Teaching Reproducibility with LEGO® Structures: Our Transition from Firehose to Baking Show

Raise your whisk if you have given the traditional firehose-style research data management talk in which you cover recommendations for every phase of the research process to an interested but overwhelmed audience. Even when well-received, this format can leave listeners struggling to identify a starting point or envision successful implementation. By reshaping Pullman and Zilinski’s research data management activity using Mega Bloks® and adding a pinch of the hilarious Nailed It! baking show, we transformed our talk into a delicious activity that lowers cognitive load, adds levity, and creates a space where reproducible practices seem possible. Through hands-on learning, participants experience the challenges and payoffs of good and not-as-good data documentation from a perspective outside of their usual research context, situating them for discussion of further reproducible practices. Students engage in peer-to-peer learning, while use of LEGO® structures generalizes the experience for everyone and makes the concepts more accessible. Ultimately, learners and instructors alike have fun. With this activity, we’ve Nailed It! We’d like to share our modified activity with you and invite you to play! For this presentation, we will facilitate our activity for MDLS attendees and discuss it together. Learning objectives include: identifying practices that motivate research reproducibility through interactive learning and adapting this activity for use at participants’ home institutions.