I. Presentation and Communication Skills

· Teaching 3 sessions

“Scholarship must be accurate, whether it is interesting or not. But teaching must be interesting, even if it is not 100 percent accurate.” – Highet, 1950, The Art of Teaching

* Why teach? * Teaching whom? Teaching what? * Preparing lectures; preparing a course * Presentation styles: what works and what doesn’t * Promoting discussion * Optimizing learning * Problems and challenges * Ethics of teacher-student relationships * Visual aids; demonstrations; hands on activities * Testing, evaluating and grading * Evaluating you teaching.

Ų STUDENTS ARE TO PREPARE A 3-MIN INTRODUCTION TO A TALK BY
FEB 7.

· Oral communication: Presenting research seminars 2 sessions

Special guest on Feb 7 and Mar 7: Roy Underhill (TV personality)

Speaking well is important; you are what you speak

* Why give talks? * Structure of talk * How should you prepare? Where to begin? * Audio and visual aids and their responsible use * Delivery style and nonverbal communication * Gender differences * Answering questions

* Getting evaluations * Ethical issues; honesty.

Ų STUDENTS ARE TO BRING IN A POSTER (BORROWED IS OKAY) FOR NEXT SESSION.

· Poster Presentations one session

* Poster vs. oral presentation: advantages & disadvantages * Components * The importance of style and appearance * Responsible conduct for abstracts and posters * How to simplify the writing component * Getting feedback.

Ų STUDENTS ARE TO BRING IN EXAMPLE OF ESPECIALLY POOR SCIENTIFIC WRITING AND POOR TITLES FROM ARTICLES IN THE LITERATURE FOR NEXT SESSION.

· Publishing research findings: Writing a scientific paper Two sessions

“The goal of scientific research is publication . . . A scientific experiment, no matter how spectacular the results, is not completed until it is published.” – R. A. Day, 1994, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper

* Why write? * Research vs. writing * When do you start writing a paper?

* The structure of a scientific paper * Who should be an author? * Responsible conduct in writing; ethical standards * 20 steps of a research article * Is scientific English a foreign language? * Preparing accurate and effective tables and figures * What reviewers look for * Confidentiality of the review process

* How is credit assigned?

· Grantsmanship I: How to get started writing your own proposal
Two sessions

* Sources and types of funding * Types of proposals * Necessary ingredients in an application * Fatal flaws and common problems * How to get help; how to be competitive * Budgets, resources, collaborators

* Who reviews your application? What are they looking for? * How to read and respond to critiques without getting depressed * Responsible conduct, confidentiality and conflicts of interest.

(Students are to begin writing their own “mini-grant” applications.)

Ų STUDENTS MINI-GRANTS ARE DUE : please bring in FOUR copies without your name on them (use the last 4 digits of your soc sec # as i.d.)

Ų STUDENT GRANT CRITIQUES ARE DUE 2 weeks later.

· Grantsmanship II: Mock Study section for grant reviewing(one session )

Obtaining funding is a necessary part of doing science; perseverance spells success.

* How to get help; how to be competitive * Budgets, resources, collaborators

* Who reviews your application? What are they looking for? * How to read and respond to critiques without getting depressed * Responsible conduct, confidentiality and conflicts of interest.

II. Career Development

· Mentorship Two sessions

According to Homer, when Odysseus began his ten year journey, he entrusted the education of his son, Telemachus, to the care of his loyal friend, Mentor.

* Who is a mentor? * Is an “advisor” a “mentor”? * How do you find and choose mentors? * Why is mentoring important? * How do mentors foster creativity, independence, ethical conduct and self-reliance? * How can mentors ensure optimal career development? * How can a “toxic” mentoring relationship be avoided? * Can students also be mentors? * What are the responsibilities of the trainee to the mentor? * What happens when you have a conflict with your mentor? * How do gender, ethnicity, and cultural differences influence the mentor-protégé relationship? * Are you mentor-dependent or mentor-resistant? * Who “owns” the data?

· Gender and Ethnicity one session

“. . . the under-representation of women and people of color (in science) is a reflection of inequities in education, training and career advancement.” – S. J. Bird, 1994, Mentoring, Ethics, and Professional Responsibility

* Why is diversity important? * What obstacles to career development and advancement do women and under-represented groups face? * How can we begin to remove these obstacles? * How to cope with sticky floors and glass ceilings? * How can we recognize different communication styles? How can we overcome the barriers they create? * How can we incorporate multicultural perspectives into our scholarly endeavors?

· Career paths, Professional choices one session

Students will have the opportunity to, listen to and meet with, a variety of academic and non-academic professionals from non-university institutions. For each session, 3 or 4 invited guests will be part of a panel and will also meet in small groups with the students.

* After graduate school, what? * What career opportunities are out there?

* What are their job descriptions? * What novel opportunities may develop in the future? * What personal and professional factors determine the choice of a career path? * How do I know what is best for me? * Is the University the only place to teach? * How can a student best prepare for multiple options? * What do dual-career scientist couples face? * What is the influence of gender on career paths? * Can family be balanced better with certain types of careers? * What are obstacle to be prepared for?