Teacher-Student Dynamics
Remember the difference between high school and college classrooms? In high school, you had to raise your hand, address your teacher as Miss or Sir, and ask permission for every single movement you made. In college it was a bit more flexible. Except for a few professors who mingled with their students, the line between professor and students continued to be pretty well defined. In the US, the teacher-student relationship is less formal than the one we have back in the Philippines. Some of them join their students during happy hour at the pub or bar.
We recommend making friends or developing a relationship with your professor. If you’re looking for a job or applying for an internship, they will make ideal references. They might even recommend you for a scholarship or a program, especially if they think you have some promise.
If you are going to look for an adviser or thesis committee members, Wanda Pratt of Stanford University http://projects.ischool.washington.edu/wpratt/ summarized the following qualities you should look for:
• Willing to meet with you regularly (about an hour every week or every other week)
• One whom you can trust
• Give you credit for the work you do
• Defend your work when you are not around
• Speak well of you and your capabilities
• Tell you when your work is or is not good enough
• Help you graduate within a reasonable time frame
• Look out for you professionally and personally
• Is interested in your topic
• Has good personal and communication skills
• One you can talk with freely and easily about research ideas
• One who points out when you are doing something supremely unintelligent (i.e. stupid)
• Patient
• Will never feel threatened by your capabilities
• Helps motivate you and get you out should you find yourself in a rut (intellectually)
• Has good technical skills
• Can provide constructive criticism of papers you write or talks you give
• Knows if what you are doing is good enough for a good thesis
• Can help you figure out what you are not doing well
• Can help you improve any skills you may already have
• Can suggest related articles to read or people to speak with
• Can tell you or help you discover if what you are doing has already been done
• Can help you set and achieve reasonable goals
• Will be around until you finish
• Is well respected in his/her field
• Has good connections for the type of job you would want when you graduate
Getting the most out of the relationship with your research advisor is also crucial. Even if you have the nicest of advisers, you should also know how to handle meetings with them.
• Meet regularly - you should insist on meeting once a week or at least every other week because it gives you motivation to make regular progress and it keeps your advisor aware of your work.
• Prepare for your meetings - come to each meeting with:
• Email him/her a brief summary of EVERY meeting - this helps avoid any possible misunderstandings and provides a great record of your research progress. Include (where applicable):
Remember the difference between high school and college classrooms? In high school, you had to raise your hand, address your teacher as Miss or Sir, and ask permission for every single movement you made. In college it was a bit more flexible. Except for a few professors who mingled with their students, the line between professor and students continued to be pretty well defined. In the US, the teacher-student relationship is less formal than the one we have back in the Philippines. Some of them join their students during happy hour at the pub or bar.
We recommend making friends or developing a relationship with your professor. If you’re looking for a job or applying for an internship, they will make ideal references. They might even recommend you for a scholarship or a program, especially if they think you have some promise.
If you are going to look for an adviser or thesis committee members, Wanda Pratt of Stanford University http://projects.ischool.washington.edu/wpratt/ summarized the following qualities you should look for:
• Willing to meet with you regularly (about an hour every week or every other week)
• One whom you can trust
• Give you credit for the work you do
• Defend your work when you are not around
• Speak well of you and your capabilities
• Tell you when your work is or is not good enough
• Help you graduate within a reasonable time frame
• Look out for you professionally and personally
• Is interested in your topic
• Has good personal and communication skills
• One you can talk with freely and easily about research ideas
• One who points out when you are doing something supremely unintelligent (i.e. stupid)
• Patient
• Will never feel threatened by your capabilities
• Helps motivate you and get you out should you find yourself in a rut (intellectually)
• Has good technical skills
• Can provide constructive criticism of papers you write or talks you give
• Knows if what you are doing is good enough for a good thesis
• Can help you figure out what you are not doing well
• Can help you improve any skills you may already have
• Can suggest related articles to read or people to speak with
• Can tell you or help you discover if what you are doing has already been done
• Can help you set and achieve reasonable goals
• Will be around until you finish
• Is well respected in his/her field
• Has good connections for the type of job you would want when you graduate
Getting the most out of the relationship with your research advisor is also crucial. Even if you have the nicest of advisers, you should also know how to handle meetings with them.
• Meet regularly - you should insist on meeting once a week or at least every other week because it gives you motivation to make regular progress and it keeps your advisor aware of your work.
• Prepare for your meetings - come to each meeting with:
o List of topics to discuss
o What you hope to get out of the meeting
o A summary of work you’ve done since your last meeting
o List of any upcoming deadlines
o Notes from your previous meeting
• Email him/her a brief summary of EVERY meeting - this helps avoid any possible misunderstandings and provides a great record of your research progress. Include (where applicable):
o Time and plan for next meeting
o Updated summary of your work
o To do list for yourself
o To do list for your advisor
o Listing of related work to read
o Major topics discussed during the last meeting
o Points you both agreed on
o Advice that you may not follow, and reason/s why you may not agree or follow
· Show your advisor the results of your work as soon as possible - this will help your advisor understand your research and identify potential points of conflict early on.
· Summaries of related work
· Anything you write that may directly (or sometimes obliquely) concern your research
· Experimental results
· Communicate clearly - if you disagree with your advisor, state your objections or concerns clearly and calmly. If you feel something about your relationship is not working well, discuss this with him or her. Whenever possible, suggest steps that could be taken to address your concerns.
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