Explore the critical importance of innovation and perseverance in STEM through our blog post recap of the “Resilience in Innovation” panel. Successful women in STEM share their journeys of overcoming setbacks and how failure has been a stepping stone to their success. Get insights, advice, and strategies for embracing challenges, and watch the webinar recording for an in-depth discussion.
In Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), the path to innovation is frequently marked by setbacks and challenges, which often manifest as failures. Yet, it is through resilience in confronting these obstacles that the leaders and innovators of tomorrow are forged. The panel discussion, “Resilience in Innovation: Embracing Failure and Perseverance in STEM,” sponsored by the Bossier Parish Community College, shed light on a crucial but often overlooked aspect of STEM careers: the significance of perseverance and the strategic embrace of failure.
Meet the Panelists
Lauren Horton
Lockheed Martin
Mary Long
Tetra Tech
Chanceé Lundy
Lundy Legacy, Inc
Julie Thyne
Dow, Inc.
Watch the Panel
Recaps & Resources
Reflecting on Failure:
- Describe a time when you faced failure in a project or task. How did it make you feel initially, and what did you learn from the experience? Discuss how this experience relates to the stories shared by the panelists.
Importance of Grit and Resilience:
- The panelists talked about the importance of grit and resilience in STEM fields. Can you think of a situation in your life, academic or personal, where showing grit and resilience helped you overcome a challenge? How can you apply these traits more effectively in your future STEM endeavors?
Embracing Failure as a Learning Tool:
- Based on the panel discussion, why do you think failure is considered an essential part of learning and innovation in STEM? How can you shift your mindset to view failure more positively in your academic and personal growth?
Role of Mentors and Educators:
- The panel highlighted the role of mentors and educators in supporting students through failures. Have you ever had a mentor or teacher who helped you navigate a difficult time? Share how their support made a difference and reflect on how you can seek or offer similar support in the future.
Strategies for Developing Resilience:
- The panelists shared various strategies for developing resilience, such as seeking feedback, celebrating small wins, and staying flexible. Choose one strategy that resonates with you and create a plan on how you can implement it in your approach to challenges in STEM.
Additional Activities:
- Group Discussion: After reflecting on the questions individually, students can form small groups to share their thoughts and learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives.
- Write a Reflection Essay: Encourage students to write a short essay on the role of failure in personal and academic growth, drawing on insights from the panel discussion and their own experiences.
- Create a “Failure Resume”: As a class, discuss the concept of a “failure resume,” which highlights setbacks and what was learned from them. Students can create their own failure resumes to reflect on their growth through challenges.
This guide is intended to help students process the content of the panel discussion deeply, reflect on their own experiences, and engage in meaningful conversations about the value of perseverance, resilience, and embracing failure in the pursuit of innovation in STEM.
- Failure as a Stepping Stone: Panelists emphasized that failure is not only inevitable but also a valuable part of the innovation process in STEM fields. It drives learning and growth, pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
- Perseverance is Key: Overcoming setbacks requires perseverance. Success in STEM often comes after facing and moving past failures.
- The Role of Community: Support from mentors, educators, and peers plays a crucial role in navigating challenges and fostering resilience.
- Embrace Failure: Accept that failure is part of the learning process and use it as an opportunity to grow.
- Cultivate a Support Network: Seek out mentors, join supportive communities, and engage with peers who can provide guidance and encouragement.
- Develop Grit: Focus on long-term goals and persist through challenges, using setbacks as motivation to improve.
- Normalize Discussions Around Failure: Encourage open conversations about setbacks and challenges to demystify failure and reduce stigma.
- Build Psychological Safety: Foster team and organizational cultures where individuals feel safe to take risks, share ideas, and admit mistakes.
- Growth Mindset: Encourage a mindset that views challenges as opportunities to learn rather than insurmountable obstacles.
- Safe Spaces for Experimentation: Create environments in educational and professional settings where trying new things and failing is encouraged and seen as a part of the innovation process.
- Reflective Practice: Regularly reflect on failures and setbacks to extract lessons learned and apply them to future endeavors.
Conclusion
To wrap up, the “Resilience in Innovation” panel highlighted that true progress in STEM often comes through confronting and learning from failure. By acknowledging our setbacks as part of the learning process, building supportive networks, and nurturing our resilience, we’re better equipped to tackle the challenges ahead. This recap and the webinar recording aim to encourage you to approach obstacles with confidence and view every failure as a chance to grow. In the journey of innovation, your persistence is your greatest asset.
