Tag Archives: teaching

Lowering the stakes on exams could help close the gender gap in STEM classes

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Women tend to underperform in introductory STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) courses, but tweaking how courses are graded could help change that.

By Diana Crow

In many undergrad STEM courses, high-stakes exams — such as mid-terms and finals — determine as much as 60-70% of the student’s overall grade. However, this emphasis on tests may be inadvertently putting some students at a disadvantage.

An emphasis on high-stakes exams at undergraduate level may be a contributor to the gender gap

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How to mentor undergraduates as a postgraduate, and why it’s important

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Spending more time mentoring undergraduates as a postgrad is good for everyone, says Jenn Summers.

To-do lists work for some, but a more holistic approach to researcher development may bring larger rewards.{credit}By FOTO:Fortepan — ID 2278: Adományozó/Donor: Unknown. [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons{/credit}

There’s a difference between mentoring and doling out to-do lists. This is something I’ve learned over the past year, my first as a mentor. Mentoring undergrads became part of my job only recently – in the past, research came first. Most advisors value research outcomes over mentoring, and departments certainly place more value on publications. Before this past year, I was used to just a single undergrad working in my lab, and I thought of them as worker bees, not as future colleagues.

Put simply: I did not think about teaching in the lab.

Now, after guidance from recent research on mentoring, I realize that if graduate students like myself were more invested in mentoring, there would be many more small-but-important teaching opportunities.

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Why learning to mentor and teach is more important for US faculty members than publishing papers

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An influential ally aims to reform the experience of US PhD students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by advocating for a system that rewards faculty members for mentoring and advising students rather than for their own publications.

 

By Chris Woolston

In a 29 May report , Graduate STEM Education for the 20th Century, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) in Washington DC calls for providing faculty members with incentives for developing skills such as teaching and mentoring while de-emphasizing the importance of publications. The report recommends that institutions change their promotion and tenure policies and practices to recognise and reward faculty members’ contributions to graduate mentoring and education.

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Joining a new college: prepare your superpowers

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Empower yourself with a creative mindset and start-up skills to adapt in a new college, says Nadia Al-Banna.

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Congratulations on your faculty position at a newly established college! You think you know what the job entails: teaching, research, and some administrative service. As you read job advice, you wonder why so many pieces include the phrase “survival tips.” “Surviving” was your most-commonly-used word during your PhD and postdoc. Surely, there‘s no more surviving to be had in a brand new college?

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The Art of Supervision in the Arab and Gulf Region

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The upcoming generation of Arab scientists has to be mentored differently, says Mohamed Boudjelal

This piece was cross-posted with Nature Middle East

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The majority of the Arab world gained independence from western colonization during the second half of the 20th century. While Western states were building their research base then, most Arab states were focused on education. Now, the Arab world is trying to catch up. The two main challenges we face today are improving scientific training, and engaging more women in science.
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Teaching as an academic

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We asked Elizabeth Joyce’s opinion on teaching as an academic at the Naturejobs career expo, San Francisco.

https://youtu.be/PwXGjUBtSrY

The faculty series: What does it take to be a mentor?

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Being a great M.E.N.T.O.R will help you just as much as your students, says Nirmala Hariharan

Guest contributor Nirmala Hariharan

Mentoring is one of the most crucial roles played by faculty on a day to day basis. As a mentor, you provide scientific and technical guidance, and serve as the pillar of support for your team of students, postdocs and trainees. Mentoring can consume a lot of your time, and be very demanding, but has several long term benefits that will help you run a successful lab. Here’s what a great M.E.N.T.O.R provides for their students.

 

Nirmala Hariharan

Motivation. You’re the constant source of motivation for your team; you need to see the big picture and guide your team through the ups and downs. You’re the leader that inspires excellence and encourages scientific innovation. As a good mentor, you must recognise the true potential of your mentees – even if they don’t – and know how to bring out the best in them. In short, you should make them realise what they’re capable of.

 

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Finding job satisfaction in science outreach

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How Elizabeth Waters took a love of mentoring and training into Rockefeller University’s teaching labs.

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Elizabeth Walters

After completing her PhD at Oregon Health Science University and doing postdoctoral and associate researcher work in neuroscience at Rockefeller University, Elizabeth Waters transitioned to a position in science outreach there. She describes her move to science education.

Click here to read about how Waters pursued science outreach as a career.

What do you do as lead scientist at the university’s outreach programme?

We offer lab classes to NYC high school students. This was something that was previously run twice a year and now it is run twice a week. We introduce kids and their teachers to the molecular biology skills that were so important in Rockefeller’s discoveries, and to the idea of how scientists choose what scientific questions interest them.  We ask: do you like top down questions or bottom up questions? Even in science, you have to discover what kind of scientist you want to be. Continue reading →

How important is teaching experience in academia?

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Many roles in academia require you to teach future researchers. But how important is it to have experience for this? And where should you go to get some?

At the Naturejobs Career Expo in London this September, a panel of four academics got together to discuss their wildly different careers. Jim Usherwood from the Royal Veterinary College only spends his time doing research. Anita Hall from Imperial College London only does teaching. Lorraine Kerr and Louise Horsfall from the University of Edinburgh split their time (with different percentages) between research, teaching, business and management.

In this short film, Hall and Horsfall give some great advice on the importance of teaching experience and where to get some.

Read more about How to navigate an academic career and about all the other conference sessions and workshops at the Naturejobs Career Expo in London.

Other Q&A videos from the Naturejobs Career Expo, London 2014

How important is having a mentor in your academic career?

How do you achieve work/life balance in academia?

Should I apply for a fellowship or a postdoc after my PhD?

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced as a woman in science?

How important is it to move between academic institutions?

How do you cope when things go wrong in academia?

Online education: Convenience is key

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Contributor Charles Choi

Last week we introduced this series on online education, highlighting the benefits that it can have for established professors and current students. The latter are the biggest clientele of online science courses at the University of Buffalo in New York, especially the students enrolled at the university itself, says Lara Hutson, a research assistant professor at the University of Buffalo. “They may need the biochemistry course to satisfy a prerequisite for their major.” Hutson teaches an online biochemistry course during the summer as well as a number of traditional courses.

The biggest attraction, Hutson says, is the convenience. An online course may be the only one they can fit into their schedule. “They can go home to wherever they live and take it – for example, if they have a job there,” Hutson says. “Our students are mostly from other parts of New York, but I’ve had one student take it from Brazil.”

The convenience of online courses was certainly Monica Mogilewsky’s motivation. “I was working at the Myakka City Lemur Reserve and I lived onsite. I worked on-call 24-7, managing a colony of lemurs, so commuting to a campus was not an option,” she says. “The flexibility that online learning offered made it possible for me to get my degree.” Continue reading →