mentoring

asking any question

Individuals in the lab must feel that they are valued inherently for who they are. This requires creating a community where intellectual humility thrives. Thus, it is my responsibility to express what I do not know. Crafting such a lab cutlure also requires establishing a precedent to value when lab members speak up. Having a space where it is easy to ask questions will augment the lab’s creativity.

seeing the other’s perspective

Creating a vibrant partnership with mentees requires perspective-taking. I try to do this by letting go of my mental model to try to understand how a mentee has constructed their own mental model. When I try to understand how the student is thinking, I force myself to stretch my understanding to new terrain, and ask the student to do the same through clarifying for themselves what they mean.

learning through experience

Fostering scientific creativity is best achieved through a project-oriented approach. We use interactive coding tools, such as Jupyter Notebooks, to experiment with algorithms that instantiate our new hypotheses. It is my job to ensure students learn the tools to measure key variables in their hypotheses and statistical methods to evaluate their veracity.