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March 10, 2020In this issue: Sping graduation deadlines, intellectual humility, and more.
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Tips for Grads: Intellectual Humility
As a graduate student you devote years of your life to intellectual pursuits, so it can be difficult to admit when you are wrong. But we can’t learn or improve if we never disclose our oversights. Professors often set a poor example in this respect, as it is rare for scholars to openly and publicly declare that their previous findings are inaccurate. The Loss-of-Confidence Project, started by psychologist Julia Rohrer, creates a space for academics to share their admissions of “no confidence” in their previous work. The goal of the project is to spur a cultural shift in academia toward normalizing, rather than penalizing, the admission of past mistakes. Reality is open to human interpretation and perception, thus occasional mistakes and incorrect findings should be expected and embraced, not hidden or explained away.
Intellectual humility can be challenging, because recognizing one’s own cognitive blind spots and fallibility can feel like showing weakness in the competitive culture of the academy. For graduate students not yet established in their field, it may feel like admitting wrongness will reflect poorly on one's credibility as a scholar. However, social psychologist Adam Fetterman found that such admissions aren’t usually judged harshly. Rather, admitters of wrongness are viewed as friendlier and more communal.
For grad students, faculty, and academia to move forward, we need to practice more intellectual humility. Creating a culture of honesty around scientific findings has the potential to increase transparency and reduce impostor syndrome for graduate students. As you navigate graduate school, try to strike a balance between intellectual humility and confidence. Be critical but make space for admitting and exploring wrongness. Have conviction in your scholarship but stay aware of your own limits. This process of seeking balance will help you to develop intellectual humility, while working towards erasing the stigma of wrongness in academia.
GradConnections Weekly is looking for fresh perspectives on the graduate student experience.
If you have advice, counsel, or tips for UW grad students, you’re invited to write a guest column for “Tips for Grads.”
If you’re interested, check out our infographic for details and email gspd@grad.wisc.edu to let us know.
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| DiscoverPD is an innovative tool for UW–Madison graduate students to advance their academic and professional goals. Review the nine facets of professional development, complete a self-assessment, and get a customized report and recommendations.
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| | Upcoming Professional Development Events
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Are you sick of working all the time without making progress on your writing projects? Are you tired of your deadline-driven, binge-and-bust writing routine? Do you wish you could develop a healthy, consistent, daily writing routine that would allow you to meet your department’s expectations for tenure and promotion? In this webinar you'll learn:
- The three biggest myths about writing that hobble new faculty productivity.
- The surprising difference between struggling new faculty members and those who are designated as "rising stars".
- The 30-minute strategy that will increase your writing productivity AND decrease your stress, anxiety and guilt.
Studies consistently show that student evaluations are biased against women faculty and faculty of color. Yet, higher education institutions continue to lean heavily on students’ evaluations of teaching for hiring and promotion decisions. This webinar is designed for faculty and administrators to better understand how student biases become transformed into institutional inequalities based on race and gender. The webinar provides administrators and faculty in leadership positions with a range of potential solutions for eliminating or minimizing the negative impacts of biased student evaluations. Recognizing that institutional change takes time, however, the webinar also provides strategies for empowering women faculty and faculty of color on how to advocate for themselves, particularly in situations where they are not being fully supported. To sign up, first activate your National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity account through the UW–Madison institutional membership.
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Special Events & Symposia
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May 2020 Dissertation Writing Camp application is now openSupported by the Graduate School and facilitated by Writing Center senior staff, the Dissertation Writing Camp will be held May 18-22 and offers an opportunity for dissertators to make significant progress on their dissertations by drafting a substantial amount of writing in a structured, collegial environment. Develop writing strategies, receive feedback, build peer support, and get uninterrupted time to focus on your dissertation. Applications close Friday, March 27 and require an advisor endorsement. Visit the Graduate School Dissertation Help webpage for detailed descriptions and application information.
Spring Graduation Deadlines:
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Mental Health Resources for Grad StudentsAccording to the 2019 UW–Madison Healthy Minds Study, 93% of UW–Madison students do not think any less of a peer who seeks mental health care, and 85% of students who used mental health care found it helpful.
- YOU@WISC. This portal has tools and information to help you be well, with modules on stress management, self-care, social support, suicidal thoughts, mindfulness, academic wellness, and more.
- Multicultural Grad Student Support Group. The Multicultural Graduate Network and University Health Services host a bi-weekly support group for grad students, especially those seeking community and space to process their experiences as minoritized students on the UW campus. Sessions are gently facilitated by a licensed mental health therapist from who is a person of color.
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The Dean of Students Office provides resources to students struggling with a variety of issues, and can be your go-to spot for assistance as a graduate student. To contact the Dean of Students Office's Graduate Student Assistance Specialist Elaine Goetz-Berman directly, email egoetz2@wisc.edu.
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Please note: Some graduate students may be ineligible to hold graduate assistantship appointments. Be sure to check with your graduate program coordinator about your eligibility before applying.
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This searchable, downloadable database is produced and posted by Johns Hopkins University. It is updated monthly, so check back often to find new opportunities.
The University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI) in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) seeks postdoctoral and post-master’s candidates interested in tackling science and policy challenges related to water resources and fisheries management in Wisconsin. This fellowship will provide a unique educational and career opportunity for recent graduates who are interested both in aquatic resources and in the policy decisions affecting those resources in Wisconsin. This program places a recent master’s or doctoral graduate within a state program full-time for one to two years, with the Fellow bringing technical skills to benefit water issues and challenges and receiving valuable real-world science-policy experience from the resource professionals who will serve as mentors. This mutually beneficial partnership will result in advancing science to support policy decisions as well as valuable training opportunities for new professionals entering the work force.
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