I am constantly amazed by the way students see different things in the same material. This week the research assistants (students) had to read a journal article on the oldest old or on virtual labs. Each student pulled something out of the article that resonated with them. Some of the areas they raised, I had not ever considered. It seems that each of us comes to research with our own history, which influences how we see the research project and the readings related to the project. I wonder if so many eyes hinder or help? Do new viewpoints enrich a project or do they delute the focus?
I am not sure what the answer is as yet. I think it will become more clear as we go. My bias is that it will enhance the project. And yes, that would be a hypothesis...but for now it will stay a bias.
I do realize that it will be up to the Primary Investigators to ensure the project stays on track, but it will also be important that we allow for new ways of looking at the project with encouragement. Those new ideas may not happen in this project, but perhaps in future ones.
Just some thoughts
MG
Hey, Marty,
ReplyDeleteI can understand the fear that the diversity of viewpoints can feel like it will dilute the focus of the research; this is a common issue in any form of team research. However, part of the reason that we conduct the discussions we do in these classes is to put our thoughts and experiences out to the group to *discuss*, so that we can evolve a consensus and move forward.
When you've been working harmoniously with a small group of partners on a project, and then a large group of unknown people gets added to the team, there will be a phase of sorting things out as we get to know one another. The thing to realize is that all of us do have histories, backgrounds, experiences, biases, opinions, and all the other psychological warts everyone else has.
This is the first week. We'll get there!
Michael
Michael,
ReplyDeleteI love the diveristy, I believe it makes us stretch and grow. In the same vane, I want the followers of this blog to think in terms of questions about diversity.... that was my goal in the post... does it dilute focus, how might they handle it, is it a good thing or a potentially bad thing. The whole idea is to think about how each of us thinks about a project, not necessarily finding an answer :) Thanks for you comment. Dr.G