4. Mentoring Students

A major part of learning to be a scientist involves learning how to teach others to be scientists, and it is also essential for the continuity of research in the group. Unfortunately, very few of us innately have the skills to be effective mentors or teachers. Thus, like everything else we do in the lab, this is something that requires consistent practice.

1. Training Philosophy

The following ideas apply for lab members in different positions within the lab.

• Successfully training someone new requires 100% effort and commitment from both the trainer and trainee.
• The trainer should imagine that they are walking together with the trainee on a path, not waiting at the finish line.
• Telling a new student how to do a task and then expecting that they will do it properly is usually a mistake. You should continuously check on the students to make sure they are working properly.
• It is helpful to take a “trust but verify” approach. You should assume that the student will successfully complete the task after you assign it to them, but then you should verify that it is correctly done.
• Learning how to assign appropriate goals for a new student is essential. The newest students must be told what their objective is and how to achieve it. As the student becomes more experienced, you can start to give them some freedom in deciding how to achieve their goals. The most advanced students can decide on their objectives and approaches.
• Realize that different students have different communication styles and learning styles. In particular, the student you are training may have a different learning or communication style than you do. For example, you might enjoy a vigorous back and forth debate about a scientific issue, but your student might feel offended if you excitedly interrupt them during a conversation. In another example, you might learn best if you watch someone doing something, but your student might learn best reading instructions. Training a new student who has a similar learning and communication style to you is generally relatively easy, but training a new student who has a different learning and communication style can be profoundly challenging. The problem is even more difficult because most new students are not fully aware of their communication and learning preferences. However, learning how to teach and work with people who are different than you is one of the most important skills I can teach you. The best advice I can give you about communication is to always try to understand the non-verbal cues from your student. Although subtle, these cues will often help you understand the student’s preferred method ofc communication. Discerning a new student’s learning style often requires trying something (e.g., showing them how to do a task) and then seeing how it works (e.g., observing how well they can repeat the task). Although your first approach may not work, it will often point you in the right direction for how to change your teaching approach.
• Learning how to provide effective feedback is also critical. In general, try to provide more positive feedback than negative. When providing negative feedback, focus on the behavior of the student and its implications for the project. Make sure the student understands the implications of their behavior and understands and agrees on the path forward.