Building he ‘How’ o Science: A MonksHillLab Skill De elopmen
Session Se ies o Ea ly-Ca ee Resea che s
Au ho s: Ma hias Ho mann, Ma en Dubbe
Con ac : [email p o ec ed]
Da e: No embe 2025
License: C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0)
Ve sion: 1.3
Building he ‘How’ o Science: Skill De elopmen o ECR
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Table o Con en s
1. In oduc ion
2. Sessions
2.1 Session 1 : Expec a ions
2.1.1 Pu pose
2.1.2 Ma e ials needed
2.1.3 Session Wo k low
2.2 Session 2: Supe iso y Mee ings
2.2.1 Pu pose
2.2.2 Ma e ials needed
2.2.3 Session Wo k low
2.3 Session 3: Scien i ic W i ing
2.3.1 Pu pose
2.3.2 Ma e ials needed
2.3.3 Session Wo k low
2.4 Session 4: Scien i ic Figu es
2.4.1 Pu pose
2.4.2 Ma e ials needed
2.4.3 Session Wo k low
2.5 Session 5: Wo k O ganiza ion
2.5.1 Pu pose
2.5.2 Ma e ials needed
2.5.3 Session Wo k low
Appendix - Slide Show P esen a ions
Building he ‘How’ o Science: Skill De elopmen o ECR
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Building he ‘How’ o Science: Skill De elopmen o ECR
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1. In oduc ion
This li ing documen se es as a guiding amewo k o a se ies o skill de elopmen sessions
designed o build ounda ional compe encies in communica ion, p oblem-sol ing, and
scien i ic owne ship o ea ly ca ee esea che s. I was used as such wi hin he Wo king
G oup o Ecophysiology and Ma e Cycling o he Leibniz Cen e o Ag icul u al
Resea ch (ZALF).
I s co e philosophy is ha scien i ic expe ise is no jus abou wha you know, bu how you
ope a e. The p ima y goal o his session se ies is hence o cul i a e he habi s o mind
essen ial o owne ship and impac , empowe ing ea ly ca ee esea che s o ake ull
esponsibili y o hei scien i ic jou ney.
Each session is buil a ound a co e elemen we call he "Engagemen S a e Task"—a low-
s akes, high-engagemen ask ha se es mul iple c i ical pu poses:
Immedia e Engagemen : I pulls pa icipan s ou o a passi e lis ening mode and in o
an ac i e, collabo a i e mindse om he i s minu e.
P essu e-Tes ing Co e Compe encies: The s a e ac s as a p ac ical simula ion, di ec ly
es ing he e y skills he session aims o each.
C ea ing a Sha ed Expe ience: I gene a es a common, memo able e e ence poin ha
makes he subsequen heo e ical discussion angible and ela able.
Fos e ing a G ow h Mindse : By being challenging ye achie able, i builds con idence
and p epa es he g oup o engage deeply wi h he main con en .
The emainde o each session uses his sha ed expe ience as a ounda ion. I deb ie he
s a e o ha es insigh s, hen in oduce simple, powe ul concep ual amewo ks ha
pa icipan s can immedia ely in eg a e in o hei daily p ac ice. This me hod ensu es ha he
lessons a e no jus heo e ical bu a e embodied, applicable, and las ing.
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2. Sessions
2.1 Session 1: Expec a ions
2.1.1 Pu pose
To es ablish a sha ed unde s anding o he supe iso -PhD s uden ela ionship as a wo-way
pa ne ship. This session uses wo expe ien ial exe cises o de ine he pilla s o success ul
collabo a ion: he supe iso 's esponsibili y o p o ide clea , empowe ing guidance (a
"S one House"), and he PhD s uden 's esponsibili y o uphold accoun abili y and eliabili y.
The goal is o c ea e a ounda ion o mu ual espec and sha ed owne ship om day one.
2.1.2 Ma e ials needed
The ollowing minimal ma e ials a e equi ed o acili a e he p ac ical s a e and
subsequen discussion:
Beame and compu e o slide show
Whi eboa d o lip cha
Ma ke s
One six-sided die
(Op ional) P in ou s o he "Th ee Houses" isual amewo k o he deb ie .
2.1.3 Session Wo k low
This session uses wo consecu i e s a e asks o explo e bo h sides o he supe iso y
pa ne ship: 1.) The Th ee Li le Pigs and he Big Bad Wol and 2.) Snow Whi e and he 3
Dwa s. Fo he i s s a e ask pa icipan s a e di ided in o h ee oles (pigs) o a quick
d awing ask (e.g., "d aw a ee"):
Pig 1 (Vague Ins uc ion): The ins uc o gi es a ague command ("D aw") and hen
c i icizes he unexpec ed esul .
Pig 2 (Mic omanagemen ): The ins uc o gi es a command bu immedia ely akes
o e he ask, o cing he pa icipan o jus ollow lines.
Pig 3 (Empowe men ): The ins uc o gi es a clea , speci ic command ("D aw a ee
wi h wo b anches and a hick unk").
Building he ‘How’ o Science: Skill De elopmen o ECR
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Deb ie Focus: How did each s yle eel? This in oduces he "Th ee Houses" amewo k
(Vague, Mic omanaging, and Empowe ing) as a me apho o supe iso y communica ion.
Fo he second s a e ask pa icipan s collabo a i ely b ains o ms and lis s all componen s
needed o w i e a pape (da a, igu es, d a , e c.). A die is olled; any pa icipan wi h a oll
unde 4 mus emo e a c i ical componen om he lis . Deb ie Focus: Wha a e we le wi h,
and is i s ill a pape ? This makes he PhD s uden 's esponsibili y o accoun abili y,
eliabili y, and mee ing deadlines angible. In a inal syn hesis he insigh s om bo h s a e
asks and deb ie discussions a e me ged in o a join ag eemen on how o imp o e.
2.2 Session 2: Supe iso y Mee ing
2.2.1 Pu pose
To empowe ECR (and especially PhD s uden s) o ake ini ia i e and ge he mos ou o
supe iso y mee ings, ega dless whe he i is a ull day annual mee ing o 15 min loo alk.
This session add esses he common communica ion ailu e o p esen ing a p oblem ad-hoc
and wi hou con ex o a p oposed solu ion ("i 's no wo king, wha shall I do?"). The goal is
o equip ECR wi h a p oac i e amewo k ha shi s hei ole om a passi e passenge o an
ac i e d i e o hei academic jou ney (“being he CEO o hei hesis/p ojec /ec .”), hus
ensu ing on hei own ha hey ecei e he bes possible guidance/ad ice hey can ge om
hei supe iso s.
2.2.2 Ma e ials needed
The ollowing minimal ma e ials a e equi ed o acili a e he p ac ical s a e and
subsequen discussion:
Beame and compu e o slide show
2.2.3 Session Wo k low
This session uses i s s a e ask (The non-wo king Co ee Machine Diagnosis) o ain he
co e o he scien i ic me hod: o mula ing a hypo hesis, es ing i , and d awing a
conclusion/p opose solu ions. The goal is o make EXR p oac i e in applying his igo ous
Building he ‘How’ o Science: Skill De elopmen o ECR
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amewo k o e e yday p oblems. I eaches hem o epo his diagnos ic p ocess o hei
supe iso , no jus he exis ence, hus asking o ad ice on hei own hinking no a bluep in
solu ion. Fo he s a e ask he pa icipan s a e p esen ed wi h he ollowing scena io: he
lab co ee machine is no wo king, and only he session leade knows he cause. The co e ule
is ha pa icipan s canno ask di ec ques ions (e.g., "Is i unplugged?"). Ins ead, hey mus :
S a e a clea hypo hesis (e.g., "I hypo hesize he e is no wa e in he ank.").
Desc ibe he expe imen o es i (e.g., "I will open he wa e ank and check he wa e
le el.").
The session leade hen p o ides he esul ing da a (e.g., "You obse e he ank is ull."),
allowing he g oup o con i m o ejec he hypo hesis and i e a e un il he oo cause is
ound. Deb ie ocus: The discussion connec s he exe cise di ec ly o supe iso y mee ings:
a supe iso , like he session leade , holds key in o ma ion, bu he s uden mus diagnose
he si ua ion h ough s uc u ed, p oac i e inqui y. The s a e ask also helps o in oduce
he 3-Ac Communica ion F amewo k o mee ing p epa a ion and execu ion, which consis s
o :
The BRIEF: Concisely s a e he cu en s a us and he speci ic issue. ("Wha is he
opic?")
The DIAGNOSIS: P esen you analysis o he co e p oblem o key ques ion. ("Wha
do I hink is he cause o he cen al challenge?")
The PROPOSAL: O e po en ial solu ions o speci ic nex s eps, and s a e wha you
need om you supe iso . ("Wha do I sugges we do, and wha ad ice do I need?")
The session ends wi h p ac ical ips o implemen a ion, such as sending his 3-ac agenda o
he supe iso 1-3 days p io o he mee ing and ollowing up wi h a summa y. This s uc u e
p e en s ague p oblems and a oids low-quali y, ad-hoc ad ice, ensu ing he supe iso 's
inpu is ocused and aluable.
2.3 Session 3: Scien i ic w i ing
2.3.1 Pu pose
The p ima y objec i e o his session is o each he p inciple o unambiguous communica ion
in scien i ic w i ing. This is ied o be achie ed by compose e e y ex om he pe spec i e
Building he ‘How’ o Science: Skill De elopmen o ECR
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o a unin o med eade as an e ec i e scien i ic w i ing s a egy. Toge he wi h he use o a
clea in e nal s uc u e/logical low o hough s, and co ec o malia, a p ecise and
unambiguous language gene a es a le el o cla i y ha a oids any misin e p e a ion, he eby
" aking he eade by he hand and leading him/he h ough he pape , p oposal, o hesis”.
2.3.2 Ma e ials needed
The ollowing minimal ma e ials a e equi ed o acili a e he p ac ical s a e and
subsequen discussion:
P e-submi ed 0.5 pages long me hods sec ions om all pa icipan s (e.g., s udy si e
desc ip ion, cen al measu emen /analyses/sampling desc ip ion)
Beame and compu e o slide show
One co ee make , il e s, g ound co ee, a mug, and a wa e sou ce.
2.3.3 Session Wo k low
The session is s uc u ed in wo in eg a ed pa s: 1.) an engaging, p inciple-disco e y s a e
ask ollowed by a de ailed deb ie on why in e nal s uc u e, unambiguous
language/p ecision in language and o malia ma e s and 2.) a p ac ical applica ion o he
lea ned. Fo he i s pa , a olun ee pa icipan p o ides e bal ins uc ions o he session
leade on how o make a cup o co ee. The leade execu es he ins uc ions li e ally and in
bad ai h, delibe a ely exploi ing any ambigui y, agueness, o missing s eps (e.g., using hands
o "add wa e " i no con aine is speci ied, adding b ewed co ee (“add co ee o con aine ”)
ins ead o co ee beans o con aine i no speci ied ha beans ha e o be used). This exe cise
c ea es a isual, sha ed unde s anding o how linguis ic imp ecision leads o ca as ophic
communica ion ailu e, mi o ing he po en ial o misin e p e a ion in scien i ic ex s. The
second pa con ains he e alua ion o sho me hods sec ions w i en by he pa iciapan s in
p epa a ion o he session, hus ac ing as a p ac ical applica ion. I is ex3ecu ed as ollows:
P io o he session, each pa icipan submi ed a me hods sec ion om hei own
wo k.
The submi ed ex s a e anonymized and edis ibu ed by he session leade .
Building he ‘How’ o Science: Skill De elopmen o ECR
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Each pa icipan c i ically e alua es ano he pa icipan 's ex using he ollowing
c i e ia: 1.) in e nal s uc u e/logical low o hough s, 2.) unambiguous/p ecise
language, 3.) o malia.
The g oups add o he indi idual e alua ions h ough discussion o single examples
o ound issues in es s
The session leade concludes his phase by consolida ing he g oup's c i e ia and
p o iding a ge ed, expe eedback, ein o cing key concep s and o e ing e ined
solu ions o common p oblems.
The session ends wi h a de ailed deb ie showing ha ambigui y a ises om h ee p ima y
a eas, o ming a c i ical ip ych o sel -e alua ion:
In e nal S uc u e: The logical low o in o ma ion. Is he na a i e o he me hod
clea ? Does each sen ence ollow logically om he p e ious one?
Language & P ecision: The speci ic wo d choice and echnical accu acy. A e e bs
ac i e and p ecise? A e quan i ies, empe a u es, and condi ions explici ly de ined? Is
ja gon used app op ia ely and explained i necessa y?
Fo malia: The adhe ence o s anda dized con en ions (e.g., ci a ion s yle, igu e
labeling, e minology). While some imes pe cei ed as mino , inconsis encies he e
di ec ly unde mine c edibili y and cla i y.
E ec i e w i ing is cons uc ed as a se ies o unambiguous s eps ha guide he eade .
Pa icipan s conclude he session wi h a e iewed sec ion o hei own wo k, a clea , sel -
gene a ed se o e alua i e c i e ia s uc u ed a ound his ip ych, and di ec expe ience in
he dual oles o a c i ical eade and a ulne able w i e .
2.4 Session 4: Scien i ic igu es
2.4.1 Pu pose
The p ima y objec i e o his session is o each he p inciple o scien i ic igu e is as a isual
a gumen . The goal is o design igu es ha a e sel -su icien , and guide he iewe o an
unambiguous conclusion, subs an ia ing he ex o a pape / hesis/pos e . A igu e mus be a
cu a ed isual expe ience ha is bo h pleasing o he eye and easy o unde s and/diges .
