Campbell A Malcolm, Lom Barbara
Biology Department, Davidson College, Davidson, NC 28035, USA.
CBE Life Sci Educ. 2006 Winter;5(4):318-22. doi: 10.1187/cbe.06-06-0170.
Providing undergraduates with mentored research experiences is a critical component of contemporary undergraduate science education. Although the benefits of undergraduate research experiences are apparent, the methods for mentoring young scientists as they first begin navigating the research lab environment are reinvented in labs all over the world. Students come to research labs with varied skills, motivations, needs, and dispositions, placing each student and mentor in a unique relationship. How can we help students become aware of their own intellectual progress? How can we encourage our students to take initial steps toward independent investigation? When do we need to let setbacks happen? We have developed a simple mechanism to address these common problems. Each week, students in our labs answer a series of five questions by e-mail that improve lab communication and help students develop into mature scientists without taxing an instructor's already busy schedule. Our observations, experiences, and student feedback indicate that this approach is a useful mechanism to help faculty who mentor young scientists in the research lab.
为本科生提供有导师指导的研究经历是当代本科科学教育的关键组成部分。尽管本科研究经历的益处显而易见，但世界各地的实验室都在重新探索指导年轻科学家初次进入研究实验室环境的方法。学生进入研究实验室时具备不同的技能、动机、需求和性格，这使得每个学生与导师之间的关系都独一无二。我们如何帮助学生意识到自己的智力进步？我们如何鼓励学生朝着独立研究迈出第一步？我们何时需要让挫折发生？我们开发了一种简单的机制来解决这些常见问题。每周，我们实验室的学生通过电子邮件回答一系列五个问题，这改善了实验室沟通，帮助学生成长为成熟的科学家，同时又不会给已经忙碌的教师增加负担。我们的观察、经验和学生反馈表明，这种方法是帮助在研究实验室指导年轻科学家的教师的一种有用机制。
