciplinary training
marine reserves
qualitative network analysis
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.592368/full
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