Discourse-based communities of practice: Developing graduate students' abilities to communicate their research across disparate disciplines and experience levels

Ours is a research endeavor with two distinct but related foci: We are developing and studying a discourse based community of practice (the IRIF) to address the particular learning and dissemination of challenges of doctoral graduate students in STEM fields. We also are developing a research tool and methodology (GROD) to enable more effective analyses of the rich data sets that such learning communities generate. The IRIF provides a model for convening a semi-structured discourse-based community of practice in which graduate students can develop their skills for disseminating their own research while learning from the research presentations made by others. For researchers interested in studying how such learning transpires, the IRIF or some adaptation of it may provide a useful context for research not only among graduate students but also for undergraduates and other levels as well. The GROD may also offer advantages to other education researchers as a methodological tool for discourse analysis, because variables other than disciplinary background - e.g. level of expertise, time in program, first language, etc. - could be plotted along the attribute axis. Thus, the methodology could be generalized and adapted for use in tracing the flow of ideas in a classroom setting or interactions in a group discussion. Both the IRIF model and the GROD methodology may be particularly relevant for those working in increasingly cross-disciplinary environments, such as those that IGERT programs and other educational initiatives are designed to promote.