Framework for Open and Reproducible Research Training (FORRT)

FORRT provides a pedagogical infrastructure and didactic resources designed to recognize and support the teaching and mentoring of open and reproducible science. FORRT strives to raise awareness of the pedagogical implications of open and reproducible science and its associated challenges (i.e., curricular reform, epistemological uncertainty, methods of education) and advocates for the opening and formal recognition of teaching and mentoring materials to facilitate access, discovery, and learning to those who otherwise would be educationally disenfranchised.

FORRT’s goals are:

1. Build, together with educators, a pathway towards the incremental adoption of open scholarship practices into higher education
2. Generate a conversation about the ethics and social impact of a higher education pedagogy that emphasizes openness, epistemic uncertainty and research credibility
3. Promote a reflection about the perceived importance of different academic activities and advocate for greater recognition of educational resources

FORRT has produced an e-learning platform (Nexus), which is a hub for community-driven initiatives and resources. Teachers’ and researchers’ time constraints are substantial, posing a challenge to developing course materials and integrating new research practices in teaching. This challenge motivated FORRT to develop strategies and propose solutions to mitigate time constraints and help scholars implement open and principled education in their workflows. The focus of FORRT’s Educational Nexus lies not on simply aggregating resources but on making sense of existing materials and ideas, giving them context and continuity, as well as filling in the gap where no connections exist.

the FORRT project has also produced many publications, preprints, policy briefs and op-eds that can be accessed here.