watching how senior graduate students operate helps new students move up the learning curve quickly.
The research retreats and open space also build esprit de corps, as we play together one afternoon at retreats—for example, skiing, paint ball, and river rafting—and in the lab we collectively watch presidential debates, movies, and big sports events.
The challenge of our open space is then to preserve concentration while enhancing communication, 1 for otherwise people will still stay home. Distractions are reduced with large displays, headphones, and relying on cellphones instead of landline phones; the custom is to make and take calls outside the open space. We also included many small meeting rooms in which to hold vigorous conversations. The result is an open space about as quiet as a library or coffee shop, which is good enough for most to concentrate while encouraging spontaneous communication.
Clearly, the students who always do well are a joy to meet. I do wonder how much advising you are really doing for them. For those students who need more help, the only thing I can say with confidence after 32 years is that every student is different, and its unlikely there is a single path that works for all. Moreover, there are limits to how much you can change, since students have had at least 20 years of people shaping their personalities before they even meet you. You can tell new students that being a successful researcher is different from being a successful undergraduate student, as they generally have no opinions on the topic when they arrive. For example, it’s often a surprise that grades are less important than research, and that they need to learn how to work on their own rather than just follow orders. They also need to find the right balance between learning the literature and starting to build. Clearly, advice changes over time. New students may need a “starter” project, and you give them larger tasks as students mature: reviewing, mentoring, and even helping write proposals.
Here are a half-dozen other topics for advisors, including bolstering confidence, helping with speaking, spend-
ing time together, giving quick feedback, counseling them, and acting like a role model.
Bolster confidence. Self-confidence can be a problem for students, especially early in their careers and for some belonging to underrepresented groups, so look for chances for them to succeed. Perhaps it’s suggesting a paper they can be lead author on, taking a summer internship at a company that is a good match for their talents, or even having success as a teaching assistant. I have seen even very senior students blossom late in their careers when they have some wins under their belts that everyone recognizes.
Make sure that you praise such students when they do have real success; all of us love praise for a job well done, but some of us need it more than others do. Students learn from criticism as well as praise, just be careful it doesn’t deflate potentially fragile egos. I try to remember to phrase critiques as questions—“What do you think about…?”— both orally and in my written comments on papers. I try to include something to praise in all the red ink that I put on a student’s paper, but keep in mind that false praise for a mediocre job may hurt more than help. 3
Practice public speaking. Good work is often lost due to poor presentation, yet giving good talks is a problem for many students. Our culture is that practice talks are good for everyone, so we all do them, including me. We practice answering difficult questions as well as delivering smooth talks to avoid a “deer-in-headlights” incident during
the actual talk.
Spend the time. Weekly meetings gives students a chance to talk about what they’re working on and forces them to think in advance about how to utilize their time with you. I tell Ph.D. students in their last six months that they have highest priority on my schedule and can meet as often as they want, which helps reduce their anxiety.
Give feedback, quickly and often. I try to review a student paper within a day or two and give my comments for them to read before we meet, which means I am not the bottleneck. Making students write the paper and the guiding them through the revision process teaches them how to write.
Be a trusted counselor. Students may ask for personal advice, perhaps even for serious problems. As they are often far from family and friends, you must be there for them.
You’re a role model; act like one. I am struck from parenting two now-grown sons that it’s not what you say but what you do that has lasting impact. I bet this lesson applies as well to your academic progeny. Hence, I am conscious that students are always watching what I do, and try to act in ways that I’d like them to emulate later.
For example, my joy of being a professor is obvious to everyone I interact with, whereas I hear that some colleagues at competing universities often complain to their students about how hectic their lives are. Perhaps differing advisor behavior explains why many Berkeley systems students try academia?
Surely the most traumatic matter for the students is picking the thesis topic, as they believe it determines their careers. Gerald Estrin, who had worked with John von Neumann, was one of my advisors in graduate school. I still remember him telling me: “Every CS Ph.D. student I have seen, including myself, had a least one period when they are convinced that their dissertation topic is utterly worthless.” Just retelling this story can help students cope, but look for opportunities to get others to praise their work. Projects and retreats help: there are others to talk to and they get regular feedback on their chosen topic from the outsiders,
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