In February 2019, members of the POWER Steering Committee met with Sharon Vaugh, Ph.D. We had a thoughtful conversation about research, writing, and how to say “no” sometimes.
 
What is your advice for developing as a writer? 

• Prioritize daily writing – 30 minutes minimum, but 60-90 minutes is better. Treat this meeting as if it was with a dean or someone important, so you truly protect that writing time and aren’t tempted to cancel it. Would you cancel an appointment with your dean? Put these times in your calendar.

 

• Early in your career, you must prioritize publishing in the peer-reviewed journals that have the highest impact. For the most part, your daily writing routine should be focused on producing manuscripts. Unless your institution has a requirement for funded grant proposals, it is manuscripts published in high quality journals that will secure your position.

 

• You will also want to focus on writing grants, but keep this focus constrained. Look at the calendar and note grant deadlines. Focus on grant writing for the 30-40 days before the deadline. Do not let grant-writing take over your writing life. If you spend too much time letting the grants take over your daily writing, you will lose focus and energy on manuscript writing.

 

• Consider setting big goals for which journals and fields you want to most influence early in your career; this will increase your influence early on. For instance, my goal was to publish one manuscript per year in Journal of Educational Psychology. Whereas later in your career, you can develop more diversity in the audiences that you are writing for. Don’t hide your excellent work by publishing it in a low impact journal.

 

• I write on more than one paper at a time, but I only lead one paper at a time because I really need to keep my head in that paper. In this way, I can be very responsible for what I am leading, but support others. I make sure that junior people are not waiting on me because they need these papers for promotion and tenure.

 
What are your tips for successful grant writing?

• You should go for low hanging fruit in terms of university grant opportunities or other accessible grants if they meet your needs. But in the first three years, you might want to consider writing grants for larger funding agencies such as IES and NIH because this experience is important for you to understand how your ideas are thought of in the field. Make sure you have an experienced mentor who can help you by reviewing the proposal prior to submission and possibly be the co-investigator for the project.

 

• It’s also important to keep grant writing in perspective. The reasons for external funding are: 1) if you want buyout for your courses; 2) consistent summer salary; 3) fund graduate students; and/or 4) if your job is yoked to it. Good work can also be done without external funding.

 
How do you envision a focused program of research?

• I would admit that I splintered off a good bit in my early work. I feel like when I was dabbling in multiple fields, I was not as productive. When I put together a set of studies that were related and could occur over about 5 years, then I was much more productive. I put a five-year plan together and I talked about it.

 
How do you recommend young researchers find a more senior mentor?

• I think this is really tricky and for several reasons. One thing I have observed is that the most senior people are often the best to work with because they know who they are and so mentoring others is a desirable and exciting activity. Early in your career as you are trying to establish your own line of research, you are still “treading water” in some ways, so it is hard to be as generous with your time as you might like to be.

 

• Yoking with a very productive associate professor who is interested in working with you can also be very helpful. These types of people can show you the ropes and it can be mutually beneficial.

​

• Don’t be relegated to your own institution to look for mentors. I don’t think we should think of our university walls as the boundaries for where you can find good mentors. I have examples of colleagues at other universities that are excellent collaborators who initially reached out to me as a mentor.

 

• Also, start when selecting a mentor or research partner with something small before going into a longer-term project to see if the collaboration is beneficial. For example, start with doing a conference presentation or a short-term research project. 

 

• I tell people all the time “Don’t work with people just because you like them.” You have to have high confidence about the quality of their work and their reliability in doing their work. You have to be able to trust them more than thinking about whether you want to see them on Saturday night.

 

• Also, if you as the junior researcher are willing to do more of the heavy-lifting work, it will be a much better sell for senior scholars to work with you (e.g., the role of senior scholars to consult on the design, intervention, and measures and junior researchers manage the implementation).

 
Can you talk about work-life balance and how you’ve thought about that across your career?

• I deliberately limit how much I will work each week. When I have reached my limit, I “clock out.” So that makes me much more deliberate about making sure that I come to work and work hard during my designated work hours. I bring my lunch and don’t goof off at work. I very rarely work after 6pm.

 

• Get your calendar set up so you have blocked time to write, then email, then calls, or meetings. That way you stay focused and do what you’re supposed to do at that time. That way when it is time to go home, you can leave.

 

• How do you manage anxieties about our type of work – this can be anything from decision making, promotion, tenure, manuscript rejections, etc. There are so many opportunities to be anxious in this type of work. I don’t know the formula to eliminate anxiety, but I do know that ruminating about things is not helpful. These anxieties are real because we often do not have clarity in this business.  But you have to live with these ambiguities because they are part of the nature of this work. Acknowledge those feelings – they are real – but then you have to set the fears aside and trust that you know some things about your work that you should focus on. Hard as it is, it is not useful to have your anxieties push you around.  They really are the bigger enemy than the thing you actually fear.

 
How do you assess what opportunities to “yes” versus “no” to?

• Say “Let me think about that. Let me get back to you”. In most cases, what you need to do is wait to decide – explain that you need to think about it or check on something. If you wait 24 hours, you can visualize yourself doing the work. This will help you make a much more clear decision.

 

• I am working on saying “no” more. We often say “yes” to too much because we are in a helping profession.  But we need to remember that we don’t have greater obligation to do things compared with those who are in other professions. You wouldn’t ask your neighbor who is a lawyer to write your will for free.  We need to respect our own time and teach others to respect it as well.

​

• When you say no, keep it very simple, such as “I have other obligations now that require my time.”  If you provide too much information, you either hurt someone’s feelings or open a window for someone to provide a counter argument.

 
Many thanks to Sharon for sharing her advice and time with us; we are especially grateful for her honesty about managing anxieties and decision-making. 

​

In February 2019, members of the POWER Steering Committee spoke with Stephanie Al Otaiba 
Ph.D. We had an insightful conversation about making an impact as education researcher and
advice for women. 

POWER: What is the best advice you have received during your career?

• This below model of ikigai, which comes from Japan, is something that I find very useful in all aspects of my career. Ikigai emerged from qualitative research (interviews) with Japanese people who lived to be over 100 years old. I first received training on it from my yoga teacher.

• From Wikipedia: Ikigai (生き甲斐, pronounced [ikiɡai]) is a Japanese concept that means "reason for being".  The word "ikigai" is usually used to indicate the source of value in one's life or the things that make one's life worthwhile.  Another resource is THIS article from Medium. 
• I use ikigai to plan goals.  The first year I used it, I had it posted on the side of my computer to remind me to think about these concepts:  1) what is really important to me? 2) what is it that I really love and motivates me? 3) What is it keeping me up at night that the world really needs? 4) what is it I can be paid for and be a resource for people for others to be paid or receive what they need?

POWER: How do you make decisions about how to spend your time?

• It is important to remember that we need to take care of ourselves to stay good at what we are good at.  We need to be as thoughtful about what we say yes to as to what we say no to.

 

• I use ikigai to encourage myself to say “no” to one thing per month that doesn’t fit in my ikigai vision. As women, we are asked to do a lot. We need to be intentional about how we chose to spend our time. For example, for me, I hold a strong value in teacher education. If I was asked to be on a committee focused on teaching online, I would say yes to this.  It is really important to me to interact with students face-to-face, and I want a voice in that discussion.  But I would say no to a grant opportunity that doesn’t align with what I am motivated by or what I think the field needs or to a role that doesn’t utilize the skill set that is sweeter for me. 

 

• When making decisions, don’t be reactive. Take time to think about the decision. Find an ally who can help you decide.  For example, if you are feeling overwhelmed, you may ask your Chair or other senior colleague to help you prioritize what are the most critical responsibilities and goals. 

 

• Also, be thoughtful about how you can say no. For sensitive topics or with more senior people, you may need to have a face-to-face discussion but in other situations, an email may suffice.  Sometimes it is helpful to role play saying no.

 

• We also need to remember that we aren’t the only person who can do certain things. We may not be “uniquely good.”  If you find an ally or partner who has similar skills and interests, then take turns engaging with certain tasks. 

​

• Brené Brown has TED talks on: vulnerability and shame – in one she discusses her frustration with herself when she said yes to an “opportunity” to present when she wished she had not. She questioned her own need to say yes and not hear her own inner voice and then eventually feeling resentful. These talks reinforce the intentional use of time for me and also reinforce that we all feel like an impostor from time to time. 

 

• We have also implemented ikigai in our college as we are thinking about our College mission and goals. I also used it in our lab where we discussed how we as a team should spend our time.  

 
POWER: What do you think is particularly important for early- and mid-career women to know?

• It is important to understand that there is often a lack of parity and/or clarity about benefits, such as salary and summer support, across or within universities. You need to advocate and negotiate to maximize opportunities but you need to know what is “beyond the line in the sand” to ask for.   Find out from more senior colleagues what negotiating did they do and what is reasonable to ask for.  Learn about your value at your institution, but always remember that this is different than your self-worth.

 

• Regarding promotion and tenure, try to learn what directions your institution sends out to external promotion and tenure letter writers.  There is often lack of specificity that can be problematic. For instance, does your institution inform external reviewers about family and medical leave policies that may influence how reviewers perceive the productivity or potential “gaps” in productivity in a vita from a faculty member under review.  

 

• When identifying external reviewers, it is always good to have as many as you can from institutions that are a little more ambitious than your own. International reviewers may be helpful but they can be tricky – sometimes they have different tenure clocks or expectations.

 

• You want people that can talk about the coherence of your research. For example, if you work in both autism and early childhood, it would be good to have people in both domains that can speak about both dimensions of your work.  Also, be strategic about providing your reviewers with a detailed research narrative, so your reviewers can make a stronger case for you.

 

• I received the wonderful advice that you should always publish more than what your institution requires. This gives you the flexibility to adapt to changes in expectations. 

POWER: What advice do you have for faculty who are developing mentoring relationships as either the mentor or the mentee?

• I highly recommend this book: The Elements of Mentoring by Brad Johnson and Charles Ridley.

 

• We can mentor both formally and informally. 

 

• Examples of informal mentorship: (a) provide praise and affirmation of others’ work (i.e., “shine a light on others”), (b) cite their work, (c) write tenure letters or help people think about who to list as external letter writers, (d) offer to write other letters of support, such as for a grant or a professional development opportunity (e.g., IES methodological training); (e) create writing groups and advise one another about where to submit manuscripts, (f) assist junior faculty in managing a lab or office hours, (g) help junior faculty learn and negotiate the university system, and (h) help with networking – be intentional about learning about mentoring within AERA for example for historically under-represented individuals in IHEs

 

• For formal mentoring, you should consider having a mentor both within your institution as well as outside your institution. You can ask your senior colleagues for recommendations for mentors outside your university. 

 

• For people in their mid-career, you want to consider whether a potential mentee is really interested in listening to what you have to say. Ask yourself what you are willing to give up to be able to provide mentoring. If you are debating offering time and energy- be sure that you set clear expectations for what you can do and set boundaries (what is confidential, how often can you be contacted, are there “black-out days when you have to have time for your own work or travel, make decisions about socializing, what to do if a mentee-mentor relationship is not working out).

 

• There is power in joint mentoring. You may have a certain skill set that would be very valuable, but someone else could provide mentorship on other skills.

 

• Professional organizations are a great mechanism to develop mentoring relationships and build networks. You can support individuals by suggesting conferences, introducing them to others, and/or helping them connect with individuals with whom they can submit a symposia  For individuals of color or other minority backgrounds, it is helpful to have networks that represent their identity (e.g., AERA minority caucus or CEC Middle East caucus).  Be sensitive to race and ethnicity.

 

• Johnson and Ridley also point out the need to plan for changes in the mentor-mentee relationship- and note that in business these usually last about 5 years: initiation phase, cultivation phase, separation phase, or a redefinition phase if it does not end entirely.

 

• They suggest scheduling periodic check-ins and evaluations to learn more about the process of monitoring progress toward career goals.

 
POWER: Is there anything that you wish you had done differently in your career?  What would you do differently?

• I should have taken sabbaticals and research leaves. I put myself last. Taking the leaves would have given me more time to think and reflect. I think I would also have taken a more active role in initiating mentors for myself. It’s not too late.

 
We are grateful that Stephanie spent her time and energy helping us think strategically about how to make an impact that fits our values.

In January 2019, the POWER Steering Committee met with Barbara Wasik, Ph.D. during a
meeting in Washington D.C. We had a lively conversation about mentoring, advice for education
research, and work-life balance.

POWER: Can you describe the mentoring you received during your career and how your mentors
supported you?

● Early in my career, I was mentored and really protected by two senior women, who I
worked with. They supported me and provided me with advice about work load, salary
and taught me how to navigate our organization. These two women were key. They
always said “Make yourself marketable to the larger professional field not just your
immediate university community.” For example, they said your standards for your
academic performance should be based more on what the larger market dictates rather
than your particular institution at the time.

● They helped me understand when I should advocate for myself as a junior researcher.
These were issues ranged from having difficult conversation with senior researchers
about authorship decisions to asking for an office that was more than a tiny closet. It took
me weeks to work up the courage to have one of these conversations, but it was the right
thing to do. On the other hand, there were some tasks that they helped me understand
would make me a better researcher—like spending time in schools collecting data and
observing in classrooms. This was valuable advice that I still follow today.

POWER: What advice to you have on how to be a good mentor to female education researchers?

● First, you have to know the criteria on which they are being evaluated. Then, get to know
how they allocate their time. Find out what they enjoy and what makes them anxious.
You might find that more junior people spend more time doing things that don’t make
them anxious but these activities may not are not the best use of their time or in their best
interest as they work towards tenure and promotion. Also, I would suggest that they
examine the types of service that they are involved in and determine the cost/benefits of
the service. If it is very time consuming or not the best use of their time, I would suggest
that they look for other opportunities.

● An important area for helping mentees is with networking, such as helping them learn to
network at conferences and contacting people who do similar research as they do in order
to make professional connections. Sometimes this includes peer mentoring or writing
groups.

● As a mentor, also know you can only do so much. This profession requires a lot of self-
motivation and self-regulation, so the mentees have to do their part.

POWER: What advice do you have for negotiating through research career ladders?

● Regarding promotion and tenure, I would recommend that you get advice from not only
your department/college but also the university level on matters of tenure.

● I think my approach has been to speak openly about issues that arise in the professional
setting. If there are policies that you may object to or decisions that you may not agree
with, seek out more senior people for advice and try always to be fair and try and see the
other side’s perspective. My instinct has always been to talk about things when
something uncomfortable happened.

POWER: What advice do you have for someone considering promotion or tenure?

● As you approach promotion and tenure, there can be a lot of noise and uncertainty around
what criteria your institution values. I would suggest you pay attention to the college and
university-based guidelines and seek advice from colleagues who have recently gone
through the tenure and promotion process at your university. Another key aspect is to
demonstrate that you have developed an independent research trajectory.

● If your institution requires letter writers you do not collaborate with, start by searching
for researchers who have cited your work. Your letter writers need to be familiar with
your work in order to write a strong letter of support.
What advice do you have on grant writing?

● I think the most important thing is to find colleagues with similar interests with whom
you can write grants. One person writing a grant is a lot to do independently. It is helpful
to have a small group of colleagues (inside or outside your organization) who you can
effectively collaborate and who you trust.

● I try to always put in two grants a year because most of the time, they don’t get funded on
the first submission. It is a balancing act of making sure you don’t put in so many grants
that you don’t do anything well. Another important thing is to remember you don’t have
to be a Principal Investigator (PI) on everything; being a co-investigator also covers
allows you to play an important role in a grant funded project while you are PI on other
projects.

● It’s also important to consider funding for graduate students when writing your budget.

● There are some funding mechanisms I would not do again, such as grants that require
matching funds. It was a lot of work to find additional foundation funding for those sorts
of grants.
How did you approach the balancing act of being a researcher and having a family or other
life priorities?

● In the beginning, I was really focused on doing a good job with my research, but I also
had two young kids. I was able to create a schedule during those years as a research
scientist where I could put my children first (attend my children’s events at school, be
home after school, etc.) and that was the right choice for my family and me. You know,
you are going to remember memories about your children more than that journal article.

● You have to decide how you will carve out your time for work versus your family or
other life priorities. Some institutions are better than others in supporting work-life
balance.
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Many thanks to Barbara for sharing her time with this group and for her commitment to
mentoring many women in education research.

Dr. Sara Hart was award the 2017-2018 Developing Scholar Award at Florida State University. Read more here: ​http://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2018/05/03/biological-science-professor-wins-fsus-2018-distinguished-teacher-award/

Dr. Jill Pentimonti has been promoted to "Principal Researcher" at AIR. Go Jill!!

Dr. Hope Gerde has been in the news (hear her on NPR!) for a recent paper based on her IES grant to improve young students' writing skills. Details here