Educating the Next Generation of Scientists: what should the objectives be, and how can we achieve them?

Abstract

The world has changed, and the role and responsibilities of scientists have changed as a consequence. Not only is there an increasingly urgent need for scientifically informed multi-scale responses to the global problems we face, but there is also a need to address to the obstructive attitudes toward evidence accumulated and presented through scientific activities. What skills will allow future scientists to continue extending the frontiers of knowledge, to cooperate in response to the wicked problems we face, and negotiate the complexities of denialism? These questions go to the very heart of what it means, and is likely to mean in future, to be a scientist. This in turn goes to the heart of the educational process that will deliver graduates able to address these conundrums. The implications of these considerations will be explored from curriculum design, learning outcomes, and pedagogic perspectives. We start by considering the value of longitudinal curricula, problem based learning approaches and authentic assessment strategies. We demonstrate the utility of an enhanced graduate profile framework as a tool for planning educational interventions across the scales at which they occur – institution, programme, module, session and individual learner. Based on our experiences in formal teaching, informal student support, and research training at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels, we will reflect on the value of such an approach to science education in this brave new post-truth world.