The key takeaways from the latest Lunch 'n' Learn workshops

The first of two Lunch ‘n Learn workshops in June kicked off the summer for ASU Postdocs.  The purpose of the Lunch 'n Learn program at the ASU Postdoc Affairs Office is to provide opportunities for postdocs to learn professional skills to help them be successful in their future careers. 

Program Management gets props

On June 8, the ASU Project Management Network presented an overview of Project Management tools that could prove useful for postdocs. The presentation panel featured Dr. Joan Barnes, Amanda Kennedy, Kamala Rangaraju, Clayton Taylor, and David Winkel, all of ASU.   

The panel explained that the first key to understanding project management is simply the definition of a project, which is a “temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.”  Key to this definition is the idea that a project has to have a discernible beginning and end, an important distinction to keep in mind in an academic context, where “projects” are often understood in terms of lifelong research agendas.       

The second key takeaway was that projects are subject to the triple constraints of time, cost and scope.  The attendees engaged in a discussion about projects they had been involved in that had strict or loose constraints in the three areas.  Most attendees agreed that projects related to their research typically had the strictest constraints on cost, the second most constraints on time, and that scope was the factor that had the most flexibility.    

The panel presented on three tools that are key to project managers:

• The RACI Diagram – a large chart with tasks and persons identified as Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, or Informed
• The Status Report – a form that contains project owners and milestones
• The KanBan board – a wall or whiteboard with tasks on sticky-notes, that progress across the board, from “to-do” to “completed”

The team also gave examples of online tools, such as Trello, that are great ways to help keep a project on track. 

Dr. Barnaby Levin, a postdoc in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, was impressed with the workshop.

“As a postdoc aspiring to an academic career, I found the Project Management Lunch ‘n Learn very insightful. The discussion of how to manage group members who fall behind with work, which was prompted by a question from a postdoc in the audience, was particularly helpful for developing leadership skills,” Dr. Levin said.

Class is in on engagement

On June 22, Dr. Rod Roscoe presented on the topic “Creating an engaging classroom.”  Roscoe introduced the “3 C’s,” curiosity, connections, and creating value, as a design heuristic.  For Curiosity, he challenged the audience to ask why learners should care about the subject matter.  For Connections, he suggested story-telling as a way to help the student connect with the subject.  For Creating Value, he suggested that instructors should reveal concrete applications of the information and highlight how the knowledge could be put to use. 

Dr. Roscoe ended the lecture with four research-based teaching frameworks:  SDT (Self-Determination Theory), ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction), 4C/ID (Four Component Instructional Design: learning tasks, supportive information, procedural information, and part‐task practice), and ICAP (Interactive, Constructive, Active, Passive), which are useful for understanding how to inspire curiosity and value, and show how and why learners become motivationally engaged. 

The session closed with a discussion about how important it is for postdocs to realize that teaching will eventually be a part of their job, and that being a good teacher can be a competitive advantage when searching for a faculty position or trying to land the industry job that requires leading training or working in teams. 

Beginning in August, the Professional Development Series will ramp up to three sessions per month, with academic, entrepreneurship, and industry/government topics offered on alternating weeks.  Look for sessions on intellectual property, entrepreneurship, diversity and inclusion, and grant writing on the postdoc webpage – graduate.asu.edu/postdocs.  If you have an idea for a topic, email it to wiley.larsen@asu.edu.