Winding Down

Our project definitely *feels* like it is winding down. Students are working on writing certain sections of the literature portion of the paper and given the changes we have made to the syllabus of late, things feel like they are wrapping up. There is quieter in the lab/classroom and less discourse. Students are starting to process the wrap up via their journal work. This is a mixed blessing, as while it is almost always good to complete something it is also shifting gears and seeing this lab wind down. I can see where it could be nice to have regular lab work with students as it is very enjoyable as faculty, to have the opportunity to work with students in a way different from Walden's standard instruction/classroom and different from the mentoring we do with doctoral/thesis students.

For me, so far, the biggest lessons this lab experience has taught (or reinforced, more accurately) is first, the need for flexibility. As an adequately Type-A person, this is not always my strong suit. This is true too, when I think back about my in-person lab experiences as graduate student, graduate assistant and investigator - working with others on complex shared goals is always challenging.

Next, this lab experience has reinforced for me the need to be precise, clear, and detailed (and this does jive better with my Type-A tendencies). Research simply works better with these practices, in my humble opinion. The combination therefore, of needing to be flexible yet precise - is a challenging one and I think it is safe to say, I am still working on it ;-)

AES