From the Director of the Institute

How do you spot a research mindset?  What kinds of conversations take you into the zone where research happens?

Like me, you may be someone to whom colleagues and students turn to ‘run something past’, to ‘share a wild idea’, to ‘see if something is possible’. You may be working on projects yourself which will remain unfinished as the year comes to a close and, like me, be determined to push them a little further by working with what is possible, rather than waiting for the perfect time and perfect set of circumstances to arrive. Researchers know there is never a perfect time, but there is a time to be real about what we know, what we want to know and how we can generate data to explore what it is we need to know.

We have now wrapped up our Sokratis research program for our Secondary School student researchers and are looking forward to showcase the research of Year 4, 5 and 6 girls over the next few weeks. These young students have been diving deep into issues relating to sustainable living and the environment and building their research skills through creating 3D displays. The Pymble Institute team is developing a research plan to understand the impacts and benefits of the College’s decision to give a social media-free ‘Wise Phone’ to whole cohorts of students (read more about this initiative in this newsletter). We are also at an exciting time of year where staff look for fresh opportunities for learning and study and ask to drop in and talk about their plans. I find such joy in this liminal space, where endings and beginnings are simultaneously in sight. It is in this space that research mindsets are easier to spot.

Liminal spaces, like the ones formed in conversations about research, are rich in potential, but they are also unsettling. I try to keep the student and staff researchers at Pymble Ladies’ College in that space just a little longer so they can stay open to perspectives, possibilities and questions they may not have considered.

I love this comment by Emelia, a Year 10 student and dedicated future researcher, as she reflected on her year-long Sokratis research project completed in October (you can see the full clip in the video below):

“I chose to look at mining ice on the moon and the political implications of that. I do philosophy as an elective so I have studied ethics before, and it’s something that I’m quite interested in, which is probably why it came out in my project. I was originally going to look at what it means for the future of space travel but I ended up looking at politics and ethics instead.”

“I was originally going to look at … but I ended up looking at …” – this shift in focus is a wonderful example of the research mindset that we love seeing. What does a research mindset look like to you?

We wish our readers a very happy time as 2024 comes to a close, and hope the new ideas percolating around you find their place in the year ahead.