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Summer "Visit" - 2020 - OIRMA

Our regular summer visit to Caltech was hijacked by COVID-19. So we did an online work week instead -- 4 days when all the participants on the team come together to work intensively on the data. Reload to see a different set of quotes.

OIRMA worked July 5-9, 2020. The 5 core team educators attended, plus 6 students.


Quotes

  • [student:] The best thing about the week was that I as a student was able to help out and contribute ideas to the project. I was not just being told what to do, but I had the opportunity to actually help solve problems and find solutions.
  • [student:] Through technical and scientific issues, it turns out that astronomers (and scientists as a whole) are team players more than soloists. Their goal is on completion rather than competition. Furthermore, astronomy as a field rewards patience and perseverance rather than serendipity.
  • [...]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.
  • [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.
  • [student:] An astronomer must be patient, curious, and willing to learn. They also must not be afraid to take risks, to embarrass themselves, and to ask questions. They have to be content with sometimes admitting that they made a mistake or were wrong about something, and that it’s okay to not know everything.

Summer "Visit" - 2020 - OIRMA