RESEARCH mentoring

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Research mentors play crucial roles in the development of emerging scholars. Elements of Effective Mentoring/Developing a Mentoring Philosophy is the first class in the Research Mentoring Certificate and provides a foundation for the remainder of the certificate classes.

Participants are introduced to the research-based characteristics of high-quality mentoring and are encouraged to reflect on how their own experiences as a mentor and as a mentee influence their own mentoring practice. Crucially, this class problematizes harmful mentoring attitudes and practices and exposes participants to issues that disproportionally impact marginalized mentees.

At the conclusion of this class, you should be able to:

• Identify research-based characteristics of high-quality mentoring.
• Explain how your prior experiences with mentorship influence their approaches to working with research mentees.
• Recognize considerations/implications of mentorship for diverse mentees.

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Establishing expectations and maintaining effective communication are the cornerstones of the mentoring relationship. In this class we will cover strategies for successful communication between mentors and mentees, with a focus on the necessity for a mutual understanding of expectations, the use of various modes of communication, the ways in which power differentials affect communication, and the importance of mutual feedback between mentors and mentees. During the live class meeting, we will use case studies to explore potential communication issues and ways of addressing them.

At the conclusion of this class, you should be able to:

• Articulate the importance of explicit expectations and formulate plans for expectations within the mentoring relationship
• Evaluate various practices for effective communication
• Identify considerations/implications of setting expectations and communicating with diverse mentees.

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It is important to understand when a mentee requires help, as well as when they are ready to independently carry out a task or project. The class covers frameworks for understanding research mentee development, the effective use of mentee onboarding processes, and the role of mistakes in a mentee’s development. During the live class meeting, we will use case studies to explore issues in understanding and fostering independence.

At the conclusion of this class, you should be able to:

• List and relate qualities of a mentee to independence readiness.
• Explain when a mentee is ready to independently take on a project or task.
• Identify considerations/implications of such independence for diverse mentees.

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While academic reading and writing can be challenging even for the most experienced researchers, the highly specialized discourses of our disciplines can be particularly mystifying and intimidating for emerging researchers. This class covers principles and strategies for supporting mentees’ academic literacies, and encourages mentors to recognize and value language diversity. During the live class meeting, we will use case studies to explore issues in the development of mentees’ academic literacies.

At the conclusion of this class, you should be able to:

• Develop methods of providing effective feedback on researcher writing
• Connect mentees with on-campus resources for research writing
• Identify considerations/implications of mentorship in academic reading and writing for diverse mentees

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Consideration of ethics should permeate all aspects of research and creative practice. Ethics in the context of research mentoring involves a wide variety of considerations, including treatment of colleagues, authorship, data collection and analysis, record keeping, confidentiality, and protection of human and animal subjects. Developing knowledge about ethics in research and the academic community will assist mentees for the future, whether they become career researchers or seek another occupation. During the live class meeting, we will use case studies to explore issues in research and mentoring ethics.

At the conclusion of this class, you should be able to:

• Discuss and problem-solve ethical issues with mentees
• Identify ethical considerations/implications of mentorship for diverse mentees

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Mentors play an essential role in aiding mentees in obtaining information and materials, and in accessing the collegial and professional networks, etc. necessary to achieve professional goals. Professional skills are important for mentees to accumulate, as they are relevant whether the mentee decides to become a career researcher or pursue another profession. This class covers the role that mentors should play in helping mentees achieve their goals. During the live class meeting, we will use case studies to explore issues in the mentor role in mentees’ career development.

Class Objectives: 

• Identify skills and topics relevant for undergraduate researchers’ professional development
• Select tasks and goals that showcase a mentee’s professional skills and assess current skills level
• Identify considerations/implications of professional development for diverse mentees