Competency: Communication

Upcoming CTL Workshops

April 9, 2019 by Rebecca Lopez

Giving and Receiving Constructive Criticism
Dr. Stephen DiNardo, Cell and Developmental Biology and Katerina Placek, CTL Graduate Fellow, Neuroscience
April 25, 2019, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
BRB 0501 (5th floor conference room)

You have worked hard on a set of experiments and on drawing conclusions from them. Intellectually, you know that receiving feedback from peers and mentors on those experiments is central to your progress. But, hearing criticisms can be tough, especially given the investment you have made. Reciprocally, delivering critiques to a colleague in a manner that will help them can be just as tricky. In this workshop with Dr. Stephen DiNardo, attendees will engage in activities and lively discussion to develop ‘best practices’ for giving and receiving constructive criticism. Come and join to build on valuable communication skills that will serve you throughout your scientific career!

Counts toward the CTL Teaching Certificate.
RSVP here
Contact placekk@pennmedicine.upenn.edu for more information.

Communicating your Science with Confidence
Dr. Nandita Mitra, Biostatistics, and Katerina Placek, CTL Graduate Fellow, Neuroscience
May 7 2019, 10:00 am to 11:00 am
BRB 0501 (5th floor conference room)

Public presentation of one’s work – whether at a lab meeting, conference, poster symposium, or thesis defense – is a challenge regularly faced by BGS students and is often accompanied by nerves and jitters. How can BGS students conquer nervousness to confidently present their work to others? Dr. Nandita Mitra will lead an engaging workshop to help attendees communicate their science with confidence, focusing on ‘tips and tricks’ to use for preparation, presentation, and managing feedback when publicly communicating your science. If you have a public presentation coming up or have dealt with presentation-related nervousness in the past, then this workshop is for you!

Counts toward the CTL Teaching Certificate.
RSVP here.
Contact placekk@pennmedicine.upenn.edu for more information.

BGS Improv Workshop Series

April 1, 2019 by Rebecca Lopez

Do you want to improve your science communication skills? Do you wish you found it easier to ask questions in crowded seminars and at conferences? Do you want to become a more confident networker?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should attend the free BGS improv workshop in April and May. Improv is not stand-up comedy; it is acting without a script. It’s about think on one’s feet, solving problems as they come, authentic and effective communication, projecting confidence, facilitating team work, and not worrying about making mistakes. These are transferable skills that we need both in the lab and when communicating our science to our colleagues and the public. This 5-week workshop, led by professional instructor Sharon Geller, will provide a supportive environment for us to explore the improv techniques, stretch our communication muscles, and more importantly, have FUN!

Quick details:

Tuesdays (April 16th – May 13th) 5:30-7:30PM

Room 425 Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center

Instructor: Sharon Geller (Improv instructor at the Walnut street Theater)

We have limited capacity. If you are interested, please fill out this application form: https://forms.gle/BaPNcF64GqChLry77

If you have question, please contact Yunshu Fan: yunshuf@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Workshop planning committee: Yunshu Fan, Rebecca Somach, Patti Murphy

BGS Professional Skills Series: ‘Philanthropy & Fundaising’

March 14, 2019 by Rebecca Lopez

And now for something different! The next session in the BGS Professional Skills Series is, ‘Philanthropy & Fundraising.’ It will be led by Torren Blair, Senior Director of Development, Basic Science and Translational Science Programs, and Megan Osvath, Associate Director of Development for Biomedical Research on March 26, 2019 from 4-5 PM in the Barchi Library (140 John Morgan Building.)

For most, the talk will be a revelation, and certainly useful. Philanthropy and other forms of fundraising are central to the growth of institutions such as Penn, but they are relevant as well to numerous, smaller spheres of nonprofit activity. Importantly, these activities embrace a number of skills relevant to a variety of pursuits: valuation of what we do, how to communicate with the public, creating win-win situations, and teamwork. Please join Torren and Megan as they describe the objectives and skills required in a behind-the-scenes look at how these activities are conducted at Penn.

Light refreshments will be served!

Please register here by March 22, 2019: https://goo.gl/forms/CAxW3SlWz1aVS1Zl1

If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Lopez.

New iBioSeminar: Visual Communication in Biology

March 13, 2019 by Rebecca Lopez

“Scientists commonly use visual representation of data to show their results and ideas. In this seminar, Dr. Janet Iwasa provides an introduction to the field of molecular animation, and walks us through the process of using visualization tools to communicate scientific information. In her first video, Iwasa summarizes the common types of visualizations used in biology, explains the steps you should take to create a model figure, and summarizes key elements you should consider when creating your figures and models.

In her second and third videos, Iwasa provides an overview of the animation process. She shows different software that can be used to create molecular models (e.g. UCSF chimera), and illustrates the process of creating an animation and finalizing the video using software like Maya and Adobe After Effects. These videos will familiarize you with the process of creating an animation and show best practice techniques when using visual communication in biology.” (Via iBiology)

Watch Janet Iwasa’s iBioSeminar: Visual Communication in Biology

OITE: “Feedback Audit – Guide to Working with Me”

February 27, 2019 by Rebecca Lopez

The NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE) recently published two articles on the topic of feedback. Understanding how you as an individual process feedback is critical to personal and professional development.

The first article focuses on controlling one’s reception of feedback by focusing on the type (Appreciation, Coaching, or Evaluation) as well as aspects that might be personally triggering (Truth, Relationship, and Identity Triggers.)

The second article also addresses reception of feedback but focuses on analyzing your past experiences taking in feedback, then communicating what you’ve learned through introspection to your mentor.