WEBVTT

00:00:05.060 --> 00:00:07.280
SEAN ROBINSON: Oftentimes
the tasks we give students

00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:09.441
in the lab are really complex.

00:00:09.441 --> 00:00:10.940
They may not have
all the background

00:00:10.940 --> 00:00:14.090
they need in order to
complete the task when

00:00:14.090 --> 00:00:15.500
they're starting at.

00:00:15.500 --> 00:00:17.990
That level of
uncertainty really causes

00:00:17.990 --> 00:00:20.450
some anxiety in the
students, and can be

00:00:20.450 --> 00:00:23.390
a barrier for their learning.

00:00:23.390 --> 00:00:25.921
But if you're a professional
scientist, this type of anxiety

00:00:25.921 --> 00:00:27.920
is something you're
actually very familiar with.

00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:29.359
Most of us really
don't know what

00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:31.400
we're doing when we start
a new research project.

00:00:35.380 --> 00:00:39.160
I find it very useful to
notice when a student is

00:00:39.160 --> 00:00:43.450
in that condition, and call
it out, and actually explain

00:00:43.450 --> 00:00:46.450
how this is actually
a very normal thing.

00:00:46.450 --> 00:00:48.980
This is not them being
in a state of failure.

00:00:48.980 --> 00:00:50.620
This is them actually
feeling like what

00:00:50.620 --> 00:00:52.240
a real scientist feels like.

00:00:52.240 --> 00:00:53.980
A major part of a
course like this

00:00:53.980 --> 00:00:58.690
is building up the students'
identity as a scientist,

00:00:58.690 --> 00:01:02.380
helping them move their
understanding of themselves

00:01:02.380 --> 00:01:06.070
from being a physics student
to being a physicist.

00:01:06.070 --> 00:01:08.320
If we can achieve that by
the end of the semester,

00:01:08.320 --> 00:01:11.177
then this course is
a complete success,

00:01:11.177 --> 00:01:13.510
even if they've learned not
a single thing about quantum

00:01:13.510 --> 00:01:16.110
mechanics or relativity.