Harvard MCO PhD student Jeremy Koob and his longtime friend, Alexander Mitchell, an MD/PhD student at the University of Connecticut, recently co-taught a mini-course offered through Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences GSAS@January winter term, titled You’re Wrong: When Data Shows You Need to Change Your Mind. The four-day, in-person course provided graduate students an interactive platform to explore major scientific controversies and how new evidence shapes scientific understanding.
Koob, a member of Fei Chen’s lab in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, conceived the course as a way to gain hands-on experience creating a course. The idea for focusing on scientific controversy was sparked by discussions with Mitchell, a member of Timothy Spellman’s lab at the University of Connecticut, who was eager to co-develop the curriculum.
One of the key takeaways for Koob was the importance of fostering open-mindedness in scientific discussions. “It’s a very natural human response to get defensive when our ideas are challenged,” he noted. “But it’s important to engage with conflicting opinions in a respectful and productive way.”
Koob sees teaching as an integral part of his future academic career. While the MCO program does not require students to develop and lead their own courses, he viewed this mini-course as a valuable step toward refining his instructional skills. Koob and Mitchell were enthusiastic about the success of their course and hope to expand upon it in the future. They welcome current GSAS students who are interested in co-teaching the mini-course in next year’s January@GSAS session to reach out and discuss collaborating.
For more details on the mini-course and its perspective on scientific debate, read the full story on the GSAS website: When It’s Right to Be Wrong.
