LABS THAT WORK...
FOR EVERYONE

Labs That Work… for Everyone is a joint project between the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the National Center for Professional and Research Ethics at the University of Illinois Coordinated Science Laboratory in the Grainger College of Engineering. Its aim is to provide leadership development for both lab members and lab leaders, tailored for research environments. The program focuses on the skills to create and maintain cultures of excellence. Lab members are the primary audience for the material currently available for review. Materials for lab leaders will follow.
 
The first Module, Cultures of Excellence, centers around an overarching narrative about a troubled collaboration between two laboratories.  It is presented in a series of episodes with each episode taking no more than 20-30 minutes to complete, plus whatever time participants spend in reflection. 
 
An episode opens with a narrative scene advancing an overall storyline, followed by additional video content and accompanying activities. The scenes, in their final form, will feature professional actors at a high level of production value when we are able to film in person. The draft scenes below are presented as table reads, with the actors participating over Zoom and reading their lines in character. 
 
The video content will feature HHMI leaders, scientists, and other experts exploring concepts or skills related to select elements of the scenes. The Erin O’Shea interview below is an example of such a video. The activities (presently in workbook form, to be incorporated into the online version) provide an opportunity for participants to reflect on the applicability of the concepts as they relate to their own circumstances, and to practice skills. This is rooted in the evidence that this is the most effective approach to long-term, deep learning for adults. We are encouraging participants to work through the material in cohorts, and will be working with HHMI to provide a range of options for interaction and discussion groups. We expect each Module to take about 15-20 hours to complete over several months. The middle video content pieces, between the scenes and activities, are still under development. 
 
Thank you for your willingness to review drafts of our emerging content. Please explore the documents below to review the materials currently in development.  Please share your questions and comments with NCPRE’s HHMI Project Team. We appreciate your time and support to make this program a good use of your time and that of the researchers who follow.
 
Please note that this page and all media content linked within are unlisted. This means that content under development is only available via direct link and will not appear in public search engines.
 
We ask that all reviewers please refrain from distributing any of these links in a public setting.

Content

LTW Program Overview (June 2020)
A short description of our program that includes project goals and a quick review of the key concepts we will cover in Module One.
 
The HHMI-NCPRE Labs That Work…For Everyone program is designed to support cultures of excellence in research.
 

LTW Professional Development Logbook (May 2022)
We are asking participants in the program to complete a workbook as they work through the curriculum in Module One. This guide will be a place to examine the narrative scenarios, to answer self-reflection questions, and to work on activities that will encourage and support professional development. This draft remains in development.

This logbook will be fully integrated into the online learning management system, along with the videos, to create an interactive and seamless program. The logbook will also be available in PDF form, as shown here, for users who wish to use a hard copy as they work through the program.

A one page summary of how we currently envision Module Two of this program.
 

An interview with Erin O’shea, to be used as the program introduction.

Note: The stock footage in this and other interviews will be replaced with footage NCPRE films in actual labs in the final product.

A brief introduction of the program as a whole.

Act One

 

Act Two

Act Three

Labs That Work: A Tale of Two Labs

All scenes as a full length film

Scripts

The entire Module One story presented in screenplay format. 
 
A list of the characters, including lab members and lab leaders, that we will meet and whose stories we will follow throughout Module One.
 
A scene by scene breakdown of the narrative storyline featured in Module One.