More Comments from Previous TRE Workshop Participants

These comments from workshop evaluations are sorted by year. A shorter list is also available.

2004

• Smart people thinking hard about important issues.
  
  
• This has really made a difference in my teaching. I am going to make major changes in what I do.
  
  
• You didn't just tell me about ethics, but how to teach it, get students thinking about it, articulating it, learning it. My point of view was influenced in the messages about the importance of openness and communication in everything from who owns the notebooks to compliance policies.
  
  
• Fantastic workshop - one of my best educational experiences ever. It is rare these days that I find sessions providing so much insight, intellectual discussion, knowledge, and practical information.
  
  
• Extremely well planned and organized, excellent presenters and a broad range of topics and participants. Incredibly useful - tons of valuable information and insights from people who have been "doing it."
  
  
• [I have] no suggestions [for improving the workshop] - it's evolved to perfection in ten years!
  
  
• This is the best workshop I have ever attended. You and your staff did an excellent job! I came home with lots of ideas and motivation to enhance our compliance and ethics training. I highly recommend this program for anyone involved in any form of research.
  
  
• The obvious commitment of the lecturers to the teaching process, and their enthusiasm, was infectious.
  
  
• An excellent first step in developing a research ethics course.
  
  
• I will go away with nothing but the highest praise for my stay at IU. More importantly, I will go away with many ideas and resources to impact my own teaching and (hopefully) the inspiration to have an impact on the culture of my department and college.
  
  
• Valuable in broadening my horizons, encountering new concepts, and new ways of dealing with my particular issues.
  
  
• Great networking with completely new people. It was certainly worth the trip!
  
  
• Overall this is one of the best workshops I have attended. The focus on learning was tremendous! The atmosphere was collegial and non-political - this was a breath of fresh air for me. Everyone did a great job. Thanks for the great experience!
  
  

2003

• This was an excellent workshop - well-conceived, well-planned and obviously the product of many hardworking and thoughtful people!
• You didn't just tell me about ethics, but how to teach it, get students thinking about it, articulating it, learning it. My point of view was influenced in the messages about the importance of openness and communication in everything from who owns the notebooks to compliance policies.
• This is the first time I have had exposure to an organized program in ethics, let alone teaching research ethics. The take-away value was tremendous in all aspects. . . . The workshop has provided the tools, the resources, and a network of people who can help me personally and my university community become aware of and practice ethical issues broadly.
• [I have] no suggestions [for improving the workshop] - it's evolved to perfection in ten years!
• The workshop was truly excellent in all of its aspects - organization, quality of presentations, and social interaction among participants. It not only taught me about ethics but about science. The experience was unique. I'm leaving with the confidence that I can teach research ethics to my students (and perhaps faculty at my institution) and that this will hopefully lead to better, i.e., more responsible science.
• This has really made a difference in my teaching. I am going to make major changes in what I do.
• This has been the most helpful and interesting workshop I've attended in years. The organization of the workshop, the faculty, and the resources are all excellent. Also, the other participants were great.
• Congratulations on putting together a program that is comprehensive, thoughtful, and which will be useful in preparing an educational program that will surely be vastly improved over what I could have otherwise put together. It was an enjoyable, enlightening, and very worthwhile experience.
• Enjoyable - tremendous amount of work/effort that went into planning and implementing the program was evident.
• I came to the workshop with no prior formal training/education in ethics. I was a bit overwhelmed with the topic and spent a great deal of time "just learning." I appreciate the pace of the workshop and the order of the topics. I offer my highest recommendation to you for your work and to others who may wish to attend.
• Thank you for the opportunity to be part of such a well designed, well administered, and well taught/presented workshop. Your selection of faculty is exceptional - people with phenomenal expertise and excellent presentation styles.

2002

• This experience provided good historical and policy context for my thinking and really helped me better see how the different aspects of research ethics content relate to each other.
• This is an outstanding program!!
• Thanks for a great conference! I am indebted to you and your excellent colleagues for a great educational experience.
• Practical, thoughtful, challenging.
• Excellent. I really enjoyed myself.
• Lots of information ultimately made this an excellent experience for me.
• I learned a lot about teaching as well as about teaching research ethics.
• It did confirm my intuition that my own institution needs to be more actively engaged in these issues.
• Great range of topics and high quality of information throughout.
• Smart people thinking hard about important issues.
• I am very glad I was able to attend this. I hope a few years from now I will be able to tell you about some formal (courses) and informal ways I've been able to communicate to others about research ethics.
• I feel much better equipped to teach a course to students on ethics - I have many tasks to undertake once I return to the university that have been addressed by this conference of which I was previously unaware.
• Intense, passionate …
• I came to the workshop with very limited understanding of the issues and subtleties involved. I feel much more knowledgeable now and hope that the handouts and other materials provided will help me share with others at my home institution.
• I'd recommend this workshop to others - 5 stars.

2001

• This is the best workshop I have ever attended. You and your staff did an excellent job! I came home with lots of ideas and motivation to enhance our compliance and ethics training. I highly recommend this program for anyone involved in any form of research.
• I have been inspired to change my teaching methods.
• Excellent organization and goals, my objectives were all met.
• A good experience for me and well worth the time invested.
• Thanks for a great workshop that was fun and intellectually stimulating!
• Overall this is one of THE BEST workshops I have attended. The focus on learning was tremendous! The atmosphere was collegial and non-political - this was a breath of fresh air for me. Everyone did a great job. Thanks for the great experience!
• I felt that this was a true learning experience. People were willing to share techniques and strategies. I am inspired to encourage "teaching research ethics" in a variety of ways. The contacts made with others will continue to help as we go forward.
• The workshop really drove home the importance and feasibility of teaching research ethics, as well as providing many useful suggestions and approaches for doing so.
• I will go away with nothing but the highest praise for my stay at IU. More importantly, I will go away with many ideas and resources to impact my own teaching and (hopefully) the inspiration to have an impact on the culture of my department and college.
• Excellent, very useful, inspiring.
• Excellent, great passion and commitment.
• Valuable in broadening my horizons, encountering new concepts, and new ways of dealing with my particular issues. Great networking with completely new people. It was certainly worth the trip!

2000

• Excellent combination of theory and practice.
• Extremely useful - better than I expected (and I had high expectations). The speakers were all well prepared and very well chosen.
• Very useful - stimulated thinking and gave good ideas for teaching ethics.
• This has not only been a mind-opening experience, but it has provided me with a mountain of useful information.
• Incredibly useful - tons of valuable information and insights from people who have been "doing it."
• The workshop was good. The opportunity for networking and idea sharing was valuable. I thought it was terrific in many ways. You did a good job balancing your agenda. I loved the richness of and many contributions from the participants as well as the expertise you had assembled as presenters.
• Very well organized, excellent speakers, good choice of topics, and mix of presentation styles.
• This is a superior workshop.
• An excellent first step in developing a research ethics course.
• This workshop has given me the tools to make me a better teacher. Thank you.
• I am incredibly thankful that Ill be venturing into teaching research ethics with this workshop experience.
• A wonderful learning experience.
• I have been running workshops since 1992, and I am ready to "steal" several really good ideas from this one.
• It was well-run, on time, had good handouts. It was also very good because of the coordination.
• Thank you for more than meeting my expectations.
• A discussion of a broad range of the issues in ethics is very helpful to me. The supporting materials are excellent.
• Thank you for more than meeting my expectations.

1999

• Top rate. I really enjoyed the presentations, organization, everything. Very well done!
• Excellent - I will recommend it to my colleagues and administrators
• I am taking away more than I expected.
• Much practical information and thought provoking material.
• I have wanted the opportunity to attend this program for some time and was not disappointed. The tremendous expertise and enthusiasm of the attendees was a wonderful source of inspiration & information.
• Extremely well planned and organized, excellent presenters and a broad range of topics and participants.
• The workshop . . . brought together different perspectives, encouraged community, and spilled over from formal to informal conversation.
• The teaching oriented sessions gave me excellent ideas.
• I liked the diversity of teaching styles of each speaker. Also liked the friendly, informal format.
• The workshop teaches us how to do good science (as well as how to do ethical science and how to teach ethical science), not what I would have expected. I found some aspects of these (good science) lessons elementary, while I was sure that others in the room found them epiphinal. The converse occurred in other sessions.
• This is a wonderful workshop.
• I am hoping that the dialogue can continue in some meaningful ways. . . . This workshop must go on!
• I am enthused and ready to get started.
• Thank you so much for the opportunity to attend and participate. All of the faculty were of an exceptionally high caliber and willing to share their very great pools of knowledge and resources.
• Excellent seminar. I'd like to see many more, particularly one emphasizing social science. You have filled a great hole in the academy. Thanks
• Fantastic workshop - one of my best educational experiences ever. It is rare these days that I find sessions providing so much insight, intellectual discussion, knowledge, and practical information. With the exception of a very few sessions, the presenters gave thoughtful comments and developed good discussion. The active participation of the "student" was critical and well done by most. Thank you for four days well spent.

1998

• Ken is obviously well organized.
• Well planned. Well executed. Very useful overall!
• Great! I learned a huge amount. I hope I can hold it all between now and when I teach - but at least I have lots of written material to remind me if I forget.
• This was the best workshop I've attended in years! I learned a great many things which I will put into effect this fall in my classes!
• Very, very useful and thoroughly enjoyable.
• The informal atmosphere stimulated discussion and enabled us to meet and interact with a large number of people.
• Readings were excellent. Opportunities to interact with others was also an extreme benefit.
• One of the best, most practical, I've attended.
• Overall I thought the workshop was very well run, the subjects covered appropriate, presentations were generally interesting, whelped and informative.
• The discussions among the participants were exciting and insightful.
• The obvious commitment of the lecturers to the teaching process, and their enthusiasm, was infectious.
• I hope you are developing an "advanced" program for folks who have participated in a TRE.
• Can we have a second year!
• I thank you and congratulate you for this course. It is exceptionally well organized and well conducted, and accomplishes multiple goals with skill. I think I learned a great deal about ethics in research and how to teach this topic, and hope to use this material in my own work. Thank you!
• A really find effort from all of the Poynter staff.

1997

• Really great selection of topics and speakers and all arrangements perfect.
• Excellent!
• Full of stimulating ideas and analysis.
• The things I picked up here will be very useful in the project I've undertaken. Thank you for allowing me to participate.
• Extremely well paced.
• Will strongly recommend to colleagues at MSU and other institutions.
• Great discussion and information.
• I really appreciated the quality of presentations and the opportunities for discussion.
• Extremely well organized.
• First rate - very well organized, very informative content, diverse and interesting group of persons. Very dedicated faculty/speakers/staff.

Quote from Science

After its initial year, the Teaching Research Ethics Workshop (TRE) was one of five programs featured in a special section on "Conduct in Science" in Science, the flagship journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (23 June 1995). Of the programs described, TRE was the only program designed to train scientists how to teach research ethics. The Science article begins this way:

For two years, cell biologist Alvin Telser helped run a course on research ethics for second-year graduate students in biology at the Chicago campus of Northwestern University that Telser admits was lackluster. Researchers and administrators delivered lectures on the usual topics -- authorship, intellectual property, conflict of interest, and the like. Not surprisingly, attendance hovered around 50%. This year, however, Telser reports that attendance is up to at least 90%.

He credits the turnaround to a workshop called Teaching Research Ethics he attended at Indiana University's Poynter Center for the Study of Ethics and American Institutions. Telser says the seminar exposed him "to different ways of teaching research ethics and different ways of thinking about it." When he returned to Chicago, he helped reshape the Northwestern research ethics course into one aimed at promoting the lively discussion of case studies.

Telser's experience is not isolated. TRE is having a positive impact. Many faculty members who have attended have attributed their eagerness to participate to descriptions of the workshop from their colleagues, and a survey of participants in the 1994 and 1995 workshops done five years after their participation in the workshop demonstrates that the workshop has a powerful, positive, long-term impact.

Registrations for the upcoming Teaching Research Ethics Workshop are now being accepted. Space is limited; please register early.