GERMYSHA LITTLE
Top Mentoring Practices for Undergraduate STEM Students
NSF Awards: 1549591
Introduction:
• “In the past decade, the proportion of undergraduate students from underrepresented groups pursuing degrees in STEM fields has only increased 3%, with several groups experiencing no growth at all. To address the significant need in our country for supporting students in their journey to completing a degree in STEM fields, efforts to develop effective mentoring practices should be undertaken.”
Body:
• The two main points will be the number of mentors per student and the top five mentoring practices:
o Only 26% of students had one mentor or less. The remainder of the students had more than two or more mentors, with 15% having more than four mentors.
o “An effective program will include practices that students rated the most effective. Mentees stated that they want their mentor to be passionate about their development, create opportunities, set high expectations, provide needed support, and respect their confidentiality. A mentoring relationship with these aspects in mind will help guide a mentee to be successful in the STEM fields.”
Conclusion:
• “A mentoring relationship can provide guidance, educational opportunities, and moral support, and this relationship is beneficial in ensuring student success. The identification of the top mentoring practices in this study and the characteristic that a mentoring relationship usually consists of more than one mentor will be the foundation of an effective mentoring program and ultimately an increase in the amount of STEM degrees awarded to underrepresented students.”
Top Mentoring Practices for Undergraduate STEM Students
NSF Awards: 1549591
Introduction:
• “In the past decade, the proportion of undergraduate students from underrepresented groups pursuing degrees in STEM fields has only increased 3%, with several groups experiencing no growth at all. To address the significant need in our country for supporting students in their journey to completing a degree in STEM fields, efforts to develop effective mentoring practices should be undertaken.”
Body:
• The two main points will be the number of mentors per student and the top five mentoring practices:
o Only 26% of students had one mentor or less. The remainder of the students had more than two or more mentors, with 15% having more than four mentors.
o “An effective program will include practices that students rated the most effective. Mentees stated that they want their mentor to be passionate about their development, create opportunities, set high expectations, provide needed support, and respect their confidentiality. A mentoring relationship with these aspects in mind will help guide a mentee to be successful in the STEM fields.”
Conclusion:
• “A mentoring relationship can provide guidance, educational opportunities, and moral support, and this relationship is beneficial in ensuring student success. The identification of the top mentoring practices in this study and the characteristic that a mentoring relationship usually consists of more than one mentor will be the foundation of an effective mentoring program and ultimately an increase in the amount of STEM degrees awarded to underrepresented students.”
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Brian Drayton
I enjoyed this (though some of the students’ voices were a little quiet for my aged ears). Of course, there’s so much work you’ve been doing behind the scenes— How have you found and screened the mentors? Have you mentored the mentors in any way? Had them swap “shop talk” about what’s working and what’s not, what’s hard and what’s not?
Germysha Little
Thank you for viewing! I apologize for the volume. Mentors and mentees were screened through survey. The survey was distributed to various universities because of their partnership with Tennessee State University. These universities include University of South Florida, Morgan State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical University, University of California Berkley, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Tennessee State University. I have also had mentors in my department by helping with coursework and future plans. We are still working on compiling data from both mentors and mentees to understand what is working on both ends.
Joni Falk
Interesting video on the power of mentoring. Your best practices for mentors would probably be also valuable for all instructors. Would love to hear more how you identify, train, and evaluate the mentors.
Germysha Little
Thank you for watching! Mentors are identified as mostly faculty members and school officials. Anyone can be identified as a mentor just by asking, “Do you have a mentor?” Mentors are evaluated through a survey instrument.
Joni Falk
You might be interested in viewing and discussing the video presentation
http://videohall.com/p/717 as they are exploring related issues.
Germysha Little
Thank you for the suggestion!
Sarah Gerard
Education Researcher
Great to see you working on such an important issue! Do you have any plans to follow the student mentees after graduation to learn about employment and/or other outcomes?
Germysha Little
Thank you for watching! We will definitely have a survey instrument to measure how recent graduates feel how well their mentor prepared them for their career field.
Kelly Pudelek
Survey Specialist
I enjoyed hearing about your work! Did you face any challenges in recruiting mentors?
Germysha Little
Thank you for watching! Mentors were not hard to recruit considering most faculty members and professors serve as mentors. It is difficult to recruit mentors who are not in a university setting. We are currently working on analyzing mentors not in a university setting in order to provide different perspectives.
Kelly Pudelek
Survey Specialist
Thanks! What types of mentors do you include that are outside the university setting?
Germysha Little
Thank you all for watching! This is still an ongoing project. I would like to hear any suggestions that would successfully develop an effective mentoring program. What other factors should be studied? What other instruments may be used for obtaining results?
Thank you in advance!
Ron Ulseth
Great topic. I kind of missed understanding what the top 6 best mentoring practices were. I hear number 1 but got lost on 2-6. Could you list them please?
Germysha Little
Thank you! The six mentoring practices include creating opportunities, providing acceptance, broadening mentees’ experiences, respecting the confidentiality of mentees, being committed, and providing constant feedback to mentees.
Ron Ulseth
Ah. That makes sense. I heard that sentence and for some reason thought that it was the first practice. Not all six. My bad.
Thanks.
Marian Pasquale
Senior Research Scientist
What important work this is! In addition to internships what other kinds of help/opportunities did the mentors provide their mentees?
Germysha Little
Thank you for watching! Mentors also helped their mentees for career planning, madesure mentees were on track to graduate, and provided an open ear for mentees to talk to.
Lindiwe Rubadiri-Mujugira
I like the way you very categorically stated the six most popular mentoring practices. Our STEM to Stern program at Bellevue College (Washington state) has tried to incorporate those pieces and they definitely work. We have found industry mentors to be very supportive. Inviting them into the classroom to talk to students every quarter as guest speakers, panelists or in clusters has been a great starting point for continued partnerships. You are doing great work – well done!
Germysha Little
Thank you for your suggestion and for watching!
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