LTER Synthesis Course

NCEAS Roundtable | Nick J Lyon

Presentation Outline

LTER Network Background

Course Rationale

Course Structure & Content

Student Projects

What’s Next

LTER Sites

• Established in 1980

• 27 sites in the network

• Thousands of investigators

• Hugely productive!

  • >7000 public datasets
  • >17000 journal articles

LTER Site Longevity

LTER Core Research Areas

• Primary Production

• Populations & Communities

• Disturbance

• Organic Matter

• Inorganic Nutrients

• Land Use/Cover Change

• Human-Environment Interactions

Network Office Structure

Synthesis Research

• How do we define “synthesis”?

Synthesis brings together the results of multiple studies to test novel hypotheses

• LTER research is hypothesis-driven
  • Means many different data are collected

• Perfect context for innovative synthesis work!

LTER Working Groups

• Since 2016 we’ve funded 14 synthesis working groups
  • Meet 3-4 times over two years

• Groups are immensely productive (≥6 publications per group)

• In 2022 we started funding smaller, 1-meeting “SPARC” groups
  • Scientific Peers Advancing Research Collaboration

• Groups are enthusiastic and curious
  • In a word: joyful

Working Group Process

Soil Organic Matter (2017)

Billings et al. 2021, Ecological Applications; Wieder et al. 2021, Earth Systems Science Data Discussions

Soil Organic Matter (2017)

• ‘What Non-Soil Ecologists Should Know about Collecting Soil Samples’

• Explicitly intended to benefit those outside of their discipline

Billings et al. 2021, Ecological Applications; Wieder et al. 2021, Earth Systems Science Data Discussions

Soil Organic Matter (2017)

• ‘What Non-Soil Ecologists Should Know about Collecting Soil Samples’

• Explicitly intended to benefit those outside of their discipline

• Data (and metadata) format workflow for soil data

• Related philosophy to several other efforts at data format standardization
  • E.g., ecocomDP (ediorg.github.io/ecocomDP), etc.

Billings et al. 2021, Ecological Applications; Wieder et al. 2021, Earth Systems Science Data Discussions

Biodiversity-Productivity (2017)

O’Connor et al. 2021, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (ProcB); Mori et al. 2021, Nature Climate Change; Weng et al. 2021, Ecology; Gonzalez et al. 2020, Ecology Letters; Jochum et al. 2020, Nature Ecology & Evolution; Hautier et al. 2020, Nature Communications ; Dee et al. 2019, Trends in Ecology & Evolution (TrEE); Isbell et al. 2018, Ecology Letters; Mori et al. 2018, TrEE; Thompson et al. 2018, ProcB

Silica Exports (2020)

• And researchers at 10 (of 28) LTER sites!

Johnson et al. 2024, Limnology & Oceanography Letters; Jankowski et al. 2023, Global Biogeochemical Cycles

Working Groups & ECRs

• Most groups include early career researchers (ECRs)
  • Typically graduate students and post-docs
  • Sometimes even undergraduates!

• ECRs get a ton out of participating
  • Networking, leadership opportunities, publications, job opportunities, etc.

• Groups get a lot out of including ECRs as well!
  • Novel analytical methods, new perspectives, coding literacy

ECRs & Synthesis Training

• ECR demand for synthesis training far outstrips working group capacity

• Inspired development of a course to provide these skills
  • Synthesis Skills for Early Career Researchers (SSECR)

• SSECR aims to train ECRs in needed quantitative and inclusive facilitation skills

• Timed to leave students well prepared to apply for SPARC group funding

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• The LTER Network Office has two primary goals heading into our next funding cycle:

1. Greater cultural, socioeconomic, and gender diversity throughout the LTER network

2. More rapid and innovative synthesis

• SSECR is built–in part–to support these goals

LTER Program Framework

SSECR Goals

• We have the following strategic goals for the course:

1. Surface and test new synthesis ideas for feasibility
2. Prepare more ECRs to be synthesis project leaders
3. Connect LTER-affiliated ECRs across sites
4. Develop intergenerational linkages around synthesis

Target Audience

• We’re looking to recruit graduate students actively working at/with LTER sites

• ~30 students per cohort (about 1 per LTER site)

• Ideally have some primary research experience
  • No requirement for prior synthesis experience

• Estimated time commitment is 3 hours per week
  • Products of student projects hopefully persuasive to PIs / graduate committees

SSECR Structure

• Course split into two major components:

Instructional Modules

Student-Led Projects

• Module order reflects typical synthesis project evolution
  • Based on working group model

• More on projects shortly!

Course Logistics

• Course runs for 9 months (Sept - May)

• First full week in-person at NCEAS
  • Facilitate cohort sense of community
  • Students form groups of 5-6 with interest in shared project idea

• Biweekly synchronous virtual meetings
  • In “off” weeks groups meet together / with project mentors

Classes

• Class meetings consist of inspiration and instruction

Inspiration

• Approx. 60 minutes

• Led by experienced synthesis scientist(s)

• Describe experience, lend insight, provide guidance, etc.

Classes

• Class meetings consist of inspiration and instruction

Inspiration

• Approx. 60 minutes

• Led by experienced synthesis scientist(s)

• Describe experience, lend insight, provide guidance, etc.

Instruction

• Approx. 120 minutes

• Led by LNO staff, guest speakers, LTER Network-recruited mentors
  • Likely including other NCEAS folx!

• Focus on content module of the week

Team Science Emphasis

• Synthesis work requires meaningful teamwork

• Modules focus on these “soft skills”
  • Consistent inclusivity lens to modules in this category

• Many of these skills are particularly absent from graduate school curricula

Quantitative Emphasis

• Synthesis work usually has significant quantitative needs

• Extensive harmonizing often pre-requisite to even cursory exploration

• Quality control requires an in-depth examination of each primary project’s metadata

Module Categories

15 proposed modules from the two categories

Team Science

Quantitative Skills

Module Categories

15 proposed modules from the two categories

Team Science

• Team Science Practices
• Inclusive Facilitation
• Supporting Divergent, Emergent, and Convergent Thinking
• Authorship & Intellectual Credit
• Project Management
• Logic Models
• Communicating Findings

Quantitative Skills

Module Categories

15 proposed modules from the two categories

Team Science

• Team Science Practices
• Inclusive Facilitation
• Supporting Divergent, Emergent, and Convergent Thinking
• Authorship & Intellectual Credit
• Project Management
• Logic Models
• Communicating Findings

Quantitative Skills

• Reproducibility Best Practices
• Version Control
• Data Discovery & Management
• Data Visualization and Exploration
• Data Wrangling
• Analysis & Modeling
• Spatial Data & Interactivity
• Reproducible Reports

Content Availability

• We hope this course content is valuable to as many people as possible

• To ensure this, we’re making the full course materials publicly-available!
  • lter.github.io/ssecr

• Student project content may be made available
  • Decision made by each team

Projects Overview

• Projects designed, led, and run by students are a significant facet of SSECR

• Gives applied context for skills learned during module instruction

• Project deliverables are incentives for student engagement
  • As well as their advisors/committees

• Each project team will be paired with a “synthesis mentor” to guide groups

Project Mentors

• Mentors are volunteers recruited due to synthesis experience
  • Primarily working group leaders and participants

• Mentors will be assigned to teams based on discipline/ecosystem overlap

• Teams and mentors meet at least 5 times throughout the course

Mentor Meetings

• Content and structure of team-mentor meetings is up to those involved

• Topics may include:
  • Suggesting readings or collaborators
  • Discussing analytical approaches
  • Sharing experience / advice

• Mentors also help teams on an interpersonal level as needed

Project Work

• Students will be encouraged to work on projects during “off weeks” of instruction
  • Biweekly class structure meant to facilitate this

• Project mentor likely present at some (not all!) of these meetings

• Module order based on when project teams are likely to need those skills
  • Some flexibility to share content earlier as needed

Project Team Creation

• Students propose a synthesis project in their application
  • Also gathering ideas from working group / SPARC group participants
  • Project mentors may also suggest topics

• Time set aside for teams/ideas to coalesce during in-person week

• Planning for ~6 groups of 5-6 students each

‘Menu of Ideas’

• Project ideas from all sources will be retained in a ‘menu of ideas’

• Each LTER Network synthesis activity will have the chance to add to this menu
  • Working groups / SPARC groups
  • ‘Next Steps’ ideas produced by SSECR project teams
  • All Scientists’ Meeting (ASM) presentations

• Subsequent cohorts of students can adopt and/or adapt ideas from this menu
  • In addition to bringing their own ideas

Ongoing Plans

• Recruiting project mentors / course instructors

• Refining module learning objectives and content
  • Plus aligned activities/readings

• Recently announced course to LTER Community
  • March Community Call topic, new page on LTER website, etc.

On the Horizon

Spring 2024 - Student applications & application review

Summer 2024 - Application decisions & SSECR Hackathon

Fall 2024 - Spring 2025 - First cohort of SSECR students!

We’d Love Your Insight!

Posting questions to the #nceas Slack channel today but here’s a taste:

• In our module list, would you (A) drop or (B) add any topics?
  • If you would add a module, which module(s) would you drop to make space for it?

• Would you recommend any particular resources?
  • Could include papers, websites, workshops, etc.

• What successful strategies have you seen for group formation?

Want to be Involved?

1. Lend us your experience and curiosity!
   • Take a couple minutes and weigh in on our Slack questions

2. Volunteer to be an inspiration session speaker
   • If you have prior experience with synthesis

3. Talk with us about designing module content
   • If you have significant subject matter expertise
   • There is a small pool of funding for compensating module designers

Want More Information?

• Check out the LTER Network website page for SSECR!
  • lternet.edu/ssecr
  • Web applications (for students and project mentors) are open

• Check out the SSECR course materials!
  • lter.github.io/ssecr
  • Most modules are still under construction though

Thanks! Questions?

Team Science Practices; Inclusive Facilitation; Supporting D.E.C. Thinking; Authorship & Intellectual Credit; Project Management; Logic Models; Communicating Findings

Reproducibility Best Practices; Version Control; Data Discovery & Management; Data Visualization and Exploration; Data Wrangling; Analysis & Modeling; Spatial Data & Interactivity; Reproducible Reports