Summer "Visit" - 2020 - OIRMA

Quotes

• [student:] what I will never forget is my temporary lack of comprehension and occasional struggles to keep up with the rest of the group. In those situations, I was forced to accept my own shortcomings and ask others to clarify or slow down. This last week has taught me to rely on others and be honest with my own skills.
• [It's important for astronomers to have:] Curiosity. Patience. Tenacity. Ability to collaborate fruitfully. Willingness to ask for help. Willingness to work hard on something that may not turn out.
• [student:] The most surprising thing I saw was how everyone was learning at the same time and all dealing with the same challenges. It was surprising to see the instructors figuring out TOPCAT at the same time as the students. It was also surprising to see how we encountered obstacles that were not expected, and we had to figure out in the moment. These things were surprising because I am used to a classroom environment where the answers to problems and predetermined and the teachers already know them. I appreciated this contrast to the classroom, and I believe that this contrast is one of the reasons NITARP exists.
• [...]one of NITARP’s superpowers: the way that research work can reshape the relationship between students and teachers from a hierarchical one to something more collaborative.
• Working together is crucial to the project so when one person fell behind or was confused, there were multiple people to help them get on track. I feel that we are even more comfortable working collaboratively after the 4 days and we were able to feed off of each other’s ideas and strengths regularly.

Related Teams

• OIRMA/Gorjian