Communication in collaborative environments (written)

Objectives:

• Normalize struggle inherent in developing effective communication skills
• Promote a growth-mindset: this is a skill that is learned, not inborn.
• Debunk misconceptions about what constitute “good” communication practices.
• Teach students how to break-down written communication into a step-by-step process – see guide on how to communicate about weekly progress with your collaborators.
• To encourage students to ask for general (non-project specific) feedback, such as how to improve their communication practices, their paper-reading strategies, to be a more support labmate, etc.

Pre-class work

1. If you’ve given written updates before, what is your current strategy for giving written updates?
2. What do you find most challenging about giving written updates?
3. Follow this template in preparing a written “research report”, following the structure discussed in our guide about communicating with collaborators.

In class

1. [10min] Students socialize
2. [10min] Recap of takeaways from “how to read a theory paper”, and discussion about what folks find challenging about writing reports
3. [10min + 5min] Students swap reports and give each other feedback
4. [10min] Re-group: what did you learn?
5. [15min] Walk through several examples of a written reports written by senior Ph.D. students.
6. Since at this point in the semester, students are tired: lead small group-discussion on how things were going, what folks found surprising so far about their experience, how have their identities been challenged, etc.
7. [5min] Take in-class survey
   • What did you take away from today’s class?

Insight: Students found the senior Ph.D. students’ written reports incredibly helpful! Students also learned that they need not only ask about the project – they can also ask for feedback about the organization of the report, their communication style, which skills they should focus on developing next, etc.