With the start of the academic year, I want to repost my expert learning article. Soon, graduate students will start their first lab rotations. A lucky few will walk in, and things will work seemingly magically on day one. For most, this marks the start of a sometimes arduous journey of learning to be an expert experimentalist. As a PI, have you ever wondered how to make this journey less arduous? 1/🧵
https://www.molbiolcell.org/doi/10.1091/mbc.E22-11-0517
#Mentoring #AcademicLife #LabLife #GraduateSchool #GradSchool #PhD
@MCDuncanLab loved this article—shared it with my lab mates! What an awesome framework for intentional skill development.
I’ve been thinking about something complementary to this framework: focusing on the physical aspects of our job. I’m still amazed at how gracefully my first research mentor interrogated a solution by gently pipetting it against the wall of the tube as she held it up to the light. It took a long time before my own pipettes felt like extensions of my hands!
@askennard @MCDuncanLab I thought that was normal! 😳
@lzvolk @askennard @MCDuncanLab I've found that I have to explicitly teach students how to write on a small tube. Most arent aware of their hands and how to stabilize them for detailed work.
@rspfau @lzvolk @MCDuncanLab absolutely! There are so many things like this that are usually taught ad hoc and not systematically. How to stabilize your pipetting hand, how to aspirate liquid slowly and with control, how to minimize bubbles in viscous solutions, how to dip your pipet to a consistent depth every time, how to set your pipet volume (always turning the dial clockwise at the end). Small steps that add up to an intricate dance!
