In2science was thrilled to partner with Sarah Coonan and Taylor Clark from Teach for Australia to deliver a professional development workshop entitled “Resilience and Overcoming Setbacks” on Tuesday September 13. Hosted by Swinburne University of Technology, the workshop gave our mentors tools to help them tackle setbacks, and to recognise they do not have to face challenges alone.
After a grounding Acknowledgement of Country, the workshop began with a fun activity highlighting the diversity of participants. We discovered that the audience contained both early birds and night owls, coffee and non-coffee drinkers, and, on a more serious note, people that were the first in their family to go to university. This activity highlighted the fact that anyone can be met with setbacks, regardless of their background or behaviour.
Sarah and Taylor then stepped the mentors through a self-reflection exercise that involved remembering a past setback or failure. Through exploring previous challenges, they helped mentors identify who to go to for support, and consider what they learnt from the experience. Sarah and Taylor emphasised that resilience is all about getting support and adapting to challenges, rather than going it alone and risk breaking down. Their workshop helped mentors develop the skills needed to face obstacles head-on and not be afraid of failure. In2science thanks Sarah and Taylor from Teach for Australia for this enlightening and empowering workshop.
