7 Institute development
Rachael Samberg and Timothy Vollmer
This chapter explores how we developed the Institute. First, we explain our overall design thinking approach to the Institute instruction. Second, we discuss our process for recruiting faculty and soliciting applicants. Third, we detail how we selected participants. Fourth, we explain how we financially supported both participants and instructors for taking part in the weeklong Institute. Fifth, we outlined our approach to internal and public communications. Finally, we talk about the pre-Institute tasks required of the participants.
Design thinking approach
To help TDM scholars and digital humanities (DH) professionals build skills tailored for their own DH research agendas, the Institute incorporated a “design thinking” structure reliant upon experiential methodologies. Building LLTDM modeled five stages in design thinking: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test.
While we will discuss in detail the day-to-day activities in the next chapter, from a high level we started the first day of the Institute by building out our understanding of participants’ experiences with TDM. This helped expand upon what the project team learned from applicants through their applications and questionnaire responses. Day one’s “empathize” activities served as an opportunity for participants to get to know each other and to start learning from each other early in our time together. We believed that building trust and common understanding across the cohort led to more robust discussion sessions and collaborative inquiry throughout the Institute.
For days two and three, we cycled iteratively through the “define” and “ideate” phases of the design thinking rubric. The instructors framed and defined a range of different topical TDM issues and literacies through asynchronous videos, and then we used our synchronous time to work through case studies and “putting it together” exercises. This was intended to help strategize how participants could apply their learning to real-word challenges they faced in conducting or supporting TDM research within their home institutions.
On the final day of the Institute, we spent time together prototyping the implementation plans. This was the hands-on time to apply the week’s sessions to the participants own work and situated local contexts. We’ll be staying connected post-Institute to learn from each other’s outcomes as implementation plans evolve.
Recruiting faculty and participants
Faculty
Our Institute project team were composed of legal experts, librarians, faculty, and scholars immersed in digital humanities and research literacies. They were recruited through professional connections and networks. This set of 15 faculty hailed from more than a dozen North American universities and institutions. Faculty contributed to Institute administration and curricular design, and served as instructors during the Institute. Faculty were designated as: humanities researchers (“HR