Mistakes, Missteps, and Mindsets: Stories of Failure and Resilience in Academic Research

While the word "failure" may be intimidating, failures are an unequivocal part of the academic journey, with challenges spanning from rejected papers to revised hypotheses to redirected research topics. Though disheartening at times, failures pave the way for lessons and growth, yet the stories about failure are few and far between amongst stories of success.

Chemistry and Biology professor Krystal Nunes and third-year biology student Alex Whyte-Guerriero are determined to change this narrative. This year, they secured a SSHRC Explore grant to support the creation of their podcast, Mistakes, Missteps, and Mindsets: Stories of Failure and Resilience in Academic Research. The podcast aims to dismantle the stigma around failure by openly discussing the stories of faculty members and instructors who have faced failures in their academic journeys.

Recovering from failure is a skill that is not only necessary for career growth but also in the scientific learning process. “Failure prompts reflection and modification of one’s approach and can lead to scientific discoveries and innovations,” said Nunes. “Despite the importance of failure to scientists, the skills of how to fail well and bounce back from failure are not commonly discussed or embedded in STEM course design at the post-secondary level.” 

Nunes is one of four pedagogy researchers dedicated to advancing learning and teaching excellence in the Faculty of Science. Her research group (The Nunes Group), focuses on understanding failure and building interventions in undergraduate and graduate courses to foster resilience after failure.

Whyte-Guerriero, who will be editing the show and co-hosting alongside Nunes, had always aspired to venture into podcasting, driven by an interest in science communication and inspired by science podcasts like Ologies. Motivated by Nunes’ Failure Fridays, where the professor openly shared her failures with her students in BLG 567, she approached Nunes with the idea to produce a podcast to show students that even their role models have encountered failures on their paths to success.

"As an undergraduate student, I have come up against my fair share of failures," said Whyte-Guerriero. "I believe students relate more with stories of failure and the steps taken to overcome setbacks than they are with stories of easy success."

The podcast is currently in production with episodes released weekly on the Nunes Group (external link)  website and are available to stream on Spotify (external link)  and other streaming platforms (external link) .

The Nunes Group is recruiting instructors and faculty members across all departments and faculties to be featured on the podcast. If you are interested in sharing your stories of failure, please contact Dr. Krystal Nunes (krystal.nunes@torontomu.ca) or Alex Whyte-Guerriero (awhyteguerriero@torontomu.ca).