Table 3 Examples of student comments on instructional design

Respecting students

The professor did not supervise me a lot, but I was very touched by his warm heart. He always treated me warmly, took good care of me, and answered my questions well. The research process was not easy for me, but I always thought that I should do better because he was a very nice man. (Male, PM2, BS)

Setting clear tasks

We have a journal club every Friday in our lab. The graduate student researcher suggested that everyone ask two questions during every session so that we can all stay focused. I listened carefully during the presentation and tried hard to understand the papers to ask good questions, and then at some point I began to see the flow of the papers. That was interesting. (Female, PM1, CS)

Providing constructive feedback

I tried random assignment using BMI 25, which I learned in class was a standard for obesity. But when my professor heard about it, he gave me feedback, asking whether that method would be appropriate given the distribution of the data I had analyzed so far. After receiving his feedback, I realized I should not take research lightly. (Male, M3, CS)

I remember the words the professor used to compliment me. He said that I knew more about this topic than he did. This was very inspiring to me, and it motivated me to participate actively in the research. (Male, PM1, CS)

Invitation into the research community

The professor asked other researchers to review my thesis, and they gave very detailed opinions. In particular, I remember that one of them worked very hard during the thesis writing and submission process. After seeing how much they helped me even though they did not know me, I decided that I will also help someone if I find them in a similar situation later on. (Male, PM1, CS)

At first, I thought the program was being conducted just by the professor. But in the second half, other professors also participated, and I saw that the scale was bigger than I had first imagined. Afterwards, I felt pressured to not make a mistake. (Male, PM1, BS)