Mentoring Institute
2011 Mentoring Conference Proceedings
2011 Mentoring Conference Proceedings Learning Across Disciplines
October 26-‐ 28, 2011 Mentoring Institute Main Campus, Student Union Building Albuquerque, NM, USA
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Mentoring Institute
2011 Mentoring Conference Proceedings
Conference Information CONFERENCE CHAIR, EDITOR AND PLANNER Nora Domínguez, Ph. D. Candidate University of New Mexico ASSISTANT EDITOR Lisa Sundvall University of New Mexico MARKETING Margaret Wells University of New Mexico KEYNOTE SPEAKER David Clutterbuck, Ph. D. The European Council of Mentoring and Coaching PLENARY SPEAKERS Joseph Pascarelli, Ph. D. International Mentoring Association Scott N. Taylor, Ph. D. University of New Mexico WORKSHOP LEADERS Laura Lunsford, Ph. D. University of Arizona Michael Shenkman, Ph. D. Best Practice Resources, Inc. Published By: Mentoring Institute University of New Mexico _________________ This document’s original content, design, layout and images are ©2010 University of New Mexico, all rights reserved. All papers contained herein are the intellectual property of the authors; The Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico is grateful for reproduction rights for these papers in order to present them to you in these proceedings. Authors are responsible for reprint permissions, as they apply, in their content. No part of this document may be reproduced for other than fair educational use without express written permission of the copyright holder(s) of the content you wish to copy or re-‐use
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Table of Contents CONFERENCE CHAIR, KEYNOTE & PLENARY SPEAKERS ………………………………………. 15 PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS SHENKMAN, M. ................................................................................................................................................ 18 THE ARC OF LEADERSHIP
Creating Effective Mentoring Programs
LUNSFORD, L. & IRWIN, M. .......................................................................................................................... 24 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Mentoring Best Practices in Academic Settings
KEYNOTE ADDRESS CLUTTERBUCK, D. .......................................................................................................................................... 25 EUROPEAN COUNCIL OF MENTORING AND COACHING
Emerging Themes in Mentoring
CONCURRENT PRESENTATION CONCHA, A. ....................................................................................................................................................... 26 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO – UNIVERSITY HONORS PROGRAM
Teaching for Undergrads
SHENKMAN, M. H. ........................................................................................................................................... 34 ARCH OF LEADERSHIP: PROFESSIONAL LEADER MENTORING
Mentoring the Diversity of Creative Aspirations
SHEETS, C. & SEVIM, V. ................................................................................................................................. 40 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA & VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
Developing Mentoring Models for Pre-service K-2 Elementary Teacher Education
MYNBAEV, D. K. ............................................................................................................................................... 46 NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Mentoring in the Engineering Field: Benefits and Challenges
MCGUINESS, T. & BERNHOLTZ, J. ............................................................................................................. 52 PARTNERS MENTORING ASSOCIATION
Volunteer Recruitment
MERCAITIS, P. A. ............................................................................................................................................. 53 UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
Virtual Mentoring and Telesupervision
YGLESIAS, C...................................................................................................................................................... 57 UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Mentoring the Imagination
FORNARO, R. J. & HEIL, M. R....................................................................................................................... 61 NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
Mentoring in a Computer Science Capstone Course
VALLEJO CALVERY, S. .................................................................................................................................. 66 SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
Mentor Self-Efficacy and Program Support as Components of Successful Mentoring Programs
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THOMSON, I. ..................................................................................................................................................... 73 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Thinking the Pedagogical Truth Event after Heidegger
ROYBAL, K. M. .................................................................................................................................................. 79 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Academic Coaching in the University Setting
SPEARMAN, H. & HINSHAW, B. ................................................................................................................... 84 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Multicultural Mentoring: Creating Professional Connections
VASQUEZ, I., GONZALEZ CARDENAS, E., SERRANO NAJERA, J., DIAZ, J., BORREGO, S., GOMEZ, T., GONZALEZ CISNEROS, E., GUTIERREZ, R., JIMENEZ, A., MARTINEZ, R., OCHOA, O., PEREZ, D., MURILLO-PEREZ, L., RAMIREZ, R., MCKNIGHT, C. & FURTADO, L. .................. 85 CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA & UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Mentoring as a Labor of Mutual Love: and Support: Enhancing Student and Faculty Academic Success
ALBRIGHT, K. & CARRAHER, E. ................................................................................................................. 91 VIRGINIA TECH & UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
Digital Mentors: Peer Learning in Design Education
DAMRON, B. I. & WOODS, P. J. ..................................................................................................................... 98 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Cultivating the Next Generation of Nurse Scientists
NEWCOMB, P. & RAUDONIS, B. M. ........................................................................................................... 105 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
Systematizing the Cultivation of Nurse Scientists at the Undergraduate Level
RODGERS, J. R., SLAUGHTER, G. & CONOR, L. M. .............................................................................. 110 BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
The Constructive Analysis of Problems and Solutions: Opening Mentoring Space for Graduate Students
FORTUNE, M. F. & RAPHAEL, K. ............................................................................................................... 116 CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY & MAVEN METHOD LIFE COACH
Crossing Boundaries between Business and Academia: Developing Strategies for Personal Discovery that Affects the Mentoring Relationship
EWERT, D. & VELLENGA, H. E. ................................................................................................................. 119 INDIANA UNIVERSITY
Mentoring in Language Teaching Organizations: Supporting Reflective Practitioners
RANSAW, T. S. & HENSON, R. ..................................................................................................................... 120 UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA
Can Mentorship Be an Effective Tool in Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline?
CLAPP, E. P. ..................................................................................................................................................... 126 HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Omni-Directional Mentorship: Redefining Mentorship as a Reciprocal Process of Teaching and Learning
MILLER, G. J. .................................................................................................................................................. 132 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
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The effect of cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence on mentor and protégé expectation and retention intentions in diverse mentoring relationships O’REGAN, K. .................................................................................................................................................... 138 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
Barriers to Success in Forma Mentoring Programs: A Different Perspective
WASHINGTON, S. & BENNETT, C. ............................................................................................................. 140 ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY
A Study of Mentoring Partnerships Perceptions of Interpersonal and Personal Skills for Effective HE
EGUES, A. L...................................................................................................................................................... 143 NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Quality of Mentoring and Advancement of Practice: The Experience of Hispanic Nurses
WILLIAMS, B. L. ............................................................................................................................................. 144 EAST CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
Mentoring, Recruitment and Diversity
SEARBY, L. ....................................................................................................................................................... 145 UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
It Takes Two to Tango: Helping your Protégé Prepare for the Mentoring Dance
BARNISH, M. E. ............................................................................................................................................... 149 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Induction and Mentoring New Teachers- Standards to Ensure Program Success
TOLLEFSON, K. & MOSS, K. L. ................................................................................................................... 155 CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Mentoring Sexual Minorities in College
PALMORE, K. .................................................................................................................................................. 163 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Mentoring First Generation Graduate Students
ROUND TABLES ADAMS, R., GREENE, W. & KIM, Y............................................................................................................ 169 SOUTHERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
Mentoring New Teachers
BRESEE, S. ........................................................................................................................................................ 171 UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
Complex Negotiation of K-12 English as a Second Language Mentoring Relationships
DONNELLY, L. ................................................................................................................................................ 173 ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
Win-Win-Win: Benefits to Students, Community and Organizations of Mentored Internships in Arts
FLORES-DUENAS, L. & ANAYA, M. ........................................................................................................... 174 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Transformational Co-Mentoring of Two Latinas: Social and Ethnic Identity as a Form of Empowerment
GRUESBECK, S. C., THROSON-BARNETT, S., FILLIPPINO, T., MCMURTY, Z. & BISCOE, J. D.177 NORTHWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA & ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Faculty- Student Mentoring Programs in Higher Education
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HORTON, S. L. ................................................................................................................................................. 179 MITCHELL COLLEGE
Midlife Mentoring: A Key Relationship from Both Sides
SMITH, M. L. .................................................................................................................................................... 186 VICTORIA COOL AID SOCIETY
The Mentoring Project, Let the Dialogue Begin: Offering a Unique Perspective in Mentoring
THOMAS, C. ..................................................................................................................................................... 188 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
How Can a Book Be a Mentor?
WEIR, J.............................................................................................................................................................. 190 CANADIAN YOUTH BUSINESS FOUNDATION
Driving Entrepreneurial Success through Mentorship
WORTHY, M. T................................................................................................................................................ 191 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Wisdom as a Tool for Social Change
CONCURRENT PRESENTATION KINGLSEY, K. ................................................................................................................................................. 192 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Fostering Academic Integrity in the Digital Age: Copyright and Fair Use of Educational Multimedia
SCHIPANI, C. A., DWORKIN, T. M., KWOLEK-FOLLAND, A. HINESLY, M. & MAURER, V. ...... 193 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Mentoring and the Law: A Remedy Whose Time Has Arrived?
MCWILLIAMS, A. E. ...................................................................................................................................... 200 WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
Models of Higher Education Mentoring and the Development of an Interdisciplinary Mentoring Culture
MOORE, K. ....................................................................................................................................................... 206 DAYTONA STATE COLLEGE
Making it Real
OLIVER, A., OSA, J. O. & WALKER, T. ..................................................................................................... 209 VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Mentoring and Other Professional Support for Faculty in Institution of Higher Learning: A Study Report
FRICKE, S. N. ................................................................................................................................................... 218 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Dodging the Mines: Teaching Native American Arts and Culture to Natives and Non-Native
PORTNER, H. ................................................................................................................................................... 223 WESTERN NEW ENGLAND UNIVERSITY
TIP, an Online Mentoring Process
MANNING, R. D. .............................................................................................................................................. 226 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
A Legitimacy to Lead: Establishing Effective Mentoring Relationships in PE-NP Classes
BLACK, T. ......................................................................................................................................................... 227
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND
Mentoring Early Career Researchers within a Cross-Disciplinary Community Research Project
GOLDEN, J. ...................................................................................................................................................... 235 TEXAS WOMEN’S UNIVERSITY
Odds in Your Favor: Using the Enneagram to Assist with Partner Relationships
WILLBUR, J. .................................................................................................................................................... 240 THE LEADERSHIP MENTORING INSTITUTE
Mentoring the Five Elements of Effective Executive Leadership
CARMELI, A. ................................................................................................................................................... 246 PERACH, THE WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
Perach- A Tutoring and Mentoring Project for a Flourishing Society
RUCKER, K. J. & WILLIAMS, J................................................................................................................... 249 THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Cultivating Champions: Helping Undergraduates Be All That They Can Be!
LARROQUE, C. M. .......................................................................................................................................... 252 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Mentoring Across Disciplines, Across the Globe
OSA, J. O. & OLIVER, A. ............................................................................................................................... 257 VIRGINIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Developing and Implementing a Mentoring Program: Experiences of Two College of Education Faculty
ABERNETHY, N. F., NAGASAWA, P. R., GIBBS, P. J. & SCOTT, C. S. ................................................ 263 UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
Mentorship Networks to Support Multidisciplinary Science
KEITH, T. B. T.................................................................................................................................................. 269 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Effective Strategies for Mentoring Programs and Issues of Special Interest Regarding Efficacy and Growth for Schools, Students, and Parents
STERN, M. & BRIERLEY, A. ........................................................................................................................ 274 STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Stanford Alumni Mentoring: Creating a Culture of Mentorship
SHKOLNIK, E. L., SURCEL, A., SHAHAR, A. & JANG-CONDELL, H. ................................................ 275 LOWELL OBSERVATORY, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, CARNEGIE INSTITUTION FOR SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
GPS Groups: A Peer-Problem-Solving Approach to Mentorship
CONNOR, L. M., RODGERS, J. R., DAVIDSON, L. & SLAUGHTER, G. .............................................. 281 BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, INTEGRATED LEARNING INNOVATIONS
Mentoring UR Post-Baccalaureate Students for a PhD in Biomedical Sciences
LIHONO, M. A., KOO, J., BALOGU, D. & BUCKNER, E. ........................................................................ 288 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT PINE BLUFF
Mentoring UR Post-Baccalaureate Students for a PhD in Biomedical Sciences
BROWN, C., LAMBERT, L., MOULTON, B. & SANFT, M. ..................................................................... 293 UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY
SUccess through Math Mentoring (SUMM)
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CHANDLER, G., ZUCKER, D., BARTON-BURKE, M. & JACELON, C. ............................................... 301 UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
Mutual Mentoring for Faculty Retention, Scholarship & Advancement
REDDICK, R. J., BUKOSKI, B. E., SMITH, S. L. & JIMENEZ, J. M. ..................................................... 305 THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
Learning across Generations and Disciplinary Boundaries: The Secret Mentoring Lives of Black Faculty
MARCOS, T., VOUGA, B., FOLAND, R. & WITMER, M ......................................................................... 314 AZUSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
Educational Leadership and Licensure: How Mentoring Builds Capacity, Well-Being and Hope
RASKIN, M. & ELLISON, M. ........................................................................................................................ 315 GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY AND UNION COLLEGE
Mentoring Experiences of Social Work Faculty who Perform Administrative and Faculty Roles
PLENARY SPEAKERS PASCARELLI, J. .............................................................................................................................................. 323 INTERNATIONAL MENTORING ASSOCIATION
Deepening the Quality of Mentoring: The Un-Discussable
TAYLOR, S. N. ................................................................................................................................................. 323 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
The Importance of Caring in Mentoring Relationships: Defining and Exploring an Old Concept as a New Construct
CONCURRENT PRESENTATIONS RIVERA-MILLS, S. ......................................................................................................................................... 324 OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
Establishing a Culture of Mentoring
ERDMAN, J. ...................................................................................................................................................... 330 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
In Transition: From Mentoring One Student a Year to Fellowship Recipient- “Inclusive Excellence”
AYALON, A. ..................................................................................................................................................... 334 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
Teacher as a Mentor: School-Wide Models for Creating Caring Schools for Minority and At-Risk Students
HARTIGAN, B. F.............................................................................................................................................. 339 SAINT JOSEPH COLLEGE
Mentoring New Teachers: Connecticut’s Model that Works
FINDLEY, D. E. ................................................................................................................................................ 342 PORTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE
A Better Life Through Mentoring: Experiences of Community College CTE Faculty who Dare to Share
SMITH, J. L. ...................................................................................................................................................... 348 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
A Model of Undergraduate Peer Mentoring: The Texas Interdisciplinary Plan (TIP) Mentor Academy
MAYBEE, R. G. ................................................................................................................................................ 353
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BARRY UNIVERSITY
Learning Outcomes- Centered Adjunct Faculty Mentorship
RUZGYTE, E. ................................................................................................................................................... 363 TEXAS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY
Career in Counseling: Mentoring Future Therapists
AYODELE, Y. ................................................................................................................................................... 364 ZION POWER MINISTRIES
Four Cardinal Ways of Effective Mentoring
ABRAMS, E. S. & WEAVER, A. L................................................................................................................. 370 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Challenges and Rewards of Mentoring Graduate Students
LINDBERG, D., RIVERA, D., LI, J. & MOSEMANN, D. ........................................................................... 371 PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Porous Borders: Mentoring Where Real Problems Meet
HEILEMAN, G., KNOTTS, D. & COMPEAU, R. ........................................................................................ 376 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Challenges of Offering Cross-Institutional Online Engineering Courses
MUNIZ, E. J. & SERVIERE-MUNOZ, L. ..................................................................................................... 377 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS DALLAS
Measuring Needs of Undergraduate Students: A Look into a Multi-Dimensional Concept
RYAN, R. C. & DIETRICH, J. K. ................................................................................................................... 383 UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
Mentoring Faculty Using a Positive Annual Evaluation Process
BRUNO, D., MCMANUS, S. & VERHASSELT, A. ...................................................................................... 388 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
The Effects of Mentoring Relationships on the Explanatory Style and Depressive Features of Children and their Parent: An Exploratory Study
ELLISON, M., MOORE, W., FOGEL, S. & JOHNSON, A. ........................................................................ 406 UNION OF COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY
The Status of Baccalaureate Social Work Faculty Mentoring: An Exploratory Stud
NKEMBE, E., RUCKER, J. & NAVARRO, M. ............................................................................................ 413 UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
Mentoring in MANRRS
OSANO, L. ......................................................................................................................................................... 419 ILLUMINATE AFRICA INITIATIVE
Mentorship and Role Modeling as the Most Powerful Tool in a Learning Institution
COOK, C............................................................................................................................................................ 420 CAPICHE
Leveraging the Science of Happiness in the Workplace
POORMAN, J. A. .............................................................................................................................................. 426 APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY
A Small Business’ Investment in Mentoring: A Case Study
MILTENBERGER, A. & LEMKE, K. ........................................................................................................... 430
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ADAMS STAE COLLEGE
The Mentoring Helix: A New Family Support for Latino Students
HILLARD, J. R. ................................................................................................................................................ 432 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Workplace Mobbing: Mentoring for Recognition, Prevention and Harm Reduction
COLLIER, M. ................................................................................................................................................... 437 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Literacy Mentoring Club
MEYERER, S. ................................................................................................................................................... 442 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Mentoring in the Art and Science of Grant Writing
OTTERS, R........................................................................................................................................................ 447 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
Social Work Mentoring: We Need One Another
TURNER, T. E. ................................................................................................................................................. 453 JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY
Successful Faculty Mentoring of At-Risk Secondary Students
KNIGHT, S. M. ................................................................................................................................................. 459 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Meaningful Mentoring to Make Internships Relevant
BAXLEY, S. M. & BOND, M. L. ..................................................................................................................... 465 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
Mentoring Partnerships
CARROLL, D. L. .............................................................................................................................................. 467 MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
The Experience of Mentoring Clinical Nurses in the Performance of Nursing Research
FERGUSON, A. & HUGHES, D. .................................................................................................................... 468 UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS
A Natural Fit or Culture Shock: Mentoring a Social Work Student in a University Legal Clinic
HOWARD, J. T. ................................................................................................................................................ 471 CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES
Developing and Implementing Group Mentoring to Improve Formal Mentor Programs
KLINE-GABEL, K. .......................................................................................................................................... 472 JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY
Amistad: A Mentoring Program Connecting College Students with Local Latino Youth
KONSTANTINOV, K. ...................................................................................................................................... 473 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Rheu-Mythology: Mixing Disciplines in Anticipating a Convergence
MIROWSKY-GARCIA, K. WHITE, V. A. STEWART, D. M. & NOLTE, K. B. ..................................... 474 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Using a Continuing Quality Improvement (CQI) Program as a Tool for Peer-to-Peer Mentoring
NOLL, K. R. & BYWATER, B. J. ................................................................................................................... 477
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VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY
The Effect of an Initial Contact on the Mentoring Relationship
O’REGAN, K. .................................................................................................................................................... 479 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
A Look at the Barriers of and the Reasons for Success in Formal Mentoring Relationships
PALMER, E. L. ................................................................................................................................................. 481 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
Mentoring Haiti Nursing Research
PASTORE, D. L. & BROWN, L. ..................................................................................................................... 482 OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
An Examination of the Mentoring Functions between Sport Management Faculty Mentors and Mentees
PEMBRIDGE, J. J. & PARETTI, M. C. ........................................................................................................ 493 VIRGINIA TECH UNIVERSITY
Prominent Mentoring Functions Seen in Engineering Capstone Courses
RANEY, E. C. & BOWMAN, B. J................................................................................................................... 496 MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Implementing a Mentoring Strategy for Leadership Development in a Pharmacy Student Organization
SANDRIDGE, S. A., NEWMAN, C. W. & LESNER, S. A. .......................................................................... 498 CLEVELAND CLINIC & UNIVERSITY OF AKRON
Precepting/Mentoring Students in Healthcare Settings: Clinical Experiences as Teaching Opportunities
SLIMMER, L. ................................................................................................................................................... 501 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Mentoring and Alliances Among Nursing Faculty
WILSON, B. E. & BEELEY, P. ....................................................................................................................... 503 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Finding and Nurturing Academic Passions: A Guide for Clinician Educator Mentors and Protégés
ZLATEVA, M.................................................................................................................................................... 504 BOSTON UNIVERSITY
Acculturation Aspects of Tutor Preparation for Work with International Students
LEVY, S. J. ........................................................................................................................................................ 505 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
Metrics for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Success: A Study on Firm Performance in the South Florida Region
BUSTOS FLORES, B., CLAEYS, L. MATA, E. , RIOJAS CLARK, E. VILLAREAL, A. & RODRIGUEZ, M. E.......................................................................................................................................... 513 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
Creating a Model for Preparing Culturally Efficacious Induction Mentors
GHOSH-DASTIDAR, U. & LIOU-MARK, J. ............................................................................................... 515 NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNNOLOGY
Bridging Pathways through Mentoring for Underrepresented Students in STEM
MOSSEAU, T. ................................................................................................................................................... 523
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UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Peer-mentor Training
SMITH, D. L. & DOUGLAS, A. G. ................................................................................................................ 526 TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY
Characteristics of Effective Student Peer Mentoring for Undergraduate Students
STOUT, K., OPSAL, C., POHL, A. & BRAGG, D. ....................................................................................... 531 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA & UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
It Takes More than Listening: Mentoring in the Community College Setting
VARECKA, L. & YSLAS VELEZ, W. ........................................................................................................... 538 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
The Math Center as a Mentoring Center
TERUYA, S. & FRIEDMAN, T....................................................................................................................... 544 CHARLES DREW UNIVERSITY
Learning Models for Biomedical Research Faculty in a Translational Research Environment
NIELSEN, S., SOULES, A., & WHITE, N. .................................................................................................... 550 CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Collaborative Mentoring: Creating a Support Team for Students
THORSON-BARNETT, S. & FILLIPPINO, T. M. ....................................................................................... 555 NORTHWESTERN STATE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA & ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Help! I Have to Mentor Students Too!
YOUNT, A. R. ................................................................................................................................................... 560 EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY
Convergence of Self with Group Equals Dynamic Organizations
ZEMANEK, B. & MIZELL, K. ....................................................................................................................... 567 EDUCATOR SUPPORT CENTER
Using Rapport and Paraphrasing to Mentor Educators in Public Education
KITTELSON, P. & KELLY, B. ....................................................................................................................... 570 GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS COLLEGE
A Peer Mentor Program Enhances Confidence, Leadership and Interdisciplinary Learning in STEM
COLLINS, J. M., HALL, A. L. & O’ROURKE, C. H. .................................................................................. 577 UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN & CENTRAL NEW MEXICO COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Setting and Achieving Financial Goals: Insights from the Emerging Field of Financial Coaching
MONTROY, M.................................................................................................................................................. 584 MOONCHASER, LTD.
Cyber-Aristotle: Towards a Poetics for Interactive Screenwriting
HARRISON, A. & MOERER, T. .................................................................................................................... 585 AZUSSA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY
Riding the “Ripple Effect”: Corroborating Research of the Benefits of a Mentoring Program
HARDIN, S. R., GEER, R., MARR, G., & LOTT, L. ................................................................................... 593 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA- CHARLOTTE
Exploration of a Strategy for Success
MCGUINNES, T. & HIGGINS, J. .................................................................................................................. 599
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PARTNERS MENTORING ASSOCIATION
Mentoring in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia
MAJIROS, C. .................................................................................................................................................... 600 CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
The Influence of Dichotomy between Self and Other on Social Structure for Mentoring Relationships
FRAZZINI, R. & FINK, A. .............................................................................................................................. 606 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
Transformational Mentoring in University of Minnesota Leadership Programs
AQUINO, V. ...................................................................................................................................................... 613 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Mentoring at UNM: An Exploratory Study
FERGUSON, S. K. ............................................................................................................................................ 614 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
Interdisciplinary Opportunities with Community Outreach: Faculty Mentoring Engineering Students
ELDREDGE, J. ................................................................................................................................................. 615 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Faculty Mentoring Required for Medical Student Research: Observations and Lessons Learned
YATES, D. D...................................................................................................................................................... 616 CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Mentoring: A Typology
LUNSFORD, L. G. ............................................................................................................................................ 621 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
Development of the Arizona Mentoring Inventory
KEMNER, K...................................................................................................................................................... 626 UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA
With their Head in the Clouds
BRENNER, H. ................................................................................................................................................... 632 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Confronting the (In)Equality of Women in Law through Mentoring in Legal Education
EDSON, P. ......................................................................................................................................................... 633 EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY
Faculty Mentoring of GLBT Students: An Anthropological Perspective
HASAN, J. .......................................................................................................................................................... 638 EASTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Mentoring Models & Guidelines for the Aspiring University Professor
OLIVERO, O. A. ............................................................................................................................................... 639 OFFICE OF TRAINING AND EDUCATION & NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
Mentoring in Biosciences: The Case for Interdisciplinary Mentoring
EGUES, A. L...................................................................................................................................................... 643 NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Experiences of Mentoring Influences The Personal and Professional Growth of Hispanic RNs
BARNISH, M. E. ............................................................................................................................................... 644
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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Induction and Mentoring New Teachers: Standards to Ensure Program Success
GOETSCH, R. ................................................................................................................................................... 650 BE A MENTOR, INC.
Taking Mentoring to Scale in a Community or Region
BRANDT, S. B. .................................................................................................................................................. 655 NEW YORK CITY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Mentoring in a Live Performance Environment
THOMAS, C. ..................................................................................................................................................... 661 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Beyond Socrates: Mature Mentoring Community
KALOOSTIAN, P., STEUVEN, J., SKLAR, D. DOERING, A. & KALISHMAN, S. ............................... 663 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
A Resident-Led Institutional Patient Safety Improvement Process
MOONEY, S. P.................................................................................................................................................. 664 ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY
Mentoring of Real Estate Majors by Alumni at St. Cloud State University
UNOWSKY, C. & BURACK, O. ..................................................................................................................... 668 JEWISH HOME LIFECARE
Mentors and At-Risk Youth: A Mechanism for Achieving Academic and Career Goals
WERST, A., MEYER, J. & ROEHL, S. ......................................................................................................... 675 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
Statewide Mentoring in Texas: The Beginning Teacher Induction and Mentoring Program
BRUNER, N. R. & HELITZER, D. ................................................................................................................. 680 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Undergraduate Pipeline Network Summer Research Experience
ANDERSON, C. & MYERS, S. ....................................................................................................................... 685 TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
Development of a Master Mentor Teacher Program
MILLER, K. F. & HARRIS, C. D. .................................................................................................................. 693 UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Technology Enabled Mentoring: Maximum Use of Resources for Succession Planning
JOHNSON, C. ................................................................................................................................................... 697 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
The Art and Science of Mentoring Across Disciplines
KEYNOTE ADDRESS CLUTTERBUCK, D. ........................................................................................................................................ 700 EUROPEAN COUNCIL OF MENTORING AND COACHING
Mentoring: Advanced Skills Development Workshop
Note: Papers are listed in the order of presentation at the Conference. Please, refer to the Conference Agenda included at the end of this document.
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Conference Chair, Keynote & Plenary Speakers Nora Dominguez, Ph.D. Candidate Director of the Mentoring Institute & Conference Chair Director of the Program for Inclusive Undergradaute STEM Success, UNM Nora Domínguez is Director of the Mentoring Institute and the STEM Success Program, Part-Time Faculty, and Ph.D. Candidate in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technologies at the University of New Mexico. Domínguez is also Member of the Board of Directors of the International Mentoring Association. She earned her M.B.A. in the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM). Nora has dedicated more than 20 years of her professional practice to develop and implement training and mentoring programs in the workplace. Her professional experience includes a combination of educational and management positions in the banking industry. Her consulting experience includes a broad scope of services helping entrepreneurs, small businesses and corporations to develop financial strategic plans, risk management strategies, and evaluation programs.
David Clutterbuck, Ph.D.
Keynote Speaker, Co-‐founder of the European Council of Mentoring and Coaching
Professor David Clutterbuck is one of Europe’s most prolific and well-known management writers and thinkers. He has written nearly 50 books and hundreds of articles on cutting edge management themes. Co-founder of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council, David is perhaps best-known in recent years for his work on mentoring, on which he consults around the world. His 12 books on mentoring and coaching include the classic Everyone Needs a Mentor, as well as Learning Alliances, Mentoring in Action, Mentoring Executives and Directors, Techniques in Coaching and Mentoring, Making Coaching Work and Coaching Teams at Work. David has been responsible for the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of highly successful mentoring and coaching programs in numerous organizations around the world, including Standard Chartered Bank, Goldman Sachs, Lloyds TSB, World Bank and Nokia. He also researches, publishes and consults widely on Board Performance and behavior; and is currently investigating why succession planning so often doesn’t work. Listed as one of the top 25 most influential thinkers in the field of Human Resources in the HR Magazine sponsored survey, and described by The Sunday Independent as second in the list of top business coaches in the UK, David is an Honorary Vice President of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council. He is a visiting professor at both Sheffield Hallam University and Oxford Brookes University and is active in a charity he co-founded to develop new ways of using mentoring and coaching style approaches to support young people with learning or social disabilities.
Joseph Pacarelli, Ph.D. Plenary Session Special Speaker, International Mentoring Association
Dr. Pascarelli brings to this Conference knowledge, skills, experiences with research and development, and, most importantly, passion and a sense of urgency for building Mentoring programs across the world. He has designed, developed, implemented, and evaluated mentoring programs on local, regional, and on the international level—across the United States, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Chile, Guam, and parts of Micronesia. He is the former
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President of the International Mentoring Association, past chair of the Mentoring Special Interest group (American Education Research Association), and presenter at various professional development events. As co-editor of a series of publications—Global Perspectives on Mentoring, along with Dr. Frances Kochan (Auburn University), he has consulted, studied, and reported on a variety of Mentoring programs in various sectors, including education, human services, business, government, and industry. Dr. Pascarelli is Professor Emeritus of the University of Portland and has taught and consulted at the graduate level at the Universidad Anahuac Mayab (Merida, Mexico), Universidad Anahuac Aquascalientes (Aquascalientes, Mexico), Argosy University (Hawaii and Micronesia), and the University of Guam. Most recently, he is installing a global research agenda on Mentoring to ensure that the phenomenon is grounded in a formal research knowledge base.
Scott N. Taylor, Ph.D. Plenary Session Special Speaker, UNM Scott N. Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico, where he is also a Bill Daniels Business Ethics Fellow and an Anderson Foundation Fellow. Scott also serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Center for Social and Emotional Competence at the University of the Pacific. The primary focus of his research is leader assessment and development. As a result, his research has focused on competency development (especially emotional and social competence), leader self-awareness, management education, multisource feedback assessment, and sustainable individual change. His scholarly work has appeared in outlets such as the Academy of Management Learning & Education journal, Human Relations, the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, the Journal of Leadership Studies, and the Journal of Management Development. Scott is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Organizational Behavior Teaching Society. He has a B.A. in Spanish from Brigham Young University and received an MBA with concentrations in organizational behavior and human resource policy and a PhD in organizational behavior from Case Western Reserve University. Prior to joining the University of New Mexico, he was an assistant professor in the school of management at Boston University.
Laura G. Lunsford, Ph.D. Workshop Leader, University of Arizona Laura Gail Lunsford is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona South. Her research focuses on mentoring and talent development, educational equity and access, and program evaluation. She has presented and published on public organization leadership and mentoring, the role of identity development on mentoring, and evaluation of mentoring programs. Lunsford started a successful student-faculty mentoring program at NC State and consults with the mentoring program for the Arizona Assurance Scholars at the University of Arizona. The International Mentoring Association presented her the Dr. Hope Richards Award for Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation in 2009. The National Science Foundation sponsored Dr. Lunsford’s research in Australia on mentoring and senior scientists. Professor Lunsford teaches courses in organizational, social, and cognitive psychology. Her B.A. and Ph.D. are from North Carolina State University and her M.S. is from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
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Mary Irwin, Ph.D. Workshop Leader, University of Arizona Mary Irwin’s research focuses on the mentoring relationships between faculty/student affairs mentors and lowsocioeconomic, mostly first-generation students, in a university setting. She has conducted both qualitative and quantitative research on mentoring and has been on the Higher Education Research team at the University of Arizona since 2006. Mary has worked in Student Affairs at the University of Arizona for over ten years. Her BS degree and her PhD are both from the University of Arizona. She has worked in New Student Admissions, New Student Orientation, Enrollment Management Marketing, and currently is responsible for the First-Year Retention Programming and the Faculty Mentor Program. She is currently the President of the Arizona Chapter of ACPA (College Student Educators International) and is on the Executive Committee of the Commission on the Status of Women at the UA, and is co-chair of the mentoring workgroup.
Michael Shenkman, Ph.D. Plenary Session Special Speaker, Best Practice Resources, Inc. Michael H. Shenkman, Ph.D. (Philosophy, Boston College, 1977; BA, Dickinson College, 1968) began his professional advising career thirty years ago, first as a marketing consultant, then executive coach, and most recently as a professional mentor. To advance his mentoring practice, he has authored two books, The Arch and the Path: The Life of Leading Greatly, and Leader Mentoring: Find, Inspire and Cultivate Great Leaders. Shenkman has published scores of articles on leader mentoring and a monthly newsletter that has more than 1000 subscribers. Clients include Sandia National Laboratories, Covad Corporation, Intel and others. Boston Architecture College uses his curriculum in its Masters program. Shenkman founded New Directions Mentoring, Inc. (formerly Arch of Leadership), in order to develop, advance and practice professional mentoring as a distinctive and singular support service for those who seek lives in creative roles. Through its programs, he and his team of mentors have worked with more than 500 people in all fields of leadership as well as those aspiring to roles as artists, mystics and prophets. Shenkman founded New Directions Mentoring, Inc. (formerly Arch of Leadership), in order to develop, advance and practice professional mentoring as a distinctive and singular support service for those who seek lives in creative roles. Through its programs, he and his team of mentors have worked with more than 500 people in all fields of leadership as well as those aspiring to roles as artists, mystics and prophets. Graduates of the professional leader mentoring program have gone on to positions of higher responsibility, new executive roles, independent creative and leadership pursuits, increased community involvement.
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Pre-‐Conference Workshops Shenkman, M. The Arc of Leadership Creating Effective Mentoring Programs ABSTRACT Mentoring is approaching a threshold. While mentoring was once considered to be an informal process, now institutions are creating “mentoring programs.” These are engagements that provide a certain kind of support that is distinguished from other services. As such mentors are being asked to clarify their roles and to demonstrate a specific methodology that sets mentoring apart and provides outcomes that are defined, can be characterized as resulting from mentoring, and in some way be “measurable.” Shenkman summarizes his experience of creating a process of “professional” mentoring that has been judged sufficiently “effective,” so that it has been used by major corporations, the national laboratories and hundreds of individual clients. More than 50 people have been trained and certified as Arch of Leadership mentors, and several hundred mentees have graduated from the program. The session will focus on the key elements that go into creating and sustaining an effective program: (1) mentoring be defined clearly, such that it has processes and outcomes that distinguish it from other services; (2) careful selection of mentors and mentees has proven essential for success; (3) continual evaluation and improvement of the process, as well as attentive support for the mentors is critical. Shenkman also offers a detailed outline of how a mentoring process proceeds in this “professional” setting and sample materials used in the course of the program.
Being concerned about what makes for “effective programs” signals that as mentors we are reaching a threshold. Mentoring commonly considered to be at its optimum when a friend or elder one knows well provides advice of some kind or another; even now, when it comes to institutional deployments of “mentoring programs,” any kind of friendly assistance offered is considered mentoring. For instance, if professionals in an established, designated office such as Human Resources or Student Affairs, do not directly provide the service in question, the program is called “mentoring.” Everything from career advancing networking to remedial assistance is provided under this heading. These services are valuable, useful, even necessary, and may involve mentoring, particularly when the style of the helper is of that quality. So what is called mentoring is actually an umbrella name for a variety of services. But another development is occurring as well: mentoring is being classed among a continuum of services offered “professionally,” to people who are experiencing greater difficulties than simply a lack of knowledge or experience in a certain area. In these contexts, mentoring names a particular level, process and quality of service that intends to help people who are emotionally and existentially at an impasse in their lives, with regard to a chosen role. This is a sea change in how mentoring is deployed and in the expectations it encounters. And this is the idea of mentoring I want to discuss today. This drive to carve out a practice of supporting services called “mentoring,” that is distinct from coaching or career guidance or individual tutoring is rippling through the system. This is an exciting development, and one that offers an opportunity for providers of this quality of support to collaborate in order to consolidate a vision of this emerging “profession.” Professional Mentoring I know that all of you at this conference and in this room have given a great deal of thought to the question, “Just what is a mentoring program?” How is it different from what the career office or a professional coach or therapist offers people? I have been asked to offer my thoughts because a group of very capable and dedicated people and I have put in place a program that people pay for, that has been 18
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“successful,” and that works hard to distinguish itself as a mentoring program, and not as a coaching regimen or advisory process. The program is called, the Arch of Leadership, and we offer, exclusively, what we call “Professional Leader Mentoring.” By “professional,” we mean that we employ a defined process, a set curriculum, presented by people who are trained and certified in the process; and the process is tested, evaluated, updated and improved in a conscious and methodical manner. It also means we present our services as being able to meet criteria of effectiveness and impact – ones that are appropriate to mentoring and that we have defined in advance. We offer, that is, a “return on investment,” or ROI. A “professional mentor,” is a trained in order to meet these criteria, and is provided with a defined curriculum that guides the interactions in such a way that these expectations can be reasonably met. The trained mentors can use this defined process to work with people who present a vast array of personality types, constraining issues and value sets, even outside of their current professions or direct experiences. By providing training, with professional expectations, within a defined program, we can select people as mentors who grasp, exemplify and articulate aspirations, no matter what role is involved. While there is always the issue of a “good fit,” the “professionalizing” of the process greatly expands the range of the mentor’s effective connectedness and bonding with the mentee. By defining our criteria closely, we are able to set specific conditions that we have identified, in advance, as fostering promising outcomes. This includes factors that define proper institutional support (making the program a priority, and accepting the requirement of complete, 100% confidentiality are two of those factors). Then, knowing what it is we are trying to accomplish we can we select people as mentors who will most likely be able to deliver those results; and we select mentees who will be most amenable to the process and will make the most of it. All mentors receive continual support and session-by-session evaluations of their “cases.” Everyone, mentor, mentee, institution and Arch of Leadership supervision are deeply connected throughout the process. Thus, one could say, by virtue of this “professionalizing,” I have been involved in creating and offering an “effective” mentoring program. My team continually evaluates the program and improves it, and we continually work to keep our focus clear and our processes strictly devoted to our desired outcomes. By continually assuring the program’s robustness, and assuring ourselves and our clients of its effectiveness, the mentors are freed to concentrate all their spontaneous and situational attentions on the needs of the mentees. The Road to Effectiveness When I began my journey down this road, more than 15 years ago, I was doing work as a professional executive “coach,” as we were called. To my great good fortune, I was asked by a client of mine to develop a different approach of support to the company’s most promising young managers, men and women who were on the verge of stepping into senior executive positions. When I started to meet with these people I indeed found that there was a need for a different approach to their development as leaders than was offered either in MBA programs, corporate leadership training sessions or even in the executive coaching my organization provided. Their concerns were not how do I get things done, or even how do I motivate my department to get the best results; instead, they asked, “Why do people follow me?” One especially capable person even said, “Sometimes I feel like I am faking it.” It was clear to me that a different kind of one on one conversation was needed in order to give people the time, the listening and the commentary that would help them to answer these questions. In contrast to the work I did as a coach – fostering alignment with company goals, providing guidance on communications, helping people craft credible and effective missions and objectives – I called this work “mentoring.” I realized that while coaching helped people reach their career goals and helped people to organize and intensify the effectiveness of their skills, the conversations I had as a mentor were more qualitative, ranged over a wider field of a person’s life and experiences, and actually changed their sense
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of their involvement in the role of leading. Mentoring took on a life of its own, and now the concept is central to all the work I do. As for the effectiveness of the program I have created around this definition, There are now ten people, who graduated from the program and who were trained as mentors, licensing the leader mentoring curriculum I developed and using it in the context of their own support practices. We have mentored more than 500 people in several different settings. Corporations and organizations paid up to $6000 for the program and kept coming back for more! Keys to Effective Mentoring Program, as We Have Found Them There are four keys that we have found that make for an effective program – a program that generates outcomes that are transformative and energizing for our clients: 1. Defining Mentoring. 2. Selecting and Training Mentors (including having a core “curriculum”). 3. Selecting appropriate mentees – people who are ready, able and willing to be affected by this process. 4. Continual processes of evaluation, support and improvement. 1. WHAT IS MENTORING? I have arrived at this definition of mentoring: A conversational process in which layperson meets someone who is experiencing a moment of significant transition in the fulfilling of a chosen role. The mentor offers a moment of creative respite, offers listening of active attuning, and then undertakes an intervention process that is directed specifically at affirming the mentee’s aspiration to do the work demanded of that his or her chosen role. The mentoring process inspires new self-awareness in the mentee and brings these to sharpened expression, forming connections between the mentee’s aspiration and his or her specific values, experiences and capabilities; mentoring then concludes by providing the mentee with an outlook that integrates a lasting, stance, framework and life path directed toward doing the work mandated by the mentee’s chosen role. Of course, all the great supporting services, from guidance counseling to coaching to therapy help people to live better. Their aspirations are always a part of this. If a person does not aspire, the therapist knows something is wrong, and the coach knows there is little to do. But mentoring as we do it, cuts right to the chase, cuts right to our clients’ attitudes about life, to the anticipations that person has that either supports or impedes their next steps, to the accountability they are willing to take up for what they do or do not accomplish, and finally for the level of acceptance they embrace about who they are, what they offer and what others will experience of them. Focus not on skills or personality traits or even the “weaknesses” that incite fears or senses of inadequacy. We concentrate on the stories they tell about their lives, and we work to link those stories to those aspirations so that they get a sense of how their whole lives flow into these next steps they are about to take, and how competent and worthy they are and will be in those situations. An example of how this definition is applied in settings where creative aspirations are most stringent, in the cases of leaders, artists, prophets and mystics, see my paper from this conference, “Mentoring Creative Aspirations.” 2. SELECTING MENTORS. All mentoring comes down to the face-to-face conversations that transpire between a mentor and a mentee. A program will be effective if this conversation provides the mentee with a trusting and safe environment in which to deal with the issues that prevent her from living fully in her aspirations. The mentor thus has to be a person who grasps what such a life entails and actively engages in a life that is so directed. We provide our mentors with a curriculum devoted to the life of leading in order to assure that the conversation stays on point with regard to this role. This provides a measure of assurance that the process will have integrity and continuity.
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Our mentors go through a closely supervised “internship,” in which they learn what our program intends to accomplish by the mentor and mentee with a clear understanding of the role of leader. The internship is provided by mentors being paired with a single mentee, in the context of our community program, which has the “aura” of being more of a voluntary and “amateur” setting. Each case is supervised and reviewed by an experienced Arch of Leadership mentor. When a mentor has had several single experiences, he or she may be certified to work in our paid, professional client engagements. The full description of characteristics of the people we select and the training they undergo is provided in my book, Leader Mentoring: Find, Inspire and Cultivate Great Leaders. Properly selecting and training mentors sets the tone for the whole program. Mentors and mentees alike engage the material in a spirit of professionalism and with the expectation of mutual responsibility. Mentors, chosen for their appreciation and embodiment of aspiration, are free to bring in all of their experiences, from all parts of their lives precisely because the training and curriculum provides them with the proper objectives in each conversation. The participants are also free to challenge each other because the parameters of the engagement are set and known in advance; challenges that are out of bounds are identified and corrected quickly; slipping into conversations that mentoring does not cover (conversations that require a psychologist or a coach) is minimized; lapsing into trivialities, homilies and palliative conventions is cut off quickly. The conversation is personal, challenging, on track and pointed to articulate the aspirations for leading – period. The effectiveness of this training in the case of the Arch of Leadership can be measured by the fact that mentors have volunteered for our program, and stay with it for five years or more; ten mentors who have gone through the training and internship are now certified for paid client work. Many lifelong relationships and a vibrant community of participants has also taken shape wherever the program is offered. 3. SCREENING MENTEE CANDIDATES. We screen candidates in order to assure that this is “right time” for them to engage in our program. Our failures are never ones based on the fact that our materials don’t work; they always stem from the fact that people are not asking questions about how to fulfill their aspirations. They are concerned with career issues, or making more money, or being happy. Those are all legitimate concerns in a person’s life, but they are not ones we can deal with in our program. We screen for these characteristics: the person has experienced leading and the challenges it poses to one’s sense of self; the person is actively engaged in a self-examination process; the person is capable of learning and is amenable to a critical process that offers an affirming, but hard won, new outlook. 4. CONTINUAL EVALUATION. Each “case” is discussed in detail before and after each session. The mentors share ideas and insights they have had with regard to the kinds of difficulties and resistances the mentor is likely to encounter. If the curriculum as it is written seems to be insufficient on some level, for some person, we suggest different avenues to be explored, and we also evaluate whether or not this innovation needs to be incorporated in the curriculum for the long term. Other Factors There are other factors as well, that may or may not fit your situation: We offer strict, 100% confidentiality, even from a hiring employer. The program has a prescribed length with defined intervals, identifiable milestones and certain end. Program dates and activities set in advance, and adhered to. We model how building on something as uncertain as one’s aspirations demands adhering to a structure of some kind. The program goes through stages, all of which have to be accomplished: see the attached table on the internal content and sequence of the program. Combines strict curriculum with freedom of conversation. We have set texts that we use, and a “workbook” that provides a “spine” of certain topics that are covered and discussed during the course of the program. See the attached outline of the mentoring process. 21
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Our leader work also offers a mix of group and individual work. Various learning motifs and styles are appealed to: listening, reading, writing, presenting. People learn and express themselves in different ways. We try to validate for them their own learning and expressing strengths. I hope this outline is helpful. Again, the most important step in the process is defining the program’s purpose. Why is it a mentoring program, and how will its outcomes be distinctively those that mentoring offers? The clearer we can become on these question, the better mentoring “professionals” we will become. And the better we are as mentors, the better we will serve those spirits that are aspiring to accomplish something “great” in their lives.
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Mentoring Institute
Mentoring Process: Leader Role Example Session/Phase Objective
Actions
I. Characterizing Temperament May extend over two meetings or more
Testing for: Attitude: Resilience and desire; firmness and commitment to the role. Sincerity in the process; realistic about effort and prospect for outcomes. Proper orientation, expectations toward mentoring (vs coaching, therapy) Establishing Trust Celebrating Aspiration Comprehension of aspirational “situation,” role, context, history. What learning processes are in place to match aspirations? State of Self-awareness Amenable to “figuration” or role as leader, artist, prophet, mystic Orientations: E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P
II. Identify Wedge-Tension/Block Sift through deflection and concealment to find what they are hiding.
Constrained by… block, career setbacks, confusion, cloudy outlook, etc. Calibrate : proclivity, urge, energy toward “breakout.” Calibrate strength, resistance, openness to intervention Learn modes of resistance, hiding, avoidance Key metaphors, shaping incidents Anticipations: situations, responses, outcomes Gauge appropriateness of “mindset” image and role components
III. Transfer/Translate to figuration Find and solidify the creative role this person uses to act on aspirations.
Example: Leader Mentoring* Use of Keirsey Sorter; Ch 1 Workbook**
ID key transforming task: key element that has to be attained, earned, learning directed toward for breakthrough to take place. Start to build vocabulary around appropriate icon/ethic forms. Clarify role parameters and the mentee’s “fit,” (conscious or unconscious) Calibrate “stretch”: how far to go; how capable of attaining it. Accountability: What will this person stand for against resistance and failure.
IV. Formulate personal process for transformation
Read attitude body language, challenge when doubtful Mentor shares stories Self-assessment as leader
Gauge eye contact
Workbook. Ch. 2 Self-admitted barriers: self or others (be wary of Blame) Find feasible intervention entry point and envision full project plan. Revisit “ mentoring” project parameters. Assign reading, writing exercises. Start to note repeated stories. (Match to role icon: e.g., Leader: “Arch”) Self-trust: Workbook Ch. 3; possible several sessions on this. Decide if “leader” is appropriate role, or some other, or some mix of the roles. Leader Brand: Workbook. Ch 5 Determine the strength available to delve into roles – including intellectual capacity, life situation, tolerance for risk. Workbook. Ch 4: stories.
Identify key intervention project that now begins and continues beyond the period of mentoring Give it a name, goals, self-forming process. Link it tightly with aspirational configuration (identified in step I) ID transformational signposts, benchmarks and milestones.
Possibly move to Arch 2, Vision and Organization, for advanced mentees.*** Not “projects” at work, but self-forming program.
ID terms of Acceptance: the person’s stories that gravitate toward a role/task.
V. Consolidate Stories Anthology of aspirational incidents, responses, learnings
ID triumphs so far
Review, improve, sharpen, deepen stories begun in Ch. 4
ID affirming feelings and self-crystallizing signals (AH-HAH moments) ID next steps and a post-mentoring work plan.
VI. Celebrate A speech, a declaration of commitment, a commenced project
Leader Brand Speech
. * The Leader Mentoring program, called “Arch of Leadership” comprises three “arches” that cover three “stages” of a leader’s development. Outlined here is only what is covered in the program that concentrates on Arch One: The arch of “Effectiveness.” ** The Leader Mentoring Curriculum features a dedicated text that outlines the process and a “workbook” that guides each component of the process. *** There are occasions when a mentee is ready to consider Arch Two issues. These are covered in the text and a chapter in the workbook is provided so mentors can begin to consider these issues.
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Lunsford, L. & Irwin, M. University of Arizona Mentoring Best Practices in Academic Settings ABSTRACT Mentoring programs have proliferated on college campuses with goals for student retention and to develop their research/academic interests. These programs involve a variety of mentors and mentoring techniques. There are peer mentoring programs, faculty-student mentoring programs, and group mentoring activities. Mentoring programs come in many forms but there are common elements to all successful programs. These elements involve recruiting the right mentors, giving attention to the best way to match mentors with mentees, providing ideas of successful mentor/mentee activities to achieve program goals, and monitoring the relationships for early interventions and to assess successful outcomes.
This workshop will equip you with the resources, framework and skills to start a successful faculty/student mentoring program at your college or university AND to learn the best practices so you can participate successfully in mentoring relationships. You will be provided with sample handouts, training materials, recruiting materials. The workshop will be useful for novices and experienced practitioners and for those interested in establishing great mentoring relationships. Drs. Irwin and Lunsford have over two decades of experience in starting and administering successful mentoring programs for at-risk and for talented undergraduates. They have studied mentoring, and have also served as mentors. At the conclusion of the workshop you will be able to: • • • • • • • • •
Define the scope, objectives and outcomes for your mentoring experience or program Develop realistic expectations for being a mentor and recruiting mentors Through an effective mentor recruiting program By knowing who to recruit and via what methods By communicating time commitments and suggested activities Create a training program for the mentors Determine the mentor/mentee matching criteria Generate the best activities for your mentoring relationship and suggest meeting ideas and guidelines for mentors/mentees Decide how to evaluate the success of your mentoring relationship and how to monitor mentor/mentee meetings and relationships
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Keynote Address Clutterbuck, D. European Council of Mentoring and Coaching Emerging Themes in Mentoring ABSTRACT Mentoring has evolved a great deal since formal programs began in the early 1980s. Early on in the evolution of formal mentoring the US and Europe went different directions, with the US emphasizing sponsorship and relatively directive behaviors and Europe emphasizing non-directive developmental behaviors. Increasingly these two models are being mixed and matched in novel ways. Based on his experiences as an international ambassador for mentoring, David will explore a variety of themes, including: multimedia mentoring, reverse mentoring, mentoring supervision, the role of goals in mentoring (SMART goals aren’t particularly helpful!), mentor and mentee competencies, developing the role and authority of the mentoring program manager, and integrating coaching and mentoring. He will illustrate these themes with practical examples of mentoring programs from around the world and draw upon recent and current research into what makes mentoring work (or not) in different environments.
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Concurrent Presentations Concha, A. University of New Mexico – University Honors Program Teaching for Undergrads ABSTRACT This manuscript explores student senior teaching within the University Honors Program. I conducted a semester long qualitative study exploring the mentoring relationships that develop between honors seniors and professors. I analyzed my data, which consisted of interviews, participant observations, and textual analysis, through the lens of Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT). Through this lens I observed the many ways in which both the senior teacher and master teacher accommodate or counter accommodate verbally and nonverbally throughout the co-teaching process. I discovered several new and re-discovered many familiar qualities and mentorship dynamics that make this a unique and rewarding experience for both the students and professors involved. As an undergraduate senior currently completing this unique co-teaching process this research study enabled me to step back and breakdown my experiences as well as learn from other students and professors.
Imagine a place where college is filled with classes that sound like movie titles, and the course descriptions read as though they are mysteries to be solved or action adventures to be lived. At the University of New Mexico that place is called the University Honors Program (UHP). However, once you reach your senior year the UHP experience starts to resemble a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure Novel,’ and one of the last plot choices you make is whether you want to write a thesis, complete a colloquium, or teach a class. As the title may have already revealed, I’ll be examining the third option – senior teaching. The undergraduate seniors that opt to teach approach a professor within the program around two years before they begin the actual senior teaching process. Once co-teaching pairs have been established the preparation begins. Teaching is obviously a tremendous undertaking for any undergraduate student, but, never fear, help is provided. A master teacher, a faculty member or lecturer that the honors senior has previously taken a course with, co-teaches and guides them through the process. In this manuscript, I will describe this coteaching experience using the lens of Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT); through this lens we will work through the many ways that both the senior teacher and master teacher accommodate or counter-accommodate throughout the co-teaching process. I address the following research questions: RQ1 How do senior teachers accommodate and counter-accommodate in their relationship with their master teachers? RQ2 How do master teachers accommodate and counter-accommodate in their relationship with their senior teachers? RQ3 What benefits and skills does this unique student-professor relationship offer the student? I have found that the undergraduate seniors work to accept their leadership role, and take the coteaching seriously. Professors contribute to the equality of the pair by truly encouraging the students to take on a true teaching role. The UHP supervised undergraduate teaching provides seniors with creative collaboration skills, the confidence to take academic risks, and challenge boundaries. I’ll first discuss previous research and conclusions made with CAT, my own methods of research, and my results, followed by my conclusions.
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Literature Review Since it the development of Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) in the early 1970s, research exploring the motivation behind accommodation, and the consequences of accommodative behavior are observed in a variety of contexts and communication encounters. Specifically between mentors and mentees on the graduate and doctoral levels (e.g., Garret & Williams, 2005; Callahan, 2006; Giles & McCann, 2006; Giles et al., 2008; Mazer & Hunt, 2008; Willemyns et al., 2004). This research has taken place on both on a micro, or interpersonal, level (e.g., Wrench & Punyanunt, 2004; Willemyns et al., 2004) and a macro inter-group level (e.g., Garret & Williams, 2005; Callahan, 2006; Giles, 2008). This research can be especially useful to individuals and large groups, because it provides 1) helpful insight on how to interpret and understand motivations behind accommodative and counteraccommodative behaviors, 2) suggestions for behaviors that may be more effective in accomplishing specific communication goals, 3) why certain behaviors can create distance and inhibit positive and effective communication, and finally 4) the ways in which accommodative and counter-accommodative behavior results in positive and negative effects interchangeably depending on the communicationrelationship context. There is a substantial amount of research that addresses these objectives in a variety of contexts, and it has given me helpful insight into how to ask questions about accommodation in context of senior teaching. To organize this diverse research I’ve separated the conclusions of previous CAT-based research into two major groups, conclusions surrounding accommodative communication (convergence and divergence), and counter-accommodative behavior. Convergence and divergence can be further divided into downward and upward convergence or divergence, and the consequences of these downward or upward communication choices can be viewed as positive, neutral, or negative. Upward convergence, for this paper will be defined as working ‘up’ the power gradient, i.e. ‘up’ in sophistication, education, authority, or status, and downward is the natural opposite of that. Let’s work through some examples of different communicative behavior choices and their consequences. In 2008, Giles, Myers, Nabi, and Reid found in their law enforcement research, that officers were perceived more positively overall when they accommodated downward to more colloquial communication patterns to match those of the civilians they were interacting with-an example of positive downward convergence. Mazer & Hunt came to similar conclusions in their research on professor downward convergence (2008). Callahan found in 2006 that countera-ccommodative communication could be perceived as neither positive nor negative in her research surrounding language choice. A perfect example is a situation that I and many Americans (especially people from the southern states), are very familiar with – a young Hispanic bilingual individual responds to an older family member in English instead of converging and speaking Spanish with the older family member or vice versa. In my experience I have found this to be common not just with Spanish and English, but with almost any other language paired with English. Callahan’s research supported the fact that this counter-accommodation was not seen as either positive or negative but neutral (2006). On the other hand my next example, which involves upward divergence, results in negative perceptions and dissatisfaction with an interaction, specifically when individuals use divergence to create distance between themselves and the person they are interacting with (e.g., Giles et al., 2008; Wrench & Punyanunt, 2004; Willemyns et al., 2004). This research not only gave me a foundation, but inspired countless questions about student-professor interactions. For example: Why did my professor use the term ‘sweet’ to describe my classmate’s comment on our class texts? Was it to build a comfortable, casual, and inviting learning environment for us, the students, and encourage us to let our ideas flow more freely; was it to make us feel less intimidated by his detailed knowledge of the subject matter? Is the use of jargon more appropriate in hard science courses instead of more artistic and creative soft science and humanities courses? Did the professor use complex and technical jargon to emphasize the power distance between students and professor, or was it simply to demonstrate that he’s knowledgeable about the topic of discussion? These are all questions that I’ve asked as I’ve observed and interviewed members of my research community; questions that I’ve been asking of myself as I go through the process of preparing for my teaching semester. I’ve come to 27
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some interesting conclusions about common trends in accommodative behavior and counteraccommodative behavior on both sides of the co-teaching relationship, and the roles those behaviors play in the senior teaching experience. Method To gather my data for this study I conducted one interview, three participant observations, and two textual analyses. All of which directly involved students or teachers that were or previously had been a part of the senior teaching process. Interview I interviewed another student senior teacher, Vanessa Mills. She is a 21-year-old senior in the honors program who has already completed her preparation and teaching semester. We met in another class and happened to find out that we were both in the honors program and participating in senior teaching. I felt that I would able to conduct a really informative and helpful interview with her for the following reasons: a) she has already completed the entire senior teaching process, b) she is a very articulate and approachable person, and c) I was confident that we would be able to relate to one another very well because of our similar age and background and as a result I could potentially coax a lot of communication and experience-rich data from her. My main focus was to discover the ways in which Vanessa and her master teacher Dr. Ivonne Phillips converged or diverged in their communicative behavior, and how that affected their co-teaching and mentor-mentee relationship. Following our interview Vanessa and I frequently discussed her experiences as a senior teacher either in passing or when I looked to her for advice regarding my own senior teaching experience. Participant Observation The first of my participant observations was a classroom observation, in which a student teacher and senior teacher co-taught an honors class together. My decision to observe this particular class was based on the fact that I would have the opportunity to observe the ways that the co-teachers interact not only with one another, but with the students of the class, as well. In addition, I was actually one of the students enrolled in the course, which allowed me the opportunity to observe the interactions between the senior teacher, Sarah Williams 21 years old, and master teacher, Dr. Joan McDaniel, over the course of the semester and during our ten-day-long field study to South America in addition to my detailed observation. My formal observation took place on March 3rd during the fifth week of classes. My second participant observation took place during a workshop meant for all of the seniors currently teaching and prepping to teach, of which ten were teaching and eight were prepping. Our ages ranged from early to mid twenties. I filled the role of ‘participant-as-observer’ at the bi-annual University Honors Program Senior Teaching Workshop on March 25th, 2011, as I was already expected to attend as a senior teacher in the eighth week of preparation for my own class. The main goal of this workshop every semester is to give seniors the resources and advice needed to teach a class successfully, and also offer a forum for seniors both in the preparation process and teaching process to discuss their concerns, questions, and success together in an open and ‘professor-free’ environment. I paid very close attention to the ways in which both the master teachers and senior teachers present described their ideal teaching experience, and whether or not that included specific accommodative or counter-accommodative behavior. The workshop lasted about four hours, the first half of which the seniors were paired with their master teachers and the pairs were separated based on whether or not they were teaching or prepping, and after lunch all of the seniors were sent into a classroom without master teachers. The last of my participant observations took place at an event titled ‘Preview Night’ where all 200, 300, and 400 level honors courses are ‘previewed’ to the entire honors student body, which amounts to roughly a thousand students. For this observation I took on the role of ‘complete participant’, as the host for the class preview night. I observed the way that each co-teaching pair presented their course (after about ten weeks of preparation), and paid particular attention to ways each senior teacher and master 28
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teacher communicated (or didn’t) their role as co-teacher through both direct verbal and nonverbal communication, specifically the ways in which their communicative behaviors converged or diverged. Textual Analysis Finally I completed two separate textual analyses of texts that are produced by the University Honors Program for the student community. The first was the senior teacher resource packet, and the second was the Fall 2012 course catalogue. Both contained very telling information about the expectations that had been established for co-taught courses and the ways in which co-teachers are expected to interact with one another. I gathered information about both general expectations and more specific expectations about how and who should accommodate and when. My personal involvement as a student teacher prepping to teach a course added an extra level to my analysis of the resource packet, simply because I was looking to the resource packet for guidance as my own preparation and co-teaching concerns arose. Results My site has provided me two nicely outlined categories to work with: preparation and teaching, which I have broken down further into positive and negative instances of accommodation, and counteraccommodation. For the purposes of this paper I am going to define preparation as all the work the coteaching pairs put into the class outside of the actual classroom. For example, I meet with my master teacher, Dr. Lee Frost, at least once a week for about two hours to discuss the readings we want to assign, weekly plans, activities, assignments, and grading, etc. Despite the fact that senior teachers are only required to meet with their master teachers one hour a week, in almost every case they spend about two or three hours a week preparing with their master teacher. Once the teaching semester starts, we are still required to meet for an hour weekly (usually the hour right before class time if schedules permit), to continue to design and shape the course. Often times, as it is simply the nature of UHP courses, courses and or assignments need to be completely redirected to better fit the needs of the students. Dr. Frost has warned me frequently not to get too attached to our plans, simply because we’ll probably end up breaking them. Our course is a design based course so the pace and direction of the course depends entirely on the progress and needs of our students. “… [It’s] Like a Fulltime Job”: Preparation Sarah Williams explained to me recently that teaching for her took up about as much time as at least a part time job, which she certainly didn’t expect, but despite the time commitment and difficulties associated with teaching she says that she doesn’t regret it. “Everything is a learning experience,” she said with a shrug. Every semester when students are starting to think about if and when they want to teach, the honors program staff and faculty pop the happy little bubbles that honors sophomores and juniors have been living in, where teaching is a breeze and all it can possibly be is laidback fun. Fun? Yes; A breeze? Definitely not. We find very quickly that senior teaching is just as much work if not more than the other senior options. Despite the work, the experience is worth it. Positive accommodative/counter-accommodative outcomes In every aspect of my research I found several examples of positive accommodation, both subtle and direct. In my interview with Vanessa Mills, I found that although it took some time, she downwardly converged to Dr. Phillips’, her master teacher, less rigid class structuring and planning. I love [said with an emphasis on ‘love’] my master teacher, I took her for two courses, and she was actually the one that suggested that I master teach for my senior option… and umm. Going into I was a little unsure, because I didn’t know how our personalities would mesh. She … she is a little bit opposite of me. She’s very laid back, she’s really funny, and just really easy going, which is one of the things that I think her students respond well to. Umm and I’m very focused and I tend to be a little anal retentive, and I get … I just stress out and worry about every little thing. And that was one of the things that I took away most from our relationship, was this
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ability to pull back and go with the flow, and understand that things won’t always go as you have planned, but that’s kind of okay (V. Mills, personal communication, April 1, 2011).
Wrench and Punyanunt (2004) present in their research the important role that advisees’ positive perceptions of their advisors plays in the success of the relationship, in other words the positive, effective, and timely progress the pair makes in meeting their objective. This example of downward convergence resulting in positive relational outcomes aligns with similar results found in research conclusions based in contexts such as law enforcement interactions and classroom interactions (Giles et al, 2008; Mazer & Hunt, 2008). The Senior Teaching Resource Packet offered several other examples of downward convergence, for example Dr. Price wrote: “Professors reveal that they are learners, writers, and thinkers. Honors faculty find ways to reveal to students that they are continually learning […], that they struggle with the process of learning and research just as students do, and they need students […]. This helps students to see their professor as a partner in learning and as a lifelong learner” (UHP p. 4, n.d.).
This passage very clearly illustrates the ways in which the program as a whole and the individual professors often try to shorten the gap between themselves and their students, especially their senior teachers. These efforts are essential for senior teachers to have the confidence to contribute equally alongside impressively qualified professors. I personally, depend very much on Dr. Frost’s constant ‘equalization of the playing field’ to feel comfortable enough to contribute my ideas and suggestions to our class. The fact that I even feel a sincere ownership of the phrase ‘our class’ is largely due to the ways that Dr. Frost emphasizes his need for help along with my right to contribute. Downward convergence however hasn’t been the only type of accommodation to result in positive outcomes. As is very often the case with communication-based research, outcomes depend heavily on context. During the workshop observation, one of the senior teachers explained how at times she was comforted by the status difference between herself and her master teacher. Her master teacher, Dr. Rosa Fredrickson, had demonstrated how extensive her knowledge was, not only for the content of their class, but other topics and subjects that were hardly related to her ‘official’ area of expertise. Because of her well-rounded and extensive knowledge, Dr. Fredrickson’s senior teachers felt that they could look to her for guidance on a wide variety of topics both within and outside of the classroom. I know that I personally look to Dr. Frost frequently for advise not only about the content and goals of our class, but casual unrelated topics (i.e. How do you like raising your own chickens?) and even bigger life decisions (i.e. how did you find a graduate school that fit you?). Positive outcomes in upward divergence, or counteraccommodation, have been found in previous studies, especially in mentor-mentee/advisor-advisee relationships where the goal behind the relationship is to have the mentee or advisee learn from their mentor or advisor (Willemyns, Gallois, & Callan, 2004). Students expected that there will be a significant difference between themselves and their professors in experience and knowledge. Negative accommodative/counter-accommodative outcomes Now I’ll take the opportunity to present some instances of accommodation and counteraccommodation that have had negative outcomes. The honors program as an organization recognizes, almost preemptively, that co-teaching can be difficult on the co-teachers involved, especially for the senior teachers who are often not familiar with the stresses of teaching. The resource packet is laden with tips and passages on how to manage tensions: Respect and the capacity to make ego concessions are necessary on both sides. […] This ‘working out’ process is never completed. […] both teachers need to keep in mind that the growth and well-being of the students are fundamental […] Teachers need to be flexible and have the ability to give up on personal agendas in the interest of the students […] The Senior Teaching position is an apprenticeship position, a learning opportunity. This means that there is an inherent political difference between the Senior and Master Teachers and that Senior
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Teachers must defer ultimate decision making power to the Master Teacher. The Master Teacher, however, should look at working with a Senior Teacher as an opportunity to work on humility and the need to control. (UHP p. 5, n.d.)
In their research regarding law enforcement encounters Giles et al. found that authority figures in an unpleasant encounter (i.e. issuing citations) were viewed as “less competent” and “less socially attractive” than officers that were accommodative (2008). In the teaching preparation context of this particular study, senior teachers are forewarned to be aware of and prepared to address problematic instances of counteraccommodative master teachers. Master teachers are also required to participate in workshops and training to help them avoid extreme or unnecessary counter-accommodative behavior. I personally haven’t had any problems arise in my preparation experience, and from the informal interactions that I’ve had with several other senior teachers currently prepping only a few have voiced minor concerns. Dr. Teresa Duncan rather than downwardly converge to her senior teacher, Sophia Bradley’s, level of experience and knowledge she had her prepare and teach one of her large lecture classes outside of the honors program. Sophia recalled the experience and said, “Apparently Teresa doesn’t believe in free time,” while shaking her head with a slight smile on her face. Despite the fact that Sophia confessed to the fact that it the experience was an overwhelming amount of work, she also said that she didn’t regret it and that she learned a lot, not just about the content of the course, but about herself as well. There are certainly instances of counter-accommodative, and possibly overaccommodative (examples explained in Garret & Williams, 2005; Giles & McCann, 2006; Mazer & Hunt, 2008), that can lead to negative or undesirable outcomes, however, the program has a system in place to provide both senior teachers and master teachers resources that are needed to overcome issues of disagreement and miscommunication. My opinion is that the more severe issues are completely avoided because the senior teachers and master teachers choose one another. So theoretically, senior teachers and master teachers should only be working with partners that they feel they would collaborate well with, and that they want to work well will. Teaching Positive accommodative/counter-accommodative outcomes My first participant observation offered another example of positive accommodation, however this time during the teaching semester. Master teacher, Dr. McDaniel, was downwardly converging to the senior teacher, Sarah Williams. In class we were discussing different types of music and Dr. McDaniel commented on the more contemporary popular Latin American music that Sarah had brought in by saying that she loved listening to music like ‘Daddy Yankee’ and that she especially enjoyed stations like “One Oh One Point Three, Laaa Calleeee”[she drew out the syllables of the radio station name as she said them], I’m not quite sure if she meant it to be humorous, but the class burst into laughter. Her enthusiasm about the music and the radio station, seemed sincere – her voice got lighter and she claimed that this music and that particular radio station helped her de-stress and forget about the horrible things happening in the world. Her reference to current popular music not only lightened the tone of the overall class, but established similarities that united Sarah and Dr. McDaniel However as a more teaching front, especially because Dr. McDaniel enthusiastically accepted and praised a contribution made entirely by Sarah. In their research Mazer & Hunt’s found that similar downward convergence in professor figures can result in mixed student responses, however they did have some results that were similar positive outcomes: “In essence, the participants perceived the teacher’s use of positive slang as a method of incorporating unique informal communication in the classroom. Participants also indicated that the confederate’s use of positive slang improved his delivery of the course material” (p. 24, 2008). There were also instances of positive upward divergence, if even in an effort to be humorous. To catch the attention of students during preview night Dr. Richardson and his senior teacher Emily Johnson acted out a skit where Emily took on the role of karate apprentice/‘grasshopper’ and Dr. Richardson took on the role of ‘Karate Master’. They were previewing their study abroad course based in China, and although Emily was clearly in an
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apprentice role, Dr. Richardson looked to her to give detailed information on the trip and the experience as a whole. She had gone on the trip the previous year, and Dr. Richardson demonstrated that he clearly wanted her to share her experiences by physically moving away from center stage, motioning for her take the microphone, in addition to directly introducing her. In that 3 minute demonstration that pair demonstrated both upward divergence of the master teacher, as well as upward convergence of the senior teacher. Preview night overall is a venue for senior teachers and master teachers to present the teaching team that they will be for the semester. My presentation with Dr. Frost I felt was very telling of our style. He quite literally said a total of about 8 words, beginning with “Hi, I’m Lee”, after which he practically threw the microphone at me to describe our class and announce some class related events, and he closed by saying “Bye, contact me with questions”. Negative accommodative/counter-accommodative outcomes After completing my observations and research it became abundantly clear to me that the teaching semester is much more stressful and generally more eventful, which leads to more negative outcomes. I got the most insight into the senior teacher master teacher dynamics when I observed the seniors currently teaching at the senior teacher workshop. One student, Alexa Johnson claimed that it had taken the full eight weeks up until the workshop to work out what her master teacher, Dr. Jana Coulston, expected of her. She shook her head as she said, “I can’t read her mind, I just don’t know what she wants me to do, but whatever it is I’m not doing it”(A. Johnson, personal communication, March 25, 2011). Alexa went on to explain that Dr. Coulston was a ‘big personality’ and was very difficult to work with, and that she as a senior teacher had to really be aggressive and “stand her ground”. She kept on advising us, the prepping students, to make sure that we made sure we contribute our input to the course as well as in class. She explained that Dr. Coulston would assume a controlling role, and often wouldn’t let her talk during class. This then struck up a very engaging discussion amongst all of the teaching seniors. They all spoke up about how some master teachers would let senior teachers take over the whole class gladly, offering guidance and knowledge here and there, while others like Dr. Coulston were less willing to relinquish control. I wasn’t able to witness her behavior, but from Alexa’s description Dr. Coulston lecture and lead discussion, asking questions of the students without offering Alexa an entrance or giving her lecture time. Alexa, explained that there was some tension up until that point, but that she and Dr. Coulston had hopefully worked out the miscommunication. Wrench & Punyanunt found in their research that overbearing advisors, that upwardly diverge with negative outcomes, inhibit the progress of the advisee. In the case of Alexa and Dr. Coulston, Alexa was attempting to upwardly converge as a response to Dr. Coulstons upward divergence; Alexa did so by directly addressing the issue and requesting that it be resolved. The honors program included in their resource packet a passage to identify specifically a situation in which the senior teacher hasn’t gotten past an issue, where as the master teacher believes it to be resolved: “The Senior Teacher confronts issues that are, for the Master Teacher, settled. This is often difficult for the Master teacher to keep in mind. There is a definite benefit, however, in revisiting ‘settled’ issues and exploring alternatives” (UHP, p.5, n.d.). This text suggests that it is a common issue, and it almost invites students to readdress issues that master teachers may not feel need to be addressed. This text downwardly converges master teachers, and encourages senior teachers to upwardly converge and address issues of conflict on a peer level, professionally and constructively. Conclusion As demonstrated by all of the data that I have presented there are many ways in which both senior teachers and master teachers can accommodate and counter-accommodate. This accommodative behavior can be perceived as either positive or negative, or both positive and negative simultaneously. We’ve also discovered that there are many examples and demonstrations of accommodative behavior, both upward and downward convergence. In general, negative counter-accommodative behavior results from miscommunication and or unclear expectations regarding the senior teacher and master teacher roles. This experience is especially unique for seniors, as it offers them an opportunity to develop a mentor-mentee 32
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relationship that challenges conventional undergraduate student-professor relationships. In many ways accommodation, or convergence, closes the power gap between the senior teacher and the master teacher, with the exception of divergence most often on the part of the master teacher. However, this divergence is most often not viewed as a negative outcome. Even with the issues that arise, the honors program itself has support resources in place to help both the senior teacher and master teacher work through the issues constructively. The positive outcomes generally lead to increased confidence in the senior teachers, not only to challenge and inspire new creative and critical thought, but to simply interact on a more equal level with individuals that have more experience and or knowledge about a topic. This unique relationship sets a foundation for seniors to begin challenging academic boundaries (e.g. teaching a large lecture class, altering/creating curriculum, etc.), and offers them a support-filled environment to learn how to effectively collaborate with peers as well as individuals of higher authority or power. REFERENCES Callahan, L. (2006). English or Spanish?! Language accommodation in New York City service encounters. Intercultural Pragmatics, 3(1), 29-53. Garret, P. & Williams, A. (2005). “Adults’ perceptions of communication with young people”. In Thurlow, C. & Williams, A. (Eds.), Talking Adolescence (pp. 35-49) New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing. Giles, H. (2008). Accommodating Translational Research. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 36(2), 121127 Giles, H. & McCann, R. (2006). Communication With People of Different Ages in the Workplace: Thai and American Data. Human Communication Research 32(1). 74-108. Giles, H., Myers, P., Nabi, R., & Reid, S. (2008). Law Enforcement Encounters: The Effects of Officer Accommodativeness and Crime Severity on Interpersonal Attributions are Mediated by Intergroup Sensitivity. Communication Studies 59(4). 291-305. Mazer, J. P., & Hunt, S. K. (2008). “Cool” Communication in the Classroom: A Preliminary Examination of Student Perceptions of Instructor Use of Positive Slang. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 9(1), 20-28. University Honors Program. (n.d.). Senior Teaching: Teaching Resources Packet. Albuquerque, NM: University Honors Program Printing Office. Wrench, J. S., & Punyanunt, N. M. (2004). Advisee-Advisor Communication: An Exploratory Study Examining Interpersonal Communication Variables in the Graduate Advisee Advisor Relationship. Communication Quarterly, 52(3), 224-236. Willemyns, M., Gallois, C., & Callan, V. (2004). An interpretive analysis of postgraduate student - advisor conversations: An intergroup approach. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association.
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Shenkman, M. H. Arch of Leadership: Professional Leader Mentoring Mentoring the Diversity of Creative Aspirations ABSTRACT People's creative aspirations take on different forms, and mentoring engagements vary accordingly. Michael H. Shenkman, Ph.D., studies the role of mentoring in cultivating the aspirations of those who seek to concentrate on specialized, "creative" roles: those of leader, artist, prophet and mystic. People, who adopt these roles, consciously or unconsciously, exhibit temperaments, attitudinal and behavioral preferences and life patterns that are very consistent. Each of these roles has its expectations, genealogy and specialized psychic demands/ and, accordingly these patterns present issues that overlap very little. Thus, the process of mentoring a leader who aspires to bring a new product to market differs significantly from mentoring someone who aspires to be a fine artist. What a leader desires as a life way often diverges significantly from that which an artist desires. Shenkman's session will discuss the aspirations that guide and define each role. Each role presents mentors with specific challenges. The role’s aspirations shape a person’s mindset, and will place that person in the midst of specific traditions and social resistances. The mentor works to provide strength, vigor and realism to that person’s aspirations, even though those challenges cannot be diminished. The session will concentrate on the most important elements that guide a process of mentoring creative roles in general, and then offers a template for tailoring the mentoring process to the specific role in question. Mentors will see how they must continue their own learning and development by studying the demands facing these challenging life roles.
In today’s brief session I want to suggest two parameters that delineate the subject matter of mentoring – aspirations and roles. I will then use the examples four “creative roles” to show how mentoring has to address the profoundly different mindsets these roles entail. By highlighting these differences we can identify the salient themes that define mentoring as a distinctive pursuit and we can point to certain characteristics and structures that distinguish the mentoring conversation from other supporting services, make it effective and identify parameters that foster positive outcomes. Roles I propose that mentoring concentrates on roles: Roles are distinct from professions or careers or even positions in that they are at once more personal and more general than these usual designations of social action. Roles are more personal in that in addition to, or despite, the training and education that any of these other tracks entail, a person takes on a role that expresses beliefs and aspirations that accord with what these tracks promise. They are more general because there are often several kinds of tracks that a role can touch on: a healing role can be done in the context of several medical roles or spiritual ones; an inventor role can take place in several kinds of contexts from science to engineering to mechanics, etc. Aspiration What most distinguishes a role from these other kinds of tracks is the quality of “aspiration.” A person achieves, accomplishes and has ambitions in a profession or a career but aspires in a role (or in the role they take up in that profession or career track). Aspirations, one might say, are the dreams, visions, desires and wishes that a person actually acts on; when a person aspires to something, he or she not only envisions, but actually makes decisions in light of, that shape his or her life, that have real consequences and act as determining values from day to day. It is this confluence of vision, desire, caring and concrete action that characterizes aspirations and directs people into a role. Mentors, I propose, address this specific combination, and so this combination of aspiration and role is its subject matter. Mentoring affects aspirations by concentrating attention on four aspects of aspiration:
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(1) Attitude: the person’s sense of determination, resilience and flexibility in the face of obstacles and the level of brightness, optimism and affirmation that the person is willing to self-generate and support in view of those obstacles. (2) Anticipation: the person’s ability to realistic ally expect certain obstacles that the role entails and be open to a range of obstacles that cannot be envisioned, and incorporate these in the realistic sense the demand for adaptation. (3) Accountability: the person’s commitment to stand by what he or she accomplishes in presenting his or her work to the larger community and world. (4) Acceptance: the person’s willingness to proceed with resolve to a path of development and discovery that includes limitations as well as learning. Mentoring a person’s aspirations isn’t about helping them cope or adjust. It’s about strengthening their creative lives, even if it takes them off the beaten path. As close as I can come to a definition, I would ask you to consider this: Mentoring provides support to someone who is experiencing a moment of significant transition in the fulfilling of a chosen role. The mentor offers a moment of creative respite, offers listening of active attuning, and then undertakes an intervention process that is directed specifically at affirming the mentee’s aspiration to do the work demanded of that his or her chosen role. The mentoring process inspires new self-awareness in the mentee and brings these to sharpened expression, forming connections between the mentee’s aspiration and his or her specific values, experiences and capabilities; mentoring then concludes by providing the mentee with an outlook that integrates a lasting, stance, framework and life path directed toward doing the work mandated by the mentee’s chosen role. Aspiring to Creative Roles To help clarify the notion of mentoring people in the aspirational aspects of their roles, I suggest we look at that sector of the population whose roles are most purely aspirational, whose roles include very little of “conventional” expectations, or for whom the conventions of their work (the selling or publishing of works, for instance) are even deflating of aspiration. This will enable us to see mentoring at work outside of the complications presented by career, ambition and professional competencies. I have identified four roles of this kind: leader, artist, prophet and mystic. As to mentoring these figures, the research has uncovered certain themes that serve as hypotheses we can investigate further: (1) Each figure directs large, driving and excessive aspirations into roles that place them more (mystics) or less (leaders) outside of the mainstream of activities, discourses and institutions that support conventional commerce. (2) Each creative type has a distinctive and highly specialized mindset, or way of approaching the world, and mentors need a reliable framework for understanding these role “mindsets” in an immediately accessible way. I have devised “icons” that service this purpose for mentoring the creative aspirations in each of those roles. (3) These figures turn to a mentor when they are facing some kind of “block” that prevents them from acting on their aspiration. (4) Mentoring these figures requires an awareness of the psychic and historical distinctiveness of these roles, as well as the trajectory of aspirations these roles take up as paths for fulfillment. (5) The desired outcome is to foster a deep and abiding acceptance that welcomes learning and increasing challenge. The chart below provides an overview of the factors as it applies to each role. For a discussion of the mentoring process, exemplified by our leader mentoring program see the paper in this volume: “Effective Mentoring Programs.” Now I want to set out a train of thought that addresses these large concerns.
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Decisive Factors in Mentoring Creative Aspirations (1) TO THE EDGE. I think I can say with a good measure of certainty, that mentors always deal with people who are trying to take their lives into new directions, stretching the boundaries of their circumstances and extending the reach of their abilities so as to make their idiosyncratic and/or unique contributions to the human endeavor. Each role intends a different kind of contribution, and the person aligns with one role (predominantly), with greater and greater concentration as commitment to the outcomes grows. Mentors, in the situations I am describing here, support those who have chosen to perfect activities that change norms, challenge conventions and produce works that are not presumed to be absorbed into the mainstream of understanding, commerce and assimilation. (2) MINDSET/ICON. Each role places its own stamp on a person’s mindset: their ways of thinking, their life priorities, the priorities in their constituting of anticipations, perceptions and the demands of the disciplines for their work. Mentors are most often “laypeople,” outsiders and nonpractitioners of the mentee’s way, and so needs a reliable framework for guiding the conversation in supportive/challenging and edifying ways. For that purpose, I have suggested the use of pedagogical icons, and have developed “curricula” that assure a core of constructive, generative engagement. Icons have been used throughout history as devices for learning. They use common, everyday, well-known objects for the expressed purpose of pointing to a kind of awareness, mindset, vision, faith or aspiration that is not apparent, not yet “real” for the person. The icon centers and connects a story or a set of dynamics in such a way that they can be glimpsed in one view, and so all the salient forces in play are in evidence. The icons for each of the creative figures are noted on the chart. Using these “teaching tools,” the mentor and mentee can discuss the dynamics in play, that characterize and specify aspirations, keep all of them in view, and can immediately assign priorities, significances to those factors, as well as note the relative strength of each in the life of the mentee’s own aspiring life. (3) THE BLOCK. The mentor never engages with a person when they are in the full blossoming of their creative talents. The mentor meets the creative person when they are faced by some kind of block. We can safely say that the mentee’s vulnerability has outstripped his or her life resources, as they have been developed up to this point, and all that onward-pushing energy is dissipated by doubt, fear, frustration, confusion, anxiety and even dread or depression. Now for some people in this position, the tensions are so severe that mentoring would not be of use – a therapist might be called for. And, if a person is exhibiting a strong sense of the inadequacy of skills to the task they want to undertake, a coach or professional teacher might be most helpful. Here the mentor has to probe and test for the mentee’s attitude, to determine if the will to fully engage the role, in all its complexities and challenges, is sufficiently robust. The mentor also has to gauge whether or not the mentee’s anticipations are in line with what this person can expect by choosing this life way or role. The prospect who will gain the most from mentoring when this strong, capable and dedicated person has a problem that is getting in the way of doing the work, of acting on, within and fulfilling that role. The mentee thus presents a problem that can be delimited, framed and resolved, a mentor might be of service. Mentoring provides a service of value, a transforming one, when strong psychic resources are available, but are not arrayed robustly. (4) MENTORING PRACTICE. The mentor has to develop a practice around mentoring as does any service and support provider. My research has found that the roles cluster around deep currents of historical development and strong forces of social constraints and expectations. The mentor has to be familiar with these. And, also, the mentor does not deal with these issues psychologically, but in a manner that I would call “phenomenological.” That is, mentors do not deal with psychological complexes or patterns that need adjustment to a known set of circumstance, nor do they address existent verities that calls for increased competence. Instead, in dealing with
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aspirations, the mentor is dealing with highly fluid constructs that are continually in process, are always in states of revision, and require continual re-envisioning by the aspiring mentee. Calling the mentoring process “phenomenological,” refers to the idea that mentoring, being relevant for one’s aspirations has to address situations that are not resolved into facts, and that depend on the mentee’s process of constituting his or her sense of the “reality” of the situation. This process of constitution is highly individual, although it can be characterized schematically, at least, in terms of anticipations of self-awareness that are arrayed in a way that is appropriate for the role envisioned. That is the purpose of the icon. The “realities” the mentor deals with mostly take the form of the blocks and hindrances the mentee has hardened into a sense of limitation. The mentor may indeed acknowledge the veracity of those observations, but the point of mentoring is to diminish the limiting qualities of those “realities,” and help the mentee to build an attitude of grounded resistance to them. By forging strong links between the actual requirements of the role, including its socio-cultural traditions (see below), and the personal qualities the person brings to the role, new modes of accountability (responsibility and learning processes) can be forged. The issue for the mentee is to deal with the demands and affects of that continually changing process. The use of the icon helps the mentor to form a single, readily available impression of what the role demands, and offered to the mentee, provides for a common base of conversation about those demands. (5) THE ROLE IN SOCIETY AND CULTURE. The mentor also has to have a strong sense of what the aspirations of that role mean for the human endeavor at large. What will a person in this role be asked to take responsibility for? To what will that person be held accountable? Is the person up for that? No one but a mentor will ever provide this person with a detached but caring opportunity to honestly explore that question. Each of these roles has a distinctive socio-cultural history and has developed institutions and process that support that role alone. Each role appeared at a certain point in human history, and people responded to the ones who pioneered those roles in specific ways. A role survived social scrutiny and opprobrium because it found a niche and formed structures around it that both protected it and afforded controlled ways for it to be effective in the society. For example, artists became valued for their portrayal of religious spirits and developed apprentice relationships so that role could be perpetuated. In modern times, patrons (in place of kings and rulers who supported priests), a culture industry and art schools developed to provide some support to artists. For another, prophets developed academies, in ancient Greece, and then universities in Medieval Europe so that their work could be incubated and debated in a sheltered way before becoming public. The mentor supports the mentee by having insight into how these roles meet social resistance and also how society allows for their perpetuation and development, within certain boundaries. These traditions explain many of the factors of resistance and disappointment, if not discouragement, a creative figure encounters; and it provides a concrete setting for the mentor to discuss how to form strong, robust and appropriate anticipations of what this life entails. (6) ACCEPTANCE. All mentoring comes down to strengthening a person’s singular and individual connection, allegiance and commitment to the role. The successful mentoring engagement then enacts a transformation of, one might say, a “subtractive” sort. Rather than adding a skill or rationale for confidence, the mentor solidifies the mentee’s appreciation of what his life is called to do, summons recollections and heightens awareness of the path to this point and forward, and awakens a person’s sense of the reality of their lives, in terms of its constraints as well as its promise. The mentor also has to have a strong sense of what the aspirations of that role mean for the human endeavor at large. What will a person in this role be asked to take responsibility for? To what will that
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person be held accountable? Is the person up for that? No one but a mentor will ever provide this person with a detached but caring opportunity to honestly explore that question. The ultimate aim of mentoring then is help a person enter into and commit to an ethic, a way of life that offers excitement, challenge, change and joy that is uniquely that person’s own path. And by participating in this conversation with the mentor, the aspiring creative person can restore and revitalize that commitment for a lifetime, to the full extent of their energy, vision and aspiration. Conclusion To establish mentoring as a viably singular support service thus requires means to specify that activity, in relation and in contrast to other services. I suggest that mentoring supports the aspirations a person takes into committing to a role in life. In addition to other supporting roles, in its proper place, mentoring supports aspirations that contribute to the vitality of the human endeavor. To do this demands that the mentor understand those roles in depth, and be able to guide the mentee into new senses of strength and resourcefulness, and into the history and forbears who founded, enriched and institutionalized those roles.
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Sheets, C. & Sevim, V. University of North Carolina & Virginia Commonwealth University Developing Mentoring Models for Pre-service K-2 Elementary Teacher Education ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to elaborate upon ways that pre-service elementary education majors in two consecutive mathematics methods courses at UNC- Charlotte demonstrate the ability to recognize and embed worthwhile mathematical tasks in the construction of their own original lesson plans for K-6 mathematics classes. Furthermore, we explore ways that mentoring pre-service teachers fosters such ability as well as their growth and development in multiple perspective- taking as a resource for learning, citizenship, and work. Our pilot studies revealed that the sophistication of the pre-service teachers’ mathematical tasks and lesson plans, for the most part, is still quite nave, but their disposition toward incorporating algebraic, geometric, combinatorial, probabilistic, and statistical thinking in the design of mathematics activities for elementary school instruction suggests considerable promise. For instance, close examination of student work products (extracted from both the non-graded and graded assignments in the class portfolio), in a semester long methods course in the 20102011 academic year, revealed the extent to which these pre-service elementary education majors began to incorporate multiple representational tools and models when presenting important mathematical ideas to children. For the most part, the pre-service teachers were moving away from developing lesson plans that focus only upon rote counting and arithmetic toward enhancing mathematical reasoning by creating original and worth- while mathematical tasks. We continue to explore how mentoring contributes to this shift. We believe this study has implications for the design and implementation of similar elementary mathematics methods courses in which pre-service teachers move toward team and community building (while conducting individual and pair investigations within a multi-layered mentoring setting) to support growth in mathematical and pedagogical content knowledge.
Introduction The college years represent a key opportunity for the development of intellectual complexity and civic identity, particularly for traditionally aged 18 to 22-year-old students. A college student’s level of intellectual complexity is the most significant filter through which he or she interprets or ascribes meaning of diversity of all kinds. General education diversity courses are often designed to deliberately foster students’ encounters with diversity and complexity, but too often they do not take into account students’ actual intellectual and psychological readiness for this learning experience (Knefelkamp, 2000). William Perry (1970) claimed that college students “journey” through nine “positions” with respect to intellectual (and moral) development. This claim has also been substantiated by subsequent research. The stages can be characterized in terms of the student’s attitude toward knowledge. The nine positions, grouped into four categories are: (1) dualism/received knowledge, (2) multiplicity/subjective knowledge, (3) relativism/procedural knowledge, and (4) commitment/constructed knowledge (Rapaport, 1984). Integration of knowledge learned from others with personal experience and reflection is the hallmark of the highest position students may attain within this developmental model. Classroom experiences can contribute to students’ cognitive and ethical growth (Perry, 1981; Rapaport, 1984; Finster, 1991). The purpose of this study is to elaborate upon ways that pre-service elementary education majors in two consecutive mathematics methods courses at UNC-Charlotte (in Charlotte, North Carolina) demonstrate the ability to recognize and embed worthwhile mathematical tasks in the construction of their own original lesson plans for K-6 mathematics classes. Furthermore, the study explores ways that mentoring pre-service teachers foster such ability, as well as their growth and development in multiple perspectivetaking as a resource for learning, citizenship, and work. We seek to develop a curriculum model (or framework) which supports student movement toward integration of mathematical pedagogical knowledge learned from others with personal experience and reflection. Ultimately, we strive to characterize student attitude toward learning and teaching mathematics in grades K-6.
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There exists an enormous body of work to help us conceptualize teaching and learning mathematics to pre-service elementary teachers (Ball and Bass, 2000; Brownell, 1935; Carpenter and Lehrer, 1999; Cobb and Bauersfeld, 1995; Fennema and Romberg, 1999; Grouws and Cebulla, 2000; Leitzel, 1991; Ma, 1999; NCTM, 1991; Shimahara, 1998; Shulman, 1987; Silver and Stein, 1996; Stigler and Hiebert, 1999; Swafford, 1995). The design of effective learning communities in higher education calls for a vision of student learning which takes into account the role of students’ mental models in understanding and approaching learning tasks (Belenky et al., 1986; King and Kitchener, 1994; Kegan, 1994; Perry, 1970, 1981). We place our conceptualizations within these frameworks. Context of the Study “Teaching Mathematics to Elementary School Learners in Grades K-2 and Grades 3-6” are two courses designed to help pre-service elementary school teachers at UNC-Charlotte (in Charlotte, North Carolina) develop knowledge and understanding of elementary school mathematics and methods for teaching children in the primary grades. The courses focus upon the importance of learning through manipulative and concrete experiences, as well as technology, to help teachers plan lessons in which children develop mathematical competence through action and discussion. In these courses students experience five multi-layered mentoring strands: problem solving, number sense, “hands-on” manipulative use (both with and without technology), clinical experience (in local public schools) and pedagogy (theory and practice). One of the key organizing constructs of the pedagogical strand in these courses is the development of instructional sequences. This is accomplished, in part, through collaborative group work and individual investigations. Students develop learning activities which support rich conceptions of mathematics for grades K-6. The focus of the mathematics in these sequences is not merely upon rote counting and arithmetic but incorporating aspects of algebraic, geometric, combinatorial, probabilistic, and statistical thinking. Measurement is integrated throughout the course as well. As efforts are made to deepen students’ conceptions of mathematics, the class motto becomes: “Many paths, one solution!” The culminating project for the first course (for Grades K-2) is one where each student selects a piece of children’s literature as a springboard to create an original instructional sequence for a K-2 mathematics class. Each student prepares a presentation of their project plan for two pedagogical interventions called, a “team share” and a “total class share.” During the presentations each student gives reference to their choice of literature, provides an overview of their original instructional sequence, and engages the class in an activity from their project plan. Students are expected to incorporate manipulatives (with and without technology) in their presentations. The project is also assessed by the professor using a course-designed rubric. Students are prepared for this final course project in two ways. First, there is the tightly woven fabric of student experiences (both mathematical and pedagogical) which serve as the backdrop for the development of the notion of “worthwhile mathematical tasks.” Or, simply put, “important mathematics” which students grow to recognize and embed in their own instructional sequences. For example, in the first class session of the K-2 course students view and critique a video by Marilyn Burns about applications of Cuisenaire rods for elementary classrooms. Following the video, they engage in a “hands-on” activity with the rods where they investigate how many different combinations of rods there are for each length rod; and discuss any patterns that they observe emerge. Finally, in the same session, their ticket out the door is to submit to the professor their vision of the “ideal” first grade mathematics classroom. In articulating their visions of an ideal classroom, students are encouraged to be creative and not be constrained by any real world concerns. The students are asked to make a detailed sketch of the classroom, and write a brief characterization of their ideal class. Later, (in a follow-up session) the professor and the students discuss and analyze these visions at the smart podium. This is achieved via the class structure the professor calls “a team share” for a “best of the best” for a “total class share.” This means that when the students receive their assignments from the professor they share their visions in their teams, and then each team selects their favorite for a “total class 41
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share.” In this fashion, the class builds a class vision of the ideal first grade mathematics class. Beginning with these activities on the first day of the semester opens discourse on students’ beliefs about “what is mathematics” and what is “important mathematics” for K-2. Through team building and individual investigations, these activities coupled with the balance of the course set of mathematical experiences support students’ development of mathematical instructional sequences throughout the semester. Further, the sum total of these experiences move toward building a cohesive community of scholars in the classroom. A second component of the K-2 course contributing to efforts to help students prepare instructional sequences for the final course project occurs through a set of progressively more complex curriculum development tasks (as described below): (i) During the third class session, the class translates snapshots of algebraic thinking into their own original instructional sequences. The original curriculum pieces are extracted from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum and Evaluation Standards Addenda Series, Grade 2. Each team collaborates to produce one product for a “team share” and a “total class share.” This assignment is not graded. However, one work product from each team is saved for contribution to a “class portfolio.” (ii) During the ninth session, the class reads and uses as a springboard the book by Elinor J. Pinczes, “One Hundred Hungry Ants,” to develop an original instructional sequence. The entire class adopts the same behavioral objective for their plan: The student will be able to identify all factors of 100. Each student in the class submits an assignment for a “team share” and a “total class share.” This assignment is not graded. One work product from each team is saved for contribution to the class portfolio. (iii) During the thirteenth session, the class adapts curriculum from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Illuminations website to develop an original instructional sequence for teaching a mathematics lesson in grades K-2. This assignment is assessed by the professor using a coursedesigned rubric for a grade. (iv) During the sixteenth session, the class reads and uses as a springboard the book by Stuart J. Murphy, “Earth Day Hooray!” to develop an original instructional sequence to teach place value as modeled in the story. Each student in the class submits an assignment for a “team share” and a “total class share.” This assignment is not graded. However, one work product from each team is saved for contribution to the class portfolio. To further develop the habits of mind of a reflective practitioner, students are invited: (i) In each class session, to view and critique exemplary videos of model teachers teaching model lessons with children of diverse ethnicities. The class reflects, for example, during session two, on how the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards are used in elementary classrooms across America via Teaching Math: A Video Library, K-4 (http://www.learner.org/resources/series32.html) by analyzing the video, “The Ants Go Marching.” In this video, kindergarteners develop number sense by exploring number concepts and number relationships through storytelling, music and dance. The distinction is made between cardinal and ordinal meanings for number. Through a brief “team share” and a “total class share” students arrive at multiple ways of “seeing” a number, representing numbers in different embodiments. Further, students explore the concept of multiple embodiments in their theoretical readings. Another example of a video reflection activity in the course is extracted from the DVD accompanying the book, My Kids Can: Making Math Accessible to All Learners, K-5, edited by Judy Storeygard. The video footage makes explicit the strategies that teachers can use to incorporate ten-frames in elementary mathematics instruction. (ii) To compare and contrast the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (PSSM) developed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (using the website, http://standards.nctm.org) and the North Carolina Standard Course of Study using a set of guidepost questions.
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(iii) To examine and critique a teacher’s edition of a mathematics textbook (e.g., Investigations, Everyday Mathematics, etc.) from grades K-2 using a course-designed rubric. (This activity is done for one mathematics lesson, and again, for one mathematics unit.) (iv) To spend time online exploring sites (e.g., Illuminations NCTM, Math Solutions) that might be resources for elementary school mathematics teachers. As a class, these resources are compiled through a “team share” for a “best of the best” for a “total class share.” (v) To identify and critique television resources (e.g., Magic School Bus, National Geographic for Kids, Sesame Street, etc.) that may be used to support the K-2 mathematics classroom. As a class, these resources are also compiled through a “team share” for a “best of the best” for a “total class share.” (vi) To examine and critique a piece of software appropriate for K-2 mathematics using a coursedesigned rubric. As a class, these resources are also compiled through a “team share” for a “best of the best” for a “total class share.” (vii) To submit a clinical notebook comprised of a classroom manipulative checklist, a classroom sketch, an analysis of one-student interview on place value, an analysis of one-student interview on basic facts and analyses of three classroom observations (of kindergarten, first grade and second grade classes in local public schools). Multi-Layered Mentoring Setting The tightly woven fabric of the mentoring experiences provided for the participants in this study, 25 pre-service teachers in one K-2 methods class, are nested in such a way that students are both challenged and supported to explore new disciplinary reasoning methods. Each of the activities in the five multilayered course strands play against each other to nurture student cognitive and psychosocial growth, by teasing out student intuitions and insights about elementary mathematics teaching and learning. That is, through active participation in team and individual (non-graded and graded) investigations—receiving both peer and professor’s feedback—students begin to view the relative merit of “worthwhile mathematical tasks” for the K-6 curriculum which must be viewed in context, and that some studentconstructed instructional sequences are better than others depending on the context. Students’ task becomes learning to evaluate solutions. Further, students see the necessity of making choices and committing to a solution. They begin to realize that commitment is an ongoing, unfolding, evolving activity. The journey is often times repeated; and one student can be at different Perry stages at the same time with respect to different mathematical topics. Mentoring through team building and individual investigations (with delayed formal assessment until the latter part of the course) focusing upon the development of intrinsic motivation through peer feedback mechanisms (i.e., team shares for a “best of the best” solution) blurs the roles of teacher and student, creating a less fractured classroom. More fluid movement between the “source of intellectual authority” in determining the correctness of problem solutions between student and teacher encourages students to think more deeply about mathematics and pedagogy, and to create a climate ripe for student-constructed models of mathematics learning and teaching. Conclusion We believe that, although still at the pilot stage, this study has implications for the design and implementation of similar elementary mathematics methods courses in which pre-service teachers move toward team and community building (while conducting individual and pair investigations within a multilayered mentoring setting) to support growth in mathematical and pedagogical content knowledge. Through participation in technology-supported collaborative group work and individual investigation, pre-service elementary education majors at UNC-Charlotte have demonstrated over the course of a semester the ability to recognize and embed significant mathematical tasks in the construction of their own original instructional sequences for K-2 mathematics classes. The sophistication of their plans, for
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the most, is still quite naïve, but student disposition toward incorporating algebraic, geometric, combinatorial, probabilistic, and statistical thinking in the design of activities for elementary school instruction suggests considerable promise. Implications for the design and implementation of elementary mathematics methods courses include: (1) Provide learning experiences to support movement toward the development of deep conceptions of mathematics through modeling of exemplary mathematics teaching and learning (via collaborative team and individual mathematical investigations, and curriculum and video critiques); (2) Provide multiple opportunities for students to rehearse with their peers in pairs (or small groups) how they conceptualized their own original instructional sequences—“you can never get enough feedback!” (3) Provide progressively more complex sets of scaffolded tasks of modeling the development of original mathematical instructional sequences using exemplary curriculum materials such as the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Illuminations website. REFERENCES Ball, D. L., & Bass, H. (2000). Interweaving content and pedagogy in teaching and learning to teach: Knowing and using mathematics. In J. Brophy (Ed.), Advances in research on teaching, Vol. 2: Teachers’ knowledge of subject matter as it relates to their teaching practice (pp. 1-48). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Belenky, M. F., Clinchy, B. M., Goldberger, N. R., & Tarule, J. M. (1986) Women’s ways of knowing: The development of self, voice, and mind. New York: Basic Books. Brownell, W. A. (1935). Psychological considerations in the learning and teaching of arithmetic. In W. D. Reeve (Ed.), The teaching of arithmetic (Tenth Yearbook of the National council of Teachers of Mathematics, pp.131). New York: Columbia Teachers College, Bureau of Publications. Carpenter, T. P., & Lehrer, R. (1999). Teaching and learning mathematics with understanding. In E. Fennema & T.A. Romberg (Eds.), Mathematics classrooms that promote understanding (pp.19-32). Mahway,NJ: Erlbaum. Cobb, P., & Bauersfeld, H. (Eds.). (1995). The emergence of mathematical meaning: Interaction in classroom cultures. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Fennema, E., & Romberg, T. A., (Eds.). (1999). Mathematics classrooms that promote understanding. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Finster, D. C. (1991). Developmental instruction: Part II. Application of the Perry model to general chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 68: 752-756. Grouws, D. A., & Cebulla, K. (2000). Elementary and middle school mathematics at the crossroads. In T. L. Good (Ed.), American education: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Ninety-ninth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part 2, pp. 209-255). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. King, P. M., & Kitchener, K. S. (1994). Developing reflective judgment: Understanding and promoting intellectual growth and critical thinking in adolescents and adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Kegan, R. (1994). In over our heads: The mental demands of modern life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Knefelkamp, L. L. (2000). Encountering diversity on campus and in the classroom: Advancing intellectual and ethical development. Diversity Digest, (Spring/Summer). Leitzel, J. R. C. (Ed.). (1991). A call for change: Recommendations for the mathematical preparation of teachers of mathematics (MAA Reports, vol. 3). Washington, D.C.: Mathematical Association of America. Ma, L. (1999). Knowing and teaching elementary mathematics: Teachers’ understanding of fundamental mathematics in China and the United States. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Murphy, S. J. (2004). Earth Day—Hooray! New York: Harper Collins Publishers. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (1991). Professional standards for teaching mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Perry, W. G. (1970). Forms of intellectual and ethical development in the college years. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Perry, W. G. (1981). Cognitive and ethical growth: The making of meaning. In A. Chickering & Associates (Eds.), The modern American college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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Pinczes, E. J. (1993). One Hundred Hungry Ants. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. Rapaport, W. J. (1984). Critical thinking and cognitive development. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Association, 57: 610-615. Shimahara, N. K. (1998). The Japanese model of professional development: Teaching as a craft. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14, 451-462. Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57, 1-22. Silver, E. A., & Stein, M. (1996). The QUASAR Project. The “revolution of the possible” in mathematics instructional reform in urban middle schools. Urban Education, 30, 476-521. Stigler, J. W., & Hiebert, J. (1999). The teaching gap: Best ideas from the world’s teachers for improving education in the classroom. New York: Free Press. Storeygard, J. (Ed.) (2009). My Kids Can: Making Math Accessible to All Learners, K-5. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Swafford, J. O. (1995). Teacher preparation. In I. M. Carl (Ed.), Prospects for school mathematics (pp. 157-174). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
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Mynbaev, D. K. New York City College of Technology of the City University of New York Mentoring in the Engineering Field: Benefits and Challenges ABSTRACT Mentoring is an important part of the professional work of an educator. In this presentation, the author, a professor in the Electrical and Telecommunications Engineering Technology Department, would like to share his mentoring experience in electrical engineering. This experience stemmed from his participation in a variety of programs and took a variety of forms. The author has served as a mentor for more than 15 years in a program titled "The Louis Strokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) in STEM Disciplines." In this program, he works with students at various academic levels, ranging from freshmen to graduates with baccalaureate degrees. Within this program, he mentors mostly on a one-on-one arrangement, though one project, “Integrated Research Strategy,” required mentoring an entire group of students. He also mentors students in his department by involving them in "The Emerging Scholars Program." In addition, he mentors his young colleagues—newly hired professors in his own department—through the department's internal mentoring program. As for his mentoring activities outside the college, the author participated for a number of years in an international mentoring program established by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). In that program, he mentored young colleagues, Ph.D. students, recent university graduates, and young professionals just entering the field. All this mentoring has been done on a voluntary basis.
This presentation summaries the author’s mentoring experience, highlights the advantages of mentoring not only to those being helped but to the engineering profession as a whole, considers the challenges posed by this important educational activity at the various instructional levels, and offers the author’s suggestions to further hone the mentoring process. This presentation is organized as follows: In the first section we describe our college to introduce the environment of our work; second section is devoted to mentoring within the department based on the CUNY program called LSAMP; the third section presents other options of student mentoring at our department; the fourth section deals with mentoring outside the college and associated with IEEE international mentoring program; finally, we present our conclusion. About City Tech To describe the environment in which we provide education and mentoring, we need, first, to introduce our college. New York City College of Technology (City Tech) of the City University of New York (CUNY) is the largest public baccalaureate college of technology in the Northeast offering a variety of undergraduate degree programs. A word about our history: This college was founded in April 1946 as New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences. It mission was to educate GIs returning from World War II. The name has changed to New York City Community College in 1953 (it was then the first community college in New York City) and the school joined the CUNY system in 1964. In 1971, the college merged with Voorhees Technical Institute, which was established in 1882 as New York Trade School, and in 1980 the college was renamed New York City Technical College. In 1983, it was authorized to grant the first baccalaureate degree in hotel and restaurant management. In 2002 the college underwent another name change, this time being renamed New York City College of Technology. Let’s introduce some current (October 2010) data describing the main features of our college: • Number of degrees and certified programs: 65 • Faculty: 413 full-time, 777 part-time • Alumni: 83,600+ 46
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• Students: City Tech serves more than 30,000 degree, certificate and continuing education students annually. Degree Students Enrollment: 15,368 (fall 2010): 64% full-time, 36% part-time (*This is an increase of 9% since fall 2008); 4,406 students (28.7%) are enrolled in the baccalaureate programs. By Schools: 43.8% in the School of Technology & Design, 41.9% in the School of Professional Studies, 14.3% in the School of Arts & Sciences. Background: 41.7% born outside the U.S. (136 countries represented); 60.8% report a language other than English is spoken at home, and 32.0% list their parents as college graduates. Financial facts: 52% report household income less than $30,000, 78% of incoming freshmen receive need-based aid, 63.9% of continuing students receive need-based aid, and 35% work more than 20 hours a week. Median Age: 21 Gender: 53.2% male, 46.8% female Race/Ethnicity: 34% black (non-Hispanic), 31.7% Hispanic, 18.5% Asian/Pacific Islander, 11.0% white (non-Hispanic), 0.5% Native American, 4.3% Other. Residence: 51.9% in Brooklyn, 23.4% in Queens, 8.8% in Manhattan, 9.7% in the Bronx, 2.4% in Staten Island1, 8% in other NY State areas, 0.4% in other U.S. locations, 1.6% International. As you can see from the above data, City Tech is an urban college (we have no dormitory) that serves mostly black and Hispanic students from low-income households; the vast majority of our students are the first in their family seek a college degree. Mentoring in LSAMP program About the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Program This is a national program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that is “aimed at increasing the quality and quantity of students successfully completing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) baccalaureate degree programs, and increasing the number of students interested in, academically qualified for and matriculated into programs of graduate study.” From its inception in 1992, the program has helped to increase the enrollment and graduation rate of minority students in STEM disciplines. CUNY and City Tech are active participants in this program. The formal requirements and benefits of this program are as follows: Student Requirements: • Overall GPA of 3.0 or higher • Full-time student (12 credits a semester) • Major in a science or applied science subject • Member of an underrepresented minority: American Indian, black, Filipino, Hawaiian, Latino, Native-Alaskan • US citizen/permanent resident • Working at a given project 20 hours a week • Participation in the CUNY-LSAMP annual conference and submission of a final report to the LSAMP CUNY office Student Monetary Benefits: • $1000 - $5000 over 2 semesters, depending on the total number of earned credits • $3500 over the summer • Paid travel/hotel expenses to attend AMP-affiliated conferences 47
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Faculty Mentor Requirements: • Must provide student with a research project and supervise his or her work Faculty Mentor Benefits: • Up to $250 for supplies per student per semester Mentoring in LSAMP program The mentor’s principal task is to encouraging minority students who are enrolled in STEM programs to engage in undergraduate research, specifically, in programs that result in improving quality of the student’s education. For example, we apprise our students whom we meet on the first day of class of the many undergraduate research opportunities available through this program and stress the importance and attractiveness of the LSAMP program. When students meet with a mentor, they describe their area of interest and the mentor explains the topic of his or her research. If their interests match, they begin working. When students don’t have any specific professional interest, then they will agree to participate in the mentor’s research project. The mentor assigns the student a specific research project and, on a day-to-day basis, supervises the work to completion. The project might be theoretical or experimental in nature and usually the topic is usually taken from the mentor’s current research interest. The main problem we have encountered in this program is determining the appropriate level of difficulty for our students. Indeed, on the one hand, the assigned project must be at the level that a student will be capable of dealing with; on the other hand, as a research project, it has to be at a truly challenging level because research means finding new knowledge or solving problems. For scientists, research is an activity that is geared to discovering something new, unknown to the scientific community. So, obviously, requiring from our undergraduate students to discover new facts or solve new problems would be unrealistic, to say the least. This is particular true given that the LSAMP program allows (and even encourages) professors to recruit freshmen students into the program. We resolve this dilemma by agreeing that undergraduate research means that our students should seek to discover something unknown to them as the start of their scholarly activity. Let me turn now to practical examples: Engineering students very often like to engage in practical activities; thus, I assign them projects designed to develop new laboratory experiments. For such assignments, I choose students who have already taken—or are taking—a theory course and understand the basics of the subject they are involved in. Ideally, I ask them to create the laboratory exercise itself, that is, to figure out the objective and the procedure of the experiment. A less demanding and more practical approach is to ask them to perform a new lab exercise without giving them instructions on how to do it. The advantage of such an approach is that students have to become familiar with the equipment and learn how to make measurements. This is type of project, in which many of my LSAMP research assistants worked. And I am pleased to report that, based on their work, I ended up with many excellent laboratory experiments that I have incorporated into my regular academic courses. In fact, my laboratory manuals include notes of acknowledgment to many of my LSAMP students. Their achievements ranges from compiling a simple set of measurements to the development of new ways perform a laboratory experiment. Another typical project within the LSAMP program concerns theoretical work. For example, I ask my students to derive formulas and develop scripts for calculations using such tools as MS Excel or MATLAB. An important aspect of this type of project is the graphical presentations of the computed results. Depending on the level of preparation of an individual researcher, I vary the difficulty of the assigned tasks. I also assign projects based on computer-simulation tools, such as Multisim. This type of project combines the advantages and the difficulties of both—the theoretical and the experimental worlds. Just what are the benefits of this type of mentoring? They are clear indeed: For one thing, students work more responsibly since they have accepted the obligations imposed by the LSAMP program; secondly, they contribute significantly to advancing the research or developing the academic projects of 48
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their mentor, and, third—the most important benefit of all—they learn much more effectively by working one-on-one with their professor outside the classroom. There are two types of major challenges involved in this work: First, as with any mentoring activity, the main difficulty is to choose the proper project, one that would be, simultaneously, a research-type endeavor and a student-level assignment. Secondly—and specific to the LSAMP program—the difficulties associated with the program’s requirements and deadlines put certain constraints on the efficiency this type of mentoring. In recent years, CUNY has developed new approach within the LSAMP program; it’s called Integrated Research Strategy (IRS) and entails the integration of a professor’s research into a classroom activity. But to do so, the instructor must take into account a number of basic considerations. They include incorporating the proper elements of his or her research into the classroom experience, defining the activities to be included in this project, and assessing the learning level achieved by the students involved in this project. And herein lies the main peculiarity of this approach: It constitutes another type of mentoring because now a professor is mentoring an entire class. Fortunately, in our department (and in the school), the class size is relatively small and typically doesn’t exceed 18 students. This allows for effective group mentoring; however, my experience over two semesters with this type of mentoring was mostly disappointing because the disparity in student preparation in any given class for this kind of learning approach is too vast. For that reason, I was simply unable to give an entire class even one relatively straightforward research assignment. To sum up my experience as a mentor in the LSAMP program, I will just say that it’s a powerful vehicle to encourage underrepresented minority students to undertake research activities. I am happy to participate in this program and I will continue my mentoring activity within it. Mentoring in the department As I mentioned previously, the LSAMP program supports the research activity only for underrepresented minority students. To engage other students in scholarly work of this type, we have the opportunity to use several other venues, such as the CUNY Emerging Scholars program, various grants, and, of course, mutually agreed upon research activities between a student and a mentor. Although these latter venues don’t provide monetary compensation, as the LSAMP program does, many students have expressed interest in them and are already actively participating in such programs. Interestingly enough, a number of these students have produced some of the most important results I’ve seen. What’s more, several of them are continuing to pursue their research in graduate school. One of them, in fact, recently presented a paper with me at a scientific conference and we were invited to publish the extended version of our presentation in the scientific journal “International Journal of High Speed Electronics and Systems.” So let me reiterate briefly the main point of my talk: the paramount purpose of this novel mentoring approach is, again, our desire to involve students in our engineering technology programs, without restrictions, to conduct scholarly research, with a professor, at the undergraduate level. Is there downsize of this undertaking? Of course, and we are well aware of it. The drawback is that these undergraduate students, typically, have had few or no formal commitments in their young lives, and this challenging work requires a person to be responsible, to be dedicated to his or her project, to be eager to grow professionally without the inducement of formal awards. In short, the quality we seek in our young scholars is self-discipline. As already noted, mentors work in the program on a voluntary basis, though the results obtained by the students may in some instances help the mentor to complete his/her funded research. As for my role in the department mentoring activities, besides mentoring students, I have the opportunity to help my new colleagues through the department’s practice of assigning mentors to newly hired professors. Our new colleagues are usually recent Ph.D. graduates with little experience in teaching or participating in academic life. My mentoring activities include providing a general orientation of the department and the college structure to my new colleagues, familiarizing them with the main features of 49
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our college, and introducing them to college activities that will help them in their quest for tenure and future promotions. One of the main documents that define means of obtaining tenure in our college is the professional development plan, or PDP, and the main role of a mentor is to guide a new professor in preparation of this document. Mentoring at the IEEE In addition to our internal mentoring programs, we have the opportunity to participate in a mentoring program established by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, our main professional society. The home page of the IEEE’s website says, “IEEE is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community through IEEE's highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities.” Today, the IEEE includes more than 400 thousand professionals from all around the globe. Everyone, regardless of his or her occupation, experiences the influence of the IEEE through standards and codes developed by that organization for electrical and electronic devices and systems. For instance, the IEEE devised the standard for popular wireless networking technology Wi-Fi, which is used today by almost one billion people for mobile connection to the Internet. Recently, the IEEE established its own Mentoring Connection program, whose mission is explained by the Institute as follows: “IEEE Mentoring Connection is an online program which facilitates the matching of IEEE members for the purpose of establishing a mentoring partnership. To provide this program, IEEE partners with The Training Connection, a vendor that has developed a Web-based mentoring program, to facilitate the matching process. Participation in the program is voluntary and open to all higher grade IEEE members (above the Student Member grade). If you fit these criteria, you could be a mentor to another IEEE member in this pilot program. Participation is completely voluntary for both the potential mentor and the mentee.” I served as a mentor in this program from 2006 until 2009. Several young professionals from various countries, such as Portugal, Spain, Greece, Thailand, India and South Korea, asked me to be their mentor. I chose to work with those whose specialty was closest to my own. Though I don’t know how useful my mentoring was to my young colleagues, I found it to be a wonderful experience. I felt a great sense of satisfaction in providing information and advice to people entering the engineering profession. However, I must mention of one unexpected and unpleasant experience I encountered and present it here as a caveat to others who may become mentors in this program: One young man attempted to beguile me into doing some professional work for him, work that I would categorize as consulting. Of course, he had no intention of paying me for my efforts, just to take advantage of me as a result of our special mentoring relationship. To rephrase a well-worn expression: Let the mentor beware. Though the line between professional advice and actual consulting work is thin, one can readily understand when he or she is being exploited. I stopped participating in The IEEE program primarily because my other obligations took up all my available time; however, let me emphasize that of course this incident contributed to my decision to leave the program. Conclusion To summarize my mentoring experience, I’d like to subdivide my mentoring activity into several categories and highlight the main points of each: 1. Mentoring students • Mentoring engineering students mainly entails involving them in research projects. • The major problem is the gap between the level of knowledge of the students and the level of difficulty of the project. • The mentor’s job is to devise incentives that inspire each researcher to make every effort to produce useful results.
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2. Mentoring young colleagues within the department • In this case, the key is to combine the offer of useful advice with a demeanor of collegiality. This requires a bit of psychological balancing act, to be sure, because you are dealing with a fellow professor and scholar. 3. Mentoring young professionals outside the college • Mentoring young professionals outside your school is a demanding but rewarding activity; the challenge here is addressing the broad range of professional interests and meeting the various expectations of these people. The main benefit of mentoring is, of course, the important role it can play in preparing students for the engineering and other high-technology positions they will soon occupy. Mentoring young people is an activity I’d recommend not just to help them develop their technical skills but, equally important, to enhance their maturity beyond their young years. For the mentor, the benefits start with the satisfaction of knowing that he or she is making extra efforts in achieving the noble goal of preparing a better qualified workforce for our society. More specific benefits, as I pointed out previously, might very well come in the form of practical results obtained by the students during their work on the faculty research projects. To make mentoring a more attractive professional activity to the faculty, I suggest we employ the full arsenal of academic persuasions—from release time for mentors to public recognition of both mentors and their student researchers.
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McGuiness, T. & Bernholtz, J. Partners Mentoring Association Volunteer Recruitment ABSTRACT All youth mentoring programs struggle with a common issue: the mentoring gap. The list of young people waiting to be matched with mentors grows much faster than the list of volunteers ready to mentor a youth. In the often frustrating world of volun- teer recruitment, some of these youth can wait up to a year, some even longer, for the right mentor to enter their world. Up until 2006, Gunnison Country Partners struggled with volunteer recruitment. Then, something magical happened. The organization renewed it’s focus, solidified t’s goals, recharged itself with ”the right people on the bus,” and became serious about mentor recruitment. The Partners program in Gunni- son grew from 37 mentoring matches in 2006 to over 160 today. This, in a population of less than 6,000 folks. How did we do it? We’d love to share that with you. This ab- stract is a request to present the recruitment strategies implemented by our organization that have proven successful. The Gunnison Country Partners staff of case managers; Megan Dziekan, Matt Kuehlhorn, Julena Loken and Johnna Bernholtz have written an educational and insightful Volunteer Recruitment Manuel to help all youth mentoring programs become volunteer magnets. Participants will leave the session with some powerful tools to help them in their recruitment efforts, a copy of the Volunteer Recruitment Manuel, and a start on a Recruitment Plan for their own programs.
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Mercaitis, P. A. University of Massachusetts Virtual Mentoring and Telesupervision ABSTRACT Within the past seven years, our national professional organization, the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), has published official documents on telepractice in our professional fields. Speech Language Pathologists and Audiologists are now guided in our telepractice by ASHA’s Position Statement, Technical Report, and Knowledge and Skills documents. These documents will be reviewed along with specific suggestions and strategies for effective virtual mentoring and telesupervision in any allied health or medical professional field. Given the challenges faced by all busy professionals, the opportunities for networking and mentoring are enhanced significantly through use of telepractice. Virtual mentoring has been used in various professional fields such as social work (Cascio & Gasker, 2001); human resources (Bierema & Hill, 2005; Bierema, & Merriam, 2002); and with healthcare professionals (Koberg, Wayne, & Goodman, 2005; Rose, 2005; Stewart, 2006). This presentation will provide participants with relevant information on virtual mentoring and telesupervision experiences within two clinical settings in the field of Speech Language Pathology. I have provided virtual mentoring within my private practice via SKYPE to a former client who stutters chronically. This experience involved mentoring a client who had relocated and wanted to continue our professional interactions. I have also provided a practicum telesupervision experience within our University clinic. This experience involved mentoring a doctoral student who was relatively new to supervision of novice graduate students in her role as a clinical supervisor for a pediatric client in a local public school. These experiences will be discussed in detail. Within this presentation, I provide guidelines and suggestions for virtual mentoring and telesupervision; differentiating between the two professional roles. Also discussed will be the benefits, roles, expectations and tasks of the mentor and the mentee.
"Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction." - John Crosby “Mentoring... is the second most important factor after education in determining a person's professional success." - Korn/Ferry International These quotations provide us with some essential kernels in our understanding of the mentoring process, its role in professional development, and its goal of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of learning. Traditional professional mentoring typically involves the voluntary, scheduled, intentional, face to face, interpersonal interactions between an experienced, knowledgeable professional and a less skilled, less experienced professional which evolves over time, occurs in phases (Kram, 1988) with the goal of facilitating efficient and effective professional growth in the mentee. This close interpersonal/professional relationship usually develops over time, and allows for the mentor and the mentee to discuss issues that may be relevant and timely for the mentee. It can also become a rich opportunity for the mentor to explore and refine her listening and coaching skills; as well as for both professionals to assume responsibility for the achievement of the mentoring goals. Official ASHA Documents on Telepractice The American Speech Language Hearing Association has recently published three official documents on telepractice in our professional fields: a Position Statement, a Technical Report, and a Knowledge and Skills document. The Position Statement entitled, Speech-Language Pathologists Providing Clinical Services via Telepractice: Position Statement (ASHA, 2005) succinctly defines telepractice for the profession of speech-language pathology; it identifies the multiples uses of telepractice; it discusses potential benefits; it acknowledges that the use of telepractice does not remove any existing responsibilities in delivering services; and it states that the quality of services delivered via telepractice must be consistent with the quality of services delivered face-to-face. The Technical Report entitled, Speech-Language Pathologists Providing Clinical Services via Telepractice: Technical Report (ASHA, 2005) provides detailed information on 20 critical issues in 53
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telepractice within the field of speech language pathology and summarizes the available evidence on the use of telepractice in our field and discusses future directions and research needs. The Knowledge and Skills document entitled, Knowledge and Skills Needed by Speech-Language Pathologists Providing Clinical Services via Telepractice [Knowledge and Skills] provides the professional with 11 important roles and the accompanying knowledge base and skill repertoire to fulfill each of those roles when considering telepractice as an avenue for clinical services delivery. In the Position Paper mentioned above, ASHA (2005) defined telepractice as “the application of telecommunications technology to deliver professional services at a distance by linking clinician to client, or clinician to clinician for assessment, intervention, and/or consultation” (p.1). Since we do not yet have an official ASHA definition of telesupervision, I would modify the telepractice definition to read: telesupervision involves “the application of telecommunications technology for the provision of direct, in view, clinical supervision of professional staff, graduate and undergraduate student clinician supervisees, and speech language pathology assistants.” The terms telesupervision and e-supervision have been used synonymously to describe the activities mentioned in my definition. A Virtual Mentoring Experience My experience with virtual mentoring involves an ongoing, periodic SKYPE session with a former client who has a mild fluency disorder whom I will refer to as BT. I discharged BT from fluency treatment in May, 2011, and he asked if we could continue our professional relationship in the form of a mentoring relationship. I agreed and we discussed our respective roles as mentor and mentee. My role as his mentor includes careful listening without dominating the interaction, giving feedback as appropriate, looking for coaching opportunities during the conversations, addressing his workplace communication issues and the emotional issues related to his stuttering, asking questions, providing reassurance regarding his increasing confidence and competence levels with his fluency skills. His role as mentee involves initiating contact with me to schedule the teleconferences, setting boundaries for his communication and fluency needs, demonstrating his desire to know what to do with the information that I provide or that we exchange, and practicing what he has learned through our teleconferencing interactions. We agreed that we would become workplace problem-solving partners. He shared his expectations for the use of pre-arranged teleconferences via SKYPE on a periodic basis to discuss his workplace communication needs, and to address his fluency needs in workplace communication situations. His goals in the developmental mentoring relationship were to increase his communicative effectiveness as a telephone sales representative. He has discovered and shared a variety of interesting strategies which he has begun using toward achieving his goals. These include listening to the telephone strategies used by more knowledgeable and highly experienced sales representatives in his division; utilizing a six to seven minute contemplative therapeutic practice on his daily commute to work (e.g. abdominal breathing, Relaxation Response); and speaking fluently with his customer on the phone while looking at a either a picture of his potential customer or looking at himself in a mirror. BT has shared the amount of help and guidance he/she needs. He also knows that he needs to ask for my help or advice and to tackle more challenging home assignments. Finally, he takes notes during our SKYPE sessions, and then emails me after our sessions if he needs clarification on any points discussed via SKYPE. A Telesupervision and Telepractice Experience Within the 2009-2010 academic year, I provided a telesupervision practicum experience and telepractice experience within our University clinic. This nested set of preprofessional clinical education experiences involved mentoring a doctoral student who was relatively new to the clinical supervision process in speech language pathology. She was assigned to supervise two novice graduate student clinicians who were providing treatment services via SKYPE for a pediatric client located in a local public school. I provided the doctoral student supervisor with the important written information on the supervision process and our national association’s (ASHA, 2008) official documents on clinical
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supervision, and our graduate program’s guidelines for supervising novice and advanced beginning graduate student supervisees. The doctoral student supervisor proposed providing telesupervision with to the graduate student supervisee from a remote site, alternating with face to face supervisory conferences held in our university clinic. The telepractice and telesupervision arrangements were as follows: the graduate student supervisees were located in our clinic and they communicated with the client via SKYPE. The monitor had split screen capability so that the graduate student supervisees could see both the client and the supervisor simultaneously. They had easy access to a smart phone on the work table which could be used by the supervisor for providing real-time, silent, feedforward or feedback via text messages on the treatment being provided. The lead clinician wore a Bluetooth device to receive realtime, verbal messages from the supervisor on an as needed basis. The doctoral student supervisor discovered that when using the Bluetooth technology, the graduate student clinician with extensive needs for support benefitted more from hearing the supervisor’s input via the Bluetooth technology as she was implementing the treatment. The client had a speech language pathology assistant (SLPA) functioning as a facilitator sitting next to him in a dedicated teleconferencing room in his elementary school. The client could see the graduate student clinicians on the computer monitor in front of him. The SLPA provided cuing and prompting to the client for correct responses. The graduate student supervisees provided interactive activities on screen for the client to respond to. The supervisor could see both the graduate student supervisees, and the client and SLPA. She could suggest immediate changes via texting or using the Bluetooth technology as the session progressed; thereby enhancing the client’s progress during the session. The parents could also feed into these sessions via a secured medium. The parents’ expressed, overall level of satisfaction with the quality of these services was extremely high. They felt that their son benefitted greatly from these specialized services without having to be brought to our center for such services. The student supervisee was highly satisfied with telesupervision arrangements. They could also be at a remote location during these bimonthly teleconferences. This mode of teleconferencing had several benefits for both the supervisor and the student supervisee: increased time efficiency for all participants, increased access to each participant during mutually-agreed upon times, and decreased travel costs for conferees. Suggestions and Strategies for Virtual Mentoring My suggestions for virtual mentors overlap with the suggestions typically made for traditional mentors who interact with mentees face to face. These include being patient with the mentee; recognizing that the mentee may not know the appropriate questions to ask. The teleconferencing medium forces one to be patient as one looks at the monitor and wait for a talking turn. Virtual mentors should strive to fully understanding the integrative nature of virtual mentoring; appreciating that the blended learning environment can allow participants to access each other in more efficient and effective ways. Mentors and mentees should establish the boundaries for teleconferencing appointments, and subsequently address missed appointments if they occur unexpectedly. Mentors should ask for clarification immediately if they are uncertain about the mentee’s expressed needs or expectations. Mentors need to be aware of possible SKYPE transmission speed differences that may affect the quality of the picture being transmitted. For speech language pathologists, this may have a intermittent, negative impact on one’s observations of a mentee. Finally, I would suggest that mentors provide periodic email or text message check ins with their mentee within which the mentor could reiterate discussion points from a recent teleconference, provide encouragement in the mentee’s progress in working toward goals, and facilitate confidence and competence. Suggestions and Strategies for Telesupervision I would suggest that the supervisor become familiar with all aspects of telesupervision and teleconferencing prior to providing this mode of supervision. The supervisor may need to train the supervisee in the technology needed for telesupervision. If possible, there should be a specifically
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designated, quiet teleconferencing space with noise reduction treatment on walls and floor where the equipment is housed. Telesupervision may occur in realtime while the client is participating in services as described above. The supervisee should be able to respond to feedforward and feedback via the monitor or through the use of texting or email during the session. Teleconferences should be scheduled at mutually-agreed upon times. As with traditional, face to face supervisory conferences, each participant should prepare a teleconference agenda, and allow sufficient time for both agendas to be addressed during the teleconference. The supervisor should model careful listening while the supervisee is talking; should ask questions to promote problem-solving and critical thinking by the supervisee; and should recognize the potential challenges of handling supervisees’ emotional responses to feedback regarding their performance via SKYPE. Finally, I recommend that both participants shut off all mobile devices during the teleconference in order to enhance an uninterrupted communication interaction. Demonstration of SKYPE Teleconference During my presentation, I plan to demonstrate a telesupervision conference with a supervisory staff member in my university clinic. I will plan and model a brief problem-solving teleconference to address a specific issue in the supervision of a speech language graduate student. REFERENCES American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2005). Speech-Language Pathologists Providing Clinical Services via Telepractice: Position Statement. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2005). Speech-Language Pathologists Providing Clinical Services via Telepractice: Technical Report [Technical Report]. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2005). Knowledge and Skills needed by Speech-Language Pathologists Providing Clinical Services via Telepractice. Bierema, L., & Hill, J. (2005). Virtual Mentoring and HRD. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 7(4), 556568. Bierema, L., & Merriam, S. (2002). E-mentoring: Using Computer Mediated Communication to Enhance the Mentoring Process. Innovative Higher Education, 26(3), 211-227. Cascio, T., & Gasker, J. (2001). Everyone has a shining side: computer-mediated mentoring in social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 37(2), 283-293. Koberg, C., Wayne Boss, R., & Goodman, E. (2005). Factors and outcomes associated with mentoring among health-care professionals. Journal of Vocational Behavior, (53), 58-72. Kram, Kathy E. (1988). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Lanham, MD, England: University Press of America. (xiii), 252 pp. Stewart, S. (2006). A pilot study of email in an e-mentoring relationship. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 12(3), 83-85.
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Yglesias, C. University of Maryland Mentoring the Imagination ABSTRACT Most disciplines are taught either as an art or a science. Techniques for working with students naturally follow the particular profession’s usual parameters. However, the productive arts – architecture, landscape architecture and urban design – do not enjoy a similar clarity. Considered both an art and a science, these fields require creativity and accountability. A talented student may be too disorganized to produce while a practical student may lack the inspiration to design. Mentoring them is more than supporting their deficient side. This paper presents research taken in part from reviewing applications for the American Association for University Women (AAUW) international grants in the design fields. After the student’s statement of purpose, letters of recommendation are the most significant part of these applications. The recommender’s mentoring and then their ability to express the applicant’s strengths in context is critical to a successful award. The presentation highlights effective and ineffective information taken from recent applications, and offers useful lessons learned. It will engage the audience as key points are added or subtracted interactively leading to the more complete picture of the imaginative and pragmatic capabilities of various candidates. The results will help identify effective actions for future mentoring. Given the current job market, prospective employers want applicable technical and social skills, as well as the potential to excel. Exceptional letters of recommendation can be vital guides. Mentoring the imagination means encouraging both creativity and meaningful implementation; a notion also of value to disciplines that consider themselves exclusively in one camp or the other.
What Makes a Good Mentor Makes a Good Letter of Recommendation Mentoring the imagination of design students challenges the professor to nurture their creative talent and to cultivate their professional training. Some need the freedom to develop techniques of expression, while others require information to employ rigorous research giving traction to their intentions. All struggle to find meaning in their efforts, or in other words, they seek assurance that their work is theoretically sound and productively applicable. Sorting out the appropriate context for a particular effort helps the student commit to a creative investigation that has depth guided by the assurance that they are acquiring skills that transcend the current project turning into abilities that are useful for other work. When mentoring such students, many professors are called upon to write letters of recommendations for scholarship applications, recognition of accomplishments and work in a professional office. For scholarships, the successful outcome is predicated on a good match between the student’s work and the funding organization’s mission. Further, it depends on the ability of the letter writer to communicate the reasons why they support the applicant. These are the same reasons that make them skillful design instructors. For example, every year the AAUW offers fellowships and grants to women who want to study at an American university.1 For 2011-2012, over $3.7 million was awarded to 239 scholars, research projects and programs.2 The awards are made in one of five categories of which the American and International fellowships are the more popular making up fifty-eight percent of the total.3 Within the International fellowship panel, candidates apply to one of four appropriate sub-panels: Social Sciences, Law & Political Science, Physical & Biological Sciences, and Arts & Humanities.4 The awards are fairly evenly spread among these sub-panels with more going to those in the fields of education, social work, medical sciences and public health – areas that have traditionally been more open to women.5 Of the 38 international applicants for a 2011-2012 fellowship in the Arts & Humanities sub-panel, with the more popular specialized areas of the fine arts, architecture and city planning, only one applicant was successful. 5 57
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The Screening Procedure To begin narrowing the field of over 5,000 applicants (although about half are eliminated because their applications are incomplete or they are ineligible), a pair of reviewers is assigned to read the applications within a particular category.6 Reviewers are chosen based on their knowledge and experience in that particular field of study, and serve for at least a two year appointment. Each reviewer is instructed to identify their top three to five candidates. Then the team discusses the candidates and selects their combined top six candidates. The reviews must be prepared to advocate for their choices to the full review board in a teleconference that follows. Determining my top candidates was based first on scores from the AAUW supplied ranking form. The first three of eleven criteria were judgment calls. The importance placed a candidate’s ability to communicate well in English and the likelihood of their intent to return to their home county putting their studies into practice may be a factor depending on the applicant’s stated goals. If part of the AAUW’s mission is to affect positive change for women and girls internationally, then an applicant who will return to their home country and work to improve conditions there is a better fit with the fundamental motives of the organization. Then eight questions are assigned points with the most allocated to academic and/or professional qualifications, and less to the practical matters of schedule, feasibility and need. Of particular value are the applicant’s answers speculating about how their work will advance women and girls in her home country, and their previous experience with community and/or civic service. Of the 22 applicants I reviewed, one received a low score of 45, sixteen received scores ranging from 70 to 95 points, and five received a perfect score of 100. The lower scores were given to applicants who had poor goal statements, poor recommendations, or a disingenuous interest in advancing programs for women and girls. Unfortunately, spouses of husbands who are getting their degrees in this country cannot legally work, and may be seeking funds to study because they have time. I found this to be a less compelling reason when compared to applicants who are nearly finished their studies and are about to embark on implementing their academic scholarship and personal dedication to relevant programs. So, what distinguished my top five applicants? Proposals Position
History
Talent Personal
Each of the five had interesting and relevant proposals. Each goal seemed worthy of funding. Each was at a different phase of their studies. One was waiting to hear if she was accepted – so that was a little risky given it was a highly competitive program at Harvard. Another was accepted, but deferred until she could find funding – it would be a shame to not support that dream. Others were in the middle of their course work. Another was in her final year of a PhD dissertation with her defense scheduled for the end of the fellowship period. One had started her studies with a Fulbright and had unsuccessfully applied for an AAUW grant the previous year – should she be rewarded for tenacity? Another also had received significant support – did this indicate that reviewers from other programs had found her application for support valid? Each submitted a portfolio, some clearly more talented than others – but should this be a factor when the AAUW is striving for real change and not to just support aspiring artists? Some were married – it seems counter to the mission of the AAUW to assume this means financial security making their need less and their project less worthy of support.
Finally, it came down to the letters of recommendations all of which praised the applicant and their work, but not with equivalent clarity and force. Compare the following quotations: “I find her dissertation proposal admirable in its breath. And it will address very real world problems of economic and environmental implications …” “In the twenty years that I have taught … I have never seen a thesis or dissertation with
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such potential for profound impact on the lives of women.”
The first speaks to an outstanding potential or what the work will do; the second to an outstanding reality. Given the acknowledged limitations of funding all worthy candidates, reviewers find such a clear match between the letter’s claim and the funding organization’s mission appealing. The confidence of the recommender is respected because senior scholars, such as this recommender, are not prone to ungrounded or exaggerated claims. In a follow-up interview for this paper, the recommender offered some guidelines for effective recommendation letter writing that she received many years ago from Henry Millon, Dean of the Center for Advanced Study at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. “It should explain and frame the content of an applicant’s work for an outside reader, something that we letter writers (presumably with an expansive view of the field) can often do better than the researcher him/herself. And it should avoid the kind of assessments that have no internal measuring stick. In other words, to say that a thesis project is great or unusual or groundbreaking means nothing, unless we can state how it measures against a known pool of thesis projects.”
Evidence of this professor’s mentoring in an applied discipline such as architecture comes through in the content and tone of her letter of recommendation where she said she had worked with the student for four years, feels this student is well-qualified and well-positioned to contribute to it, thinks this student has an approach that transcends her particular investigation thereby making it more comprehensive and useful to others, and the work needs to be done. When the recommender says, “she is an exemplary young scholar and has a wonderful project that has both intellectual depth and the potential for grounded impact,” this concludes a list of qualifications that provide the reviewer with vital information. Finally, we cannot focus so much on the process that we forget the person involved. According to her mentor, the student’s response to the award was that it “meant the world to her;” she was “overjoyed.” According to the recommender, the student said, “I am so grateful that you believe in me and have made me believe.” The mentor also supplied her thoughts about what this award meant to the student, “It is easy to forget, from the comfortable position of a tenured professorship and publications, what it feels like in those early years when one works so very hard with only the encouragement of one’s advisers and the occasional response to a conference paper to confirm that the work means anything.” In the end, the decision seems to be the correct one: to support creative work that is also likely to make an impact and effect significant change for women and girls internationally is a perfect match to the AAUW’s mission. Therefore, good intentions are not enough. Mentoring the imagination requires not only encouragement and confidence when working with students, but also the skill to supply the experiencebased perspective for others who want to understand the context of the applicant’s work. This requires letters of recommendation that take effort to position the specific work within the general body of knowledge. Yes, this can be a bit of a moving target as student’s initial intentions, on-going research and final product is continually shifting, but then it remains the mentor’s responsibility to revise the corresponding frame within which the student’s work may be placed. The lesson is that mentoring the imagination requires the mentor both to continually recalibrate their expectations and to, often by example, supply precise, fact-based evaluations of the physical reality of this work and its contribution. At least in this way, the mentor knows the effort’s benefit reaches beyond any momentary engagement. The art of it comes in widening the implication of the creative endeavor, and the science in grounding the performative consequence. REFERENCES Author interview with Gloria Blackwell, Director of Fellowships, Grants, & International Programs, American Association of University Women, Inc., 8 September 2011. 2010 AAUW Annual Report
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Author email communication with Dr. D. Fairchild Ruggles, 9 September 2011. Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, AAUW, March, 2010. ________ The American Association of University Women, Inc. is a 130 year old, not-for-profit institution with over 100,000 members and over 1,000 local chapters. The AAUW mission supports work ranging from advocacy and research to education, and has awarded over $90 million in grants since 1988 to over 11,000 fellows and grantees from over 130 countries. The AAUW reaches potential applicants primarily through their members who encourage faculty to become reviewers and students to apply. 2 Grants are for $18,000 for a Master’s or Professional degree, $20,000 for Ph.D. dissertation, and $30,000 for Post-doc and research leave fellowships, with special funds available for follow-up grants to help award recipients complete their two year master’s degrees. 3 This year, the 49 international recipients are from 33 countries with the most from China at five, and three each from Israel, Turkey, India and Canada. The recipients will be studying at 38 American colleges and universities, and one in London with the most at three each attending Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and City University of New York. Other categories include Career Development and Community Action grants, Selected Professions fellowships, International Project grants which implement work funded by an International fellowship, and the Eleanor Roosevelt Fund Award. The number of awards given reflects the number of applicants in each panel. While the interest in most of the various categories has remained steady, applicants for Career Development grants more than doubled two years ago (from about 400 to 800) perhaps reflecting the American economy. These grants of $2,000 to $12,000 are given to US citizens or permanent residents who are seeking advanced degrees in fields that have not traditionally attracted or welcomed women. 1
The most popular area was Physical & Biological Sciences which received sixteen grants, twice the number of successful grant applicants as the Arts & Humanities with eight awards. The AAUW does more marketing and outreach for the Selected Professions Fellowships that were created to support degreed programs in which women’s participation has traditionally been low. These are the STEM fields; that is, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 5 The number of awards depends on the size of the endowments for a particular area of study. Members designate their preference when paying dues and making contributions. 6 All screening work is done online. 4
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Fornaro, R. J. & Heil, M. R. North Carolina State University Mentoring in a Computer Science Capstone Course ABSTRACT Technical knowledge is necessary for the education of computer science students, but it is not sufficient to guarantee career success. The complexity of computer science and the dynamic nature of related technological applications make the development of effective writing, speaking and teaming skills an essential component of educating the computer scientist. This paper describes how mentoring has shaped the experience offered by the North Carolina State University Department of Computer Science Senior Design Center. The Center facility provides an industrially-sponsored capstone experience to undergraduate computer science seniors. Faculty mentoring in the Senior Design Center is described. This mentoring of student teams is accomplished through many activities, one of which is referred to as Task Planning, a project management opportunity. In this activity, students plan and manage their semester project under the watchful eyes of faculty mentors. Task planning has proven to be an extremely powerful mentoring activity; it has become the pivotal event in this capstone experience.
Introduction & Background Informally stated, the generally accepted definition of mentoring is that someone experienced in something of common interest willingly provides advice and guidance to someone who shares that common interest and is willing to consider the advice and guidance given. The goal of this paper is to describe a very successful educationally rooted mentoring activity that has evolved over more than 15 years of teaching a capstone course for computer science seniors. We begin by describing the educational environment, goals and general operation of the course. We then discuss how mentoring helps solve the very important problem of student teams finding the best way for them to leverage team members’ time and skills to accomplish project goals within the semester time frame. Undergraduate programs in computer science traditionally focus on teaching students the basics of algorithms, data structures, software design, programming languages, and computer organization and operating systems. Mathematics, science and humanities courses are also required at a level typical of a science or engineering degree. The North Carolina State University (NCSU) undergraduate computer science (CSC) curriculum is accredited by ABET/CAC whose standards also demand that students learn to work as a team and write/speak in the discipline (Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, 2010). The NCSU Department of CSC has established a Senior Design Center (the Center) with the mission of integrating technical projects, professional communication skills (teaming, writing and speaking), and a software development process into an undergraduate capstone design course. The Center was established in 1994 to facilitate interaction between the CSC Department and North Carolina industry for the purpose of providing computer science seniors realistic project experiences by offering a 15-week senior design project course, CSC 492. Students in the course are required to participate in an industrially-sponsored project that must be completed in accordance with a software development process adapted exclusively for CSC 492. Each student is assigned to a team, is expected to contribute to the design, implementation and documentation of a project, and is expected to make at least one technical oral presentation. Approximately 10-15 individual teams are formed each semester. The faculty involvement in the Center is different from the typical lecture-oriented course in that the students are completely responsible for technical content of the project. The role of instructors is to help students with details related to communication and project management as well as provide commentary on student generated designs, algorithm selection, etc. Faculty serve as academic mentors; that is, they assist students with technical direction of the project, team coordination, professional communication (teaming, writing and speaking), and project management. Industrial mentors from sponsoring companies also
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work closely with students throughout the semester. Businesses are inclined to participate based on their interest in fostering relationships with the university and mentoring students. These projects are not offered on a contractual basis. Students earn a grade which is assigned by course instructors. The senior design experience offered by the Center is meant to serve as an experiential opportunity for students as they transition from the academic environment to a professional one. We have reported on the pedagogical model of the Center (Heil, 1999; Fornaro, Heil & Peretti, 2001; Fornaro, Heil & Tharp, 2007). This capstone course is team taught by professors of computer science and by a certified team specialist/technical communicator. Industrial sponsors provide project descriptions and a contact engineer who also serves as a mentor for the team. Students are expected to demonstrate software engineering principles by following a well-defined software development methodology. This capstone experience was created so that students could be challenged to integrate all of the skills that they acquire during their entire undergraduate curriculum – that is, technical expertise of their discipline, public speaking, technical writing and small group interaction/teamwork. Over the past 15 years in the Center, there have been over 150 sponsoring companies, and approximately 1000 students have been mentored and placed on more than 250 teams. Most teams are assigned to a real client problem. The intent of the senior design course is to emphasize software development process, teaming, writing and speaking. This involves one-on-one contact with each student team and the mentoring activities associated with the emphasis of these components are labor intensive and specialized. The team coordinator/technical communicator comes to know each member of the team at a level that is unfamiliar to the students. This personalized attention is unique in such an environment. For purposes of this discussion, professional communication components refer to the communication skills students must develop to be contributing members of technical teams and to clearly communicate their technical ideas through formal writing and speaking about those ideas. Task Planning: A Mentoring Activity In CSC 492, each team is expected to meet with the team coordinator/mentor to participate in an activity that is referred to as, “task planning”. The term, “task planning,” has been coined in this context in response to an observed tendency on the part of students to confuse use of the term “Project Requirements” with what they (the students) must do to complete the project. Simply stated, software engineering terminology defines “Project Requirements” as a detailed statement of what functions the proposed system must perform. “Project Design” refers to details about how the system is constructed to satisfy Project Requirements. In our environment, the steps each student must take to accomplish the project are referred to as “tasks”. “Task planning” refers to formal one-hour sessions during which the students learn how to leverage team strengths and identify team deficits to accomplish project goals. The first task planning session occurs after the first 3 weeks of the semester. By this time, the team has met with their sponsor and they have more of a sense of what their project involves. During this session, a list of tasks is established. The students are asked to bring their calendars for the purpose of organizing tasks related to their CSC 492 project and to tasks related to their other courses, professional commitments and life activities. The students communicate project details to the team coordinator to define each iteration of their project. The team coordinator facilitates this definition based on the time frame of the semester and time commitment expected from each member of the team. Students are encouraged to define iterations so that they may finish (i.e., complete requirements analysis through testing) one or two of them before their midterm break; this gives the students a sense of completion and accomplishment early in the semester. During these sessions, the team coordinator/mentor asks students about their strengths and weaknesses and explores with them the possibility of working on either optimizing strengths or strengthening weaker areas based on the time and resources available to them. Students are usually surprised after task planning sessions – many of them have never communicated in this way: breaking down tasks into subtasks, considering dependencies of one task on another, planning to learn from one another as they develop a piece of a project, or estimating the amount of time it will take them to complete a defined task. 62
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Estimation of Hours & Definition of Project Scope The instructors of CSC 492 expect each student in the course to work 10 hours per week. At the beginning of the task planning session, this number is used to determine total number of man hours expected within the defined time period. Students are told that during the session they will be expected to estimate time that it takes them to do certain tasks. When students are asked why the instructors may think that this is an important activity, a discussion about real-world application ensues: insight into how managers create budgets and project proposals using hour estimates is eye opening to many students. Oftentimes there are students on the team who have work experience and they also willingly share stories about this process. After this introduction, students are asked to define the first iteration of their project (i.e., a set of features or requirements and related code design, implementation and testing). Each student must identify their personal tasks and they are each asked to estimate time for completion of those tasks. This is challenging for most students, so when asked to estimate, the mentor asks them to pick between a range of hours; since this provides parameters for the students, they tend to be able to respond more readily. Once tasks and estimated hours are determined, the team and instructor align them with the calendar. This allows them all to look at the overall scope of the project and begin to determine what realistically can be defined as successful project completion. Accountability & Development of Approach As this process continues, each team member owns more and more of the project; that is, they become accountable to each other as they take on personal tasks and orally commit to completing them. The mentor asks the students to identify a basic set of system requirements (i.e., what the developed system needs to do) and to express code design related to the accommodation of those requirements. One student is asked to draw the beginnings of this design on the whiteboard. As a result of these actions, this collaboration is often the first time that the team members speak aloud about various approaches to their problem. When this happens, the mentor steps back and becomes an observer as the team expresses ideas and clarifies design concepts with one another. The instructors of this computer science senior design course have noticed over the years that students tend to struggle with this planning phase of the capstone experience. The early years of many undergraduate computer science curricula focus mainly on the programming aspects of the discipline (that is, how to write code). Requirements and design development is not the focus of the expectations for the students (much less the expression of that development) until their senior year. The mentoring of simple, straightforward planning activities that occur during task planning, therefore, tends to build confidence in fledgling computer scientists. Conflict Resolution & Leadership As the team shares ideas during task planning about various approaches to solving their problem, difference of opinions may emerge. This is often related to misunderstanding of the problem statement or preliminary requirements defined by the sponsor, disagreement about the most effective design pattern or tools to use, or issues of time management within the team. The mentor must coach the students through such conflicts until they are resolved; facilitation occurs, for example, so that a plan is devised for clarification of problem definition, pros/cons are evaluated, and time estimation is revisited and agreed upon by all. When conflicts arise during task planning, it is interesting to note the leadership styles that are revealed. The mentor needs to recognize and acknowledge the responses of each team member; for example, some students may monopolize the meeting, others may seemingly attempt to hide. Usually these behaviors are indicators of future team interaction, so it is best if the mentor takes advantage of the opportunity to take immediate action and model ways to handle such scenarios. Some students have an easier time than others to be outwardly proactive and confident, while others who may seem to be 63
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uninterested, may actually be intently listening and observing before jumping in with an opinion. It is important for the mentor to listen carefully, clarify students’ ideas and then encourage quiet team members to offer their thoughts; such mentoring serves to facilitate the group and to model appropriate actions. Illumination of Project Deliverables The instructors of CSC 492 require that all students deliver individual formal presentations (Oral Progress Reports) and that each student team writes formal Written Progress Reports/a Final Report. In general, computer science students define writing and speaking assignments as “overhead” to their work. As a result of tasking, the mentor and team fill up a large whiteboard with system requirement lists, various design approaches to problem, and tasks per team member including implementation decision making points and schedules for testing pieces of the developing application. To summarize the task planning session, the instructor asks the presenter of the team’s subsequent Oral Progress Report to outline his or her presentation. In most cases, that team member tends to process before speaking, looks at the whiteboard and seems to suddenly realize that the outline is right there in front of them all! The task planning itself has created a framework for the presentation: the requirements, design, implementation and testing of the team’s defined iterations. Similarly, when the mentor asks the team to outline their next Written Progress Report, the students recognize the structure in front of them. A discussion ensues as the mentor easily convinces the team that the oral and written reports are the work of the team. It is not only the code of the system that defines the “work” of a computer scientist, but it is also the recording of the planning and testing processes (requirements, design and test plans/results) that completes that work. Changing the computer science culture where writing and speaking prevail as “overhead” has been a goal of the Center since its inception. Task planning has proven to provide the most effective environment where this concept can be introduced to novice computer scientists. Follow Through At the conclusion of the task planning sessions, the mentor and team discuss the dynamic nature of task plans: if they change, rationale for the change must be provided either informally to instructors or formally documented, as appropriate. Students nearly always express an appreciation for these sessions; they comment on their usefulness and often ask if another session can be conducted during the semester. One session is required, additional sessions are optional; if students request another task planning session, the mentor usually plays a lesser role in any subsequent session and the students are encouraged to facilitate the session on their own. Student teams are expected to include formalized task plans in their Written Progress Reports and to hang the plans in their senior design laboratory workspace. On Team Work Days during the semester, instructors visit each team and ask them to provide a project update based on the posted task plan. To monitor whether or not individual students are keeping up with their assigned tasks, each student is required to record time spent on the project using a web-based logging system. Instructors read these logs and intervene if problems are detected. Mentorship is provided to students who may need guidance with issues related to, for example, time management, team conflict, and technical bottlenecks. Task Planning As a Model for Team Interactions Task planning sessions are pivotal to the computer science undergraduate senior design experience. The session provides an opportunity for instructors to provide mentorship to individual teams at an essential time of team formation and product development. Facilitation and modeling occurs so that students are able to scope a project for success, explore design tradeoffs, and turn conflict into a positive decision-making event. All team members participate in task planning, leading to the definition of expectations and ownership of project responsibilities. Communication components are revisited: 64
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students are encouraged to speak aloud as they convey and clarify ideas for one another and a deeper appreciation for course deliverables is revealed. Additionally, the session continues in the form of a written task plan, thus serving as a checkpoint for team monitoring and future discussion points between mentor and students. It is during and after these sessions that students begin to embrace the idea that this capstone course is truly an opportunity to effectively transition from the academic environment to professional life. REFERENCES Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, Computing Accreditation Criteria (2010). Retrieved September 2, 2011 from http://www.abet.org/Linked%20Documents-UPDATE/Program%20Docs/abet-caccriteria-2011-2012.pdf . Fornaro, R. J., Heil, M. R., and Peretti, S. W. (2001). Enhancing Technical Communication Skills of Engineering Students: An Experiment in Multidisciplinary Design. In Proceedings of the 31st ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (Reno, NV). 52G – 1-6 Vol. 3. Fornaro, R. J., Heil, M.R., Tharp, A.L. (2007). Reflections on Ten Years of Sponsored Senior Design Projects: Students Win-Clients Win! Journal of Systems and Software, 80 (8) pp. 1209-1216. Heil, M. R. Preparing Technical Communications for Future Workplaces: A Model that Integrates Teaming, Professional Communication Skills, and a Software Development Process (1999). In Proceedings of the 17th Annual International Conference of Computer Documentation (ACM SIGDOC, New Orleans, LA). New York, NY, pp. 110—119
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Vallejo Calvery, S. Seattle Pacific University Mentor Self-Efficacy and Program Support as Components of Successful Mentoring Programs ABSTRACT Mentoring research to date focuses on outcomes related to program goals and theoretical background, and almost all of these relate to the experience of the mentee. Very little research has been completed on the other side of the dyad – the mentor – despite the fact that mentor expectations and experience contribute significantly to the perceived benefits and success of the intervention. This paper explores the principal components of the mentor experience: motivation, commitment, self-efficacy beliefs and perceived quality of program support. In addition to a theoretical review of these components, the author reviews the minimal literature base and outlines a study currently underway that addresses one of the gaps in the research.
Self-efficacy and Program Support as Components of Successful Mentoring Programs Mentors are a highly sought-after commodity by organizations ranging from early childhood education to elder care. Mentoring interventions grew from the hope that with positive support from other people and more opportunities, individuals considered disadvantaged can overcome the obstacles that prevent them from reaching their capacity (Scales & Leffert, 2004). Mentoring theory has struggled to find concrete definition because the processes and models within the field are highly differentiated (DuBois & Karcher, 2005). Despite the tenuous hold on a common theoretical base, mentoring theory has developed over the past decade and is moving toward a solid typology of goals such as socialemotional and cognitive growth and identity development (Rhodes, 2005). While this burgeoning typology provides a strong background for implementing mentoring programs, it appears the desired positive effects of such programs may be limited or even negligible (DuBois, Holloway, Valentine & Cooper, 2002) unless more specific best practices can be identified and implemented. The rallying call of organizations seeking mentors is that mentors themselves will experience personal growth and satisfaction through involvement in a mentoring program. Yet burnout and attrition from such programs indicate that unless greater attention is paid to the mentor’s experience, through training and program support for example, greater harm than benefit may result from the undertaking (Rhodes, Spencer & Liang, 2009; Spencer, 2007). This paper focuses on cross-age mentoring between adults and youth classified as at-risk, examines theory and current research, and proposes next steps to enhance the effectiveness of mentoring programs. Foundations of Mentoring Theoretical: Self-efficacy and Human Agency Perhaps the single most important theoretical foundation for mentoring is Albert Bandura’s notion of self-efficacy, a term that refers to a person’s beliefs or confidence in his/her capacity to be successful in a given task (Bandura, 1997). Social cognitive theory suggests that a person’s overall success is tied to his/her confidence in successfully completing a specific task (Bandura, 2000). A lack of self-efficacy beliefs when faced with a task may likewise result in less successful completion of that task. Perceptions of self-efficacy “play a central role in the self-regulation of motivation through goal challenges and outcome expectations” as they reflect a belief that an individual exerts some control over the outcomes of their behaviors (Bandura, 2001, p. 10). Individuals, then, are not left at the mercy of fate, but are agents of their own development. Bandura (2000) notes that social cognitive theory partitions efficacy into three distinct yet interactive cells: personal, proxy and collective (p. 75). Personal efficacy is described above as relating to our beliefs about our own capabilities and capacities (Bandura, 2001, p. 17). Proxy efficacy is what you can 66
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accomplish through another person, for example relying on someone to accomplish a task you yourself cannot (p. 18). Collective efficacy is that which can be accomplished in collaboration (p. 18). I suggest that mentoring reflects each type of efficacy: 1) the personal (self-) efficacy of both mentor and mentee may be impacted through the relationship; 2) proxy efficacy is exhibited through developing what is called “social capital”, often giving at-risk youth a bridge into a world to which they would otherwise have no access; 3) finally, collective efficacy is shown through the possibility of breaking cycles of poverty and injustice by pairing at-risk youth with successful adults and encouraging both to consider how they may impact the world around them in light of their partnerships. Review of Literature Volunteerism and Motivation While not all mentors are volunteers, the majority of mentoring programs appear to rely on volunteers or persons given minimal stipends for participation (Karcher, Kuperminc, Portwood, Sipe & Taylor, 2006; Erickson, McDonald & Elder, 2009). Having a strong sense of purpose behind engaging in a task can impact self-efficacy beliefs about that task (Bandura, 2000) and thus, the motivations for working as a mentor are of interest to this topic. Motivations to volunteer have been investigated by social scientists and the predominant constructs found to be at work behind a volunteer’s desire to participate are social interest and altruism (Clary, Ridge, Stukas, Snyder, Copeland, Haugen, & Miene, 1998; Crandall & Harris, 2003). Mentoring-specific studies on motivation are not common and deliver frustratingly little information about the motivational structures experienced by mentors. Those that do exist, however, likewise point to social interest and altruism as the most common motivations (Evans, 2005; Philip & Hendry, 2000; Lee, Germain, Lawrence & Marshall, 2010). Philip and Hendry (2000) conducted a qualitative study in 2000, which attempted to isolate what benefits mentors hope to receive by participating in a program. This study indicated high levels of social interest focused on bridging generational gaps and increasing mentors’ own understanding of the difficulties youth face (Philip & Hendry, 2000). Despite the limitations inherent in a small sample of this type (n = 60 total, 30 youth and 30 adult mentors), this study in particular highlights the outcomes and motivations associated with collective efficacy and social justice motivations (a form of social interest). One is reminded that issues of class knowledge (Freire, 1992) and unequal levels of cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1973) can be addressed through mentoring. The theoretical and practical implications of this philosophical standpoint should be explored in more depth. Investigations of whether or not different forms of social interest (ie. general social interest/empathy vs. specific social interest/social justice/cross-generational bridge-building) effect levels of motivation and commitment to mentoring would benefit recruitment efforts of mentor organizations. Doveston and Rose (2008) performed a key concept analysis on a series of interviews with mentors of at-risk youth (n=42) to uncover the relationship between motivation of a volunteer and their role expectations. The results of their analysis highlight high levels of social interest and altruistic motivations (ie. motivated to help a child improve his/her future, desire to meet unmet needs, called to build trust between adults and at-risk youth) (Doveston & Rose, 2008). Most important to note in this study is the sense of unity of purpose expressed across the interviewees, suggesting that mentors exhibit their social interest similarly, as a desire to help those less fortunate than themselves, or to use their own experiences to help young people navigate their own difficult life situations. Commitment Yet, even strong motivations may falter due to the difficulty of mentoring a troubled youth (Freedman, 1998; Spencer, 2007). Commitment to the program/work is a secondary, yet equally important piece of the puzzle when considering how to identify contributors to and maintaining high levels of self-efficacy in mentors. Unfortunately, there is very little research on what contributes to sustained commitment to volunteering or mentoring in particular. 67
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Because attrition of mentors is one of the most significant issues facing programs today (DuBois, Holloway, Valentine & Cooper, 2002), it is imperative that researchers investigate attributes of commitment more thoroughly. In perhaps the most recently published investigation of mentor commitment and impact on outcomes, Grossman, Chan, Schwartz and Rhodes (2011) used logistical regression analyses to determine predictors associated with continued matches between mentor and mentee – matches that did not terminate early according to program expectations. The authors found that college age mentors were less likely than mentors of other age groups to maintain contact with their mentees and that mentors with prior experience mentoring were more likely to maintain their original matches (Grossman, Chan, Schwartz & Rhodes, 2011). The finding related to college age mentors may be due to the transient nature of the lives of most college students and also the variance in time availability caused by changing course schedules and should be investigated in more depth. Prior mentoring experience may predict a higher level of commitment to the endeavor due to multiple factors: higher self-efficacy caused by previous exposure to the task of mentoring, and a greater resiliency and ability to navigate troubling experiences in the relationship (Grossman et al., 2011). While the selfefficacy beliefs of mentors have not been studied nearly as often as those of students and mentees, it is valuable to look at what research does exist in order to identify mediating factors that may also impact the motivation and commitment levels of volunteers. Mediators of Mentoring Success: Program Infrastructure and Self-Efficacy Self-efficacy is not a stationary attribute, but one that fluctuates with tasks and experience (Gist & Mitchell, 1992). Thus, it is not enough to examine self-efficacy beliefs of mentors at one point in time, but to determine what impacts changes in self-efficacy over time and address those mediators. Enhancing self-efficacy can be accomplished through direct intervention in perceptions related to ability to complete the task (feedback), addressing expectations about the task itself (motivation, previous knowledge), and indirect manipulation of the task itself (changing requirements or resources needed to accomplish task successfully) (p. 18). All of these methods (except motivation, which was discussed above) can be addressed through program attention to infrastructural support for mentors both before they enter the field and as they continue to function in mentoring relationships. Indeed, this notion has been suggested and tested in the field. Training and Support of Mentors As recently as 2008, Rhodes’ meta-analysis on mentoring research concluded that while recruitment and training has not been a priority in the past, more and sustained training is a necessary component if mentoring is to have a lasting positive impact (Rhodes, 2008). While comprehensive training of mentors is a step often overlooked due to lack of resources, Simon and Eby’s (2003) study investigating negative organizational mentor dyad experiences suggests that attention to relational characteristics and assessment of mentor motivations could be used as valuable training and selection tools. A focus on role expectations and defining the stages of a mentoring relationship could alleviate misconceptions about task requirements and enhance self-efficacy of mentors entering the field. One of the first large-scale assessments of the Big Brothers Big Sisters model was conducted by Grossman and Tierney, who concluded that infrastructural support for mentors/dyads is one of the most critical predictors of a successful match (Grossman & Tierney, 1998). These findings were later substantiated by Herrera, Sipe and McClanahan (2000) in their study assessing factors that impact the mentor-youth bond. While it may seem sufficient to explain the mission of the program and to give a bit of background on the youth in orientation or matching sessions, other studies have shown as well that more extended and continued training is beneficial to the youth-mentor bond, and by extension, the success of a mentoring program (Langout, Rhodes & Osborne, 2004; Spencer, 2007).
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Similarly, the pressures of navigating relationships with a mentee whose life experience is different from a mentor’s life experience can induce stress and reduce self-efficacy, thus negatively effecting the ability of a mentor to bond with the youth (Lee et al., 2010). Without adequate training, skills such as bicultural competence, authenticity and healthy boundary setting may not be acquired by adult volunteers, thus leaving them open to burn-out and subsequent abandonment of the program and their assigned mentee (Blechman, 1992; Freedman, 1999; Lee et al., 2010). Based on these findings, it is clear that training and continued support of mentors by program personnel has a considerable impact on the perceived success of the mentoring experience, yet it is a difficult program component to find time and funding to uphold. If we can gain insight into how training and support impact self-efficacy beliefs, and how those beliefs in turn impact perceived success in mentoring, a higher degree of commitment to training may ensue. Self-Efficacy of Mentors Unfortunately, as stated previously, there are limited studies that have measured self-efficacy beliefs and experiences of mentors. Nonetheless, there are a few studies that can serve as a jumping off point for future research. The connection between mentors’ and mentees’ perceptions of relationship quality has rendered some pertinent information about the mediating factors of self-efficacy and program support. In two studies by Karcher, Nakkula and Harris (2005), mentors completed the Volunteer Functions Inventory (Clary et al., 1998) at the beginning of their volunteer work and the Match Characteristics Questionnaire (Harris & Nakkula, 1999) 4-6 weeks after entering the program and again six months later. While the motivations for mentoring measured in the VFI indicate good predictive ability of perceived relationship quality between the mentor-mentee, they lose some of their ability to predict the relationship quality between mentor-mentee after time in the program. After about six months of participation in the mentoring program, mentor self-efficacy, which was also an important correlate of perceived relationship quality at the beginning, becomes a greater predictor of perceived relationship quality than motivations behind mentoring (Karcher, Nakkula & Harris, 2005). A study conducted by Parra, DuBois, Neville, Pugh-Lilly and Povinelli (2002) showed a positive correlation between quality of training and perceived youth benefits as reported by the mentor, suggesting that mentor perception of program support directly impacts mentor efficacy (perceived “success” of program). This study performed a path analysis to assess the connections between a large selection of variables including demographic data, perception of quality of training, relational obstacles and program specifics. While the analysis provides some interesting ideas about connections between quality of training and mentor self-efficacy, the size of the sample and limited scope of the program involved do not allow for solid conclusions, statistically or theoretically. Nonetheless, future studies should examine the connection between self-efficacy and program support more deeply to determine whether the mediating effect of program support on perceived mentoring relationship quality does indeed become a moderating factor over time involved in the mentoring experience. Considering the malleability of self-efficacy as discussed by Gist and Mitchell (1992), it is surprising that there are few studies looking at changes in self-efficacy of mentors over time. Only one major study to date has explored the trajectories of mentor self-efficacy (MSE) and the factors that contribute to changes in MSE over time. Larose’s (manuscript submitted for publication, 2011) study identified three basic trajectories of MSE over a year’s involvement in a college mentoring program: 1) a stable group whose MSE did not change radically; 2) an increasing group whose MSE increased from moderate levels over time; and 3) a quadratic group whose MSE was high at the start and showed quadratic fluctuations over time (Larose, 2011). The instruments used to measure MSE also recorded perceived program support and a high positive correlation was found between perceived program support and trajectory, implying that the level of program support can have a considerable impact on levels of MSE and should be addressed by program coordinators. None of the groups showed a decline in MSE over time and the perceived levels of program support were tied most closely to group supervision sessions and not to preprogram training (Larose, 2011). Practical implementation of a trajectory model of MSE would enable 69
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program administrators to use assessments of MSE at intake and address the needs of the various trajectory groups over the course of their involvement. Additional research into associations between changes in self-efficacy and perceptions of program support would shed light on how mentoring organizations might enhance the self-efficacy of their mentors and help them maintain high degrees of self-efficacy throughout their involvement, which will also contribute to a commitment to continue serving as a mentor. If, for example, a mentor enters the program with high levels of self-efficacy, the program staff may wish to ensure group supervision opportunities where mentors can discuss their experiences and reinforce resiliency. A mentor showing moderate levels of self-efficacy upon program entry may benefit most from extended training and occasional opportunities to meet with supervisors. Potential mentors with low self-efficacy or largely ego-focused motivations may benefit from in-depth expectation discussions, which may serve to enhance their self-efficacy beliefs or to steer them into other volunteer opportunities that require less resiliency factors such as navigating challenging relationships. Conclusion When DuBois, Holloway, Valentine and Cooper (2002) completed the first and main meta-analysis of 55 studies, their intent was to isolate the most impactful aspects of mentoring programs. This coming year will bring a follow-up to that study covering the years 1999-2010 (D. L. DuBois, personal communication, May 16, 2011). While the 2002 analysis revealed the importance of modeling programs on both theory- and empirically-based best practices, they also concluded that “no single feature or characteristic of programs was indicated to be responsible for the positive trends in outcomes that were associated with greater degrees of utilization of either set of best practices” (Dubois, Holloway, Valentine & Cooper, 2002, p. 187). The inability to generalize results or scale programs is largely due to the basic fact that each community has different needs, and pursuing a one-size-fits-all intervention simply isn’t reasonable. While best practices become clearer, and mentoring continues to grow in popularity, there are some considerations that require urgent attention. As Rhodes, Spencer and Liang (2009) have noted, it is not enough to proceed with good intentions when a person’s well being is at stake. They state emphatically, “because a personal relationship is at the heart of mentoring interventions, inconsistencies, misunderstandings, and terminations can touch on youth’s vulnerabilities in ways that other, less personal, approaches do not” (Rhodes et al., 2009, p. 453). A focus on doing no harm is a particularly powerful mandate given the personal and relational tribulations most of the targeted intervention population has already endured. With attention to the matters outlined in this paper, programs can ensure that they are doing what they can to recruit and maintain mentors who will have the highest levels of commitment, motivations commensurate with the goals of the program and the resiliency necessary to persevere through challenges that mentoring at-risk youth brings. REFERENCES Blechman, E. A. (1992). Mentors for high-risk minority youth: From effective communication to bicultural competence. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 21(2), 160-169. Bordieu, P. Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In Brown, R. (Ed.). (1973). Knowledge, education and cultural change (pp. 71-84). London: Tavistock. Clary, E. G., Ridge, R. D., Stukas, A. A., Snyder, M., Copeland, M., Haugen, J., & Miene, P. (1998). Understanding and assessing the motivations of volunteers: A functional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(6), 1516-1530. Crandall, J. E., & Harris, M. D. (2003). Social interest, cooperation, and altruism. Journal of Individual Psychology, 50-55. DuBois, D.L., Holloway, B.E., Valentine, J.C., Cooper, H. (2002). Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: A metaanalytic review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 157-197. DuBois, D.L. & Karcher. (2005). Youth mentoring: Theory, research and practice. In DuBois & Karcher, Youth mentoring handbook (pp. 2-11). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
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Erickson, L., McDonald, S., & Elder, G. (2009). Informal mentors and education: Complementary or compensatory resources? Sociology of Education, 82(4), 344-367. doi: 10.1177/003804070908200403 Evans, T. (2005). How does mentoring disadvantaged young persons impact on the mentor? International Journal of Evidence-based coaching and mentoring, 3(2), 17-29. Freedman, M. (1999). The kindness of strangers. NY, NY: Cambridge University Press. Freire, P. (1992). Pedagogy of hope. NY, NY: Continuum. Gist, M. E. & Mitchell, T.R. (1992). Self-efficacy: A theoretical analysis of its determinants and malleability. Academy of Management Review, 17(2), 183-211. Grossman, J. B., Chan, C. S., Schwartz, S. E. O., & Rhodes, J. E. (2011). The test of time in school-based mentoring: The role of relationship duration and re-matching on academic outcomes. American Journal of Community Psychology, 1-12. doi: 10.1007/s10464-011-9435-0 Grossman, J. B., & Tierney, J. P. (1998). Does mentoring work? An impact study of the BBBS Program. Evaluation Review, 22(3), 403-426. doi: 10.1177/0193841x9802200304 Harris, J. T., & Nakkula, M. J. (1999). Match Characteristics Questionnaire (MCQ). Unpublished measure, Harvard Graduate School of Education. Herrera, C., Sipe, C. L., & McClanahan, W. S. (2000). Making mentoring relationships better: Program, matching and activity factors that contribute to mentors’ positive relationships with youth. Philadelphia, PA: Public/Private Ventures, (pp. 28-36). Hettman, D. W., & Jenkins, E. (1990). Volunteerism and social interest. Individual Psychology, 46(4), 298-303. Hixson, J. (1993). Redefining the issues: Who's at risk and why. Revision of a paper originally presented in 1983 at "Reducing the Risks," a workshop presented by the Midwest Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities. Jones, Doveston, & Rose. (2008). The motivations of mentors: Promoting relationships, supporting pupils, engaging with communities. Pastoral Care in Education, 27(1), 41-51. doi: 10.1080/02643940902733 167 Karcher, M., Kupermine, G., Portwood, S., Sipe, C., & Taylor, S. (2006). Mentoring programs: A framework to inform program development, research, and evaluation. Journal of Community Psychology, 34(6), 709-725. doi: 10.1002/jcop.20125 Karcher, M., & Lindwall, J. (2003). Social Interest, connectedness, and challenging experiences: What makes high school mentors persist? Journal of Individual Psychology, 59(3), 293-315. Karcher, M., Nakkula, M. J., & Harris, J. (2005). Developmental mentoring match characteristics: Correspondence between mentors’ and mentees’ assessments of relationship quality. Journal of Primary Prevention, 26(2), 93-100. doi: 10.1007/s10935-005-1847-x Langhout, R. D., Rhodes, J., & Osborne, L. (2004). An exploratory study of youth mentoring in an urban context: Adolescents' perceptions of relationship styles. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33(4), 293314. doi: 660111971 Larose, S. (2011). Trajectories of mentors’ self-efficacy during an academic and vocational mentoring experience: What they look like and what are their personal and contextual determinants? Manuscript submitted for publication. Lee, J. M., Germain, L. J., Lawrence, E. C., & Marshall, J. H. (2010, Fall). “It opened my mind, my eyes. It was good.” Supporting college students’ navigation of differences in a youth mentoring program. Educational Horizons. Midgely, C., Maehr, M. L., Hruda, L. Z., Anderman, E., Anderman, L., Freeman, K.E., Gheen, M., Kaplan, A., Kumar, R., Middleton, M. J., Nelson, J., Roeser, R., & Urdan, T. (2000). Manual for the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS). University of Michigan. Multon, K. D., Brown, S. D., & Lent, R. W. (1991). Relation of self-efficacy beliefs to academic outcomes: A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 38, 30-38. Parra, G. R., DuBois, D. L., Neville, H. A., Pugh-Lilly, A. O., Povinelli, N. (2002). Mentoring relationships for youth: Investigation of a process-oriented model. Journal of Community Psychology, 30(4), 367-388. Philip, K. & Hendry, L. B. (2000). Making sense of mentoring or mentoring making sense? Reflections on the mentoring process by adult mentors with young people. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 10, 211-223. Rhodes, J.E. (2008). Improving youth mentoring interventions through research-based practice. American Journal of Community Psychology, 2008, 41, 35–42. doi: 10.1007/s10464-007-9153-9 Rhodes, J., Liang, B., & Spencer, R. (2009). First do no harm: Ethical principles for youth mentoring relationships. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 40(5), 452- 458. doi: 10.1037/a0015073
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Rushton, J. P. and Sorrentino, R. M. Atruism and helping behavior: Social, personality, and developmental perspectives. Hillsdale, N.J.: L. Erlbaum Associates, 1981. Scales, P.C. & Leffert, N. (2004). Developmental assets. Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute. Schwarzer, R., & Jerusalem, M. (1995). Generalized Self-Efficacy scale. In J. Weinman, S. Wright, & M. Johnston, Measures in health psychology: A user’s portfolio. Causal and control beliefs (pp. 35- 37). Windsor, England: NFER-NELSON. Simon, S. A., Eby, L. T. (2003). A typology of negative mentoring experiences: A multidimensional scaling study. Human Resources, 56(9), 1083-1106. Sipe, C.L. (2005). Toward a typology of mentoring. In DuBois & Karcher, Youth mentoring handbook (pp. 6580). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Spencer, R. (2006). Understanding the mentoring process between adolescents and adults. Youth and Society, 37(3), 287-315. doi: 10.1177/0743558405278263 Spencer, R. (2007). "It's not what I expected": A qualitative study of youth mentoring relationship failures. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22(4), 331-354. doi: 10.1177/0743558407301915
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Thomson, I. University of New Mexico Thinking the Pedagogical Truth Event after Heidegger ABSTRACT Heidegger’s philosophy of education is a philosophy of transformation, one profoundly concerned with both personal and historical transformation. “Thinking the Pedagogical Truth Event after Heidegger” works up to the moment in which these two dimensions intersect, such that personal and historical transformation come together to illuminate, motivate, and facilitate one another. I call this doubly transformative moment the pedagogical truth event, and suggest that in such events, we achieve a revolutionary return to the self that shows us how to step beyond our nihilistic late-modernity into a genuinely meaningful postmodern understanding of being. “Paideia does not consist in merely pouring knowledge into the unprepared soul as if it were some container held out empty and waiting. On the contrary, real education lays hold of the soul itself and transforms it in its entirety by first of all leading us to the place of our essential being and accustoming us to it.” Martin Heidegger, “Plato’s Teaching on Truth.”i
As I have shown elsewhere, Heidegger’s philosophy of education is a philosophy of transformation, one profoundly concerned with both personal and historical transformation.ii In this necessarily condensed presentation, I want to work up to the moment in which these two dimensions intersect, such that personal and historical transformation come together to illuminate, motivate, and facilitate one another. I call this doubly transformative moment the pedagogical truth event. In such events, we achieve a revolutionary return to the self that shows us how to step beyond our nihilistic late-modernity into a genuinely meaningful postmodern understanding of being. To begin to explain this doublytransformative event (which is all I can hope to do here), I shall briefly sketch its personal and historical dimensions and their intersection. On the level of personal transformation, Heidegger’s ontological understanding of education is centrally concerned with that paradoxical question at the heart of the “perfectionist” tradition: How do we become what we are? “Becoming what we are” means discovering the ground of which we already stand, without having realized it. What we are, ontologically, is a world-disclosing being (a Dasein or “being-here”), that is, a being who implicitly participates in the making-intelligible of its world (by “unconcealing the concealed,” or “worlding the earth,” in Heidegger’s language). To realize such worlddisclosure means both (1) to recognize the implicit role we always-already play in constituting our intelligible worlds and also (2) to cultivate and develop our implicit skills for “poietic” world-disclosure, that is, for discerning and creatively developing the possibilities that continually emerge at the dynamic intersection between self and world, human being and being itself. In Heidegger’s early work, to realize what we already are is to be transformed by coming full-circle back to ourselves, an existential odyssey of departure and return I have called the revolutionary return to ourselves. In his later work the emphasis shifts, and Heidegger suggests a more complex account of how this transformative return to the self takes place. It is this later vision that I shall briefly reconstruct here, since it is more carefully attuned to the historical dimension of historical intelligibility.iii For Heidegger, that we each play a role in constituting our intelligible worlds never meant that we can freely determine how things show up for us, making cruelty look kind, ugliness beautiful, or frenzy relaxing by force of will or rational argument (pace widespread caricatures of “existential voluntarism”). He begins by acknowledging discursivity, the fact that the subconscious processes through which we render reality intelligible to ourselves dictate that even our sensory uptake of that reality is selective (as we can see by comparing our sense of smell with a dog’s, or our comparatively impoverished visual acuity with a hawk’s), and that the subconscious processes of attention to and conceptualization of this selectively-gathered perceptual information work to filter and organize it yet further (as we can see by 73
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comparing our sensitivity to shades of color with those of a skilled artist, or our taste of wine with that of an expert oenophile, or even our experience of the same film while in drastically different moods). As this suggests, our intelligible world, even in its greatest richness, is a slice of a slice of a slice of reality at best.iv Yes, this helps explain why the text does not mean the same thing for the expert teacher as it does for the novice student, but that is only an important instance of the more general truth that the way the world shows up for one expert teacher is not simply the way it shows up for another—let alone the way it has always shown up or will always show up for all human or other world-disclosing beings. When Heidegger contrasts the different historical worlds of the ancient Greeks, medieval Christians, and modern Westerners, his primary concern is not with gender, class, or cultural differences, but rather with a pervasive phenomenological difference in the way the world shows up that is still more fundamental. His focus is on the way Western humanity’s understanding of being—our most basic sense of what it means to be—gets constituted, focused, transmitted, and transformed. In his view, this “history of being” changes drastically over time and yet is neither a constantly shifting medium we can alter at will nor an unchanging monolith over which human beings have no influence. Heidegger’s understanding of ontological historicity—of the way in which our basic sense of reality changes with time—occupies a middle ground between the poles of voluntaristic constructivism and quietistic fatalism, and for him historical intelligibility is neither a formless Heraclitean flux (pace Derrida) nor an unbroken Parmenidean unity (pace Rorty). Instead, according to Heidegger’s punctuated equilibrium view of historicity (which I call ontological epochality), our changing understanding of being takes shape as a series of three drastically different but internally unified and relatively coherent historical “epochs,” the ancient, medieval, and modern. (The ancient and modern epochs further divided into the Presocratic and the Platonic, as well as the modern and later modern ages, for a total of five ages in the Western “history of being,” five overlapping yet distinguishable historical constellations of intelligibility.)v In each of these “epochs,” the overwhelming floodwaters of being are temporarily dammed so that a island of historical intelligibility can arise out of the river of time. Ontotheologies are what build, undermine, and rebuild these dams. But how? Ontotheologies focus and disseminate our basic sense of what it means to be. Our fundamental understanding of the being of entities—that is, of what and how all entities are—gets shaped historically by the ontotheological tradition running from Plato to Nietzsche. Grasping the entire intelligible order by uncovering both its innermost “ontological” core and its outermost “theological” expression, ontotheologies link these antipodal perspectives together so as to ground an historical age’s sense of reality from the inside-out and the outside-in simultaneously. Ontotheologies doubly anchor an epoch’s historical understanding of being when they succeed in grasping reality from both extremes at once, temporarily establishing both its microscopic depths and ultimate telescopic expression. Thus, to take the most important example, the sense of reality unifying our own late-modern age is rooted in the ontotheology first articulated by Nietzsche. Universalizing insights already discovered by Adam Smith and Charles Darwin in the domains of economics and biology, Nietzsche recognized that for us reality is ultimately nothing but competing forces coming-together and breaking-apart with no end beyond the maximal growth that perpetuates these underlying forces themselves. This is precisely what Heidegger discerns as Nietzsche’s “unthought” ontotheology, his understanding of the being of entities as “eternally recurring will-to-power.” As long as we cannot think beneath or beyond such ontotheologies, they come to function like selffulfilling prophecies—owing to what I have called ontological holism. Everything intelligible is in some way, so when ontotheologies reshape our sense of “Is-ness” itself, they thereby catalyze a transformation in our sense of what it means for anything to be, including ourselves. These ontotheologies implicitly reshape our sense of what and how all things are, like lenses we do not ordinarily see but, instead, see through. The problem is that Nietzsche’s ontotheology of eternally recurring will-to-power inaugurates what Heidegger famously calls the “technological” understanding of being, or “enframing” (Gestell). As we late-moderns come to understand the being of all entities as nothing but forces seeking their own selfperpetuating growth, we tend to treat all things—even ourselves and each other—as intrinsically-
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meaningless “resources” (Bestand) standing by merely to be optimized, enhanced, and ordered for maximally flexible use. As I argued in my book, Heidegger on Ontotheology: Technology and the Politics of Education, the ongoing reduction of education to the empty optimization imperative—“Get the most for the least!”—has to be understood not simply as a result of capitalist corporatization or bureaucratic routinization but much more deeply, in terms of the nihilistic technological ontotheology underlying all of these phenomena. When all entities are implicitly understood and so treated as nothing but intrinsically-meaningless resources to be optimized, it is not surprising that education becomes increasingly corporatized, instrumentalized, and technologized; nor is it surprising that students come to see education merely as a way to “Get the most out of their potentials” (where that typically means maximizing their financial prospects), or that indolence and dishonesty become rampant (since the optimization imperative makes cutting-corners and even cheating seem rational if students can get away with it; for, they mistakenly conclude, what better way to optimize—to get more for less—than to get a diploma while doing as little work as possible?). Seen in the light of our technological ontotheology, it is not surprising that plagiarism is becoming a growing problem (along with a whole burgeoning culture of theft), since the techno-utopian mantra, “information wants to be free,” though literally false (since information does not have any desires) is not a bad diagnosis of the basic problem with our technological understanding of being, which increasingly reduces reality to nothing but “information” (dichotomous binaries) seeking ever more efficient means of circulation (and so naturally shorn of such obsolete rituals as authorship). Nor is it surprising that the administrative bureaucracy becomes a self-regulating system pursuing its own selfoptimizing growth in the name of increasing “efficiency,” that is, of regulating and maximizing the input/output ratios of the university as a system (often under the alibi of the pursuit of an excoriated “excellence”). These serious problems afflicting education are deeply entrenched in the metaphysical substructure of our historical self-understanding, and so need to be diagnosed and treated at that level. This means we need to become aware of the subtle and often unnoticed impact of our late-modern, technological ontotheology so that we can learn to resist and transcend it. The larger question, then, is how we might transcend our late-modern, technological ontotheology and so inaugurate a postmodern understanding of being, and how education can help us make that historical transition. The educational key to making this transformative transition from our nihilistic modern understanding of being to a genuinely meaningful postmodernity, Heidegger suggests, is to learn to practice the phenomenological comportment he calls “dwelling” (or “releasement to things”). To put it much too briefly, to learn to dwell is to become attuned to the phenomenological “presencing” (Anwesen) whereby “being as such” manifests itself. “Being as such” is one of the later Heidegger’s names for that conceptually-inexhaustible dimension of intelligibility which all metaphysics’ different ontotheological ways of understanding the being of entities partly capture but never exhaust, the recognition of which can help lead us beyond our current ontotheology. For, if we can learn from the great poets and artists to become comportmentally attuned to the dynamic phenomenological presencing that both precedes and exceeds all conceptualization, then we too can come to understand and experience entities as being richer in meaning than we are capable of doing justice to conceptually, rather than taking them as intrinsically-meaningless resources awaiting optimization. Such experiences can become microcosms of, as well as inspiration for, the revolution beyond our underlying ontotheology that we need in order to transcend the nihilism of late-modern enframing and set our world on a different, more meaningful path. In order to understand the drastically different ways of comporting ourselves toward things that Heidegger contrasts—namely, the active receptivity of poetic dwelling, on the one hand, and the obtuse domination of technological enframing, on the other—it helps to think about the difference between these poetic and technological modes of revealing in terms of the ancient Greek distinction between poiesis and technê. Just think, on the one hand, of a poetic shepherding into being which respects the natural potentialities of the matters with which it works, just as Michelangelo (who, let us recall, worked in a marble quarry) legendarily claimed he simply set his “David” free from a particularly rich piece of marble
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(after studying it carefully for a month); or, less hyperbolically, as a skillful woodworker notices the inherent qualities of particular pieces of wood—attending to subtleties of shape and grain, different shades of color, weight, and hardness—while deciding what might be built from that wood (or whether to build from it at all). Then contrast, on the other hand, a technological making which imposes a predetermined form on matter without paying heed to any intrinsic potentialities, the way an industrial factory indiscriminately grinds wood into woodchips in order to paste them back together into straight particle board, which can then be used flexibly and efficiently to construct a maximal variety of useful objects. Now, in the same terms, think about the difference between an educational approach that helps students identify and cultivate their own unique talents and intrinsic skills and capacities in order to help them meet their generation’s emerging needs (and thereby encourages teachers to come into their own as teachers), as opposed to an approach that treats students merely as raw materials, “human resources,” and seeks to remake them so that they can pursue whatever society currently deems to be the most “valuable” career path.vi In each case, it helps to think about how one responds to the resistances one encounters: Does one seek to flatten-out and overcome them or, instead, to cultivate that which resists one’s will and so help bring it to its own fruition? While many late-moderns continue to believe (with Nietzsche) that all meaning comes from us (as the result of our various “value positings”), Heidegger is committed to the more phenomenologically accurate view that, at least with respect to that which most matters to us—the paradigm case being love—what we most care about is in fact not entirely up to us, not simply within our power to control, and this is a crucial part of what makes it so important. Indeed, the primary phenomenological lesson Heidegger drew from art is that when things are approached with openness and respect, they push back against us, making subtle but undeniable claims on us, and we need to learn to acknowledge and respond creatively to these claims if we do not want to deny the source of genuine meaning in the world. For, only meanings which are at least partly independent of us and so not entirely within our control—not simply up to us to bestow and rescind at will—can provide us with the kind of touchstones around which we can build meaningful lives and loves. Heidegger drew this lesson from poetry, but it is profoundly applicable to education, where it helps us understand what I have called the pedagogical truth event. Heidegger calls such an enduringly meaningful encounter an “event of enowning” (Ereignis). In such momentous events, we find ourselves coming into our own (as world-disclosers) precisely by creatively enabling things to come into their own, just as Michelangelo came into his own as a sculptor by creatively responding to the veins and fissures in that particular piece of marble so as to bring forth his “David”; or as a woodworker comes into her own as a woodworker by responding creatively to the subtle weight, color, and grain of an individual piece of wood in order to make something out of it (or to leave it be); or as, in the pedagogical truth event, a teacher comes into his or her own as a teacher by learning to recognize and cultivate the particular talents and capacities of each individual student, thereby enabling these students to come into their own. In all such cases, a poetic openness to what pushes back against our pre-existing plans and designs helps disclose a texture of inherent meanings, affordances, significations, and solicitations, a texture Heidegger teaches us to discover “all around us”—not only in nature, our workshops, and classrooms but even in our lives as a whole.v For, we truly learn to “make something” out of our lives not when we try to impose an artificial shape on them but, rather, when we learn to discern and develop creatively that which “pushes back” in all the ways mentioned here, and many more. Here we can glimpse the importance of “the pedagogical truth event” for understanding mentorship. We can use “mentorship” to name a crucial aspect of ontological education, namely, the teacher’s helping the student to identify and develop his or her distinctive talents and capacities, ideally so as to help students respond to their sense of the most pressing issues of their time and generation. To some that might sound like a task burdened with duties, but in fact it’s amazing how little it can take. Just “as an inconspicuous tap of the sculptor’s chisel imparts a different form to the figure” (as Heidegger put it), so a few simple but true words that recognize and respond to something inchoate but meaningful in a student’s
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work can have a profound impact, encouraging students to continue to develop the skills and abilities that make them distinctive, since it is such development that leads to a fulfilling life, as the perfectionist tradition teaches us. Nor is this some wholly altruistic or other-directed action; on the contrary, teachers come into their own as teachers by helping students recognize and cultivate their distinctive skills and abilities in a meaningful way. In so doing, teachers and students help being itself to come into its own as well, as always informing yet never being exhausted by our poietic discernment and creative development of its possibilities.viii Here the teacher is only the foremost learner, dedicated to learning in public in order to show by example that learning means discerning and developing ontological possibilities, thereby helping students develop their own sensitivities to the texture of the texts in which they live as well as their abilities for creative world-disclosure. This means being ready to let go of one’s lesson plan when the opportunity to nurture a potentially important discussions arises, and also that it is advantageous not just to teach new figures and emerging movements, but to do so while also teaching the same great texts repeatedly, since the dedicated re-reading of such texts allows one to discover something new in them every time. That experience of learning to see something where previously one saw nothing is absolutely central to the education philosophy of the pedagogical truth event. For, all genuine meaning derives from and requires this skill of learning to discern and disclose the inchoate possibilities of things.ix If intelligibility can be thought of as composed of “texts” that we continually read and interpret (as Derrida’s famous aperçu, “there is nothing outside the text,” suggests), then we can hear Heidegger as reminding us that we need to learn to recognize and respond to the texture of these ubiquitous texts. This texture of meanings independent of our wills can be more or less subtle, but by dissolving all being into becoming, the current of Nietzschean technologization tends to sweep right past it and can even threaten to wash it away, as in the case of particle board and, much more “dangerously,” Heidegger suggests, in the technological reengineering of human beings, even in its seemingly milder form of educational enframing, in which poetic discernment of genuine possibilities get eclipsed and overwritten by empty technological optimization. Nonetheless, Heidegger remains hopeful that once we learn to discern this technological current, we can also learn to cultivate a “free relation to technology” in which it becomes possible to use even technological devices themselves to resist technologization, the nihilistic obviation of any meaning independent of the will. In fact, we are already doing this, for example, when we use a camera, microscope, telescope, or even glasses to help bring out something meaningful that we might not otherwise have seen, when we use a synthesizer or computer to compose a new kind of music that helps us develop and share our sense of what is most significant to us, when we use a word processor to help bring out what is really there in the texts that matter to us and the philosophical issues that most concern us, or even when we use a highly technologized university to teach the art of slow and careful reading that is dedicated to helping teacher and students learn to discern and develop such will-independent meanings together. To put the larger point that emerges here in philosophical terms, what the later Heidegger suggests is a fundamental ontological pluralism (or plural realism). We need to be sensitive enough to meanings independent of the will to be able to “cut reality at the joints,” but because those joints provide us with more of a suggestive outline than a final design, there will in most cases be more than one way of disclosing the genuine hints we are offered.x This means, for example, that, just as a talented artisan can make more than one thing from a single piece of wood, so there was also more than one form slumbering in the veins of the marble from which Michelangelo “released” his David. And, for the same reasons, there will usually be more than one right answer to the existential question of what we should each do with our lives. That helps explain the persistent recurrence of the question in education, since it can never be settled once and for all, and why those looking for the one right answer never seem finally to find it.xi Like the neo-Aristotelian view of “open resoluteness” (Ent-schlossenheit) that Heidegger developed in Being and Time, his later view of the active receptivity of “releasement” (Gelassenheit) suggests a kind of ethical and aesthetic phronêsis or practical wisdom. The guiding idea here is that, rather than getting hung up looking for the one right answer—and, when we finally despair of finding it, rebounding back to the relativistic view that no answer is better than any other (or concluding nihilistically that intrinsic
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meanings are an obsolete myth, thereby ignoring the multiple suggestions nature offers us or overwriting these hints with our own preconceived ideas rather than seeking to develop them creatively)—educators should instead cultivate the recognition that in most situations there will be more than one right answer to questions of what to do or how best to go on. The leading hermeneutic principle to follow pedagogically is thus that there is more than one inherent meaning to be found in things. For, if being is conceptually inexhaustible, capable of yielding meaning again and again, then the intrinsic meanings of things must be plural (or essentially polysemic), however paradoxical such a doctrine of ontological pluralism might now seem, given our current obsession with formal systems capable of securing monosemic exactitude. Indeed, to understand the being of the entities we encounter in a postmodern way is to no longer preconceive everything we experience as modern objects to be controlled or as late-modern resources to be optimized, but instead to learn to discern and creatively develop the independent meanings, solicitations, and affordances of things, staying open to the multiple suggestions things offer us, to the point of dedicating ourselves—as teachers and as human beings—to bringing forth such hints creatively and responsibly into the world. _____________________ i
See Heidegger, Pathmarks (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 167; Gesamtausgabe Vol. 9: Wegmarken, F.-W. von Herrmann, ed. (Frankfurt a. M.: V. Klostermann, 1976), p. 217. (Volumes of Heidegger’s Gesamtausgabe referred to hereafter as “GA” plus the volume number.) I explain and discuss this crucial passage in detail in Heidegger on Ontotheology: Technology and the Politics of Education (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), Ch. 4, esp. pp. 155-81. ii For some of the hermeneutical evidence and philosophical arguments establishing that Heidegger’s ontological thinking about education forms one of the deepest undercurrents running through his philosophy, both early and late, see Thomson, “Heidegger’s Perfectionist Philosophy of Education in Being and Time,” Continental Philosophy Review 37:4 (2004), pp. 439-467; and Thomson, Heidegger on Ontotheology: Technology and the Politics of Education. iii For a presentation of his earlier, Being and Time, view and its main differences from his later understanding, see “Heidegger’s Perfectionist Philosophy of Education in Being and Time” and Heidegger on Ontotheology, Chs. 3-4. iv I discuss Heidegger’s heroic embrace of the tragic truth that the known floats atop the unknown like the tip of an iceberg above a deep dark sea in Heidegger, Art, and Postmodernity, Ch. 3. v I explain these views in detail in Heidegger on Ontotheology, Ch. 1, and in Heidegger, Art, and Postmodernity, Ch. 1. vi I develop these suggestions in detail in Heidegger on Ontotheology: Technology and the Politics of Education, esp. Chs. 2 and 4. As I suggest there, a genuinely vocational education would be perfectionist, cultivating and developing essential capacities, not empty and instrumentalizing. vii Heidegger seeks to teach us “to listen out into the undetermined” for a “coming [which] essentially occurs all around us and at all times” (Country Path Conversations, B. Davis, trans [Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010], p. 147/GA77, pp. 226-7). Kenneth Maly describes the tripartite “enowning” at the heart of the phenomenon of Ereignis in terms that cleave closely to Heidegger’s own: “Things emerge into their own, into what is own to them; humans come into their own as they respond to the owning dynamic in being as emergence; being as emergence enowns Dasein—all these dynamics belong to the matter said in ‘enowning.’” (Heidegger’s Possibility: Language, Emergence—Saying Be-ing [Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008], p. 174). As Maly suggests, there is a third dimension of enowning in which being too comes into its own; that happens, I show in Heidegger, Art, and Postmodernity, when Dasein and the being of entities come into their own together in such a way that being itself is disclosed in its essential plenitude or polysemy—and this is the crucial postmodern moment. viii That such crucial pedagogical “events” are what most deeply matters educationally, rather than the mere transmission of information, helps explain why teachers are more important than topics. Different teachers have different styles and interests, and different styles and interests disclose some students’ distinctive skills and capacities better than others, so students should be encouraged to find the teachers whose teaching styles and interests speak to them, calling them to put their most into a class rather than just trying to get a good grade ix This is one of the central theses of Heidegger, Art, and Postmodernity. x Heidegger’s “The Origin of the Work of Art” suggests that intelligibility contains a complex texture of edges, lines, and breaks, a “rift-structure” that forms an open-ended “basic design” or “outline sketch” to which we need to learn to be creatively receptive in order to bring at least one of the potentially inexhaustible forms slumbering in the earth into the light of the world. xi I develop this view in “Heidegger’s Perfectionist Philosophy of Education in Being and Time.”
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Roybal, K. M. University of New Mexico Academic Coaching in the University Setting ABSTRACT Universities are eager to find effective interventions to increase student retention and completion. Academic coaching is one proposed intervention that goes beyond simple advising and tutoring to aid students. Quantitative evidence on the positive effect of academic coaching is primarily limited to one randomized study, but the results are encouraging for universities interested in adding academic coaching to current student support offerings. Informally surveying university academic coaching programs lent credence to coaching's usefulness as well as provided information on target student populations, formal coaching models, software used for appointment tracking, and the organizational location of the program in the university. The paper concludes with an overview of the distinction between coaching and mentoring.
Academic Coaching The National Academic Advising Association states that: Academic coaching is an interactive process that focuses on the personal relationship created between the student and the coach. The coach challenges the student to think about his or her personal and/or professional goals in order to relate them to his or her academic/educational goals. In this learning process, it is important for the coach to encourage the student to become more self-aware by understanding his or her strengths, values, interests, purpose, and passion. This process should also focus on the student developing necessary skills to be responsible for his or her actions and decisions. Through this learning and growing process, the coach should provide the student with resources to enhance academic success and personal development, as well as developing action plans that holds him or her accountable for the results. (NACADA, 2011)
Based on this definition, academic coaches take on a facilitative role to help students work through the barriers and challenges they face by developing their self-awareness. Academic coaches co-actively work with students based on their individual needs; however in the university setting academic coaching programs advertise that coaches can help with: • time management and organizational skills; • setting up a study schedule or daily routine; • goal setting and developing action plans; • test-taking preparation and strategies to deal with test anxiety; • note taking and reading for comprehension; • focus, concentration, memory; • procrastination, motivation, setting priorities; • enhancing self-esteem; • stress management; • and awareness of campus resources. Although academic coaches provide support in many areas, they are not counselors, tutors, or teachers (Robinson & Bloom, 2009). Academic coaches are not trained psychologists or psychiatrists, and while coaches may be supportive of and encouraging to students when they reveal personal problems, they should not attempt to provide professional counseling services. Coaches are also not there to act as a secondary tier for teaching class material; class instructors are responsible for teaching, and students should not rely on coaches to explain the material to them outside of class. They may provide the abovestated services to help the student be more focused and retain more information while in class, but should refer the student to tutoring if they are primarily looking for help with class content. Some academic coaches concurrently hold positions as academic advisors, however the two provide different forms of assistance. The job of an academic advisor is (generally) to help students choose appropriate courses for their majors and make sure that they fulfill requirements for graduation. While academic coaches may
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work with a student to determine an appropriate field of study based on their interests and strengths, they should not be consulted as experts on department or university course requirements. Keeping in mind their limitations, academic coaches should be knowledgeable of campus resources so that any students whose needs would be better served by a different department or program can be appropriately directed. Even though an academic coach can help a student in many areas, some programs may focus on specific student populations. In some instances, programs use academic coaching for remediation, targeting students who are on academic probation/warning or who have been conditionally admitted to the university. Other universities provide academic coaching as a resource for first- and second-year students. Scholarship programs and other departments that focus on high-achieving students may also have academic coaches available for student use. Behavioral, Cognitive, and Cognitive-Behavioral Background Many aspects of coaching theory and practice ground themselves in the field of psychology. Three common psychological approaches to coaching found in literature are behavioral, cognitive, and cognitive-behavioral (Berg & Karlsen, 2007). The behavioral approach focuses on altering or eliminating problem behavior. When coaches can pinpoint specific behaviors that lead to undesired outcomes and make clients aware of those behaviors, they can then work to change them (Berg & Karlsen, 2007, p. 5). If a student consistently gets graded down for turning in late assignments because they wait to work on them until the night before they are due, then the coach can help them set up a schedule to start working on assignments earlier. In this way, a change in behavior can directly affect a specific outcome. The cognitive approach focuses on the thoughts of the client. Specifically, if coaches can change the way clients think about themselves or a certain situation, they can influence the corresponding behavior that was previously interfering in achieving desired goals (Berg & Karlsen, 2007, p. 5). Indeed, a person’s cognitions can directly affect performance; if a student believes that he will fail a test, he will be less likely to utilize strategies that would help him pass (Smither & Reilly, 2001). By employing coaching techniques that help change cognition, coaches can facilitate change in behavior. The cognitive-behavioral approach takes into account both behavior and cognition in an attempt to achieve a desired outcome. Coaches using this approach can help their clients identify cognitions that result in problem behavior, alter the cognitions and give tips on what behaviors could help the client achieve the end goal, and then monitor any outward change in behavior and (possible) resulting goal attainment. The difference between this and a strictly behavioral or cognitive approach is the assessment of change in behavior to determine if the client is making progress (Ducharme, 2004, p. 215). Coaches using this approach can observe subjective changes in students’ cognitions, if there is a corresponding behavioral change in the way students approach their academic work, and if these have resulted in visible changes in grades and course completion. Academic coaching takes in facets of all these approaches to help the student in the best way possible. Sometimes a student may only need help with creating a schedule so that they can more efficiently manage their time between school and other responsibilities. At other times coaches might facilitate a change in major by encouraging the student to really think about what interests them what they want to accomplish in the future. No matter the reason students come in for coaching, academic coaches work with cognition and behavior in order for the student to reach their stated goal while tracking progress with regular updates on class work, course grades, and GPAs.
Benefits of Academic Coaching An online search produced only one randomized study on the effects of academic coaching on student retention. Bettinger and Baker (2011) analyzed data gathered on InsideTrack’s academic coaching initiatives available at several universities. Using randomized assignment, InsideTrack provided coaching 80
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to students in 17 cohorts whose treatment and control groups were found to be similar in demographic characteristics. The students’ progress (retention rates) was tracked at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Bettinger and Baker found that coaching provided a statistically significant impact on retention rates for the treatment groups at each time period. Furthermore, the effects did not change when controlling for “age, gender, ACT score, high school GPA, SAT score, on- or off-campus residence, receipt of a merit scholarship, Pell Grant awards, math and English remediation” (Bettinger & Baker, 2011, pp. 3-4). This leads one to conclude that academic coaching can help with the retention of any student in the general population, not just groups targeted for remediation or on academic probation. Bettinger and Baker go on to state that when looking specifically at gender, the receipt of coaching produced a slightly higher effect for males than females (versus their respective control groups), signifying that coaching may reduce the gender disparity in retention rates. Hutson and Bloom (2007) presented case studies on the effect of appreciative advising on the success of targeted students at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Based on the concept of appreciative inquiry, appreciative advisors use positive questions to find a student's strengths and passions. They then work with that student to align those areas with an appropriate course of study, plan for the future, and address any barriers or challenges that might present themselves on that path. In two programs, UNCG found that providing appreciative advising increased students' rates of success. The first, mandated for students on academic probation, introduced appreciative advising into their intervention after failing to see results in previous years. After the inclusion of appreciative advising, UNCG saw an improvement of 18% in the retention of first-time probation students, and found that "the treatment group achieved a statistically significant GPA gain of .73 (p = .03) compared to the control group at .42" (pp. 4, 7). The second program targeted students who had been readmitted to UNCG after academic dismissal. Among students who voluntarily met with an appreciative advisor, 90% were eligible to continue to the next semester, while those who did not only showed a 33% eligibility. In addition, 58% of the students who participated in the program earned GPAs greater than 3.0 (compared to the mean GPA of 2.86), while the mean GPA of those who did not participate was 1.29 (p. 7). Survey of University Programs Informally surveying universities’ academic coaching programs revealed information on the student populations targeted for academic coaching, formal coaching models used by programs, software used for tracking meetings, and the organizational location of the programs. Corresponding data can be obtained from the author. Student Populations The majority of programs state that academic coaching is available to all students in the university or in the specific department where the program is located. Several mentioned that they mostly (or exclusively) work with first- and second-year students. A few programs stated that they provide academic coaching mainly for students on academic probation/warning, but that any student is eligible for coaching no matter their academic standing. Coaching Models When asked if the program used any specific coaching model, the concept mentioned the most was Appreciative Advising. Appreciative Advising is “the intentional collaborative practice of asking positive, open-ended questions that help students optimize their educational experiences and achieve their dreams, goals, and potentials” (Robinson & Bloom, 2009, p. 5). The process of Appreciative Advising goes through six phases: Disarm Recognizing the importance of first impressions, create a safe, welcoming environment for students.
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Discover
Utilize positive open-ended questions to draw out what they enjoy doing, their strengths, and their passions. Listen to each answer carefully before asking the next positive question. Dream Help students formulate a vision of what they might become, and then assist them in developing their life and career goals. Design Help students devise concrete, incremental, and achievable goals. Deliver The students follows through on their plans. The advisor/coach is there for them when they stumble, believing in them every step of the way and helping them continue to update and refine their dreams as they go. Don’t Settle The advisor/coach challenges the student to proactively raise the student’s internal bar of self-expectations. (Robinson & Bloom, 2009, pp. 6-7) Appreciative Advising, when laid out this way, resembles the basic concept of academic coaching. This formal model has allowed academic coaches to have concrete phases and recommendations to refer to when dealing with students. Aside from Appreciative Advising, the majority of programs stated that they tailored their coaching based on each individual’s and the university’s needs, and did not rely on any formal coaching model. Software The software most used by the programs to track coaching meetings was Redrock Software Corporation’s TutorTrac (or, for some, AdvisorTrac). TutorTrac is a web-based application that allows students to schedule meetings online during available coaching times and lets coaches record student attendance, automatically email appointment reminders, and generate reports, among other features. Additionally, “TutorTrac can import data from other databases, including Banner, Peoplesoft, Datatel, SIS, and more” (Redrock Software Corporation, 2011), so student information can be easily obtained through existing systems and used in TutorTrac with minimal compatibility issues. AdvisorTrac is similar to TutorTrac in features and specifications. Other software mentioned was MS Excel, MS Outlook, MS OneNote (which can all be obtained through the MS Office 2010 suite), MS Access, the Google suite of programs (Docs, Calendar, etc.), or a program specifically designed in-house for the academic coaching program. Of the software that was not created in-house, most coaching programs utilized the software that their universities already had on-hand (like MS Office and TutorTrac) and did not purchase any additional software. Organizational Location University academic coaching programs appear to be divided evenly in organizational location; programs were either included in the department of Academic Affairs/Support, Student Affairs/Support, or some alternate version of these two entities. Either location seems appropriate based on the purpose of academic coaching: providing support to students so that they may succeed in their academic pursuits. Coaching vs. Mentoring Mentoring theory is related to coaching theory; both outline a supportive relationship between a facilitator and a learner. Coaches and mentors provide assistance to their clients/mentees in order to promote some sort of growth or development, often using questioning, personal reflection, active listening, and feedback giving to help achieve their goals (Griffiths, 2005). Even with their similarities, however, people use coaches and mentors for different reasons. We can examine the differences between mentoring and coaching through Crisp and Cruz’s (2009) proposed framework for mentoring in a university arena. They submit that mentoring is comprised of the following constructs: "(1) psychological and emotional support, (2) support for setting goals and choosing a career path, (3) academic subject knowledge support aimed at advancing a student’s knowledge relevant to their chosen field, and (4) specification of a role model" (p. 538).The first stated facet of mentoring is 82
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to provide psychosocial support to the mentees. This involves the mentors at times acting as a friend and providing advice when mentees come to them with personal problems. Coaches, however, are not counselors, and instead work with clients to help develop skills (such as stress management) that they can then take and apply to personal issues they may face. Second, although mentors often encourage mentees to set goals, most are general career goals or mile markers that they want to hit on their career path. With this in mind, mentoring relationships can last for long periods while the mentees move in the direction of their goals. The purpose of coaching, however, is to actively work towards and achieve a specific goal, usually within a specified time period (Griffiths, 2005).Third, mentors usually work in the same field or hold positions that mentees strive towards (e.g. tenured professor in a specific department), while coaches usually stand outside the client’s field and help with general skills achievement, not specific subject mastery (Koortzen & Oosthuizen, 2010). Although serving similar interests in developing learners, coaching and mentoring is not the same. The two fields are complementary, and the use of both can be beneficial to students in a university setting, but it is useful to know that they serve different purposes and that one may be more applicable than the other depending on the situation. Conclusion Academic coaching is another option for universities seeking to provide more academic support to their students. Although quantitative evidence on the positive effect of academic coaching is primarily limited to one randomized study, anecdotal evidence and the presence of academic coaching programs in other universities supports the idea that academic coaching is a useful addition to existing student resources. REFERENCES Barkley, A. P. (2010). “Academic Coaching” for Enhanced Learning, Higher Levels of Student Responsibility, and Greater Retention. Paper presented at the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association 2010 Annual Meeting, Denver, CO. http://purl.umn.edu/61853 Berg, M. E., & Karlsen, J. T. (2007). Mental Models in Project Management Coaching. Engineering Management Journal, 19(3), 3-13. Bettinger, E., & Baker, R. (2011). The Effects of Student Coaching in College: An Evaluation of a Randomized Experiment in Student Mentoring NBER Working Paper Series. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Crisp, G., & Cruz, I. (2009). Mentoring College Students: A Critical Review of the Literature Between 1990 and 2007. Research in Higher Education, 50(6), 525-545. doi: 10.1007/s11162-009-9130-2 Ducharme, M. J. (2004). The Cognitive-Behavioral Approach to Executive Coaching. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 56(4), 214-224. doi: 10.1037/1065-9293.56.4.214 Griffiths, K. E. (2005). Personal coaching: A model for effective learning. Journal of Learning Design, 1(2), 55-65. Hutson, B. L., & Bloom, J. L. (2007). The Impact of Appreciative Advising on Student Success. E-Source for College Transitions, 5(1), 4, 7. Koortzen, P., & Oosthuizen, R. M. (2010). A COMPETENCE EXECUTIVE COACHING MODEL. SAJIP: South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 36(1), 1-11. doi: 10.4102/sajip.v36i1.837
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Spearman, H. & Hinshaw, B. University of Wisconsin Multicultural Mentoring: Creating Professional Connections ABSTRACT Many multicultural and first generation students lack the role models and professional connections that provide pathways into successful business careers. While many programs exist for modeling and mentoring within a higher education framework, these students also need programming that assists the geographic or professional communities our institutions serve in the recruitment and retention of young professionals from multicultural backgrounds. Using the Multicultural Mentoring Program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukees Lubar School of Business as a model, participants will discuss ways of forging the community collaborations that enhance and support academic and professional success.
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Vasquez, I., Gonzalez Cardenas, E., Serrano Najera, J., Diaz, J., Borrego, S., Gomez, T., Gonzalez Cisneros, E., Gutierrez, R., Jimenez, A., Martinez, R., Ochoa, O., Perez, D., Murillo-Perez, L., Ramirez, R., McKnight, C. & Furtado, L. California State University, University of California, University of Arizona & University of New Mexico Mentoring as a Labor of Mutual Love: and Support: Enhancing Student and Faculty Academic Success ABSTRACT Faculty members in Chicana/o Studies Departments across the United States encourage faculty student mentoring as a core component of the academic program. Mentoring deserves more reflection by faculty because of its demonstrated success in facilitating undergraduate retention and graduation. By reflecting on and refining the process, educators may improve the results of faculty student mentoring. The Chicana/o Studies Department at California State University, Dominguez Hills successfully employs a model of transformative mentoring that results in a high quality educational environment and stimulates student and faculty academic success. Transformative mentoring involves creating positive, interactive relationships premised on encouragement, validation, reciprocity, high expectations and shared wisdom and experiences. Significantly, transformative mentoring produces benefits for the mentor and mentee and is, therefore, multidimensional and circular. Over the past six years, faculty members in the Chicana/o Studies Department at CSUDH have tracked the educational successes of current and former students and finds that transformative mentoring enriches student educational achievement and aspirations to complete a post baccalaureate degree or program. A recent survey of current and alumni students indicates that students report transformational effects on their academic, social and personal potential. This panel examines quantitative and qualitative information to measure the impact of transformative mentoring on first generation college students at CSUDH. Faculty members, undergraduate, and alumni students will offer their interpretations of the meaning and impact of transformative mentoring in a Chicana/o Studies Department. When serving underrepresented, first generation college students, effective and rich mentoring remains a priority due to its power for transformation.
Background The Chicana/o Studies Department at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) forefronts student success that goes beyond degree completion and extends to long-term personal, academic and social enrichment. Faculty student mentoring comprises one of the high impact practices used by the Chicana/o Studies Department at CSUDH. Faculty student mentoring deserves more reflection by administrators and faculty in higher education because of its demonstrated success in facilitating undergraduate retention, graduation and post-baccalaureate success. By reflecting on and refining the process, educators may improve the results of faculty student mentoring. Founded as a field of study in the late 1960s, Chicana/o Studies emphasizes student support services, including faculty student mentoring as a means of retaining and graduating first generation college students. For Chicana/o activists of the late 1960s and early 1970s, educational achievement held the promise of social transformation for the Mexican American community in the United States.i In response to the substandard K-12 education and college success rates of Chicana and Chicano youth, activists sought to develop a curriculum and pedagogical approach that would create long term change within the Mexican American community. A fundamental proposition to the success of Chicana/o Studies was the recruitment of faculty who were invested in Chicana/o student success. Student support through peer tutoring and mentoring was also envisioned as critical to the development of a successful Chicana/o Studies program. The Chicana/o Studies Department at California State University, Dominguez Hills utilizes a model of transformative mentoring that results in a high quality educational environment and stimulates student 85
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and faculty academic success. Transformative mentoring among Chicana/o Studies faculty members and students involves creating positive, interactive relationships premised on encouragement, validation, reciprocity, high expectations and collective wisdom and experiences. Significantly, transformative mentoring produces benefits for the mentor and mentee and is, therefore, multidimensional and circular.ii Methodology Over the past six years, faculty members in the Chicana/o Studies Department at CSUDH have tracked the educational successes of current and former students and found that transformative mentoring enriches student educational achievement and aspirations to complete a post baccalaureate degree or program. The authors developed a survey that queried current and former undergraduate students majoring in Chicana/o Studies Department and graduate students taking course in the Chicana/o Studies program about their faculty student mentoring experience. Students report that faculty mentoring had transformational effects on their academic, social and personal potential. Faculty members, undergraduate, and alumni students on this panel will offer their interpretations of the meaning and impact of transformational mentoring in a Chicana/o Studies Department. When serving underrepresented, first generation college students, effective and rich mentoring remains a priority due to its power for transformation.iii The survey on Chicana/o Studies faculty student mentoring developed included 22 questions aimed at determining the effectiveness of faculty student mentoring in Chicana/o Studies at CSUDH. Current and former students were invited to participate in the crafting the survey. Questions queried students about the strength and consistency of the faculty student mentoring relationship, the impact of faculty student mentoring, and the likelihood of their participation in mentoring. Six open-ended questions allowed survey participants to offer their input and advice on the topic of faculty student mentoring. A total of 35 former and current students responded. The survey results points to a high degree of effectiveness in faculty student mentoring and its outcomes. Context From January 2005 to August 2011, the Chicana/o Studies Department at CSUDH graduated 77 students as primary or secondary majors. Students graduating from the Chicana/o Studies Department demonstrate a high degree of postgraduate success. 39 of 77 (51%) CHS graduates tracked by the Chicana/o Studies Department in the last seven years have applied to post baccalaureate education including Teaching Credential programs, Law Schools, Masters and PhD programs and thirty-eight students (49% of total) have been admitted to the aforementioned post baccalaureate programs. To date, 15 of 77 students (19%) have received a post baccalaureate credential or degree. Faculty student mentoring comprises one critical aspect of student success in Chicana/o Studies at CSUDH. The Chicana/o Studies Department offers a culturally relevant curriculum, faculty student mentoring, research opportunities, and cultural and community-centered programming. Chicana/o Studies faculty student mentoring takes several forms at CSUDH. Chicana/o Studies faculty members mentor students through research projects, extra-curricular activities, and post-baccalaureate application processes. Faculty student mentoring through research makes up one of the most effective high impact practices of the Chicana/o Studies department. During the 2005-2006 academic year, Chicana/o Studies initiated a student learning outcomes assessment plan (SLOAC) to review course and program effectiveness. As part of the SLOAC process, the CHS department identified the capstone course titled “CHS 490 Capstone” as an area of the curricular program where faculty mentoring could be included to boost student success. Subsequently, the course was redesigned as a senior research capstone course. The course offered students the opportunity to highlight their learning in the Chicana/o Studies program. A specific objective of the course was to strategically prepare students for graduate and professional opportunities as well as career placement by strengthening research-based theoretical inquiry and analytical development skills of undergraduate and
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graduate students. The role of the faculty instructor went beyond specific course-based instruction and involved a sixteen-week long process of faculty guidance and feedback. By institutionalizing faculty student mentoring inside and outside the classroom space, Chicana/o Studies built in a long-term mechanism for student success. The CHS 490 capstone augments student research experience and disciplinary knowledge in Chicana/o Studies through a summative required course assessment, a research paper and oral presentation in the course. Upon completion of the course, the faculty member identified students who successfully completed their final assessment and asked them to present their research at the CSUDH sponsored Student Research Day or at the annual conferences of the National Association of Chicana/o Studies or the Pacific Coast Council on Latin American Studies.iv Over the past four years, the majority of the students enrolled in the CHS 490 course demonstrated satisfactory proficiency in CHS student learning outcomes and thus many participated in an academic conference outside of the scope of the classroom. Based on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of student papers and presentations from spring 2006 through spring 2009, the majority of the students demonstrated satisfactory competency. Overall, 81% of all students who took the CHS 490 capstone course exceeded the requirements from spring 2006 through spring 2009. Ten percent completed satisfactory work. Two percent did not meet the requirements. Seven percent of the students withdrew or received an Incomplete in the course.v Although a middle-sized department, Chicana/o Studies has more student participants in research day comparative to its size than most other academic programs at CSUDH. In the past five years, a total of 34 students supervised by Chicana/o Studies faculty have participated in the CSUDH Student Research Day competition. Among these students, two students have won the CSU statewide competition and five students have won in the CSUDH Research Day competition. Students positively describe their experience as participants in the research competition. Their written and oral statements indicate that they value participating in student research and receiving faculty mentorship through the research process. One student wrote that, “The opportunity to present at an academic conference impacted my educational ambitions because there were questions at the end of my presentation that I left unanswered. Thus, I want to keep learning and digging deeper into my area of study to be able to answer those questions. Professionally, my ambitions became greater because I saw where I wanted to be. I enjoyed presenting my ideas that were inspired by others and their achievements that were interesting and relevant to me. Before this time I had never been given the opportunity to present my opinion or findings in that big and public of a venue. It inspired me and showed me that I could achieve things I had never imagined.”vi -Alejandra Hernandez, 2009 Graduate Recently admitted to Masters in Education Program, USC
Chicana/o Studies faculty members have mentored students in research opportunities outside of the classroom. These include structured programs that involve faculty mentors, as well as faculty-led research projects related to publications. Faculty members in Chicana/o Studies have worked with twelve Ronald E. McNair Scholars. Many of these projects serve community-based research initiatives. Some of these projects resulted in publications that named students as research contributors. Over the past five years, faculty members in Chicana/o Studies have supervised ten undergraduate and graduate students awarded the Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and five students awarded the California State University Chancellor’s Doctoral Incentive Award. Five of these students are currently enrolled in PhD granting programs, six have completed a Masters program, two have earned a Teaching Credential, and one recently began a Masters program. Survey Findings Chicana/o Studies faculty commitment to providing undergraduates with a strong research background has resulted in a proportionally significant number of students who have applied to and 87
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finished post-baccalaureate programs. Faculty student mentoring plays a pivotal role in their success. Below is a sample of responses to Question 20 “Did participating in a faculty-student mentoring relationship in Chicana/o Studies influence your desire to complete a post-baccalaureate degree? If so, how?”: Absolutely! If it was not for my mentor and Chicana/o Studies at CSUDH, I might not have gone to graduate school. I finally had someone that cared about my education and really [taught] me many things I had missed out on due to inequalities I experienced in K-12 education. I did not know what graduate school was until I developed a mentoring relationship with a faculty member. This mentoring relationship really opened my eyes to post-graduate education and the many opportunities graduate school can offer. I also further developed my passion for helping and mentoring other historically underrepresented groups of people in academia. My faculty mentor encouraged me to go to graduate school. I never thought that grad school was even possible for me to go to. My faculty mentor planted the seed and thankfully, I did decide to go. Consequently, my faculty mentor impacted my professional and career aspirations immensely. As an art major, unfortunately I didn’t find the mentoring in the Art Department. I found it in the Chicana/o Studies Department upon completion of a Chicana/o Studies course I knew I had found my place in academia. I owe my post-baccalaureate career to the immense mentor received from the Chicana/o Studies faculty. The experience the Chicana/o Studies faculty has enabled them to help me pursue a Masters Degree and continue on toward a Ph.D. The guidance and knowledge my mentor passed on to me helped me continue my educational path. Building the mentoring relationship I was able to talk to my educator and receive guidance that would help me complete my post baccalaureate degree. Any time I was in doubt and felt I could not continue she offered the support that would help continue. I think just knowing the low number of Latinas/os who don’t achieve a post-baccalaureate degree pushed me to apply to post-baccalaureate programs. But, I do think that having a mentor strengthened my desire to not only one day obtain a masters, but to strive for a Ph.D. Having a mentor set my goals higher.
The 2011 Chicana/o Studies mentoring survey corroborates that the majority of respondents had a faculty mentor in Chicana/o Studies and that they believed that faculty mentoring has a positive impact on their education. The survey, which was sent to current and former students, generated 34 respondents who were Chicana/o Studies majors and several graduate students enrolled in a Chicana/o Studies interdisciplinary special masters program from the period of January 2005 through August 2011. Thirtytwo of the thirty-four respondents indicated that they had a faculty mentor in Chicana/o Studies at CSUDH (question 2). Two respondents indicated that they did not have a faculty mentor. Twenty-nine current and former students reported that they had a “moderately strong” (12.9%) to “extremely strong” (54.8%) relationship with their faculty mentor, with 25.8% indicating they had a “very strong” relationship extremely. One responded that they had a “slightly strong” relationship and one indicated that they declined to answer. When asked, “How positive were your interactions with your faculty mentor, 81% marked “extremely positive” (26 of 32) and 15.6% marked “very effective.” One indicated that they had “moderately positive” interactions. One hundred percent of the students responding to the question “How effective was your faculty mentor in Chicana/o Studies,” stated they had a “very effective” (8 of 31) relationship or an “extremely effective” (23 of 31) relationship with their faculty mentor. The responses by current and former students demonstrate that the large majority of students had positive interactions with their faculty mentor and believe their mentor to be effective. Survey data demonstrates that faculty student mentoring is transformative because it provides a positive, nurturing, and validating environment in which students enhance their self-confidence for educational success. One hundred percent of the respondents indicated that faculty student mentoring was “very important” (5 of 31) or “extremely important” (26 of 31) to their education. Of all the respondents, 96.9% responded that faculty student mentoring assisted “a lot” (11 of 32) or “a great deal” (20 of 32) in assisting them to achieve their potential. Open-ended responses to question 18, “Did
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participating in a faculty student mentoring relationship in Chicana/o Studies at CSUDH impact your educational, professional, or career ambitions? If so, how?” Some sample responses below indicate that students believe that faculty mentoring has a positive and transformative effect on them: There are many obstacles in my life that at times made me feel like giving up. I was often reminded by my mentor that I had a good head on my shoulders and it was great reading my papers. It was these small comments (and all the great help and guidance) that have me entering my last year and seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I realized that there are many more opportunities out there (beyond undergraduate education) and that I was capable and deserving of them. By participating in the faculty-student mentoring relationship I have been impacted to set and achieve great goals then I [had] ever imagined!!! My faculty-student mentoring relationship impacted my educational and professional aspirations deeply. Mentorship is what essentially got me through my educational experience as a graduate student. There were several instances when I thought that I wouldn't be able to get through my graduate program but with the support and encouragement of my faculty mentor I pushed myself to continue and complete a graduate degree. I have also recently decided to continue my graduate education by pursuing a doctoral degree, which my faculty mentor has always encouraged me to do even after completing a Masters degree. Although I initially wanted to pursue a career at a community college, I truly believe my place is teaching at a university. Yes. I was supported throughout my academic efforts and always felt accountable to my advisers. This helped me feel a sense of purpose, accountability and therefore more inclined to complete my academic goals. I also believe that if sound relationships are developed, it could translate to future opportunities if for example, one wishes to pursue academia and become a University educator. Since I am first generation to attend graduate school in my family, I felt that having a mentor has impacted me in continuing higher education. Since I don’t have any individuals in my family to ask for help, I was able to build the relationship with my mentor in order to receive the necessary knowledge to help me apply to graduate school and become successful student. My mentor has exposed me to conferences, research and many other educational opportunities that no other individual has presented at CSUDH. Knowing I have an individual that related to me culturally has made it easier for me to talk to her and ask for guidance. Yes, the faculty-student mentoring relationship in Chicana/o Studies at CSUDH impacted my educational, professional, and career aspirations. It helped me network with others in various fields, such as educational and professional. Mentoring gave me direction and organization, which helped with the establishment of clear goals and aspirations. Participating in a faculty-student mentoring relationship, helped guide me. I think that without the mentorship I received I would have settled for something else. Yes. My experience with Chicana/o Studies at CSUDH helped me realize that I wanted to obtain a PhD and become a university professor. Chicana/o studies at CSUDH helped me develop as a mentor, teacher, and writer. My mentor was a great role model and inspired me to continue my education and seek a career in postsecondary education.
The last question of the survey encouraged students to list the specific benefits they received from having a faculty mentoring Chicana/o Studies. Below is a summary of these student-identified benefits: Confidence and self esteem Social skills Professional networks Student network Gained work skills Self-discipline Guidance Advisement Participation in conference Leadership skills Social responsibility Career advice Conducting research Faculty support Scholarly development Information about graduate school Desire to pursue post-baccalaureate degree
Supporting other students Developing friendships Met Chicana/o scholars and artists Educational knowledge Experience teaching in field Continuous professional support Internship opportunities Understanding of history Study abroad opportunities Cultural programming
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The transformational mentoring that CSUDH faculty and students engage in has expanded the boundaries of traditional faculty-student mentoring to include mentoring outside of the classroom and learning from collective wisdom and experiences. This type of faculty-student mentoring has not only resulted in a high quality environment that promotes individual student success, it has also resulted in a number of overreaching positive outcomes. First, transformational faculty-student mentoring at CSUDH transformed many historically “invisible” students in academia, making them visible, which is demonstrated by the high number of student participation in conferences and their presence in postbaccalaureate degrees or programs. Given the low number of students of color with a post-baccalaureate education, this is an especially significant outcome. Second, the effect of transformational faculty-student mentoring can expand beyond the success of the mentored students. As evidenced by one respondent, this type of mentoring can influence the mentored students to “[develop a] passion for helping and mentoring other historically underrepresented groups of people in academia.” Thus, transformative faculty-student mentoring will positively affect generations to come. Finally, transformational mentoring proves that the often-high rate of unsuccessful students of color in higher education is not a result of a lack of motivation from the students’ part. On the contrary, it suggests that the traditional educational institution may lack culturally relevant instruction and mentorship that does not take into consideration all students’ needs to succeed and enter the educational pipeline. Conclusion As the survey has demonstrated, faculty mentorship at CSUDH has provided students with the knowledge, self-confidence, and professional and analytical skills to excel as undergraduate students, attain their baccalaureate degrees, and for the most part continue on to post baccalaureate education. Chicana/o Studies at CSUDH also nurtured students’ commitment to social justice and responsibility. As one student puts it, “I was not just there (CSUDH) to get a degree, but to make a difference.” The holistic approach that the CSUDH faculty provided through their mentorship helped students blend their sense of social justice with their academic goals. This demonstrates the transformative potential of a Chicana/o Studies curriculum and pedagogy that helps undergraduates become civically responsible and engaged in community development. Moreover, in a communal environment where faculty and students worked together as mentor and mentee more so than teacher and student, students formed relationships amongst each other that developed into support networks in both post-baccalaureate programs and the professional world. The results of this survey point towards further studies of how transformational mentorship by faculty of students can help improve pedagogical practices in the university. Furthermore, the effectiveness of transformational mentorship in a Chicana/o Studies program point towards the transformative role of culturally relevant education for undergraduate students. ________ i
Plan de Santa Barbara (La Causa Publication, 1970). “Mentoring for Transformative Learning: The Importance of Relationship in Creating Learning Communities of Care,” Journal of Transformative Education 2007 5:329. iii Daniel G. Solorzano and Dolores Delgado Bernal, “Examining Transformational Resistance Through a Critical Race and Latcrit Theory Framework Chicana and Chicano Students in Urban Context,” Urban Education (2001): 308-342. iv Elizabeth González Cárdenas, Irene Morris Vasquez, and Susan Borrego, “Chillin’ with Knowledge: Chicana/o Studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills Engaging in High Impact practices.” Paper presented at California State University Teaching Symposium, Channel Islands, April 16, 2011. v Chicana/o Studies Student Learning Outcomes, Chicana/o Studies, California State University, Dominguez Hills, http://cah.csudh.edu/chicanastudies/slo.htm. vi González Cárdenas, Morris Vasquez and Borrego, “Chillin’ with Knowledge”. ii
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Albright, K. & Carraher, E. Virginia Tech & University of Utah Digital Mentors: Peer Learning in Design Education ABSTRACT Over the course of the 2010-2011 academic year, 200 first-year architecture, industrial design, landscape architecture and interior design students in Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture + Design participated in a pilot program exploring ways to introduce digital technology and computational thinking into the School’s beginning design curriculum. The findings from these workshops are being incorporated into a two-year, twoUniversity initiative to establish both the content and the construct for teaching digital technology and computational thinking to beginning design students. The open and interactive atmosphere of the School has traditionally fostered cross-disciplinary pollination and an environment where peer learning is a natural occurrence. Recognizing this ingrained structure, the concept of “digital mentors” was developed as part of the workshop structure. The digital mentor is an upper-year student skilled in the technology who serves as a resource for conceptual and technical questions from the first year students. The mentor’s role evolved over the year from informal teaching assistant to co-collaborator through dialog with faculty. As peers, the mentors built a relationship with the younger students that allowed them to help contextualize the information and convey to the faculty issues and questions that arose outside of workshop hours. A conversation among the mentors emerged organically through discussions on ways to foster a dialog among the more expert technologists in the School. As a result, the mentors are developing their own ‘Digital Forum,’ seen as a place for discussion and information exchange that will be supported by resources from the faculty.
Digital design technologies and computational thinking are integral to the future of architecture and design practice. Digital technologies are the tools of modern designers; computational thinking is the mindset that allows us as architects and designers to master the capabilities and expand the potential application of these tools. Advances in computer-aided design and digital modeling technologies have broadened the range of tools available to architects and designers to generate and represent our work beyond the historically universal and still valid axioms of analog representation. The potential of these established and emerging tools working in combination is limitless given that we designers know how to use them effectively. Our challenge as architecture and design educators is to determine how emerging ideas and practices can best be integrated into the established pedagogy. Educating the next generation of architects and designers in computational thinking and digital design technologies is the challenge we set for ourselves while working together in the School of Architecture + Design at Virginia Tech. Over the course of the 2010-2011 academic year, 200 first-year architecture, industrial design, landscape architecture and interior design students participated in a pilot program exploring ways to introduce digital design technologies into the School’s Foundation Design curriculum. The findings from these workshops are being incorporated into the next phase of this initiative – a twoyear, two-University effort – to establish both the content and the construct for teaching digital technology and computational thinking to beginning architecture and design students. The necessity of incorporating these concepts and technologies into architecture and design education is evidenced by changes in practice where digital technologies are playing and will continue to play an increasingly integral role. Architect Thom Mayne, in a presentation to the American Institute of Architects entitled “Change or Perish,” stated: “You need to prepare yourself for a profession that you’re not going to recognize a decade from now, that the next generation is going to occupy… I’ve always been interested in the processes of architecture that are imbedded in the invention of something that you couldn’t get to without that process, and of course the computer really advances those ideas. The tools we now utilize simplify these potentialities and make them logical, allowing us to produce spaces that even ten years ago would have been difficult to conceive, much less build. Anything that is possible is
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realizable. Our conceptual thinking is increasingly embedding tectonic, constructional, and material design parameters. Less emphasis on designing in the traditional sense—styling, let’s say—and more emphasis on making.”i His statement covers both the ideas of computational thinking – “simplify these potentialities and make them logical” – and the digital technologies that allow for buildings that would have previously been “difficult to conceive” to be designed and built. The foundational question for us is when and how these fundamentals of digital design technologies and computational thinking are introduced into the existing curriculum. We have taken the position, counter to many other institutions, that these tools should be introduced as early as possible at their fundamental level to allow for more advanced tools and concepts to be taught as the students progress in their technical and intellectual abilities. We believe that the importance of integrating these tools and concepts early into the education sequence is related to the way students are encouraged to think in the first year of their architecture and design education, where they are taught the fundamentals of design indirectly in exercises and assignments that demonstrate these principles through hands-on experimentation. In architecture and design education, the main work of the students happens in design labs or studios, which are places of experimentation as well as places of the development and realization of architecture and design projects. This structure developed from the historic models of the École des Beaux Arts and Bauhaus schools where studio-based learning is defined by a master/apprentice relationship and espouses learning-by-doing.ii The terms ‘lab’ and ‘studio’ are used interchangeably because the educational construct is such that at any one time, the lab/studio could be functioning both as a laboratory for design experimentation as well as an environment where the expertise of the faculty as ‘master’ is called upon to direct that creative exploration toward making constructive design discoveries. The design lab (aka studio) is intentionally structured as a safe environment that allows for creative exploration through constructive play, frees students from the fear of failure, and reiterates that any one solution to a design problem is not the only solution. “Part of what makes play valuable as a mode of problem solving and learning is that it lowers the emotional stakes of failing: players are encouraged to suspend some of the real-world consequences of the represented actions, to take risks and learn through trial and error.”iii Students learn how to be critical and reflective thinkers, how to incorporate their assertion of interests into their work, how to both build on work from the past and think innovatively, and how to work collaboratively with others. In essence, students learn the fundamentals of ‘design thinking.’ According to Jeannette M. Wing, a leading voice in the development of computational thinking, “Computational thinking is a kind of analytical thinking. It shares with mathematical thinking in the general ways in which we might approach solving a problem. It shares with engineering thinking in the general ways in which we might approach designing and evaluating a large, complex system that operates within the constraints of the real world. It shares with scientific thinking in the general ways in which we might approach computability, intelligence, the mind and human behavior.”iv And we propose that it shares with design thinking in the general ways in which abstraction and representation lead to development of program, materials, and context as a complex integrated system (aka a building or product) that operates at a level beyond any one component but that carries within every component an understanding of the system as a whole. Design thinking could broadly be defined as a process of experimentation and structured play that endeavors to defy preconceptions by approaching problem solving through problem setting.v It utilizes the same methods as computational thinking including, decomposition, pattern recognition, pattern generalization and abstraction, and algorithm design,vi but through explorations in form, material and space rather than through lines of code. Wing’s research finds that most children today are facile with the mechanics of using the computer as a tool and are not afraid to explore and play with it. “Young people in the United States today are growing up in a media ecology where digital and networked media play an increasingly central role. Even youth who do not possess computers and Internet access at home are participants in a shared culture where new social media, online media distribution, and digital media production are commonplace among their peers and in their everyday school contexts.”vii Given that the students are predisposed to technological literacy
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from an early age, we decided that the first year design studios were the ideal place to synthesize the introduction of these new tools alongside the other fundamentals of design. The School of Architecture + Design at Virginia Tech defines the first year of all design majors’ education as ‘foundation design.’ This creates a mixing chamber of multiple disciplines - architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, and industrial design - in common design studios called Foundation Design Labs. This structure reinforces the idea that the parameters of design cross over disciplinary boundaries. Early investigations into the nature of design in the studios lead to further development (both in terms of the specialized nature of students’ particular fields of study as well as in their particular fields of interest) of more complex ideas over the course of their education.viii It also fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration both within the school as well as throughout the University. “The new [media] literacies almost all involve social skills developed through collaboration and networking. These skills build on the foundation of traditional literacy, research skills, technical skills, and criticalanalysis skills taught in the classroom.”ix Our goal is to cultivate not only digital literacy, but also digital virtuosity in design students by the time they graduate from the School. The challenge is for those of us educated in the pre-digital paradigm to conceptualize a way to teach students who have grown up surrounded by computers how to use them in the process of design. Architectural theorist Neil Leach states: “We are witnessing a new generation of designers operating within the digital domain, who are not simply using these technologies as a sophisticated tool for testing out designs conceived in a more traditional paradigm, or as a technique for assisting in construction calculations, but rather as a medium through which to pursue design itself.”x In order to foster this attitude toward a sophisticated use of the digital tools beginning in their first year of design education, we chose to borrow a model that has been used to successfully integrate analog tools into the design studio for the introduction of the digital technologies through the model of workshops rather than through an adjacent technical course or seminar. The open and interactive atmosphere of the School - where students work at dedicated desks surrounded by students from other years and majors - has traditionally fostered cross-disciplinary pollination and an environment where peer learning is a natural occurrence. Historically in the School, high value has been placed on a pedagogy that encourages development of a ‘durable knowledge,’ the type that once comprehended is with them for the rest of their lives.xi To this end, the School has a rich history of workshop-based, hands-on learning with materials such as plaster, ceramics, photography and printmaking. Workshops are typically self-contained, intensive, week-long experiments integrated into the design lab that allow students to learn the skills required to work with a material or tool and then to challenge those traditional methodologies. Because we are equating the computer as a tool to the pencil or model as a way to approach design, the workshop framework was adopted as the format for introducing digital media to the first-year students. It also provides a precedent for both creating baseline proficiency for all students with the digital media as well as encouraging further exploration and development of individual and collective interests in past successful analog manifestations. Regarding innovative environments, Steven Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation, offers this formulation: “What kind of environment creates good ideas? The simplest way to answer it is this: innovative environments are better at helping their inhabitants explore the adjacent possible, because they expose a wide and diverse sample of spare parts – mechanical or conceptual – and they encourage novel ways of recombining those parts. Environments that block or limit those new combinations – by punishing experimentation, by obscuring certain branches of possibility, by making the current state so satisfying that no one bothers to explore the edges – will, on average, generate and circulate fewer innovations than environments that encourage exploration.”xii The workshop structure provides both the ‘spare parts’ through the new materials and processes that are presented and proposes ‘novel ways of recombining’ them. Through the incorporation of the workshops into the design lab, we also recognized the potential benefit of the ingrained culture of peer-to-peer learning within the School and began to nurture the concept of “digital mentors” as part of the workshop structure. The digital mentor emerged as an upper-
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year student skilled in digital technologies who served as a resource for conceptual and technical questions from the first year students.xiii Through open dialog with the faculty, the mentor’s role evolved over the year from informal teaching assistant to collaborator. Both by having worked on similar design projects in the past and by having a deliberately close geographic proximity to the students they were working with, the mentors built relationships with the first year students that allowed them to help contextualize the information and convey to the faculty issues and questions that arose outside of workshop hours. This structure allowed for both formal and informal learning to occur. Informal learning environments “offer powerful opportunities for learning…because they are sustained by common endeavors that bridge differences – age, class, race, gender, and educational level – and because people can participate in various ways according to their skills and interests, because they depend on peer-to-peer teaching with each participant constantly motivated to acquire new knowledge or refine their existing skills, and because they allow each participant to feel like an expert while tapping the expertise of others.”xiv The significance of informal learning is validated in recent research on children living and learning with new media. Lead investigator Mizuko Ito writes: “Peer-based learning has unique properties that drive engagement in ways that differ fundamentally from formal instruction.”xv We began to recognize that due to the nature of the faculty/student ratio of the workshops – one professor for nine sections comprising 200 students – that many of the project-specific questions were being addressed to the faculty running the workshops (in the formal instructional model) and most of the post-workshop theoretical or exploratory questions were being addressed to the digital mentors (in the informal instructional model). This relationship between mentors and first year students was further strengthened because of the discrepancy between what the first year students are learning about the technologies and what their faculty know. While able to critically engage the students in critique of the design work that results from the use of digital technologies, most professors are not able to address technical questions about how to achieve designs using the software programs. One of the interesting and unexpected developments over the course of the 2010-2011 year was that as the mentors took on more responsibility, they repeatedly rebuffed offers for Teaching Assistant stipends. They were consistently more interested in helping younger students than getting paid either because they themselves had been mentored and they wanted to give back the same type of assistance, or because they struggled on their own to develop advanced skills and wanted to help the younger students avoid the same difficulties. From a pedagogical perspective, this is an ideal if unexpected outcome – students develop vertical dialogs across years and majors, which models the structure they will enter when graduating into practice. A conversation among the mentors emerged organically through discussions with us about how to foster a dialog amongst the more digitally-skilled students in the School and how they could mentor each other. As a result, the mentors are developing a ‘Digital Forum’ for discussion and information exchange that will be supported by resources from the faculty. Ito’s research offers support in the following statement: “Peer-based learning is characterized by a context of reciprocity, where participants feel they can both produce and evaluate knowledge and culture…participants both contribute their own content as well as comment on the content of others. More expert participants provide models and leadership but do not have authority over fellow participants.”xvi At the Forum, digital mentors will have the opportunity to meet to discuss advanced questions about technology application in design. Any student in the School will be welcome to participate alongside the core group of mentors. There will be support from the faculty for monthly guest presenters from the profession to discuss their use of technology and show examples from emerging models of practice in the four professions within the School. In an essay on “Creative Production,” Ito, in collaboration with Patricia Lange, writes: “The peerbased learning genres we see in youth online participation differ in some fundamental, structural ways from the social arrangements that kids find in schools. Simply mimicking genres or sharing an assessment dynamic is not sufficient to promote the forms of learning that youth are developing when they are given
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authority over their own learning and literacy in these domains.”xvii As such, the leaders of the Forum will collaborate with a faculty advisor but will set the direction of the Forum themselves. The advisor for the Forum will also be the faculty running the Digital Workshops and determining the way in which fundamental information is disseminated to the first year students. We believe this will provide a ‘feedback loop’ regarding how information is translating and what the efficacy is of various presentation methods in the workshops. We don’t know what deliverables will come out of the Forum, if any, but we believe that by allowing a place for the conversation to develop and ideas to be exchanged, that new knowledge may emerge. As part of the Digital Youth Project, a study on youth living and learning with new media, researchers found that one of the three main ways young people engage with new media is through “messing around,” which “represents the beginning of a more intense media-centric form of engagement. When messing around, young people begin to take an interest in and focus on the workings and content of the technology and media themselves, tinkering, exploring, and extending their understanding.”xviii It is in this environment of shared interests and with the freedom to pursue constructive play surrounded by the necessary technological resources at the Forum where interesting developments may begin to take place. Drawing from the world of science, Steven Johnson describes this idea of a fertile intellectual ground using the term ‘the adjacent possible,’ which in the field of chemistry explains the way basic molecules on primordial earth began to collide and recombine with one another and develop into more and more complex compounds over time. “The phrase [the adjacent possible] captures both the limits and the creative potential of exchange and innovation…The strange and beautiful truth about the adjacent possible is that its boundaries grow as you explore those boundaries. Each new combination ushers new combinations into the adjacent possible.”xix Johnson posits the adjacent possible as one of the precursors to innovation. Being surrounded by rich resources does not automatically ensure innovation. There needs to be a receptiveness to new conceptual connections among a collection of like-minded students who also bring different experiences and expertise as well as a willingness and motivation to explore the possibilities and potential ‘adjacencies’ of digital technology to design. Being surrounded by different ‘basic molecules’ whether they are ideas, designs, or people – students have the potential to innovate and create through being exposed to one another’s thinking. This type of environment is described by researcher Henry Jenkins in relation to media education in the 21st century as a ‘participatory culture.’ Participatory culture is defined as having: 1. relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, 2. strong support for creating and sharing creations with others, 3. some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices, 4. members who believe that their contributions matter, and 5. members who feel some degree of social connection with one another (at the least, they care what other people think about what they have created).xx In a participatory culture, “not every member must contribute, but all must believe they are free to contribute and that what they contribute will be appropriately valued. In such a world, many will only dabble, some will dig deeper, and still others will master the skills that are most valued within the community. The community itself, however, provides strong incentives for creative expression and active participation.”xxi The 2011-2012 academic year will be the second year of the Digital Workshops at Virginia Tech. The faculty advisor will incorporate what was learned from the first year of the workshops to further refine the overall structure, will work toward developing a relationship among the digital mentors through the Forum and will purposefully choose mentors from all four disciplines within the School (whereas the mentors for the first workshops were all from one major). The faculty will continue to question the best combination of formal and informal learning methods for the introduction of digital technologies and
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computational thinking as the students progress academically and the true impact and effectiveness of the workshops can be gauged. The faculty and administration will develop the infrastructure for the Forum, which will include providing dedicated space for students from multiple studios, majors, and years to meet and work, and will further relations that were begun in the 2010-2011 year with alumni in practice who will be guest speakers and serve as professional mentors for the Forum participants. Students taking part in the forum are imagined to be working with technology at different levels of complexity in their design projects. Regardless of their standing and experience, all students will be able to learn from and teach each other. “The simple act of creating something with others in mind and then sharing it with them represents, at the very least, an echo of that older model of culture [a participatory culture], now in technological raiment.”xxii We are also working on translating the workshops and digital mentor model to the University of Utah’s School of Architecture where the question becomes how this structure is implemented in a school that already has classes specific to introducing digital technologies and where the digital mentor role will most likely be in the form of a more traditional teaching assistantship. We believe that the model is translatable, even into a school that is organized differently. We are also beginning to question whether there is a way to develop a resource between the two schools to share knowledge and information developed by the faculty and students. This resource may eventually be a way for the discussion to be opened to all design education institutions so that the knowledge generated through the Forum and Digital Workshops does not disappear when the students graduate but continually cumulates and is crossfertilized by knowledge from others. In the words of one person speaking about participatory culture and collective intelligence: The solutions do not lie in the puzzles we are presented with, they lie in the connections we make, between the ideas and between one another. These are what will last. I look down at myself and see that I, too, have been incorporated into the whole, connections flowing to me and from me, ideas flowing freely as we work together, as individuals and as a group, to solve the challenges we are presented with. The solution, however, does not lie in the story. We are the solution.xxiii We believe this evolving pedagogical structure, which combines formal and informal learning and incorporates peer mentoring, has value to the students far beyond helping them learn digital technologies and ways of thinking computationally. In the practice of architecture and design, very rarely will one person work on a project alone. Design is a collaborative act and the structure of architecture and design firms is often more ad-hoc than hierarchical. Firms utilize the collective intelligence of all members of the team toward finding the best solution to a design challenge and toward determining the best tools (whether technical or personnel) for any job. We’ve seen that the digital mentor structure works (it has been proven in peer-to-peer learning in design education for decades), and we’ve seen out of it grow the desire from the mentors to translate the structure to an advanced level. But we don’t presume to have all of the answers yet. We will continue to pursue the question of what are the fundamentals of computational design thinking, what is the best order of presenting them in the educational sequence as the students’ learning ability progresses, how best to utilize the supporting tools (aka hardware, software, etc.), and how the use these tools in the process of design can reinforce the fundamental concepts of computational thinking and use of digital technologies. We also plan to continue developing ways to both provide structure and resources for this secondary effort, the Digital Forum, while allowing for it to develop organically. We plan to continually fold what we learn from the Digital Workshops and the Digital Forum into future workshops so that the structure serves as an open-source model for providing an education in digital technologies and computational thinking to the next generation of innovative practitioners, and we plan to continue developing the digital mentor model to foster early-on the collaborative, interdisciplinary working methods that are fundamental to the practices of architecture and design.
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REFERENCES i Mayne, Thom. “Change or Perish: Remarks on Building Information at the 2005 AIA Convention, Las Vegas.”
From the AIA Report on Integrated Practice. ii Lackney, Jeffery A. “A History of the Studio-based Learning Model.” www.edi.msstate.edu/work/pdf/history_studio_based_learning.pdf. 22 August 1999. p 2. iii Jenkins, Henry, et al. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009. p 38. iv Wing, Jeannette M. “Computational Thinking and Thinking about Computing.” Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Plysical, and Engineering Sciences. 2008 October 20; 366(1881): 3717-3725. Published Online 2008 July 31. Doi: 10.1098/rsta.2008.0118. p 1. v Albright, Kathryn. “Design Thinking: Defying Preconceptions.” Lecture presented at the Preparing for Pathways workshop. Virginia Tech, 24 May 2011. vi Google. “Exploring Computational Thinking.” http://www.google.com/edu/computational-thinking. vii Ito, Mizuko, et al. Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009. p xiiv. viii Burchard, Charles. “A Curriculum Geared to the Times.” AIA Journal 47, 1967. p 101-105. ix Jenkins, Henry, et al. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009. p 29. x Leach, Neil, ed. Designing For A Digital World. Great Britain: Wiley Academy, 2002. p 11. xi Poole, Scott. “Pumping Up: Digital Steroids and the Design Studio.” from Material Matters, edited by Katie Lloyd Thomas, 103-114. London: Routledge, 2007. xii Johnson, Steven. Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. New York: Riverhead Books, 2010. p 41. xiii Carraher, Erin. “Parameters of a Digital Design Foundation.” presented at the 2011 ACADIA Regional Conference: Parametricism (SPC). University of Nebraska, 11 March 2011. xiv Jenkins, Henry, et al. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009. p 10. xv Ito, Mizuko, et al. Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009. p 80. xvi Ibid. p 81. xvii Ito, Mizuko, et al. Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2010. p 250-251. xviii Ito, Mizuko, et al. Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009. p xviii. xix Johnson, Steven. Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. New York: Riverhead Books, 2010. p 31. xx Jenkins, Henry, et al. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009. p 5-6. xxi Ibid. p 6. xxii Shirky, Clay. Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age. New York: The Penguin Press, 2010. p 20. xiii Jenkins, Henry, et al. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Cambridge: MIT Press, 2009. p 74.
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Damron, B. I. & Woods, P. J. University of New Mexico Cultivating the Next Generation of Nurse Scientists ABSTRACT There is a lack of specific mentoring and learning activities to foster undergraduate nursing honor students to become involved in community service, educational programs, and community-based participatory research activities. As the majority of these students will go on to obtain master’s and doctoral education, it is imperative that they are optimally mentored in order to gain continual insights from these activities, allowing them to adapt research strategies based on inclusion of underrepresented populations and thus, reduce health disparities. A series of mentoring and learning experiences were developed through collaboration between the UNM Cancer Center and the UNM College of Nursing. These experiences included: 1) understanding how to reach Hispanic New Mexicans with concomitant information regarding knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about cancer; and 2) working with communities to develop bi-directional, community approved processes that builds upon the core values and traditions of New Mexico's Hispanic population.
Overview of Specific Nursing Honors Projects Background Undergraduate nursing honor students take a series of honors courses over three terms that equal six credits of academic work. The purpose of the honors program is for undergraduate nursing students 1) to study in some depth a selected nursing problem, 2) to utilize knowledge in related fields and nursing in the study process, 3) to work with one nursing faculty member in a one-to-one or small group relationship so that, through individual challenge and intellectual stimulation students' achievement may establish a foundation for building their research trajectory, and 4) to provide the honors student a full opportunity for experience in conducting research, vital small-group discussion, and written/experiential expression. The UNM College of Nursing’s undergraduate nursing honors program has been very successful since the program began in 2005. We have had 57 groups present at the UNM Undergraduate and Research Symposium with 23 scholastic and monetary award winners with scores of 98/100; 14 of these earned perfect scores of 100. One of the most successful learning experiences we have been able to offer our next generation of nurse researchers began with the partnership between two faculty members who work in very different areas of the Health Sciences Center: the College of Nursing and the ice UNM Cancer Center. This was the first collaboration we had between these students and a senior faculty members’ ongoing body of research. Our specific goals were to include students in learning how to adapt research strategies based on inclusion of underrepresented populations and thus, reduce health disparities as these students are likely to become doctoral prepared advanced practice nurses in the rural, underserved state of New Mexico. Specific examples of mentoring student research and integration across disciplines are presented in this paper including: 1) colorectal cancer research with the Cancer 101 program through the UNM Ventanilla De Salud Program, which addressed the intent to change dietary and physical activity behaviors; 2) research regarding the influence of the 2009 United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) mammography recommendations on women receiving mobile mammography services in rural New Mexico; and 3) integrating students into an NCI P30 CCsG supplement grant to study colorectal cancer in the Hispanic population by working in collaboration with the Mexican Consulate to implement a community garden to integrate awareness and knowledge related to dietary risks. Cancer 101 Th “Cancer 101: Evaluation of Program Efficacy in a Hispanic/Latino Population” was done by a group of honors students who became interested in oncology when they read the recently published
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recommendations by The World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research which suggest that up to one-third of common cancers can be prevented through healthy lifestyle habits. Unhealthy lifestyle choices such as cigarette smoking and alcohol use have been associated with several cancers (Vega, Rodriquez, & Gruskin, 2009). Lack of cancer education relating to lifestyle habits may contribute to disparities in cancer rates in the Hispanic/Latino population. Community outreach education using a focus discussion group setting is important for generating effective community education and successful outcomes with the goal of eliminating these health disparities (Beck, Thompson, & Allen, 2009). Background One such intervention is the Cancer 101 program offered to Hispanics and Latinos throughout the state of New Mexico. Initially created in the Northwest by Theresa Guthrie, RN, MN, in 1992 in collaboration with the Northwest Portland Indian Health Board, Cancer 101 is a health promotion educational resource that was designed to increase cancer knowledge, perceived self-efficacy in cancer preventive behaviors (called cancer control) and survival rates among American Indians and Alaska natives (Hill et al. 2010). The programs’ seven educational modules are intended to empower lay individuals to act as health care promoters and cancer educators in their home communities. It has since been culturally readapted to New Mexico Hispanics in order to serve the general Hispanic/Latino population in New Mexico and is offered through the Ventanilla de Salud program which is supported and funded through the UNM Cancer Center and Mexican Consulate General. The educational session covers topics ranging from the definition of cancer to preventive measures—diet, exercise, screening behaviors, and avoidance of smoking and alcohol, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. To ensure cultural and linguistic appropriateness, the Cancer 101 educational modules are given by Hispanic/Latino professional health educators and trained community members at locations throughout the state of New Mexico. Pre- and post-test surveys consisting of six knowledge based questions have been filled out by most attendees since 2008. Until now, the Cancer 101 intervention has not been part of a formal study to discover whether the education is effective in promoting cancer risk awareness and preventive behaviors. The purpose of this study was to use Schwartzer’s (2008) Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) to examine whether current Cancer 101 education is effective in changing participants’ cancer risk awareness, perceived self-efficacy in cancer prevention, and/or cancer prevention planning with measurement of any intent for behavioral change to increase cancer knowledge, perceived self-efficacy in cancer control and increase survival rates. Theoretical Framework The HAPA model (Schwarzer, 2008) was used as the conceptual framework for the study. The HAPA model hypothesizes that there are pre-intentional motivation processes and post-intentional volition processes that lead to behavioral intention and actual health behavior, respectively. The pre-intentional motivation processes are risk awareness, positive outcome expectancies, perceived self-efficacy (broken into three categories: action, maintenance, and recovery), and behavioral intentions. The post-intentional volition process is planning (broken into two categories: action and coping). Methods A descriptive pre-test post-test study design was used to examine whether the current cancer education is effective in changing the participant’s cancer risk awareness, perceived self-efficacy in cancer control, and/or cancer prevention planning with intent to predict behavioral change. A total sample of (N=102) participants were given pre-test post-test surveys based on a twenty-five item survey with sixteen questions focused on measuring the HAPA constructs. The survey measured demographics, diet, exercise, lifestyle and healthcare. The education intervention consisted of topics such as general cancer
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knowledge, prevalence and survival rates of certain types of cancers in the Hispanic/Latino population, and self-efficacy in cancer prevention. Data Analysis/Discussion A dependent paired samples two-tailed t-test was conducted to compare pre-test and post-test scores at the p=0.05 level. There were significant differences in overall sub-scale scores for the participants’ risk awareness (M=3.5, SD=1.06) pre-test and (M=4.9, SD=0.57) post-test conditions; t(903)=33.5, p=< 0.0001; and perceived self-efficacy in cancer control (M-3.65, SD=1.11) pre-test and (M=3.88, SD=1.03) post-test conditions; t(142)= 2.17, p=0.0317. There was not a significant difference in the participants’ prevention planning (M=3.35, SD=1.20) pre-test and (M=3.43, SD=1.20) post-test conditions; t(270)=1.23, p=0.2202. Cancer 101 education showed significant ability according to the HAPA model to advance individuals from a pre-intention phase to an intention phase of behavioral change in the constructs of cancer risk awareness and perceived self-efficacy in cancer prevention. Many participants were not aware of the cause and effect relationship between health behaviors and cancer prior to attending the Cancer 101 educational intervention. Post-education, many participants were able to make this connection. The educational intervention initiated the thought process for behavioral change. This was important because it not only signified that the Cancer 101 education was effective, but that Cancer 101 education has the potential to decrease cancer health disparities in a large minority population. Limitations Two limitations were presented during the study. All Cancer 101 educators taught the same information, but may have used different approaches and/or materials to accommodate for demographic and cultural differences. For example, if a class was predominately female, more time may have been spent discussing breast and uterine cancer as opposed to prostate cancer. The second limitation was in regards to the development of the cancer prevention planning questions. Intention was to ask participants if they began formulating a plan for behavioral change while sitting through the class. Instead, due to wording, participants may have understood the questions differently. Participants may have interpreted the questions as prior to coming to the class did they formulate a plan for behavioral change. Conclusions/Recommendations Cancer 101 education is effective in changing participants’ cancer risk awareness, perceived selfefficacy in cancer prevention. Future recommendations to validate the findings would be implementation of a follow-up survey post-intervention at three and six months to re-evaluate the progression of participants into the planning phase of change. In addition, future use of the survey should include equal number of items per each construct of cancer risk awareness, perceived self-efficacy in cancer prevention, and cancer prevention planning. Mobile Mammography The second group of honors students conducted a descriptive correlational study titled “Influence of the 2009 USPSTF Screening Guidelines on Women Receiving Mobile Mammography Services in Rural New Mexico”. This study was conducted to determine if the 2009 United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation on screening guidelines has any influence on women receiving mobile mammography services through the UNMCC Mobile Mammography Program in rural New Mexico.. Background Many deaths from breast cancer could be avoided by increasing cancer-screening rates among women at risk. Timely mammography screening among women aged 50 years or older could reduce breast cancer 100
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mortality by approximately 16% compared with women who are not screened. Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States (CDC, 2006). Among women affected by breast cancer, those living in rural areas are at an increased risk of experiencing low detection rates (Calderón et al., 2010). Mobile mammography services are an essential means to reduce this risk (Hall, Hall, Pfriemer, Wimberley, & Jones, 2007) The UNM Cancer Center Mobile Mammography Program seeks to provide screening mammograms to undeserved women in rural areas of NM and to serve as a gateway to healthcare by linking women to a primary care provider for ongoing care. Methods The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to determine if the 2009 United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on screening guidelines had any influence on women receiving mobile mammography in Las Vegas, NM, in 2010. A total sample (n=88) of women receiving mobile mammography services in Las Vegas, New Mexico, in November, 2010, were surveyed to determine their knowledge of the 2009 USPSTF screening guidelines. Participants completed a survey to provide demographic information, and data were collected on whether or not they were taught breast self-examination (BSE), the frequency of BSE and mammography, if providers performed clinical breast exams (CBE) and the woman’s family history of breast cancer. Data Analysis/Discussion Based upon survey analysis, (n= 53) 60.2 % of participants were not following the USPSTF 2009 screening guidelines because they were not aware of them. Seventy-three percent (n= 64) of primary providers are still performing clinical breast exams (CBE), and an additional (n= 65) 73.9% are recommending yearly mammograms. Furthermore, (n=80) 91% of providers are teaching women how to do SBE and (n= 66) 75% of participants are performing them. Of the participants, (n=24) 22.6% have a family history of breast cancer and (n=64) 60.4% believe mammography is an effective tool in early detection. It is difficult to determine if the practices of women and health care providers were influenced by the 2009 USPSTF screening guidelines. Participants who acknowledged they were familiar with the new guidelines were also asked if they agreed with them. A total of (n=33) 66.7% agreed with the new guidelines that recommended not providing annual mammograms; however, when asked about the importance of yearly mammograms for women over the age of 40, (n=88) 89.9% believed these yearly mammograms were important because either it would detect cancer early, or they had a family history of breast cancer. These results raise questions as to whether these participants were truly influenced by the 2009 USPSTF breast cancer screening guidelines, or if they were actually unaware of them, and did not understand the survey questions. Limitations It is unclear whether or not the new guidelines actually influenced the decision to receive a mammogram as some women answered questions about the recommendations after acknowledging they were unfamiliar with them. Also data regarding providers’ practices of performing CBE was subjectively reported by participants and not measured directly. Conclusions/Recommendations Study results are not congruent to the USPSTF guidelines. It is unclear if these findings are the result of women and providers being unaware of the guidelines or choosing to follow previous guidelines that included yearly CBE by a provider, and mammography for women ≥40.in addition to women performing BSE Future research should include longitudinal studies to determine if the patterns change over time and both women and providers should be sampled to determine if their attitudes and views influence selfpractices and recommendations. Implementation of a rural educational outreach program that provides 101
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information on new CBE and mammography screening guidelines along with BSE done by women should be conducted . Community Garden The third group of honors students’ study entitled “Fertile Ground: Community Gardens as a Tool for Reducing Colorectal Cancer Risks in the Hispanic Population” was chosen after the students learned that New Mexico ranks 47th of 50 states in per capita income (Damron, 2010). According to the University of New Mexico Cancer Center (2010), this equates to the fact that much of the New Mexico's Hispanic population lives within the poverty designation and therefore has difficulty with access to cancer screening. This study is in process and the students had just completed their IRB application. The study aims to create a two-step, bi-directional outreach activity to educate and address the disparity of increased mortality and colorectal cancer rates in New Mexico's Hispanic population. This project will provide specific mentoring and learning activities to foster undergraduate nursing honor students to become involved in community service, educational programs, and community-based participatory research activities designed to address these types of minority health disparities. This type of mentored research may help these future nurses design innovative educational interventions that are culturally tailored to specific populations. Background The University of New Mexico Cancer Center (UNMCC) serves a vast geographic region with rich multicultural and multi-ethnic diversity, tremendous scientific opportunity, and challenging health and socioeconomic disparities. Through the UNMCC Office of Community Partnerships & Cancer Health Disparities, over 12,000 New Mexicans across the state are reached each year through community service and educational programs as well as community based participatory research activities, and the dissemination of collaborative research opportunities. UNMCC is the only NCI-designated cancer center within a 500-mile radius. In order to expand community outreach programs and capabilities at the UNMCC, a supplement grant to the UNMCC NCI P30 CCSG (CA 118110-06) has been obtained to support and expand community outreach programs and capabilities. The local cancer health disparity that will be addressed through awareness and education in the supplement grant is the dramatic increase in incidence, later stage of diagnosis, and increased mortality of colorectal cancer in Hispanics in New Mexico. Colorectal cancer is a malignancy that can originate anywhere between the large intestinal and rectal regions. While this adenoma has been thoroughly studied through extensive epidemiological studies and trials, much is still unknown regarding its precise, distinct etiologic features. According to Coronado et al. (2011), Hispanics are one of the least likely racial groups to receive routine screening services to detect early colorectal cancer and its risk factors. This is quite pertinent and alarming because New Mexico is the nation's only majority/minority state with a higher percentage of Hispanics and Native Americans, as compared to any other state (Damron, 2010). Of New Mexico's two million citizens, 42% are Hispanic. With an awareness program being the leading intervention, colorectal cancer screenings can take place and serve the underserved Hispanic population in the state. The awareness program aims to gain knowledge related to increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and their link to decreasing risks of developing colorectal cancer and to promote a healthy lifestyle. The key to implementing a heavily awareness-based educational program will be to thoroughly evaluate current literature, gain insights from key informants in the communities, and conduct research pertaining to specific implementation of interventions designed to educate and address this health disparity. Theoretical Framework Ringwalt and Bliss (2006) investigated a substance abuse prevention project that was implemented in Nevada to integrate a model of cultural tailoring and its classification of strategies used. The authors
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focused on the benefits and effectiveness of culturally tailored teaching materials for specific minority populations with the belief that such an approach can seem more relevant and realistic for the audience so as to prevent certain health behaviors. The goal of the program was to identify specific ways that would reach the intended population by adding relevant and familiar information that would portray that group’s culture. The researchers identified three main components of cultural tailoring: 1) surface, superficial, or peripheral structure (language and images), 2) deep or sociocultural structure, and 3) evidential strategies. In another study, Reuter et al (2010) explored how latent true change modeling can predict changes in health behavior by looking at changes in intentions, planning, and self-efficacy. Reuter et al. further discussed that changes in intention, self-efficacy, and planning predict changes in physical activity and fruit and vegetable intake. The latter are interrelated as changes in self-efficacy and intention predict changes in planning and a change in planning is assumed to predict change in behavior. Study Objectives 1. Determine the feasibility of developing a community garden at the Mexican Consulate in Albuquerque, New Mexico; 2. Raise awareness regarding consumption of fruits and vegetables and their link to the risks of developing colorectal cancer; 3. Design a community garden intervention to engage the community in active health promotion; 4. Encourage future nurses to become active in community-based participatory research activities. Methods This study of adults seeking services from the Mexican Consulate in Albuquerque, New Mexico will follow a qualitative research design format in order to determine the perspectives and major needs related to the development of a community garden as a tool to encourage increased consumption of fruits and vegetables intended to decrease the risk of developing colon cancer in the Hispanic population. To gain insight into the community who seek services from the Mexican Consulate located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a one-time, informal 30-minute interview of key informants from the Mexican Consulate and individuals who have successfully started and maintained a community garden program will be conducted to guide the development of culturally appropriate semi-structured interview questions and to gain insight into the design, implementation, feasibility and sustainability of community gardens. The sample will include two focus groups consisting of 6-8 male and female adults who are seeking services from the Mexican Consulate located in Albuquerque, New Mexico (N=12-16). Since we are investigating adults, the age range is 18-65+ years of age. Participants must be English-speaking and/or Spanish-speaking. REFERENCES Calderón, J. L., Bazargan, M., Sangasubana, N., Hays, R. D., Hardigan, P., & Baker, R. S. (2010). A comparison of two educational methods on immigrant Latinas breast cancer knowledge and screening behaviors. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 21, 76-90. CDC (2006). 2004/2005 Fact Sheet: The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program: Saving Lives Through Screening. Retrieved August 3, 2010, from ww.cdc.gov/cancer/nbccedp/bccpdfs/about2004.pdf Damron, B.H. (2010). NCI NON Supplement Proposal. 3P30CA118100-06S3 Hall, C., Hall, J., Pfriemer, J., Wimberley, P., & Jones, C. (2007). Effects of a culturally sensitive education program on the breast cancer knowledge and beliefs of Hispanic women. Oncology Nursing Forum, 34(6), 1195-1202. Hill, T. G., Briant, K. J., Bowen, D., Boerner, V., Vu, T., Lopez., K., & Vinson, E. (2009). Evaluation of Cancer 101: An educational program for native settings. Journal of Cancer Education, 25, 329-336. Ringwalt C, Bliss K. (2006). The cultural tailoring of a substance use prevention curriculum for American Indian Youth. J Drug Education; 36(2): 159-172
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Reuter, T., Ziegelmann, J. P., Wiedemann, A. U., Geiser, C., Lippke, S., Schüz, B. & Schwarzer, R. (2010). Changes in intentions, planning, and self-efficacy predict changes in behavior: An application of latent true change modeling. Journal of Health Psychology OnlineFirst, 20(10), 1-13. doi: 10.1177/1359105309360071 Schwarzer, R. (2008). Modeling health behavior change: How to predict and modify the adoption and maintenance of health behaviors. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 57(1), 1–29. doi: 10.1111/j.14640597.2007.00325. U.S. Preventative Service Task Force. (2009). Screening for Breast Cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. Annals of Internal Medicine, (151), 1-11. Vega, W., Rodriquez, M. A., Gruskin, E., (2009). Health Disparities in the Latino Population. Epidemiologic Reviews. (31) 99-112.
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Newcomb, P. & Raudonis, B. M. University of Texas Systematizing the Cultivation of Nurse Scientists at the Undergraduate Level ABSTRACT Mentoring the next generation of nurse scientists is critical to building the knowledge base of the discipline. The Human Genome project opened opportunities for nurse scientists to translate advances in genomic knowledge and technology into interventions that improve the health and quality of life for individuals, their families, and communities. Schools of Nursing need innovative, cost-effective strategies for preparing nurse scientists. This presentation describes an intervention designed to identify and cultivate undergraduate nursing students with potential to contribute to genomics related research in their careers. The process is easily replicable to any discipline. Identifying exceptional undergraduate nursing students is usually performed in an informal, intuitive manner by faculty engaged in the student’s learning process. This procedure is inadequate for systematically cultivating the next generation of nurse scientists. We used existing infrastructure to develop a 5-step process of identifying and nurturing exceptional undergraduates with interest and potential to contribute to genomics translational research. Two important features include making opportunities for undergraduates to work with faculty teaching at the doctoral level who they might otherwise never meet and maintaining collaborative relationships following a personalized project. Exemplars include a student who created a children’s book about DNA for the purpose of facilitating the assent process of child research subjects, exceptional undergraduate research experiences at NIH, and undergraduate research assistantships. Undergraduate mentees have worked collaboratively with doctoral nursing faculty, non-academic healthcare researchers, environmental scientists, urban planners, kinesiologists, and faith community nurses on a wide range of research studies.
Curiosity is the characteristic that is most frequently identified when people think of what it takes to be a scientist, and that is certainly necessary. But the time when curiosity and systematic observation by themselves could result in scientific knowledge has passed. Edison and Westinghouse are often cited as self-taught scientists, but contemporary science is practiced within a research-industrial complex that has little room for the individual “renaissance” investigator. Research is now a collaborative, team endeavor, and the time to begin the socialization into the culture of research teams is at the undergraduate level. Nurses who wish to contribute to society by producing knowledge through science will face a long road that includes formal education at the doctoral and post-doctoral levels. They will be expected to comply with the discipline and conventions of contemporary science and take their places as productive members of the nursing research community. To succeed in the nursing research world now requires a roadmap and careful mentoring that starts as soon as possible in a nurse’s career. Historically nurse scientists have taken a long and winding path to earning a doctoral degree. A typical career trajectory involves long intervals of working in clinical practice between educational benchmarks of a baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degrees. The negative outcome of such a trajectory is the limited time a doctoral prepared nurse then has to develop a program of research that contributes to building the knowledge of the discipline. Therefore one prominent benefit of mentoring at the undergraduate level is to bring this fact into the awareness of young nursing students. Mentoring students in the research process is more easily implemented at the master’s and doctoral levels of education. Research mentoring at entry level nursing programs must surmount multiple barriers, such as time limitations and competitive curricular demands experienced by both students and faculty (Byrne & Keefe, 2002). However, mentoring the next generation of nurse scientists is so critical to building the knowledge base of the discipline that these challenges must be overcome. This is especially important presently because biomedical and health services research is moving forward so rapidly that latecomers to the industry are at increased disadvantage as a result of lack of familiarity with new areas of interest to nursing. One field of scholarship in which nurses need to penetrate is genomics. The Human Genome project opened opportunities for nurse scientists to translate advances in genomic knowledge and technology into
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interventions that improve the health and quality of life for individuals, their families, and communities. At present few nurses scientists have seized these opportunities. Schools of Nursing need innovative, cost-effective strategies for preparing genomic nurse scientists. The purpose of this article is to describe an intervention designed to identify and cultivate undergraduate nursing students with potential to contribute to genomics related research in their careers. The process is easily replicable to any discipline. One solution to the problem of late blooming nurse scientists has been the development of BSN to PhD nursing programs. The intent of these programs is to bypass the master’s degree thereby providing students who clearly identify a career goal of conducting research a faster entry to that role in the discipline. Although our College of Nursing does have a BSN to PhD program our initial applicants were not from the group of younger, recent BSN graduates. Having worked with a few nursing honors students we realized our honors students were a valuable and untapped resource for developing future nurse scientists and so we turned in that direction to begin a systematic program of mentoring students into the culture of research. Infrastructure Resources Honors College niversity community. The Honors College has its own Dean, staff, and physical space. The Honors College is dedicated to student excellence in academics, creative activity, research, service, professional success and personal fulfillment. The essence of the Honors College is an enriched university experience. The competitive application is open to students in all majors. There are many benefits to students enrolled in the Honors College, including enrollment in small classes, award winning faculty, special honors courses, scholarships, access to the Honors College reading room, research assistantships, Honors College study abroad program, and leadership opportunities. The intellectually rigorous Honors curriculum is completed through the Honors College in conjunction with the student’s chosen undergraduate degree programs in the other colleges or schools. Students must complete a senior project in the student's major discipline to graduate with honors through the Honors College. Student options include a traditional Honors thesis; a semester or year of study abroad; an internship; or a community service learning project (Honors College website: http://www.uta.edu/honors/). College of Nursing An undergraduate nursing curriculum requires many hours of clinical practica, which may discourage students from assuming additional responsibilities. Historically, our College of Nursing had only a small number of Honors College graduates. Typically, if students did not complete at least half of their honors credits prior to the heavy clinical courses in the junior and senior years our nursing honors students never completed their honors requirements and therefore did not graduate with an Honors Degree. In response to the challenges of integrating honors work into the nursing student experience, a Coordinator of the College of Nursing Honors Program was appointed. Her mandate was to increase the number of nursing honors students who successfully complete all of the requirements and graduate with an Honors Degree. As evidence of the important contribution of this faculty member to her role and the Honors College, she received the 2011 Honors Faculty of the Year Award. Her role in our program of nurturing undergraduates toward research careers is critical. The Genomics Translational Research Lab (GTRL) physically exists in the College of Nursing. The core faculty and the GTRL have been a positive influence in recruiting students to our doctoral program. In addition, undergraduate students frequently inquire about opportunities to work with the GTRL core faculty. Noticing that some undergraduates spontaneously demonstrated an interest in the lab, our GTRL core faculty considered ways of effectively including undergraduates in ways that benefits them, as well as, the lab. It is the core GTRL faculty and doctoral student group that comprise that primary mentoring structure for our undergraduate “genomic mentees.”
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Finally, the Center for Nursing Scholarship and Technology (CNST) is a critical component of the research resources available within the College of Nursing. Doctoral students work as graduate research assistants (GRAs) there. The CNST made space and computers available for our undergraduate mentees, who were exposed to interaction with GRAs and the entire cadre of faculty researchers. Five Step Process for Finding and Cultivating Talented Students Identifying exceptional undergraduate nursing students is usually performed in an informal, intuitive manner by faculty engaged in the students’ learning process. This procedure is inadequate for systematically cultivating the next generation of nurse scientists. We used an existing infrastructure to develop a 5-step process (figure 1) of identifying and nurturing exceptional undergraduates with interest and potential to contribute to genomics translational research. Figure 1. Focused mentoring process.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
•Identify students with potential for research success in the existing pool of nursing students enrolled in University Honors College
•Assess mentee’s needs and capacities. Based on assessment, match student with a faculty member mentor
•Connect student with local, regional, national or international resources.
•Students design and complete a personalized project under the guidance of their faculty mentor.
•Faculty mentor and student remain connected following the project period and following graduation. Mentor provides opportunities for the student/ Step 5 former student to collaborate in research.
Step 1. Identify students with potential for research success. We used the existing infrastructure of The Honors College at University of Texas at Arlington. Our College of Nursing Honors Coordinator identified students in the existing pool of honors nursing students who expressed an interest in either research or genetics/genomics. The coordinator connected interested students with core faculty in the GTRL. Exemplar: Some of our honors mentees included I.K., a pre-nursing student with several years experience as an LVN with breast cancer, R.H., a senior student with a strong interest in genetics and art, E.S., a senior interested in research, but with no clear research questions, and Q.T., a second generation Vietnamese freshman attracted by GTRL activities she read about online. Each was referred to the GTRL after the Honors coordinator evaluated the potential match between the students and the core GTRL faculty.
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Step 2. Assess students’ needs and strengths. Based on the findings of this assessment students were matched with a relevant, interested faculty mentor. Exemplar: I.K.’s strengths included clinical nursing experience, personal history of breast cancer with a strong desire to contribute to breast cancer research. R.H.’s strengths included previous biology courses, previous art training, with a desire to create something special. Based on this assessment I.K. was matched with a faculty member who is a breast cancer survivor and who was conducting research with breast cancer patients. R.H. was matched with a faculty member with prior art training and the need for tools to help with child assent for research involving genetic testing. E.S. had an interest in the genetics of migraines and was matched with a faculty member who had connections with local health care professional with a similar interest. Q.T. had no direction except a strong desire to be a part of a research team. She was matched with the director of the lab, who integrated her into several ongoing projects. Step 3. Faculty mentors connect mentees with local, national, regional or international resources. I.K.’s mentor connected her with a PhD student doing an independent study with a core faculty member of the Genomics Translational Research Lab. I.K. attended biweekly tutorials with the PhD student and faculty member. I.K. also read genetics/genomics related textbooks and Internet resources. R.H.’s mentor connected her with local specialty librarians, a local author, and child-life specialists in local pediatric health system. E.S. was connected with local psychophysiologist who was writing a proposal for a research study on gene expression in children with migraines during a cognitive intervention. E.S. was also connected with national experts at NIH when she attended the NHGRI short course with her mentor in the summer before completing her project. Q.T. was connected with doctoral students and local registered nurses who were involved in a study of an electronic family history intervention. She was also introduced to the world of scholarly databases in which she immersed herself for part of a summer as she worked on a literature review. Step 4. Students design and complete their personalized project under the guidance of their faculty mentors and present their project in a selected venue. Exemplar: I.K. and her faculty mentor designed a learning experience that included a) didactic content on molecular and transmission genetics, and 2) experiential learning through assisting with research. R.H. and her faculty mentor designed an honors project that included a) a systematic search of the literature on genetic knowledge of children and characteristics of successful children’s books, and b) designed and produced a children’s book that explained the meaning of DNA and GENES. E.S. completed an extensive search of the literature on the genetics of migraines and Q.T. completed a comprehensive review of the literature on barriers to collection and use of family health history information in the clinical setting. R.H. produced an original children’s book and presented at the university-wide Honors Undergraduate Research/Creative Activity, winning a second place award. All mentees received 3 hours academic credit for their work with their mentors, although each all were involved with their mentors for longer than a semester. Step 5. Faculty mentors and students remain connected following the project period and following graduation. Faculty mentor provides opportunities for the student / former student to collaborate in research. Exemplar: After the initial semester project, I.K. was permitted to audit a formal graduate level course: Introduction to Genomics which her faculty mentor was co-teaching. She then applied for and received a competitive undergraduate research assistantship sponsored and funded by the Honors College to work with the genomics faculty group. I.K. was accepted to the National Human Genome Research Institute’s (NHGRI) summer short course at NIH, which she attended with her faculty mentor. Finally, based on the summer short course experience I.K. applied for the summer internship program at NIH and was accepted to work at NIH for the subsequent summer. I.K. graduated in May 2011 and assumed a position in the local community. She continues to work with her faculty mentor on development of the manuscript related to the research study on which they collaborated. She will also be working on the follow-up study of genetic variants of the cytokines and fatigue in women with breast cancer. R.H.
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graduated and assumed a position in the local community. She is involved as part of the research team (led by her faculty mentor) testing the effectiveness of the book she designed. The above exemplars illustrate the feasibility and positive outcomes of using a Focused Mentoring Process within the context of a College of Nursing’s existing infrastructure. We continue to use the 5-step process in systematizing the cultivation of nursing scientists at the undergraduate level. The process is easily replicable to any discipline. REFERENCE Byrne, M. W., & Keefe, M. R. (2002). Building research competence in nursing through mentoring. Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 34(4). 391-396.
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Rodgers, J. R., Slaughter, G. & Conor, L. M. Baylor College of Medicine The Constructive Analysis of Problems and Solutions: Opening Mentoring Space for Graduate Students ABSTRACT Ph.D. students must master both the highly focused skills of their own discipline and wide-ranging transdisciplinary skills including effective learning skills, critical analysis, writing presentation, and negotiating interpersonal situations. It is often expected that college graduates come equipped to handle trans-disciplinary problems but our experience suggests the contrary and this gap between expectation and performance may be larger for some students from under-represented groups (URG) than for non-URG students. Here we analyze an intervention we have developed over the last decade to help at-risk URG students develop professional transdisciplinary skills within a challenging but nurturing environment. CAPS (Constructive Analysis of Problems and Solutions) consists of voluntary long-term groups in which Ph.D. students engage each other and their CAPS mentor as they present their progress towards solving laboratory and professional problems. As if in an on-going qualifying exam, students are challenged every week to articulate the theoretical and instrumental bases for their research. A ‘fire-wall’ of confidentiality between CAPS and the students’ laboratory mates and research advisors enables CAPS protégés to discuss psychosocial and even instrumental issues they find difficult to address in their laboratory groups. CAPS is constructed on the scaffold of OPTEMASM, a structured approach to framing problems and solutions. The “Number-line problem” and “The 5 Minute Concept” are tools to facilitate critical thinking and presentation skills, respectively. 9 of 17 at-risk students who remained in CAPS at least 6 months finished the PhD and are still in science; 8 are projected to finish. 4 of 8 students who left CAPS after less than 3 months left later school without a PhD. While the difference in exit rates is significant (p <0.01), we caution that the voluntary nature of CAPS means that the difference could be due to self-selection..
Introduction Biomedical Ph.D. students must master highly focused skills of their own discipline and wide-ranging trans-disciplinary skills including learning, critical analysis, writing, presentation, and negotiating. It is expected that college graduates are equipped with these skills but experience suggests the contrary. This gap between expectation and performance may be larger for some students from under-represented groups (URG) than for non-URG students. Traditionally, junior scientists are schooled in the lore, techniques and theories of their discipline by their research advisor. In the modern biomedical laboratory the head of the lab runs a shop with many members and often finds her time limited. Indeed high productivity in science is associated with the ability to build large lab groups (though creativity in finding solutions to problems has been associated with small group size) (Louis, Holdsworth, Anderson, & Campbell, 2007). In the larger setting, the traditional dyadic relationship between the laboratory head as mentor and the student as protégé is often limited to the apprentice model, in which the laboratory head provides instrumental support in the form of stipend, supplies and equipment and relies on the other laboratory members to guide the protégé’s progress on a daily basis. Many students thrive in such an environment. However, thriving under these conditions seems to require a considerable autonomy of spirit coupled with an ability to network effectively with others. Effective networking requires considerable social skill. The protégé builds social capital (Portes & Landolt, 1996) which she uses to obtain goods and services from others. Limited access to instrumental or psychosocial mentoring can be problematic for non-majority protégés and contributes to a “glass ceiling”. While access to instrumental mentoring can be improved by recruiting tools, these cannot circumvent the social factors limiting psychosocial mentoring. Such limitations are aggravated by the mathematics of demography and under-representation: few URG protégés find UMG research advisors, and other protégés are from groups with which the student may 110
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have trouble forming alliances. These limitations may arise chiefly from cultural and behavioral incongruencies between URG protégés and their mentors and other lab mentors. In one self-revealing phrase, a URG student expressed both her frustration and her self-frustrating social strategy: …I just don’t seem to make anyone understand what I want them to do!
Faculty admire the ideal of a selfless mentor dedicated to promoting their protégés, but common experiences admits that most mentors are conflicted about or unable to act selflessly. One colleague recently wrote, with obvious frustration and perhaps an element of chagrin, …mentor/shmentor… most faculty are in “survival mode”, and not looking for more mentoring opportunities.
A number of factors limit the efficacy of traditional dyadic mentoring for both majority and minority students. The rule of ‘publish or perish’ extends to departments and institutions as well as lab heads; for these the benefits of investing social capital in junior protégés are not always compelling. In addition, scientific careers are traditionally “boundaryless”: protégés typically move on to other institutions, so that the return on investment (ROI) to the original institution is difficult to estimate. Given the pressures of time and priority assessments, the laboratory head and established members of the lab may adopt a “waitand-see” strategy to they see if a new protégé will “fit in”. Finally, many scientists may excel in terms of scientific acumen and productivity but have a limited repertoire of social skills available for mentoring and especially transcending psychosocial barriers. From the students’ perspective, the preoccupation with funding and career advancement can be intimidating and may challenge their commitment to science, their very identity as scientists. Selfidentification as a scientist may well be the single most significant predictor of long-term retention of URG students in the scientific workforce. At the same time, many URG students may experience stereotype threat (Adams, 2005; Ryan & Ryan, 2005) which may cause them to de-identify and/or exhibit resistance to mentoring, a defense mechanism commonly observed among vulnerable protégés (Koballa, Kittleson, Bradbury, & Dias, 2010; Reilly & D'Amico, 2011). We can call the “Ibarra-Thomas Effect”(Ibarra, Carter, & Silva, 2010; David A. Thomas, 2004) the observation that majority male junior business executives are able to rise rapidly to to senior ranks with guidance from only one or a few male majority mentors. In contrast, majority women and both men and women from minority groups perform poorly if they are mentored exclusively by majority males (heterophilic mentoring) or exclusively by mentors of their own group (homophilic mentoring). In other words, male majority executives progressed rapidly with homophilic mentoring (the “Old Boy Club”), while successful women and minority executives obtained diverse mentoring, both homophilic and heterophilic. While the Ibarra-Thomas Effect has not been demonstrated to apply to scientist development, that is does apply seems likely. Such studies suggest a simple paradigm for mentoring consisting of “instrumental” and “psychosocial” mentoring (Ibarra, et al., 2010). The former includes the provision of material support for research as well as promoting the development of specific mechanical and intellectual skills and knowledge required for the professional career of a scientist. Psychosocial mentoring provides a cloak of behavioral skills that allows the protégé to move freely within the professional community. In the literature on mentoring, incongruencies are framed in terms of group homophily (same gender; same ‘race’, etc.) and heterophily. Studies by Kram and Higgins,(Higgins & Kram, 2001; Kram, 1983; Kram & Higgins, 2008) Ibarra(Ibarra, 1992, 1993; Ibarra, et al., 2010) and Thomas (Blake-Beard, Murrel, & Thomas, 2006; Higgins & Thomas, 2001; D. A. Thomas, 2001) among others suggests (Turban & Dougherty, 1994; Whitely, Dougherty, & Dreher, 1991) that URG protégés benefit from a diversity of mentoring producing a balance of instrumental mentoring typically from the majority heads of labs, and from psychosocial mentoring, typically from hemophilic mentors. The Ibarra-Thomas Hypothesis is that balanced homophily and heterophily are needed for URG advancement; to improve mentoring we need to provide URG protégés with more access to URG 111
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mentors. An alternative view is that the limiting factor for URG advancement is not access to social diverse mentors per se but overcoming the psychosocial limitations associated with heterophilic mentors. Indeed, given the scarcity of URG faculty, it is difficult for URG students to obtain hemophilic psychosocial mentoring unless it is comes through peer-mentoring. And even this is difficult to obtain unless the institution has a significant presence of junior scientists– post-docs and other students from under-represented groups. Here we describe an intervention we developed over the last decade to help at-risk URG students develop professional trans-disciplinary skills within a challenging but nurturing environment. CAPS (Constructive Analysis of Problems and Solutions) consists of voluntary long-term groups in which Ph.D. students engage each other and their CAPS preceptor as they present their progress towards solving laboratory and professional problems. The CAPS preceptor is a white male (JR), and so is heterophilic with respect to all of the URG students in the program. It should be noted at the outset that CAPS serves a small subset of the URG students at Baylor College of Medicine, which has one of the largest groups of biomedical PhD students from under-represented groups in the United States, constituting one-eighth of nearly 600 PhD students. Historically, CAPS grew out of a one-on-one relationship with one URG student who had failed her qualifying exam in 2002 and was created as a group activity after she successfully retook the Qualifier, and other students asked to have the same activity. Thus we have had almost ten years of experience representing over 1000 hours of contact time with a total of 36 students. With few exceptions, participation in CAPS is voluntary. In some cases, students in academic or career stress are asked by their graduate programs to attend CAPS, in which case the preceptor has an obligation to report their attendance. In some cases, the precipitating event is a crisis related to course work or a qualifying exam; in others, it is due to unhappiness with the student’s Research Advisor, or to a constellation of factors involving family and health issues. Otherwise, students have volunteered or have been invited on the basis of career stress. Each group of up to 5 students forms a cohort, a “pack”, that meets for 60 to 90 minutes once per week as long as they choose to attend. One of our packs meets using videoconferencing tools because the students work on the East coast. CAPS groups are nominally confidential in nature. Thus, a ‘fire-wall’ exists between the CAPS preceptor and other faculty including the students’ research advisors. Likewise, student participants are instructed not to discuss confidential matters even with each other outside of the the CAPS “space”. Over the years it has become the culture in CAPS groups that minimize the use of the names of other laboratory members- student’s refer to these others by title: “PI”, “the post-doc”, “the other student”. As a result, the “pack” builds up a level of trust and familiarity. CAPS Protégés are able to discuss a variety of instrumental and psychosocial issues that they find difficult, for a variety of reasons, to bring up in their laboratory groups or with their research mentors. These include both instrumental and psychosocial issues: • one remote CAPS student was able to spend time working through conceptual details of complex dose-response effect that her research mentor was too distracted to notice. • a woman from a historically black college found it difficult to explain to her research advisor that her “failure to come in the weekends” was not due to laziness or disinterest but was related to a heavy commitment to church activities. Through group discussion with her CAPS peers, it became clear that several of them were conflicted between lab and church- or service-related activities. We were able to have a discussion over a period of a month that allowed these students to find a resolution that honored both commitments. CAPS stands for the Constructive Analysis of Problems and their Solutions. Although it is confidential and the discussions sometimes turn on emotionally charged issues including family, friends, religion and personal interactions, it is not group therapy. Rather, it is a guided discussion of problem relating to the professional development of scientists. Most of our talk is related to bench science, the choice of controls, the design of genetic constructs or the analysis of protein structure and function. A frequent and recurring topic is how to count the number of independent observations, a difficult task too
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often-ignored or trivialized. After all, what could be easier than to ten? As if in an on-going qualifying exam, students are challenged every week to articulate the theoretical and instrumental bases for their research. Other major themes relate to presentations, writing papers and dissertations, professional ethics, career choices and development, collaboration, communicating with or mentoring others, and how to negotiate conflicts with their Research Advisor. • Example: an URG student struggling with her own research suddenly found herself assigned, without warning, two novice summer students. She conscientiously trained the students, but lost two months of progress towards her degree. Through group discussions in CAPS she developed a strategy to draw healthier boundaries, established a better dialogue with her PI, and was able to resist a subsequent plan to “turf” her a novice trainee. • Example: an URG student struggling with her own graduate research was, without warning, assigned two novice summer students at once. She conscientiously trained the students, but lost two months of progress towards her degree. Through group discussions in CAPS she developed a strategy to draw healthier boundaries, established a better dialogue with her PI, and was able to resist, in a mutually satisfactory way, a subsequent plan to “turf” her a novice trainee. In all cases, the thread of the seminar is that scientists are problem identifiers first, and problemsolvers second. The role of the preceptor is to balance priorities, and to ask questions, many questions, and give answers, if it is necessary to give an answer, only if necessary and as a last resort. The preceptor uses an intensive questioning style that is critical but constructive. The approach is one, related to Native American traditions, of “coyote teaching” in which the preceptor doesn’t teach answers, only questioning itself (Hoefler, 2009; Jørgensen 2010; Young, Haas, & McGown). Because the group is small, cohesive, and enjoys the trusting familiarity of a pack, the old coyote can be sometimes tricky and sometimes dogged, he can bare his teeth and make the pups flinch. Sometimes the questions linger for weeks as the young pups wrestle and chew on the problem. We believe this style of tough but gentle asking helps build the protégé’s confidence and self-efficacy. CAPS provides a protected space where in principal, and often in practice, resistance can be transformed, not broken; transformed from a suspiciousness that blocks mentoring, into something productive, in which student becomes a partner in the project of their own growth and development. We practice an intensive, open and on-going verbal questioning style that is critical but constructive. This teaching approach, similar to but not strictly based on the method of “coyote teaching” (Hoefler, 2009; Jørgensen 2010; Young, et al.) can have a profound effect on building our Scholars’ confidence in handling themselves before a critical audience, and might afford some protection against stereotype threat(Adams, 2005; Ryan & Ryan, 2005). CAPS is constructed on the scaffold of OPTEMASM, a structured approach to framing problems and solutions, which is itself an unfolding of John Dewey’s reflective thinking– “active, persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends” (Dewey, 1910, p. 10). Dewey described two critical steps. First, the thinker finds herself in a state of perplexity, hesitation or doubt, an uneasiness that demands that something be done. Second, the thinker engages in an act of search or investigation to resolve the perplexity. The first stage is to recognize, feel, or identify a problem, goal, or question. The second stage is actively to solve the problem, reach the goal or answer the question. The structure of CAPS also resembles the GNOME (Goals/Needs/Objectives/Methods/Evaluation) system (Roberts, 1996) used in construction medical curricula, the four opening moves of rhetoric (Swales, 1990): Establish a field / Create a problem space / Create a solution space. The six elements of OPTEMA are linked so that each step is tied logically to the preceding and succeeding steps. Critical Observations are those which have high facticity, in which we have high confidance and generate a logically linked critical Problem (CP). CO may be converted into Problems by posing a question about the mechanism explaining the observation, or about a mechanistic consequence of the observation.
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Critical Problems are problems generated from a CO, and which the scientist considers to be important either to the discipline or society as a whole. Testable ideas are hypotheses, conjectures or theories that, (1) in principle could solve the problem and (2) can be tested experimentally. They are made more or less plausible by supporting observations, but they need not appear plausible to be true. Looking forward, they make specific predictions about future observations under controlled conditions. A testable idea ideally will make many different predictions. Experimental design is the elaboration of the controls and conditions that will permit making those future observations. It includes further specifications that need to be operationalized before the experiment can be carried out. A given prediction could be tested with several different designs. Methods are the operational protocols that allow an experimental design to be realized and to make those observations that constitute the results. Analysis compares the obtained results with the prediction, scrutinizes the logic to see if the hypothesis is supported or undermined and determines whether the preceding logic should be repeated or if the specific matter at hand can be considered “concluded”, in which case a new critical observation is obtained, and OPTEMA is critical in the sense that it seeks a path for decision making, that separates the merely conjectural from the substantive, that keeps our “eyes on the ball”. It is constructive in that it provides a logically coherent scaffold for analyzing problems and their potential solutions. We use several additional teaching tools in CAPS. Before we introduce OPTEMA, we begin new groups with a guided discussion of the nature of problems and problem recognition, initially focused on Problematicus, a painting by the Austrian-American impressionist painter Joseph Kleitsch (Trenton, 2007). This is a paradigm for problems that we don’t initially recognize, and for which the imperative must be generated through an act of creation. In this tool, the group must carry out all four Swalian moves. In contrast, the Number-Line Problem” is a paradigm for ambiguously defined problems in which there are a great many equally possible answers and many techniques for finding the solution. The group must determine a number over a given range; one person has the answer and is allowed to answer yes or no to questions. There is an optimal technique–the binary search–but few students know it in advance. These two models provide points of reference for later discussions. Finally, “The 5 Minute Concept” is a model for an oral qualifying exam question, or of a question from a student in the back of the lecture hall. Students prepare in advance a very brief micro-lecture with a plan for using a physical white board. The “5MC” could be about a method, a pathway, a structure or a concept. This is a deceptively difficult skill, requiring an understanding of the large-scale context and the fine detail of the topic, a theory of mind of the audience and a theory of how the presentation will work with that audience. Moreover, it requires the ability to represent these ideas in with drawing with extreme economy. Finally, its brevity invites questioning from other seminar members How do we know if all this effort is worth it? We know that 9 of 17 students who remained in CAPS at least 6 months finished the PhD and are still in science; another 8 are projected to finish. 4 of 8 students who left CAPS after fewer than 3 months in the program later left school without a PhD. While the difference in exit rates is significant (p <0.01), we caution that the voluntary nature of CAPS means that the difference could be due to self-selection. Nonetheless, it is our judgment that over half of the students we have graduated out of CAPS were at high risk for not finishing at all. In summary, we see CAPS as a mechanism to provide a safe space for pre-doctoral students to be mentored, even to mentor themselves. It attempts to provide URG students at least some of the developmental benefits of having a homophilic mentor. This is achieved, we think by using the format of a closed confidential cohort that meets regularly, a format that creates space for the pack to form and a Coyote to teach. Acknowledgments: The authors thank the students of CAPS who have worked faithfully and creatively at their own tasks but who actually initiated CAPS and helped shape CAPS into what it is
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today. This work was supported by NIH/NIGMS division grant R25-GM56929 (GS) and R01GM098456 (JRR). REFERENCES Adams, T. A. (2005). Establishing intellectual space for black students in predominantly white universities through Black Studies. Negro Educational Review, 56(4), 285. Blake-Beard, S., Murrel, A., & Thomas, D. A. (2006). Unfinished business:The impact of race on understanding mentoring relationships. In B. R. Ragins & K. E. Kram (Eds.), The Handbook of Mentoring at Work: Theory, Research, and Practice (pp. 223-247). Thousand Oaks, CA.: Sage. Higgins, M. C., & Kram, K. E. (2001). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. The Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 264-288. Higgins, M. C., & Thomas, D. A. (2001). Constellations and careers: toward understanding the effects of multiple developmental relationships. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(3), 223-247. Hoefler, E. (2009). Coyote Teaching, from http://erichoefler.com/2007/02/14/coyote-teaching Ibarra, H. (1992). Homophily and differential returns: sex differences in network structure and access in an advertising firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(3), 422-447. Ibarra, H. (1993). Personal networks of women and minorities in management: A conceptual framework. The Academy of Management Review, 18(1), 56-87. Ibarra, H., Carter, N. M., & Silva, C. (2010). Why men still get more promotions than women. Harvard Business Review, 88(9), 80-126. Jørgensen , N. (2010). Old Man Coyote. Working with the Trickster figure in the EFL classroom. European Teacher Education Network, (2010/2/21 12:15:20)). Retrieved from http://www.eten-online.org Koballa, T. R., Kittleson, J., Bradbury, L. U., & Dias, M. J. (2010). Teacher thinking associated with sciencespecific mentor preparation. Science Education, 94(6), 1022-1091. Kram, K. E. (1983). Phases of the mentor relationship. The Academy of Management Journal, 26(4), 608-625. Kram, K. E., & Higgins, M. C. (2008). A new approach to mentoring. Wall Street Journal - Eastern Edition, 252(70), R10. Louis, K. S., Holdsworth, J. M., Anderson, M. S., & Campbell, E. G. (2007). Becoming a scientist: The effects of work-group size and organizational climate. Journal of Higher Education, 78(3), 311-336. Portes, A., & Landolt, P. (1996). The downside of social capital. American Prospect, 26, 18-22. Reilly, R. C., & D'Amico, M. (2011). Mentoring undergraduate university women survivors of childhood abuse and intimate partner violence. Journal of College Student Development, 53(4), 409-424. Roberts, K. B. (1996). Educational principles of community-based education. Pediatrics, 98(6 Pt 2), 1259-1263; discussion 1289-1292. Ryan, K. E., & Ryan, A. M. (2005). Psychological processes underlying stereotype threat and standardized math test performance. Educational Psychologist, 40(1), 53. Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre analysis. English in academic and research settings. . Cambridge, MA Cambridge University Press. Thomas, D. A. (2001). The truth about mentoring minorities. Race matters. Harv Bus Rev, 79(4), 98-107, 168. Thomas, D. A. (2004). Diversity as Strategy. Harvard Business Review, 82(9), 98-108. Trenton, P. (2007). Joseph Kleitsch: A Kaleidoscope of Color. Irvine, CA: Irvine Museum. Turban, D. B., & Dougherty, T. W. (1994). Role of protégé personality in receipt of mentoring and career success. The Academy of Management Journal, 37(3), 688-702. Whitely, W., Dougherty, T. W., & Dreher, G. F. (1991). Relationship of career mentoring and socioeconomic origin to managers' and professionals' early career progress. The Academy of Management Journal, 34(2), 331-351. Young, J., Haas, E., & McGown, E. (2010). Coyotes Guide to Connecting with Nature For Kids of all Ages and their Mentors (2 ed.).
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Fortune, M. F. & Raphael, K. California State University & Maven Method Life Coach Crossing Boundaries between Business and Academia: Developing Strategies for Personal Discovery that Affects the Mentoring Relationship ABSTRACT These days there is much talk about the tribe, coaching and authenticity. How are these all connected and what do they have to do with one another? To answer this all we need to do is look back to our own roots as it pertains to becoming a professional or a coming of age. Throughout time and cultures a mentor or apprentice/ mentee relationship has always been the way to learn a profession, craft or specialty. Of course, a close relationship like this quickly expands past the topic or focus at hand to include life and personal philosophies. This kind of relationship can be intimate and rewarding to both peoples. The mentee will always benefit from years of wisdom and experience that are invaluable but can only be learned from someone with experience. For the mentor or coach, a different perspective and a fresher way of seeing things can be enlightening as well. In early 2009, the two authors began a personal and professional working relationship related to mentoring and self-awareness. One is an Associate Professor at a university in Northern California and the other is a life coach who owns several businesses that deal primarily with the quality of life, mentoring of self and others, and lives in New Mexico with her husband and 5-year old daughter. As a result of their relationship, they have been able to cross the boundary between academia and business - developing strategies for personal discovery that affects the mentoring relationship in a positive way in both environments.
Introduction The importance of personal health and wellness has its roots in many arenas such as fitness, spiritual growth and development or mindfulness, career and professional life planning and personal life coaching. Such endeavors can have lasting effects and are more significant when experienced with a mentor or “life coach.” Building on the mentoring relationship, engaging a life coach has become an important aspect towards health and well-being in both personal and professional arenas. These days there is much talk about the tribe, coaching and authenticity. How are these all connected and what do they have to do with one another? To answer this all we need to do is look back to our own roots as it pertains to becoming a professional or a coming of age. Throughout time and cultures a mentor or apprentice/ mentee relationship has always been the way to learn a profession, craft or specialty. Of course, a close relationship like this quickly expands past the topic or focus at hand to include life and personal philosophies. This kind of relationship can be intimate and rewarding to both peoples. The mentee will always benefit from years of wisdom and experience that are invaluable but can only be learned from someone with experience. For the mentor or coach, a different perspective and a younger way of seeing things can be enlightening as well. Today’s Coach/client relationship offers the same kind of benefits. Clients can choose from a variety of coaches to receive wisdom, expert help and development. This new profession should be seen as a wonderful gift to us all- the coaching relationship offers everyone the chance to connect with a mentor that is fitting while also offering so much more help and wisdom that book or research learning can offer. Better still, the coaching relationship also provides personal development. Personal development allows the client to grown or develop more quickly than if they had no coach or mentor. This means that sessions between the two can greatly assist to expedite the personal developmental process of the client. In addition to helping the client personally grow and evolve more quickly so that they enjoy more of the richness of a fulfilling life, their personal growth then expedites that professional growth as well. Thus the coaching relationship offers benefits on several levels. It also helps people return to feel a sense of connection. Our society is returning to a tribe state – a state in which people have a circle or a group they are connected to, can rely on, trust and learn with and from. People, after all, are often seen as any companies’ greatest asset. People are also a country’s greatest asset, so it is important to encourage
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and to create tribes, which include mentor or coaching relationships and assist in the overall development of all. Literature Review Developing a personal mentoring relationship with a life coach is important and can be memorable and powerful (Metros and Yang, 2006). As such, mentoring is a personal agreement between two individuals such as an expert and a novice where each develops professionally through their relationship. These relationships can also quickly change and develop as time goes on (Metros and Yang, 2006). Mentoring can also be defined in several approaches such as coaching, counseling, networking/facilitation, and guardianship (Klasen and Clutterbuck, 2004). Several other characteristics can be attributed to the relationship and provide social support, self-awareness and self-confidence (Husband and Jacobs, 2009). The mentoring relationship between two people is both personal and professional and builds important connections for all involved (Megginson and Garvey, 2004). The mentoring experience can also motivate self and others to do something never done before or think of new ways to accomplish a goal. According to Eby, L.T.; Allen, T.D.; Evans, S.C; Ng, T. & DuBois, D.L. (2008), mentoring relationships are also connected to favorable behaviors and attitudes that result in positive career outcomes. Others define mentoring as the form and function between two individuals and the character of the relationships and the functions they serve are discovered earlier in life (Bova and Phillips, 1981). It can also be the focus of opportunities whereby the mentor shares experiences and serves as role models to the mentee (Goodyear, 2006). Peer mentor or life coaching relationships have another direction and can lead to a better understanding of the important foundation to self-discovery. As a result, these individuals are more likely to serve as mentors themselves should the opportunity arise (Smith, 2009). For example, women in higher education found that a peer mentor greatly contributed to a positive approach to academia and in forging a stronger scholarly identity and portfolio (Driscoll, Parkes, Tilley-Lubbs, Brill, Pitts Bannister, 2009). These relationships resulted in a greater understanding to the task at hand and a stronger connection to themselves, their mentors and their environment. Ultimately mentoring and life coaching relationships bring about powerful changes and are uniting and mutually beneficial for both the mentor and mentee (Klasen and Clutterbuck, 2004). Discussion In early 2009, the two authors Dr. Mary F. Fortune and Ms. Kalyn Raphael began a personal and professional working relationship related to mentoring, leadership, and self-awareness. Dr. Fortune is an Associate Professor in Hospitality, Recreation & Tourism who teaches courses and serves as a mentor and guide to college students at a university in Northern California. Kalyn is a working practitioner/life coach who owns several businesses that deal primarily with the quality of life, mentoring of self and others, and lives in New Mexico with her husband and 5-year old daughter. Over the years their relationship has developed into a peer mentoring and life-coaching experience where Kalyn has shared important insights with the Dr. Fortune on how to inspire and maintain a higher level of vibration. As a result of Kalyn’s peer mentoring and coaching, Dr. Fortune is on a more positive life path and has noticed significant changes in her overall attitude and feelings about herself and her career. Several of her papers have been published in peer-reviewed journals and is president of the American Council of Education/Office of Women in Higher Education (ACE/OWHE) Nor Cal Network, the Northern California women’s organization for higher education. She also has improved her overall fitness and has lost 8% body fat and trained to ride 72 miles around Lake Tahoe in California in 2010 and 2011. Another result has been the successful transition and understanding that we are all connected and that you can
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develop a greater sense of wellness through taking care of yourself and inspiring those around you in a more profound way through a coaching or mentor relationship. What makes this relationship even more unique is that through Dr. Fortune's participation in Ms. Raphael's life-coaching class and traveling with her to Mexico for several "power journeys," they have been able to cross the boundary between academia and business - developing strategies for personal discovery that affects the mentoring relationship in both environments. What is even more interesting is that they discovered there is a huge connection and as a result both Dr. Fortune and Kalyn have tapped into that "special something" that is being shared today in their individual classroom and business communities. It can be said that mentoring and life coaching experiences are valuable and do provide support in any endeavor. The ability to increase one’s social capital while offering individualized support is vital to the mentor connection and has long lasting effects for all involved (Deo and Griffin, 2011). Ultimately these relationships bring about powerful changes and are uniting and mutually beneficial for both the mentor and mentee (Klasen and Clutterbuck, 2004). REFERENCES Bova, B., & Phillips, R. R. (1981). The Mentor Relationship. A Study of Mentors and Proteges in Business and Academia. Retrieved September 12, 2012 from EBSCOhost. Deo, M.E.; & Griffin, K.A. (2011). Social capital benefits of peer mentoring relationships in law school. The Berkeley Electronic Press. Retrieved September 13, 2011 from http://works.bepress.com/meera_deo/3. Driscoll, L.; Parkes, K.; Tilley-Lubbs, G.; Brill, J.; & Pitts Bannister, V. (2009). Navigating the lonely sea: Peer mentoring and collaboration among aspiring women scholars. Mentoring & Tutoring, 17(1), February 2009, pp 5021. Eby, L.T.; Allen, T.D.; Evans, S.C; Ng, T. & DuBois, D.L. (2008). Does mentoring matter? A multidisciplinary meta-analysis comparing mentored and non-mentored individuals. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 72(2), April 2008, Pages 254-267. Goodyear, M. (2006). Mentoring: A learning collaboration. EDUCAUSE Quarterly (EQ), 29(4), 2006. Retrieved September 12, 2011 from http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/MentoringALearnin gCollaboratio/157429. Husband, P.A.; & Jacobs, P.A. (2009). Peer mentoring in higher education: A review of the current literature and recommendations for implementation of mentoring schemes. The Plymouth Student Scientist, 2(1), 228-241. Klasen, N., & Clutterbuck, D. (2004). Implemeting mentoring schemes: A practical guide to successful programs. Elsevier: London. Megginson, D. & Garvey, B. (2004). Odysseus, Telemachus and Mentor: Stumbling into, searching for and signposting the road to desire. International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching, 2(1), 2-10. Metros, S.E., & Yang, C. (2006). The importance of mentors. An EDUCAUSE e-Book, pp 5.2-5.13. Retrieved September 13, 2011 from www.educause.edu/cultivatingcareers. Smith, M.A. (2009). Peer mentoring and leadership: Differences in leadership self-efficacy among students of differing peer mentoring relationships, genders, and academic class levels. DRUM, Digital Repository at the University of Maryland. Retrieved September 13, 2011 from http://hdl.handle.net/1903/9580.
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Ewert, D. & Vellenga, H. E. Indiana University Mentoring in Language Teaching Organizations: Supporting Reflective Practitioners ABSTRACT The path from novice to mature teacher is anything but uniform or direct. Teacher development research has clearly demonstrated the power of personal practical knowledge (Golombek, 1998) to mitigate or resist the role of formal training in teacher decision-making and classroom practices. Language teachers are no different than other teachers in this regard. Ulichny (1996) suggests, in fact, that L2 (second language) teachers are as much, if not more, influenced by their previous experiences as learners, as teachers, or by their personality and folk wisdom, as they are by the professional knowledge they gain in traditional language teacher education programs. While most descriptions of the teacher development cycle reflect a transformation over time towards greater reflectivity (Pennington, 1995; Stanley, 1998; Zeichner and Liston, 1987), it is not clear how concepts and principles endorsed through formal training are brought to bear on this maturation process. Mentoring inservice novice language teachers to develop robust reasoning (Johnson, 1999) that actively links formal learning with practice, however, can provide support, strategies, and opportunities for teachers to not only reflect-inaction but reflect-on-action (Schn, 1988). A mentoring plan which supports novice teachers in becoming reflective practitioners and provides professional development for expert teachers is one that incorporates activities such as regular structured observations, action research projects, and teacher-led study groups. Drawing on local expertise for mentoring insures a greater degree of relevance, participation and continuity for all involved, which is likely to have a greater impact on practice than imported expertise from outside the teaching context (Fullan, 2006). A description of the development and implementation of such a mentoring plan in a second language teaching organization (LTO) will be presented.
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Ransaw, T. S. & Henson, R. University of Nevada Can Mentorship Be an Effective Tool in Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline? ABSTRACT Less than all but more than a few Americans suffer from an illness created by a poor education. In just one example, the second leading cause of mortality in the U.S. after smoking is low health literacy. In other words, having a good education may simply mean that you might live longer. Unfortunately, not all Americans receive the same quality of education. The problem is a systemic disconnect between K-12 schools, communities and parents, as well as higher educational institutions. Over 70% of inmates in America’s prisons cannot read above a fourth grade level. “The link between illiteracy and incarceration rates is so strong that some states decide the number of prison cells to build based on 4th grade reading levels.” Sadly, the majority of the adolescents placed in detention, and later on suspension, in the U.S., a trend that likely leads to incarceration, are minorities. When the least among us are punished and disciplined, we all suffer from their oppression.
Each of the following chapters starts with a presentation of symptoms. These will serve as a brief introduction outlining the conditions relevant to this paper. The next section includes the differentials, which details the theoretical frameworks. The third section contains the ailments, the causes and pathology that indicate actions necessary to heal. Finally, the last section is the prescription. The prescription contains suggestions and recommendations for the preventative steps in the form of objectives and key performance indicators that lead to intermittent healing. What we need is a triage of measurable mentorship programs to stem the tide of the chronic social illness, the School to Prison Pipeline. Presentation of symptoms Historical foundations of education and incarceration in the U.S. There is a history of denying education to and incarceration of Blacks in the United States. For example, in 1827, Frederick Douglass heard his owner scold his wife and reprimand her for teaching him how to read the Bible. "If you teach that nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him" and he would "become unmanageable, and of no value to his master" (Douglass, 1845, p. 33). While this was just a verbal punishment, by 1831, a bill was passed preventing slaves from learning how to read and write, that was later enforced by imprisonment. Prudence Crandall was placed in jail for educating Blacks in 1834, and Mrs. Margaret Douglass of Norfolk, Virginia, was placed in prison for teaching Blacks to read in 1853 (North Carolina Digital History, 2010). The United States Congress passed the fugitive slave laws in 1793 legalizing the return of slaves to their owners even if they had escaped to free states. The right to educate Black Americans was officially denied in the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford court case. More commonly known as The Dred Scott Decision, this case ruled that people of African descent imported as slaves and their descendants – free or not– were not considered citizens of the United States. This was the case until the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. The Thirteenth Amendment states that, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States” (Legal Information Institute, 2010). This ruling made it legal to rent prisoners and their wages were paid directly to sheriffs and judges (Franklin, 2000). This loophole in allowed those who were imprisoned before emancipation and those who were imprisoned after emancipation (sometime falsely convicted) to be used as slave labor. Many former slave owners and plantation landowners became prison guards (Schenwar, 2008). Many laws were created to separate those who had been enslaved and those who were not. Jim Crow laws administered between 1876 and 1965 enforced racial separation between Whites and Blacks, including schools that were authorized by state and local authority. Jim Crow laws made disbursement of 120
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substandard education due to racial prejudice easily concealable. In 1896, the Plessy v. Ferguson case made racial separation illegal. Nevertheless, it was not until the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 that separate but unequal education of Black and White children was made illegal. However, while not officially legal, education in the U.S. is still un-officially separate and unequal. The minoritized, suffer at such a disproportionate rate in regards to education, making the education system work for every U.S. citizen has become one of the largest social justice question of our time (Sentinel Voice, 2010; Legend, 2010). In fact, scholars, educators and lawyers have come up with a special lens in which to examine issues in relation to class, ethnicity and race called Critical Race Theory (CRT). Differential CRT was originally created from post civil rights legal issues. Currently, CRT is also employed by educators as a framework in which to apply issues related to both the educational system and the juvenile justice system. CRT is an analytical framework that focuses on history, economics, equity, constitutional law and of course racism (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). Since race is a social construct, a theory that has social implications has value understanding the social dynamics behind school dropouts and suspension as well as prison incarcerations. Ailments We are building more prisons than ever before and school dropout rates are increasing. Classrooms are overcrowded, and to fix the problem, those classrooms are then filled with undertrained and overworked teachers. The few effective teachers that we do have are undervalued and under paid (Mendez, 2003). Current teacher attrition rates indicate that half quit the profession in 5 years (Lambert, 2006). Additionally, as a result of or as a culmination of these problems, schools in the U.S. are unfairly placing students in detention or suspending then outright. Once a student has a juvenile record of suspension, that student’s likely hood of graduating on time decreases and the circumstances that lead to prison incarceration increases (Mendez, 2003). When individuals are placed in prison, in addition to incarceration hardships, inmates also still suffer from exploitation. Prisons inmates manufacture various products from circuit boards to lingerie for Victoria Secrets for literally pennies on the dollar (Evans & Goldberg, 1997). This has created a school-to-prison-to-enslavement-labor pipeline that affects minority students and students with low social economic status (SES) perpetuating a vicious cycle of exploitation. In essence, if you are a minoritized student or attend a school in a poor neighborhood, you are more likely to wind up in prison than your non-minority peers. We take that to mean that a low literacy rate means low wages even in and out of prison. The Education System America’s cumulative effects of racial inequity are causing both an academic crisis and an incarceration crisis. We are imprisoning more people in the Unites States than ever before. In fact, the U.S. incarcerates more people than any other country in the world (Warren, Gelb, Horowitz, & Riordan, 2009). Of that large sample of incarcerated Americans, 1 in one-hundred, the minoritzied make up a substantial portion (Warren, Gelb, Horowitz, & Riordan, 2009). Many of those incarcerated are dropouts. The number of suspensions that a sixth-grade student receives has a strong positive relationship to suspensions in seventh and eighth-grade and a negative relationship to on-time graduation rates (Wald, & Losen, 2003). Difficulty being readmitted into the school system after suspension or expulsion is a large component of the school-to-prison path (Casella, 2003) and subsequent incarceration-enslavement-labor pipeline. Not only are students marked as potential troublemakers after a suspension or expulsion, it is not uncommon for students to be targeted and placed on high surveillance by both truant officers and school police officers (Golden, Suegel, & Forsythe, 2010). Unfortunately, aggressive enforcement policies like zero-tolerance lead to increases of suspensions and expulsions and too many suspensions and expulsions often lead to incarceration. Less than 15 percent of students who return to the public school 121
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system after an incarceration graduate (Balfanz, Spiridakis, Neild & Legters, 2003). Additionally, students who return to school from suspension or expulsion often have fallen behind due to missed class time. The more time students spend out of school means the less time students have educational instruction and access to school materials. “The link between illiteracy and incarceration rates is so strong that some states decide the number of prison cells to build based on 4th grade reading levels” (Trivani, 2009). In one study, two-thirds of incarcerated male students had been suspended one or more times by eight-grade (Balfanz, Spiridakis, Neild & Legters, 2003). Only 15 percent of students who repeat the ninth-grade complete their secondary education (Balfanz, Spiridakis, Neild & Legters, 2003). “Seventy-five percent of youth under the age of eighteen who were sentenced to adult prisons have not passed the tenth-grade” (Wald & Losen, 2003, p. 17). Clearly, there is a pattern of the U.S. educational system feeding students to the juvenile justice system in a school-to-prison pipeline that ends in incarceration enslavement labor. This youth phenomenon starts early in the America juvenile justice system making it especially troubling for people of color. The Juvenile Justice System For example, school suspension rates are highest for the minoritized in the U.S. (Mendez, 2003). The cause for the increase in school suspensions has been associated with new zero-tolerance policies. Zerotolerance policies are predetermined consequences despite the severity of the infraction (Wald, & Lose, 2003). Not only are African Americans students more likely to be formally charged once they are sent to juvenile court from excessive zero-tolerance policies, they are also more likely to be waived over to adult court (The National Council on Crime and Delinquency, 2007). In fact, since 45 states have passed laws making it easier to try juveniles as adults minorities, are affected most (Mendez, 2003). While it is not reasonable to think that all suspensions or incarcerations of minorities are entirely unwarranted, it stands to reason racial differences play some role in incarcerations (Lorde, 1984). Pope, Lovell, and Hsia (2002) contend that race plays a role in one stage or another of the juvenile justice process with a cumulative effect. This cumulative effect is based on racial disadvantages that influence the decision to make the initial arrest, the decision to hold a youth in detention pending investigation, the decision to refer a case to juvenile court, the decision to waive a case to adult court, the prosecutor’s decision to petition a case, and the judicial decision and subsequent sanction” (The National Council on Crime and Delinquency, 2007). This cumulative effect has residual results outside of juvenile court. It is reflected in the high accusation rate and conviction rate of young Black men combined with a Black male imprisonment rate that is seven times higher than White males between the ages of 20 and 39 in the U.S. (Dyson, 2007). The Prison Industry Prisons do not have to pay inmates. This makes hiring workers who are incarcerated particularly desirable. The prison industry is not only one of the largest growing industries in the U.S. (Pelaez, 2008), but it is also one of the most lucrative. For example, in California, many public schools and universities are provided with furniture manufactured by prison inmates (Davis, 2003). Massingill and Sohn assert that revenue from local prisons support many small towns in Texas (2007). In just one isolated example, Texas offered “rent-a-cell” services to other states that had overcrowded prisons. “Rent-a-cell” salespeople earn a commission of $2.50 to $5.50 per day bed and the local county that houses the inmates earns $1.50 for each prisoner (Pelaez, 2008). Southern states like Texas account for four out of every 10 people incarcerated in the U.S. and one out of every 11 incarcerated in the world (Rachel, & Burch, 2003). Due to numbers like these, the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) is not only lucrative, but also sustainable. Prisons are Modern Day Plantations
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From 1972 to 1975 Angola Prison in Louisiana, paid its inmates 4 cents per hour (Schenwar, 2008). Today in Louisiana, prisoner workweek hours have been reduced from 96 hours to 40 hours, and wages have been increased to 40 cents an hour (Glasser, 2010). However, prison income is held until inmates are released (Schenwar, 2008). This does little good if prisoners are sentenced to life. Extra work hours can also be given as a form of punishment. Common crops for prisons are soybean, corn, wheat and cotton (Glasser 2010). It is not uncommon for prisons in the south to enforce mandatory farm labor from its prisoners. The incentive for cheap labor may be why the South incarcerated four out of 10 imprisoned people in the U.S. and one out of every 11 prisoners in the world (Herzing & Burch, 2003). Southern states like Arkansas have mandatory farm labor for 40 percent of its inmates, in Texas 17 percent of its inmates and in Louisiana and 16 percent of its inmates. A large part of the land that was formally owned by former slave owners in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Louisiana were sold as land that was used to build prisons. Described by Van Jones as slave ships on dry land (in Reiland, 2009), the same land that was formerly used to plant, pick and harvest crops by enslaved people who came to America as ship board captives are now planted, picked and harvested by enslaved prison inmates who are now incarcerated captives. This is the final component in the school-to-prison-to-incarcerationenslavement labor pipeline. What is needed are prescriptive measures to dismantle the pipeline. Prescription The conditions surrounding the school-to-prison-to-incarceration-enslavement labor pipeline are stark and depressing. It almost makes it seem, in the words of Du Bois in his memorial address to the Sigma Pi Phi that it is easy to, “associate color and degradation and cannot make ourselves believe in any real triumph of Black folk” (2011/1948). If the U.S. does not do something to prevent the school-to-prisonto-incarcerated-enslavement-labor pipeline and subsequent prison inmate slave labor, we will not only lose millions of students to poverty and despair, we will lose the potential to empower an entire generation to improve the world. We must have hope for a cure of our education ailments and not buy into, “a poverty of ambitions” (Obama, 2005, p. 148). Clearly, we need a new strategy to address this problem. Green (2004) suggests the solution is for both teachers and parents to have high expectations for all children, especially African American boys. Just showing a little care goes a long way with students (Wald, & Losen, 2003). Caring mentorship programs such as the Boule´ mentorship program based on high expectations is one example of an effective prescription. Boule´ School Objectives School Objective 1 – Increasing Literacy The principal duty of the Boule´ mentorship model is to provide academic, social and cultural capital through mentorship that produces college and career-ready students. The first step in this mentorship model includes increasing literacy. Literacy, the ability to ability to identify, understand, interpret, create and communicate the written and printed text is one of the most important keys to positive education outcomes. The importance of literacy to positive education and life outcomes cannot be overstated. To carry out the increasing literacy objective step 1 in the Boule´ Mentorship Program entails regularly scheduled meeting times where the mentor not only reads to the mentee but is also read to by the mentee to help evaluate comprehension. Improvement in literacy will be based on completing homework, test scores, report cards and a attitude toward reading survey measured against time spent in the program. School Objective 2 – Improving Math Competency The Boule´mentorship program is dedicated to improving math competency. Between 2007 and 2009 African American male mathematics passing rates (met proficiency) ranged from a high of 28.5% in 2008-09 to a low of 26.5% in 2007-08. These results are disturbing when compared to the passing rates of the district (nearly 46%) and their Hispanic (nearly 35%) and White (nearly 64%) male counterparts 123
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(Green et al, 2010, p. 32). Step 2 of the Boule´ mentorship program includes mentor support of the mentee in regards to mathematical proficiency up to at least Algebra 1. Algebra I is an indicator for college success among minority students (Atanda, 1999 , Moses & Codd, 2001). Performance will be based completing homework, test scores, report cards and a attitude toward math survey measured against time spent in the program. School Objective 3 – Decreasing Behavioral Problems Contrary to belief, most juvenile detentions are not due to violent offenses. However, the more a student is placed on suspension or in detention the more likely it is that that student will drop out. In CCSD, suspensions are seen as a contributing factor to low achievement and high dropout rates observed with minority students (Green et, al…, 2010, p. 19). However, instilling a strong sense of ethnic identity alone is not the answer to positive education outcomes. According to Ogbu, a strong sense of ethnic identity can create a rejection against studious behavior that can be seen as ‘acting White. Consequentially, a strong sense of self-confidence is a stronger indicator of positive education outcomes more so than ethnic identity alone. Positive interactions with an advisor or mentee are a strong predictor of academic support regardless of same ethnicity pairing. To that end, the Boule´ mentorship program will engage in fostering positive interactions with mentors and mentees. Positive interaction will be provided in the form of both structured and non-structured meetings, classroom visits, as well as college campus, career day visits and cultural activities. Positive interaction will be measured by anonymous mentor evaluations and mentor assessments of mentee life plan based on achieved benchmarks goals and objectives measured against time in program and decrease in behavior referrals. REFERENCES Atanda, R. (1999). Do gatekeepers expand education options? Education Statistics Quarterly, 1, 33-‐37. Balfanz, Spiridakis, Neild, & Legters. (2003). Neighborhood high schools and the juvenile system: How neither helps the other and how that could change. Pittsburgh: Johns Hopkins University Press. Casella, R. (2003). Zero tolerance policy in schools, Ratioanle, consequences and alternatives. Teachers College Record, 105, 872-892. Delgado, R. & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. New York: New York University Press. Douglass, F. (1845). Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass. Boston: Anti-Slavery Office. Do Bois, W. E. B. (2011/1938). The talented tenth memorial address nineteenth grand Boule´ conclave Sigma Pi Phi. Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. Retrieved September, 28, 2011 from: http://www.sigmapiphi.org/home/thetalented-tenth.php Dyson, M. (2007). Debating race with Michael Eric Dyson. New York: Basic Civitas books. Evans L. & Goldberg, E. (1997). The prison industrial complex and the global economy. [Pamphlet] Berkley, CA: Prison Activist Resource Center. Foucault, M. (1998). The history of sexuality Vol. 1: The will to knowledge. London: Penguin. Franklin, H. B. (2000). From plantation to penitentiary to the prison-industrial complex: literature of the American prison. Paper delivered at the Modern Language Association Convention, December, 2000. Green, R. L., Carl, B. C., Green, K. K. & Mount, R. (2010). The American dilemma and challenge: The African American male dropout rate. Las Vegas, Nevada: Clark County School district. Glasser, I. (2010, December, 25). Christmas Day in a Louisiana dungeon. The Huffington Post. Golden, M., Suegel, V, & Forsythe, D. (2010). Approaches to school safety in America’s largest Cities. Vera Institute of Justice. Retrieved September 27, 2010, from http://www.vera.org/content/approaches-schoolsafety-americas-largest-cities . Herzing, R. & Burch, M, (2003, November). Challenging the prison industrial complex. USA Today: Society for the Advancement of Education. Retrieved October 5, 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1272/is_2702_132/ai_110531025/ .
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Johnson, A. (1976). A history and interpretation of the William Edward Burghardt DuBois-Booker Talliaferro Washington higher educational controversy. University of Southern California. Lambert, L. (006, May). Half of teachers quit in 5 years: Working conditions, low salaries cited. Washington post. Retrieved October 3, 2010, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2006/05/08/AR2006050801344.html . Legal Information Institute. (2010). United States Constitution, Amendment XIII. Cornel University Law School. Retrieved October 5, 2010 from http://topics.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiii. Lorde, A. (1984). Sister outsider. Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press. Massingill, R. & Sohn B. (2008). Prison city: Life with the death penalty in Huntsville, Texas. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Mendez, L., M. (2003). Predictors of suspension and negative school outcomes: A longitudinal investigation. In Johanna Wald, and Daniel Losesn’s Deconstructing the school-to-prison pipeline: New directions for youth development (Number 99). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Moses, R. P., & Cobb, C. E. (2001). Radical equations: Math, literacy, and civil rights. Boston: Beacon Press. North Carolina Digital History (2010). A bill to prevent all persons from teaching slaves to read or write, the use of figures excepted (1830). Legislative Papers, 1830–31 Session of the General Assembly, http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newnation/4384. Obama, B. (2005). Knox college commencement address. In J. Daley’s (Eds.). Great speeches by African Americans. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. Padilla A. M. (2004). Quantitative methods in multicultural education research. In J. Banks & C. Banks (Eds.), Handbook of Research in Multicultural Education (second edition). San Francisco: Josey-Bass. Pager, D. (2003). The mark of a criminal record. American Journal of Sociology.108, 937-975. Pelaez, V. (2008). The prison industry in the United States: big business or a new form of slavery? Retrieved October 3, 2010, from: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=8289. Pope, C.E., Lovell, R., & Hsia, H.M. (2002). Disproportionate minority confinement: A review of the research literature from 1989 through 2001. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Last accessed October 24, 2006 from http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/dmc/pdf/dmc89_01.pdf Rachel, H. &, Burch, M. (2003, November). Challenging the prison industrial complex. USA Today. Reiland, R. (2009). The New American. Retrieved October 4, 20210, from http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/opinion/ralph-reiland/1891-van-jones-green-jobs-ruse . Sentinel Voice. (2010, November, 11). Colleges more diverse, but racial gaps exist. The Las Vegas Sentinel-Voice. Schenwar, M. (2008). Slavery haunts America’s plantation prisons. Retrieved October 4, 2010, from http://realcostofprisons.org/blog/archives/2008/09/slavery_haunts.html. Smollin, M. (2010). Zero tolerance almost doubles school suspensions. Take Part: Inspiration to action. Retrieved October 30, 2010, from http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/09/22/zero-tolerancealmost-doublesschool-suspensions . The National Council on Crime and Delinquency. (2007). And justice for some: Differential treatment of youth of color in the justice system. Retrieved October, 22, from http://www.nccdcrc.org/nccd/pubs/2007jan_justice_for_some.pdf . Trivani Foundation. (2009). Trivani Foundation Newsletter: Family Literacy Centers. Retrieved October 2, 2010, from: http://www.trivanifoundation.org/news/marnewsletter09.pdf Wald, J. & Losen, D. (2003). Defining and redirecting a school-to-prison pipeline. In Johanna Wald, and Daniel Losesn’s Deconstructing the school-to-prison pipeline: New directions for youth development (Number, 99). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Warren, J., Gelb, A., Horowitz, J., & Riordan, J. (2009). One in 100: Behind bars in America 2008. Washington, DC: Pew Charitable Trusts.
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Clapp, E. P. Harvard University Omni-Directional Mentorship: Redefining Mentorship as a Reciprocal Process of Teaching and Learning ABSTRACT When one thinks of mentorship, what often comes to mind is the vision of a wizened field leader sharing knowledge and expertise with a less experienced protégé. This traditional approach to mentorship customarily involves the counsel of a young mentee by a more senior mentor. While such an approach to mentorship can be applied to great effect, the top-down nature of these relationships emphasize a power dynamic that overlooks the potential to tap the knowledge and expertise of an organization’s diverse constituents, deviant voices, and emerging talent. This theoretical paper problematizes traditional top-down approaches to mentorship and argues for more reciprocal models that incorporate the knowledge and expertise of multiple colleagues and stakeholders within one’s workplace or professional sphere. This paper first recognizes that mentoring relationships are by nature directional before making the case for a new mentoring framework: Omni-Directional Mentorship. The primary focus of Omni-Directional Mentorship is to fuse traditional top-down mentorship with “mentoring-up,” and “lateral mentorship” experiences to help replace steep institutional hierarchies with more constructive webs of teaching and learning.
Introduction and Background Upon hearing the word “mentorship,” the first thing many of us envision is the traditional notion of a wizened mentor—a seasoned professional in a particular industry or area of study—extending his/her knowledge, expertise, and experiential insight to a less experienced though promising protégé, or mentee. Despite the popularity of this traditional definition of mentorship, in our multi-generational, increasingly diversified, and cumulatively more complex workplace, it is fair to call into question the limitations of mentoring relationships that rely on a strictly top-down flow of knowledge and expertise. This paper aims to make a conceptual case for a new approach to mentorship that, in effect, turns traditional notions of mentor mentee relationships on their heads. By first acknowledging, then challenging, and ultimately restructuring the directionality of mentoring relationships, the theory of Omni-Directional Mentorship, as presented herein, transforms the power dynamics inherent in traditional top-down mentorship into balanced exchanges of knowledge and expertise that form a web of teaching and learning across mentoring stakeholders—wherein all leaders are learners, and all learners are leaders (Clapp, 2010; Clapp & Gregg, 2010). Posing a New Approach to Mentorship Based on a pilot study of the workplace needs of emerging arts leaders (Clapp, 2010; Clapp & Gregg, 2010), the theory of Omni-Directional Mentorship combines the concepts of mentoring-up and lateral mentorship with more traditional notions of top-down mentorship. The result of this reframing of mentoring relationships is a multi-directional, reciprocal approach to mentorship that capitalizes upon the diverse knowledge banks that frequently go untapped within one’s workplace or professional sphere. This theoretical framework is founded upon three core principles: the directionality of the mentoring relationships, the reciprocity of the mentoring relationships, and the distributed cognition that results from the broad exchange of knowledge and expertise. The Directionality of the Mentoring Relationship In the most traditional sense, mentorship involves the top-down flow of knowledge and expertise from a more experienced (and usually older) professional, to a less experienced (usually younger) protégé.1 Inherent is this relationship is the directionality of an informational exchange. Knowledge and 126
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expertise flow from the mentor (top) downwards towards the mentee (below). While Omni-Directional Mentorship challenges the one-way nature of this interaction, the theory does not refute the fact that all mentoring relationships are in some way directional. While the directionality of mentoring relationships may be reframed in theory (and re-engineered in practice) to be multi-directional and reciprocal, the very nature of a mentoring relationship relies on knowledge and expertise flowing from one individual to another (from source to recipient) in a manner that is indeed directional. The Reciprocity of the Mentoring Relationship The directionality governing traditional mentoring relationships suggests that all benefits of the relationship accrue to the mentee, the individual receiving counsel from his/her more wizened mentor. In this sense, traditional mentorship is not only top-down and directional, it is limited by being directional in only one-way. While a mentor may inherently benefit from counseling a protégé (Yamamoto, 1988), there is no explicit benefit to the mentor—nor an explicit incentive for a potential mentor to engage in the work of nurturing a protégé. Reframing mentoring relationships as being explicitly reciprocal exchanges attends to this dilemma. “It reaffirms the basic plot of mentoring stories, the focus on the contribution of the mentor and the benefits to the protégé, but at the same time it names and acknowledges the experience of the mentor” (McGowan, 2001, p. 3). Considering mentoring relationships as reciprocal exchanges also problematizes who is the “wizened” participant in the relationship. If both parties in a mentoring dyad possess knowledge and expertise to share with the other for the equal benefit of both individuals, then indeed both parties hold a sort of wisdom that is of use to the other. Distributed Cognition: Knowledge Situated within Broader Social Systems The third core principle of Omni-Directional Mentorship is the psychological framework of distributed cognition. Popularized in the 1990s, theorists who support the concept of distributed cognition argue that cognition does not take place within the head of any one or another individual, but rather, cognition as it happens “in the wild” (Perkins, 1993) is a distributed process involving the cumulative knowledge and expertise of many individuals engaging with one another on assorted levels (Cole & Engeström, 1993; Dror & Harnand, 2008; Hatch & Gardner, 1993; Hutchins, 1991; Moll, et al. 1993; Perkins, 1993; Rogers & Eillis, 1994; Salomon, 1993). Omni-Directional Mentorship suggests that it requires multiple inputs to bring about a collective output. In this sense, the multi-directional nature of Omni-Directional Mentorship is less concerned with the growth of isolated individuals, and more concerned with the growth of individuals contributing to greater systems. The distributed cognition positioning of Omni-Directional Mentorship inclines the theory towards what psychologist R. Keith Sawyer (2005) describes as social emergence: “the processes whereby the global behavior of a system results from the actions and interactions of agents” (p. 2) within that system. Sawyer’s concept of social emergence argues that high-level “global behaviors” (functions, processes, activities, experiences, etc.) “emerge” from the interactions of individuals and groups within a system but cannot be reduced to the actions of any one individual or group within that system. Insofar as OmniDirectional Mentorship incorporates the knowledge and expertise of multiple individual stakeholders contributing to greater group learning, it opens the door to new innovations and productive practice to emerge from the generative interactions of multiple agents.
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See any number of popular and/or academic discussions of the character of Mentor in Homer’s Odyssey for a deeper understanding of the common usage of the word “Mentor” as being a wizened counselor, especially an elder, engaging a younger individual.
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Omni-Directional Mentorship As noted above, Omni-Directional Mentorship involves not one, but three uniquely distinct forms of mentoring relationships. These diverse mentoring relationships go beyond the boundaries of widely understood one-on-one mentorship exchanges in that they consist of multiple stakeholders, each bringing a different set of knowledge and expertise to the exchange. These three different forms of mentoring relationships can be described as traditional top-down mentorship—wherein knowledge and expertise flow down a hierarchical chain; mentoring-up—wherein knowledge and expertise flow up a hierarchical chain, and; lateral mentorship—wherein knowledge and expertise flow across individuals at comparable levels of practice. Traditional Top-Down Mentorship As has been articulated here and across the mentorship literature, the traditional approach to mentorship involves the dissemination of knowledge and expertise from a person of experience to a lesserexperienced person exhibiting great promise (see Figure 1). The benefits of this relationship are obvious. The experienced mentor has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and expertise throughout his/her engagement in a particular industry or area of study, and the protégé is interested in absorbing this knowledge to further develop him-/herself as a professional in a comparable capacity. Instilling a practice of top-down mentorship is important for organizations interested in passing down institutional knowledge and building the capacity of their rising talent, but such mentorship practices are also limited in that (a) the knowledge and expertise that is being transmitted is dated, it comes from a particular time and place, (b) the one-way nature of this relationship does little to expand the capacity of the experienced mentor, and (c) the top-down emphasis of this model reinforces traditional hierarchies and limited power structures. Mentoring-Up Different from traditional top-down approaches to mentorship, mentoring-up suggests the transmission of knowledge and expertise from individuals who are lower in position on a hierarchical chain, to those who are higher up in position on such a chain. In this sense, knowledge and expertise flow up (see Figure 2). In their pilot research working with young arts leaders, Clapp & Gregg (2010) found that emerging leaders in their study (individuals in their 20s and 30s) felt that they possessed generational specific knowledge and expertise that went largely ignored at their institutions. As a result, the institutions where these individuals worked missed opportunities to connect with younger audiences and capitalize on contemporary cultural trends. These individuals suggested that a process of mentoring up—or in this instance, younger people informing their senior leaders—would have greatly benefitted their institutions. Though mentoring-up sounds similar to the popular notion of “managing up,” the two differ in that managing up can be described as minding the practice of one’s superior to keep him/her on task, whereas mentoring-up entails the explicit passage of knowledge and expertise from a person on the lower rungs of an institutional ladder, to an individual on a higher rung of an institutional ladder. In a sense, during a mentoring-up exchange the role of mentor and mentee are seemingly flipped. The individual traditionally positioned in the role of mentee becomes the mentor by educating the individual traditionally positioned as the mentor—who now plays the role of the mentee.
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Lateral Mentorship In today’s increasingly more globalized world, individuals from multiple cultures, industries, and professional backgrounds—each possessing a broad array of knowledge and expertise—are professionally engaging with one another in manners previously unimaginable only decades ago. Because of the increase in diversity in traditional and non-traditional workplace environments, the advent of new technologies, and heightened cross-sector/-discipline collaborations, there has been a renewed emphasis placed on learning from others in order to increase one’s own capacity—as well as to build the institutional capacity of the broader systems in which individuals participate. Lateral mentorship, then, can be described as the exchange of knowledge and expertise across individuals operating at comparable levels of practice (see Figure 3). What these individuals have to gain from one another is twofold. First, lateral mentorships allows one to see how his/her work is done differently in other settings, and (2) lateral mentorship opens one up to new insights and perspectives, helping to expand his/her worldview. Operationalizing a Multi-Directional Mentoring Relationship Omni-Directional Mentorship (see Figure 4) begins when traditional top-down mentorship is combined with mentoring-up experiences. Over the course of this engagement, seasoned professionals exchange their time-honored expertise with less-experienced emerging talents eager to learn from their superiors, while at the same time these junior professionals offer the knowledge and expertise inherent in their unique generational perspectives. The result of this interaction is that the junior professional “learns the ropes” while the senior professional becomes increasingly more tapped into developing trends, contemporary culture, new technologies, and the habits of mind of younger audiences. When practices of lateral mentorship are added to the topdown mentoring-up exchange, the opportunity to expand one’s worldview and broaden his/her perspective is added to the benefits of the relationship. This, in turn, leads all parties to have a greater understanding of their colleagues and their constituents and the increased ability to see multiple ways to address a problem based on the expertise of others. While one-on-one relationships are embedded within the practice of Omni-Directional Mentorship, this theoretical approach to knowledge sharing and the exchange of expertise is geared more towards developing complex webs of teaching and learning. As opposed to the traditional hierarchical structures that top-down mentoring relationships reinforce, taking an OmniDirectional approach to mentorship encourages more flattened hierarchies by positioning all learners as leaders, and all leaders as learners. Concluding Discussion In many ways, suggesting that mentoring relationships can be reciprocal relationships where all parties have equal knowledge and expertise to gain and share may “appear to be mentoring turned inside/out and upside/down” (McGowan, 2001, p. 2). In fact, many people will question, whether such arrangements even qualify as mentorship experiences at all. Despite the skepticism that may arise when 129
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reframing mentorship as a multi-directional directional web of teaching and learning that consists not solely of a single dyad, but of an array of relationships amongst multiple stakeholders, what OmniDirectional Mentorship proposes is not entirely new. Elizabeth Collins (2008) suggests the term 360° Mentoring: “today, with org charts flatter and expectations of managerial know-how greater, your ideal mentor may actually be a network of mentors that includes peers and even subordinates” (p.1). Like Collins’s 360° Mentorship, Omni-Directional Mentorship removes the focus of mentoring relationships from looking upwards to the top for insight and wisdom. Instead, fostering a network of mentors acknowledges that there is insight and wisdom all around us. By fusing top-down, mentoring-up, and lateral mentorship, Omni-Directional Mentorship is designed to take a systems approach to mentorship that naturally builds on the greater know-how of a larger web of professionals. In doing so, Omni-Directional Mentorship does not deny the directionality of traditional mentorship, it simply turns one-way mentoring into reciprocal multi-way exchanges that are beneficial to all stakeholders. Seen through the lens of distributed cognition, Omni-Directional Mentorship mechanizes the diverse attributes that multiple professionals bring to a group environment, and provides a framework to harness a group’s collective energy, knowledge, and expertise. Like any collaborative process, putting an Omni-Directional Mentorship program into practice is not without its challenges. The power structures of established hierarchies are often difficult—if not impossible—to break. Taking an Omni-Directional approach to mentorship will require senior professionals to make themselves vulnerable as learners and humble themselves when being mentored by their junior colleagues. On the flip-side, Omni-Directional Mentorship requires junior professionals to assert themselves and act on their agency in manners that may be unfamiliar to them—or even out of synch with their ways of knowing. While learning from one’s partners in a lateral mentorship fashion may seem more intuitive than bucking the hierarchical flow of knowledge and expertise, this practice also requires individuals to be more deliberate about seeking out colleagues who truly challenge their own (potentially deep-set) worldviews and ways of knowing. At its core, Omni-Directional Mentorship is a cultural practice. It involves instilling an atmosphere that inclines all persons working within a collective unit to have a genuine curiosity for the other, to seek out colleagues working at all rungs on the institutional ladder—and beyond—for the purpose of establishing meaningful and engaging teaching and learning exchanges. NOTE: All illustrations by Paul Kuttner: www.kuttnerdesigns.com
REFERENCES Clapp, E. P. (2010). Omni-directional mentorship: Exploring a new approach to inter-generational knowledge sharing in arts practice and administration. In D. Schott (Ed.), Leading creatively: A closer look 2010 (pp. 6679). San Francisco, CA: National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture. Clapp, E. P. & Gregg, A. (2010). Structures for change: Recommendations for renewed institutional practice to support leadership qualities in young arts professionals. In E. P. Clapp (Ed.), 20UNDER40: Re-inventing the arts and arts education for the 21st century (pp. 35-52). Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. Collins, E. (2008). 360° Mentoring. Harvard Management Update 13(3). Article Reprint No. U0803B. Cole, M. & Engerström, Y. (1993). A cultural-historical approach to distributed cognition. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 1-48). Cambridge UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Dror, I. E. & Harnad, S. (2008). Cognition distributed: How cognitive technology extends our minds. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: John Benjamins Pub. Hatch, T. & Gardner, H. (1993). A cultural-historical approach to distributed cognition. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 164-187). Cambridge UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
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Hutchins, E. (1991). The social organization of distributed cognition. In L. B. Resnick, M. John, & S. D. Teasley (Eds.), Perspectives on socially shared cognition (pp. 283-307). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. DOI: 10.1037/10096-012. Moll, L. C., Tapia, J., & Whitmore, K. F. (1993). Living knowledge: The social distribution of cultural resources for thinking. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 139163). Cambridge UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. McGowan, E. (2001). Texts and contexts of reciprocity: Five models of mentoring (Qualifying paper, Harvard Graduate School of Education). Perkins, D. N. (1993). Person-plus: A distributed view of thinking and learning. In G. Salomon (Ed.) Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. 88-110). Cambridge UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Rogers, Y. & Ellis, J. (1994). Distributed cognition: An alternative framework for analysing and explaining collaborative working. Journal of Information Technology 9(2), pp. 119-128. Salomon, G. (1993a). Editor’s introduction. In G. Salomon (Ed.), Distributed cognitions: Psychological and educational considerations (pp. xi-xxi). Cambridge UK; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. Yamamoto, K. (1988). To see life grow: The meaning of mentorship. Theory into Practice, XXVII(3).
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Miller, G. J. University of Wisconsin The effect of cultural intelligence and emotional intelligence on mentor and protégé expectation and retention intentions in diverse mentoring relationships ABSTRACT: Mentoring has become more common in organizations as firms have discovered the benefits of this process, such as the retention and cultivation of employees who create the work and products of the organization. To meet the challenges associated with increasing diversity within organizations, researchers have focused on understanding diverse mentoring relationships (Athey, Avery, & Zemsky, 2000; Clutterbuck & Ragins, 2002; Hardy, 1998; Knouse, Hill, & Webb, 2005; Ragins, 1997). Because of the dearth of minorities (and women) in top management positions in the United States (Ragins, 2002), minorities who wish to be mentored usually need to be matched with a majority member. The demographic (e.g., ethnicity, gender, age) and situational (e.g., position, power) disparities between mentors and protégés often make it more difficult for diverse partners to develop quality relationships that are needed to realize the benefits of mentoring. The purpose of this study is to identify important antecedents (i.e., cultural and emotional intelligence) that may foster a better fit between racially diverse mentoring partners and, ultimately, more effective mentoring relationships. Drawing on social information processing theory (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978), I contend that mentors and protégés who are socially intelligent (i.e., culturally and emotionally) will be a better match. As a result of the enhanced fit between the partners, both mentors and protégés will perceive a higher quality relationship, will have higher retention intentions, and will perceive that their expectations of the relationship have been met. A research agenda for testing these ideas will be offered.
In the United States, diversity in organizations has become reality (Ragins & Gonzalez, 2003). To reduce the negative outcomes attributed to diversity and to enhance the positives, many organizations have implemented formal diverse mentoring programs (Ragins, 2007). Diverse mentoring relationships occur when the mentor and protégé differ in group membership associated with power differences in organizations (Ragins, 1995). According to the attraction-selection-attrition (ASA) model (Schneider, 1987), given personal choice, mentors and protégés would tend to enter into relationships with others similar to themselves. Therefore, if minority individuals within organizations are to receive a mentor, informal mentoring may not provide an opportunity for them. There is usually a dearth of minorities (and women) in top management positions in the U.S. (Ragins, 2002). If minorities wish to be mentored, they will usually need to be matched with a majority member, most likely a white male (Ragins, 1997). This study will draw on leader-member exchange (LMX) theory in order to conceptualize the quality of the exchange between mentor and protégé. Graen and colleagues proposed the LMX theory by proposing that leaders have unique dyadic relationships with each of their subordinates rather than have identical relationship across all subordinates in any work group (Dansereau, 1975; George B. Graen & Uhl-Bien, 1995). LMX itself refers to the quality of the relationship between an individual and his/her supervisor (G. B. Graen, 1976). Recent research has moved past examining LMX in terms of solely antecedents and consequences, and has moved to also examining LMX as a moderator and/or mediator of performance (Avolio, Walumbwa, & Weber, 2009). This study simply changes the words in the measurement tool for LMX to measure the mentor/protégé exchange (MPX). According to SIP theory, information acquisition and elaboration is a cognitive process that influences individuals’ use of available information (Hamilton, Stroessner, & Driscoll, 1994). As an individual perceives an interaction with another, they interpret the meaning of that person’s behaviors, make inferences about that person’s abilities, motives, and personality attributes, make causal attributions of why events occurred, and react affectively to the person and events they observe (Hamilton, Sherman, & Ruvolo, 1990). These processes are extremely important in social perceptions as they guide an individual’s actions and interactions with that other person. As an individual interacts with others, he/she 132
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has expectancies about their behaviors based on stereotypes of the groups to which they belong (Hamilton, et al., 1990). Stereotypes do help individuals in efficiency through contacts with numerous new persons on a daily basis, and they particularly pertaining to the processing of visible, behavioral characteristics (Andersen, Klatzky, & Murray, 1990). Stereotypes are thought to perpetuate defiance between members of different groups and to engender misunderstanding among individuals with dissimilar backgrounds (Yzerbyt & Carnaghi, 2008). Scholars have yet to identify the important antecedents to effective diverse mentoring relationships. Cultural intelligence (CQ) might be an important key in successful diverse mentoring relationships. CQ is a different level of intelligence from that which is known as IQ, or rational and logic-based verbal and quantitative intelligence, and different also from emotional intelligence. CQ is defined by researchers as a person’s effectiveness in drawing upon a set of knowledge, skills, and personal attributes in order to work successfully with other people from different national cultural backgrounds at home or abroad (Johnson, Lenartowicz, & Apud, 2006). A person with high CQ can somehow tease out of a person's behavior those features that would be true of all people and all groups, those peculiar to this person, and those that are neither universal nor idiosyncratic (Earley & Mosakowski, 2004). Literature exists regarding expatriates’ experiences abroad and the importance of CQ in their adaptation to these new cultures. A commonality with diversity of other levels is that the culture, rules, norms and reward structure of organizations are developed by and for the majority group (Ragins, 2002). The author then compares this to the minority groups’ feeling that they are a ‘stranger in a strange land’ where they don’t understand the rules of the game or even that a game exists (Ragins, 2002). I compare the experience of minorities in organizations and the experience of expatriates in a foreign land as both protégés (and expatriates) need to develop and maintain positive relationships with the mentors (and host country nationals). It is possible that CQ facilitates interactions between diverse people in either situation. People with higher CQ will have paid attention to past experiences with diverse others and will have retained the information gathered. Therefore, mentor and protégé CQ within a diverse mentoring relationship will result in the mentors or protégés more accurately perceiving the characteristics of their diverse mentoring partner as an individual rather than simply as a member of an outgroup. This would lead to the mentors and protégés to be more willing to see the MPX in a positive light. Proposal 1: The cultural intelligence of a) mentors and b) protégés will be positively related to MPX in a diverse mentoring relationship. Emotional intelligence (EQ) reflects a person’s ability to understand and convey human emotion (Earley & Peterson, 2004). EQ is defined as “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions” (Salovey & Mayer, 1990, p. 189). This ability to manage social behaviors may come into play in interpersonal relationships. The link between EQ and mentoring has begun to be examined (Bennetts, 2002; Cherniss, 2007). Individuals with high EQ have been said to be likely to succeed at communicating in interesting ways and make others feel better in an organizational environment (Goleman, 1998). These skills should likely assist both a mentor and a protégé throughout their relationship. Past experiences will have provided learning opportunities for the mentor and protégé to more readily look for and find positive relationship qualities with their diverse partner. Proposal 2: The emotional intelligence of a) mentors and b) protégés will be positively related to MPX in a diverse mentoring relationship. SIP comes from the premise that individuals adapt their behaviors to their own past experiences (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978). An individual must acknowledge past experiences in order for them to be used cognitively to direct themselves in future actions. Assessing a diverse mentoring relationship’s quality and having experienced the relationship will likely impact a 133
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mentor in such a way that a higher quality relationship (higher MPX) will result in the mentor choosing to continue to be a mentor in the program in the future. Protégés in positive relationships should be more likely to remain at the university where they participated in the diverse mentoring program. Proposal 3: MPX in a diverse mentoring relationship will be positively related to the retention intentions of the a) mentors and b) protégés. For protégés in a newer mentoring relationship, uncertainty is usually high. By their very nature, diverse mentoring relationships comprise les of a comfort zone than homogenous relationships (Ragins, 2002). SIP indicates that in cases of uncertainty, social cues are important. At higher levels of MPX in a relationship, uncertainty will be reduced, and the relationship is more likely to meet expectations of both parties. Proposal 4: MPX in a diverse mentoring relationship will be positively related to the level of the met protégé expectations. I will collect primary data from university student/business professional dyads in a formal mentoring program set up for minority students. I will send out personalized emails to the mentors and protégés briefly describing the study, ensuring confidentiality, sending a link to the EQ online assessment, and sending a second assessment that will collect CQ and demographic data of the participants. This assessment will also ask protégés several open-ended questions in order to develop a list of protégé expectations from this group. This first email and survey information will be collected in October or November. In December or January, I will send out a second email to mentors and protégés with a survey of MPX. In February or March, I will send out a third email to protégés with a survey of their retention intentions as well as met mentor/protégé expectations. I will match the data by mentor and protégé name to ensure matched information. I will use measures that have mostly been developed and validated by researchers, with a few word changes as listed below. Cultural Intelligence. I will test individuals’ levels of cultural intelligence, using the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) developed and validated by Ang and colleagues (Ang et al., 2007). This selfreport scale is composed of 20 items that can be separated into the four components of cultural intelligence. Emotional Intelligence I will test individuals’ levels of emotional intelligence using the MayerSolovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) version 2.0 (Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2002). This141-item measure is designed to directly test the four abilities associated with the four branches they have designed, and it provides scores for overall EQ, two area scores (Experiential and Strategic EQ) and four branch scores (Perceiving, Facilitating, Understanding, and Managing Emotions). Mentor-Protégé Exchange (MPX) The LMX7 scale (G. B. Graen, Novak, & Sommerkamp, 1982) is the most frequently used LMX measure (Gerstner & Day, 1997). I have changed the wording slightly, changing the word leader to mentor, and changing the word member to protégé. Mentor and Protégé Retention Intentions To measure retention intentions, I will ask mentors how likely they are, on a seven-point Likert scale from Extremely Likely to Extremely Unlikely, to continue as a mentor in the multicultural mentoring program in the next school year. I will ask protégés how likely they are, on the same seven-point scale, to continue their enrollment in the university in which they are currently enrolled. (Met) Mentor and Protégé Expectations This measure will be decided from two open-ended questions to the mentors and protégés at the beginning of the program. They will be: 1) What do you think the mentoring process means? and 2) What do you think a successful mentoring relationship is? After gathering responses from all participants, a 7-point Likert scale with the most common responses will be developed for the end of the study. 134
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Controls and Other Measures In addition to the above measures, I will include questions to capture gender, race, age, job level, tenure, prior experience as either a mentor and/or protégé in a mentoring relationship, educational level, and other demographics to use as control variables. REFERENCES: Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Poteet, M. L., Lentz, E., & Lima, L. (2004). Career benefits associated with mentoring for proteges: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(1), 127-136. Allen, T. D., Poteet, M. L., & Burroughs, S. M. (1997). The mentor's perspective: A qualitative inquiry and future research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51(1), 70-89. Alon, I., & Higgins, J. M. (2005). Global leadership success through emotional and cultural intelligence. [Periodical]. Business Horizons, 48(6), 12. Andersen, S. M., Klatzky, R. L., & Murray, J. (1990). Traits and social stereotypes: Efficiency differences in social information processing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(2), 192-201. Ang, S., Van Dyne, L., & Koh, C. (2006a). Personality correlates of the four-factor model of cultural intelligence. [Periodical]. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 100-123. Ang, S., Van Dyne, L., & Koh, C. (2006b). Personality correlates of the four-factor model of cultural intelligence. [Periodical]. Group & Organization Management, 31(1), 24. Ang, S., Van Dyne, L., Koh, C., Ng, K.-Y., Templer, K. J., Tay, C., et al. (2007). Cultural intelligence: Its measurement and effects on cultural judgment and decision making, cultural adaptation and task performance. Management and Organization Review, 3(3), 335. Ashforth, B. E., & Mael, F. (1989). Social identity theory and the organization. Academy of Management Review, 14(1), 20. Avolio, B. J., Walumbwa, F. O., & Weber, T. J. (2009). Leadership: Current theories, research, and future directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 60(1), 421. Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 11731182. Bennetts, C. (2002). Traditional mentor relationships, intimacy, and emotional intelligence. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 15(2), 155-170. Cherniss, C. (2007). The role of emotional intelligence in the mentoring process. In B. R. Ragins & K. E. Kram (Eds.), The Handbook of Mentoring at Work. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Cox, T. (1991). The multicultural organization. Academy of Management Executive, 5(2), 34-47. Cox, T. J., & Nkomo, S. M. (1990). Invisible men and women: A status report on race as a variable in organization behavior research. Journal of Organizational Behavior (1986-1998), 11(6), 419. Crick, N. R., & Dodge, K. A. (1994). A review and reformulatino of social informatoin-processing mechanisms in children's social adjustment. Psychological Bulletin, 115(1), 74-101. D'Zurilla, T. J., & Goldfried, M. R. (1971). Problem solving and behavior modification. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 78(1), 107-126. Dansereau, F. (1975). A vertical dyad linkage approach to leadership within formal organizations: A longitudinal investigation of the role making process. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1975, Vol.13(1), P.46-78, 13(1), 46-78. Day, D. V., & Crain, E. C. (1992). The role of affect and ability in initial exchange quality perceptions. Group & Organization Management, 17(4), 380-397. Dodge, K. A. (1986). A social information processing model of social competence in children. In M. Perimutter (Ed.), The Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology (Vol. 18, pp. 77-125). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Earley, P. C., & Mosakowski, C. (2004). Cultural intelligence. Harvard Business Review, 82(10), 139. Earley, P. C., & Peterson, R. S. (2004). The elusive cultural chameleon: Cultural intelligence as a new approach to intercultural training for the global manager. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 3(1), 100.
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Ekman, P. (1980). The face of man: Expressoins of universal emotions in a New Guinea village. New York, NY: Garland STPM Press. Feldman Barrett, L., Gross, J., Christensen, T., & Benvenuto, M. (2001). Knowing what you're feeling and knowing what to do about it: Mapping the relation between emotion differentiation and emotion regulation. Cognition and Emotion, 15, 713-724. Gerstner, C. R., & Day, D. V. (1997). Meta-Analytic review of leader–member exchange theory: Correlates and construct issues. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82(6), 827-844. Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam Books. Graen, G. B. (1976). Role making processes within complex organizations. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (pp. 1201-1245). Chicago, IL: Rand McNally. Graen, G. B., Novak, M. A., & Sommerkamp, P. (1982). The effects of leader-member exchange and job design on productivity and satisfaction: Testing a dual attachment model. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 30, 109-131. Graen, G. B., & Uhl-Bien, M. (1995). Relationship-based approach to leadership: Development of leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership over 25 years: Applying a multi-level multi-domain perspective. Leadership Quarterly, 62(2), 219-247. Greenhaus, J. H., Parasuraman, S., & Wormley, W. M. (1990). Effects Of Race On Organizational Experiences, Job Perform. Academy of Management Journal, 33(1), 64. Grewal, D., & Salovey, P. (2005). Feeling Smart: The Science of Emotional Intelligence. [Article]. American Scientist, 93(4), 330-339. Hamilton, D. L., Sherman, S. J., & Ruvolo, C. M. (1990). Stereotype-based expectancies: Effects on information processing and social behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 46(2), 35-60. Hamilton, D. L., Stroessner, S. J., & Driscoll, D. M. (1994). Social cognition and the study of stereotyping. In P. G. Devine, D. L. Hamilton & T. M. Ostrom (Eds.), Social cognition: Impact on social psychology. (pp. 291-321). San Diego, CA US: Academic Press. Jackson, S. E., Brett, J. F., Sessa, V. I., Cooper, D. M., Julin, J. A., & Peyronnin, K. (1991). Some differences make a difference: Individual dissimilarity and group heterogeneity as correlates of recruitment, promotions, and turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76(5), 675-689. Johnson, J. P., Lenartowicz, T., & Apud, S. (2006). Cross-cultural competence in international business: Toward a definition and a model. Journal of International Business Studies, 37(4), 525. Liden, R. C., & Maslyn, J. M. (1998). Multidemsionality of leader-member exchange: An empirical assessment through scale development. Journal of Management, 21(1), 42-72. Livingstone, H. A., & Day, A. L. (2005). Comparing the construct and criterion-related validity of ability-based and mixed model measures of emotional intelligence. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 65(5), 757-779. Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In P. Salovey & D. J. Sluyter (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: educational implications. New York, NY: Basic Books. Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2000). Test manual for the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso emotional intelligence test: Research version 1.1 (3rd ed.). Toronto, Canada: Multi-Health Systems. Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2002). MSCEIT user's manual. Toronto, Canada: Multi-Health Systems. Milliken, F. J., & Martins, L. L. (1996). Searching for common threads: Understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups. Academy of Management Review, 21(2), 402-433. Pfeffer, J. (1980). A partial test of the social information processing model of job attitudes. Human Relations, 3, 457-476. Phillips, K. W., Mannix, E. A., Neale, M. A., & Gruenfeld, D. H. (2004). Diverse groups and information sharing: The effects of congruent ties. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40(4), 497-510. Phillips, K. W., Mannix, E. A., Neale, M. A., & Gruenfeld, D. H. (2004). Diverse groups and information sharing: The effects of congruent ties. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 497-510. Ragins, B. R. (1995). Diversity, power, and mentorship in organizations: A cultural, structural, and behavioral perspective. In M. M. Chemers, M. A. Costanzo & S. Oskamp (Eds.), Diversity in organizations: New perspectives for a changing workplace (pp. 91-132). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
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Ragins, B. R. (1997). Diversified mentoring relationships in organizations: A power perspective. Academy of Management Review, 22(2), 482. Ragins, B. R. (2002). Understanding diversified mentoring relationships: Definitions, challenges and strategies. In D. Clutterbuck & B. R. Ragins (Eds.), Mentoring and Diversity, An International Perspective. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Ragins, B. R. (2007). Diversity and workplace mentoring relationships: A review and positive social capital approach. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), Blackwell Handbook of Mentoring: A Multiple Perspective Approach. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Ragins, B. R., & Gonzalez, J. A. (2003). Understanding diversity in organizations: Getting a grip on a slippery construct. In J. Greenberg (Ed.), Organizational behavior: The state of the science (2nd ed., pp. 125-163). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Salancik, G. R., & Pfeffer, J. (1978). A social information processing approach to job attitudes and task design. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23(2), 224-253. Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 9, 185-211. Schneider, B. (1987). The people make the place. Personnel Psychology, 40(3), 437-453. Sheldon, L. K., & Ellington, L. (2008). Application of a model of social information processing to nursing theory: How nurses respond to patients. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 64(4), 388-398. SHRM. (2006). Outcomes of Diversity Initiatives. Retrieved November 11, 2007, 2007, from http://www.shrm.org/research/briefly_published/Workplace%20Diversity%20Series%20Part%20II_%20Outco mes%20of%20Diversity%20Initiatives.asp Tsui, A. S., Egan, T. D., & O Reilly, C. A., III. (1992). Being different: Relational demography and organizational attachment. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37(4), 549. Uhl-Bien, M., Tierney, P. S., Graen, G. B., & Wakabayashi, M. (1990). Company paternalism and the hiddeninvestment process: Identification of the "right type" for line managers in leading Japanese organizations. Group & Organization Management, 15, 414-430. Walther, J. B. (2008). Social information processing theory. In L. A. Baxter & D. O. Braithewaite (Eds.), Engaging theories in interpersonal communication: Multiple perspectives. (pp. 391-404). Thousand Oaks, CA US: Sage Publications, Inc. Yzerbyt, V., & Carnaghi, A. (2008). Stereotype change in the social context. In Y. Kashima, K. Fiedler & P. Freytag (Eds.), Stereotype dynamics: Language-based approaches to the formation, maintenance, and transformation of stereotypes. (pp. 29-57). Mahwah, NJ US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publisher
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O’Regan, K. University of Wisconsin Barriers to Success in Forma Mentoring Programs: A Different Perspective ABSTRACT Formal mentoring programs are considered one of the most highly valuable tools to many corporations (Blickle, Witzki, & Schneider, 2009). However, there are three specific problems that are barriers to success in formal mentoring programs. The first problem is that cultural and gender diversity issues in formal mentoring programs do not seem to be highly valued (Childs, Seguin, Soon, & Iskendarian, 2009). One can look at the profile of employees who are formally mentored and the gender and diversity of the profile will not be in harmony with the gender and diversity of our true workforce. The workforce is far more diverse than those who mentor and those who given the opportunity to be mentored (Childs et al., 2009). The second problem is that there does not seem to be a ‘norm’ for what a formal mentoring program looks like due to lack of significant long-term case studies and quantified results in the field. Finally, the third problem is the expectation of what a formal mentor is expected to provide a mentee is not defined. Despite the structural arrangement for the formal mentorship relationship, pressure can evolve from the expectation of what a mentor should provide. Pressure can also evolve when the mentee has unattainable high expectations to live up to, or has unwritten loyalty expectations garnered upon them by the mentor. These barriers to success are sensitive issues not easily detected from outside the relationship of mentor and mentee.
The purpose of this session is to discuss how to a find a framework for further research in the field of cross-cultural mentoring that fills the current gaps in mentoring. Theoretical Background and Hypothesis Development Kram and Higgins proposed that individuals rely upon not just one, but multiple individuals for developmental support in their careers - a phenomenon she and Higgins call relationship constellations (Higgins & Kram 2001). I will flush out more theory based upon lateral relationship mentoring in order to substantiate my further research on this topic. There has been research on this, but not to the degree that is prevalent. Definition of Formal Mentoring “A formal mentoring partnership is comprehensive and includes a facilitated matching process, formal training and clear goals for measuring success. A formal mentoring program offers a structured approach to developing employee talents and abilities. A formal mentoring process capitalizes on the experiences of successful individuals (mentors) in the organization who are committed to helping develop a highly skilled, high-performing workforce” (International Mentoring Association, 2011). Literature Gaps Previous research suggests there are two significant gaps in the research of formal mentoring programs. The first gap is, “No known research has examined the relationship between perceived formal program characteristics and the degree of mentoring provided or relationship quality” (Allen, Eby, & Lentz, 2006; p. 567). The authors go on to state, “A second gap in the literature is the omission of the perspective of the mentor” (p. 568). The third gap is a lack of literature on how to manage multi-gender mentoring relationships, and how to find ways to find successful ways to create gender equality in who gets mentored and who does not. These are three rather gaping holes in the research of formal mentoring programs. This being the case, I see an ample need for new research in this field.
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Questions to be Asked to Find Solutions to Barriers After working on this research, I have developed questions that need to be answered in order to overcome the barriers to successful formal mentoring programs: What are management and employee feedback structures for formal mentoring programs? What are the incentive and recognition programs for mentors? What are the programs that have a continuous improvement standard and mission statement that is affective and inspiring? How do we document success? Are we aware of the diversity issues that need to be addressed within the corporate culture and community? What are the standards for who gets mentored and when do they get mentored? Discussion With a different look at who should be mentoring, and who should be mentored can we can develop healthier, more diversified working communities, and the strength of the organizational mind-tank can be developed to create more prosperity. REFERENCES: Allen, T., Eby, L., & Lentz, E. (2006). Mentorship behaviors and mentorship quality associated with formal mentoring programs: Closing the gap between research and practice. Journal of Applied Psychology 91(3), 567-578. Blickle, G., Witzki, A.H., Schneider, P.B. (2009). Mentoring support and power; A three year predictive field study on protégé networking and career success. The Journal of Vocational Behavior 72(2), 181-189. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.12.008. Chandler, D., & Kram, K.E. (2005). Applying an adult development perspective to developmental networks. Career Development International 10(6-7), 548–566. Childs, T., Seguin, P., Soon, D., & Iskenderian, M.E. (2009). Advancing women in Asia. Retrieved from http://www.asiasociety.org/video/business-economics/advancing-women-asia-complete Higgins, M.C., & Kram, K.E. (2001). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. Academy of Management Review 26(2), 264-288. International Mentoring Association. (2011). Retrieved on July 9, 2011 from http://www.mentoring-association.org Russell, J.E.A., & Adams, D.M. (1997). The changing nature of mentoring in organizations: An introduction to the special issue on mentoring in organizations. Journal of Vocational Behavior 51(1): 1-14.
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Washington, S. & Bennett, C. Albany State University A Study of Mentoring Partnerships Perceptions of Interpersonal and Personal Skills for Effective HE ABSTRACT The purpose of the study is to determine whether mentors and protégés interpersonal and personal skill have a strong effect on them being a successful healthcare leader. Specifically, the goal of the study is to provide quantifiable data to examine whether a difference exists between mentors’ and protégés’ views regarding mentor interpersonal and personal skill levels and the relationship of outcomes to mentoring partnership. Mentoring is necessary to assist the new healthcare leader in developing the skills required to excel as a leader in the healthcare setting, and as a strategy to reduce turnover among leaders. While the benefits of mentoring relationships are well documented, many health organizations and healthcare settings have failed to implement mentoring as an aspect either of continuing education or of professional development tool for communication. The reluctance to introduce such mentorship programs might be because most previous research has been quantitative rather than observational and mixed method research. The substance required for the research will be to justify policy implementation for the mentor’s interpersonal and personal skills to endorse a mentoring partnership. The sampling design for the proposed study will consist of a non-randomized available sampling of mentors and protégés. The Management Effectiveness Profile System™ (MEPS) was used as the measurement instrument used to assess management skills: task skills, people skills, and personal skills. The MEPS survey evaluates performance in 14 skill areas related to the categories of task, interpersonal, and personal skills. For these study interpersonal skills is the focus area as described by Human Synergistics.
In a constantly changing environment, skilled healthcare leadership candidates must begin preparation to assume leadership positions that will become available in the future. Whether future leaders receive the appropriate training necessary is unclear (Rogers, 2001). A large number of new entrants in healthcare assume their duties as workers and will eventually mature into leaders; thus, the organizational culture and experiences they have in the workplace directly influence their experiences when they assume leadership duties (Scott & Caress, 2005). The partnership model by Bull, Hansen, and Gross (2000) served as the theoretical model for this study. In accordance with this model, the link between the mentor and the protégé allows the mentor to provide knowledge and influence the performance of the protégé. Findings from the current study do not confirm or dispute this theory, as protégé outcomes were not assessed. The theory was chosen because it can help explain outcomes. Because the partnership provides a link between the mentor and protégé, and the assumption is that the mentor is more knowledgeable than the protégé, protégés might make positive assumptions about the mentor based on the perception of the mentor’s superior knowledge. In a recent study on mentor and protégé perception show that there were a significant difference between the mentors’ self-perception and protégé perception of their mentors’ management effectiveness in the area of task skills, interpersonal, skills, and personal skills after adjusting the skills scores for length of time in the mentor relationship. From this study the data finding showed the length of relationship was not a factor in outcomes. The study findings are important for healthcare organizations, mentors, protégés, and to guide future research. The data finding explores in the area of interpersonal skills: team development, delegation, participation. Interpersonal and Personal Skills Interpersonal Skills refer to communicating, teamwork, coaching, and negotiating and conflict resolution.
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Personal skills refer to emotional intelligence, leader’s value and beliefs, ethics, adaptability, and reflective thinking. Johnston (2005) refer to how human resources can develop an interpersonal managementdevelopment program that consistently addresses the spectrum of management development, make compliance training as practical and relevant as other skill-based training, and provides a congruent and consistent message (and measureable metrics that ties employment liability, productivity, turnover, and management success to the manager-employee relationship. Kramer (1977) as cited by Dobris (1989) indicated, “women perceive four times the amount of [gender] differences in communication as do men” (p.143). Whereas male thought patterns are linear and logical, female thought patterns bring in more details and social cues. Smith (1998) found nongendered language creates a more equitable and effective learning environment for women. In the study the protégé rated mentors’ task skills highest, followed by personal and interpersonal skills. Study delimitations included the use of the MEPS for assessment of mentor skills which may or may not reflect all mentor skills. Specifically task skills, interpersonal skills, and personal skills were the only skills assessed. The study sample was 65 matched mentor and protégé dyads from 25 states and one district within the United States. Although 80 mentors completed the MPES survey, only 65 (81.3%) of those mentors had a matched rating from a protégé. In the study data analysis for Interpersonal Category, 44 protégés (67.7%) gave the higher rating, versus 21 (32.3%) for the mentors. The psychometric results for the interpersonal skills scale indicated the mean rating for the mentors was 4.00 and the mean rating for protégés was 4.09. One pair in this category gave equal ratings. The use of this scale allowed for the gathering of only qualitative data. While this allowed for a comparison of mentor and protégé perceptions, it did not allow for a detailed understanding of outcomes. Recommendations were given for future study includes the use of multiple instruments, both quantitative and qualitative to identify and explore additional mentor skills. As noted by Bull et al. (2002), the work experiences of a more knowledgeable person enable this person to recognize what skills and abilities are valuable for the less knowledgeable person to learn. A survey would need to identify and assess these specific skills to understand mentor and protégé perceptions of relevant mentor skills. The use of a qualitative survey instrument would allow for the gathering of information about these specific skills in the event that the researcher failed to assess them with quantitative surveys. In addition, the use of multiple surveys is needed to understand reasons for outcomes. Current study findings revealed that mentors and protégés differed in their views of mentor skills, and protégés rated these skills higher. However, reasons for this outcome remain unclear. The use of qualitative as well as quantitative surveys would allow for the gathering of this relevant data. Research Question Research Question 1: Based on gender is there a significant difference between mentors' selfperceptions and protégés' perceptions of their interpersonal skills? H20: Based on gender is there is no significant difference between mentors' self-perceptions and protégés' perceptions of their interpersonal skills? H2A: Based on gender there is a significant difference between mentors' self-perceptions and protégés' perceptions of their mentors’ management effectiveness in the area of interpersonal skills, after adjusting the interpersonal skills? Research Question 2: Based on gender is there a significant difference between mentors' selfperceptions and protégés' perceptions of their personal skills? H20: Based on gender is there is no significant difference between mentors' self-perceptions and protégés' perceptions of their personal skills? H2A: Based on gender is there is a significant difference between mentors' self-perceptions and protégés' perceptions of their personal skills?
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The MEPS instrument assessed participant responses and explored the perceptions of mentors and the perceptions of mentors by their protégés regarding the effectiveness of the mentors' management skills to determine if a difference existed between the two groups. The MEPS is a 360-degree, online assessment tool designed to provide participants with information on management skills based on a Self-Description and a Description by Others Inventory for mentors and protégés. Items included in the survey determined views of skill levels as perceived by both mentors and protégés. An information questionnaire developed by the researcher functioned to collect demographic information; responses helped provide insight into the characteristics of the mentor and the protégé with respect to demographic information and length of mentoring relationship. Statistical analysis compared survey findings from the mentors and protégés regarding skill levels to determine if both groups viewed the mentoring relationship similarly. The study included 65 pairs of mentors and protégés. The mentor completed the MEPS Self and the protégé completed the MEPS Other. REFERENCES Bull, M. J., Hanson, H. E., & Gross, C. R. (2000). A professional-patient partnership model of discharge planning with elders. Applied Nursing Research, 13, 19-28. Dobris, C. (1989). In the year of Big Sister: Toward a rhetorical theory accounting for gender. In K. Carter & C. Spitzack (Eds.), Doing research on women’s communication: Perspectives on theory and method (pp. 137– 160). Norwood, NJ: Kramer, C. (1977). Perceptions of female and male speech. Language and Speech, 20, 151–161. Rogers, M. (2001). Middlemen on the move. Health Leaders, 4, 49-50. Scott, L., & Caress, A.-L. (2005). Shared governance and shared leadership: Meeting the challenges of implementation. Journal of Nursing Management, 13, 4-12. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2834.2004.00455.x Smith, C. (1998). Best practice in management education: Capitalising on gender diversity awareness. Journal of Management Development, 17(1), 6–16. Washington, Sandra R. (2011). A Study of The Difference Between Mentor and Protégé Perception of The Effectiveness of Mentor Management Skills. New Copyright ProQuest ID: 12806.
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Egues, A. L. New York City College of Technology Quality of Mentoring and Advancement of Practice: The Experience of Hispanic Nurses ABSTRACT Hispanic registered nurses (RNs) are the most underrepresented, least educated group of RNs in relation to their population numbers. Scant literature shows that mentoring facilitates both the personal and professional growth of RNs as they progress from the novice to expert levels of practice. However, it is not clear to what extent mentoring occurs among Hispanic RNs. Quality of mentoring experienced among Hispanic RNs and their level of practice have not been adequately explored. This study had three purposes: to describe the quality of mentoring Hispanic RNs experience, to describe how Hispanic RNs perceive their level of practice, and to examine the relationship be- tween the quality of mentoring that Hispanic RNs experience and their perceived level of practice. Statistically significant findings encourage that: 1) preparing mentors for the role at the administrative, faculty, practitioner and student levels may be critical to the elimination of burgeoning health disparities among Hispanics, 2) ensuring men- tors understand the importance and meaning of mentoring to those they mentor may increase Hispanic RN education, recruitment, and retention, 3) all institutions explore implementation and outcomes evaluation of mentoring programs for Hispanic RN students and Hispanic RNs, and 4) Hispanic RNs experiences and meaning of mentoring, and rise through the levels of practice be further explored. The importance of the findings to nursing education, nursing practice, and nursing research will be discussed.
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Williams, B. L. East Connecticut State University Mentoring, Recruitment and Diversity ABSTRACT According to United States government of Personnel Management; mentoring relationships can produce positive developmental and organizational outcomes, both mentoring programs and relationships sometimes fail due to a variety of causes and problems (e.g., lack of participation, no leadership involvement, poor planning, unrealistic expectations). Successful mentoring programs require proper understanding, planning, implementation and evaluation ("Best practices mentoring," 2008). Many organizations’ mentoring program face most of the problems listed above. Most organization face is the challenge of recruiting, mentoring and retaining minorities. Sometimes thousands of dollars are spent advertising and attracting excellent minority candidates. Many times a minority candidate may have been interviewed and hired for a position. However, for many minorities, he or she may feel isolated. He or she could be new to the area, then new the position at the particular institute. Isolation is followed perhaps by mistrust, and many times minorities leave. The goal of the committee at Eastern Connecticut State University was to increase the minority proportion of SUOAF/AFSCME bargaining unit members. The Committee was charged with the responsibility for identifying and recommending qualified minority candidates to search committees. The Minority Recruitment and Mentoring Committee were to ensure that mentoring arrangements are available for newly appointed minority employees. Mentors were charged with responsibility for enhancing the professional development of minority employees during the first 1-3years of their appointments.
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Searby, L. University of Alabama It Takes Two to Tango: Helping your Protégé Prepare for the Mentoring Dance ABSTRACT A review of the literature on mentoring reveals that the majority of the written discussion is from the mentor’s point of view or for the benefit of the mentor. Research exists on what makes a good mentor (Galbraith, 2001; Johnson, 2006), the stages and phases of the mentoring relationship (Chao, Walz & Gardner, 1997; Kram, 1985; Mertz, 2004), and successful mentoring programs (Kochan, 2002; Sprague & Hostinsky, 2002). There appears to be very little emphasis placed on helping a protégé prepare for a mentoring relationship (Daresh & Playko, 1995; Mullen, 2006). Are we preparing protégés to be effective in the mentoring relationship? How can they develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that will enable them to get the most from their mentoring relationships? If these qualities can be identified, then we can start to incorporate training for protégés as well as training for mentors when we initiate our mentoring programs.
Background My interest in mentoring from the protégé’s perspective began in 2004 with an initial study of women aspiring and practicing school administrators and their views on entering a mentoring relationship. The findings of that study indicated that women administrators develop the capacity to enter into mentoring relationships in a variety of ways centered around three themes: commitment to the relationship, initiative on the part of the protégé, and finally, understanding how mentoring works (Searby & Tripses, 2006). Commitment to the mentoring relationship involves recognizing a need for another professional to guide the way. In order to develop a commitment of time and effort into a mentoring relationship, women must anticipate the personal and professional benefits of mentoring. Protégés may need to develop confidence to take the initiative to seek out someone more experienced to mentor them. The next iteration of the mentoring research, conducted with my colleague, Dr. Jenny Tripses of Bradley University, was an effort to identify the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of effective protégéship found in mentoring literature. This resulted in the creation of a Framework for Effective Protégéship, as shown below (Tripses & Searby, 2008). The framework was specific to the characteristics of school leaders entering into mentoring relationships, but is still evolving to be applicable to mentoring relationships in any field. Characteristics for Effective Protégéship Knowledge
Skills
Dispositions
Basic understanding of the teaching process Basic understanding of school leadership Understanding of various types of mentoring Awareness of potentials and pitfalls of mentoring Goal setting Communication skills Capacity to seek out and act upon feedback Reflection Willingness to learn. Self-knowledge Demonstration of initiative Maintaining confidentiality Awareness of ethical considerations
Seeking to verify the Protégéship Framework further, and to unearth additional characteristics of readiness for mentoring, I developed the current research project to discover what constitutes the 145
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“mentoring mindset” in a new principal protégé. The research is still in progress, with 7 interviews conducted out of the desired 15-20. The emerging themes reported here cannot be considered conclusive, by any means, but I am documenting repeated words and phrases that describe the “mindset” of the ready protégé. The initial findings appear to have application to any protégé, regardless of the career area or protégé’s stage of life. Research Question and Participants I am currently conducting research on the question “What constitutes a mentoring mindset?” Subquestions were asked to probe and understand what knowledge, skills, dispositions, habits of mind, and behaviors indicated to the mentor that the protégé was poised for getting the maximum benefit from the mentoring relationship. Seasoned principals in Alabama who have been mentoring new principals were the first subjects of the research. Each of these principals had completed mentor training with the Council of Leaders of Alabama Schools (CLAS), which is the state principal’s association. After the training, they were assigned to mentor a new principal for one year, following a prescribed protocol. A later phase of the research will be to interview selected protégés of these mentors, but they have not been interviewed yet. Method Using a phenomenological approach, the data collection process in this research project was designed to “focus on the ways that the life world - the world every individual takes for granted - is experienced by its members” (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 489). In this case, the “members of the life world” are school principals. Interviews with veteran principals were conducted in their offices and were audio-taped for later transcription. In addition, handwritten notes were taken during the interview. In phenomenology, the ultimate goal is to describe and define a phenomenon that may be somewhat elusive (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000). In this research, the phenomenon being explored was the “mentoring mindset.” Therefore, I tried very hard not to use that term in the interviews, but rather, asked questions that would elicit the description of the phenomenon. I started every session with questions about the principal’s background, administrative experience, and past and current mentoring assignments. Next, my initial prompt was always, “tell me about someone you have mentored who seemed to be particularly ready to benefit from your mentoring relationship.” Follow up probes and sub-questions elicited descriptions of knowledge, skills, dispositions, habits of mind, and behaviors of the protégé that would further characterize the readiness for mentoring. I also probed from the other direction, asking the principals to tell me about an individual they might have mentored who did not seem ready to benefit from the mentoring relationship. Often, this prompted additional characteristics that could be placed in opposition to the positive traits of the phenomenon. In other words, I could see a glimpse of what a mentoring mindset “was not.” Preliminary Results Seven interviews have been conducted with veteran principals, so the results are very preliminary. However, there clearly are emerging repetitive themes that can be identified. I report these themes attached, in chart form, with the opposite characteristics of the phenomenon listed as well as the positive characteristics of the mentoring mindset. The preliminary results appear to be confirming all of the major elements of the Framework for Effective Protégéship (see above), but are indicating an expansion of those elements in more detail. The emerging themes can be seen in the attached table. Conclusion This research project will continue until the data collection appears to be saturating the characteristics of the phenomenon under examination. It will be interesting to hear some “self-reports” from selected protégés concerning what they believe to be the characteristics they possess that enabled them to get the 146
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most out of their mentoring relationships. The projected next step may possibly be the creation of an instrument that could measure the mentoring mindset, or readiness for mentoring, that could be utilized in any field or profession. REFERENCES Chao, G. T., Walz, P.M., & Gardner, P. D. (1992). Formal and informal mentorships: A comparison on mentoring functions and contrast with nonmentoring counterparts. Personnel Psychology, 45, 619-636. Daresh, J. C., & Playko, M. A. (1994). Mentoring for school leaders: A status report. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA. Daresh, J. C., & Playko, M. A. (1992). Leaders helping leaders: A practical guide to administrative mentoring. New York: Scholastic, Inc. Denzin, N., & Lincoln, Y. (2000). Qualitative Research (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Galbraith, M. (2001). Mentoring development for community college faculty. Michigan Community College Journal: Research and Practice, 7(2), 29-39. Johnson, S. (2006). The neuroscience of the mentor-learner relationship. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, No. 110, Summer 2006 Kram, K. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman. Kochan, F. K., (Ed.). (2002). The organizational and human dimensions of successful mentoring programs and relationships. Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Mullen, C. A. (2006). Making the most of mentoring: A graduate student guide. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Education/ Rowman & Littlefield. Mertz, N. T. (2004). What’s a mentor, anyway? Educational Administration Quarterly, 40 (4), 541-560. Searby, L., & Tripses, J. (2006). Breaking perceptions of “old boys’” networks: Leaders learning to make the most of mentoring relationships. Women in Educational Leadership Journal, 4 (3), pp. 179-195. Sprague, M. & Hostinsky, V. (2002). Model mentoring. Principal Leadership High School Ed. 3(1), 365-340. Tripses, J., & Searby, L. (August, 2008). Developing a case for intentional protégé preparation in educational leadership programs. Educational Leadership Review, 9(2), pp. 175-184.
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Indicators of the Presence of a Mentoring Mindset Takes Initiative *Initiates contact with mentor *self-starter *Takes mentoring seriously *Intentional; action oriented *Wants regular meetings Learning Orientation *Exhibits curiosity *Asks good questions; inquisitive Open *Accepts feedback from mentor; seeks it *Accepts advice graciously * “I don’t know everything” Knowledgeable *About leadership literature, concepts *About curriculum, school culture Skillful *In setting goals; has a vision *In organizational matters *In time management; prioritizing *In seeing the big picture Communicative *Keeps lines of communication open * Good listener Relationally Savvy (Chandler, 2009) *Can build relationships *Knows how to network * “Picks up on things” * Good people skills Reflective *Can self-assess *Learns from mistakes *Articulates reflection out loud *Transparent, forthcoming Ethical *Can keep confidences *Trusts and can be trusted *Honest Personable Has a positive outlook Shows appreciation Approachable Confident, but not arrogant
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Indicators of the Absence of a Mentoring Mindset Lacks Initiative *Only responds when mentor initiates contact *Wants mentor to tell what to do *only calls mentor in a crisis time *No drive; lazy Short-Sighted Focus *Wants “quick fixes” to problems *No real curiosity Closed *Stubborn; can’t admit weaknesses *Rejects feedback or takes it personally *Not forthcoming Lack of Knowledge *”Know it all” *Does not take advantage of opportunities for further learning Unskilled *In goal setting; lacks vision *In organizational matters *In time management *In seeing long term; reactionary Poor Communicator *Satisfied with one-way communication from the mentor *Talks too much, does not listen Relationally Reluctant *Avoids opportunities to network *Has a “top down,” “I’m in charge” attitude *No attention to building relationships Unreflective *Inability to learn from mistakes *No follow through *Too sure of self; proud *Lack of self-knowledge
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Barnish, M. E. University of Illinois Induction and Mentoring New Teachers- Standards to Ensure Program Success ABSTRACT In a time when teachers and their work are being challenged, inducting and mentoring new teachers cannot be more important. To develop professionalism, to emphasize exemplary instruction, and to ensure student success, new teachers must receive assistance as they continue learning the art, science, and craft of teaching. Illinois has established a unique approach to induction and mentoring by working with all major educational stakeholders in the state including, teachers unions, principals association, state board of education, institutes of higher education, and others. This paper introduces the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) standards for induction and mentoring new teachers, including the history of standards development and the collaborative process used in their authorship. A corresponding continuum which allows new teacher programs to self-assess and plan for continuous improvement is also discussed. Through the use of these documents, administrators and program coordinators in Illinois work with new teachers to develop the skills and knowledge that can more quickly move them to the expertise of the veteran teachers. Those working with induction and mentoring in Illinois have learned the necessity of informing educators and others about the importance of these activities and programs. The paper examines some preeminent advocacy techniques used for this purpose. Topics often included in new teacher induction and mentoring, such as analyzing student work and collaborative professional conversations, will also be discussed. Emphasis is placed on the complexity and importance of outstanding induction and mentoring program in developing excellent teachers and impacting student achievement.
Induction and Mentoring New Teachers In light of recent challenges to education in general and teachers in particular, it is appropriate to consider the professional development and support given to new teachers. It is no longer acceptable for new teachers to take a number of years to move to the levels of expertise, knowledge, and skill exhibited by veteran teachers. Parents, administrators, children, legislators, and community members expect and deserve well-trained, competent teachers who will assist all students obtain optimal achievement. Disparities in teacher preparation programs do not always allow for consistency of content, knowledge, or skill development. Indeed, even if teacher education was more similar nationally, teaching situations, schools, and communities are not. Therefore, the new teacher needs assistance with pedagogy and with learning about local culture and expectations. Induction of new teachers is not new to education. However, the “buddy mentor” who provides information about school policies and procedures has been replaced by an instructional mentor who works closely with the new teacher on all aspects of the educational system within the context of a comprehensive induction program. (Illinois Induction Policy Team, 2008). “In order to improve teacher retention and student outcomes, and provide a cost-savings to schools, induction programs should have the following elements: multi-year (2-to-3) program, rigorous mentor selection and training, grade-level and subject-area pairing of mentors and novices, sufficient time for mentors to meet with and observe new teachers, and formative assessments that assist beginning teachers to advance along a continuum of professional growth.” (From Here to Excellence, 2007). While it is easy to document the benefits both new teachers and mentors find in induction programs, it is often difficult to link induction and mentoring with student achievement. Certainly, a positive correlation between induction and grades/test scores could change perspectives on induction and mentoring programs from peripheral or desirable to necessary and required. Unfortunately, a universal, direct relationship is impossible in light of the numerous variables associated with academic success (e.g., socioeconomic status, parent involvement, health, nutrition, instructional materials). However, many school systems and induction programs are aware of the necessity to articulate impact data that at least suggests a connection between induction and the acceleration of new teacher growth and skill development. While scant, such data are available. For example, “A federally-funded randomized 149
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controlled trial found that beginning teachers who received two years of comprehensive induction support produced greater student learning gains – the equivalent of a student moving from the 50th to the 58th percentile in math achievement and from the 50th to 54th percentile in reading – compared to colleagues served by prevailing induction programs.” Source: Support New Teacher Mentoring and Induction Glazerman, S., E. Isenberg, et. al. (2010) Referring to the research of Sanders, Rivers, Pipho, Gordon, Kane, and Staiger, authors Moir, Barlin, Gless, and Miles (2009) provide further evidence for the importance of induction that develops excellent teachers by stating that “Over the past decade, a clear consensus has emerged that teacher quality is the most important school-related factor in student outcomes. It dwarfs every other school-related variable with regard to academic performance. . . Poor and minority students who have an effective teacher four years in a row can achieve at the same levels as their more affluent white peers, thus potentially eliminating the student achievement gap.” This data substantiates the necessity for new teachers to gain expertise and skill very quickly. Students cannot afford a new teacher who does not progress to the level of experienced teacher within a very short period of time. Induction and mentor are critical in accelerating this process. The Illinois New Teacher Collaborative Understanding the importance and challenges of establishing and supporting accountable induction and mentoring programs, Illinois educators adopted a unique, collaborative approach. In 2004 representatives from Illinois educational agencies (Illinois Principals Association, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Education, Regional Offices of Education, the University of Illinois, and other institutions of higher education) met "to discuss the importance of supporting teachers who are new to the profession. At this working session, everyone agreed that hiring new teachers and retaining them are two of the most expensive investments a school administrator can make; however, there was no single organization in Illinois dedicated to organizing and sharing resources for new teachers and those who work with them. The group agreed to form the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative (INTC)." (Clift, Wilkins, Kohmstedt, 2008). “Since it's inception, INTC has provided statewide leadership to create common resources for Illinois educators.” (Clift, Wilkins, Kohmstedt, 2008). This leadership includes an annual conference for all interested in induction and mentoring of new teachers and is attended by new teachers, mentors, program coordinators, administrators, and higher education professionals. As with many conferences, this one includes topical breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and exhibits. It also contains distinctive teamwork sessions that allow participants to examine their own programs, set goals, and create action plans. Regional workshops for new teachers are also held annually and provide resources and information related to the needs of those new to the profession. “In 2006, the Illinois General Assembly allocated two million dollars for state-funded induction programs across Illinois. INTC became the administrative home for the first ten state-funded programs.” (Clift, Wilkins, Kohmstedt, 2008). Coordinators were added to INTC staff to conduct site visits to all programs, to obtain research data and anecdotal information about each program, and to establish communication and networking among program coordinators. The coordinators created regional professional learning and network groups (PLaN) that have met biannually and have created extensive opportunities for professional development and technical assistance. INTC staff immediately recognized the necessity of collecting and analyzing data from all statefunded programs. Extensive surveys have been administered biannually, interviews have been conducted, and anecdotes recorded by the coordinators. Information has been compiled into various types of research reports, the most recent of which are four data briefs issued in one year with a culminating summary report. The reports compared and contrasted findings from all programs and resulted in recommendations to the State Board of Education. In subsequent years, funds were increased and the number of supported programs grew to more than sixty in 2009. Since then, in spite of the growth and success of many of these programs, fiscal problems 150
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have caused the state legislature to decrease program funding until the most recent legislative session in 2011 declined to fund any induction initiatives (including the planned principal induction initiative). Regardless of this dire situation, the Illinois State Board of Education has recognized the importance of maintaining induction programs and has challenged INTC to maintain this important work. In response, INTC continues to host the annual conference, the regional workshops, and contacts with individual programs throughout the state. To enable the participation of many more programs, INTC has pursued a number of online initiatives, providing resources contributed by induction programs throughout the state, research data reports composed by INTC, and archives from INTC conferences and workshops. Recently, internet-based professional development has been offered through online discussion groups, sharing of program information, and book chats. Both INTC staff members and participants view the online initiatives as viable means to keep induction program coordinators in close contact and to learn from one another without the costs of travel and being away from school. At this time, INTC is in the process of redefining itself with the assistance of the Illinois State Board of Education, the INTC Partnership Board, and the INTC Executive Board. The goal is to maintain support for all induction and mentoring programs in the state, to be in close communication with these programs, and to provide professional development and technical assistance through various face-to-face and electronic means. Illinois State Standards for Induction and Mentoring As statewide, grant-funded induction programs progressed in content, skill development, and professionalism, educational stakeholders, including INTC recognized the need for some commonalities and accepted precepts. “Illinois Induction Program Standards have been developed by a diverse stakeholder group that has broadly reviewed the research on induction and induction programs as well as their implementation. Illinois Induction Program Standards are offered to facilitate and support the development, implementation, and continual improvement of induction programs that in turn achieve the goals for induction programs.” (2010). In December 2008 the Illinois Certification Board approved the following nine standards: Standard 1: Induction Program Leadership, Administration, and Support The induction program has an administrative structure with specified leaders who plan, implement, evaluate, and refine the program through data analysis, program evaluation, and stakeholder communication linked to relevant standards. Standard 2: Program Goals and Design Local program design is focused on beginning teacher development, support, retention, and improved student learning. The goals are guided by current induction research, effective practices, Illinois Induction Program Standards, the district/school improvement plan and local concerns/context. Standard 3: Resources Program leadership allocates and monitors sufficient resources to met all goals and deliver program components to all participants. Standard 4: Site Administrator Roles and Responsibilities Site administrators lead efforts to create a positive climate for the delivery of all essential program components. Site administrators and program leadership collaborate to ensure that they are well prepared to assume their responsibilities for supporting beginning teachers in the induction program. Standard 5: Mentor Selection and Assignment Mentors are recruited, selected and assigned using a comprehensive strategy that includes a clearly articulated, open process and specific criteria that are developed by and communicated to all stakeholder groups. Standard 6: Mentor Professional Development Mentor professional development provides a formal orientation and foundational mentor training before they begin their work with beginning teachers and should continue over the course of the mentor’s work with beginning teachers. Mentors have time, supported by the program, to engage in 151
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this mentor learning community and are consistently supported in their efforts to assist beginning teachers in their development, with a focus on student learning. Standard 7: Development of Beginning Teacher Practice Beginning teachers have regularly scheduled time, provided during the two year program, to participate in ongoing professional development that is focused on their professional growth to support student learning. Standard 8: Formative Assessment Beginning teachers and mentors participate in formative assessment experiences, collaboratively collecting and analyzing measures of teaching progress, including appropriate documentation, mentor observations and student work, to improve classroom practices and increase student achievement. Standard 9: Program Evaluation Programs operate a comprehensive, ongoing system of program development and evaluation that involves all program participants and other stakeholders. (ISBE, 2010) While the standards served to define major components of quality induction programs, educators determined that local coordinators and administrators could benefit from articulation of specific criteria within each standard. Again, a group of statewide stakeholders (Illinois Principals Association, Regional Offices of Education, Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois Education Research Council, training providers, Illinois New Teacher Collaborative, and higher education) met from March through October, 2009 to write the Illinois Induction Program Continuum. The Continuum was designed to “provide a common language to describe and discuss program development and ongoing improvement;” assist with program design, implementation, and evaluation; help with goal setting, needs identification, and required resources. The work group stated, “From the outset, our goal has been to craft a useful document that will prompt both thinking and action around the professional needs of new teachers in the state. Our aim is for this document to be used as a formative assessment tool as opposed to a summative assessment tool. In that regard, this document may be used effectively to promote program development through an ongoing cycle of continuous improvement.” (ISBE, 2010). The Continuum follows a continuous improvement cycle consisting of reflection, self-assessment, goalsetting, action steps, data collection and analysis. Between three and six criteria were articulated for each of the nine standards. Four levels of implementation (establishing, applying, integrating, systematizing) were identified for each criterion. The document is a continuum rather than a rubric since it is understood that an individual program might fluctuate in implementation level depending upon new initiatives, new personnel, or change in emphasis. The authors of the Continuum cautioned that it is desirable to focus on two or three standards in a given school year. (The entire Continuum can be viewed at intc@illinois.edu). Creating a Quality Induction and Mentoring Program With induction and mentoring standards and a corresponding continuum, Illinois educators have the basis for program tenets. However, each locale must develop an individualized program based on the needs of the new teachers, the district/school expectations, and the school and community culture. Fortunately, induction/mentoring training providers (notably the New Teacher Center in California and Induction for the 21st Century Educator in Illinois) present comprehensive mentor training and suggestions for new teacher orientation. Also, the State Board of Education has established criteria and requirements for programs desiring state approval which allows new teacher participants to move from “initial” to “standard” certification without further professional development. According to the ISBE website (isbe.net), “New teachers who participate in an approved induction and mentoring program will receive: • formal mentoring from an experienced teacher; • three observations with prior preparation; • a response from the mentor with feedback, suggestions, and techniques for each observation; 152
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• opportunities for contact so that the new teachers have professional and social support in the school environment; • orientation to the school improvement and professional development plans that apply; • help in understanding their employer’s expectations regarding the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards and the relevant content-area standards; • at least one opportunity each semester to observe experienced teachers and discuss aspects of teaching practice with these teachers or to participate in workshops, conferences or similar events or trainings to increase the teacher’s skills relative to the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards or their area of certification or assignment; • a review from the mentor with written feedback on at least one of their written reflections on their teaching practice for each quarter of a school year.” Within the context of the state requirements, a number of relevant topics are noteworthy as specific mentor trainings and new teacher workshops are conducted locally. As stated above, approved induction and mentoring programs use the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards and the corresponding continuum. These standards express the complexity and comprehensiveness of the profession, while articulating specific behaviors and knowledge new teachers can use to self-assess and to develop individual professional development plans. The continuum is available online and is intended as a confidential document used by new teachers and mentors to record growth and examine desired progress. New Teachers self-select their levels of development within each standard, record evidence of progress, and have a comparison for the next self-assessment session. Achinstein and Athanases (2009) state the need for specific knowledge in the mentor’s repertoire for use with their new teacher protégés. These include: knowledge of student assessment; knowledge of subject matter and corresponding standards; knowledge and skill regarding formative assessment of beginning teachers. They further explain the importance of collaborative conversations between mentor and protégé, perhaps using the New Teacher Center “Collaborative Assessment Log” as the basis for professional discussions, with an emphasis on student learning. Analysis of student work is another critical component of student assessment as it goes far beyond traditional grades to a revelation of what students truly know and are able to do. From the data collected within the classroom, the new teacher can determine best instructional practices and can modify teaching strategies based on student need. Further, these data can assist in the design of appropriate differentiated instruction. Outside the domain of student achievement, yet significant to the success of an induction and mentoring program are the issues of trust and confidentiality. Indeed, for mentors to be as effective as possible, they must assure their protégés that they will keep discussions confidential and that their relationship has nothing to do with supervisory evaluation or retention. This means that administrators also must honor the candid discussions between mentor and new teacher without questioning new teacher progress. This matter of confidentiality often brings questions from both administrator and mentors who are concerned about obtaining the information they need about new teachers, providing support for new teachers, and assuring that all new teachers can have candid, useful, nonthreatening conversations. Besides maintaining confidentiality, administrators play significant roles in quality induction and mentoring programs. They must often deal with the conundrum of managing the induction program, keeping records, and assessing program effectiveness while allowing mentors and new teachers to function somewhat autonomously in the context of confidentiality. However, overt program support displayed by administrators is necessary for those in the school system to recognize the advantages and importance of induction. Wang, Odell, and Clift (2010) believe “District superintendents and other district administrators must function as collaborative partners – seeking, incorporating, supporting, and respecting new teachers and mentors. This is essential in building a foundation for educators to analyze, engage in purposeful discussion, and exchange ideas as well as opinions.” Ellen Moir, Director of the New Teacher Center, adds, “Regardless the structures or model, effective, high-quality induction requires the active participation of the principal.” (2009).
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Induction as a Systemic Practice A successful, comprehensive induction program involves many educators who accept the responsibility of helping colleagues grow and of enhancing student achievement. Wang, Odell, and Clift (2010) support this view: “It is not the total responsibility of any one person or group in the education field to act as the only contact with the community. The collective we must continue to maintain close connection with the community. All of us are accountable for keeping everyone informed of progress in meeting the needs of the students, the community, and society.” The New Teacher Center adds information gleaned from more than two decades of working with induction programs. Ellen Moir believes induction programs should: have statewide commitment; support new teacher development; increase effectiveness of new teachers; use formative assessment tools; collect impact data; encourage teacher leadership; encourage learning communities; support principal involvement; acknowledge the importance of culture and teaching conditions; utilize online communities; ensure the consistency of policy with practice; and foster accountability. (2009). Indeed, the task of creating quality induction programs for all new teachers is an arduous one and one that is necessary for all teachers and all students. REFERENCES Achinstein, B., Athanases, S. (ed.), (2006). Mentors in the Making: Developing New Leaders for New Teachers. Teachers College Press, Columbia University: New York, NY. Clift, R., Wilkins, E., Kohmstedt, J. (2008). "Illinois New Teacher Collaborative," Building Leadership. Illinois Principals Association. Illinois Induction Policy Team, “High Quality Induction and Mentoring Practices” (2008). Glazerman, S., E. Isenberg, et. al. “Impacts of Comprehensive Teacher Induction.” NCEE 2010-4028. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, 2010. From Here to Excellence: An Education Policy Forum. “Making the Case for Teacher Induction – How HighQuality Support for New Educators can Strengthen Teacher Quality in Illinois. Illinois New Teacher Collaborative: Champaign, IL. Illinois Induction Program Continuum. (2010). Illinois State Board of Education: Springfield, IL. Moir, E., Barlin, D., Gless, J., Miles, J. (2009) New Teacher Mentoring: Hopes and Promise for Improving Teacher Effectiveness. Harvard Education Press: Cambridge, MA. Moir, E. “The Vital Role of the Principal in Teacher Induction.” Reflections Volume 11, Number 1. Winter, 2009. New Teacher Center, Santa Cruz, CA. Moir, E., “Accelerating Teacher Effectiveness: Lessons Learned from Two Decades of New Teacher Induction. Phi Delta Kappan, Volume 91, Number 2, October, 2009, pp. 14-21. Wang, J., Odell, S., Clift, R. (ed.). (2010). Past, Present, and Future Research on Teacher Induction. Rowan and Littlefield Publishers: Lanham, MD.
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Tollefson, K. & Moss, K. L. California State University Mentoring Sexual Minorities in College ABSTRACT College is a time when many LGBTQ students come to understand their sexual orientation; therefore, colleges must provide supportive places for identity development specifically for sexual minority students. Part 1 provides context for understanding what sexual minority students in college are going through. Part 2 offers solutions, describing three strategies for supporting this population: (1) Develop and maintain safe spaces through programming and educational opportunities for students, staff, faculty and administrators to create a visible network of allies. Research shows that Safe Space programs encourage LGBTQ students feel safe, welcome and accepted on campus. (2) Increase the visibility of LGBTQ staff, faculty and administrative members of the campus community. College campuses need visible leaders who identify as sexual minorities to communicate the crucial message that it is “okay to be gay” as a strategy for decreasing bullying, harassment, and suicide rates. This presentation explores ways of increasing LGBTQ employee visibility. (3) Encourage representation of the LGBTQ community during student leadership activities. Programs designed to teach students how to be leaders must incorporate activities that address the sensitivities of the LGBTQ community.
Safe on Campus? The cumulative effect of continually dealing with and negotiating homophobic heterosexism in formal educational/institutional settings leads to manifestations of fear...on a daily basis: fear of discovery, fear of violence, fear of being ostracized, fear of expressing oneself when amongst predominantly heterosexual groups, fear of making art that expresses the opinions and ideas of lesbian and gay lifestyles/communities, fear of a lack of career opportunities, fear of knowing that one is rarely oneself. Unless the incessant marginalisation, invisibility, pathologising, silencing and exclusion...at all levels of formal education ceases, education at institutions will continue to fundamentally fail in its attempts to provide equality of opportunity to the communities, however transient, that populate them. (McKenzie-Bassant, 2007, p. 61)
Who looks like me? Who feels like me? Who can relate to me? Questions like these arise the moment an individual finds him/herself in a new environment, particularly for those whose identity is somehow othered in and by the dominant culture. Minorities scan rooms, buildings, and campuses seeking representations of us scattered amongst them. For sexual minority students in the university—that is, for college students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer or questioning (LGBTQ)—the stakes in this search are high: they might not find anyone. They may find that they are alone. This is a frightening possibility for young adults who are likely to be wrestling with deeply challenging questions and complex familial and social relationships as they work to consolidate their social and sexual identity. Cooper (2008) described what is at stake in this search for belonging, making the need for effective supports for these students urgently clear: The culture of schools and the rigid ways in which sexuality is constructed...combine to make the experience of feeling that one is gay a scary and lonely one for many young people. It is not surprising therefore that lesbian and gay young people report more anxiety in social situations, fear negative evaluations by peers, and are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than their ‘straight’ counterparts. (Cooper, 2008, p. 428)1
Young adults who know they are or may be a sexual minority on their campus are navigating their way through a different kind of college experience than that of their heterosexual peers. In addition to negotiating the routine stresses of higher education, they are engaged in the typically challenging developmental process of forging their LGBTQ identity—the pains, joys and rigors of which are often invisible to heterosexual family members, peers, professors and staff. Some of these LGBTQ college students will have experienced one or more of the stages of sexual minority identity development during 155
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their adolescence; others will have only begun to question their presumed heterosexuality. Even those who have already been through the processes of “realisation" [sic] and “activation”2 during their adolescence (Cooper, 2008, pp. 432-433) are still likely to be engaged in the third element of Cooper’s model of “gay identity development” (p. 432), which is the “consolidation” of sexual identity.3 The importance of visible, accessible mentors and other supports for college students going through this developmental journey is extreme. As has become disturbingly clear through a steady stream of media headlines reporting the murder, suicide, battering and bullying of LGBTQ children, adolescents and adults, support is needed not only for navigating the journey but for surviving it. Though gains have been made in recent years toward ensuring greater safety, comfort and freedom for sexual minorities in the U.S., “violence and vitriol are still quite common” (Cuomo, 2007, p. 76). This claim is supported by statistics from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute’s Campus Climate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People (Rankin, 2003): More than 90% of gay men and lesbians have been victims of violence or harassment in some form on the basis of their sexual orientation. Greater than one in five gay men and nearly one in ten lesbians have been punched, hit, or kicked; a quarter of all gays have had objects thrown at them; a third have been chased; a third have been sexually harassed; and nearly one-seventh have been spit on. (Mohr, as cited in Cuomo, 2007, p. 76).
These statistics represent realities endured by adult LGBTQ people as a whole. As a subset of this group, young LGBTQ adults in college are typically only too familiar with the reality that basic levels of physical, verbal and emotional safety are simply not theirs to assume, having recently graduated from high schools where violence and vitriol against LGBTQ youth are particularly trenchant. It is useful to keep this high school context in mind—along with George Santayana’s warning that “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” There is much to learn about the work of mentoring LGBTQ students in college from what is known about the high school experience for this population. For example, as reported in the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network’s 2009 National School Climate Survey (Kosciw et al, 2010), 90% of more than 7,000 LGBT middle and high school students surveyed heard the word “gay” used frequently in a negative way at school; 85% were verbally harassed, 40% were physically harassed and 19% were physically assaulted at school because of their sexual orientation; 53% were victims of cyberbullying (p. xvi). Exacerbating the problem of having to cope with hateful peers is the equally disturbing finding that many LGBTQ students believed they could not rely on getting help from the adults in whose care they had been placed: 62.4% of students who were harassed or assaulted in school did not report the incident to school staff, believing little to no action would be taken or the situation could become worse if reported. 33.8% of the students who did report an incident said that school staff did nothing in response. (Kosciw et al, 2010, p. xvi)
One would hope that sites of higher education would provide LGBTQ students respite from the problems commonly experienced by other adults outside of the university and by adolescents in middle and high schools. One would be wrong. Although “American colleges and universities are charged with creating an environment characterized by equal access for all students, faculty and staff regardless of cultural differences, where individuals are not just tolerated but valued” (Rankin, 2003, p.3), the reality is that college campuses remain unwelcoming, inhospitable places for many sexual minority students (Cuomo, 2007; Friedman & Leaper, 2010; Rankin, 2003; Taub & Fanucce, 2010). One study found that nearly 30% of sexual minority college students were harassed within the past 12 months because of their sexual identity, and 60% believe LGBTQ people are targeted for harassment on their campus (Rankin, 2003, p. 3). Summarizing the research on this topic, Rankin (2003) reported: The literature from the past two decades reveals that the campus community has not been an empowering place for GLBT people and that anti-GLBT intolerance and harassment has been prevalent. A heterosexist climate has not only inhibited the acknowledgment and expression of GLBT perspectives. It has also limited curricular initiatives and research efforts, as seen in the lack of GLBT content in university course offerings. Furthermore, the contributions and concerns of GLBT people have often remained unrecognized. (p. 3)
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The problem, then, is a pervasive homonegativity—a prejudice against LGBTQ people (Taub & Fanucce, 2010, p. 27) in America—consistently reflected in its educational institutions. This is a problematic reality for all students, including heterosexuals who also pay a steep price in a learning environment characterized by this particular form of prejudice. In such contexts, non-LGBTQ people are encouraged to understand “straight privilege” (Tollefson, 2010) as their entitlement, but unearned benefits come at a cost. Among other effects, a heterosexual person’s homonegativity: impacts relationship formation between heterosexuals; inhibits close, intimate relationships with members of the same sex; compromises the integrity of heterosexuals by requiring them to continue to oppress and treat others who are not a member of the majority poorly; results in targeting, badgering, intimidating, and sometimes silencing those who are perceived to be LGBT but who are in fact heterosexual (Blumenfeld, as cited in Taub & Fanucce, 2010, p. 36)
Sexual minorities are not the only students on campus engaged in the developmental process of consolidating their social and sexual identity; some heterosexual college students actively question their sexuality and/or gender expression, too, and also require support in this realm. This need is underscored by data which suggest that most heterosexual-identified young adults occupy the least advanced stages4 of sexual identity development (Konik & Stewart, 2004, pp. 819-820), as their sexual identities tend to be simply accepted in a social context of “compulsory heterosexuality” (p. 822) rather than actively constructed. The finding that heterosexuals are less likely than sexual minorities to focus on identity development is significant. Since identity work in one area is known to facilitate development in other domains as well, heterosexuals have been found less likely than sexual minorities to attain higher stages of global identity development (Grotevant, as cited in Konik & Stewart, 2004, p. 836). This research offers “a new view of sexual minority identity formation as a source of psychological growth [which stands] in sharp contrast to previous conceptions of homosexuality in psychology and psychiatry” (pp. 836-837). Sharp contrast, indeed, given that only 40 years ago the American Psychiatric Association still included homosexuality in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (p. 837). For sexual majority and minority students alike, then, the college environment must be supportive of identity development work. Ideally, such campus efforts would include opportunities for students to work toward understanding their individuality and their connectedness and also ensure freedom to explore and develop different identities (Grotevant, as cited in Konik & Stewart, 2004, p. 820). In the next section, we will describe strategies for supporting sexual identity development work specifically for LGBTQ students and their allies on the college campus. The Bend Toward Justice: Strategies for Finding Hope and Making Change I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one, my eye reaches but little ways; I cannot calculate the curve and complete the figure by the experience of sight; I can divine it by conscience. And from what I see I am sure it bends towards justice. Theodore Parker, Abolitionist and Unitarian minister (“Justice and the Conscience” sermon, 1853) How long? Not long, because no lie can live forever. How long? Not long, because you shall reap what you sow. How long? Not long because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. (“Selma to Montgomery March” speech, March 25, 1965)
Colleges can provide threads of connection and belonging for LGBTQ students, bringing to the forefront of the campus tapestry the people and programs that give visibility to and acceptance of sexual minorities. Programs designed to encourage and create spaces for LGBTQ students help the members of this population believe they are welcome, safe and accepted. Sometimes these kinds of conditions are engendered most effectively by the smallest of individual actions, the seemingly most insignificant of
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details. In the following, we describe some of the smallest of actions and more ambitious programs undertaken to promote a civil, hospitable, and inclusive culture on the college campus. Strategy 1: Make Safe Spaces and LGBTQ Allies Visible Many colleges position themselves as being diverse and devoted to providing equal opportunities to all students. These colleges often have programs that denote safe spaces or safe zones for their LGBTQ student population. Windmeyer (2006) defines Safe Space/Safe Zone/Ally Programs as: a campus-wide program designed for outreach and training of visible LGBT allies. An important aspect of such a program is a readily identified LGBT symbol, which designates a person as a visible advocate who is comfortable with, willing to listen to, and understand the needs of individuals who have LGBT issues and concerns” (p. 20).
Safe Space/Safe Zone programs were created so LGBTQ students would know to which faculty, staff, and administrative members of the campus community they may go for information and/or support regarding LGBTQ issues. These safe spaces serve another function: they provide visible evidence that an LGBTQ community exists. This visibility might be achieved through formal means, such as the Safe Space sign hanging outside of an office that identifies the occupant as an interested and supportive ally to sexual minority students. It may also be achieved more informally, through office doors and bulletin boards with LGBTQ issues, events and images prominently posted. For employees with spaces to adorn, it is essential to remember that the smallest gesture is noticed by those who are looking for it. While they may be intended as personal statements of identity and politics or as mere details of decor, “Rainbow flags and pink triangles are socio-environmental influences that can create a sense of openness, safety, and inclusion in the campus community toward LGBT issues. Their prominent presence also sends a clear signal that it is ‘okay to be gay’” (Windmeyer, 2006, p. 13). These are tangible ways in which underrepresented and unacknowledged students can see acceptance. Such items demonstrate a truth that anyone can demonstrate with their space: otherness is embraced here. The importance of visibility to an underrepresented population is immeasurable—we must be able to see possibilities before we can imagine ourselves inside of them. Explicitly hospitable spaces on campus allow sexual minority students to imagine themselves as safe, to literally see the possibilities of connection and belonging. Such conditions are essential for learning—indeed, for succeeding in life (Brendtro, Brokenleg, & Van Bockern, 2002; Kohn, 2004, 1999a, 1999b; Lavoie, 2007; Rogers, 1999, 1998; Rogers, Ludington, & Graham, 1997). Strategy 2: Increase Visibility of LGBTQ Campus Employees While we believe all colleges should incorporate formal programs that create and maintain safe spaces for sexual minority students on their campuses, campus-level action is not enough. Cooper (2008) argues for a personal acceptance of responsibility beyond that of being visible to and supporting LGBTQ students directly: As adults, fellow professionals and employees, we are in a more powerful position (than our clients) to contribute to the challenging of homophobia. We need to take personal responsibility for assisting where we can in helping our colleagues and our institutions to accept the challenge. (p. 436)
We concur. If sexual minority employees and their heterosexual allies find it difficult to be visibly supportive of LGBTQ issues and rights, how can we encourage or expect students to do so? As the homepage of the It Gets Better Project proclaims, “Many LGBT youth can’t picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can’t imagine a future for themselves. So, let’s show them what our lives are like; let’s show them what the future may hold in store for them” (Savage, n.d.). If it does in fact get better, why is the act of coming out for adults in professional jobs still an issue? While we are
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open about our identity as lesbians on our campus, we know LGBTQ colleagues who keep their sexual identities secret. The “Safe on campus?” question with which we opened this paper clearly applies beyond our student population. Additional research is needed to learn why, and to discover what supports older sexual minorities require if they are to allow themselves to actually be themselves in their work on campus. The impact of having adult role models for LGBTQ college students is great. As one student explained, “You can’t be here and not meet gay people—not only students but also the person teaching your class or your admissions counselor or your residence director. It just makes campus feel like a really safe and welcoming place” (Windmeyer, 2006, p. 23). Such words illustrate the relationship between visibility and the likelihood that sexual minorities will feel welcome, safe and accepted on campus. Another student stated, “GLBT services makes the campus feel like home. While the area is most conservative, the campus takes steps to ensure LGBT students can still feel welcome and safe. I came out when I came here” (p. 59). Such statements bring the importance of visibility to the forefront for a population that has suffered in multiple ways from invisibility. One of the pervasive themes in testimonies from sexual minority college students is their cry for acknowledgement—to be visible, to exist (D’Angelo et al, 2002, p. 10). LGBTQ faculty, staff and administrators and their heterosexual allies are in a uniquely powerful position to help, simply by being visible themselves. Strategies for promoting visibility of LGBTQ-friendly employees include publishing campus directories with LGBTQ and Ally employee names asterisked (voluntarily), actively involving out LGBTQ employees in student leadership workshops and activities, and encouraging employees’ use of office door and wall space to communicate their awareness of and advocacy for the civil rights of sexual minorities. Strategy 3: Ensure Inclusive Learning Activities Programs designed to teach students how to be leaders (e.g., student government representatives, resident assistants, club and organization officers, student assistants, teacher education candidates) must incorporate activities that address the sensitivities of the LGBTQ community. A specific example of one such activity, “Coming Out” Stars (Pierce, n.d.), was created by University of Southern California alumnus, Jeff Pierce, as a strategy for helping non-LGBTQ student leaders to better understand and imagine the realities of coming out that sexual minorities face every day—even by those whose choice is to remain closeted. All students, as well as campus faculty, staff and administrators, can benefit from this activity.5 For the purpose of discussion here, we include the final instruction in the activity—the dramatic moment we have witnessed that is often a catalyst for attitudinal change and tremendous personal growth. Prior to this final moment in the “Coming Out” Stars activity, the holders of differently colored stars had been asked to respond in different ways when they “came out” to the people whose names they had previously written on each of the points of their star. When they “came out” to each of these people, the holders of blue stars made no modification to their star, signifying the openness and happiness with which their friends and family responded to their announcement; participants with orange and red stars were directed to fold their star’s points over, dog-earing them to signify hesitation but eventual acceptance by the significant people in their lives; holders of purple stars were directed to rip off their star’s points, one by one, signifying the negative judgment and rejection they experienced at the hands of their family and friends. The dramatic moment comes with the final instruction, delivered to participants who are now holding the jagged remains of the central part of the star where they had previously written their names: If you have a purple star, you fall into despair. You have been met with rejection after rejection and you find it impossible to accomplish your lifelong goals without support and love from your friends and family. With nowhere else to turn, you become depressed. Eventually, you feel that your life is no longer worth living. If you have a purple star, please tear it up and drop the pieces to the ground. You are now part of the 40% of suicide victims who are sexual minorities. (adapted from Pierce, n.d.)
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Kari reflects on her experience of having facilitated this activity many times with students in her role as counselor for the Educational Opportunity Program at CSU Channel Islands: One aspect that all of my experiences with “Coming Out” Stars had in common was the number of students who approached me afterwards needing to talk; they had personal stories to share. One story changed my personal perspective on the impact of this activity. When this African American male, over six-feet tall, approached me with tears in his eyes, I had no idea what he was going to say. He was struggling a great deal. Finally he spoke. “Kari, please… I, I, I’m one of the ripped off corners. My mom’s a lesbian and I cut out of her life. I’m sorry. I’m gonna call her now…” Nobody knew this fact about him, nor would anybody have expected that he had disassociated himself from his mother. On the outside, he is an all-accepting, all-loving student. But, until this lesson, he carried the mentality that some heterosexuals who feel enlightened carry: gay people are okay as long as they’re not my family. This student gave me a valuable new perception that I have cherished ever since while facilitating “Coming Out” Stars: Some participants will watch themselves flutter to the ground as a ripped off corner. What teaching is more profound than an experience that can turn an oppressor’s mind around?
Representation of LGBTQ people and their experiences must be intentionally and consistently included in classrooms and student activities on campus. Students must be able to participate in making their campus a safe, civil and hospitable place for all. All students, majorities and minorities of every kind, need opportunities to do their part. Speaking on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, President Barack Obama said: You know, Dr. King once said that the arc of the moral universe is long, but that it bends toward justice. But what he also knew was that it doesn’t bend on its own. It bends because each of us puts our hands on that arc and bends it in the direction of justice. So on this day - of all days - let’s each do our part to bend that arc. Let’s bend that arc toward justice. Let’s bend that arc toward opportunity. Let’s bend that arc toward prosperity for all. And if we can do that and march together - as one nation, and one people - then we won’t just be keeping faith with what Dr. King lived and died for, we’ll be making real the words of Amos that he invoked so often, and “let justice roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.” (April 4, 2008)
We should not forget—and we should remind the students in our care, as well—about the 4-year-old shot dead by his stepfather who believed he might be gay (Badash, 2011), the 14-year-old murdered in his junior high school by a boy whose response to having an unwanted same-sex admirer was to shoot him twice in the back of the head—for which a jury was unable to reach a verdict (Jury unable to reach verdict, 2011), the first-year college student who killed himself the day after being outed on the Internet by his roommate (Pilkington, 2010), the women who endured “corrective rape” as a cure for lesbianism (Harrison, 2009), and the countless unknown girls and boys, men and women who, in this very moment, are being beaten, bullied and ostracized simply because they are or are perceived to be something other than heterosexual.Let us include the struggles and the accomplishment of LGBTQ people in the curriculum we teach. Let us commit to honoring the dignity of all people in the environments we create and in the relationships we cultivate. Let each one of us push upon the moral arc of the universe, bending it one more vital degree in the direction of justice. REFERENCES Badash, D. (2011, July 8). Religious leader shoots 4 year old boy to death because he might be gay. The New Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/5/896.full.pdf+html?sid=bd602d48-2914-4571-a5699104f5f536f7 on September 14, 2011. Bond, B. J., Hefner, V. and Drogos, K. L. (2009). Information-seeking practices during the sexual development of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals: The influence and effects of coming out in a mediated environment. Sexuality & Culture, 13: 32-50.
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Brendtro, L. K., Brokenleg, M., & Van Bockern, S. (2002). Reclaiming youth at risk: Our hope for the future. Bloomington, IN: The Solution Tree. Britton, D. M. (1990). Homophobia and homosociality: An analysis of boundary maintenance. The Sociological Quarterly, 31: 423–439. doi: 10.1111/j.1533-8525.1990.tb00337.x. Cooper, L. (2008). On the other side: Supporting sexual minority students. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 36(4): 425-440. Cuomo, C. (2007). Dignity and the right to be lesbian or gay. Philosophical Studies, 132: 75-85. D’Angelo, A. J., Collingsworth, S. D., Esposito, M., Hermelin, G., Sanlo, R., Sausa, L. A. and Windmeyer, S. L. (2002). Inspiration for LGBT students & their allies. Easton, PA: The Collegiate Empowerment Company, Inc. Friedman, C. and Leaper, C. (2010). Sexual-minority college women’s experiences with discrimination: Relations with identity and collective action. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34(2010), 152-164. Harrison, R. (2009, Mar 13). South African gangs use rape to “cure” lesbians. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/03/13/us-safrica-rape-lesbian-idUSTRE52C3MN20090313 on September 14, 2011. James, C. (2006). Coming out at college. Nursing Standard, 20(21): 69. Jennings, T. (2010). Teaching ‘out’ in the university: an investigation into the effects of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender faculty self-disclosure upon student evaluations of faculty teaching effectiveness in the USA. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 14(4): 325–339 Jury unable to reach verdict in killing of gay student Larry King. (2011, Sept 1). L.A. Now. Retrieved from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/09/gay-slaying-jury.html on September 14, 2011. Kohn, A. (2004). What does it mean to be well educated? And more essays on standards, grading, and other follies. Boston: Beacon Press. Kohn, A. (1999a). The schools our children deserve: Moving beyond traditional classrooms and ‘tougher standards.’ New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Kohn, A. (1999b). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A’s, praise, and other bribes. New York: Houghton Mifflin. Konik, J. and Stewart, A. (2004). Sexual identity development in the context of compulsory heterosexuality. Journal of Personality, 72(4): 815-844. Kosciw, J. G., Greytak, E. A., Diaz, E. M., and Bartkiewicz, M. J. (2010). The 2009 National School Climate Survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in our nation’s schools. New York: GLSEN. Retrieved on September 11, 2011 from http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/2624.html. Lavoie, R. (2007). The motivation breakthrough: 6 secrets to turning on the tuned-out child. New York: Touchstone. McKenzie-Bassant, C. (2007). Lesbian teachers walking the line between inclusion and exposure. International Journal of Art & Design Education, 26(1): 55-62. Pierce, J. (n.d.) “Coming out” stars. Retrieved from sait.usc.edu/lgbt/files/ComingOutStars.pdf on September 14, 2011. Pilkington, E. (2010, Sept 30). Tyler Clementi, student outed as gay on the internet, jumps to his death. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/30/tyler-clementi-gay-studentsuicide on September 14, 2011. Pittman, G. (2011, Apr 18). Social environment linked to gay teen suicide risk. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/18/us-gay-teen-suicide-idUSTRE73H1GV20110418 on September 14, 2011. Rankin, Susan R. (2003). Campus Climate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People: A National Perspective. New York: The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute. www.ngltf.org Rogers, S. (1999). Teaching tips: 105 ways to increase motivation & learning. Evergreen, CO: Peak Learning Systems, Inc. Rogers, S. (1998, February). Increasing student motivation to learn. Presentation at the National Schools Conference Institute’s Effective Schools Conference, Phoenix, AZ.
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Rogers, S., Ludington, J., and Graham, S. (1997). Motivation and learning: A teacher’s guide to building excitement for learning & igniting the drive for quality. Evergreen, CO: Peak Learning Systems, Inc. Savage, D. (n.d.). It gets better project. Retrieved on September 11, 2011 from http://www.itgetsbetter.org/pages/about-it-gets-better-project/. Taub, D. J. and Fanucce, M. L. (2010). The relationship of homonegativity to LGBT students’ and non-LGBT students’ perceptions of residence hall climate. The Journal of College and University Student Housing, 36(2): 24-41. Tollefson, K. (2010). Straight privilege: Unpacking the (still) invisible knapsack. Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED509465) Windmeyer, S. L. (2006). The Advocate college guide for LGBT students. New York: Alyson Books.
________ 1
A recent study published in Pediatrics, April 2011, suggests that sexual minorities are more than five times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers (Pittman, 2011, 1). 2 In his proposed framework for understanding gay identity development, Cooper (2008) describes what he calls the RAC Model: “Realisation is the first phase which originates in a child feeling ‘different’, often alienated in some respects from peers and sometimes alone either physically or with his thoughts... Activation occurs when individuals acknowledge their homosexual feelings... It is at this point that first disclosures take place and they finally give themselves permission to become sexual with members of their own sex. (Cooper, 2008, pp. 432-433) 3 Cooper defines this final stage in the lifelong process of coming out as “the fusion of the private identity (‘I am gay and no one else must know’) with a public identity where one is out of the closet, albeit to selected audiences, into one self-image (‘I am gay and I don’t mind [some] people knowing it’)” (p. 433). 4 “Erikson’s theory of identity development was operationalized by Marcia (1966) in terms of four stages of identity formation. Identity achievement occurs when one commits to an identity after actively questioning it. Identity foreclosure transpires when individuals commit to their identity without undergoing an identity crisis... Worthington and colleagues (2001) use the term “unexplored commitment” in their model of heterosexual identity development... Identity moratorium occurs when people question their identity, but do not commit to any particular resolution... Identity diffusion is the type of identity development in which individuals neither question nor commit to an identity.” (Konik & Stewart, 2004, pp. 817-818) 5 Procedural details for this highly effective, carefully facilitated experience can be found at sait.usc.edu/lgbt/files/ComingOutStars.pdf
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Palmore, K. University of California Mentoring First Generation Graduate Students ABSTRACT The University of California, Riverside supports a graduate mentoring program for socio- economically and educationally disadvantaged (SEED) students. This article summarizes some findings about the needs of working-class/first-generation students and outlines the program UCR has developed to meet those needs. The SEED Mentoring program at UCR is a dedicated attempt to support first generation students while they navigate graduate school. The aim is to help students who have small or absent support systems (SEED students, URMs, and women underrepresented in the sciences) with outreach, retention, and professionalization services. We endeavor to extend not only economic opportunities via fellowships and scholarships but also to offer services and programs that work to equalize social and cultural capital inequities. While some of the programs we suggest may seem traditional, the goals they facilitate are achieved by both encouraging and validating the particular strengths of these working class and poor students—independence, the commitment to community, forthrightness, loyalty, and common sense, by demonstrating those skills that give children of middle class families advantages in college, and by addressing those cultural barriers to higher education— “breaking the chain,” “learning the rules,” “navigating two worlds,” and “seeking support”—through access to peer and faculty mentors. The preliminary external evaluation suggests positive consequences for both the outreach and mentoring portions of the project.
Universities are institutions, and regardless of our efforts to enhance the liberatory qualities of them, they operate as such, providing a structure, function, and culture that influence the norms of students, faculty, and staff. To come from an environment similar to that of the university is advantageous in understanding its conventions, systems, and goals. Sociologist Annette Lareau, in her study Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, asserts that this class advantage begins in early childhood and extends well into adulthood. She found people from dissimilar social locations are socialized differently and that this socialization eventually defines for people what is comfortable, normal, or natural. Pierre Bourdieu calls this socially constructed personal space “habitus”: a structure of the mind created by an acquired or imposed understanding of one’s surroundings and an ultimate acceptance of social sensibilities, tendencies, behaviors, tastes, and preconceived ideas1 (Brubaker). Based on studying culture from within the “habitus” of families, Lareau argues that the child rearing done in upper and middle class families yields outcomes that more closely resemble those expectations of dominant social institutions, including universities. Lareau also contends that the cultural training done in the home not only differs between classes but is also “awarded unequal value in dominant institutions because of the close compatibility between the standards of child rearing in privileged homes and the (arbitrary) standards proposed by these institutions” (Lareau 276). Lareau uses the term “concerted cultivation” to describe the middle class approach to encouraging children’s talents and skills; she uses “the accomplishment of natural growth” to refer to the spontaneous development of working class and poor kids. The first style is an aggressive development of skills, language, and experiences by upper and middle-class parents; the second style, used by working-class parents, includes scant resources for their children, but leaves them plenty of free time, framed only by clear rules and regulations. The experience of their children’s education is left entirely to the institutions. Lareau’s decade-later examination of how social class influenced her study group as they entered adulthood indicated that the middle-class strategy had larger payoffs in institutions; in the second study she found that the power of social class had strengthened over time. When the middle-class kids confronted issues in school or other institutions, those parents were deeply involved in managing outcomes to maximize their children’s opportunities. Working-class and poor parents viewed their kids as “grown,” and were little or no help in negotiating conflict or opportunities with professionals. Ten years
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after the initial study, the middle-class cohort had achieved much higher educational success than their counterparts, and, because education correlates with career prospects, they also had brighter futures. Further research led me to Susan Gardner, herself a first generation PhD in Higher Education and an Associate Professor at the University of Maine. In 2008, Gardner conducted studies of the effects of academic discipline and institutional cultures on attrition. She interviewed 60 first-generation doctoral students and 34 faculty members in six fields and found major disconnects between the two groups. Faculty largely blamed attrition on students “lacking” what it takes to succeed, many noting that those students “shouldn’t have come” in the first place. Graduate students, on the other hand, perceived personal problems as the chief reason their peers left their programs. They also cited departmental issues, poor advising, and inadequate institutional and faculty preparation. They said their peers who dropped out discovered they had the “wrong fit” with their programs, something they could not have known prior to acceptance (Gardner “Student”). Gardner’s 2011 study claims first-generation students have “accumulated disadvantage”: lower degree aspirations; greater odds of dropping out or, if they graduate, taking longer to do it; less engagement with faculty and peers; and the need to work full time while in school to meet financial need (“Those Invisible” 80). Through interviews with first-generation students, Gardner identified four themes that contribute to the problems they face in graduate school. The first she calls “breaking the chain,” making the decision to separate from their past and moving beyond socioeconomic or gender bias barriers (82). A second theme among the students is what Gardner characterizes as “knowing the rules.” Even those students who wanted to didn’t know how to access the higher education system, and when they did access it, they didn’t know how to navigate it (83). The third and perhaps most complicated theme is “living in two worlds.” She found first-generation doctoral students feeling alienated both in academia and with family and friends (84). Finally, Gardner identifies “Seeking Support” as a challenge to these students. They acknowledged needing faculty, peer, and financial support (86). Upper and middle class students, who inherently understand the culture of the university, are clearly afforded a significant advantage in navigating the university system; first-generation students not only bear the disadvantage of unfamiliarity with university customs, culture, and expectation, but also suffer a persistent devaluation of their cultural knowledge. Community, forthrightness, and loyalty challenge ideas of individuality, discretion, and competitive success. Upper and middle-class culture differs from that of working class and poor students. Their childhood experiences are different, their values are different, their approaches to problem solving are different, their support systems are different, and, unfortunately, their outcomes to surviving the challenges of graduate school are often different too.2 In 2009, 66% of the students who earned doctoral degrees came from families with at least one parent who had at least a bachelor’s degree, and 41 percent of those students had at least one parent with an advanced degree.3 Only 20% of those who earned their doctorates that year were first-generation students (“Doctorate” 7). At first these numbers might not seem significant, yet when we consider that less than 10% of the US population have advanced degrees, they become more compelling (“Educational”). The data show that “the children of the 10% of the US population with advanced degrees are overrepresented among 2009 doctoral recipients by fourfold, whereas the (first generation) children of the 68% of the population without college degrees are underrepresented among doctoral recipients by more than threefold.” When we combine the completion ratio data with education’s positive correlation with earnings, it becomes clear that for “first generation students to enjoy the economic and social benefits that education can confer, significant progress remains to be made with respect to their access to, and successful completion of, doctoral degree programs” (Haimo). Despite the fact that our undergraduate program at UCR is 51% first generation (“Institutional), our graduate program had less than 10% first-generation students—moreover, the first-generation students that we did have often faired poorly or dropped out of programs early. The reasons recorded for leaving were vague narratives—they cited illness in their families or said that they had decided graduate school was not really for them. In some cases, it seemed poor performance might be the culprit. Before we could serve these students, we had to determine how to support them in learning to navigate the culture of the
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university. We had to imagine a program that helped reshape “the fit” if we wanted to professionalize first-generation students to compete with their middle-class peers in graduate school and after—on the job market. The SEED Mentoring program at UCR supports first-generation students in graduate school. We target students with small or absent support systems and extend not only economic opportunities but also offer services and programs that work to equalize social and cultural capital inequities. While some of the programs we suggest may seem traditional, the goals they facilitate are achieved by both encouraging and validating the particular strengths of these working-class and poor students—independence, the commitment to community, forthrightness, loyalty, and common sense, by demonstrating those skills that give children of middle class families “differential advantages—[. . .] greater verbal agility, larger vocabularies, more comfort with authority figures, and more familiarity with abstract concepts” (Lareau 5), and by addressing those cultural barriers to higher education: breaking the chain, learning the rules, navigating two worlds, and providing support for all of it through access to peer and faculty mentors. In the fall of 2010, we invited 66 students who received extra funding based on diversity criteria to participate in our pilot program. 47 accepted. They were first-generation, came from low-achieving highschools or undergraduate institutions, lacked family support for college, or suffered some other challenge to their educations. We hired 25 peer mentors to be available to these 47 incoming PhD students. We endeavored to hire other first-generation students, and to a large extent we were successful, but we were also constrained by the realities of the graduate student population. And, we hired 13 faculty mentors, some of whom were also first generation, all of whom had excellent reputations for their commitment to student success. We sought to create a mentoring program that would address the different realities facing first-year, first-generation doctoral students. We initially leaned on existing mentoring programs—The Rackham School of Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Washington University, and others—to structure handbooks for all three groups. We articulated the challenges that first-generation students face; we legitimized their experiences, and we offered solutions when we could. One goal for our incoming mentees was to address networking skills and an ability to articulate one’s own place in the academy. Orientation workshops and a large-group mixer were the first step. Also, during this process, we explained to mentors the particular strengths and needs of this cohort. To the mentees, we explained processes and responsibilities that they might overlook, but we also explained why they would benefit from the program. As first generation students –most already suffering from the imposter syndrome4— they feared they had been placed in the program because university officials thought them inferior students. Working-class culture values independent success. The university and middle-class values depend on networking and other support systems. One of our first tasks was to teach our first generation cohort was that asking for help or direction is not a sign of weakness or failure. The discipline-based mentoring groups consisted of seven to ten members: a faculty mentor was assigned two peer mentors, each of whom mentored two or three students. While our initial program was quite simple, it quickly evolved into a curriculum versatile enough to meet the varied needs of this diverse group. Our curriculum blocks are broken into categories, for instance “Physical Orientation,” “Managing Graduate School,” “Presentation Skill Development,” “Reading and Research Methods,” “Writing Skills and Strategies,” “Preparing to TA,” and “Recreation and Stress Relief.” Some of the blocks within these categories are geared for a single mentoring session; others are intended to take place over several weeks. Some are as basic as discussing the frustrations of balancing both home and the university. Others involve complex discussions about managing academic material. Still others offer conference strategies or teaching help, as does this is a sample taken from a quarter curriculum from the humanities. This syllabus was tailored specifically for this mentee, based on his outline of his needs. Conferencing Week 3: Week 4:
-Talk about upcoming conference presentation (audience, time limits, etc.) -Conference Background: What is a conference? What do you do at a conference? -Discuss goals of conference presentation and discuss "what makes a great talk" -Share rough draft of conference paper—go through and edit together 165
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-Talk about organization, sentence structures for reading aloud, and clarity -Read conference paper aloud (mentor and mentee share papers together) -Give feedback on talk -Introduce moderating and what to expect during the actual talking experience Starting Your First Quarter of Teaching Composition Week 9: -Discuss managing teaching and seminar work -Discuss class and look at a sample syllabus with lesson plans Week 10: Discuss navigating the title "GTA" -Discuss creating a teaching persona -Discuss creating classes that speak to your own academic fields Week 5:
This sample is from the statistics. They are quite different, which demonstrates the flexibility of the block-style curriculum. Yet the topics in both syllabi focus on teaching those skills that advantaged students often acquire at home: articulation of ideas, confidence, interacting with professionals, and managing situations. Weeks 1-4: Attending Professional Talks -Attend weekly department colloquiums -Discuss pros/cons of each speaker’s content and style -Discuss standard format for professional talks; Learn to ask good questions Weeks 5-6: Improving Presentation Skills -Discuss formal and informal seminar presentations -Provide an example of an outline for a professional talk in your field -Introductions and Conclusions -The hallmarks of an effective/ineffective talk -Timing and Delivery/Audience -How to speak: voice projection, language, and tone Weeks 9-10: Refining Advanced Research and Formatting Methods -Discuss LaTeX software use in advanced research; R and SAS software -Discuss research ethics and citation methods; Research paper formats -Show mentee important journals in the Statistics field. Mentors and mentees met weekly during the year. The faculty mentors joined them regularly. Topics ranged from family to work to studies, but we had no limits on subjects or activities for mentors and mentees. The first year experience was different for each mentor and each mentee in each program. I met with the mentors two or three times each quarter to discuss common problems and solutions, but the further we got into the year, the clearer it became that flexibility was the key to success. I generally kept my hands off of the process. I did get involved with five students, each after a mentor suggested he or she come to me for help with issues. Several were academic or administrative issues; one involved a potentially violent student. In each case, we managed the problems. At least three of these students I feel sure would have left the program if they hadn’t had the support of their mentors and the mentoring program. For the spring quarter, we put together a series of workshops to address issues pertinent to these students. The first one taught acting techniques to help them overcome shyness about “selling themselves,” an aspect of graduate school that first-generation students often see as bragging. A time management workshop helped them balance work, study, and family obligations, issues middle-class students don’t seem to feel as strongly. Sessions on financial planning, building a personal website to professionalize for the job market, and revision and editing techniques rounded out the series. Graduate students attended these lunchtime learning sessions with their mentors, often both faculty and peer.
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During the first year, we lost only one of our original 47 students, or 2.1% of the mentored cohort whereas 10.5% of the unmentored but eligible students (2 of 19) in the 2010 incoming class left the program. The mean withdrawal rate of the 08 and 09 cohort diversity students during year 1 was 5.1% (Haimo). One major outcome of that first-year experience was the incidental benefit to our graduate mentors. They were professionalized nearly as much as our incoming mentees. This excerpt from an English graduate student’s report illustrates my point: Like Jeff, I struggle with the same feelings of writing and researching “performance anxiety.” I, too, feel that I’m not smart enough to earn a Ph.D., like I’m an imposter, like I never work hard enough, like my writing is sophomoric, hopelessly underdeveloped, cold, and a grammar train wreck. And, both fortunately and unfortunately, most of Ph.D. students’ official engagements with others are through writing. So, during this week’s meeting, Jerry and I talked about writing processes for graduate students.
These examples from faculty reports indicate a high level of interaction between faculty and peer mentors and between them and the mentees. “I meet with my two graduate student mentors [. . .] once a week (Wednesdays) just to make sure everything is going well with the mentees and that we are keeping up with each other. “I was pleased with the fall program and was impressed with the social interaction provided between faculty and students that has not been a common practice for me.” “My mentee is also pleased with the program [Yet] it seems to me that this mentee does not want to be seen as someone who needs help, and this may preclude him from seeking out people in his program who can give him productive advice. I will be in conversation with his peer mentor about this.”
Recently, we received preliminary results from our external evaluator. Some information is tentative based on the collection of later data. The early results, however, do suggest our success in multiple ways: one component of our project was outreach: when comparing applicants in 2007 to 2010, the number of applicants from partner institutions has increased by 37.7%. Another broad success concerned support, coincidentally one of the four themes (Seeking Support) that Gardener identified as contributing to the problems first-generation students face in graduate school. In the chart below, we see that SEED students consulted significantly more often with advanced students than non-SEED students. Treatment
Comparison
3.34
2.64
2.93
2.24
M ean
2.86
2.16
M ean
2.76
1.91
Discussed your academic program or course selection with an older student or peer mentor Discussed ideas for a term paper or other class project with an older student or peer mentor
M ean M ean
Worked harder as a result of feedback from an older student or peer mentor Asked an older student or peer mentor for comments and criticisms about your academic performance
Furthermore, “the treatment group as a whole agreed that the mentoring program helped them to meet the challenges of graduate school (M = 3.74), and that they were satisfied with the program overall (M = 3.87), 74% agreed or strongly agreed to both questions” (Galen). The survey also offered mentees an opportunity to give open-ended answers about the mentoring program. Overall students were overwhelmingly positive about the impact of the mentoring program. One student reported, “It has provided me with information about the program and some of the expectations of the department that I would have otherwise had to learn via trial and error.” Students reported their mentor was a good resource and was available often for both academic and social support. In fact, several students mentioned that their mentor was able to provide support related to academic life, but also became a source of support and friendship outside of the academic environment providing social and networking
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opportunities. Another student reported, “My mentor has been the most supportive person for me on this campus. [. . .] I do not know how I would have survived my first quarter without my mentor.” [. . .] Another student commented, “[. . .] I feel like if I did not have a mentor, I don’t know where I would be today” (Galen). This summer, we hired 12 new peer mentors in anticipation of the 2011-12 academic year. We placed 59 new mentees in 11 groups of faculty and peer mentors and scheduled 5 orientation events for them. We scheduled 5 workshops for fall 2011: a series on NSF grant writing and 1 on time management. We revised our handbooks to reflect the new information we accrued during the last year, and we revitalized our curriculum. We rolled out our second year of the program in mid-September. We see a growing culture of community and success that is clearly expandable to and sustainable in all graduate programs at UCR and will serve as a model for SEED graduate student success nationally. REFERENCES Brubaker, Rogers. (1985) “Rethinking Classical Theory: The Sociological Vision of Pierre Bourdieu." Theory and Society 14: 745-775. <http://works.bepress.com/wrb/25>. “Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2009.” (2010, December) Survey of Earned Doctorates. Division of Science Resources Statistics: Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences. National Science Foundation. “Educational Attainment in the United States: 2009.” U.S. Census Bureau. Table 1: all races. Ret 09/14/11. <http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2009/tables.html>. Galen, Mathew et al. (2011, September) “SEED Evaluation Report [DRAFT]”. Independent contract evaluation submitted to University of California, Riverside Gardner, Susan K. (2008, November) Student and faculty attributions of attrition in high and low-completing doctoral programs in the United States. Higher Education 58 (1). DOI 10.1007/s10734-008-9184-7 Retrieved April 16, 2011, from http://umaine.academia.edu/ SusanGardner/Papers/464259/Student_and_faculty_attributions_of_attrition_in_high_and_lowcompleting_U.S._doctoral_programs Gardner, Susan K and Karri A. Holley. (2011) “’Those invisible barriers are real’: The Progression of FirstGeneration Students Through Doctoral Education.” Equity & Excellence in Education, 44(I), 77-92. Haimo, Leah. (2011)“Grant Proposal.” University of California, Riverside. Institutional Research for Undergraduate Education. (13-30 Apr. 2011) Email interview with statistics department.: Junelyn Pangan Peeples Director, Institutional Research Office of Undergraduate Education. University of California, Riverside. http://irue.ucr.edu/. Lareau, Annette. (2011) Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life, Second Edition with an Update a Decade Later. UC Press. Berkeley. ________ 1
(Liberally summarized from Brubaker). According to “Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2009,” “the share of doctorate recipients coming from families in which neither parent has earned more than a high school degree is declining” (6). 3 Masters, Professional, or PhD 4 The impostor syndrome is the feeling of being an intellectual fraud, and it is particularly rife among high achieving persons. It is characterized by the inability to accept one’s success. 2
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Round Tables Adams, R., Greene, W. & Kim, Y. Southern Oregon University Mentoring New Teachers PROBLEM The importance of mentoring beginning teachers has long been recognized as essential for teacher effectiveness, satisfaction and retention. Many types of mentoring strategies have been developed for new teachers, including guidance from veteran teachers at the school site level, training from subject or grade specific mentors at the school or district level, consultation with mentors from state funded programs, as well as a variety of additional formal and informal mentoring models. Feedback from students who graduated from the Master of Arts in Teaching program at our university suggested that our new teachers were confused and somewhat overwhelmed by the various mentors who were assigned to help them and they reported feeling frustrated by the extra demands placed on their time as they were struggling to “survive.” Since we had developed close relationships with our students during our intensive Master of Arts in Teaching program at Southern Oregon University, we were concerned about our novice teachers and wondered how we could best support them. We decided to invite them back to the university one evening a month to share their experiences using a positive coaching model we had learned and were excited to practice. We were curious to see how it might benefit our new teachers as they navigated the challenges of their first critical years of teaching.
As professors of teacher education at Southern Oregon University, we conducted monthly meetings for four years to mentor a group of our graduates who had been hired as elementary school teachers in our community. We used a positive psychology approach to coaching called Core Reflection, developed by Fred Korthagen and Angelo Vasalos of the Institute of Multi-level Learning in Amsterdam. Through this coaching model, we focused on building upon teacher strengths and enhancing teacher identity rather than the more common type of new teacher mentoring that strives to improve instructional skills and classroom management. We found that the Core Reflection approach both supported our beginning teachers and helped them maintain the ideals they developed through our teacher education program. Core reflection promoted a pro-active process for handling the obstacles new teachers encountered and the challenges they faced in their schools and provided them with the tools for resolving issues as they arose. In this round table, the Core Reflection model will be introduced, the process described, the data collection and analysis shared, and the outcomes reported. Questions, comments and discussion will be facilitated. Leading Questions • Does the Core Reflection process support the self-awareness and identity development of beginning teachers and enhance their personal and professional growth? • Does coaching novice teachers with Core Reflection develop their capacity to teach with greater consciousness, self-efficacy, and integrity? • What evidence is there that Core Reflection helped new teachers actualize their core strengths to navigate the first critical years of teaching? REFERENCES
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Almaas, A. H. (1987). Diamond heart: Book One. Diamond Books: Berkeley, CA. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding Flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York, NY: Basic Books. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227- 268. Intrator, S., & Kunzman, R. (2006). Starting with the soul. Educational Leadership, 63 (6), 38-42. Korthagen, F. (2004). In search of the essence of a good teacher: towards a more holistic approach in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20 (2004), 77-97. Korthagen, F., & Vasalos, A. (2005). Levels in reflection: core reflection as a means to enhance professional growth. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 11 (1), 47-71. Korthagen, F., & Verkuyl, H. (2002). Do you meet your students or yourself? Reflection on professional identity as an essential component of teacher education. Making a Difference in Teacher Education Through Self-Study, (2). Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices, Herstmonceux Castle, East Sussex, England. ISBN: 1-55339-025-3. Palmer, P. J. (1998). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco: JosseyBass. Seligman, M. E. P. & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5-14.
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Bresee, S. University of Maryland Complex Negotiation of K-12 English as a Second Language Mentoring Relationships PROBLEM English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) mentor teachers self-nominate themselves or are invited to mentor student-teacher interns. Their responsibilities include directing, supporting, and evaluating student teacher interns. Mentor responsibilities are laid out in four stages in the TESOL Handbook. In stage one, a mentor should model and think aloud about all planning procedures. The intern is to observe planning, teaching, and assessments. In stage four, the intern and mentor are to plan collaboratively. Interns assume more independent teaching. Mentors and interns may have different expectations and perceptions of second language students, second language education, and mentoring. Experienced mentors, in general, have developed tacit understanding and knowledge, automaticity in preparation and instruction of lessons, and spontaneous reflection-in-action for skillful and responsive teaching (Schön, 1991). However, the greater their experience, possibly the greater is the time, energy, and patience needed to explain and guide interns. Mentors also inform interns learn about school procedures, policies and politics and strengthen their sense of identity, competence and voice within their teaching schools and careers. Despite years of teaching experience, mentors must develop and negotiate new and unique working relationships with interns within increasingly complex, diverse, and demanding student body and administration settings. Mentor research has frequently focused on the effectiveness and processes of mentoring from the perspective of mentees. In contrast, mentor perception of differences and challenges, accommodation, negotiation, and resolution of interpersonal or strategic tensions and problems have been overlooked. “…the self can never be actualized through solely private experiences, no matter how extraordinary those experiences might be” (Greene, 1996, 74)
Mentors support and guide intern professional development. Mentor personal and attributes needed for mentoring include sustaining guidance and support, being a good listener, enabling discussion and reflection on practice, having awareness and foresight, and collaborating with mentees. Professional characteristics include sound and skillful pedagogic content knowledge, timetabling, preparing lessons and materials, teaching strategies, problem solving and lesson implementation. Many mentor researchers, fail to examine how and why mentors maintain this effort, often multiple times, in the presence of stress and tension. TESOL mentor research takes place in educational settings, but the possible benefit to mentors of increased understanding, insight, and knowledge is mentioned less often than the benefit of esteem and modeling. Inquiry includes noticing problems or discrepancies, problem-solving, decision-making, applying principles and theories, and testing results. Therefore, mentors may benefit from mentoring not because of a lack of problems but because of the presence of problems that put into action problem-solving inquiry. Open and ongoing tension and negotiation between mentors and interns may prevent the collapse of reciprocal, close collaboration into overly subjective and potentially unethical relationship. With their objective situations as starting points, human beings do define themselves by their projects. They move beyond the given by doing so; they continue, as it were, to produce themselves by the work they do, the praxis in which they engage. Their needs, their passions, and their thoughts all participate as individuals move outside themselves toward something new. "This is what we call existence," wrote JeanPaul Sartre, "and by this we do not mean a stable substance which rests in itself, but rather a perpetual disequilibrium, a wrenching away from itself, with all its body (Greene, 1996, 78) Leading Questions • What problems and tensions do mentors experience during internship? 171
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• Why do some mentor/intern dyads seem to have more problems than others? • How do mentors experience and negotiate mentoring purposes, problems, personal differences, planning, and teaching with interns? • How does school and administration demands affect mentors and mentoring? • Are TESOL mentoring relationships transactional, transformational, or other? • What benefits do mentors and interns experience due to mentoring? • Why do mentors continue to mentor? • What are personal and professional attributes of repeat mentors? REFERENCES Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. Chicago: D.C. Heath. Ewart, G., & Straw, S. B. (2005). A seven-month practicum: Collaborating teachers’ response. Canadian Journal of Education, 28, 185-202 Greene, M. (1996). Perspectives and imperative. Reflection and passion in teaching. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 2(1), 68-81. Hudson, P. (2007). Examining mentors’ practices for enhancing preservice teachers’ pedagogical development in mathematics and science. Mentoring and Tutoring, 15(2), 201-217. Hudson, P., Usah, M., Savan-Gencer, A. (2009). Employing the five-factor mentoring instrument: Analyzing mentoring practices for teaching primary science. European Journal of Teacher Education, 32(1), 63-74. Johnson, W. B. (2008). Are advocacy, mutuality, and evaluation incompatible mentoring functions? Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 16(1), 31-44. Miller, R.K., & Van Rybroek, G.J. (1988). Internship letters of recommendation: Where are the other 90%? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 19, 115–117. Richards, J. C., & Crookes, G. (1988). The practicum in TESOL. TESOL Quarterly, 22(1), 9-27. Stevens, N. H. (1995). R and R for mentors: Renewal and affirmation for mentors as benefits from the mentoring experience. Educational Horizons, 73(3), 130-137. Weil, V. (2001). Mentoring: Some ethical considerations. Science and Engineering Ethics, 7, 471–482.
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Donnelly, L. Arizona State University Win-Win-Win: Benefits to Students, Community and Organizations of Mentored Internships in Arts PROBLEM How do we provide students with real life experiences to integrate their academic learning with practical applications in the field? How do we maintain service levels in communities that are losing services? How do we provide organizations that are losing personnel with additional labor to continue providing services? How do we do all of the above in a cost effective manner?
The Win-Win-Win model of Mentored Internships in Arts Administration involves coordination, management, and focused mentoring to create successful internship programs. The discussion format will include methods for applying this model to different fields in academia, the arts and beyond. Structured, sequential internships under the guidance of working professionals provide students with substantive, meaningful, real-life learning experiences. These same internships provide organizations with cost effective labor, a new talent pool, and the opportunity to expand the scope of work in the communities served. Discussion will include elements that must be included to create successful mentoring/learning internships: • selection process to ensure that interns are mature, skilled, motivated, and responsible • selection and education process to ensure that organizations wishing to sponsor interns have the qualified personnel and resources to provide an educational and meaningful experience for the interns • ongoing communication with all parties to ensure that internships are progressing • training for mentors within the organization who supervise interns • periodic communication with the director of the internship program • guidelines for students and organizations to facilitate quality learning experiences • guidelines for evaluation of interns’ work • guidelines for determining future internships in the learning sequence Leading Questions • • • • • • • •
What attributes indicate someone is a good candidate for an internship? What basic skillsets are needed by potential interns? What type of training is needed for mentors within organizations? What elements contribute to a successful mentor/mentee match. What happens when an intern is not a good fit for the organization? What are the other parameters (legal, credit, stipend) need to be considered? How do we encourage students who complete the program to become supervisors for the next generation of interns? Once established, what is required to make the program becomes self-sustaining?
REFERENCES: The Win-Win-Win model was developed and tested in academic and arts administration settings. Beginning with a single accounting intern, the program was expanded to include simultaneous internships in marketing, development, customer service, and general administration in addition to accounting.
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Flores-Duenas, L. & Anaya, M. University of New Mexico Transformational Co-Mentoring of Two Latinas: Social and Ethnic Identity as a Form of Empowerment PROBLEM U.S. schools have a long history of inculcating the notion of rugged individualism in students. However, although individual hard work is necessary, having this skill alone does not guarantee academic success for many students of marginalized communities. Perhaps this is because school does not merely complement what is provided at home for them as it may for middle-class students who often receive help navigating through social systems. The pervasiveness of this ideology of independence coupled with constant reminders of the myth of meritocracy (McIntosh, 1988), which reinforces that individualized hard work will naturally “open doors” for them, a student of color could possibly believe that the way to “make it” into college is solely based on one’s own accord. Although educators have been exposed to the value of collaborative learning (Vygotsky,1978), little school investment has been made to foster these opportunities for long periods of time to improve individual weaknesses. For example, while mentoring programs are often intended to help minority students, they generally last for one or two semesters. Gallimore et al. (1992) also suggests that the most successful and intense forms of mentoring relationships must rely heavily upon constant interaction and must be “natural” in the sense that mentors and mentees choose each other because of their commonalities and ability to collaborate. According to Yasso (2000), by engaging in critical academic discussions and cultural projects in communities, both parties (mentor/mentee) have opportunities to make transparent and implement new knowledge framed by elements of resilient resistance theory for “surviving and/or succeeding through the educational pipeline as a strategic response to visual microaggressions” (p. 180). In addition, although much literature can be found on mentoring between peers at the professional/graduate school levels, fewer studies have focused on relationships that are rooted in resiliency and understanding of social and ethnic identity as a form of empowerment. The current study operates within a LatCrit framework that addresses the multi-layered and intersectional lives of minority students (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). This inclusive approach to mentoring allows for Gallimore’s concept of “natural” mentoring to take place and eventually recreates itself as a “co-mentoring” model in which the distinctions between “mentor” and “mentee” are blurred (McGuire & Reger, 2003, Kochen & Trimble, 2000, Mullen, 2000). This new embodiment of a mentoring relationship then takes on a transformational essence. The following research questions guided the current study: • What role has mentoring that includes social and ethnic identities played in the life choices of the mentee? • How has this mentoring relationship changed over time? Methodology The data collection for this case study begin when Marianna was a junior in high school and more regular communication began taking place between the participants. The Participants. Initially, to Leila, Marianna was a bright young Latina who needed guidance to be successful in school and to attend college. For example, while Marianna expressed her desire to be in the theatrical program at New York’s Sarah Lawrence College, a private liberal arts school ($40,000/year tuition), she had no knowledge of how to apply to any college, was lacking economic resources and had not taken the PSAT, SAT or ACT. In addition, she was the first in her family of 50+ first cousins to even think about attending college. She needed help.
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For Marianna, Leila’s home was a safe haven that provided stability and safety that her own home was lacking. Often times Marianna would use her senior-level “independent study” class as an excuse to skip school and visit Leila while she was at home during her Sabbatical. These interactions became the foundation for their mentoring relationship. Leila provided the necessary guidance to help Marianna think about her future goals while also exhibiting what Valenzuela (1999) described as “cariño,” or a sense of caring, which helped Marianna to trust that Leila had her best interests in mind. Data Collection/Analysis Data were collected using qualitative methods of research including the following: a) document review of transcripts, letters, resumes, edited papers and syllabi; b) informal homework and subsequent interviews regarding possible colleges for Marianna; c) participant observation in Leila’s university courses and Latina organizations; and d) a timeline used as an archival resource. The data were analyzed by identifying core consistencies and meanings for the interactions that took place between the participants (Patton, 2002). Tentative Findings Making Initial Decisions: A Reflection of the Mentor’s Career Since Marianna wanted to study out of state, Leila encouraged her to take the appropriate courses in high school, understand the consequences of grades and rethink the feasibility of attending Sarah Lawrence College. She also consistently brought up the value of ethnic identity in academic life, but Marianna was not interested. Leila soon invited Marianna to work in the UNM Family Literacy Program, a community service project where Marianna participated in the planning and implementation of the curriculum in the after-school program with children of Mexican immigrant mothers. Eventually, Marianna took it upon herself to apply to Leila’s Alma Mater at Texas Woman’s University (TWU) and was accepted. She moves to Texas alone and soon makes the deans list. By taking on roles such as student senate president and tutoring students of color in her dormitory, Marianna began to display leadership skills and was eventually awarded the “Outstanding Emerging Leader” by TWU faculty. With constant guidance from Leila, Marianna began applying for and receiving scholarships such as the National Hispanic Scholarship fund and these exercises provided opportunities to articulate the value of her culture. She took courses in women’s studies and began obtaining her own critical discourse. Once Marianna found there were fewer critical courses she could take at TWU, she applies to The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), another university Leila attended. Resiliency and Taking Ownership in Academic Decisions Although Marianna was accepted at the last minute to UT Austin, she moves anyway without personal connections or economic resources. Soon, culture shock sets in as she had to compete with many more middle class White students. Working two jobs in restaurants, she struggled to maintain her grades and to survive her first semester. In summer, Marianna returns to New Mexico announcing she would be taking a break from school because it was too hard. At that point, Leila and Marianna reviewed her transcripts, drove to Austin to find housing near UT and helped her search for potential jobs on campus. Together they worked on letters for employment and financial aid, and soon Marianna became comfortable with her life on campus. Marianna begins taking courses in Mexican-American studies, she joins MEChA and now works as an intern at the Texas Center for Education Policy where she begins to learn about conducting research. She takes leadership roles on campus, organizes students and calls attention to budgeting inequities for ethnic studies –resulting in the halting of UT’s decisions to cut programming. Transforming the Nature of Mentoring Roles
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Currently, Marianna was accepted to the McNair program and has now sought her own mentor on campus instead of relying on the long distance mentoring with Leila. Most of their conversations now are related to research and Leila’s struggle with teaching undergraduates. Seeking Marianna’s advice, Leila adjusts her new syllabi for the current semester. Marianna soon organizes La Colectiva Femenil and begins to mentor other Latinas on the UT campus. She is a model student. REFERENCES Gallimore, R., Weisner, T.W., Bernheimer, L.P., Nihira, K., & Guthrie, D.A. (1992). The development and sociocultural foundations of mentoring. Chicago: John D. and Catherine T. McArthur Foundation ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 354292. Kochen, F. K. & Trimble, S. B. (2000). From Mentoring to Co-Mentoring: Establishing Collaborative Relationships. Theory Into Practice. Vol. 39, 1 (20-28). McGuire, G. M. & Reger, J. (2003). Feminist co-mentoring: A model for academic professional development. National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) Journal. Vol. 15,1 (54-72). Mullen, C. (2000). Constructing Co-Mentoring Partnerships: Walkways We Must Travel. Theory Into Practice. Vol. 39, 1. (4-11). Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Solórzano, D. G., & Bernal, D. D. (2001). Examining Transformational Resistance Through a Critical Race and Latcrit Theory Framework : Chicana and Chicano Students in an Urban Context. Urban Education, 36, 308-342. Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive Schooling: U.S. Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring. Albany: State University of New York Press. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Yosso, T. (2000). A critical race and LatCrit approach to media literacy: Chicana/o resistance to visual microagressions. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles
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Gruesbeck, S. C., Throson-Barnett, S., Fillippino, T., McMurty, Z. & Biscoe, J. D. Northwestern State University of Louisiana & Arkansas State University Faculty- Student Mentoring Programs in Higher Education PROBLEM Student retention and persistence is increased when faculty and students have occasion to interact in meaningful ways outside the classroom. Mentoring is a high impact method of getting students engaged in their own education. However, faculty are sometimes uncertain about the ‘what’, ‘how’, ‘why’ and ‘when’ of mentoring.
This roundtable discussion will begin with a description of the successes and struggles of undergraduate mentoring programs at two southern universities. The session will touch on the definition, goals, objectives, and the process of mentoring as well as distinguish similarities and differences between mentoring, academic advising, teaching, modeling, and problem-solving. This discussion will culminate with recommendations for expanding your own mentoring program relative to timelines, list of activities, documentation, and assessment. Handouts will include examples of letters to students, timetable with benchmarks, documentation forms, and ways of assessing your mentoring program. Leading Questions • What are the goals and objectives of mentoring? • How are mentoring, academic advising, teaching, modeling, and problem-solving similar? different? • How often and what sorts of activities should I engage in with my protégée? • What kinds of documentation and assessment are necessary? REFERENCES Abney, L (Provost & Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs), Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Mentoring Log. http://provost.nsula.edu/assets/Uploads/Mentoring-Log.pdf Bloom, J. (Facilitator), Bossier Parish Community College & Northwestern State University of Louisiana Title III Cooperative Project: Building Bridges for Student Success. Appreciative Advising Workshop (Sept. 12-13, 2011). Bloom, J. L. (2008). Moving on from college. In V. Gordon, W. R. Habley, & T. Grites (Eds.), Academic Advising: A Comprehensive Handbook (2nd edition) (pp. 178–188). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Bloom, J. L., Hutson, B. L., & He, Y. (2008). The Appreciative Advising Revolution. Champaign, IL: Stipes. Correa, R. (Program Coordinator) Faculty/Student Mentoring Program at California State University at San Bernardino. http://www-ugs.csusb.edu/mentor/ Hicks, S. (Executive Director) Academic & Career Engagement Center at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Resources. http://ace.nsula.edu/resources/ and http://ace.nsula.edu/assets/Uploads/Campus-WideStudent-Resources.pdf King, M. C., National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Clearinghouse; Academic Advising Resources: Developmental Academic Advising. http://www.nacadea.ksu.edu/clearinghouse/advisingissues/dev_adv.htm Lipschultz, W. & Musser, T. (2007). Instant messaging: Powerful flexibility and presence. Retrieved June 18, 2007, from the NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources. http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Instant-Messaging.htm McAlister, K. (Department Head) Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. http://dtl.nsula.edu/faculty/profiles/1 Noel-Levitz Participant Book/Resource Guide (1997). Introduction and Foundation, Academic Advising for Student Success and Retention. Iowa City, Iowa : USA Group Noel-Levitz.
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Office of Civilian Personnel Management (OCPM), Dept. of the Navy. Mentor Handbook (June 1993). http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/navy/mentoring_hand.pdf The William T. Grant Foundation Communication on Work, Family, and Citizenship http://www.wtgrantfdn.org/home
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Horton, S. L. Mitchell College Midlife Mentoring: A Key Relationship from Both Sides PROBLEM Midlife students may unintentionally miss out on mentoring, due to being approximately the same age as their professors (and potential mentors). As such, they may be viewed more as peers than as people new to academia or an academic area in need a mentor’s guidance.
The author explores the challenging mentor/student relationship at midlife from two perspectives: as doctoral student at midlife himself, and in his current role and capacity as undergraduate college professor and mentor to midlife students. “In everyone’s life at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.” -Albert Schweitzer
With my own perspective as a midlife student as a background, I hope to explore the pitfalls of such a conceptualization, hear about others’ experiences, learn how midlife students in their institutions are approached, gain insight and pointers from other roundtable participants, and come out of it with fresh ideas and resources. Leading Questions • • • • • • • • • • •
Does my own lack of mentoring overall as a midlife student appear to be common? How does your own experience being mentored (or not) affect your approach to midlife students? In your experience, do our institutions address midlife students adequately vis a vis mentoring? How do you as participants respond to midlife students/advisees? What do you see as barriers to midlife to midlife mentor relationships? How may these barriers be addressed if not outright surmounted? Even though the squeaky wheel allegedly gets the grease, does this appear to be true with midlife students who may not be willing to reveal their vulnerabilities readily? What can we do to coax these vulnerabilities out appropriately? What differences if any are there between undergraduate and graduate education in the area of midlife mentoring? What differences if any are there likewise between the masters and doctoral level? What is missing in the discussion thus far?
Introduction It has been evident for a long time that college campuses have changed in their demographics, and the existence of a journals dedicated to the concerns and appropriate pedagogy of adult learners speaks to the acceptance of the idea as permanent. Non-traditional students (Bash, 2003), specifically adult learners, play a welcome, important role in this evolution in many ways. Not only do they challenge assumptions about formal learning and its delivery, they make demands that institutions themselves reassess entrenched beliefs and procedures, protocols and hierarchies, participation and assumptions regarding the role of both student and faculty alike, and the reciprocal relationship between them. Consider the following, noted by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2002). •
“Two thirds of highly nontraditional students consider themselves primarily employees” (p. 7) 179
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“For most nontraditional students, gaining skills, earning a degree, and personal enrichment are important considerations in their decision to enroll” (p.9) • “Nontraditional students are much more likely than traditional students to leave postsecondary education without a degree” (p. 12) and what may be the most significant of all, • “Nontraditional students are most at risk for leaving during their first year, regardless of their degree objective” (p. 17). There can be little doubt that those in the academic community can and do have a profound effect on students and their perceptions of an institution and the faculty that comprise it (Backus, 1984). This may be even more critical for the older, adult learner. As such, given the established tenet that collaboration lies at the heart of adult learning, that learning for non-traditional students is an interactive venture, a cocreation, versus a passive process involving a vessel and received knowledge (Knowles, 1980), success or failure on the individual level, and thus retention, may be tied strongly to the likewise co-created key relationships between student and professor, but not solely those within classroom or academic advising contexts. In particular, I will focus on mentoring the midlife student, one of several elements that can contribute to an overall goodness of fit for the student and institution. There are several considerations that contribute to or detract from the sense a student has of belonging, the advisor/advisee relationship being one. While this academic function is usually required, the role of mentor is often informal, unspecified, assumed, or absent. •
“One common lament of students is that institutions are “out of sync” with them (Kerka, 1989), which brings to mind a quote widely attributed to Gilda Radner. ‘I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn’t itch.’” (Horton, 2006, p. 19)
Being mindful students and their progress beyond the immediate concerns of course completions and degree requirements can influence the goodness of fit for a student, based as it is on a host of elements big and small, personal and impersonal, itch or no itch. I approach the topic as a relatively recent non-traditional student myself who now teaches on the college/university level and who has been able to observe and participate from both sides at one point almost concurrently. This vantage point, while not pretending to universality of view, may nonetheless shed light on this potentially delicate, perhaps ignored, but nonetheless important relationship (Williams, 2001), and prompt further thought and response. San Francisco in 1989 found me in my mid-forties working in the construction trades as a licensed general contractor, a career of some 15 years during which I learned multiple skills and competencies more or less on my own, developed a clientele, and had a project featured in Metropolitan Home magazine. Any alteration from that surround was unimaginable. However, in late August of that year, while visiting Maine, I had an unexpected experience, a conversation, that changed everything for me, much in the way that Albert Schweitzer notes above. In the wake of this conversation and its resultant personal rekindling, I reassessed current relationships and work, long-term ideals and direction, and determined to take hold of something that had arguably been drifting for many years: my life. To that end, I undertook the steps towards where I am now, teaching full-time at one college and part-time at another institution, having moved in the process from California to New England in 1991. Completing this considerable task required equally considerable effort and support, the latter of which was provided in large doses by the woman with whom I had had the pivotal conversation in the first place, and whom I subsequently married. As for the career change, I already had an undergraduate degree in music and knew full well that this field would not bear fruit, nor was I so directed. A completely new and different orientation was called for. And thus began the process of preparing for graduate school: taking practice GREs and MATs, investigating programs and schools, and finally completing the applications to graduate programs
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themselves. Along the way, the examination of how I had come to this place in life, or speculation on how others had navigated similar waters, led to the behavioral sciences and education field, where I have remained since. I was accepted first into the master’s program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where I earned an Ed.M. and then once again the next year for a Certificate of Advanced Studies (1993 and 1994, respectively). The experience was intellectually exhilarating and powerful, drawing on personal resources and strengths of all sorts, which left me with a strong desire to pursue a doctorate. Then, in 1996, a little over two years beyond HGSE, I was entered a doctoral program at Boston University’s School of Education, and finished in just over four years, earning an Ed.D. in January 2001. As noted, the intellectual experience, especially at Harvard, was stimulating, exciting, and challenging, in part because I had been out of school for 19 years and I was frankly giddy as I moved from construction trades to constructive developmentalism. At the time I entered BU, I had already begun university teaching part-time, and was determined to continue doing so. Doctoral course work was less exploratory and more directed towards the specific career goal of earning the terminal degree necessary for full-time college hire. I was and remain more than happy with my field of study and those I met along the way who peopled it. Not surprisingly, at both Harvard and Boston University professors were highly knowledgeable, accomplished and well-regarded, and personally affable and friendly. In both institutions I studied with many professors who were approximately my age in many cases, but certainly not more than a partial generation older in the extreme, with some younger, even. In both institutions, I felt welcome and comfortable in the offices of the professors I sought out and met with, as often as not connecting around cultural experiences, events, and views we had in common within our broad generational cohort. These contributed to my confident feeling of belonging. However, in retrospect, something unexpected that grew in import later on, was that at neither institution did I receive much by way of specific mentoring. This is I have come to regard as an unfortunate but perhaps not uncommon combination: a serious oversight on their part and ignorance at the time on mine, caught up as I was in the immediacy of the adjustment, dislocation, time pressure, role conflict, and intellectual enjoyment that attends being a mid-life student. The lack of specific mentoring on the masters and CAS levels at Harvard was not particularly surprising given the size of the entering classes at HGSE, the mid-way feel and reality of the masters program, and the busy-ness of faculty there; time felt metered. Nonetheless, some shaping or molding with an eye to long-range goals and direction would have been helpful, but did not then seem critical. And frankly, it was not on my mind, in part because of my relative inexperience at that point, but also from the sheer feeling and awe at being at Harvard. This subsumed many concerns, such as having never used a computer before; commuting some two hours each way; juggling work, family, and school; and making the transition from manual to mental labor. It didn’t matter; HGSE was unquestionably the best intellectual experience of my life, convincing me that a doctorate was indeed attainable. It took two and a half years (working full time for the Maine’s Bureau of Health and still college teaching as an adjunct) before things were finally in order, and my first classes at Boston University’s School of Education began. As before, I was eager, serious, excited, but still somewhat inexperienced in the ways of higher education. Course work proceeded well, I built relationships with department faculty and other students, and comparatively soon I was defending my dissertation. I was also concurrently applying for full-time work at colleges and universities in the New England region. It was here, late in the process, that it became evident that the lack of mentoring was having a growing and lasting effect on me and my employment possibilities. My transcript notes course work, comprehensives, and other requisites fulfilled, and dissertation completed, but it does not reflect the invaluable help that conscious mentoring could have provided in putting it all together, shaping and pointing it. For instance, although one of the comprehensive tasks was to write a publishable journal article, in my case there was no push from a mentor either before or after to actually publish it or anything else. Any publishing was on my own initiation. While I took and did well
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in research courses, there was no direction towards using said research to build something I could use in my job search. In short, the focus was on the academics, not what lay beyond. Lest there be misunderstanding, it is important to emphasize here that I do not consider this oversight in any way malicious or deliberate. Instead, I believe that a significant part of the problem lay in the fact that I was roughly the same age as my professors. While it may be reasonable to think that students form a valuable relationship with someone more knowledgeable and experienced, who can help navigate what may be tricky waters, alert the student to various obstacles or opportunities ahead, and in general provide encouragement and prodding, for me and perhaps other midlife students, the de facto albeit tacit response may be more along the lines of, “We’re peers, you’re one of us,” leaving the student essentially solo. After all, we looked more or less the same, were in the same age cohort, related to each other as more or less equal in life worth, had children the same age, and so forth. The problem, though, is that no matter how bright, accomplished in other areas, seemingly confident in life, academically suited, directed towards a personal goal, or similar in external trappings s/he may be, in this alien world, the midlife student is not “one of us.” It may also be argued fairly that it is the student’s ultimate responsibility to provide the squeak for the wheel that gets greased, but this presumes an awareness in advance of things s/he can not know to be aware of. There can be a certain myopia that accompanies being in school again or for the first time, as one balances demands from all over; withstands personal, financial, academic, possibly medical, and family pressures; all the while straining to keep a level head. It can be difficult to identify what matters versus what does not, what is background versus foreground, what must be addressed immediately versus what can wait. Without a mentor’s guidance, the student can be well along in or even have finished the program before becoming alert to things that will have significant consequence once truly out on her/his own. Consider one example. After the required course work has been finished; comprehensives passed; dissertation topic has been approved, written, defended, and passed; and graduation celebrated, another major task remains--getting hired. At this point, the older student is viewed as, and in fact is “one of us,” except that the employment barrier has probably not been yet breached. Job postings must be found, vitae refined, references established, applications submitted, interviews faced. It is here especially that those who have been mentored from the beginning have an advantage, more likely having been steered toward these particular tasks, and perhaps most critically, having been steered towards publishing and researching while still in graduate school. Personally, I naively thought that making a career change at midlife would be considered a plus, that “real life” experience would matter, or would at least in the Behavioral Sciences, compensate for or explain an abbreviated CV, but certainly not be a disadvantage. I was wrong. Un-mentored I was competing for positions with those in academia who on the one hand by this point in their lives already had lengthy vitae, publications in hand, an academic track record that in many cases included previous university hires, and existing knowledge of the process, or on the other, competing with similarly brand new graduates who had been mentored. For those in school who are new but nonetheless fortunate to be mentored consciously, even if they do not themselves know how to work the system, or at least participate effectively, help or assistance is but an office visit, phone call, or at most an email away. For the student who begins to assemble all that is necessary to secure even an interview (ever hopeful) after the formal, transcript-related work has been done, there must necessarily be delays. As we know, publishing takes time from inception and submission through appearance (assuming a positive outcome, which is optimistic, but perhaps not realistic), refining CVs requires exposure to the job-seeking process, and being hired during a tight market remains chancy and can take months if not years to succeed. During this lag time those who have been mentored and urged to publish while still in school, who perhaps have ridden on a mentor’s coattails, greatly benefit by having any number of publications behind them, making them more competitive with those already in the job market, and as well more competitive than those in the early assembly process. Additionally, the mentor relationship that invites questions, provides example, and offers structured challenges, may also open doors to contacts in publishing or greater academia, often
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carrying over into post-doctoral life as a collegial relationship, wherein the wisdom of the mentor remains available in the form of collegiality. Absent such mentoring, the student loses out not only early on, but later as well, in that her/his network may be truncated, leaving her/him to fumble along, to misdirect energy, and to hope for the best. For me the job seeking process itself was the most debilitating of all, consisting of countless letters, often with a flat form letter response and often virtually none at all, and rarely a job interview. I dreaded requesting letters of recommendation from the same people, reminded each time of my failure. My confidence would ebb, then I would read a position announcement, imagine working there, get hopes up, go through the application process, wait, wait, wait, and then have it once again come to nothing. It was dismal. What was going on here? What was I doing wrong? On top of the late realization that my assumptions about life experience and life change would be a positive factor, despite a relatively thin CV, were erroneous, I soon began to strongly suspect that, age discrimination in this area existed in a subtle, but effective form: lack of experience within a field could be used to put an application from an older student in the Rejections stack. This then is another reason why mentoring a student at midlife is important. Employment odds are even less favorable at this later point in life, so whatever can be done to advance, or pre-advance career prospects for the midlife student should be consciously undertaken on both the individual professorial and greater institutional level. Leaving it to chance will not do. Students should not have to depend on “the kindness of strangers.” Part of being hired, of course, involves sifting through job possibilities, then presenting said supporting criteria in the job application. The most basic document, apart from evidence of degree or the transcript, is the CV/resume. Here a mentor can be of real value. Tailoring a CV/resume to the position, editing it, discussing its purpose and impact, or even ensuring that the student has created one in the first place is important. Many students do not have a presentable resume, and indeed, many first drafts (and some supposedly finished ones) need drastic attention, proofing, restructuring, or complete overhaul. While there may be a career office on campus, someone within the student’s field can more knowledgeably and appropriately help shape this important document, so that the document itself does not prompt rejection. Then, once the finished materials have been assembled, the decision whether to “fly paper” in hopes of landing something, versus concentrating sharply with fewer, more focused applications can be discussed, with examples from one’s own past illuminating the process. There are advantages to both, and hazards. One hazard in either case is the real possibility of major discouragement if or when the hiring process does not go well or takes too much time. The student may wonder: How can my letter of application be changed? Does my CV need revision? How do I learn about an open position? Is there something I’m overlooking? How many times can I ask for a recommendation before s/he’ll hate me? Has this all been a waste? Another area to consider, if immediate permanent employment is not the goal, is graduate study. Again, in my own case, from the very onset this was not open to question, as I was determined to pursue an advanced degree. For the midlife student, this decision be momentous, involving as it does time, family adjustment, financial concerns, effective time management, possibly delayed day to day employment, and in the least, determination of direction to go in. S/he knows that time is not infinite, paying itself out endlessly in front, so there is risk involved; this decision is weighty, with questions that a mentor can help with. What programs are available? What is it like to do this? Do you know anyone there? How do I prepare for it? I don’t test well; do I have to take the GRE? What about the MAT? What kind of financial aid is there? What really counts in an application? Is my personal statement too personally revealing? Not revealing enough? How is it coming across? Have I forgotten anything? While such concerns may seem elemental and obvious from the mentor’s side, they may not be so to the neophyte, or even to someone well into a terminal degree program. Just what is important and what is less so takes time and experience to figure out on our own. Imagine being at the North Pole, knowing only that where you need to head is south; it can be overwhelming, because every direction is south.
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Fortunately for me, I eventually did find work and am quite happy at the school and within my department. I am lucky in that regard and welcome the activities that working in academia require. Among other current duties as a faculty member, I have an expected advising role, to be sure, but I am particularly attuned to both the experience and inexperience of the older, non-traditional, or midlife student. Even though my own experience as a student stopped about 10 years ago, the taste is still quite fresh. Because of this, while I teach only undergrads, I pay close attention to midlife students, letting them know without question that I have an investment in their long-term process, that I understand from my own recent experience what is at stake. On the institutional front, I have spearheaded the creation of our college’s first Institutional Review Board, mindful not only of what it means for faculty research and professional development, but for the opportunity it can provide students to take part in research themselves, first as participants in our projects, then potentially generating their own work. For the midlife students who are necessarily behind from the start, this offers one way, however small, to begin building the criteria necessary to be hired once they graduate. So, where does this leave us? Although I have focused on the academic arena, note that mentoring occurs in other settings as well, takes many forms, and encompasses differing power relationships. Perhaps then, the critical element is to heighten consciousness overall and to ensure that mentoring midlife students is a deliberate, on-going activity. To that end: • be vigilant--do not assume that others will serve midlife students or that institutional mentoring exists and is active • difficult though it may be (Jones & Straker, 2006), find or make time specifically for midlife students • be proactive--look beyond a strictly academic advising role to career/future academic pursuits; be a real person for them (Campton, Cox, & Laanan, 2006) • make us of the lessons of other mentors and considering using existing models, such as a mentoring inventory (Cohen, 2003) • involve students in research or publications wherever possible • remember your own disequilibrium, obliviousness, tunnel vision, or stress in alien situations-consider that a “peer” student may not want or know to reveal such perceived ‘weaknesses’ to us • strive to help students realize “possible selves” (Fletcher, 2007) • do not assume that an institution’s Career Center can substitute for the on-going, close-up, cocreated interactions of effective mentoring relationships To close, we do not serve our midlife students well when we treat them as “one of us,” however wellintended and egalitarian that may feel, as it may convey a hollow or false goodness of fit. On the contrary, we can contribute to goodness of fit if we think beyond the classroom and degree requirements, whether the student is undergraduate or graduate. Beyond being a significant element in a student’s retention, true goodness of fit may not be realized until after the fact, when little or nothing can be done, so we need to act, and sooner, rather than later. Returning to Albert Schweitzer’s opening quote, a midlife student can encounter numerous things that may have the effect of damping down their embers. As robust as a blazing inferno may at times be, history tells us just how critical fire has been to civilization and its survival, even requiring that someone be designated the maintainer, the keeper. It is disturbing to think that absent our conscious dedication to mentoring students, especially students at midlife, without realizing it, we ourselves might be tossing water onto the flames. REFERENCES Backus, J.M. (1984). Adult student needs and university instructional practices. Journal of Teacher Education 35(3), 11-15. Bash, L. (2003). Adult learners: Why they are important to the 21st century college or university. Journal of Continuing Higher Education 51(3), 18-26.
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Cohen, N.H., (2003). The journey of the Principles of Adult Mentoring Inventory. Adult Learning 14(1), 4-12. Retrieved July 22, 2009 from EBSCOHost Research databases. Compton, J.I., Cox, E., & Laanan, F.S. (2006). Adult learners in transition. New Directions for Student Services 114, 73-80. Retrieved July 22, 2009 from EBSCOHost Research databases. Fletcher, S. (2007) Mentoring adult learners: Realizing possible selves. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education 114, 75-85. Retrieved July 22, 2009 from EBSCOHost Research databases. Horton, S.L. (2006). Metaphor, portraiture, and higher education: Confluent implications for midlife development. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education (54)2, 13-21. Jones, M. & Straker, K. (2006). What informs mentors’ practice when working with trainees and newly qualified teachers? An investigation into mentors’ professional knowledge base. Journal of Education for Teaching 32(2), 165-184. Retrieved July 22, 2009 from EBSCOHost Research databases. Kerka, S. (1989). Retaining adult students in higher education (Report No. EDO-CE-89-88). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED308401) Knowles, M.S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education. NY: Cambridge University Press. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2002). Nontraditional undergraduates, NCES 2002-012, by Susan Choy. Washington: DC Williams, B. (2001). Adult learning theory: The mentoring connection (Journal Code RIEJUL2001). East Lansing, MI: National Center for Research on Teacher Learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED450101)
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Smith, M. L. Victoria Cool Aid Society The Mentoring Project, Let the Dialogue Begin: Offering a Unique Perspective in Mentoring PROBLEM The universal commonalities and challenges inherent within the development and on-going support of mentoring programs and mentoring relationships provide a rich opportunity for dialogue across mentoring disciplines. Since 2006, the Community Volunteer Mentoring Project in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada has been offering an innovative approach to mentoring by bringing together not-for-profit agencies and community volunteers to help bridge the gap in social supports for people facing both personal and systemic challenges related to mental health and addiction issues. Over the past 5 years, The Mentoring Project has engaged more than 200 community participants, resulting in a blend of identified challenges to inform further development and an abundance of shared benefits for both the program and its participants. The subsequent roundtable discussion will provide opportunities for attendees to explore how these best practices and lesson learned translate to other mentoring environments. Attendees will come away with a stronger understanding of some of the universal elements of mentoring.
After a brief introduction of The Mentoring Project, discussion will begin with sharing best practices and valuable lessons learned in the following selected categories, resulting from the program’s development over the past five years. Development of training and orientation • Length and depth of training is reflective of the nature of the mentoring scenario • Universal training components strengthen mentoring programs • Benefits of ongoing feedback and refinement of training Unearthing the motivation and intention of participants • Provoking dialogue to explore mentor values, beliefs, expectations • There can be flux in participant motivation and intentions • Orienting intent between program or client centered directives The art and science of the matching process • Effective matching combines demographics with an intuitive sense • Developing screening tools for suitability and the creation of profiles • Supporting the tentative beginnings of a new match Building upon the inherent capacities of participants • Inviting diversity and a mix of lived experience backgrounds • Participant potential – expect surprises! • The reciprocal relationship of mentoring Setting realistic program objectives and outcomes • Training is a strong component of becoming a mentor • A realistic program, balancing concepts with reality • Facilitating closure, a delicate balance Leading Questions The intent of this round table discussion is to have participants contribute questions of interest based on the program information presented and informed by their own program expertise. Included are a few probing questions to get the dialogue started.
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• What do you see as the strengths and /or limitations of your program’s training and orientation processes? What processes have you developed to create opportunities for ongoing improvement or refinement of your training/orientation program? • What strategies have you developed to manage fluctuations in participant motivation and intent? How do you continue to motivate your participants to fully engage and maintain commitment to the mentoring process, particularly when challenges arise? • What percentage of your program time or resources is dedicated to generating and facilitating matches? What processes have you put in place to help manage the task of matching? • What opportunities for inviting a diversity of background, experience, culture, etc. exist in your program? What, if any, personal characteristics have you identified in the “ideal” mentor? • What are the some of the differences and or similarities between corporate, school-based and nonprofit mentoring programs? How does the nature of your mentoring program impact your objectives and outcomes? By participating in this international mentoring conference, The Mentoring Project strives to share in its learning and knowledge and simultaneously receive teachings and insight from other mentoring disciplines. Thank you for participating. REFERENCES Peer Resources – The primary resource for peer, mentor and coaching resources http://www.mentors.ca/ Umbrella Society for Mental Health and Addictions http://www.umbrellasociety.ca/web/ United Way of Greater Victoria http://uwgv.ca/ Victoria Cool Aid Society, REES Program http://www.coolaid.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=38
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Thomas, C. University of New Mexico How Can a Book Be a Mentor? PROBLEM Can a book be a mentor? More specifically, can a text of words, numbers, symbols, and/or pictures—in or across any disciplines—call forth and sustain fully a mentoring relationship? Posing this problem may call forth more general, and some might think more relevant, problems: (1) whether or not distance mentoring—mentoring that does not happen ‘in person’ but is mediated by a technology such as online instruction, email, video conferencing or calling (e.g. Skype), or even snail mail—is effective, authentic, or desirable; and (2) whether or not mentoring necessarily requires face to face, embodied presence and interaction, of a kind apparently absent from a book in the hands of a reader or communication mediated by even newer information technologies. Without letting go entirely of these more general questions about distance mentoring, our discussion will focus on the problem of the book as a mentor, on the nature of those books that might mentor or not, the kind of relationship to a book that may open its mentoring faculty, and how thinking about the book, which, like a mentor, is given to us as a medium for learning, may lead us to unfold more fully what is mentoring in its essence.
Considering the question “can a book be a mentor?” is likely to evoke immediate, decided responses—yes or no. Some will find it obviously true that a book can mentor. Others will find the idea silly, perhaps even outrageous, for to take a book as a mentor is to miss the sense of mentoring altogether. Mentoring, the naysayers might claim, requires a living human relationship and is an engaged, engaging, and reciprocal activity. If books can mentor, they do so without the reciprocal partnership that listens, challenges, and redirects. Those, on the other hand, who think books do mentor might point as evidence to books that instruct or explain, facilitate self-help, and deliver techniques and strategies for action. I propose, however, that while some such books may mentor, most books of this type are merely manuals. Manuals deliver what I want to call technical mentoring; that is, skills, strategies, techniques, and thought that are ready to hand, readily grasped, and enacted. Manuals deliver knowledge—thought already thought—and the promise of known effects, but do not call to, or call forth, thinking. Simply said, these books put thought before thinking. They put effects, or results, before the activity—thinking—that accomplishes results. They put the results of learning and discovery before the process of learning and discovery. They put, we might say, the results of mentoring before mentoring itself. Mentoring is often taken to be a process of initiation, where novices are brought into the knowledge and practice of a standing set of skills and activities. They are brought into thought—knowledge, standards, actions—already known by their mentors. A mentoring process is taken to be useful, successful, and accomplished if its result is the mentee’s appropriating her mentors’ standing set of skills and activities as her own. This kind of mentoring I take to be technical mentoring, which, like the books that are manuals, transfers technical skills and practices or the authoritative knowledge content of a discipline, field, or craft, but does not open or lead a mentee into genuine learning. Genuine learning is the genuine search for what is essential, meaningful, and not yet fully unfolded or discovered either in a discipline or vocation, or in its practitioners, including both the mentee and mentor. This second kind of mentoring, which leads mentee and mentor toward a fuller unfolding of their practice and of themselves as practitioners, I call liberal mentoring—liberal in the sense of liberal when we speak of liberal education, as that which frees thinking and action from inherited opinions and unexamined practices. A book that mentors, then, is more than mere manual. It is a liberal book, provoking thinking rather than thought. It not only transforms and attunes its learner’s grip on the discipline, vocation, or world in which the learner functions and dwells, but also it calls its learner into thinking—into genuine inquiry and
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reflection, rather than passive receipt of thought—and, in doing so, invokes the relationship of genuine mentor and learner. Leading Questions Can a book be a mentor? How can a book be a mentor? What kind of book, or what is the nature of a book, that can mentor? What is the nature of the relationship between reader and book that could allow a book to be a mentor? • What advantages might a mentoring book have over a mentor-in-the-flesh • • • •
REFERENCES Brann, Eva T. H. (1992). What is a book? St John’s College Review, 41(1), 75-88. Dreyfus, Hubert L. (2009). Disembodied telepresence and the remoteness of the real. In On the internet (2nd ed.) (pp. 49-71). London: Routledge. Heidegger, Martin. (1998). Letter on humanism (F.A. Capuzzi, Trans.). In Pathmarks. (W. McNeill, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1947). Heidegger, Martin. (1967). What is called thinking? (J. G. Gray, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row. (Original work published 1952
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Weir, J. Canadian Youth Business Foundation Driving Entrepreneurial Success through Mentorship PROBLEM “21.4% of venturer’s think that a lack of expertise and know-how is an obstacle to business creation, which corroborates the previous finding that more than 55% of venturer’s do not have experience. Technical assistance, mentoring, coaching, training and networking could all be effective ways to reduce this problem.” From the Report “Canadian Entrepreneurship Status 2010” information was gathered in a survey conducted by the Fondation de l’entrepreneurship with the assistance of Leger Marketing in Feb 2009 and again in March 2010
The Canadian Youth Business Foundation is the “go to” place for youth entrepreneurship in Canada. We assist young people between the ages of 18-34 to launch and sustain successful businesses. In addition to start-up financing and business resources, the one component of our program that sets us apart is our mentoring program. CYBF believes in the value of mentoring - and it is clear from the success of our entrepreneurs that our mentoring program is providing great results. Since our mentoring program became mandatory, the percentage of our entrepreneurs unable to repay their loans has been reduced by half. Today, 19 out of 20 businesses are able to repay their CYBF loan - that’s powerful proof of the value of a mentor! For this reason alone, CYBF makes participation in the mentoring program mandatory for each young entrepreneur who receives start-up financing. Each young entrepreneur is required to work with a mentor for a two-year term. Mentors are qualified business professionals located in the same local business community as the entrepreneur. We are modelled after the Prince’s Trust in England which has been in operation for about 45 years. We are a member of the Princes organization YBI (Youth Business International) a global Organization made up of about 45 countries that have organizations identical to CYBF. When the Prince’s Trust was established originally, there was no mentorship component and the success rate of the business start-ups was about 40%. When mentoring was introduced the success rate quickly rose to 75%. CYBF has been in operation since 1996 and our loan repayment rate is over 94%. Participants in this round table will gain knowledge of the components/elements of a successful mentoring program, effective recruiting strategies, and successful engagement strategies. We will share best practices, discuss challenges and offer creative solutions to other’s challenges. Leading Questions • Are you currently facing challenges in recruiting mentors to your program? How can we overcome these challenges and find new volunteer sources? Take away at least one new recruiting source. • How else can we utilize our mentor/volunteer’s talents and skill sets to assist our entrepreneurs? Think about social media, expert panels, etc. Take away one new method for using the talents of your volunteers. • What are the biggest challenges facing young entrepreneurs today? How is your program addressing these challenges?Take away at least one new solution to your programs challenges. “A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
REFERENCES The Report “Canadian Entrepreneurship Status 2010” information was gathered in a survey conducted by the Fondation de l’entrepreneurship with the assistance of Leger Marketing in Feb 2009 and again in March 2010 Anecdotal and experiential evidence from interactions with CYBF mentors and mentees, results from internal surveys, quarterly reports and exit interviews with mentors.
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Worthy, M. T. University of New Mexico Wisdom as a Tool for Social Change ABSTRACT (Wisdom) Sophocles, in his Greek Tragedy, Antigone, said, The ideal condition would be, I admit, that men should be right by instinct. But since we are all likely to go astray, the reasonable thing is to learn from those who can. He knew that if we seek help from knowledgeable and experienced people, we can achieve our goals and avoid making mistakes and wasting valuable time. Such knowledgeable and experienced people are called mentors. They can be found everywhere. Think about your work. Was there someone who helped you get started with your academic pursuits or career, offering advice and guidance, showing you how things worked and how to get things done? Consider your education. Was there a teacher who took a special interest in you and who had an especially positive influence on your life? We all can probably name two people who had a profound effect on our lives. A mentor: 1. Takes a personal interest in and helps an inexperienced person (mentee). 2. Serves as a role model, coach, and confidante. 3. Offers knowledge, insight, perspective, and wisdom useful to the mentee. 4. Helps someone become successful and learn new skills themselves. While the mentor/mentee relationship does not require some time and commitment, the relationship does not last forever nor should it. The purpose of mentoring is to teach the mentee to think and act independently and successfully. Once mentees have developed to the point where they are functioning effectively on their own, mentors services are no longer needed. Most likely, the mentor/mentee relationship evolves into a strong friendship. Mentors can find new mentees to help, and former mentees have the skills and knowledge to become mentors themselves.
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Concurrent Presentations Kinglsey, K. University of New Mexico Fostering Academic Integrity in the Digital Age: Copyright and Fair Use of Educational Multimedia ABSTRACT In today’s era of free online expression, it can be difficult to discern what constitutes fair use of Web-based and print-based materials, including user-generated con- tent (UGC) on the Internet. Educators at all levels are increasingly concerned with issues related to the use of electronic materials for teaching, learning, and delivery of instruction. When must permission be obtained to use digital materials in the class- room? What kinds of materials can be used for face-to-face and/or online instruction? When can digital materials be used in portfolios or multimedia projects? This session is designed to provide educators across disciplines with an overview of the use of multimedia for instructional purposes. Topics covered in this session will include: Down- loading, modifying, distributing multimedia for academic purposes, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Open Source/Open Access, Public Domain Sites, Creative Commons, Public Knowledge Project, Obtaining Permission to use copyrighted materials, Formulating Copyright Compliance Policies, and Acceptable Use Policies. Online resources and general guidelines for Fair Use of Educational Multimedia will be provided.
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Schipani, C. A., Dworkin, T. M., Kwolek-Folland, A. Hinesly, M. & Maurer, V. University of Michigan Mentoring and the Law: A Remedy Whose Time Has Arrived? ABSTRACT This paper proposes that formal mentoring and networking programs be employed in structuring settlements of Title VII-based discrimination lawsuits and in arbitral awards based on gender discrimination in employment. Businesses and organizations can use available data from the social sciences about the differing impact of variable in mentoring for women and men to tailor programs in a non-discriminatory manner that will sustain legal challenge. They can use the body of available knowledge about mentoring and networking to frame part of the strategy of remediating the lack of women at top level in the organization, even in the absence of legal claims. And they can use these programs in structured court-approved settlements to resolve legal claims of sexual discrimination. The paper reviews the barriers women face in achieving positions of top leadership in organizations and the uses of mentoring and networking as pathways around these barriers. The paper identifies the limits of law as an institution in addressing not only individual fairness but also organizational goals of effectiveness at both a national and multinational level. The proposed legal remedies could address both individual fairness and organizational needs, and they could accommodate cultural factors that such organizations face in the search for talented leadership at the highest levels for the organization.
Despite their significant progress in many areas of employment, women still face greater difficulties and are more unlikely than men to attain top leadership positions in businesses and organizations. Yet businesses and organizations that employ women in leadership at the highest levels reap significant financial benefits in doing so. This seeming paradox occurs, in part, because often women face additional barriers to top leadership simply by virtue of being women. To traverse these barriers they must forge or find solutions or ways around them. This paper explores corporate mentoring programs as a pathway around the barriers a woman may face. We believe that businesses and organizations can tailor these programs in a non-discriminatory manner, based on available data about the differing impact of variables in mentoring on men and women, and without fear of legal claims of discrimination. They can use the body of available knowledge about mentoring as part of a strategy of remediating the lack of women at top levels in the absence of legal claims. We also propose that these programs be used in structured settlements to resolve legal claims of sexual discrimination. The underrepresentation of women in boardrooms and executive offices is well documented, and a lack of coaching and grooming is a major factor for women who seek these positions (Fitzpatrick & Rappaport, 2011). A recent White House report on data gathered from six federal agencies showed that there is still a wage gap despite the fact that women are outpacing men in education (Dougherty, 2011). Another study reported that in 2011, only eleven chief executives of Fortune 500 companies were women, down from a peak of fifteen in 2010 (Lublin, 2011). Additionally, only 15% of executive committees of Fortune 200 companies included women (Stevens, 2011). The study, involving 2,525 college-educated men and women, over half of which were in large companies, cited inadequate career development as the primary reason women have not reached the top rungs of the corporate ladder (Lublin, 2011). Mentoring programs can and do play a central role in fostering talent and grooming both male and female employees for leadership positions, and they can be employed on an equitable basis, yet be structured to meet the particular needs of each employee (Allen, Eby, Poteet, Lenta,& Lima 2004). Research in organizational behavior and other social science disciplines have established a significant knowledge base about mentoring for both men and women, including a rich theoretical base grounded in psychology and sociology (Ragins & Kram, 2007). A summary of this research would include the ideas that mentors provide both career functions and psychosocial functions and that these functions have different “roots and outcomes” (Ragins & Kram, 2007). Success of a mentoring relationship in terms of 193
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career functions varies with the mentor’s position and influence in the organization, while success in the psychosocial aspects of mentoring varies with the depth and quality of interpersonal bonds and attachments between mentor and mentee. Moreover, while both functions predict job and career satisfaction, they are analytically distinct in terms of the different outcomes they produce. The evolution of the mentoring relationship through time and career cycles is well documented in theory and data and can be used to better manage mentoring programs. In addition, research has produced knowledge about designing, structuring, and implementing formal mentoring programs in organizations. If this research is to translate into changes in the composition of top management, investors, policy analysts, managers, and directors need to know as much as possible about how men and women traverse the path to top leadership in organizations and how best to help them to do so. And they need to fashion management training and career paths that address the needs of diverse would-be top managers if they are to produce diversity at the top. We advocate corporate mentoring programs as one means to address the goal of diversity at the top. A rich body of literature in the social sciences documents the value of mentoring in the career development of top executives. Moreover, it provides knowledge and understanding of the ways in which men and women approach and benefit from mentoring. Because many organizations have a global reach and global diversity of managers and leaders, and because very little of that literature addresses global and cultural diversity, we focused on differences between U.S. and European managers, both male and female, in their mentoring relationships. These insights could be used by multinational organizations in designing programs and by managers involved in mentoring experiences. Furthermore, law plays an important role in creating and maintaining women’s progress toward top leadership positions, and mentoring programs can be employed as a legal remedy for discrimination. Law is an indispensable tool for assessing problems and exogenously motivating their solution in organizations (Bennhold, 2011). Law establishes and underscores normative standards and goals for organizations with respect to diversity. Most states and nations of the developed world prohibit most gender discrimination in employment, and there are strong reasons of national economic policy and human rights policy that underpin the prohibitions. The authors do not advocate singling out only women for mentoring programs but rather tailoring programs to the individuals whose advancement would benefit the organizations; in a multinational organization gender is likely to be an important factor to consider in designing mentoring programs. As a practical matter, however, at least in the United States, programs that appear to single out women are likely to sound in affirmative action under American law. It is important, then, to identify legal issues that an organization subject to U.S. law would encounter in the use of special programs for women. I. Mentoring As a Pathway Mentoring programs are known to be effective in helping managers identify and develop pathways around the obstacles they face on the road to top management. We know that mentors buffer an individual from overt and covert forms of discrimination, lend legitimacy to a person or position, provide guidance and training in the political operation of the organization, and provide inside information on jobrelated functions (Ragins, 1999). Mentoring programs can have an important positive impact on women in helping them overcome discrimination that they may not even consciously realize exists (Rhode, 2007). A mentor may compensate for exclusion from organizational networks where such information is usually found. Mentors can also provide reflected power by signaling that an individual has a powerful sponsor. Mentors can even increase self-confidence and facilitate career goals (Dreher & Cox, 1996). The evidence is overwhelming that mentoring is the best method for women to reach the upper levels of management short of imposing quotas, which is not allowed in the U.S. In fact, a lack of mentoring may contribute to the disproportionate under-representation of women in top leadership of business. A substantial body of research supports the notion that mentoring contributes greatly to career outcomes.
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Furthermore, courts have found that mentoring is a benefit flowing from professional employment. Many researchers believe that with a successful mentoring program, women can become more successful in organizations, both socially and professionally. Some well-known benefits gained from a mentoring relationship include higher salaries, greater satisfaction with work life and career, and more frequent promotions. A lack of mentoring for women professionals may contribute to the under-‐ representation of women in the executive ranks of businesses. Many companies have adopted mentoring programs and there is much evidence that a diverse workforce leads to better financial results. However, there are several problems with the approaches so far. One is that general mentoring programs do not work as well for women as they do for men. Another is that formal programs often do not work as well (or at all) unless there is some affinity between the mentor and mentee, and that is better achieved when individual choice is involved. Additionally, unless the mentor has power within the organization, women are not particularly advantaged. In some organizations it may be difficult to find a sufficient number of powerful mentors willing to take on the role of mentor. Finally, and possibly most important, tailoring mentoring to women may raise legal challenges. II. Mentoring and the Law We propose the use of mentoring programs to benefit individuals and also to address organizational needs for success in diversity at the top. When a company embarks on a program to promote the progress of women or any other gender, nationality, or race, however, it must consider both the business goals and the legal implications of its actions. Such a program must be structured to address a complex of statutory, contractual, and sometimes constitutional duties, depending upon the nature of the employer as a government contractor, a private employer, or a governmental entity (Tenth Annual Review, 2009). In this section we explore, first, the limits of law as a pathway for individual women, or classes of similarly situated women, around the barriers they face. Next we review the degrees of freedom allowed employers in fashioning affirmative action programs designed primarily to benefit women. Finally, we explore the feasibility of mentoring programs as remedies to Title VII violations. Where the purpose of the program is primarily to benefit women, it will probably fall under the catchall and vague category affirmative action. Many of the barriers women face on the way to the top can be addressed legally in American law. Explicit structural barriers and explicit discrimination are rare among American employers, but they exist, and where they exist they can be remedied under United States law. Gender stereotyping -- as a form of impermissible sexual discrimination – encompasses many of the work-family role conflicts that commonly challenge women, especially in the areas of family responsibilities and motherhood. In fact, a growing area of case law falls within the rubric of “family responsibilities discrimination” or “maternal wall discrimination” (Travis, Leonard, Williams & Cherry, 2006). The concept has been used successfully in the courts to challenge work assignments and work structures built around an assumption of maleness, a quality not possessed by women, and thus discriminatory (Williams & Segal, 2003). It has also been used to address explicit discrimination against women professionals based on assumptions about motherhood. Joan C. Chalmers identifies motherhood as a key trigger for gender discrimination and catalogs various cognitive biases that operate with respect to women and family responsibilities. Some of these include role incongruity, attribution bias, leniency bias, irrational negative competence assumptions, and pointless mobility requirements. Sometimes the family responsibilities discrimination rises to the level of a hostile work environment. Programs designed explicitly to advance the interests of women may face challenges of being sexually discriminatory toward men, who are also protected under the same law that protects women from discrimination. Thus a company setting up a mentoring program must examine its goals, structure, and implementation to respect the applicable law as well as the larger business interests of the organization. Federal law has been used to address discrimination since 1941, when President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 to prohibit discrimination by defense contractors during the Second World 195
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War. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246, which greatly expanded the reach and effectiveness of non-discrimination provisions in federal contracting and gave American law and culture the phrase “affirmative action.” Under this Order, federal contractors cannot discriminate against traditional protected groups, including discrimination on the basis of gender. The contractors are required to adopt plans to correct underutilization of those in the protected group. These plans can include placement goals and timetables. The employers’ actions “shall include, but not be limited to, . . . upgrading, . . . and selection for training.” Underrepresentation of women at management levels can be included in this language as it applies to organizations that contract with the federal government. Following the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and establishment of the Glass Ceiling Commission, federal contractors also had to conduct corporate management compliance evaluations. They were supposed to evaluate whether artificial barriers existed that hinder advancement to mid-level and senior-level positions. During its four-year tenure, the Commission issued several reports. The final two, which summarize the Commission’s findings and recommendations, contain the most extensive discussion of mentoring. They point out that women and minorities face barriers to advancement and senior positions due to lack of access to information and networking. The Commission posited that if organizations increased the availability of mentorship to these groups, the groups would have greater access to the resources they need to advance at a pace similar to their male counterparts. The extensive study and reports of the Commission could buttress arguments for implementing mentoring programs and address possible legal challenges to management training processes. As a legal remedy, we see a linkage between discrimination cases and mentoring and networking programs in the role that these programs might play in negotiated settlements of disparate treatment discrimination lawsuits or in shaping less restrictive alternative remedies in cases of disparate impact discrimination. Mentoring and networking programs have surfaced as possible remedies in contexts such as the reports of the Glass Ceiling Commission, which followed passage of the 1991 Civil Rights Act, as a possible preventive or remedial measure for sex discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including the 1972 amendments and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 allow both equitable and legal remedies to remedy violations of the 1964 Act. Equitable remedies can take many forms, such as injunctions, lost wages, and reinstatement in the job position. Legal remedies may include limited compensatory and, in cases of “malice or reckless indifference” to the rights of the victim, a court may impose punitive damages. Mentoring programs as an equitable remedy, or part of a remedy, seem well suited for disparate treatment cases. These could include, for example, cases involving gender stereotyping and family responsibility discrimination. While a mentoring program would not be a substitute for changes in company human resource policies, it could be an additional measure that would assist women in recognizing and managing these barriers institutionally without having to resort to legal action. Mentoring may be an even more effective remedy in disparate impact cases, where, for example, evaluation and selection criteria, including the sorts of subjective criteria that come into play in selecting top management, have the effect of disproportionately stalling the careers of women otherwise headed toward top management. Structured settlements of either disparate treatment or disparate impact cases could include mentoring programs, so long as the settlement does not undermine the intent of the 1964 Act. III. The Pathways Study The goals of most organizations in developing talent and leadership succession, as well as the interests of both women and men in non-discriminatory treatment, suggest that mentoring programs should be structured as part of management development for both males and female, or at least should be made available on a non-discriminatory basis. Because men and women tend to benefit differently from the mentoring experience, the program should be tailored to the individual circumstances of each participant. An approach of this nature should avoid the pitfalls, legal or otherwise, of aiming programs only at women, but it should also avoid the gender stereotyping of women or of men or of the ideal 196
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leader. This requires, of course, knowledge of the nature and impact of different kinds of mentoring and differently structured mentoring relationship, as well as an assessment of the individual needs of possible future managers. In an attempt to shed further light on these issues the authors conducted a multi-phase, multi-year study on the use of mentoring programs as strategies for promoting gender diversity in organizations (the “Pathways Research Project” or the “Pathways Study”). Mentoring programs surfaced for further study primarily because they are known to be effective in helping managers identify and develop pathways around the obstacles they face on the road to top management. In previous work we have identified important theories that may explain why mentoring and networking are effective, including: 1) social and cultural capital theory; 2) socioeconomic class theory; 3) personality theory; 4) sociological theories of power; and 5) economic theories of human capital (Schipani, Dworkin, Kwolek-Folland, & Maurer, 2009). Thus, the Pathways study was undertaken with the goal of better understanding the nature of mentorships and how they might differ by gender and geographical location, specifically focusing on businesses within the United States (US) and Europe. The first phase of the survey was administered in 2007 to individuals in business. There were 1,396 respondents, 31 percent of whom were female and 28 percent of whom were born outside the United States. The survey was sent to MBA and BBA graduates of the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida. In addition, a survey firm was hired to solicit additional responses from business men and women in Europe. The second phase of the survey was administered in 2008 to graduates of the Cass Business School of City University in London. In 2009, a meeting in Rome with a select group of female leaders and academics discussed preliminary findings of significant differences between U.S. and E.U. respondents. The two workshops and the initial run of the survey asked respondents to reply to substantive queries regarding their experience with mentors throughout the course of their careers. The Pathways Survey asked respondents about several aspects of the mentoring relationship. In attempting to provide insights for courts and organizations regarding the salient features of successful mentoring relationship, this paper focuses on the survey questions concerning the length of the relationship, the gender of the mentor, the career stage when mentors were found to be most helpful, and whether the respondents found the mentoring relationship more rewarding when the mentors and mentees shared common cultures. The survey respondents found that their mentoring relationships were most important during either the early (44%) or mid career (32%). This is true of respondents from both the U.S. and Europe. Furthermore, most of these mentorships last two years or longer. European relationships are slightly shorter. Overwhelmingly, both men and women are meeting their mentors in a work setting (85%) and at work (76%) and the mentoring occurs face-to-face (89%). Men, however, appear more likely than women to meet mentors in a social context. Within the social context, men appear more likely to meet through a social acquaintance than women. Women, appear to meet more commonly through a school or alumni contact, however sample sizes are small. Of the small percentage of mentors (7%) who are met through a social context, the majority is found through a school or alumni contact (28%) or a social acquaintance (26%). Professional organizations and industry conferences are more popular places for Europeans to meet mentors than in the U.S. In early career, when mentorships are most helpful, the most common way professionals meet others who are at top levels of organizations is at meetings, seminars and conferences (29%). Interestingly, men are more likely than women to meet top-level executives at sports activities than women. The large majority (76%) of our respondents are satisfied with the mentoring they have experienced in their career. Mentorships are most helpful with three key areas: (1) career planning, coaching and guidance (30%); (2) protection and career risk management (24%) and; (3) increasing aspiration level and
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providing a role model (21%). Slightly more males than females reported exposure, viability and sponsorship as helpful. The survey asked the respondents whether they shared a great deal of cultural background with their mentors. Overall, 65% of the respondent answered affirmatively. This was true for all groups – 66.7% of U.S. males, 62.6% of European males, 63.5% of U.S. females, with the lowest affirmative response being from European females at 61.1%. The European females, however, were the most neutral regarding this issue with 24.1% neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the statement about whether they share a cultural background with their mentors. On average across all groups surveyed 84% of mentors are male. Fewer than 10% of men have female mentors (6% for U.S. males and 5% for European males) yet for women over 35% have female mentors (37% for U.S. females and 35% for European females). The large majority of mentors are employed by the same organization as those they mentor (83%) with those in the U.S. slightly more likely than European counterparts to work at the same organization. Mentors typically live in the same community (51%) or region of the country (34%) as their mentees. Conclusion A gender diversified workforce is important to the bottom line of business. A well- mentored workplace can make it easier to recruit and retain successful and productive business women, who are now earning over half the professional and managerial degrees awarded per year and comprise almost half the entire paid labor force. “Companies that have diversity and manage it properly make better decisions, produce better products, and retain key business advantages over more homogenous companies,” (Catalyst 2004) which leads to increased financial gain. REFERENCES Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., Poteet, M. L., Lenta, E. & Lima, L., Career benefits associated with mentoring for proteges: a meta-analysis, 89 J. Appl. Psych. 127-136 (2004). A.T. Kearney & the Kelley School of Business, Homegrown CEO: The Key to Superior Long-Term Financial Performance is Leadership Succession, reported on April 4, 2011. Bennhold, K., In Norway, equality key to prosperity, INT’L HERALD TRIB., June 29, 2011, at 2. Catalyst Inc., The Bottom Line: Connecting Corporate Performance and Gender Diversity, at 1 (2004). Dougherty, C., Strides by women, still a wage gap, WALL ST. J., Mar. 1, 2011, at A3. Dreher G. F. & Cox, Jr., T. H., Race, gender, and opportunity: a study of compensation attainment and the establishment of mentoring relationships, 81 J. Applied Psychol. 297, 298 (1996). Fitzpatrick D. & Rappaport, L., Financial firms’ ceiling, WALL ST. J., Sept. 8, 2011. Lublin, J.S., Coaching urged for women, WALL ST. J. Apr. 4, 2011, at B8. Ragins, B. R., Gender and Mentoring Relationships in HANDBOOK OF GENDER & WORK 347, 357 (Gary N. Powell ed., 1999). Ragins, B. R. &. Kram, K. E., ed., THE HANDBOOK OF MENTORING AT WORK: THEORY, RESEARCH, AND PRACTICE (2007). Rhode, D. L., The subtle side of sexism, 16 Colum. J. Gender & L. 613, 619 (2007). Schipani, C.A., Dworkin, T. M., Kwolek-Folland, A., & Maurer, V., Pathways for women to obtain positions of organizational leadership: the significance of mentoring and networking: 16 Duke J. Gender L. & Policy 89 (2009). Stevens, L., German CEO’s call for a ‘prettier board’ flops, WALL ST. J., Feb. 8, 2011, at A9. Tenth Annual Review of Gender and Sexuality Law: Employment Law Chapter: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: 10 Geo. J. Gender & L. 639-71 (2009)
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Travis, M. A.,. Leonard, A. S., Williams, J. C., &. Cherry, M. A., Gender stereotyping: expanding the boundaries of Title VII: Proceedings of the 2006 Annual Meeting, Association of American Law Schools, Section on Employment Discrimination Law: 10 Employ. Rts. & Employ. Pol’y J. 271-301at 285 (2006). Williams, J. C. & Segal, N., Beyond the maternal wall: relief for family caregivers who are discriminated against on the job: 26 Harv. Women’s L.J. 77 (2003).
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McWilliams, A. E. Wake Forest University Models of Higher Education Mentoring and the Development of an Interdisciplinary Mentoring Culture ABSTRACT Over the past few years Wake Forest University has taken steps to institutionalize and further support a longstanding tradition and culture of student mentoring, culminating in the development in June 2010 of the Mentoring Resource Center, which helps students think more deeply about their lives and make sound decisions by promoting and supporting effective mentoring relationships across the entire campus. This paper examines mentoring in higher education, which has traditionally been informal in nature and rooted in the scholar/advisor-student relationship that exists primarily in graduate school and often results in a sort of academic cloning. The paper discusses recent moves to more intentional, formal mentoring relationships and identifies best practices of formal mentoring programs. Finally, using the experience of the Mentoring Resource Center as an example, the paper explores the possibilities for developing an interdisciplinary mentoring culture on a higher education campus.
What is mentoring? Depending on the definition, it is: a relationship that is dynamic, reciprocal, personal, intentional, exclusive, or voluntary; a relationship in which the person serving as mentor provides knowledge, advice, counsel, support, or opportunity; “self-directed leadership development”; a “learning partnership”; a “process”; “asymmetrical”; and something that becomes more impactful over time (Johnson and Ridley, 2008; Wright, 2004; Eby, Rhodes, and Allen, 2010). The multiple and multitude of definitions of mentoring have been well-documented elsewhere (Eby, Rhodes, and Allen, 2010; Crisp and Cruz, 2009), not to mention the different terminology used (mentee, protégé, mentoree, etc.), but it is generally agreed upon that, when done well, mentoring has a demonstrated positive impact on those receiving the mentoring. Johnson and Ridley (2008) note that “research consistently demonstrates the following benefits for mentored protégés: enhanced promotion rates, higher salaries, accelerated career mobility, improved professional identity, greater professional competence, increased career satisfaction, greater acceptance within the organization, and decreased job stress and role conflict. Mentored individuals also are more likely to mentor others” (p. xi). To date, the body of literature on mentoring largely has fallen into two particular and distinct theoretical and methodological camps: literature on the roles, models, and impacts of youth mentoring; and, literature on the roles, models, and impacts of organizational mentoring. Youth mentoring tends to focus on psychosocial development to be an effective, contributing member of society (Keller, 2010). Mentoring programs for youth pair well-intentioned adults with youth in environments such as juvenile detention or Boys & Girls Clubs and demonstrate the positive impact that such role modeling can have on an otherwise disadvantaged sector of society (Blinn-Pike, 2010). Organizational mentoring, on the other hand, focuses on the socialization of adults for their chosen professional roles. These developmental programs are implemented either for those individuals who need an orientation to new roles or on the high potential employees who have been selected for growth and development opportunities (Scandura and Pellegrini, 2010; Ragins and Kram, 2007). Traditionally, literature on mentoring in higher education has been identified with one of the two aforementioned strands. As aligned with youth mentoring, it describes programs for students who need additional assistance in order to be successful as students both academically and socially, or programs that partner college students as mentors to other youth, thereby opening up the world of higher education to those who otherwise would not have encountered it. Organizationally, mentoring in higher education focuses on professional socialization: how faculty and staff are mentored into their new academic roles or how students, generally graduate students, learn to be successful in their chosen professions (Mullen 2008; Crisp and Cruz, 2009). Little work has been done to merge these two strands: exploring the role
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and value of mentoring for personal and career development (models of organizational mentoring) with undergraduate students (youth population). This paper explores the development of such a model of mentoring on one college campus, with the goal of creating an interdisciplinary culture of mentoring that will support not just those who are either struggling or high potentials, but all students as they explore and discover their purposes and paths in life. Mentoring in higher education historically is rooted in those informal advisory relationships that develop between faculty and graduate students and which serve a socializing role for students to the academic profession. These relationships define how a student learns to be a professor. In choosing an academic major students are socialized into that disciplinary area of study through informal mentoring by their academic advisors; by watching and learning from them, students learn the norms and requirements for success in that particular field. The individual faculty member perpetuates his or her approach through a sort of academic cloning or apprenticeship and in doing so perpetuates as well the discipline itself and ultimately the institution of higher education. In the professional fields in particular – law, business, medicine, education – students are subconsciously socialized over time and through interaction with their faculty advisors to “internalize behavioral norms and standards and form a sense of identity and commitment” to the field (Weidman, Twale, and Stein, 2001, p. 6). Students proceed through four stages of role acquisition: 1. The anticipatory stage, in which the individual becomes aware of “behavioral, attitudinal, and cognitive expectations”; 2. The formal stage, in which the individual receives formal instruction and serves as an apprentice in order to observe activities of faculty and older students and learn about normative role expectations and how they are carried out; 3. The informal stage, in which the individual learns about informal role expectations; and 4. The personal stage, in which the role is internalized (p. 12-14). Throughout this process, academic mentors provide “crucial insider information,” as well as teaching “about the subtleties of local politics and organizational power. Good mentors teach protégés strategies for managing conflict and coach them on setting short- and long-term goals. Also, they teach protégés the norms that set the acceptable range of behaviors” (Johnson and Ridley, 2008, p. 16). According to Lentz and Allen (2010), “the faculty mentor is a source of learning, guidance, and influence. For the student, the faculty mentor may represent how the student perceives the profession and how he or she fits into it” (p. 159). These informal mentors are a fundamental part of the students’ socialization process to the academy and the discipline. However, not all students are on the receiving end of this sort of guidance and attention: “faculty members are more likely to mentor students whose professional interests are similar to their own and remind them of themselves” (p. 161). This is one of the key issues with this sort of informal mentoring: not everyone benefits from it. The potential outcomes from good mentoring are clear: “Good developmental relationships (mentorships) promote socialization, learning, career advancement, psychological adjustment, and preparation for leadership. Compared to non-mentored individuals, those with mentors tend to be more satisfied with their careers, enjoy more promotions and higher income, report greater commitment to the organization and profession, and are more likely to mentor others in turn” (Johnson, 2007, p. 4). As well, “when college freshmen are actively engaged by faculty, they are more likely to return for the sophomore year and are more likely thereafter to persist until graduation. Mentoring also predicts higher GPAs and completion of more credit hours” (p. 7). Further, mentored undergrads are more satisfied with their major and institution, more loyal alumni, more inclined to mentor others, persist to degree completion, report higher educational aspirations, greater academic achievement, and more personal development (p. 120). Perhaps due to these extraordinary outcomes, or perhaps taking a cue from their corporate counterparts, in recent years institutions of higher education have started to create formal mentoring programs for faculty, staff, and students. Best practices for formal mentoring programs include incorporating particular frameworks and structures to help both mentoring partners have the greatest likelihood for success in the program. These include: articulating a beginning and an end date for the mentoring relationship, providing training or some kind of orientation to the program, providing resources and support for the mentoring partners such
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as a mentoring handbook or other guidelines, and providing some structured oversight to the relationship to ensure that mentoring partners are clear on the expectations and that they are following through on those expectations. These structures distinguish formal mentoring programs from informal mentoring relationships which can occur at any time and often without oversight. Additionally, unlike the faculty advisor-student relationship, both parties will have “opted in” to the relationship voluntarily. Mentoring relationships, particularly in an institution like the academy, are power relationships; the potential to use that power for harm is great. Formal mentoring programs can help to mitigate that potential. That being said, there are no assurances that formal mentoring programs will be successful just because training and oversight is provided. Additionally, formal mentoring programs single out a particular group for development to the exclusion of others. For the student population on university campuses, these groups tend to fall into one of three categories: those in need of help either socially or academically; those who are identified as “high potentials” for future leadership roles; or those who fall into a particular category such as underrepresented minority or woman or student-athlete. Because no one has the capacity or the resources to administer a formal mentoring program that will provide a mentor for every single student on campus, this sort of segmentation generally results in mentoring programs that target anywhere from 10-100 students and leave a significant population of students to find their informal mentors on their own. Returning to the idea of mentoring as part of a socialization process, Tierney (1997) describes the potential negative impacts that such exclusivity can create: “an organization’s culture, then, teaches people how to behave, what to hope for, and what it means to succeed or fail. Some individuals become competent, and others do not… When we think of culture in this manner it is easy to see how a culture will have winners and losers, misfits and fully incorporated members. If the purpose of socialization is assimilation, then those who do not learn the correct ways to assimilate will have failed” (p. 4-6). When mentoring programs are established for only a select few then the majority is being set up for failure by the very institution that is supposed to be enabling their success. Wright (2004) argues that mentoring is about asking three specific questions: Who are you?; Who cares?; and, What legacy are you leaving? (p. 24-25). In answering these questions mentees develop selfawareness, self-understanding, and self-control “as they choose their path in life” (p. 33). As stated previously, most higher education mentoring initiatives to date have modeled themselves on either youth mentoring developmental goals or organizational socialization goals, and for a targeted population. There is another option: creating a culture of mentoring to assist and support all students as they explore and discover their purposes and paths in life. As Daloz Parks (2000) notes, college students occupy an interesting place as “postadolescent-not-yet-full-adult.” These young adults are just beginning to explore the critical questions of purpose, vocation, and belonging (p. 65). This is precisely the time to surround these young people with a community of mentors, one which “appropriately can and necessarily must assist in creating norms of discourse and inclusion that invite genuine dialogue, strengthen critical thought, encourage connective-holistic awareness, and develop the contemplative mind” (p. 142). The power of these mentoring relationships, says Daloz Parks, “is that they help anchor the vision of the potential self” (p. 81). This sort of mentoring in a higher education context asks that the mentor “find avenues for inspiring a protégé to adopt a vision of a possible self in the professional world” (Johnson, 2007, p. 25). Mentors must not only help students learn how to answer these critical questions and explore possible lives, they must help them understand how to ask the questions in the first place, and why that is important. Hall and Chandler (2007) have proposed a theoretical framework that links organizational developmental networks with career learning cycles. The model “describes the role of the relationships that make up the network as triggers for career exploration (the first step in a learning cycle) and as facilitators, moderators, and possible obstacles to learning” (p. 472). As the career environment becomes increasingly less stable, the traditional notion of stages of learning that play out in sequential order over a lifetime has had to simultaneously shift to one of multiple learning cycles prompted by various triggers, including: societal changes such as economic recessions, work role factors such as stretch jobs, and learner factors such as adaptability, identity awareness, and career self-efficacy. Equally important, the
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authors argue, are the presence of developmental networks and relationships, i.e., mentoring relationships, which influence both external and self-exploration (p. 476-478). Mentoring of undergraduates occurs at that interesting intersection where a youth population is being asked to consider adult questions and make adult choices; therefore, it necessarily must focus on several interrelated outcomes: socialization to the higher education experience both socially and academically, exploration and development of the potential self, and identification of a future path that aligns with that potential self. Mentoring is particularly well-suited to this work as “consistent support creates a safe climate in which students can take risks and do the work of developing personally and professionally” (Johnson, 2007, p. 49). Additionally, by participating in effective mentoring relationships, students learn key skills about building developmental networks and the importance of lifelong learning and development, skills which will serve them well in this uncertain, interconnected world. At Wake Forest we are working to build an interdisciplinary culture of mentoring that aims to achieve these interrelated outcomes for all students. In June 2010 the Mentoring Resource Center (MRC) was established as a result of the 2008 University Strategic Plan. The MRC plays a key role in supporting and building connections between students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the community to help align students’ passions with their goals and visions for what they want to accomplish at Wake Forest and in their future careers. Rather than manage a formal mentoring program for a select few, the MRC serves as a central office to provide standards, training, support, tracking, recognition, and inspiration for all Wake Forest University mentoring activities and programs. The mission of the MRC is to make mentoring a visible, core experience and value of the Wake Forest community. The vision is to become a nationallyrecognized leader in higher education mentoring programs and practice. Over the past year and a half, the MRC has supported the work of 11 formal mentoring programs on campus. MRC staff have trained more than 886 faculty, staff, and student mentors and mentees and distributed more than 300 hard copies of mentoring handbooks. A Faculty/Staff Advisory Committee is convened biannually and provides guidance for the MRC work. Additionally, a Program Coordinator Council has been established and is convened biannually in order to share best practices and provide ongoing professional development to those who are running formal mentoring programs. Social media is used to conduct outreach and share tips and information on effective mentoring practice. Future directions include more usage and development of technological tools including: creating and distributing online training modules; developing an online mentoring certification; developing a social network to help students plan for and unpack study abroad experiences through reflective conversations with mentors; and developing an online portal by which students can appropriately access alumni mentors. Additionally, we will be establishing annual mentoring awards in 2012 in collaboration with the Office of Academic Advising to recognize outstanding mentoring practice. Unlike at other universities where mentoring programs are found in campus life or select academic departments, the Mentoring Resource Center is housed within the Office of Personal and Career Development, along with Career and Professional Development; Leadership Development; the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Creativity (CICE); and the Family Business Center. This co-location provides multiple opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration; for example, the CICE is exploring ways to implement mentoring as a component of student entrepreneurial ventures, and the director of Leadership Development is creating a series of courses for undergraduates that will contain peer mentoring as a key component. It also makes clear the University’s commitment to and belief in mentoring as a strategic component of the personal and career development process. Additionally, we have sought out strategic partnerships with key offices across the campus, including the Office of Academic Advising, Residence Life, Campus Life, the Chaplain’s Office, the President’s Office, the Center for International Studies, and targeted academic departments. These strategic partnerships are vital to our success. One of the greatest challenges is learning to accept a decentralized model of mentoring. The MRC does not run a mentoring program which requires relinquishing some authority and control to the individual departments and organizations who seek to develop programs on their own. It requires
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extensive outreach and educating multiple partners on what mentoring is, and what it is not, and on the expectations of effective mentoring practices. But in relinquishing control one allows for mentoring programs to be created within the structures and norms of their individual departmental or organizational cultures. In the end we believe that this will create a stronger culture of mentoring on our campus. We also believe that by focusing on students’ personal and career development through effective mentoring relationships that we have the opportunity to not only effect change for individual students but also to effect change for the culture of our campus community. We are working to build a College-toCareer Community, one that supports students on their paths from childhood to adulthood by helping them learn how to explore questions of meaning, purpose, and passion while also teaching them how to be successful, professional adults, no matter where their paths take them after Wake Forest. This community is comprised of our formal mentors but also informal mentors who include faculty and staff advisors, resident advisors, student peer advisors, counselors, professors, student organization leaders, alumni, parents, and the larger Wake Forest community. By teaching all of these individuals the skills of effective mentoring, by communicating our goals and vision, and by supporting those who seek to create formal mentoring programs, we aim to create a community in which every student has the opportunity to participate in an effective mentoring relationship, and in which every student is confident in the knowledge that he or she is supported and guided on his or her individual path. It is our goal to create and support developmental networks and relationships for every student, which influence their abilities and capacities for both external and self-exploration and to provide them with the tools to develop and pursue their visions of possible lives. REFERENCES Blinn-Pike, L. (2010). The benefits associated with youth mentoring relationships. In Tammy D. Allen & Lillian T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp.165-187). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Crisp, G., & Cruz, I. (2009). Mentoring college students: A critical review of the literature between 190 and 2007. Research in Higher Education, 50, 525-545. Daloz Parks, S. (2000). Big questions, worth dreams: Mentoring young adults in their search for meaning, purpose, and faith. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Eby, L.T., Rhodes, J.E., & Allen, T.D. (2010). Definition and evolution of mentoring. In Tammy D. Allen & Lillian T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp.7-20). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Hall, D.T., & Chandler, D.E. Career cycles and mentoring. In Belle Rose Ragins and Kathy E. Kram (Eds.), The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 471-497). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Johnson, B.W. (2007). On being a mentor: A guide for higher education faculty. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Johnson, B., & Ridley, C.R. (2008). The elements of mentoring. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Keller, T.E. (2010). Youth mentoring: Theoretical and methodological issues. In Tammy D. Allen & Lillian T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp.23-47). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Lentz, E., & Allen, T.D. (2010). Reflections on naturally occurring mentoring relationships. In Tammy D. Allen & Lillian T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp.159-162). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Mullen, C.A. (Ed.). (2008). The handbook of formal mentoring in higher education: A case study approach. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc. Ragins, B.R., & Kram, K.E. (2007). The roots and meaning of mentoring. In Belle Rose Ragins and Kathy E. Kram (Eds.), The handbook of mentoring at work: Theory, research, and practice (pp.3-15). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
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Scandura, T.A., & Pellegrini, E.K. (2010). Workplace mentoring: Theoretical approaches and methodological issues. In Tammy D. Allen & Lillian T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach (pp.71-91). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Tierney, W.G. (January/February 1997). Organizational socialization in higher education. Journal of Higher Education, 68(1), 1-16. Weidman, J. C., Twale, D. J., & Stein, E. L. (2001). Socialization of graduate and professional students in higher education: A perilous passage? ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report 28(3). Wright, W.C. (2004). Mentoring: The promise of relational leadership. Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster Press.
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Moore, K. Daytona State College Making it Real ABSTRACT Effective mentoring requires, first and foremost, a relationship. This relationship when personified in a mentor creates an environment where potential is freely recognized by both the mentor and mentee. Having an environment where there is freedom of inquiry, thought, and reflection are the key elements of a community of potential. One way to build this relationship is through encouragement and inspiring more of our best and brightest students through real lessons learned. This makes the relationship meaningful and transparent to them and other professionals. Furthermore, this is one of the best paths to prepare and motivate a needed highlyskilled workforce who want to know how to face the future so they can also prepare in the present. This research work explained how mentors in pursuit of uncovering potential participate in a combined learning relationship where they engage mentees in real situation to assist them in achieving their highest potential today so they can prepare for the future.
Introduction Traditional views of mentoring suggested that you were either the mentor or the mentee (Canfield, 2009), meaning that you could either learn new knowledge or be the provider of the new knowledge to others, but you could not be both. This traditional view also advocated that a mentor had to be more senior than the mentee (Canfield, 2009), suggesting that seniors could be mentors because their age, not because what they had to say. This view also pointed that the mentor did structure and drive the relationship (Canfield, 2009), suggesting that the mentee was only there to listen and act a certain way described by the mentor. Also mentoring was viewed as a formal relationship with no room for freedom of inquiry, thought, and reflection in a comfortable environment. This traditional view is part of the past and the evolving view of mentoring suggests that you are both a mentor and a mentee at the same time, implying that you can both learn from each other. A mentor is anyone from whom you can learn from regardless the seniority of that person. The mentee is the one that drives the relationship and this will encourage and inspire them even more because it gives them that freedom of inquiry, thought and reflection; and often the mentoring may be based solely on observation. This work explained how mentors in pursuit of uncovering potential participate in a combined learning relationship where they engage mentees in real situation to assist them in achieving their highest potential today so they can prepare for the future. Literature Review Mentoring has been part of different environments with positive effects; these environments include private sector, public sector, and the military. The positive effects of mentoring relationships in private industry are well established (Roche, 1979) and are frequently associated with successful career development and a greater degree of self-efficacy among mentees (Lunding, Clements & Perkins, 1978). Burke (1978) described four organizational functions that can be influenced by the mentoring process: Job performance, career socialization, upward mobility, and preparation of leaders. Cook (1979) observed that many personnel assignments are based on personal relationships established through the mentoring relationship. In the public sector, Feeney (2006) investigated the role of mentoring in advancing the careers of women by testing a series of hypotheses about the relationships between gender, mentor type, and the outcomes of mentoring. The findings indicate that participating in mentorships increases public managers' career outcomes, measured as mentee promotion and the number of employees supervised by the mentee. Additionally, even though women are more likely to have female mentors, mentoring outcomes do not significantly vary by mentor gender. Ehrich (2008) focused her research work on an examination of 25 206
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research based papers published between 1991 and 2006 that report the outcomes of formalized mentoring programs for public sector workers. The findings revealed that the majority of programs reported on outcomes for leaders. More positive outcomes than negative outcomes were attributed to mentoring. Commonly cited positive outcomes included improved skills/knowledge and increased confidence; and negative outcomes included lack of time and lack of mentor training and understanding. In the military, mentoring was identified as an important factor in the career progression. Lewandowski (1985) determined that over 60% of students in the Air War College had participated in at least one mentoring experience increasing the number of students exposed to this type of experience. In a study of Air Force officers preceding their move to an operational assignment, Gouge (1986) described their positive attitudes toward mentoring and their perception of mentors as role models. Nonetheless this close developmental relationship between experienced and less experienced individuals is conquering for more. More in term of how mentors in pursuing the uncovering potential participate in a combined learning relationship where they engage mentees in real situation to assist them in achieving their highest potential today so they can prepare for the future. This work was designed to examine the results of mentoring within a University environment, mentor and mentee characteristics, and the significant differences with the mentoring relationship based on the engagement of real situations. Approach We have been conducting research since 2003 in different areas. In 2004, we started managing graduate and undergraduate students in a project that involved quality improvement and software development for government efficiency. We were in charge of more than 30 students all working in different stages of the project. It was noticed that those students who had direct contact with the organization and the customers were the ones with more initiative to solve the problems. These students possessed a high motivational drive to help the customers find the best alternative that would meet their needs. These students motivated us to get involved as mentors in different organizations such as the Society for Women Engineers, American Society or Quality, and the Institute of Industrial Engineers. We volunteered to be role models for those that were in need of guidance in the field of Engineering, and our goal was not to be the traditional mentor who would be the one driving the conversation and everything else. We decided to create a true relationship and environment where there was freedom of inquiry, thought, and reflection. We saw the potential they had and the doors that opened for them in finding employment. Since 2005 until the present we have been providing mentoring in a different way. We have identified the mentor and mentee characteristics and outcomes, and the mentoring relationship based on the engagement of real life situations. From 100 students that participated in a research group, 50% were exposed to customers and to real life situations. The other 50% were part of the final solution but was not directly involved with the customers. The mentor/mentee relationship with the one exposed to customers were informal with more interaction, casual lunches, open discussions, thoughts and ideas were based on observations. The mentor/mentee relationship with the students who were not exposed to the customers was more formal with less interaction. They came together just for research meetings and only interacted when asking questions. Each 50% group had new mentees, graduate and undergraduate students, and existing or aspiring leaders. The most positive outcomes for mentors were improved interpersonal skills and relationships, improved skills and job performance; and satisfaction with the role/career/recognition from peers. We came to the conclusion that mentoring enables us to develop our confidence and motivation as well as enabling us to transmit knowledge and values and provide a sense of purpose. The most positive outcomes for our mentees were improved skill and knowledge; the opportunity to engage in challenging and real work assignments; support, understanding, friendship, reassurance and career confirmation, as well as commitment, planning, and increased confidence.
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Several positive outcomes identified for mentors and mentees were similar. Both mentors and mentees indicated that mentoring resulted in improved skills and knowledge; increased self-assurance, networking, satisfaction, and an interpersonal relationship that provided provision and friendship. From the 100 students surveyed, 45% has affirmed that they are working on the right job and they assured that was a direct result of being exposed to customers and real situation. 35% are still working on Graduate programs (masters and doctoral degrees), 10% are not satisfied with their job and they assure that it could be a direct result of not being exposed to customers or real situation in the past. 5% are unemployed and they assured it because they are over qualified for the opening positions. The last 5% changed career path after graduation due to our current economic situation. Conclusions Our study of mentoring has showed that effective mentoring requires, first and foremost, a relationship. This relationship when personified in a mentor creates an environment where individual potential is freely recognized by both the mentor and mentee. Our results showed that having an environment where there is freedom of inquiry, thought, and reflection were the key elements to a community of potential. Our main finding was that one way to build this relationship while encouraging and inspiring more of our best and brightest students is through real lessons learned assisting them in achieving their highest potential today so they can prepare for the future. Furthermore, this is one of the best options to prepare and motivate a highly-skilled future workforce who want to know how to face the future so they can prepare in the present. REFERENCES Burke, R. J. (1984). “Mentors in organizations.” Group & Organization Studies, 9, 353-372. Canfield, S. (2009), “Mentoring Moments: Inspiring Stories from Eight Business Leaders & MBAs.” Foster School of Business Cook, M.F. (1979). “Is the mentor relationship primarily a male experience?” The Personnel Administrator, 24(11), 82-86. Ehrich, L. and Hansford, B. (2008). “Mentoring in the public sector.” Practical Experience in Professional Education, 11 (1). pp. 1-58. Queensland University of Technology. Feeney, M. K., (2006). “Mentoring women in the public sector: expectations and realities.” International Journal of Learning and Change. Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 381-406. Gouge, J. A. (1985). “Air Force mentoring: The potential protege's perspective.” Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. Air Force Institute of Technology. Interviews with Lunding, Clements, and Perkins (1978). “Everyone who makes it has a mentor.” Harvard Business Review, 56, 89-101. Lewandowski, F. (1985). “Air Force mentoring: The mentor's experience.” Wright-Patterson AFB, OH. Air Force Institute of Technology. Roche, G. R. (1979). “Much ado about mentors”. Harvard Business Review, 14-28
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Oliver, A., Osa, J. O. & Walker, T. Virginia State University Mentoring and Other Professional Support for Faculty in Institution of Higher Learning: A Study Report ABSTRACT In institutions of higher learning, tenure and promotion requirements have often been sources of indescribable stress, pain, frustration and failure among faculty. Faculty perceptions regarding collegial relationships, supportive environments, and mentoring have been given as reasons for leaving institutions of higher learning (Barnes, Agago, & Coombs, 1998; Cropsey, Barrett, Klein, & Hampton, 2004). Therefore, according to Lingard, and Whyte (2005) mentoring is necessary for a successful academic career. The purpose of this study was to investigate mentoring experiences and other forms of career support of faculty members in an institution of higher learning in the areas of teaching, research, and service. This paper is based on the findings of a qualitative study that was designed to gather information on the nature and extent of mentoring and other forms of career support among faculty. The study population was the faculty members on tenure track in an institution of higher education. Faculty administrators with the rank of dean and above were not included in the study sample. Items on the online survey instrument were based upon best practices for mentors and mentees that were found in the literature. The survey was administered and the data collected were analyzed. Final results of the study and discussion of findings are presented in the paper.
Introduction The easiest and sometimes most effective way for a new employee to learn his or her way around a job is to be paired with a veteran who can show him or her the ropes. This type of informal, unstructured type of program, once a common practice, may not be adequate in today’s more complex, crossfunctional workplace. Some organizations have taken mentoring to the next level by formalizing their mentoring program, in which the mentor helps the protégé achieve clearly defined goals (Bowers, 2002). Organizations have long used mentoring to complement training, professional development and increase employee productivity and retention (Welp, 2002). Although mentoring has a strong track record, there's no "plug and play" formula that applies to all mentoring situations. What is Mentoring? There are numerous theories and myths that attempt to trace the origin of the term “mentor”. While none of them definitely explains the origins of the word “mentor” as we know it today, almost all point to the image of a trusted adviser, counselor, or teacher who uses his/her knowledge to guide and support others (Sorcinelli, 2010). Traditionally, the literature about mentoring stereotypes mentors as older, wiser, more experienced persons, and mentees as younger, less experienced protégé persons. But there is a more contemporary view of who is the mentor and who is the mentee. According to Smith (2007), a mentor nowadays can be a co-worker or a peer, someone who is equal in status and in age. Peers who are mentors can be more experienced than the mentee or at the same developmental levels. The current perception regarding mentoring is that it is less about seniority and teaching and more about sharing and development. Therefore in its purest sense, mentoring is about supporting and developing the all-around growth of the protégé, not just making them better at their job (Bowers, 2002). Smith (2007) viewed mentoring as “a particular mode of learning wherein the mentor not only supports the mentee, but also challenges them productively so that progress is made.” Mentoring has come to be used for a variety of relationships. Some of its synonyms include role model, coach, guide, sponsor, friend, and adviser (Penner, 2001). It would be advisable to view mentoring broadly, as Ferman defines it: …a process whereby one is assisted, guided and advocated for by another… [usually] more experienced… person… It can lead to and overlap with networking and other collaborative endeavours and can occur in many and
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varied modes, ranging from frameworks characterized by hierarchy and formality to those marked by informality and a peer relationship (Ferman, 2000). Background In institutions of higher learning, tenure and promotion requirements have often been sources of indescribable stress, pain, frustration, insecurity and failure among faculty. Faculty perceptions regarding collegial relationships, supportive environments, and mentoring have been given as reasons for leaving institutions of higher learning (Barnes, Agago, & Coombs, 1998; Cropsey, Barrett, Klein, & Hampton, 2004). Given the increasing number of potential sources of stress in higher education institutions such as increasing student diversity, larger class sizes, greater expectations of accountability and more complex technology, Ewing et al. (2008) propose that interventions such as mentoring may contribute to the reduction of stress, thus enhancing productivity and job satisfaction. Therefore, according to Lingard and Whyte (2005) mentoring is necessary for a successful academic career. One analogy for mentoring that helps to make its value clear is described in The Mentor’s Guide by Lois Zachary (2000). It is as follows: When trees start growing again in a forest where there were trees before, the roots of the trees that went before help to strength-en the roots of the trees now growing. The trees now growing end up having stronger and deeper roots, and consequently, these trees are more able to help younger trees growing nearby because their strong, extensive root system helps the root system of these younger trees to grow strong. Similarly, faculty, who were once rookies, are well equipped to mentor the current rookies who are trying to grow strong, deep roots in their respective fields (Zachary, 2000). Accepting a tenure tack position at an institution of higher education could be a mystifying and helpless experience. New faculty may not fully understand performance expectations the university has for them and they may not be fully certain of their role on the university campus and community. In addition, work settings can have “hidden norms, values and rule” that “could be crucial elements for newcomers to negotiate in terms of their fuller participation and navigation in the discourse [university] community” (Gravett and Petersen, 2007). The challenges of being an early career academic may be recent memories or long past but most us will recall stumbling through the maze of unfamiliar rules and regulations, coming to know our way around a new discipline, and eventually finding our feet within the school and university (Bell and Treleaven, 2010). Several reasons necessitate the need for faculty to be mentored. They include: newly employed faculty; feelings of isolation; insecurity; unsure; need to develop a sense of belonging; need for a friend and trusted colleague; need to function in a new academic environment with faculty coming from diverse backgrounds and experiences; need to understand and navigate the unique features in the new institution; and the need to check out myths and stories heard in the grapevine. Furthermore, in an era of career switching when individuals begin second, third and even fourth careers, it is probable that there will be confusion regarding role expectation, acceptable workplace behaviors, culture and required knowledge, skills and dispositions that are needed to survive on the university campus and community. Mentoring performs a psychosocial function through friendship, confirmation and role-modelling, which is reported to increase the mentee’s sense of competence and self-worth and thus effectiveness in the workplace (Donnelly and McSweeney, 2011). Purpose Some academics have been fortunate in having colleagues who make time to assist them, or having an informal mentor with whom they can share ideas, labour over a research grant and seek ‘just-in-time’ guidance. For others, a formal mentoring program provides such opportunities for getting started and for career development. But how can an academic facing any of these challenges, especially early in their career, be paired with Professor Right? (Bell and Treleaven, 2010). The purpose of this study is to investigate mentoring experiences and other forms of career support of faculty members in an institution
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of higher learning in the areas of scholarship in teaching, research/publication, and service. This qualitative study will be designed to gather information on the nature and extent of mentoring and other forms of career support among faculty of an institution of higher learning. Research Questions The four specific research questions that will guide the study will be: 1.What do faculty members think of mentoring? 2.What are the areas in which faculty members receive professional support? 3.What did mentors do to support and develop the all-around growth of mentees? 4. What are the hindrances to mentoring in an institution of higher learning? Methodology Participants Participants to be included in this study will be tenured and untenured faculty members occupying the ranks of assistant, associate, or full professor during the 2010/2011 academic year. Faculty administrators with the rank of dean and above will not be included in the study sample. Instrumentation A quantitative research design was selected for the study. A survey was designed to collect data to answer the four research questions that were developed to guide the study. Using Qualtrics software, an online survey software program, a thirteen item survey is developed. Items on the online survey instrument are based upon best practices for mentors and mentees that are found in the literature. The study proposal including the online survey was submitted to the Institutional Review Board for approval. The survey was administered to the identified group of faculty. Procedure A survey link was sent via e-mail to all eligible participants. Information typically included on informed consent forms were included on the first page of the online survey. Necessary information including the purpose of the study was also included on the first page. Survey respondents were assured that their confidentiality would be protected. Clicking to proceed to the next page to start responding to the survey questions constituted participants’ consent to participate in the study. Follow up e-mail messages were sent periodically to prospective study participants to ensure full participation and data integrity. Results An electronic questionnaire, completed by university faculty, sought to investigate mentoring experiences and other forms of career support of faculty members in an institution of higher learning in the areas of teaching, research/publication, and service. The number of years worked in an institution of higher education varied among respondents. Fourteen percent (14%) have worked in higher education for only 1 – 3 years. Twenty-four percent (24%) have worked in higher education for 4 – 6 years. Only 12% indicated employment for 7 – 9 years and 10% for 10 – 12 years. The majority of respondents have worked in higher education for over 12 years (40%). Respondents were asked to indicate their current rank. The rank of respondents also varied. The lowest responding group was at the level of Instructor (12%) followed closely by Professor (17%). Twenty-four percent (24%) were at the current rank of Assistant Professor while the majority of respondents were at the rank of Associate Professor (46%). Fifty-two percent (52%) stated they were tenured faculty while 48% stated they were non-tenured faculty. The first survey item asked respondents if they have ever had a mentor. The number indicating participation in a mentor program was split equally, with 50% responding ‘yes’ and 50% responding ‘no’. Sixty-four percent (64%) of faculty members who responded that they had received assistance from a 211
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mentor indicated the experience was ‘very beneficial’. Fourteen percent (14%) felt the experience was ‘beneficial’, while 18% stated it was ‘somewhat beneficial’. Only 5% indicated that the mentor experience was ‘not beneficial’. Faculty were then asked to indicate all areas in which they were assisted by a mentor during the mentoring experience. They were allowed to select multiple categories. Figure 1 below displays their responses.
Other area not listed How to get grants How to get promotion and tenure Understanding issues on professional ethics Understanding the culture of the institution Possible solutions to problems Completing forms and records Community service Professional development Attending conferences Professional Presentations How to Publish Research Resources awareness Teaching Strategies Teaching content 0%
14% 32% 27% 45% 64% 59% 36% 41% 59% 59% 55% 32% 45% 64% 55% 50% 10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Figure 1. Faculty responses for areas in which they received assistance from mentors.
In Figure 1, the largest numbers of faculty indicated that they had received assistance from mentors in the areas of ‘understanding the culture of the institution’ and ‘resource awareness’ (64% in each area). The next category indicating a great amount of assistance from the mentors (59% in each area) was for ‘possible solutions to problems’, ‘professional development’, and ‘attending conferences’. Fifty-five percent (55%) stated they received assistance with ‘professional presentations’ and ‘teaching strategies’ while 50% indicated receiving mentor assistance with ‘teaching content’. For the remaining areas, less than 50% of respondents indicated receiving assistance from mentors in specific areas. The survey also sought to determine in which areas the faculty members felt their mentor specifically aides her/him. This data is found in Figure 2. Overwhelmingly, 86% indicated that their mentor helped them to model professionalism. Following closely in second, 71% indicated their mentor specifically assisted them by sharing their knowledge and experience as well as in sharing their personal success and failures.
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Other area not listed
14%
Support you emotionally
52%
Model professionalism
86%
Believed that you can make a difference
67%
Value your knowledge and experience
71%
Protect you from unjust criticism Share personal successes and failures
38% 71%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Figure 2. Faculty responses for areas in which their mentor specifically aides her/him.
Respondents were asked if they felt having a mentor is important for newly employed faculty. Almost all indicated they did in fact feel that a mentor is important (95%). Faculty were asked to further explain their reasons as to why a mentor is important. All open-ended responses indicated support of a mentoring program. A total of 54.1% of the participants’ comments fell into the theme of ‘having someone to count on/having someone to answer questions’. A total of 10.7% responses could be put into a theme related to the ‘increase in new faculty retention and tenure’. Another group of responses totaling 10.7% fall under the theme of ‘better understanding of culture and politics in higher education’. Several other comments were received with only one response each, but are also important for consideration. The responses included the following: • • • • • •
Model appropriate faculty expectations Mentors can help find specific departments Having mentors can upgrade morale Getting published Mentors are better than learning the ropes alone Assistance with advising and teaching
The researchers asked faculty members if they would advise their institution to have a formal mentoring program. Eighty-eight percent (88%) said there should be a formal program. Respondents were asked to explain why they felt their university should consider such a program. The open-ended responses were recorded and coded for themes. Forty percent (40%) that said :yes”, felt that all new faculty should be required to participate in a formal mentoring program. Ten percent (10%) felt that considerations should be made for ‘carefully chosen mentors’, another 10% for ‘mentors receiving some form of compensation’ and 10% each for ‘mentors should be on a departmental level’ and ‘new faculty should be allowed to select their own mentor’. The remaining responses are individual responses not fitting into any other category, making up 5% of responses each: ‘assistance with publications and grants’, ‘for strategic planning purposes’, and ‘orientation is better for giving information’. Eighty-five percent (85%) indicated that there should be formal training for mentors. As to the extent to what this training should entail, various responses were received. The majority of responses (50%) felt that a formal training program did not need to be extensive. Twenty percent (20%) felt that it would be important to clarify expectations and time commitments. Ten percent (10%) each stated that both parties should be trained, there is a science and art to the mentoring process that needs to be understood, and a formal mentoring program would allow for consistencies in managing how mentees are guided. An important item for consideration is how mentors should be assigned. When faculty members were posed this question, various responses were received (Figure 3). The majority of responses (69%) stated that
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mentors should be assigned by discipline. Fifty-two percent (52%) felt that the mentors should be assigned based on the specific needs of the mentee. Only 2% indicated the process should be random.
Other way not specigied
12%
Mentee decides
19% 21%
Mentor decides By specigic needs of the mentee
52%
By discipline Randomly
69% 2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Figure 3. How mentors should be assigned to new faculty members.
Faculty were asked to select all impediments they felt made a successful mentor/mentee relationship (Figure 4). Eighty percent (80%) stated that a lack of time was an impediment for successful implementation of a mentoring program. Seventy-three percent (73%) felt that the institution may not fully support such a program. Sixty-three percent (63%) felt that a possible impediment would be a noncompatible mentor/mentee match. Other impediment to success not listed
7%
Lack of incentives Lack of necessary knowledge and skills
56% 44%
Not a compatible match
63%
Lack of Institutional Support Communication problems
73% 49%
Lack of time
80%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% Figure 4. Possible impediments to the successful implementation of a mentor program.
Finally, faculty members were asked to provide any additional feedback for consideration in the development of a formal mentor program at their institution. Responses varied by nature and a selected number are included as points for thought: • A mentoring program is a must for all institutions of higher learning • I was in a mentoring program at another institution, and it was incredibly helpful • A mentoring program needs to be practical and useful. Assessment of the program HAS to include significant qualitative components or it will be just another program that makes the university look good but making little difference to the issues it would be designed to address • I wish I had a mentor when I was a new faculty member. It would have made my professional life much easier • Given the pressure to teach a lot of sessions to unprepared students and the large amount of 214
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administrative work, to get participation, there should be a financial incentive • There should be institutional support & structure to support mentoring, however it must be a natural mentor/mentee fit for it to be successful • I think that this is EXTREMELY important and I plan to develop this in our department Discussion Mentoring has long been viewed as a powerful means of enhancing the professional success and personal well-being of faculty members, especially new and early career faculty (Sorcinelli, 2010). Having a good mentor early in a scholarly career can mean the difference between success and failure (Wilson-Ahlstrom et al 2010). This study addressed the mentoring and other professional support for faculty at a public institution of higher learning in the eastern part of the United States. Study participants represented tenured or tenure-track faculty at the instructor, assistant, associate, and full professorial ranks during the 2010/2011 academic year. Faculty administrators with the rank of dean and above were not eligible to participate in the study. The four specific research questions that guided the study are: (1) What do faculty members think of mentoring? (2) What are the areas in which faculty members receive professional support? (3) What did mentors do to support and develop the all-around growth of mentees? and (4) What are the hindrances to mentoring in an institution of higher learning? In this discussion section, the researchers examine the extent to which the data collected and analyzed answered these four specific research questions. Research Question 1: What do faculty members think of mentoring? It seems from the analysis of the responses from study participants that 64% of respondents are of the opinion that mentoring is “very beneficial”. This view is further supported by the fact that an overwhelming number of participants stated that there should be a formal program in their institution. This is in line with information in existing literature on mentoring as far back as 1991. Sands, Parson and Duane, (1991) stated that “mentoring" has become a "buzzword" in higher education. Whether one is a student, a beginning faculty member or an administrator, one is advised to seek a mentor. In more recent times, the practice and study of mentoring proliferated so rapidly and in such a far reaching manner because the benefits related to mentoring are substantial, not only for individual protégés and mentors, but also for their organizations (Noe et al., 2002; Wanberg et al., 2003). Research Question 2: What are the areas in which faculty members receive professional support? Fifteen areas were identified as possible areas in which faculty members receive professional support. These areas include: teaching content; teaching strategies ; resources awareness ; research ; how to publish; professional presentations; attending conferences ; professional development; community service; completing forms and records ; possible solutions to problems; understanding the culture of the institution; understanding issues on professional ethics; how to get promotion and tenure; and how to get grant. Participants were given the opportunity to identify additional areas in which faculty members receive professional support. Areas which participants identified included: university politics; how to mentor graduate students; and how to establish a productive research lab. It is not surprising that the top four areas faculty members receive professional support are: understanding the culture of the institution; resource awareness; possible solutions to problems; professional development; and attending conferences. These findings are consistent with literature in the field. Mentors, especially those “near peers” who are just 2-3 years ahead of first year faculty, have the best advice for handling difficult situations because they have the most recent experience of how institutional culture, practices and policies affect junior faculty members’ lives (Reimers, 2010). Research Question 3: What did mentors do to support and develop the all-around growth of mentees? Participants were given the option to select multiple choices from the following options: share personal successes and failures; protect you from unjust criticism; value your knowledge and experience; believed that you can make a difference; model professionalism; and support you emotionally. An overwhelming percent (87%) of respondents indicated that modeling professionalism, followed by share personal successes and failures (74%) are the most important behavior that mentors elicit to support and develop 215
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their all-around growth. According to Truman (2009), behavior modeling has been associated with higher learning outcomes compared to other training approaches. Therefore the options which participants selected were not surprising. Research Question 4: What are the hindrances to mentoring in an institution of higher learning? The suggested hindrances suggested on the survey include: lack of time; communication problems; lack of institutional support; not a compatible match ; lack of necessary knowledge and skills ; and lack of incentive. All study participants (100%) indicated that the number one hindrance to mentoring is “not a compatible match”. This seems to indicate that the strategy for pairing mentors with mentees is crucial. Participants indicated that mentors and mentees should be assigned “by discipline” (62%) and “by specific needs of the mentee” (55%). Conclusion Research has consistently found mentored individuals to be more satisfied and committed to their professions than non-mentored individuals (Wanberg, Welsh, & Hezlett, 2003). Furthermore, mentored individuals often earn higher performance evaluations, higher salaries, and faster career progress than non-mentored individuals (American Psychological Association, 2006). When professionals experience success and operate anxiety and stress-free, they would be less likely to fail or leave their job. The results of this quantitative study support the findings of existing studies on the positive impact of mentoring on easing the attainment of tenure and promotion requirements for university faculty. Mentoring has been recognized as an effective strategy to drastically reduce the stress, pain, frustration, insecurity and failure among faculty in institutions of higher learning. Base on literature on mentoring and the results of this study, institutions of higher learning should be encouraged to give new or junior faculty members the professional gift of a mentor. It is a practice that benefits the mentor, mentee and the institution as a whole. REFERENCES American Psychological Association (2006). Introduction to Mentoring: A Guide for Mentors and Mentees http://www.apa.org/education/grad/intro-mentoring.pdf Barnes, L. L. B., Agago, M. O., & Coombs, W. T. (1998). Effects of job-related stress on faculty intention to leave academia. Research in Higher Education, 39 (4), 457-469. Bowers, T. 2002. TechRepublic Community http://www.techrepublic.com/article/download-this-powerpoint-tomake-a-case-for-mentoring/1051314 Cropsey, K. L., Barrett, K. A., Klein, W. S., & Hampton, C. L. (2004). Reasons for faculty attrition among respondents to a faculty exit survey. Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Medicine, MCV Campus, Richmond, VA. Ellen A. Ensher, Ellen A.; and Murphy, Susan E. 2010. The Mentoring Relationship Challenges Scale: The impact of mentoring stage, type, and gender. Ensher, Ellen A., and Murphy, Susan E. (2010). The Mentoring Relationship Challenges Scale: The impact of mentoring stage, type, and gender, Journal of Vocational Behavior. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2010.11.00 Ewing, R., et al., 2008. Building community in academic settings: the importance of flexibility in a structured mentoring program. Mentoring and tutoring: partnership in learning, 16 (3), 294–310. Ferman, T. (2002). Academic professional development practice: What lecturers find valuable. The International Journal for Academic Development, 7(2), 146–158. Gravett, S. and Petersen, N., 2007. You just try to find your own way: the experience of newcomers to academia. International journal of lifelong education, 26 (2), 193–207. Penner, R. (2001) Mentoring in Higher Education. Direction Spring 2001. 30 (1), 45-52 Reimers, Tina (2010). Mentoring Best Practices: A Handbook. University at Albany, State University of New York. Retrieved July 29,2011 from http://www.albany.edu/academics/mentoring.best.practices.toc.shtml
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Roisin Donnelly & Fiona McSweeney (2011): From humble beginnings: evolving mentoring within professional development for academic staff, Professional Development in Education, 37:2, 259-274 Sands, Roberta G; Parson L. Alayne; and Duane, Josann (1991). Faculty Mentoring Faculty in a Public University The Journal of Higher Education, 62(2), 174-193. Smith, A. (2007). Mentoring for experienced school principals: Professional learning in a safe place. Mentoring and Tutoring 15(3), 277-291. Sorcinelli, Mary D. (2010), "Building a Network of Mentors: A Guide for Engineering Educators," http://cleerhub.org/resources/2. G. E. Truman (2009): Behaviour modelling, instruction and exploration training approaches in group and individual contexts, Behaviour & Information Technology, 28(6), 493-524 Wanberg, C. R., Welsh, E. T., & Hezlett, S. A. (2003). Mentoring research: A review and dynamic process model. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 22, 39–124. Welp, J. 2002. How to set up a formal mentoring program. http://www.techrepublic.com/article/how-to-set-up-aformal-mentoring-program/1051313 Wilson-Ahlstrom, A., Ravindranath, R., Yohalem, N., & Tseng, V. (2010). Pay It Forward: Guidance for Mentoring Junior Scholars. Washington, DC: The Forum for Youth Investment.
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Fricke, S. N. University of New Mexico Dodging the Mines: Teaching Native American Arts and Culture to Natives and Non-Native ABSTRACT Teaching Native American art and culture to a mix of Native and non-Native students offers a multitude of problems. First of all, few students know much about Native history and what they do know is usually inaccurate as it comes from films and television. As the stories of violence and atrocities emerge many students find it difficult to manage their emotional responses to what they are learning. Two, the materials and aesthetics of Native Art differ from what most students usually consider art and does not fit the standard art historical canon; students are unsure how to address ceramic pots, beaded moccasins, parfleche, etc., as both aesthetic and historic objects. Third, the field itself is constantly changing; tribal histories are revised, updated, and new information is included and names change. Fourth, when looking at objects from the nineteenth-century and earlier it is difficult to avoid a romantic sense of the past. Students need to gain an awareness of contemporary Native life as part of, and not separate from, history. Lastly, when students attempt to discuss the relevant issues in class, non-Native students are often hesitant to assert their perspective for fear of offending and Native students are often hesitant to reveal their ideas for fear of telling too much. This roundtable discussion will ask how instructors of Native American art as well as literature and culture can better help students when they are first addressing the topic.
Teaching Native American art and culture, whether it is to Native or non-Native students, offers a number of complications not found when teaching other areas. As a professor of art history with an emphasis on Native American art, these issues have become a challenge while developing and teaching classes. Students range in terms of their backgrounds with varying levels of familiarity with Native life and finding a common level to pull the class together can be difficult. Organizing a course on Native culture requires being aware of who the students are and what possible problems can occur when trying to teach the field as it is known. It requires that the professor have extensive knowledge of the meanings objects and images can have and being mindful of different worldviews and how these differences effect how the objects can and should be taught. One challenge for professors is keeping up with the material. While the history of many times and places, such as the history of the Renaissance in Italy or the Reformation in Germany, has been fairly constant for more than a century with only small changes in the details, Native art and culture is in the process of being rewritten. In the nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries, a preponderance of scholars writing about Native history were not Native themselves. While much of the scholarship has merit, many tribes, including but not limited to the Chickasaw, Winnebago, Blackfeet, Lakota, and Wampanoag are now trying to gain control over their own narratives and have begun to train and employ tribal historians to write official tribal histories. Others are working to preserve stories by recording them, like the Turtle Island Storytellers Network. In the past 50 years, tribes have reclaimed their proper names in the literature rather than the names given to the tribes by outsiders, like using Diné rather than Navajo, Kwakwaka’wakw for Kwakiutl, Nuu-chah-nulth rather than Nookta, or Hopi rather than Moqui. Even the definition of “Native American” can be problematic in itself, since the term has both legal and cultural connotations; with the tribal histories, each tribe is trying to define themselves as opposed to allowing the government to determine identity.1 For non-Native students, the main challenge is that they arrive to a college level course without a strong familiarity with American Indian history. Most history classes teach the history of North America from a European perspective, using contact as a starting point. They lack the basic information about the variety and breadth about the different cultures already in place by the fifteenth-century, and what information they do have is often tainted by the romantic haze given to Native cultures in the media. Whether Natives are cast as the enemies in a John Wayne Western or as the noble saviors in “Dances with Wolves,” both perspectives deny Native cultures the full scope of their actions. Students need to gain an 218
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awareness of Native life as part of history but also of contemporary life. Lack of knowledge can also be a problem for Native students. While most Native students know about their own tribe or culture region, many lack information about other Native cultures. A Pueblo student may not know much about Northeastern tribes, though the histories and the cultural norms are often quite different. Learning the facts can be challenging in terms of the complexity of the situation but also due to the emotions these facts can arouse. For non-Native students, the stories of violence and atrocities can arouse a powerful emotional response. Few are aware of the scope of devastation brought by contact with European or the severity of the atrocities committed against American Indians. The small pox epidemic, for example, introduced by Europeans to the Americas in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, is estimated to have killed 80-90% of the population.2 In one verified case during the French-Indian war, a General Paul ordered the colonists to give a group of Seneca Indians blankets that had been infected with the disease, knowing low immunity Natives had against the disease.3 Non-Native students in the United States have become accustomed to reading historic narratives that place Americans as the heroes; learning that there have been times when the US has not behaved in an ethical or kind manner can be difficult. As students react to this type of information, they can become distracted from learning the material at hand. In terms of content and format, the material presented in a Native history or art history class may require students to broaden their ideas of what fits into the usual academic canon. The inclusion of oral histories, stories, origin stories, and other materials can confuse those accustomed to the legal documents. Even the ideology behind these academic pursuits may be an uneasy fit with Native cultures. Fields like history and art history often look for connections between events and objects, trying to determine causality and to create a narrative that flows in a linear direction from one event or object to another. Yet this suggestion of an almost Hegelian approach from thesis, antithesis to synthesis, argues that time moves forward in comprehensible, logical steps, which can be at odds with a Native perspective in which may emphasize continuity and community over progress and change. Even students who have taken art history classes before may not be sure how to discuss ceramic pots, beaded moccasins, animal skins, etc., in either an aesthetic or an historical context. Writing formal analysis of such objects challenges even advanced students. While much of art history is based on connecting written texts with images, the aesthetics are approached differently by Native artists. As the sculptor/jeweler/lawyer/Native Studies professor Stephen Wall (Chippewa/Seneca) related, Native art is about values, not valuables.4 For Wall, the creating art was not done to impress but to express the ethical standards and the dogma behind the tribe. Geometric patterning, as found on Seminole patchwork garments and Plains painted parfleches, were not merely abstract designs but a reflection of the idea of universal harmony and order. Steven Leuthold, assistant professor at Syracuse University in the School of Art and Design, proposed a framework for understanding Native art in his book, Indigenous Aesthetics: Native Art, Media, and Identity which recognizes that Native arts express deeply held beliefs about morality, politics, and connections to place.5 The writer-curator Heather Ahtone (Chickasaw/Choctaw) expanded on Leuthold’s ideas, and she wrote about the difficulties in describing Native arts while using non-Native academic techniques in her article “Designed to Last.”6 For Ahtone, the arts must be discussed in an historical and aesthetic context but as an expression of a specific worldview so that the art can “serve as a conduit for cultural perpetuity.”7 The objects become mnemonic devices for remembering the songs and stories that create, organize, and harmonize the world. Perhaps most importantly, teaching Native art and culture calls into question the very nature of knowledge. While in Western cultures, especially Europe and non-Native North America, information is seen as the purview of all, in Native American tribes knowledge is used as a form of power, and how ideas of knowledge can be seen differently. The desire to know and the right to know are two separate things and as an instructor it is important to distinguish between what students need to know in order to fulfill the curriculum and what students want to know because they are curious. In contemporary America, there is a sense that we have the right to know just because we want to, whether it is the cause of the latest celebrity divorce or political scandal. This desire to reveal all secrets, as seen in Julian
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Assange’s release of the Wikileak papers, begs the question, do we have the right to all information? Can and should some things remain secret? Within each tribe, there are certain subjects must be avoided because the information is held secret, such as yei figures and katsinas. There are stories that must only be told in specific seasons. There are gender specific objects, like kivas where men and boys would gather for ceremonies. For the Hopi, the snake is a sacred animal and integral to their origin myths so they should never be shown in class. Certain objects like False Face Masks and katsina masks are considered living for the people of their tribes and are meant to be kept secret. The dramatic carved wooden masks made by the Iroquois, called the Haudenosaunee or “People of the Longhouse,” are not to be seen by people outside the False Face Society; the masks are more than carvings but they represent the living representation of a spirit. The masks were used in healing rituals, evoking the spirit of an old hunch-backed man. Anyone cured in the ceremony would become part of the society, as would anyone who dreamt of the society. Iroquois leadership have forbidden the sale of such masks though many of the masks have been sold. The government officially asked for the return of all such masks from private collectors and museums, as the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C. has done. Despite these prohibitions, False Face Masks have been the subject of several studies, most notably by William Fenton. So much is known about the masks and their images are so compelling, but the prohibition against showing them is so strong that they are now left off the curriculum in Native art surveys. While it is a straightforward matter to leave out False Face Masks or snakes, some, in fact most, examples are less straightforward. There can be division between members of a tribe about what should be shared. In her elegant article for the anthology Natives and Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians, Paula Gunn Allen, Laguna Pueblo/Sioux/Scots/Lebanese New Mexico native who completed her Ph.D. in American Studies at the University of New Mexico and who taught at the University of California at Los Angeles, discusses the problems she faces when teaching Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony. Though Silko is also from Laguna, the two women have differing views on what should be shared. As a Laguna Native, the text of Silko’s novel reveals information that, according to tribal beliefs, should be kept private. In Ceremony, the protagonist, Tayo, undergoes a traditional ceremony to cure him from post-traumatic stress disorder after World War II. During the ceremony, a group of loosely disguised version of yei figures appear and help Tayo. For Allen, yei figures are part of a secret society that should never be revealed and when she tries to “non-teach” it, meaning that she discusses the story and the characters but does not share the deeper implications of the text.8 In as much as a teacher must be aware of the belief systems among different tribes, it is problematic to try to teach a class that covers all the relevant information while respecting all beliefs, especially since what is forbidden among one tribe is fine for another. To avoid all information that is potentially problematic would leave out a considerable amount of material, including objects and ideas that are important to the understanding of a specific culture. Should kivas, then, be shown in a mixed gendered class? Though kivas are specifically male and for ceremonies, the way they are organized and decorated offers a unique insight to the history of southwestern cultures and the relationship between myth and ritual. But if kivas themselves cannot be shown, should schematics of the kiva be shared? When teaching a survey class on Native art, certain difficulties become apparent though the answers are not so clear. Graves and grave goods are also problematic for almost all tribes, so burial sites should never be shown. While it is ideal to avoid showing grave goods, it is almost impossible to do so. It is simple enough to not to show images of gravesites, Mogollon cultures, active from about 100 AD to about 1150, cannot be fully understood without looking at Mimbres pots. The Mogollon region, which includes southern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona, and down into northern Mexico, include the Mimbres, who are best known for their painted bowls, of which over 10,000 have been found. Hemispherical in shape, the bowls are plain on the outside and the interior includes images that are both geometric and abstract, including the feather motifs that were so influential to Maria and Julian Martinez in their iconic Matte Black-on-Polished Black wares. Other bowls have images of wildlife, such as fishes, hares, birds,
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mountain sheep, bats, and other animals. Even humans in action, fishing, trapping, and even together, interacting; as well as geometric forms. These bowls do not show wear, suggesting that they were never shown. The bowls were found inverted on the face of the dead, suggesting a dome of heaven. The pots have small holes, as if they have been ritually “killed.” Other than the Mimbres pots, the Mogollon left little in the way of material culture among the Mogollon, and nothing else contains imagery. Although it would be ideal to avoid the pots due to their nature as grave goods, it is almost impossible to get a sense of their culture without showing them. The pots give a sense of what was important since the images do not represent animals that were hunted and eaten, but the human and animal figures suggest clan stories, origin myths, and other aspects of their culture. While observing the necessary prohibitions, professors face an additional challenge: covering all the material considered part of the curriculum. While being respectful towards the information and the objects, refraining from sharing images that might be harmful, it is possible to go to far in the other direction. Students have the right, even the need, to understand what information is available. How can a teacher inform students of what information is there without teaching what should not be taught? After discussing the matter with the head of the museum studies/art history department at IAIA, Michelle McGeogh, we came up with an approach that would hopefully offer all the necessary information while still being respectful of cultural beliefs. She suggested that I inform the class that we would be looking at grave goods and let students decide for themselves whether or not they would want to see it. This way, I could show the images but for those whose religious views would be let go. Respecting to power structure of knowledge means that, sometimes, information has to be left out, even if it means that some images and ideas will be lost. For example, Diné sand paintings were historically done as part of healing ceremonies. Created by healers, the paintings were drawn on the floor beside those who needed help and, as part of the ceremony, they would be ritually destroyed. The images articulated the natural order and symmetry of the world as it should be. In the 1930s and 40s, healers including Hosteen Klah and Fred Stevens Jr. (Grey Squirrel) began to create permanent sand paintings, affixing the pigments to a board with glue. These images, which include yeibicheii figures, were sold to tourists. Though this practice was anathema to Diné culture, it was applauded by scholars who argued that, as fewer artists were trained to do this kind of work, the permanent sand paintings preserved these images for later study. This mentality, however, reflects a non-Native perspective; if images that were not meant to be permanent are made permanent, part of what epitomizes a sand painting is lost. A sand painting cannot be a sand painting if is on a board to be put on a wall. Sharing information in an academic setting is part of the process, but when there is an unequal power between the two parties the information. In Bill Anthes’ Modern Natives: American Indian Painting, 1940-1960, the author outlines how the anthropologist Elsie Clews Parsons in her research on Isleta cultures for her monograph on the subject. She persuaded José Bartolo Lente from Isleta Pueblo and Jimmy Byrnes (also called James Michael Byrnes or Jimmy Bear) from Laguna Pueblo to draw images of the murals found inside the kiva, the sacred room of the pueblo, and he made images of the ceremonies that he described in letters to Parsons in exchange for money. In the text, Anthes describes Lente and Byrnes as “modern figures”9 who made images to share with scholars outside of their Pueblos, and their role as a “culture brokers” The “culture broker” as defined by Margaret Connell-Szasz in Between Indian and White Worlds: The Cultural Broker is someone who used their familiarity with Native and nonNative cultures worked to protect and promote Native American cultures in a changing world.10 Yet the power relationship between the two was so unequal with a well-funded Parsons’ and Lente and Bynes in desperate need of cash. Anthes begins the chapter with a quote from Lente that reveals his motivations: “If I had a way to get help in this world I would never have done this. I expect to get good help.”11 His blatant need for money and his expectation that he would be paid is stated baldly. Anthes was trying to give Lente and Byrnes the same status and importance as Parsons by arguing that they knowingly transgressed the mores and bonds of secrecy of their Pueblos, but his attempt to deny the lack of equality between only underscores the problems in this relationship. Parsons was curious and had cash; her informers lacked funds but had secret information. Unfortunately, the images and stories Parsons’
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acquired have entered the body of knowledge and how to present the material or how to ignore it becomes a problem for all teachers. Despite all the possible problems, teaching Native art and culture is a great privilege and often a joy. The images and histories are so compelling, suggesting a different relationship between aesthetics and cultural values than found in other societies. Perhaps the most important factor for instructors of Native art and culture to keep in mind is a willingness to work hard, stay informed, have meaningful discussions with members of different tribes, and, when all else fails, admit to mistakes. Note: I would like to acknowledge the ideas of Michelle McGeogh, Stephen Wall, Stephen Fadden, Lucie Church, Tammy Rehr, and Erica Ayala for sharing their ideas and experiences with me
REFERENCES Ahtone, Heather. “Designed to Last: Striving toward an Indigenous American Aesthetic,” The International Journal of the Arts in Society. Volume 4, Number 2 (2009): 373-386. Allen, Paula Gunn. “Special Problems in Teaching Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony,” in Devon Mihesuah, ed. Natives and Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians. (Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1998): 55-64. Anthes, Bill. Native Moderns: American Indian Painting, 1940-1960. (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 206). Fenton, William N. False Faces of the Iroquois. (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987). Mihesuah, Devon, ed. Natives and Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians. (Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1998). Szasz, Margaret Connell. Between Indian and White Worlds: The Cultural Broker. (Norman, Oklahoma:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1994). ________ 1
I am grateful to my student, Erica Ayala, for sharing her ideas on the subject. Arthur C. Aufderheide, Conrado Rodríguez-Martín, Odin Langsjoen, “Small Pox” in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Paleopathology. (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1998): 205. 3 In his Atlas of the North American Indian (New York, New York: Facts on File, 1985), Carl Waldman writes, about how Captain Simeon Ecuyer sent smallpox infected blankets to Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh), which was under siege by Chief Pontiac's forces during the summer of 1763, which Waldman describes as one of the first instances of biological warfare. 4 Personal communication, July 2011 with author. 5 Steven Leuthold, Indigenous Aesthetics: Native Art, Media, and Identity. (University of Texas Press, 1998). 6 Heather Ahtone, “Designed to Last: Striving toward an Indigenous American Aesthetic, ” in The International Journal of the Arts in Society. Volume 4, Number 2 (2009): 373-386. 7 Ahtone, 382. 8 Allen, 60. 9 Anthes, 30. 10 Margaret Connell Szasz, Between Indian and White Worlds: The Cultural Broker. (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1994). 11 Anthes, 30. 2
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Portner, H. Western New England University TIP, an Online Mentoring Process ABSTRACT The Teacher Inquiry Process (TIP) is an individualized online mentoring model. It was developed as the primary activity for "Mentoring and Professional Development," one of the core online interactive education courses offered by Western New England University leading to a MEd degree in Curriculum and Instruction. In addition to researching and writing papers, and a variety of other requirements during the eleven-week course, students meet online in pairs at least twice per week to work on TIP. These meetings can be asynchronous using a Partner Discussion Forum, and/or synchronous using a web-based conferencing program that allows for real-time chat, voice and video. When students complete TIP, they have served as both a mentor and a mentee and have acquired and practiced basic mentoring skills. They also have identified a high-priority professional need and developed a specific plan to address that area of focus.
Mentoring and Professional Development is one of the six core online interactive education courses offered by Western New England University leading to a MEd degree in Curriculum and Instruction. The purpose of the course is to examine and experience approaches to mentoring and other forms of professional development that are utilized in educational organizations. Students learn techniques of initiating and sustaining a mentoring relationship, components of an effective mentoring programs, and other skills that support induction to the teaching profession. Students in the 11 week course also explore effective resources and approaches for supporting and furthering the professional development of educators. The primary component of the course is the Teacher Inquiry Process (TIP), a structured and individualized eight-step mentoring and professional development activity during which students serve alternately as mentor and mentee. The eight steps are: Step 1. Reflect. Mentees, supported by their mentors, call on data and insights to identify an area of concern where there is a difference between the way things are and the way they would like them to be. To help determine that area of concern, mentees might ask themselves, “what do I need to know and be able to do, that I don't know or can't do now?" Step 2. Envision. Using the present tense, mentees, supported by their mentors, describe their step 1 concern as though everything was going well and the concern no longer existed. This is basically a goal setting exercise. (Step 3. Focus. As specifically as they can, mentees, supported by their mentors, describe the concerns they want to address. By narrowing down the focus, the task is less overwhelming and becomes easier to accomplish. Step 4. Identify strengths and gaps. Mentees, supported by their mentors, reflect on the extent of their abilities, knowledge, skills, understandings, and/or resources that may help address or keep them from addressing their area of focus. They then consider what would enhance the strengths and reduce the barriers as they pursue their area of focus. Step 5. Identify resources. Mentees, supported by their mentors, determine and access materials, strategies and individuals that can inform their inquiry. Step 6. Determine actions. Mentees, supported by their mentors, formulate a series of steps designed to address their area of concern. They estimate a realistic start and end date for each action. Step 7. Commit. Mentees publically indicate their intention to carry out the activities. Step 8. Reflect. Mentees describe what was learned about mentoring and being mentored as a result of going through the TIP process.
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These eight steps are carried out by students while meeting online in pairs at least twice per week to work on TIP. These meetings can be asynchronous using a Partner Discussion Forum, and/or synchronous using a web-based conferencing program that allows for real-time chat, voice and video. Once during the course, each TIP partner pair is required to schedule a one hour synchronous TIP meeting that includes the professor who observe and provides feedback. Prior to beginning TIP, students study and discuss some mentoring strategies including: • • • • • • •
Rogerian listening. Probing for details. Avoiding judgment Asking open-ended questions Acknowledge and validate answers Consider when (if) to give advice Summarizing and agree on follow-up action
TIP Caveats and ground rules • TIP is a planning process, not a plan. It is designed to stimulate critical and creative thinking that leads to action-based decisions. • TIP relies on cooperation between a mentee and his or her mentor. Mentors push their mentees to look deeper and harder – to go places they otherwise may not think about or even be willing to think about. By going through the TIP process with their mentors, mentees hear their own thoughts aloud along with verbal inflections and intonations that suggest meaning beyond the words. In addition, there is the opportunity to elicit and receive feedback that is informed by experiences, knowledge, and beliefs different from their own and therefore capable of providing new insights. • TIP is most effective when it concentrates on one defined and desired outcome rather than on a general category or need. Because TIP focuses on addressing a specific objective, it allows for tweaking and adjusting where appropriate. It also generates benchmarks that when met, provide a clear sense of accomplishment. • TIP is not meant to be completed all at once. It is best worked on over time, concentrating on one step – or even part of one step – during each session. • There are intangible benefits associated with TIP, not the least of which is that mentees decide for themselves what to work on, how to work on it, and when to work on it. Mentees set their own schedules, select their own resources, and determine their own activities and desired outcomes. • And most importantly, the TIP process is designed to address the “big question” that drives the professional development of teachers: What do I need to know and be able to do, that I don't know or can't do now, in order to better help my students achieve what they need to know and be able to do? Samples of Comments by Students in the Course The process of being mentored throughout the inquiry process was very helpful. Having a mentor gave me the opportunity to regularly discuss my ideas and thoughts with another person. When you are working on a problem by yourself, there may be something that you do not think of that could help. Having a partner to listen to your situation allows for different points of view. My partner does not work in education and so she had a completely different perspective which made our conversations very interesting. When I worked as a mentor for my partner, it forced me to not just give advice as to how I would approach the area of concern but rather ask important questions. It gave me a lot of insight into the mentoring process. Sometimes I found it difficult to think of the right things to say that would help the
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situation so I hope that I was able to give her some help. Through our conversations it seemed like we both had a pretty good handle on our own areas of concern. I realized that as a mentor and as a teacher it is important not to just give the answers but act as a guide so the other comes up with their own solutions. TIP has been my favorite assignment over the last three terms. I enjoyed this assignment because I got to address an actual problem that I had and was able to be there to help someone else work on her predicament. I really like how this process made me think about mentoring as more than a first year buddy procedure. It is so much easier to accomplish something if you know someone is watching. I plan to complete my TIP and I will be happy to forward you a picture of my smiling face when I am applying its outcome to my teaching next fall. REFERENCES Portner, H. (2008). Mentoring new teachers, 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Pp. 79-89
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Manning, R. D. University of New Mexico A Legitimacy to Lead: Establishing Effective Mentoring Relationships in PE-NP Classes ABSTRACT Following the 2011 conference theme of Learning Across Disciplines, this presentation will examine mentoring of college students through coaching strategies in higher education. As an NCAA Division-1 coach and instructor of physical education at UNM, the presenter has a unique perspective and understanding of the networked generation of college students in both educational and athletic settings. Due to the fact that young adults and higher education continually evolve independently of each other, it is imperative that mentor-coaches establish a legitimacy to lead centered on knowledge, experience, rapport, and mutual respect. The creation of effective mentoring relationships depends greatly on the ability to be perceived as accessible and approachable, establish clear communication, and make students feel appreciated and unique (Pitney & Ehlers, 2004, p. 348). As an instructor who strives to empower his/her students, absolve them of their sedentary lifestyle, and inspire them to develop positive life-long fitness habits, understanding the motivation behind a student’s enrollment in a course is critical. In physical education courses at the university level, it has been determined that, Competition, affiliation, enjoyment, appearance, and challenge are various motivators that play a significant role in the maintenance of exercise behavior among young adults (Weinfeldt & Fisk, 2009, p. 71). Taking these factors into consideration when developing course curriculum, will not only ensure that barriers to exercise are eliminated, but also strengthen the coach/athlete relationship. Successful mentors must also overcome the fact that physical education is perceived just as hostile an environment for lesbians and gays (Gill, Morrow, Collins, Lucey, & Schultz, 2010, p. 908), as it is for those students who are overweight or have physical disabilities. This presentation will provide interactive real-world examples, encourage discussion regarding practical applications across all disciplines, and explore the presenters effective mentoring/coaching strategies borrowed from athletics, and employed within UNM Physical Education.
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Black, T. University of Southern Queensland Mentoring Early Career Researchers within a Cross-Disciplinary Community Research Project ABSTRACT This paper reports on the mentoring of early career researchers at a regional campus of a University in Queensland, Australia. The mentoring process involved mentees actively participating in a community research project. As the participants took on the roles of mentee or mentor dependent upon the research activity at the time, the mentoring process could be deemed as being a mentoring mosaic. Participants who identified themselves as being mentees were interviewed to identify their reasons for participating, the outcomes they experienced and what caused the outcomes to occur. They also completed self-assessment scales to identify changes in the levels of their research skills, confidence and attitude towards mentoring others. The results clearly showed that the mentees had very positive outcomes associated with their involvement in the project both in relation to research confidence and capability and also the development of positive working relationships. Mentees reported that the key drivers leading to the identified outcomes as being the structure of the research project, the diverse backgrounds and generosity of the participants as well as the inclusive practices employed.
The publication of the “ Powering Ideas: An Innovation Agenda for the 21st Century” report by the Australian Government in 2009 focussed attention squarely upon the enhancement of the research skills and on increasing collaborative research (Department of Innovation Industry Science and Research, 2009). As a result Universities are under pressure to not only increase their research output but also to improve the quality of that research. At a small regional campus a cross-disciplinary, community based project was conducted with the goal of mentoring early career researchers. The mentoring process employed in the project has been classified as a mentoring mosaic whereby peers worked together on a common project, learning from each other, with the roles of mentor and mentee being dictated by the task and not by position within the organisation (Mullen, 2009). This paper will outline the benefits or issues experienced by participants (self identified as mentees) in the cross-disciplinary community project. Data will be presented from a survey instrument which identifies changes in perspective of the participants in relation to their research skills. Interview data will also be provided which details the reasons why participants chose to engage with the project and their perspectives as to the reasons for the research outcomes they have experienced. This paper reports on the changes that have occurred in the first 6 months of the cross-disciplinary community project. The setting for this study is a University campus located within a regional centre of Queensland. In 2010 an opportunity arose to apply for a $30 000 Research Grant to fund a community based research project with the aim of forging closer links to the local community. A meeting of all interested staff (14 in total) was organised to discuss the possibilities associated with the project. During this meeting the issue of mentoring of Early Career Researchers (ECR) was raised and it was agreed that any project undertaken should have twin foci, those of community engagement and mentoring ECRs. All staff were given the opportunity to formulate brief research proposals that they deemed would meet the agreed goals, to be shared with the interested staff at a special meeting to choose the successful project. The Sunny and Healthy project was chosen as it was seen to be achievable, inclusive of the needs and interests of participants and supportive of research skill development. Participants then chose which activities and which roles they wished to fulfil. This paper focuses on the mentoring process employed in the crossdisciplinary research project (Sunny and Healthy) and identifies the reasons mentees joined the project, the outcomes these mentees have experience through their involvement and the factors identified by the mentees as being the reason for the outcomes.
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Literature Review Mentoring is a term used extensively in educational and business settings, but what is understood by this term varies considerably. Historically mentoring has been described as a learning relationship between an older, wiser, more experienced person and a younger, less experienced, less knowledgeable 'protégé ' (Ehrich, Hansford, & Tennent, 2004; Haney, 1997; Jeruchim & Shapiro, 1992). This situation is not as likely to be the case in the 21st Century whereby age does not signify the mentor position and the focus upon one mentor-mentee relationship being the basis for the majority of learning is disputed. The mentoring process can take a variety of forms. Formal mentoring is viewed as mentoring initiated by the employing organisation whereby a supervisor inducted a new member of staff to the culture of the setting and developed their skills in alignment with the needs of the organisation (Clarke, 2004). In contrast informal mentoring relationships develop “spontaneously ... through people getting to know each other in the work environment” (Clarke, 2005 p. 4). Although identified as different forms of mentoring, formal and informal mentoring have a common characteristic as the mentor-protégé relationship is dyadic in nature: it is the interplay between 2 people one being the mentor and one being the protégé. In recent times a range of new mentoring processes have come to the fore including co-mentoring (Mullen, 2000), mentoring circles (Darwin & Palmer, 2009), mentoring mosaics (Mullen, 2009) and triad mentoring (Mullen & Hutinger, 2008). The major difference between these forms of mentoring and the previously described forms is the broadening of the relationship involved from being dyadic in nature to involving a group of people with multiple mentors and one or more protégés. Of special significance for this report is the notion of the mentoring mosaic where peers interact with the mentor and mentee roles alternating, “sponsoring the learning of all parties through a synergistic, flexible structure.” (Mullen, 2009 p. 20) Not only are there different forms of ‘mentoring’ but researchers in this field also identify different phases through which the mentoring relationships transition. Kram (1983) identified 4 phases these being where the participants identify the possible outcomes from working together (initiation) followed by the mentee developing a sense of competence (cultivation), the re-evaluation of the outcomes from the relationship (separation) and finally where the relationship becomes a friendship (redefinition) (p. 620). Kram (1983) also identified two forms of outcomes associated with mentoring in the workplace, these being career development and psychosocial development. Specific outcomes from mentoring have been reported by Ehrich, Hansford & Tennent (2004) citing the most frequently identified outcomes for mentees being related to support, encouragement, skills development and sharing of ideas and advice. Authors such as Higgins and Kram (2001) have identified a range of factors which impact upon the outcomes from mentoring relationships. They state their belief that individuals that enter the relationships wanting career assistance as well as collegiality develop “strong-tie developmental relationships”. The nature of the individuals involved is also identified as being critical with traits such as honesty, trustworthiness, empathy and generosity being highlighted. Method The design of the research is based on a mixed method approach (Brewer & Hunter, 1989; Cresswell, 1994; Johnson & Christensen, 2004; Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998, 2003). Such an approach is defined as "a class of research that combines both quantitative and qualitative research techniques, methods, approaches, concepts or language into a single design" (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004 p. 17). The 14 members of the Research Team were approached to provide data for this paper. Only the responses of the 10 participants that identified as being mentees are reported here. Some key features of the group of mentees are detailed in Table 1. below:
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Table 1. Demographics of Mentees
Quantitative data was collected through the use of a survey instrument to identify demographic background. To measure the change in participants’ perceptions related to research capability and confidence in supporting other researchers, respondents were required to mark a letter ‘B’ on a 10 centimetre continuum to represent their perception of where they were before the commencement of the project and an ‘N’ for their perception now at the data collection phase of the project. This process was adapted from the Outcomes Rating Scales (ORS) developed by Miller and Duncan (2000). An example of the continua can be found below. The 4 scales used to measure the perceptions were continua from: 1. ‘No Research Skills’ to ‘Skills of a very experienced researcher’ 2. ‘No confidence in ability to write publishable papers’ to ‘Very confident in ability to write publishable papers’ 3. ‘No willingness to take on a mentoring role’ to ‘Very willing to mentor other’s research’ 4. ‘No confidence in ability to support others development as researchers’ to ‘Very confident in my ability to support others development as researchers’ 5. Numerical scores associated with the ‘B’ and ‘N’ marks were calculated by measuring the distance from the left edge of the continuum to each mark.
Qualitative data was collected through the use of semi-structured interviews. The guiding questions being: (1)What were you hoping to get out of your involvement in the Project?,(2) What outcomes have there been for you as a result of your participation in the Project? and (3) What characteristics of the Project and the associated Research Team have contributed to these outcomes (or lack of outcomes)? The data collected through the interviews were transcribed and entered into the Qualitative Solutions and Research (QSR) NVivo 9.0 Nudist software program for analysis. Results The measures of the perceptions of the participants in relation to research capability and mentoring capability are recorded in Table 2 below. All 4 measures displayed increases from the commencement of the Project to the point in the project where data was being collected and initial analysis of pilot data had commenced. The largest change being associated with improved research skills. Although there were positive changes in all measures the individual scores still fell below what could be deemed a satisfactory score of 5 on a 10 point scale.
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Table 2 Change in Participants’ Perceptions
The data obtained during the semi-structured interviews, upon coding and classifying utilising the NVivo 9.0 software package, resulted in clear categories and subcategories. The categories and subcategories for each of the questions are detailed in Tables 3, 4 and 5 below. Table 3 What were you hoping to get out of your involvement in the Sunny and Healthy Project?
In the responses to the first question, ‘Improving research skills’ and ‘Developing relationships with other staff’ were the most representative categories. When the Improving Research Skills category was further interrogated the wish to learn specific research skills such as data analysis featured prominently, whilst having contact with someone more experienced in research and observing their methods were also identified. Within the ‘Developing Relationships with Others’ category, the wish to work collegially was the most often identified response. Table 4 What outcomes have there been for you (if any) as a result of your participation in the Sunny and healthy Project?
When asked to identify the outcomes experienced by the respondents due to their involvement in the Project the resulting categories were very similar to those that emerged in the Question 1 responses. Once again the ‘Improved Research Skills’ and the ‘Improved Relationships with Other Staff’ were the most prominent categories. The most often reported outcomes were the development of an understanding of the research process as a whole and learning how to use the SPSS software package. Collegiality was
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described as an outcome by 6 respondents. One key theme that emerged which was represented in all categories associated with Question 2 was that of ‘confidence’. Respondents identified outcomes associated with confidence in own ability to research, confidence to have work scrutinised by others and also confidence in mentoring others in relation to research. Table 5 What characteristics of the Project and the associated Research Team have contributed to the outcomes (or lack of outcomes)?
In the third guiding question respondents were asked to identify aspects of the Project that had led to the outcomes they had identified previously. The characteristic most frequently identified was that of choosing a topic that most suited the needs of the mentees and the skills of all participants. The nature of the people making up the research team was also frequently described as integral to the outcomes for the respondents. Respondents described the supportive nature of the research team members, their generosity as well as pre-existing positive relationships brought into the project as being highly influential on the outcomes experienced. Discussion Analysis of the data indicates that the mentoring relationships resulting from the Sunny and Healthy Project could be attributed to the psychosocial and career development identified by Kram (1983). The responses to the first two questions in the semi-structured interviews showed that not only were the participants looking for these outcomes but also that they have experienced these outcomes through their involvement in the Project. In Kram’s research four stages of development of the mentee-mentor relationship were identified. The initial stage of ‘initiation’ where mentors and mentees realise the value in working together is clearly illustrated by comments such as: “It is definitely the network ... if I didn’t build those relationships with all those people who are involved in that project, I wouldn’t be able to have those critical conversations with them to be able to pull that information back out and make it my own again”
The subsequent stage of ‘cultivation’ is also evident in that mentees perceived they were growing in confidence, reflected in comments such as: “[the project] gave me a base to work from and gave me a comfort zone that I did not have before and gave me some confidence that I did not have before in knowing that I could properly put out a paper on my own”
Numerous researchers have identified the importance of developing strong personal connections for the development of effective and productive mentee-mentor relationships. Rymer (2002) states that “Successful mentorships represent strong ties, deep connections of high levels of trust and caring with mentors who are motivated to help their partners”(p. 344). It is apparent from the responses of the mentees that these connections have been forged. A majority of respondents identified the development of strong relationships as either an outcome of their involvement in the Sunny and Healthy Project or as a contributing factor that resulted in specific outcomes for them personally. When asked to elaborate on the 231
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characteristics of the research team that had led to outcomes associated with the project, a response echoed by many respondents was: “Probably trustworthy, professional but friendly and in it for the right reasons - in it for other people and not in it for themselves”
The respondent’s satisfaction with the mentoring relationships developed through their involvement in the Sunny and Healthy Project can also be aligned with the quantitative data obtained from the survey instrument. Allen, Russell and Maetze (1997) found in their study that “protégés satisfaction with the current mentorship was positively related to [their] willingness to serve as mentors to others in the future” (p. 500). Participants in the project recorded a 34% improvement on average in relation to willingness to mentor others. This improvement can be seen as an indicator of a positive attitude change and thus reflects satisfaction with the mentoring respondents received as part of the Sunny and Healthy Project. As the focus of the Sunny and Healthy Project was the mentoring of Early Career Researchers, changes specifically related to research are critically important. The data from the surveys and the semistructured interviews both support each other in that the respondents perceived their confidence in relation to research had improved. The confidence related to not only the development of specific research skills such as analysing data using SPSS but also to mentee’s ability to provide valuable input to the Community Project. The confidence that their contribution was valuable is reflected by the participants’ openness to sharing ideas and work for critique by others and also improved confidence in their ability to mentor others. Thus the respondents have not only a belief they have the required skills (or can gain them) but also they have a support network to assist them to commence or continue their research. The development of a support network for Early Career Researchers is seen as vital. One respondent highlighted the importance of the development of a network saying: “There have been lots of little conversations, corridor consultations that have occurred. My engagement with a colleague has allowed me to take bits and pieces away that have then contributed to my PhD work.”
The very nature of the ‘cross-disciplinary community research project’ underpins the outcomes described by the respondents. One critical element being that the project was chosen to meet the needs of the mentees as opposed to mentees choosing or being invited to join pre-existing projects. The focus from the outset being to be inclusive of not only the skills of the participants but also inclusive of the needs of the Early Career Researchers. This early negotiation was highlighted by one respondent who stated that.” “The fact that the project emerged the way it did where people would put forward ideas themselves and then others looked at those ideas and had their say on whether that was a project that they wanted to take up, I think that was very well done.”
Another aspect of the Sunny and Healthy Project deemed vital was that of the interdisciplinary backgrounds of the participants and their varying research paradigms. This is clearly evident in the following response: “You get fresh ideas from other faculties as I see it, different faculties have their own ‘X’ had the data analysis and maths, ‘Y’ had their scientific take of the stuff.”
The mix of participants was also viewed as an important factor leading to the outcomes experienced by the respondents. The majority of participants being Early Career Researchers was highlighted by one respondent who stated: “If I was the only novice there I would feel really uncomfortable but I feel like there are few of us who don’t know a lot, and a few of you who do a lot.”
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Conclusion Based upon the data collected there appears to have been a number of key characteristics of the crossdisciplinary research project which have led to significant outcomes for the mentees. Critical to the effectiveness of the project has been the concept of choice. Not only did the participants value the opportunity to choose whether they were involved in the project but they also valued the choice of level of involvement that suited their specific needs. The process used to choose the subject of the project was also viewed by mentees as important. The collaborative process utilised to identify the topic allowed the participants to ‘size up’ the other members of the research team and to evaluate whether their needs would be met by the project. This process is in stark contrast to formal mentoring processes whereby there is a well-defined hierarchy and clear delineation between mentor and mentee. Another key aspect in relation to the setting up of the research project was that it involved all participants from day one. Mentees were able to experience and share in the full range of research project activities including the writing of the research proposal, initial literature review, ethics application and instrument construction. The interdisciplinary nature of the research team was also highlighted as being an important aspect. The diversity of research paradigms, skills and experience allowed for a wide range of opportunities for the development of a better understanding with respect to research for the mentees. This diversity was also deemed to be very beneficial by those members of the research team that saw themselves as both mentees and mentors within the setting of the research project. The responses elicited during the semi-structured interviews also highlight the need to focus upon the psychosocial aspects of mentoring. The supportive nature of the research team was identified by most respondents as being what they were looking for in choosing to be involved and also what they had benefitted from during this involvement. The need to focus upon including as many participants in as many different activities as possible and giving participants a voice in the decision making process was clearly evident in the data provided by the mentees. REFERENCES Allen, T. D., Russell, J. E. A., & Maetzke, S. B. (1997). Formal Peer Mentoring. Group & Organization Management, 22(4), 488-507. doi: 10.1177/1059601197224005 Brewer, J., & Hunter, A. (1989). Multimethod Research. A Synthesis of Styles. London: Sage Publications. Clarke, M. (2004). Reconceptualising mentoring: Reflections by an early career researcher. Issues in Educational Research, 14. Clarke, M. (2005). Reconceptualising mentoring: A conceptual framework that supports and contributes to the professional learning of research colleagues? Paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference 2005, Parramatta, New South Wales. http://www.aare.edu.au/05pap/cla05754.pdf Cresswell, J. W. (1994). Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Darwin, A., & Palmer, E. (2009). Mentoring circles in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 28(No. 2), 125-136. Department of Innovation Industry Science and Research. (2009). Powering Ideas: An Innovation Agenda for the 21st Century. Retrieved from http://www.innovation.gov.au/innovation/policy/pages/PoweringIdeas.aspx. Ehrich, L. C., Hansford, B., & Tennent, L. (2004). Formal Mentoring Programs in Education and Other Professions: A Review of the Literature. Educational Administration Quarterly, 40. Haney, A. (1997). The role of mentorship in the workplace. In M. C. Taylor (Ed.), Workplace Education (pp. 211228). Toronto, Ontario: Culture Concepts. Higgins, M. C., & Kram, K. E. (2001). RECONCEPTUALIZING MENTORING AT WORK: A DEVELOPMENTAL NETWORK PERSPECTIVE. [Article]. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 264288. Jeruchim, J., & Shapiro, P. (1992). Women, mentors, and success. . New york: Ballantine Books. Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. B. (2004). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14-26.
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Kram, K. E. (1983). Phases of the Mentor Relationship. [Article]. Academy of Management Journal, 26(4), 608-625. Miller, S. D., & Duncan, B. L. (2000). The Outcome and Session Rating Scales: Administration and scoring manuals. Retrieved from http://scottdmiller.com/ Mullen, C. (2000). Constructing Co-Mentoring Partnerships: Walkways We Must Travel. Theory Into Practice, 39(1), 4-11. Mullen, C. (2009). Re-Imagining the Human Dimension of Mentoring: A Framework for Research Administration and the Academy. Journal of Research Administration, 40(1), 10-31. Mullen, C., & Hutinger, J. (2008). At the tipping point? Role of formal faculty mentoring in changing university research cultures. Journal of In-Service Education, 34(2), 181-204. Rymer, J. (2002). "Only Connect": Transforming Ourselves and Our Discipline through Co-Mentoring. [Article]. Journal of Business Communication, 39(3), 342-363. Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (1998). Mixed methodology: combining qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2003). Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and Behavioral Research. London: Sage.
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Golden, J. Texas Women’s University Odds in Your Favor: Using the Enneagram to Assist with Partner Relationships ABSTRACT As formal mentoring programs continue to exist, the attempt to find the perfect model continues. This narrative focuses on a suggested method one can use to help increase the successful interaction between the partners, whether they chose their own partner, or whether one was chosen for them. Focusing on the partnering process, this paper highly encourages the use of the Enneagram personality assessment. The Enneagram personality assessment is a psychological theory that is used for the study of personality types thus providing the opportunity to learn about oneself and others. The Enneagram which has become increasingly popular in the last decade is a diagram of a person's personality. Areas revealed include motives, fears, desires, strengths, and weaknesses. Knowledge and use of the Enneagram will enable both mentor/mentee to not only learn about one's own personality, but to be better able to predict a partner's response in various situations. The end result is the creation and performance of a successful mentoring partnership, which in turn provides a successful experience for both partners. It is within this paper that both the Enneagram as well as how it can be used are presented.
One of the most important, yet at times most complex components of a formal mentoring program is the matching process. Whether the partners are paired by the program administrator, or whether the individuals have the option of choosing from a pool of mentors or choose their own mentor, the program can only be as successful as the relationship between these partners. "Simply, authentic mentorship describes a voluntary and ultimately personal relationship between two individuals." (Davis,2001, p.2). However, the partners may have differences relative to age, education level, gender, organizational tenure, and attitudes. So, to help ensure a successful relationship, variables such as personality, communication style, personal values, and career interests need to be given primary consideration when either matching or being matched. "Oil and water do not mix. Neither do some mentors and some protégés. It is a matter of chemistry." (Johnson & Ridley, 2004, p. 64). Unless the “fit is just right,” problems can arise. Formal mentors may invest less time and effort with the learner, leaving the learner dissatisfied with the mentoring relationship. The formal mentor may not identify with the protégé and thus may not be as motivated as an informal mentor to provide career development and psychosocial functions. (Ragins and Cotton, 1999). Hunt and Michael (1983) add that non-complementary relationships may result in a loss of self-esteem, frustration, blocked opportunity and a sense of being betrayed by either party. Partners who are well matched in personality and profession have the most opportunity to form enduring, strong, beneficial relationships. Personal Relationships in Mentoring The studies mentioned here express the mentoring process in terms of personal interaction within the relationship. Cohen (1995) cites that the early stages of mentoring focus on interpersonal development. Within these stages, the mentoring process focuses on serving both the vocational (career) and psychosocial needs. To serve a vocational function, the mentor promotes professional growth by coaching, providing needed information, and exercising organizational and professional leverage. And to serve the psychosocial function, the mentor promotes personal growth through emotional support and guidance (Chao, 1997). Chatman (1992) describes mentoring as “an intense relationship that involves a high degree of sharing between a novice in a profession and a more senior colleague who is viewed by others as possessing power and influence.” (p. 493). Bell relates that mentoring must have a “synergy between the players, in a power-free facilitation of learning….through consultation and affection rather than constriction and assessment.”( Bell, 1996, p. xi). Phrases used such as "a high degree of sharing" and "synergy" indicate the need for the partners to relate well to each other.
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According to Knouse, mentoring has two basic functions which are instrumental and psychosocial. As with all of the descriptions just mentioned, this second function lends itself the most to performing a personality analysis of the partners: "Psychosocial has to do with polishing interpersonal work skills, reducing stress, talking out problems..." (Knouse, 2001, p.162) Personality Analysis Using the Enneagram "The instrumental matching approach is based on the premise that the more information that can be obtained about the mentor and partner prior to the match, the more likely the match will be successful. This method is also based on the viewpoint that mentoring success is based on relationship chemistry and that instruments such as prepared surveys, interest inventories, or personality tests can assist in determining the likelihood of such chemistry." (Carr, 2004, p.1). For this very reason, the application of the Enneagram in the matching process can be used quite successfully in the matching approach. The Enneagram as a personal analysis choice is considered for two reasons. First, the introductory basics can be delivered within a short amount of time with each of the participants given a short test to help them assess their own personality characteristics based on the nine types. Secondly, unlike many other personality assessments, the literature about the Enneagram states that our basic type stays the same throughout life. According to Riso and Hudson (1999) everyone has a mix of these types, but one type in particular is a person's "home base" or "default position." (p.16) . Although in itself, the Enneagram personality test tells nothing about another person’s history, intelligence, talent, honesty, integrity, or character, it does reveal how we respond to stress and many other important non-obvious things. (Riso and Hudson, 1999). It does concern itself with the one element that is fundamental to all life paths: self-knowledge. It helps to explain not only why we behave the way we do, but it also points to specific directions for individual growth. People from the same type have the same basic motivations and view the world in some fundamentally similar ways. "The behavior patterns that emerge from the nine types are as numerous, mysterious and unique as the individual involved." (Baron & Wagele,1994, p. 2-3). Wright (2003) believes that the Enneagram can help participants understand their unique strengths and natural gifts, and of all the people they interact with; that people are inherently different and that each Enneagram type's view of reality is equally as valid; that this knowledge enables the participant to attune to and honor different perspectives; how the mentors and mentees communicate with each other; and what they don't communicate (and why). Basically, the Enneagram assists with helping the partners understand the interpersonal dynamics in mentoring relationships (p.2). Many individuals are familiar with the Meyers-Briggs test and tend to equate this Enneagram personality analysis as similar. According to Boje, there is a relationship between Enneagram and M-B. There is said to be about a 73% correlation and overlap between these well known personality theories. The Myers-Briggs test is not valid or legal to use for personnel assignments, hiring, or promotion. It does not have predictive validity for such uses. It is a useful guide, and no more. The test results change over time. The point is that the test does not mean you cannot change. " The Enneagram presents a more complex system of personality than M-B, and recovers some of the dynamics of multiple persona, revealing how people switch persona when feeling secure or under stress. (Boje, 2001). There is much more involved in the study and use of the Enneagram as an assessment tool, but it suits the intended purpose here which is to assist with the compatibility of the partners within each relationship. "The Enneagram is easy to learn but difficult to master. For practical purposes however, the essentials of the system can be grasped quickly and applied to daily life in myriad ways." (Condon, 2010, p.151). History of the Enneagram Jerome Wagner. Ph.D., a clinical psychologist, therapist, and consultant who researches and teaches the Enneagram writes that the roots of the Enneagram are disputed. Among the many theories, some 236
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believe that the symbol has its roots in the geometry of the Pythagoreans. (Wagner, 2010). Reynolds(2007) writes that the Enneagram is Greek, the diagram is of Sufi (Islamic) origin, and the personality designations are given in Latin. (Reynolds, 2007).In any case, the agreement among most is that scholars do dispute the contributions and proportions of these early traditions. Knowledge of the Enneagram in the modern world began with George Gurdjieff (1875) a spiritual teacher (Palmer, 1988, p10). Following in the 1950s was Oscar Ichazo who applied the Enneagram to the functioning of the human psyche. The tradition then continued through individuals such as Claudio Naranjo, (1970s), Robert Ochs, (1970s) S. J. and Helen Palmer, Don Riso, and Russ Hudson. And, there are many more that can be added to this list. Wagner best summarizes" what becomes evident is that the parameters of the person as viewed through the lens of the Enneagram paradigm have been recognized in some fashion across ages and centuries and across cultures, races, and genders." (Wagner, 2010, p. 2122). The Enneagram The Enneagram is a nine-point symbol that illustrates nine fundamental personality types of human nature and how they interrelate. (Riso & Hudson, 1999. p.9). At times, the words used to label each type may vary, but the description is always similar. These are the nine types as labeled by The Enneagram Institute: 1-The Reformer, 2-The Helper, 3-The Achiever, 4-The Individualist, 5-The Investigator, 6-The Loyalist, 7-The Enthusiast, 8-The Challenger, and 9-The Peacemaker. (1998). In addition to these nine types there are also wings and lines. The wings refer to the adjacent type located both to the left and right of each number. According to Enneagram theory, one's personality type is influenced by one or both of the personality types that are the individual's wings. A second, and perhaps main focus of the Enneagram is on the arrows, leading to and from each type. Boje describes the incoming arrow as leading to one's security type that an individual shifts into when feeling relaxed and secure. The outgoing arrow is the stress type that an individual shifts into when feeling feel stressed and pressured. (2001). Wright, in his writings and presentations also relays how all of these personality types are grouped into three main categories: the emotional types, which include types two, three, and four; the mental type, which includes types five, six, and seven; and the visceral, willful types which include types eight, nines, and ones. (2003). In other words the two, three and four types act and react primarily from their heart signals; the four, five, and six types act and react primarily from their brain signals; and the eights, nines, and ones act and react primarily from their gut signals. Use of the Enneagram "The high side of learning about personality styles is that you can deeply comprehend the inner workings of yourself and others, something that has hundreds of uses. The downside is that you might apply the information too narrowly and reinforce and justify your biases, see a new set of stereotypes, or turn yourself into one yourself. "(Condon, 2010, p.147). In spite of that caveat, Condon advises: "Discovering someone's Enneagram style is ultimately an act of inference, a kind of educated intuition. While there is no single right way to do it, there are some helpful pointers." An example that Condon gives to beginners is that "it's especially important to restrict yourself to searching for one thing: someone's central pattern, what they do the most." (Condon, 2010, p.158). The ideal suggested method if funding is available is for both mentors and mentees to have their Enneagram type professionally analyzed and typed. This service can be done online for a minimal fee and the results are generally shown to the individual tested once they've concluded the test. One needs just to google Enneagram testing and a myriad of sites appear. What is critical here however is that the individuals make certain the testing site is credible. Sites such as The Enneagram Institute (Don Riso and Russ Hudson) and Western Psychological Services (Wagner Enneagram Personality Style Scales WEPSS) are two good places to begin. A second method suggested is to have the mentoring participants work with a certified Enneagram trainer. These trainers can be located either on the Internet, or again for
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a reputable start, with the Enneagram Institute. Third would be for the individuals to research the literature which includes information about the Enneagram types, which types work best with which, recommendations for the different types, and a test that can be taken to assume their own type. Note that there are sites listed in the reference list below. Granted that although this third method would take some research and self-analysis, the individuals would at least be able to grasp the basic concepts involved in typing themselves. Noted too is that even if the mentors and mentees use the online testing site or a trainer, they still must research in order to ensure they agree with the results provided. Once individuals are fairly certain of their types along with the wings and lines, they can then proceed to share characteristics of their particular types. If the program administrator appoints mentors for mentees this administrator might be concerned with matching similar types, or at least types that are known to work well together. If the mentee chooses his/her own mentor, sharing and knowing the Enneagram types ahead of time will increase the knowledge each one has of the other, thus increasing the likelihood of the success of the mentoring relationship. This particular method of sharing and knowing of each person's Enneagram type, as well as the acquiring of knowledge of their own type, can be used to help achieve successful partnerships no matter what type of mentoring is being used: virtual mentoring, group mentoring, co-mentoring, personal or developmental networks, and even reverse mentoring. By applying principles of the Enneagram, each partner in the mentoring relationship can more easily appreciate perspectives that are different from their own. "The Enneagram allows quicker access to key issues that are often at the heart of conflicts and behavioral difficulties." (Riso & Hudson, 1999) . As such, the application of the Enneagram has much to contribute to the success of the mentoring process. References Baron R., & Wagele, E. (1994). The Enneagram made easy. San Francisco: Harper, 1994. Boje, D.M. (200, January 21). Myers Briggs, XYZ leadership, and team roles. Retrieved from http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/teaching/490_psl/myers_briggs_and_leadership.htm. Bell, C.E. Managers as mentors, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1996. Carr, R.A. (2004). Matching in mentoring: The key elements of a successful match. Victoria, BC: Peer Systems Consulting Group, Inc. 1-3. Chatman, E.A. (1992, Winter). The role of mentorship in shaping public library leaders. Library Trends 40, 492512. Cohen, N.H. (1995). Mentoring adult learners: A guide for educators and trainers. Malabar, FL: Krieger. Condon, T. (2010, July). The trouble with typing. The Enneagram Journal 3(1) 146-161. Dansky, K.H. (1996). The effect of group mentoring on career outcomes. Group and Organization Management 21(1), 5-21. Davis, Jr., O.L. (2001).Editorial: A view of authentic mentorship. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision. 17(1). 14. Gibb, S. (1999). The usefulness of theory: A case study in evaluating formal mentoring schemes, Human Relations 52(8), 1055-1075. Hunt D. M. and Michael, C. (1983) Mentorship: A career training and development tool, Journal of Library Administration 5, 1984:77 – 95. Johnson,W.B. & Ridley, C. R. (2004). The elements of mentoring. NY: Palgrave MacMillan. Knouse, S.B. (2001). Virtual mentors: mentoring on the Internet. Journal of Employment Counseling 30, p.162. Kram, K.E. & Higgins, M.C. (2008, September 22). A new approach to mentoring. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://www.wsj.com. Molloy, J.C. (2005). Development networks: literature review and future research. Career Development International. 10 (6/7), 536-547. Palmer, H. (1988). The Enneagram: Understanding yourself and the others in your life. San Francisco: Harper. Ragins, B.R. & Cotton, J.L. (1999, August). Mentor functions and outcomes: A comparison of men and women in formal and informal mentoring relationships,” Journal of Applied Psychology 84(4), 529-550.
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Reynolds, S. (2007). The everything Enneagram book. MA: Adams Media. Riso, D.R. and R. Hudson. (1999) The wisdom of the Enneagram. NY: Bantam, 1999. Riso, D.R. and R. Hudson. (2006).Type charts for therapists, coaches & counselors, overview. The Enneagram Institute. Retrieved from http://www.Enneagraminstitute.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=350. Ritchie A. & Genoni, P. ( 2002). Group mentoring and professionalism: A programme evaluation. Library Management 23(1/2), 68-78. The Enneagram Institute (1998). The nine personality types of the Enneagram. NY. Retrieved from http://www.Enneagraminstitute.com/intro.asp. Wagner, J. (2010). Nine lens on the world: The Enneagram perspective. IL: NineLens Press. Wright, C. The Internet Handbook: An Overview of the Nine Personality types. Retrieved from http://www.pulsarnet.com/cw/.
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Willbur, J. The Leadership Mentoring Institute Mentoring the Five Elements of Effective Executive Leadership ABSTRACT This paper explores the process involved in effective executive mentoring. The author will explain the difference between the typical leader and the new emerging concept of the Level 5 mentor leader. The paper will also describe in detail the five factors essential to an effective mentor leader and provide some supporting research for the selection of these factors. Also discussed will be the use of Lepper’s 5C approach to mentoring and how this can be used for executive development by mentor leaders of new mentor leaders. The author will also provide some ideas regarding inexpensive but effective tools for assessment of leadership development needs and also resources that can be used for coaching. “The organization failed because it had too many effective leaders!”
Somehow I don’t believe we will ever read this headline. The problem with all types of organizations today is not too many effective leaders but too few effective leaders. I believe part of the problem is how we often have defined effective leadership. We have passed through several phases in learning to define what is called great leadership. Once it was thought that character traits made up great leaders. Then the Ohio State University studies by Blake and Mouton in the 1960’s popularized the idea that it was leadership behavior, namely a combination of concern for results and relationships. (1) Then in the 70’s Hersey and Blanchard popularized the idea that it was more the leader’s ability to adjust to the situation a leader finds him or herself in and the audience, those we are leading. (2) All of these ways of defining leadership led to a lot of well-intentioned but expensive seminars, and arguably to little improvement in leadership. Then in the book Good to Great, based on research originally conducted at Stanford University School of Business, Jim Collins and his team described what they call Level 5 leaders. These were the leaders that stood out as getting sustainable results over the years and also leaving a huge impact on their highly effective organizations. Collins describes the Level 5 leaders in the most effective organizations as behaving as follows: The Level 5 leaders: • • • • •
Model a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will Display a compelling modesty, are self effacing and understated. Attribute success to factors other than themselves Display a workmanlike diligence—more plow horse than show horse. Set up their successors for even greater success. (3)
This is quite a contrast to the high flyer superstars so often highlighted as great leaders by our celebrity focused media. As a matter of fact, most of the leaders of the great companies were not household names, and only a few had books written about them. What is really remarkable about these Level 5 leaders is that they typify what Tony Dungy, former Super Bowl winning coach of Indianapolis Colts fame, has come to call the mentor leader. While he spends a great deal of time describing the mentor leader, I think we can summarize for our purposes three major aspects that really differentiate this type of leader from the rest. • It is really not about them. They lead to add value to the lives of those they lead. They do every thing they can to benefit those they lead. They look for every opportunity to make a significant impact. They lead by example.
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• They take a long-term perspective. They know an organization must get results to survive, but they also know that building and developing people for the long-run means tolerating some mistakes. • Mentor leaders are focused on mentoring leaders who develop other mentor leaders. It is the ongoing legacy they are concerned about. (4) Another unique characteristic of these mentor leaders, as least as I observe them, is their efforts to intentionally mentor others in the skills needed to be a mentor leader. They engage in structured, customized mentoring designed to develop leadership skills in the people they lead. They closely follow a pattern first recognized by Mark Lepper and his colleagues in his studies on effective one-on-one interactions. (5) They found that in effective one-on-one interactions mentors follow what Lepper referred to as the 5 Cs. These are: 1. First you create a climate of control where the person being mentored feel they have input and command of the material and situation. It is a voluntary relationship, not a mandatory one. This builds commitment to the process. 2. Then you challenge the person being mentored, but at a level of that is within their capability. 3. You build confidence by helping them be successful and minimizing failure. 4. You engender curiosity by asking leading questions. Indeed lepper found most of what effective one-on-one leaders did was ask leading questions and then ask the participant for his or her reasoning. 5. Effective mentors also contextualize by using real world problems or case studies. Of course the other important thing is for mentors to be nurturing or empathetic. Even though this initial research was done with younger students, we have found this same 5-C model works just as well with adults. So what characteristics differentiate these level 5 mentor leaders? What traits or skills should we be developing as we mentor new mentor leaders? As I studied these traits and characteristics of Level 5 and mentor leaders over the years I believe there are five critical components that enable such leaders to be successful. These five elements are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Adversity Quotient (AQ) Emotional Quotient (EQ) Strategic Judgment (SQ) Coachable or teachable quotient (TI) Execution Quotient (XQ)
Adversity Quotient We could spend a lot of time discussing the early research by David McClelland (6) of Harvard on achieving tendency and by Albert Mehrabian (7) of UCLA on how to evaluate and measure achievement orientation. This subject has a long history of study, as it is seen as a missing link explaining why high IQ people don’t always end up being high achieving people. Research over the years has proven people have more control over life events than they may realize. The way a leader thinks and responds can have a dramatic influence over his or her future. Where some people or teams fail or quit others in a similar situation persist and succeed. The essential difference of high achievers and others is how they respond to adverse events. How much control do they perceive they have? How much influence do they believe they can have? How much responsibility are they willing to accept? Adversity Quotient (AQ) is an attempt to measure how well a leader can hold up to adversity. Just how resilient is the leader? When he or she encounters an obstacle, do they optimistically take initiative, take ownership, and turn it into an opportunity? High AQ people do this. They thrive on challenge and are
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enthusiastic about goals. They are very persistent, highly adaptable, and flexible, and they do not give up easily. They also show the ability to delay gratification and take moderate, calculated risks. Today’s leading guru of AQ is Paul Stoltz (8) who has synthesized much of the earlier research mentioned above and in conjunction with the Education Testing Service has created some reliable and valid measures of adversity quotient. While a high IQ might be useful it is no guarantee of success. Conversely, research by the experts above has strongly indicated that people who possess high AQ are much more likely to succeed. What are some traits of high AQ leaders? We look for and want to develop: A leader who takes initiative, wants challenge, is enthusiastic, is an effective goal setter, is optimistic, flexible, persistent, delays gratification, and is a moderate risk taker. Emotional Intelligence or People Skills (EQ or Emotional Quotient) The term EQ is used to describe a person's ability to understand his or her own emotions and the emotions of others and to act appropriately based on this understanding. It is suggested a high score in this area will indicate that a leader can effectively navigate the challenging terrain of interpersonal relationships and build and sustain healthy and productive working relationships. Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is a relatively recent behavioral model, rising to popularity and prominence with Daniel Goleman's 1995 Book 'Emotional Intelligence'. (9). The early Emotional Intelligence theory was originally developed during the 1970's and 80's by the research and writings of psychologists Howard Gardner (Harvard), Peter Salovey (Yale) and John Mayer (New Hampshire). Despite some people viewing it as ‘pop’ science at best, people in leadership roles view emotional Intelligence is increasingly relevant for leaders because of its implications for organizational development and the development of people. EQ principles provide a new way to understand and assess people's behaviors, management styles, attitudes, interpersonal skills, and potential. Emotional Intelligence is also linked strongly with the concepts of the multiple forms of intelligence (MFI) theory developed by Howard Gardner (10). This MFI theory illustrates and measures the wide range of thinking capabilities or intelligences people possess. Gardner has identified at least seven different forms of intelligence that successful people can choose to use. Interpersonal intelligence (people skills) and intrapersonal intelligence (understanding of ones self) are two of those seven forms and both are strong factors in emotional intelligence. The EQ concept along with MFI argues that IQ, or conventional intelligence, is too narrow; and that there are wider areas of intelligence that dictate and enable how successful we are as leaders. Success requires more than just IQ (Intelligence Quotient), which has tended to be the traditional measure of intelligence, ignoring other essential behavioral and character elements. For example, we have all met people who are academically brilliant and yet are socially and inter-personally inept, unable to make decisions, frustrated and frozen by obstacles, or incapable of applying what they know. Research has repeatedly shown that possessing a high conventional IQ rating does not indicate success will automatically follow. The essential premise of EQ is that to be a successful leader requires the effective awareness, control and management of one's own emotions, and those of other people. EQ embraces two important aspects of people skills: 1) Understanding and controlling your self; your goals, intentions, communication and listening style, impulses, responses, and approach to conflict management. 2) Understanding others, and their feelings. In addition, Goleman in his synthesis of the research on EQ identified the five 'domains' of emotional intelligence as: 1) Knowing your emotions. 2) Managing your own emotions. 3) Motivating your self. 4) Recognizing and understanding other people's emotions. 5) Managing relationships, i.e., managing the emotions of others. By developing our Emotional Intelligence in these EQ domains we can become more productive and successful at what we do as leaders. We can also help others to be more productive and successful too. Developing a higher level of emotional intelligence can reduce stress for individuals and organizations by 242
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decreasing conflict, improving relationships and understanding, and increasing stability, continuity and harmony within the organization. What areas are measured by EQ? We want to see or develop such factors as: Projecting warmth and empathy, people orientation, effective communications and listening style, outgoing/extroversion, interpersonal relationship skills, helpfulness, and influencing skills among many other traits. We want to avoid or limit defensiveness and impulsiveness. Dealing with people can be like dancing with porcupines, or it can be the most delightful of experiences. What determines the difference are the people skills (EQ) of the leader. Strategic Quotient (Judgment and decision making) We define strategic quotient (SQ) as using judgment to discern pertinent data and then using that data to make effective and efficient decisions. This has been a greatly overlooked area of leadership until 2007 when Gordon Bennis and Noel Tichey, both noted researchers and consultants, published the book Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls (11)detailing the importance of this leadership skill. Edward De Bono has also contributed extensive research to this field, especially his comparison of linear to non-linear thinking and his work on the six different components of effective thinking. (12) Any one who has been involved with leading people or organizations understands that the quality and often speed of decision making is critical to success. Excellent strategic judgment, the ability to make great calls, on the part of the leader regarding people, processes, strategy, and/or crises is often the key factor determining the outcome of the entire effort. You can have great people skills and a high adversity quotient, and all the best knowledge, but without good judgment you won’t succeed for long in executing your plans and getting results. It is difficult enough for most people to make great judgment calls in fairly simple situations. But leaders often have to make tough calls when the stakes are very high and the right path ahead is far from obvious. The good news is that a leader’s SQ can be developed. In our mentoring programs we strive to help leaders develop a framework for evaluating problems and decisions, cooperating and collaborating with others, making the best possible call, and then following through on implementation to be sure the call is well executed. A leader also needs to learn when a deliberate decision is needed versus an on-the-spot speedy decision, and what the different process is for each. The best problem solvers are not only highly analytical, but also to learn to use their intuition. They also learn that the best decisions are often made by collaborating with peers and gaining diverse perspectives. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying: “If you want to change the world, change the way you think.” John Maxwell, a noted management guru says that to do well in life, we must first think well. (13) In other words, changing and improving your thinking can indeed change your life. To be an effective leader you must assess your current way of thinking and find ways to improve it. You must also help the people you lead learn to be better thinkers. When you lift the SQ of the entire team, tremendous things happen. Maxwell in Thinking For A Change (14) lists several types of thinking critical to a leader. We like to share these with all of our leaders. Some of these include: • • • • •
Big-Picture Thinking-seeing the world beyond your own needs and how that leads to great ideas Focused Thinking-removing mental clutter and distractions to realize your full potential Creative Thinking-stepping out of the "box" and making breakthroughs Shared Thinking-working with others to compound results Reflective Thinking-looking at the past to gain a better understanding of the future
Our objective is not to create paralysis by analysis, but it is to encourage leaders to, whenever possible, think prior to taking action as a way to take the right action. Even when you have to make those on-the-spot decisions, hopefully you have done enough big picture and reflective thinking to reach a suitable solution. We also are encouraging leaders to realize there are many types of thinking, and while 243
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few people master all of them, we can try to improve in all of them. The end result should be better judgment calls regarding people, strategy, processes, and crises. What are some traits involved in SQ? We look for and/or develop: Analytical problem solving, the ability to analyze pitfalls and unanticipated consequences, use of intuition, collaborative thinking with peers, authentic listening, authoritative decision making, on-the-spot decision making, creative thinking, strategic thinking, and problem solving. Teachable Index (How open to coaching and change is the leader?) In our thirty years of mentoring leaders we have found that there is strong connection between how teachable or coachable leaders are and how successful they are. Those who are not teachable are also usually resistant to change. In today’s quick changing environment, where the shelf-like of knowledge, solutions, and skills is very compressed, these two things can be a lethal combination. In a positive light, people who are teachable are usually very oriented to taking charge of change. They are versatile and adaptable. They are mentally agile and know they need to adapt to survive. They know there is a lot they don’t know, and are eager to learn it! What are some skills that make a leader more teachable? They are very good at active and authentic listening. When you can focus in on someone as if they are the only person in the world, it has an amazing affect. If you respond with few interruptions, and only clarifications, and show genuine interest you can learn some thing of value from almost any body. They practice a relentless pursuit of reality? As a leader are you okay with looking inward and giving an honest report of what you see? Are you open to people providing you honest feedback, even when it hurts? How can somebody give you good performance feedback if you are not willing to see or hear what's there? They have a deep commitment to authenticity and truth. You must be willing to listen, see, and feel the truth and always be honest with yourself, your teachers, and your coaches. You must be brave enough to tell them if you don’t understand, or if what they are teaching isn’t helping you. It is a matter of trust. You have to believe your leaders and teachers are usually teaching you for your best benefit. They have a deep commitment to life long learning. Are you committed to continuous improvement? You must realize that life's greatest lessons seldom happen in a classroom. You must be responsible for your own continuous learning curve and development as a leader. Execution Quotient (The ability to implement a vision or plan) Execution Quotient or XQ is an indicator of the ability of a leader to close the execution gap between knowing and doing, goals and execution, and between promises and results. It helps evaluate how well the leader will do in executing or implementing new plans, procedures, or strategies. Head knowledge is wonderful, but can it be put into action? Larry Bossidy, former CEO of Allied Signal and then Honeywell, brought a lot of attention to the concept of Execution Quotient when he wrote the book Execution. (15) In it he talks about how a leader must have a relentless pursuit of reality. The effective leader must cross the knowing doing, promise versus results gap and get things done. He or she must cut through the rituals and habits, and start doing the things that get results. Leaders with a high XQ have the ability to translate big thoughts into simple concrete action steps. Remember having a high Execution Quotient does not mean you are micro-managing. It does mean you are actively involved in getting the right things done the right way. Ask yourself: Are the right people in the right places doing the right things? Do they know the expectations and what they are accountable for? Do they know who they must with to get the results and how excellent performance will be recognized? Few people choose to lose. While good leaders and high performers can no doubt learn from failure, repeated failure drains the energy from you and the team, and eventually it destroys. People prefer to win.
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High XQ leaders use these truths to lead by example and establish high XQ teams dedicated to learning and success. What areas does XQ measure? As mentors what do we seek to develop? A translation of goals and vision into concrete action. Decision making, both deliberate and on-the-spot. Delegation, planning, and organization ( of self, tasks, and teams). Influencing skills are also essential. Also the willingness to effective enforce necessary rules and guidelines. Another key component is being able to enlist cooperation and engage enthusiasm of your team. How do we measure these five factor characteristics so we know where to begin in the development process? In his book What Got You Here Won’t Get You There Marshall Goldsmith (16) outlines an excellent 360 degree process that he uses with a leader’s leader, peers, and people who report in to the leader to determine development needs. We also use this quite effectively, rating the candidate on the various characteristics for each factor. We also recommend internet tools like the Predictive Index or the Harrison Assessment (www.harrisonassessments.com) that provide high validity and high reliability measures of the characteristics for each factor. After you identify the development needs where do you find coaching materials? We use the Mindtools.com (www.mindtools.com) website to obtain excellent mentoring materials. For a minimal monthly charge you can gain access to a wealth of great articles, surveys and other tools. Also the FYI Lominger materials by Korn/Ferrry cost around $200 and have provided us with excellent materials. With only a small budget excellent mentoring materials are available! Every organization needs excellent and effective leaders. We believe the Level 5 mentor leader model provides the means to select and develop them and build a leadership legacy into any organization. References Robert Blake and Jane Mouton, The Managerial Grid: The Key to Leadership Excellence (Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing, 1964). Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard, Management of Organizational Behavior; Utilizing Human Resources, 3rd Edition ( Englewood Cliffs: New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1977). Jim Collins, Good to Great (New York: Harper Collins, 2001). Tony Dungy and Nathan Whitaker, The Mentor Leader (Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House, 2010). Lepper, M.R., and Wolverton, M.. (2001). The wisdom of practice: Lessons learned from the study of highly effective tutors. In J. Aronson (Ed.), Improving academic achievement: Contributions of social psychology. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press. David McClelland, The Achieving Motive (New York: Appleton-Century Crofts, (1953). Mehrabian, A. (1969). Measures of achieving tendency. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 29, 445-451. Paul Stoltz, Adversity Quotient: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997). Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ (New York: Bantam Books, 1995). Howard Gardner, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (New York: Basic Books, 1993). Noel Tichey and Warren Bennis, Judgment: How Winning Leaders Make Great Calls (New York: Portfolio Books, 2007) Edward De Bono, Six Thinking Hats (New York: Little, Brown Company, 1985) John Maxwell, Thinking For a Change (New York: Center Street, 2003). Ibid. Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done (New York: Crown Business, 2003). Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter What Got You Here Won’t get You There (New York; Hyperion Books, 2007).
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Carmeli, A. Perach, The Weizmann Institute of Science Perach- A Tutoring and Mentoring Project for a Flourishing Society ABSTRACT “Ensuring that the most vulnerable and marginalized children are enrolled and remain in school requires targeted programmes and interventions aimed at poor households and that seek to eliminate gender disparities." (The U.N. Millenium Development Goals) Globalization and modernization have led to masses of immigrants, working from early morning till late at night, hoping to improve their lives in a foreign country, while uprooting their children from their natural environment leaving them to face new and strange language and culture all alone. These children (and also children from one parent families) are more susceptible to living in conditions of poverty and neglect (physical and intellectual) and face an immediate danger of school dropout and entering the circles of drug and crime. In many countries today, multi- cultural societies are facing a growing inequality, rooted deeply in the educational system. Whereas financially established families are able to enrich their children’s lives and knowledge with afterschool classes and to provide their children with assistance in tutoring, low-income families cannot. This inability of low-income parents to provide enrichment and help for their children makes it impossible for the children to break the circles of poverty, leaving them with a sense of despair, frustration and low self-esteem. Perach (which means “flower” in Hebrew and is also the acronym for “tutorial project”) -The national Israeli Tutoring and Mentoring Project -offers an innovative solution to the growing academic and social needs of children from minority groups, using university students as tutors and mentors to these children and providing the students with a partial scholarship in return to their work.
Perach –- is a national not-for-profit NGO operating under the auspices of the Weizmann Institute of Science and The Council for Higher Education. The project, established in 1974, involves students from all Israeli universities and colleges in cultural and educational activities with children from a disadvantaged background, who often suffer from educational, emotional and behavioral difficulties. Approximately 20% of PERACH children are new immigrants, with equal numbers coming from the Arab sector. Perach also provides personal mentors to children with mental or physical disabilities, children whose parents are incarcerated and many others. About 80% of Perach's activity is based on one-to-one mentoring and the rest is group-tutoring activities in the fields of Health, Environment, Sciences, Arts etc. Perach also runs 9 hands-on science centers and 50 enrichment centers in under-resourced neighborhoods all over Israel. In recent years, Perach has been operating annually nearly 30,000 student mentors working with 58,000 needy children. Perach's Goals 1. To enrich and improve the lives of children from underprivileged backgrounds from all sectors of society through a warm and caring relationship with a personal mentor. 2. To help university students meet the cost of higher education, by providing partial scholarships and/or academic credits in return to their work with needy children. 3. To allow university students (the country's future leaders in every field) to experience first-hand, some of the country's most pressing social problems, thus helping to narrow the gaps in Israeli society. 4. To promote tolerance and understanding among different sectors of society, through joint activities.
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We will briefly review few of the problems which almost every country faces these days and how the implementation of a Perach-like project may offer, at least a partial solution, to those problems. 1. Problem:Many children of low social economic background -often from minority groups- do not receive the amount of academic and emotional support they require and deserve. Result: Many of the above children are underachievers or even dropout of school. The educational and social gap between the different sectors of society widens. The country looses many potentially capable citizens. Solution: Mentoring is a research- proven way to boost academic achievements, hand in hand with the child’s self-esteem, thus helping to reduce drop-out rates. Perach introduces those underprivileged children with student-mentors, who give them academic and emotional support, thus providing them with an adult role model and with tools for bettering their lives. 2. Problem: In many countries, social and cultural pressures hinder girls from acquiring secondary and higher education. Result: Women are under- represented in secondary and higher education, a fact which has immediate influence on their ability to obtain high paying positions, to support themselves and to participate in public life. Solution: Perach provides young girls with female student-mentor only. thus the child has a role model of a successful and educated woman, who encourages her to study and gives her support. 3. Problem: In many countries, particularly in the poorer ones, there is a shortage of quality teachers. Solution: University students are educated and motivated young people. As tutors for disadvantaged children they provide essential academic assistance, often complementing the teacher's role. They also gain experience in teaching that brings many of them to choose a teaching career in the future. Almost 20% of Perach's tutors are engaged in group tutoring projects, within schools, in fields like Language, Mathematics, Sciences, Health Education, Environmental conservation and many more. This way, while the students work with the weaker children, the teacher is free to work with the majority of the class. 4.Problem: Many young people are facing difficulty in financing their higher education studies and as a result they give up higher education or dropout of college. Solution:The Perach plan is based on the assumption (which was proven right anywhere in the world), that many students come from the more affluent levels of the nation and thus can afford to pay for their education. Those who cannot afford it and /or are ready to give a little bit of their time to serve the community would have the opportunity to receive financial aid in the shape of a scholarship. 5. Problem:Universities are often described as "ivory towers" implying that the academic world is detached from burning social issues and the problems of the disadvantaged sectors of society. Solution: The student–mentor visits the child's home and neighborhood twice a week along a year of mentoring. He/she becomes more aware of the diversities, problems and inequality in society and thus develops tolerance and a sense of social responsibility. In addition, few of the mentorchild meetings are being held in near-by campuses, thus making the campus part of the surrounding community 6.Problem: Governments often face criticism for raising tuition fees in universities, making higher education less accessible to the medium and low classes, and for not doing enough to close educational and social gaps.
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Solution: Through financing a national Tutoring & Mentoring project, a government can raise tuition while at the same time offer scholarships to students who need it and provide millions of hours of support to children in need . In the long term -the nation will gain better educated children, more involved students and better citizens all together. International Activities Being the largest organization of its kind in the world, Perach has become a paradigm for mentoring schemes in many countries. Motivated and inspired by a strong conviction (based on the Israeli model) that such a project could benefit any community worldwide, Perach provides all these programs with the ideas and know-how and assists them all the way through establishing the project and recruiting financial resources to sustain it. By now, twenty countries around the globe have adopted the idea and are currently operating a Perach-like program. Among those countries are Bulgaria, Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil, Singapore and more.
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Rucker, K. J. & Williams, J. The University of Georgia, The Texas A&M University Cultivating Champions: Helping Undergraduates Be All That They Can Be! PROBLEM Undergraduate students have a lot to juggle: academics, extra-curricular activities, and the adjustment to college life. A survey of literature focused on mentoring college students conducted by Crisp and Cruze (2009) concluded that mentoring generates increased retention, higher graduation rates, higher academic achievement (higher grades), and increases a student’s comfort level with the educational environment. It is because of these positive results, that institutions like the University of Pittsburg are incorporating mentoring components to “create a ‘friendly environment’ in which students can feel free to express their feelings and concerns while receiving academic and extracurricular support and information, all in an informal setting” (Budny, Paul, & Bateman Newborg, 2010, p.11). Mentors at this institution assist students through academic and personal challenges by addressing topics such as university resources, wellness, diversity, time management, team work, test preparation, stress management, and career/employment opportunities. Mentoring can play a crucial role in the retention of students by ensuring that students are comfortable in the university environment, identifying personal and professional opportunities, and guiding students through personal and academic challenges (Budny, Paul, & Bateman Newborg, 2010). Additionally, the establishment of mentor relationship may encourage students to become top achievers at the collegiate level because many mentors along the way contribute to a student’s sense of purpose, efficacy, and confidence (Powell, 2011). This roundtable discussion will focus on the undergraduate mentoring experiences of two professors at the University of Georgia and the Texas A&M University.
The concept of a mentor comes from Homer’s epic, The Odyessey (Murray, 2001). As Homer’s lead character, Odysseus, left for his quest, Mentor was left to act as a “teacher, advisor, friend, and protector to Odysseus’s son Telemachus” (Rosser, 2004, p.21). Mentoring is defined as developing a relationship that enhances both the individuals’ growth and personal actualization. Stages of the Mentoring Relationship The mentoring relationship involving mentor and protégé can be categorized into four stages. Each stage represents a new level in the relationship between mentor and protégé. The first step of the mentoring process is initiation. In this stage, the relationship between the mentor and the protégé begins to develop (Rosser, 2004). The protégé is enamored with the mentor. The protégé respects the mentor for the insights, abilities, and competence the mentor can provide and share. The relationship begins to build and develop in this initial stage. The second stage is cultivation. In this stage, the mentor and the protégé begin to identify the boundaries of the relationship (Rosser, 2004). “The career development functions emerge, and as interpersonal bond strengthens with time, the psychosocial functions emerge” (Rosser, 2004, p.24). The third stage of mentoring is separation. This is where the protégé demonstrates gained competence and independence. This stage has been identified as the most difficult stage for both the mentor and the protégé because the mentor becomes less and less involved in the day-to-day transactions of the protégé (Rosser, 2004). The protégé has grown into his/her own and the relationship between the protégé and the mentor is transformed from a traditional mentor/mentee relationship. The fourth stage in the mentor relationship is redefinition. At this stage, the traditional relationship of the protégé and mentor is transformed into a peer-like relationship. The protégé still looks to the mentor for guidance and support but makes decisions as an independent entity (Rosser, 2004). A Case Study Example of Faculty Mentoring Dr. Jill Rucker bases her desire to mentor students on her experience as a university student body president. Throughout her tenure as an instructor and now faculty member, Dr. Rucker has mentored a
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variety of students to apply for student leadership positions, scholarships, honor societies at the national, university, and collegiate levels. Her mentorship style parallels one of the styles of mentorship identified by Budny et al. (2010) who stated that mentors are often former members of student leadership organizations (student council, professional societies, honor societies). These mentors have “been there, and done that” and typically have a strong desire to share the valuable lessons they learned along the way. Dr. Jennifer Williams was strongly influenced by an informal faculty member while working on her undergraduate degree. Dr. Williams parallels the experience detailed by Riney-Kehrberg (2011) who benefitted from the mentor’s decades of experience as well as the experiences of dozens of previous students. Therefore, Dr. Williams teaches other students to mentor by demonstrating by example how mentoring should be done (Riney-Kehrberg, 2011). Leading Questions The roundtable discussion will focus on the undergraduate mentoring experiences of two professors at the University of Georgia and the Texas A&M University. Topics of discussion based on the two faculty members’ experiences will include: • Academic Mentoring: encouraging students to perform well in class; • Undergraduate Research Mentoring: encouraging students to attend and present at professional conferences as well as collaborating with faculty to conduct undergraduate research; • Career Development Mentoring: working with students to encourage them to be prepared to enter the workforce by securing internships and networking with industry professionals; and • Award Mentoring: encouraging and assisting students to apply for national (i.e., Truman Scholar and Udall Scholar) and collegiate (i.e., Top Ten Freshmen, University Senior of Significance, and Outstanding Senior Award) level awards and scholarships. Additional discussion will focus on how to be a successful mentor to undergraduate/graduate students, the difference between formal and informal mentoring, best mentoring practices, and the challenges of mentoring undergraduate students. The discussion will be facilitated by the following questions: • There are successful examples of formal student mentoring (Budny, Paul, & Bateman Newborg, 2011) as well as successful examples of informal student mentoring (Powell, 2011). Which type of mentoring do you think works best? • Successful mentoring programs must be multi-dimensional. Therefore, to optimize the mentee’s experience, the mentor should provide guidance about the academic, personal, and professional aspects of the student’s life (Pope, 2002). What level of focus should the faculty mentor place on each of these three areas (academic, personal, and professional)? Is there a line that needs to be drawn regarding the personal life of the student mentee? • Students face barriers in gaining access to faculty mentoring opportunities because of large faculty-to-student ratios (Wai-Ling Packard, 2005). How do we, as faculty, maximize the potential to provide mentoring opportunities for students? • Rosser (2004) outlines four stages of the mentoring relationship: initiation (relationship begins to develop), cultivation (boundaries of relationship identified), separation (gaining of independence), and redefinition (peer-like relationship). Based on your mentoring experience, which step do you think is the most challenging and why? • Riney-Kehrberg (2011) proposed six principles for graduate student mentoring: choose your students well, love what you do, lead by example, emphasize a balanced life, be realistic about the job market, and provide structure for the student mentee and then step back. Are these principles applicable to undergraduate students? Is there a difference between mentoring undergraduate and graduate students? • Crisp and Cruze (2009) reviewed articles between 1990 and 2007 regarding mentoring college students. While the literature review defined mentoring, identified the methodology and theoretical framework used in mentoring studies, and conceptualized mentoring, the literature 250
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review failed to identify best practices in mentoring. What would you identify as some of the best practices in mentoring college students? REFERENCES Budny, D., Paul, C.A., & Bateman Newborg, B. (2010). Impact of peer mentoring on freshmen engineering students. Journal of STEM Education, 11(5&6), 9-24. Crisp, G., & Cruze, I. (2009). Mentoring college students: A critical review of literature between 1990 and 2007. Research in Higher Education, 50, 525-545. Murray, M. (2001). Beyond the myths and magic of mentoring (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Pope, M.L. (2002). Community college mentoring: Minority student perception. Community College Review, 30(3), 31-45. Powell, M.G. (2011). Mentoring matters. English Journal, 100(6), 86-89. Riney-Kehrberg, P. (2011). A few thoughts on graduate mentoring. The Agricultural History Society, Spring, 195203. Rosser, M.H. (2004). Chief executive officers: Their mentoring relationships. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University, College Station. Wai-Ling Packard, B. (2005) Mentoring and retention in college science: Reflections on the sophomore year. Journal of College Student Retention, 6(3), 289-300.
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Larroque, C. M. University of New Mexico Mentoring Across Disciplines, Across the Globe ABSTRACT Objective The objective of this paper is to discuss the bidirectional mentoring that occurred while I, as a child psychiatrist and emeritus faculty member of the University of New Mexico, participated in teaching and research as a Fulbright Scholar in the developing country, Uganda. Background With current advances in technology people around the globe are interacting with each other more than ever before. Professionals from almost every walk of life work with colleagues in all corners of the world. In 20092010 I was selected as a Fulbright Scholar to Uganda. I was to use my expertise in child psychiatry to be a mentor and also to research the mental health needs of children and adolescents in the northern part of the country where an atrocious civil conflict had just ended. Methods A mentor to Ugandan nurses, medical students and university students I learned that in order to conduct a research project in the villages of Uganda I too would need to be mentored. A team of three young professionals (a psychiatrist, a psychological clinician and an administrative assistant) mentored me on the cultural interactions, customs, language, and expectations of the local villagers. The administrative assistant was my primary mentor. Conclusion While mentoring most often occurs between a professor and a student or junior faculty member there are circumstances in which mentoring can occur in a most unusual way. Especially when collaborating in global projects it is important to accept fluidity in the mentoring process. Often the mentor must be mentored.
In our era of globalization it is routine for businesses, institutions and individuals to work collaboratively across international borders in countries throughout the world. Technology has allowed us to share knowledge, ideas and information rapidly and precisely. Our academic institutions show evidence of many long distance alliances. In medical schools global medicine curriculums have sprung up and there has been the development of an abundance of programs that emphasize international collaboration in the realms of research, training, clinical service and consultation (Anderson, Aschkenasy, & Lis, 2005; Beasley, Starfield, vanWeel, Rosser, & Haq, 2007; Belkin, & Fricchione, 2005; RedwoodCampbell, Pakes, Rouleau, MacDonald, Arya, Purkey et al., 2011; Stapleton, Wahl, Norris & Ramsey, 2006). Education is an important component of these global partnerships and mentoring is often an essential modality of sharing medical knowledge (Beasley, Starfield, van Weel, Rosser, & Haq, 2007; Belkin, & Fricchione, 2005; Shah, Nodell, Montano, Behrens, & Zunt, 2011; Redwood-Campbell, Pakes, Rouleau, MacDonald, Arya, Purkey et al., 2011). The traditional mentor-mentee relationship in which an experienced faculty member teaches, guides, and counsels a junior faculty member or trainee is still common and very useful in medical school and residency training programs ((McKenna, & Straus, 2011; Sambunjak, Straus, & Marusic, 2006). However, new constructs of the mentoring relationship have been emerging. Mentoring across disciplines is common in medicine especially in the area of mental health in which members of different disciplines work together as an interdisciplinary team. A pediatric resident may receive mentoring from a psychologist or child psychiatrist, and psychiatry resident might be mentored by a faculty social worker, etc. In rural areas in this country and in developing countries across the globe it is not unusual for specialists to rigorously work with primary care givers and field health workers. Often the role of consultant becomes that of a mentor over time. In many cases the mentoring process becomes bidirectional with the academic specialist mentoring in regard to matters of diagnosis and treatment from the perspective of evidence based science and the caregiver in the field mentoring on more practical matters such as accessibility, acceptance and cultural perspectives of those in their care. Although this 252
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bidirectional relationship is often not recognized it is essential to the professional development of all parties involved and it is often crucial to the success of the project or the medical care provided. Belkin and Fricchione (2005) use the term “bidirectional internationalism” when discussing the role of academic psychiatry in international medicine. They use the term to explain that we must “export to others what is familiar to us but also enhance our understanding of how our familiar set of research priorities and clinical paradigms may narrow our vision”(Belkin, & Fricchione, 2005, p. 240). They suggest that we should work as “partners rather than as the sole experts at the top of the hierarchy” (Belkin, & Fricchione, 2005, p. 241). This concept works well when considering new models of mentoring especially when collaborating with global partners. In this paper I would like to describe my experience with the mentoring process as a Fulbright Scholar in the developing country of Uganda. The need for mental health professionals in developing countries is great especially in countries in the aftermath of a civil war. Gulu in northern Uganda is a city that is at the center of an area that has witnessed a prolonged bloody and traumatizing war. Gulu University in northern Uganda has been in serious need of medical faculty. The medical school, Gulu University Faculty of Medicine, as it is called is very new. Modeled on the British system of education, students study in medical school for five years. The first class of medical students graduated in January 2010. Also, the need for mental health professionals in Gulu is enormous. Reconciliation talks had taken place in 2008. After 20 years of civil conflict between the rebel forces of the Lord’s Resistance Army and government forces under President Museveni people in the area, primarily members of the Acholi tribe, were beginning to feel safe. Families, fractured by a bloody war of unimaginable atrocities, cautiously headed back to their village farms after spending years in cramped, unsanitary and dangerous IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps. Young and old had been gravely maimed both physically and emotionally. Yet, it was the children and young people who appeared to endure the most traumatic atrocities. Children were kidnapped from their villages by the LRA to be soldiers. Young girls were forced to be officers’ wives; some of the abducted girls bore children while in captivity. As people were attempting to reclaim their old way of life in their home villages they carried a tremendous emotional burden. They would be confronted by an arduous task in their rehabilitation and healing. Unfortunately, mental health services are limited. In northern Uganda there are only three psychiatrists for three million people and no child psychiatrists in the country. The extreme need for mental health specialists to address the needs of the children and adolescents in northern Uganda compelled me to choose that area of the world as a Fulbright Scholar. When I applied for a Fulbright Scholar’s Grant it appeared most appropriate to describe the work that I would be doing in worn-torn Northern Uganda as that of a mentor. I was certainly senior enough to fit the classic description of mentor. I had just retired from my position as a faculty member of the University of New Mexico, School of Medicine (UNM). I had many years of experience taking care of the emotional needs of medically ill children and their families. I trained extensively and had become board certified in three medical specialties: pediatrics, general psychiatry, and child psychiatry. I could appropriately take on a position as a mentor. My job in Uganda would be twofold. First, I would mentor two newly trained Ugandan pediatricians. I would teach them basic child psychiatry. I would supervise and guide them in using the skills of psychotherapy, play therapy and family therapy. In turn they would be in a position to help the children and families who had been significantly traumatized by the civil conflict that had just subsided. I would also teach them how to use psychiatric medications in the severe cases in which medication was needed. This part of my job would not be terribly different than my teaching at UNM since I taught clinical skills to psychiatry residents and pediatric residents on a daily basis. Many of the child psychiatry residents saw me as their mentor during and after their training years. This would be routine work for me. I would continue to collaborate with the Ugandan pediatricians in the long-term development of children’s mental health programs even after I had returned to the United States.
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The second part of my job would be to carry out a research project. My co-investigator would be the dean of the medical school in Gulu, Uganda, Emilio Ovuga. Dr. Ovuga is a psychiatrist. He suggested that we assess the mental health needs of the children in northern Uganda. The results would be useful in obtaining Ugandan government aid to develop mental health programs for the children who suffered significant mental and physical injuries as a result of the war. There would also be a third component to my job that was implicit in being a Fulbright Scholar, diplomacy. The Fulbright Program (fulbright.state.gov) was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by then Senator J. William Fulbright who expressed his belief that the best way to ensure peace and understanding among nations was to provide an opportunity for professionals from different countries to work together on a common project. Today funds for the Fulbright Scholar Program are appropriated from Congress along with cost sharing and indirect support from host institutions in foreign countries to send professors and other professionals to 125 countries each year. Methods From September 2009 through March 2010 I worked in Gulu Uganda as a Fulbright Scholar. Even though I had engaged in much preliminary preparation including a trip to Gulu Medical School in the year prior to my arrival as a Fulbright grantee, things were not as I had expected them. The two pediatricians, junior faculty members, who I was to mentor and teach basic child psychiatry techniques were never available. During our initial meeting they were warm and welcoming. They clearly stated they desired to work with me and had wonderful ideas about developing a child psychiatry program on the pediatric ward. Yet, my emails to them were left unanswered; scheduled appointments with them were not kept. The same experience held true with the general psychiatrist who was head of the psychiatry department. In addition, I was unable to get the research project off the ground. Once again faculty members did not follow through with their promised commitments. The anthropologist assigned to work with me never made time to meet. The same was true for the statistician. Even the dean was never available. It was as if I had fallen into a cultural abyss. Each of these individuals had told me of their interest in the work and actually expressed enthusiasm. When I suggested to them that they might be too busy to get involved with the project they adamantly denied such a possibility. I was perplexed and my work was paralyzed. Finally, the dean, my co-investigator and the person who invited me to come to the university as a Fulbright Scholar, explained to me a cultural phenomenon that I had not understood. During the war in northern Uganda and in its wake (and perhaps even earlier) groups of academics, government agencies, church groups and charitable groups have been coming to Uganda from developed countries including the wealthy countries of Europe, Canada and the United States. The westerners who come have started a precedent of paying the Ugandan professionals not only for their assistance in research but also for attending conferences and engaging in other academic activities. Simply put the faculty members were very interested in my projects but they would not participate unless they were paid. Prior to coming to Uganda I had attempted to learn as much possible about the country and its culture especially the customs in the north. While I was aware that there is a culture that exists in academics and in medicine I did not anticipate that it would be very different from that of the United States or Great Britain which had so strongly influenced institutions of learning in Uganda. I had to regroup and adjust myself to this different culture of academics and to the different customs of my Ugandan colleagues. In the United States an expert consultant is often paid a fee. In Uganda there are no child psychiatrists. I was to be the expert in that area of our work. The United States government was paying my transportation and a living stipend so that I could collaborate with colleagues in Uganda. There was no funding for research or special projects. Now I was being asked to pay junior faculty for my time mentoring them. I was being asked to pay other faculty for their collaboration. I understood the plight of my medical colleagues in that their salaries are very low and that they need to overcome unthinkable obstacles in order to work in the medical profession. Yet, I could not reconcile paying them
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so that I might teach them. Even if I thought that I should pay them I did not have the financial resources to do so. A new strategy needed to be developed. While the medical doctors remained unavailable the nurses and other clinicians who cared for patients on the psychiatry ward of the general hospital sought my help and direction. A formal teaching program was set up to teach nurses and other mental health workers basic techniques of child psychiatry. I tackled the dilemma related to the research project by scaling down the project and using some of the living stipend provided by the Fulbright grant to cover costs of the research. Two medical students and two university students were hired as my interpreters. In addition to their small income they were guided in interviewing techniques when working with children; taught about research protocol and the nuances of informed consent. They were also taught some basic principles of pediatric psychiatry. The students were not only my interpreters they were my cultural brokers in the villages as well as in the academic community. They taught me about daily life and expectations in the rural sites where we conducted our research and in the world of northern Ugandan academics. The two medical students would at times look to me for guidance as they considered decisions they would be making regarding their future careers. Over the days and weeks that we worked closely together we were developing a relationship that had the characteristics of bidirectional mentoring. The dean of the medical school who was to be my collaborator in the research was often attending conferences out of town and out of the country. With his heavy work load he became less and less available while the students I was training offered more and more cultural assistance. However, by far my most valued mentors were a team of Ugandans (a young psychiatrist, a psychological clinician and an administrative assistant) who were working on a project funded by the German Government. They explained to me the importance of translating my research surveys from American English into Ugandan English. This was something I had not thought about prior to coming to Uganda. I knew that many of the children in the villages spoke their native language, Acholi Luo. Of course the questionnaires would need to be translated into that language. But English is English. Is it not? The adolescents with more years of education would be able to speak English. I thought that it would be British English but I had not even considered Ugandan English. Ugandan English would be constructed differently. Concepts familiar to Americans would be phrased differently. Cultural concepts would be expressed in a unique way. The psychiatrist and clinician helped me with specific medical and mental health concepts. We discussed nuances and meaning of phrases. We talked about the culture of the Acholi people as well as the “culture” of a post-conflict area. Simply by being a “Muzungu” or white person, I would symbolize certain things to the people in the village. Fortunately, I would be the symbol of good things such as hope for the future and prosperity. Much coaching took place to assist me in understanding the medical and psychological perspectives of Ugandan clinicians. But it was my relationship with the administrative assistant that can best be described as that of a mentor and “mentee”. She was the mentor and I was the “mentee”. Each day I would arrive at 9:00 in the morning and enter the small, modest two room building on the medical school campus. In the first room Wendy, the young administrative assistant who was a recent university graduate, sat neatly groomed behind her desk. At times I would wait for her to complete phone calls to old classmates or to her boyfriend. I sat meekly in the humble room. When time was available we would go over each and every line in the questionnaires. She would teach me to make corrections. She would tell me, “The children will not know the meaning of the word fun. Change that question to: What things do you do that are interesting? ” She would tell me that a question that asked if the child belonged to a certain religion was a bad one. “Ask the child what their religion is,” she would say. “All Ugandans will report they have a religion, even if they don’t go to church,” she would explain. “If they do not have a religion that would mean they are witches,” Wendy would add with emphasis. So day-by-day, we would review the questionnaires and I would ask questions about every day life, customs and culture. I would be given advice on expected behavior in the academic community and community at large. I would explain to her
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that the lady who cleaned the office had asked me for money to buy food for her children and Wendy would tell me the proper amount to give as a gift. When Wendy came in one morning carrying yards of beautiful African waxed cotton cloth from the Congo I intuitively knew I should purchase some. Wendy explained that it would greatly help one of the women who worked in the office in the small building next to ours. And then Wendy offered to get me in contact with a woman who could make the most stylish contemporary African dress for me! There were days when I needed simple practical information. “Wendy,” I would ask, “Does Afoyo, the word for thank you, also mean hello? The women on the road often come up to me as I walk to work and say “Afoyo” and smile to me.” Wendy would scrunch up her forehead and think for a while. She would then smile and shake her head, ”Yes”. Wendy even invited me to a relatives wedding. It was to take place at a village that was hours away. Even though I was unable to attend Wendy returned from the wedding with photos and many stories to explain the long and beautiful ceremony. Wendy enjoyed sharing her culture of which she was very proud. I could freely ask questions and offer my opinion. Even though Wendy was young, a brand new university graduate, she had a great deal to teach me. From her I had received the wonderful gift of her mentorship. Conclusion Culture plays an important role in the manner in which we teach and learn. Yet, culture itself is dynamic and always undergoing transformations. When collaborating in global projects it is essential to remain flexible and open-minded. A bidirectional approach to mentoring is very useful when working with colleagues from different cultures or different parts of the world. Preconceptions often must change. Mentors may need to be mentored. When that is the case the rewards can be very rich. REFERENCES Anderson, P. D., Aschkenasy, M., & Lis, J. (2005). International emergency medical fellowships. Emergency Medical Clinics of North America, 23(1), 199-215. Beasley, J.W., Starfield, B., van Weel, C., Rosser, W. W., & Haq, C. L. (2007). Global health and primary care research. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 20(6), 518-526. Belkin, G. & Fricchione, G. (2005,August). Internationalism and the future of academic psychiatry. Academic Psychiatry,29, 240-243. Fulbright Scholar Program, Administered by the Council of the International exchange of Scholars, a division of the International Institute of Education. http://www.cies.org/Fulbright/#history McKenna, A., & Straus, S. (2011 February). Charting a professional course: a review of mentorship in medicine. Journal of the American College of Radiology,8(2), 109-112. Redwood-Campbell, L., Pakes, B., Rouleau, K., MacDonald, C.J., Arya, N., Purkey, E. et al. (2011). Developing a curriculum framework for global health in family medicine: emerging principles, competencies, and educational approaches. BMC Medical Education, 11(46), Retrieved from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/11/46 Sambunjak, D., Straus, S, & Marusic, A. Mentoring in academic medicine: a systemic review. JAMA, 296(9), 11031115.DOI: 10.1001/jama.296.9.1103 Shah, S. K., Nodell, B., Montano, S. M., Behrens, C., & Zunt, J. R. (2011). Clinical research and global health: mentoring the next generation of health care students al. Global Public Health, 6(3), 234-46. DOI:10.1080/17441692.2010.494248 Stapleton, F.B., Wahl, P.W., Morris, T.E., & Ramsey, P.G. (2006,October). Addressing public health through the marriage of public health and medicine: developing the University of Washington department of global health. Academic Medicine, 81(10), Waslyenki, D (2010 Nov-Dec). Meeting the global mental health challenge. Academic Psychiatry, 34, 414-416.
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Osa, J. O. & Oliver, A. Virginia State University Developing and Implementing a Mentoring Program: Experiences of Two College of Education Faculty ABSTRACT Mentoring is the process of nurturing the total growth, especially the professional growth, of an individual. Everyone, including the best of the best, needs mentoring and coaching to help ensure success and to build upon it (Clutterbuck, 2001). On the college campus, new faculty members and career switchers are in more need of mentoring. The challenges faculty members encounter as they seek tenure and promotion have made provosts and deans more interested in the concept of mentoring. Experiences are showing that informal, unstructured type of mentoring program is no longer adequate. Faculty members, especially novice and untenured faculty members are requesting for professional assistance as they go through the tenure and promotion process. Therefore, there is a need to take mentoring to a new high level by formalizing a mentoring program. This paper shares the personal perspectives of two faculty members on what works and what does not work in a formal mentoring program. This paper presents how a well-designed mentoring program is developed and implemented. Drawing on their personal experiences these two faculty members developed a seven-step mentoring program. The paper also included a brief discussion of activities that comprise each of the steps.
Introduction Mentoring is the process of nurturing the total growth, especially the professional growth, of an individual. Everyone, including the best of the best, needs mentoring and coaching to help ensure success and to build upon it (Clutterbuck, 2004). Workplace mentoring is a learning partnership between employees for the purposes of sharing technical information, institutional knowledge and insight with respect to a particular occupation or professions Armbrust, Beinlich and De Greef (2011). On the college campus, new faculty members and career switchers are in more need of mentoring. The challenges faculty members encounter as they seek tenure and promotion have made provosts and deans more interested in the concept of mentoring. Experiences are showing that informal, unstructured type of mentoring program is no longer adequate. Faculty members, especially novice and untenured faculty members are requesting for professional assistance as they go through the tenure and promotion process. Therefore, there is a need to take mentoring to a new high level by formalizing a mentoring program. A mentor is an individual with expertise who can help develop the career of a mentee. A mentor often has two primary functions for the mentee. The career related function establishes the mentor as a coach who provides advice to enhance the mentee’s professional performance and development. The psychosocial function establishes the mentor as a role model and support system for the mentee. Both functions provide explicit and implicit lessons related to professional development as well as general work–life balance (the American Psychological Association 2006). Experts in the field of mentoring point out that mentoring is developmental and continuous and may address a variety of faculty career needs over a period of time. Faculty can develop as leaders through the receipt of professional and institutional information; support, sponsorship, and stimulation; advice, assistance, and guidance; and feedback and direction toward goals. Faculty involved in mentoring are more likely to have opportunities to develop not only professionally and personally over the span of their careers (Kram 1986). Purpose The purpose of this paper is to share the personal perspectives of two faculty on what works and what does not work in a formal mentoring program. The paper will also present how a well-designed mentoring program is developed and implemented. The personal experiences of two faculty members served as a reference point for the proposed mentoring program. 257
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Process of Developing a Mentoring Program Because a mentoring program, either for career or interpersonal enhancement, is built on mutual trust and respect of the individuals involved, much care should be given to its development and implementation (United States Office of Personnel Management, 2008). Below are suggested steps for developing and implementing an effective mentoring program for an institution of higher education. Step 1: Needs Assessment The first step for designing a mentoring program that is adequate and practical for a campus is to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment. A mentoring program should not be another program being imposed on faculty. It should be a way of thinking and behaving that recognizes the sense of responsibility faculty have to set their own career goal and to determine the process for attaining that goal. Needs assessment is a systematic process for looking at a situation to fully understand it and to find clues for deciding what to do. Needs assessment attempts to study an issue, identify the discrepancies between the ideal and the real. A needs assessment can be a valuable tool if it is done correctly. Often, actual needs are not always the same as perceived needs, or "wants". A successful needs assessment will reveal faculty perception regarding a mentoring program, and the components or characteristics of an effective mentoring program. Method In this age of technology, electronic surveys are generally easier to administer, manage, compile, and analyzed. However, it is necessary to adopt the method that will be most successful given the culture and situation on campus. As a strategy to enhance the quality of information gained by conducting a needs assessment, it is advisable that information is sought via: 1. Electronic survey 2. Follow-up face to face interviews to validate survey findings and to obtain additional qualitative information which may be difficult or impossible to collect via an online survey 3. Focus group face to face interviews – this will provide an opportunity to gather input from faculty members from the different ranks (instructor, assistant professor, associate professor and professor). Unlike online surveys, focus groups possess the potentials of observing nonverbal behavior. Participants' body postures and facial expressions usually provide additional information about the topic being discussed beyond what they verbally say Conducting the Needs Assessment There are a few steps to conducting a good needs assessment. They include: 1. Setting the goal or goals for conducting the needs assessment 2. Identifying individuals and focus groups to participate in the needs assessments 3. Form a task force to be charged with the responsibilities of conducting the needs assessment 4. Select survey items and develop the survey 5. Distribute the survey online 6. Collect and analyze data collected 7. Design structured questions to guide the focus group sessions. Findings of the online survey could inform the questions for the focus group sessions 8. Select facilitators and provide standard instructions for holding the focus group sessions 9. Hold the focus group sessions 10. Analyze the information gathered 11. Compile the needs assessment report 12. Share the report with campus administrators and faculty 258
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Step 2: Gain Departmental and Upper Level Administrative Support Approval and support from the department and upper level administrators must be acquired to have a successful mentoring program. Having department chairs and upper administrators sharing the vision of the formal mentoring program is always good for advertising the vision to all stakeholders. Others benefits include acquiring funding, materials, and meeting location for training and workshops. Also, when others see that departmental and upper level administrators approve and support the formal mentoring program, faculty and other personnel will also support and actively participate as mentors and mentees. There are a few activities to be completed to gain the support of administrators. They include: a) Set an appointment to meet with all administrators whose support is needed to promote the success of the mentoring program b) Share the needs assessment findings with them. c) Share the desire to start a campus-wide formal mentoring program d) Share the goals and objectives of the proposed mentoring program e) Solicit their input f) Secure their official consent, commitment and support for the proposed mentoring program g) Persuade administration to include mentoring in the performance-appraisal process h) Encourage administration to set up a reward systems for mentors and i) Secure administration’s promise to provide adequate resources to support the mentoring program Step 3: Develop a formal Mentoring Program Steering Committee This steering committee should include representatives from all faculty ranks within the university. The steering committee should be charged with the responsibility for developing the mentoring program, and all the materials and documents needed to successfully implement the mentoring program. Some of the needed materials will include: a) Mentor and mentee online application forms b) Mentors and mentees training workshop resources – human and materials c) Mentor and mentee training manual and quick reference guide or cheat sheet d) Referral criteria for mentees e) Eligibility requirements for mentors f) Mentor and mentee role clarity and definition g) Mentor-to-mentee ratios h) List of suggested activities and procedures for mentors and mentees i) Plans to promote the mentoring program and to recruit mentors and mentees j) Plans to train mentors and mentees k) Model for pairing mentors to mentees l) List of potential problems and their solutions m) Evaluation plan and process for the mentoring program Outcomes of the Task Force Activities Some of the outcomes of the task force activities should include: a) Mentoring program mission statement based on the needs assessment findings b) Specific goals c) Measurable objectives for each of the specific goals d) Actions steps to achieve each of the measurable objectives e) Clear guidelines for mentoring f) Materials needed to implement an effective mentoring program g) Marketing materials such as flyers, posters, brochures, mentoring program announcement for marquees, and mass media 259
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Step 4: Sharing of Developed Program with the Administrators After the Mentoring Program Steering Committee has completed its tasks and developed needed materials and documents, they should be shared with all relevant administrators campus-wide. Upon program approval by administrators, the implementation process for the program should be executed. Step 5: Implement the Program After all the necessary preliminary activities have been completed and relevant materials are designed for the mentoring program, and the approval to implement the mentoring program is secured from the administrators, the next step is the implementation of the program. Below are some of the implementation steps and activities. a) Advertise the program campus wide b) Conduct an orientation/informational session for all faculty members to market the approved mentoring program. c) Conduct training sessions for potential mentors and mentees and other interested faculty d) Distribute all materials that were developed to facilitate the mentoring process for both mentors and mentees e) Make sure that mentors and mentees have clear, realistic expectations of mentoring program and its objectives f) Assign mentors to mentees adopting the best strategy for the campus. There are currently some web-based mentoring tools that facilitate pairing of mentors and mentees and for managing mentoring activities. Mentors and mentees can be match by: i. Discipline ii. Specific needs of the mentee iii. Mentor choice iv. Mentee choice v. Gender and vi. Randomly g) Encourage the mentor and mentee to develop their Mentoring Agreement and Mentoring Action Plans that would guide their relationship and activities that would make meeting the tenure and promotion requirements possible. Sometimes, mentors and mentees may prefer to operate without the rigidity, formality and constraints of written agreement. They may also prefer to function under more relaxed conditions while still being focused and engaged in relevant activities being ever mindful of the developmental needs of the mentee and the tenure and promotion requirements h) Provide on-going developmental opportunities and activities for mentors and mentees. Some of such activities include: i. Career development seminars on topics such as tenure and promotion, publishing, designing a research agenda, developing outreach activities ii. Training activities that provide tools and techniques to maintain effective mentoring relationships; iii. Networking events; and iv. Guest speakers Step 6: Evaluation of the Mentoring Program The quality and usefulness of the mentoring program should be validated by a comprehensive and systematic evaluation. Evaluation should be carried out regularly and systematically throughout the whole implementation phase of the program. Continuous evaluation of the mentoring program has the potential to ensure that the program and its components continue to be modified, improved and refined as necessary. Anecdotal information on the effectiveness of the program though helpful does not provide
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sufficient source of evaluation for a formal campus-wide mentoring program. The evaluation tool should assess program components such as: a) The goals and objectives of the program. Were they met? b) The matching process – were the mentor and mentee matching suitable? c) The success of the program in the success of participants in the areas of teaching, research and service. Are there concrete and tangible evidence and documentation that could be included in the tenure and/or promotion dossier for mentors and mentees? d) The support provided by administrators. Did administration provide adequate support for the mentoring program? e) The appropriateness of the mentoring resources and activities provided by the program. Were they useful? f) The success of the program. What were the impediments to the success of the program? g) The interaction between the mentor and the mentee. How beneficial was the interaction? h) The strengths and weaknesses of the program. Which components of the program should be continued and which components should be modified or completely eliminated from the program? Step 7: Recognition and Celebration Ceremony Often, institutions fail to celebrate their faculty or do not celebrate them enough. The final step of the mentoring program is an end of year recognition and celebration ceremony for mentors and mentees. It is an opportunity to appreciate efforts made to enhance the professional and personal growth of mentors and mentees. It is also a time for participants in the mentoring program to share success stories and challenges. Such information would be invaluable for the modification of the mentoring program for future participants. Awards, certificates and presents could be given to participants. Conclusion Mentoring has long been recognized as a powerful tool in career development (The American Psychological Association, 2006). Some academics have been fortunate in having colleagues who make time to assist them, or having an informal mentor with whom they can share ideas, labor over a research grant and seek ‘just-in-time’ guidance. For others, a formal mentoring program provides such opportunities for getting started and for career development (Bell and Treleaven, 2011). Often, faculty members, especially those new to the tenure and promotion requirements in institutions of higher education or new to an institution, may need assistance in getting the needed professional support. The overall goal of mentoring programs in institutions of higher education is often to provide professional and personal support and encouragement to junior faculty members in order to enhance their professional success, advancement and retention. Faculty members are often advised to seriously consider mentoring even if informal mentoring. Because there is less likelihood that mentees will fall prey to personal or professional failure if they are in an open, caring, ongoing mentoring relationship. An institution of higher learning could see the potential of mentoring as a powerful learning and development strategy which could be used in employee training at the workplace Karami, Maimunah, Wahat,Wahiza and Zoharah (2011). Human relation skills are crucial to a successful mentor-mentee relationship. A commitment to the mentoring process and a willingness to invest time and energy are the most important components for a successful mentoring relationship.
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Needs Assessment Recognition and Celebration Celebration
Departmental and Upper Level Administrative Support
The Mentoring Program Model
Evaluation of Mentoring Program
Implement Mentoring Program
Develop Formal Mentoring Program Committee
Sharing Developed Program with
Administrators
Diagram 1: The Mentoring Program Model REFERENCES Armbrust N., Beinlich, D., and De Greef, A. (2011). Workplace Mentoring: A Learning Partnership. Perspective Retrieved from http://www.managementwomen.org/pages/MW_News_Feb2011.pdf Bell A. and Treleaven L. (2011). Looking for Professor Right: mentee selection of mentors in a formal mentoring program. High Education 61:545–561 Clutterbuck, D. (2001). Everyone Needs a Mentor-coach. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Karami R., Maimunah I., Wahat, A., Wahiza,N., and Zoharah,O. (2011) Influence ofmentoring on achievement motivation in leadership role as perceived by extension workers in Iran. In: 12th International Conference on HRD Research and Practice Across Europe:Sustaining Growth Through Human Resource Developent, 25-27 May 2011, University of Gloucestershire, The Park, Cheltenham,UK. Retrieved from http://psasir.upm.edu.my/17966/ Kram, K. E. 1986. "Mentoring in the Workplace." In Career development in organizations, edited by R. A. Katzell. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. The American Psychological Association 2006 Introduction to Mentoring: A Guide for Mentors and Mentees http://www.apa.org/education/grad/intro-mentoring.pdf United States Office of Personnel Management. (2008). Best Practices: Mentoring. Washington,
DC Retrieved
from http://www.opm.gov/hrd/lead/BestPracticesMentoring.pdf
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Abernethy, N. F., Nagasawa, P. R., Gibbs, P. J. & Scott, C. S. University of Washington Mentorship Networks to Support Multidisciplinary Science ABSTRACT Mentoring is often studied and addressed as a single relationship between mentor and mentee which should be thoughtfully structured and developed. However, from the perspective of mentor and mentee alike, effective mentoring stems from a rich environment of collaborations and resources, in which several mentors contribute to the success of each individual. In this conception, mentoring occurs in a social network that provides access to multiple mentors, areas of expertise, and connections to outside resources. This paper introduces the field of social network analysis, describes mentorship as a social phenomenon, and proposes attributes of successful mentoring networks. It also suggests data sources to monitor the diversity, depth, quality and growth of mentoring relationships at the institutional level. Finally, we discuss the relevance of mentoring networks to translational science, an attempt to bridge multiple disciplines in the health sciences in order to accelerate biomedical research. In the context of cross-disciplinary science, understanding the social context that supports diverse mentorship networks is particularly important.
Introduction Mentoring is a social activity that serves to transfer experience from successful scholars to less experienced and professionally-established scholars. Mentors typically provide a combination of advice, perspective, knowledge, expertise, constructive criticism and connections to outside resources. Mentoring is coming to be viewed as essential to professional growth at multiple stages of professional development. Recently, sociological methods are called upon to better understand how to the mentoring relationship at the organizational level, while tools from the information sciences are being used to extend and monitor the reach of mentoring relationships. With the growth of online communication tools such as email, chat rooms, RSS, blogs, and the recent growth of “social networking” sites such as Twitter and Facebook, researchers have begun to selectively employ these technologies as means to equitably facilitate, accelerate, and monitor mentoring relationships. The conceptualization of mentoring as an activity situated in a social network, however, extends beyond the use of tools used to connect individuals. We describe in this paper how organizations can use social network analysis (SNA) to improve understanding of mentoring at the organizational level. Social Network Analysis (SNA) Formally, social networks are systems of actors and the ties or relationships between them. The realworld networks of connections between individuals can thus be modeled as graphs of these actors, or nodes, and the ties or relationships between them. Social network analysis refers to the characterization, statistical analysis, and visualization of social network models to reveal insights or draw conclusions about a population from its network structure or evolution. Different representations of networks can capture and illustrate various aspects of both the individuals and the relationships. Most models treat individual people, such as mentors or mentees, as nodes in the network and utilize strictly dyadic relationships (between exactly two people). A summary of other common modeling choices is shown in table 1 (partially abstracted from [1], [2]).
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Table 1. Different network modeling choices relevant to as they impact mentoring networks.
The modeling choices selected for a particular task or analysis depend upon 1) the data available, 2) study questions, 3) resources available, and 4) the existence of statistical, simulation, or visualization methods in a particular framework. For instance, many statistical methods and visualization techniques do not apply to ternary relations; hence this modeling framework is rarely used even when appropriate to the study question at hand. Relevance of SNA to Mentorship The process of mentoring is typically conceived as a directed binary relationship between the mentor and mentee as fixed and specific actors. This means that mentorship is imparted from the mentor to the mentee without influence from other actors. Mentoring as an organizational activity typically concerns individuals within the bounds of a single (educational) organization. This makes the mentoring relationship an ideal candidate for social network analysis in an organizational context; the set of actors is bounded and enumerated within an organization (hypothetically, if not in practice). Mentorship networks have been studied in development of urban youth 3, graduate education 4, and minority career development 5 among others. Mentorship networks have also been the subject of related studies as “collaboration networks” and “development networks”. 6 7 Monitoring mentorship networks Several data sources may be employed in order to identify, measure, and monitor mentoring relationships. Data collection may occur under the aims of educational evaluation, sociological research, or organizational and professional development. Several possible data sources for analysis of mentorship
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networks are listed in Table 2. This table also shows possible variables that could be measured to create weighted networks, should the desired analysis require this modeling choice. Table 2. Possible data sources for measuring mentorship networks and variables amenable toward creation of weighted network models. Relations between individuals that are inherently undirected are marked with an asterisk (*).
Most of the aforementioned data sources yield relational data (i.e. dyads) between node pairs. It is important to note, however, that useful hypotheses can be formed about associations between node-level characteristics, such as individual demographics, discipline, or publication rate, and the existence, strength, diversity or longevity of mentoring relationships. It is also possible to measure graph-level characteristics or variables; for example, one may wish to test whether the existence of formal mentoring policies in departments resulted in stronger ties within those departments. Thus, in addition to tie-level data, it is important to consider both node-level and graph-level characteristics within the organization under study. An important consideration in network analyses is the sampling frame. Whether or not the desired study requires a formal statistical analysis, it is important to consider the sampled population from which network data are drawn. Many organizational analyses suggest a sociocentric approach, conducting a census of the entire organization. Given access to student/employee rosters and distinct organizational boundaries, a census of organization members may be the simplest way to prevent bias in the observed data. Alternately, some conclusions about organizations may be drawn from egocentric studies based on individuals as the unit of analysis, sampling from a subset of the population. Other sampling techniques such as respondent-driven sampling can result in unbiased population estimates under certain strict assumptions. Before undertaking a formal network analysis it is advisable for researchers to precisely define: 1) research question(s), 2) available data sources, and 3) relevant sampling/modeling techniques5. 265
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However, irrespective of modeling choices, network visualization and descriptive statistics may help to characterize data post-hoc. Translational science Translational science is an interdisciplinary attempt to re-engineer the health sciences to accelerate the sharing of discoveries, data, methods, samples, and techniques across the biomedical research enterprise. In the context of interdisciplinary science, understanding the social and organizational features that support diverse mentorship networks is critical to training well-rounded scientists. The emergence of this approach offers a natural experiment to study the role of mentorship in a novel and complex organizational context. However, this very complexity, which promises to bring scientists closer together may impact the coherence or consistency of mentoring. It can also complicate assessment of the success of mentoring. Some possible hypotheses about mentorship networks in this interdisciplinary context include: 1) More diverse mentoring leads to a higher publication rate of mentees. 2) Translational science mentees spend more time in mentorship activities than other junior investigators. 3) Mentors advise mentees in more diverse fields after introduction of translational science programs. 4) Mentees serve as bridges to form new research partnerships between mentors in diverse fields. 5) Mentees whose mentors are themselves interconnected as collaborators are more successful (e.g. in number of publications or grants awarded). 6) Mentees in translational sciences receive contradictory advice from different sources. These hypotheses lend themselves to evaluation at the network level, and if supported by the data, will inform mentorship network structures that lead to effective development of mentees and a stronger research institution. For example, network analysis might lend support to the design of networks that provided frequent, diverse, and collegial (interconnected) mentoring relationships. Mentorship Networks in Translational Science The quality and impact of mentoring relationships might be measured for many purposes. We present an example from a National Institutes of Health initiative to change the organizational structure and efficiency of biomedical research. This initiative, the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) program, consists of grants which encourage interdisciplinary team science, data sharing, and community engagement to accelerate the transference of knowledge “from the bench to the bedside” at universities nationwide. Across the CTSAs, social network analysis is viewed as a potential tool to help reveal connections between individuals and organizations as part of a broader goal to evaluate the success of the collaborative, interdisciplinary mission of the grants. The Institute of Translational Health Sciences (ITHS) at the University of Washington is one CTSA recipient. The ITHS is composed of “key function cores” that relate to the endeavor of scientific research (e.g., Clinical Research, IRB, Education, Biomedical Informatics, Biostatistics, etc.). Investigators utilize resources provided by the ITHS key functions while creating mentorships and promoting collaborations among its members. A baseline mentorship network was developed by the Education Core as part of the ITHS Evaluation Program. The goals of this program are to 1) provide a baseline of research and educational practices before CTSA-related interventions; 2) identify key changes in activities supporting research activities; 3) monitor these changes over time; and 4) propose policy changes based on these observations to support success of the Institute’s research mission. Metrics for the success of ITHS activities include the types of mentorships created and the types of research collaborations that are generated and sustained – characteristics that can be informed by social network analysis 5, 12, 13.
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Our baseline network utilizes evaluation data collected by the ITHS Education Core to identify TL1 trainees and KL2 scholars (of interdisciplinary clinical research training programs) and record interactions with program mentors. TL1 trainees are pre-doctoral students, whereas KL2 scholars are post-doctoral scholars with more training in clinical research. The evaluation consisted of a survey eliciting mentormentee and research collaborator relationships among 25 TL1 trainees, 74 KL2 scholars, and 97 program mentors during the first four years of the ITHS grant. The survey questionnaire asked trainees and scholars to identify their perceived relationship (mentor, mentee, research collaborator) with other trainees and program mentors. Preliminary analysis of the resulting network suggests that (1) multiple interactions between expected mentors-mentees and the ITHS, and (2) unexpected interactions between training program members, such as KL2 scholars providing mentorship to TL1 trainees (initiated by shared primary mentors) and interdisciplinary research teams involving TL1 trainees and KL2 scholars14. Because team science is an important focus for the ITHS, this preliminary data provides insight to further develop inter-disciplinary interactions including mentor-mentee and trainee-scholar relations that occur within training programs. Longitudinal data on mentoring relationships of trainees will be analyzed, with plans to follow mentorship periodically as trainees move through the program. Other CTSAs have developed additional capabilities to utilize collaboration and mentoring networks both for evaluation of the enterprise, as well as to drive the very changes NIH aims to foster. Harvard Catalyst Profiles is an example of a “social networking” web tool to enable users to identify, connect with, and manage collaborations. Profiles enables users to view their own and other users’ collaborations, and to explore other potential collaborators in different fields. It thus enables users to take active control of the development of their own professional networks. The C-IKNOW software from Northwestern University, in addition to other network analysis capabilities, allows users to create web-based network surveys15. Thus, it enables egocentric data to be easily collected and analyzed within a single environment. These tools are intended to accelerate team science and yield insights for the translational researcher and their scientific communities on what team structures, collaboration network features, and communication modes lead to increased scientific throughput and impact. Summary Social network analysis yields tools which may be used to enhance assessment and monitoring of mentorship at an organizational level. Individual relationships can be measured, tracked over time, compared across groups, and tested for association with other organizational or individual performance metrics. In addition to the use of network analysis to objectively measure mentoring the climate, the study of mentorship networks itself may change the way organizations think about, design and foster mentoring relationships. This exciting prospect leads to tools which may help mentors and mentees adapt to rapidly changing research agendas, identify and create diverse teams, and bypass the preferential “good ‘ole boy network”. In applying these “social networking” tools to specifically re-engineer collaborations in the research environment, however, care must be exercised when simultaneously attempting to use network analysis to measure the resulting networks. It is likely that collaboration links fostered by online tools differ than those identified through more personal channels. It may also be difficult to separate the effect of online networking tools with other interventions brought about in multidisciplinary environments. Thus, ironically, use of the network paradigm to reengineer mentorship and collaboration could come at the expense of its use to objectively study those networks. Network analysis cannot alone make up for deficiencies in mentoring relationships brought on by policy, funding, academic or interpersonal constraints. However, selective and thoughtful application of network analysis can reveal broader trends that planners, evaluators, decision- makers and mentors/mentees alike can utilize to identify social structures that enhance the transference of knowledge, experience, and academic success in organizations.
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Acknowledgements The UW Institute of Translational Health Sciences and this work are supported by Grant Number 1 UL1 RR025014 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NCRR or NIH. REFERENCES Higgins MC, Dobrow SR, Chandler D. Never quite good enough: The paradox of sticky developmental relationships for elite university graduates. Journal of Vocational Behavior. 2008;72(2):207‐224. Mika P. Social networks and the semantic web. 2004. Ahn J. The Role of Social Network Locations in the College Access Mentoring of Urban Youth. Education and Urban Society. 2010. Kim Y‐M. A Preliminary Social Network Analysis of MPACT. ASIS&T 2007 Annual Meeting. Vol Milwalkee, WI2007. Buchwald D, Dick RW. Weaving the Native Web: Using Social Network Analysis to Demonstrate the Value of a Minority Career Development Program. Acad Med. Jun 2011;86(6):778‐786. Molloy JC. Development networks: literature review and future research. Career Development International. 2005;10(6/7):536‐547. Podolny JM, Baron JN. Resources and relationships: Social networks and mobility in the workplace. American sociological review. 1997:673‐693. Batagelj V. Efficient algorithms for citation network analysis. Arxiv preprint cs/0309023. 2003. Otte E, Rousseau R. Social network analysis: a powerful strategy, also for the information sciences. Journal of information science. 2002;28(6):441. Morris M, Population IUftSSo. Network epidemiology: a handbook for survey design and data collection: Oxford University Press; 2004. Sternitzke C, Bartkowski A, Schramm R. Visualizing patent statistics by means of social network analysis tools. World Patent Information. 2008;30(2):115‐131. Durland MM, Fredericks KA. Social network analysis in program evaluation: Jossey‐Bass Inc Pub; 2006. Lurie SJ, Fogg TT, Dozier AM. Social network analysis as a method of assessing institutional culture: Three case studies. Acad Med. 2009;84(8):1029. Gibbs PS, Brock DM, Robins LS, Nagasawa PR, Wolf FM. Experimenting with Social Network Analysis to Capture Mentoring Networks Involving CTSA Trainees. NIH Clinical & Translational Science Award (CTSA) Evaluation Key Function meeting. Vol Rockville, MD2009. Huang Y, Contractor N, Yao Y. CI‐KNOW: recommendation based on social networks2008.
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Keith, T. B. T. University of New Mexico Effective Strategies for Mentoring Programs and Issues of Special Interest Regarding Efficacy and Growth for Schools, Students, and Parents ABSTRACT This paper connects conclusions from several peer-reviewed articles in order to show empirically the effectiveness of mentorship programs as a whole. The paper then examines affective strategies and setbacks. In conjunction these articles seem to indicate that students experience the highest academic and personal success rate when involved with multiple compatible mentorship programs communicating on an effective level regardless of their current age, education, or income level. These articles indicate steps that may be taken to achieve what may be the ideal mentoring program.
Introduction Youth involved in mentorship programs exhibit higher academic success rates. A higher number of mentors is often indicative of higher success rates. Mentoring programs also allow schools to function better. Youth with non-familial mentors have higher academic expectations for themselves (Sanchez, Esparza, & Colon 2008). This paper focuses on three areas: the benefit of mentors for students and schools, affective implications of mentoring strategies, and specific issues which may require addressing. In Devonport and Lane (2009), adolescent interaction with mentors was monitored and recorded in a reflective manner. In Erickson, McDonald, and Elder (2009), empirical data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health demonstrates a correlation between mentors and educational success. Mentorship may be the best way to reduce social inequities (Erickson, McDonald, & Elder, 2009). These articles indicate the importance of mentors. Mentoring programs are relatively standard in implication (build rapport, set direction, progress, evaluate, move on) (Devonport & Lane, 2009). While there is some variation within this framework, the format is relatively standard whether the mentorship is formal or natural. Devonport and Lane (2009) indicate that interpersonal communication skills and compatibility of mentor and mentee is the largest hurdle in establishing a mentorship. Once a connection has been established, progress is relatively reliable assuming the mentor and mentee follow the standard framework and meet each other’s expectations for time dedication (Devonport & Lane, 2009). Erickson, McDonald, and Elder (2009) use empirical population data to indicate high and reliable success rates in the area of educational growth when a mentor is present. Youth involved in a mentorship program based around homework performed significantly better, describing the mentors as 'helpful', 'fun', and keeping them from doing 'bad things' (Diversi & Mecham, 2005). This paper aims to combine information from several past studies to indicate what may be the best possible format for a mentorship. Literature Review The number of mentors, both natural and formal, is a reliable indicator for success in the academic environment (Erickson, McDonald, & Elder, 2009). Mentors are able to provide information teachers cannot, such as how to access learning tools at school (Sanchez, Esparza, & Colon, 2008). With more and more families relying on single parents or situations in which both parents work full time, mentors may be more important than ever. With a decrease of parental influence, some children are growing into adulthood without a reliable guide. Results revealed that effective mentors can relate to situations a student encounters and are good listeners (Devonport & Lane, 2009). Because of the ability of the mentor to assume a less formal and more personal and friendly role, mentors represent a potentially important link between childhood and adulthood (Erickson, McDonald, & Elder, 2009). Youth can serve as affective mentors for other youth while being mentored themselves and may gain substantial perspective and insight from such leadership opportunities if supervised effectively (Wright & Borland, 1992). 269
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Use of mentors in schools can keep advanced students engaged while bringing students that have fallen behind up to speed. Mentoring can be complimentary or compensatory depending on the needs of the student and the strengths of the mentor (Erickson, McDonald, & Elder, 2009). As indicated by Casey and Shore (2000) mentors are additionally valuable to gifted students. In Casey and Shore (2000), surveys revealed that gifted students benefit from mentoring at the same level and in similar fashion to non-gifted students. Mentoring is beneficial to students from families of all income levels (Erickson, McDonald, & Elder, 2009). Use of mentors in school alleviates 'problem behavior' according to school officials (Diversi & Mecham, 2005). Having a diverse staff of mentors specifically trained to mentor specific students could greatly improve test scores by allowing teachers to focus their attention on the class as a whole instead of specific issues. Students learn to interact and socialize in an appropriate way with supervision from mentors (Diversi & Mecham, 2005). Mentors often gain insight into the specific issues a mentee is facing (Wright & Borland, 1992). Mentors can make connections and form relationships which allow access and influence to students’ lives that teachers do not have. It is not that teachers cannot be mentors additionally but more a difference of roles. Mentors can interact in a manner that promotes self-disclosure from a student when the standard academic setting does not (Wright & Borland, 1992). Mentees feedback consistently credits mentors as particularly effective when the mentors play the role of a listener (Devonport & Lane, 2009). Because of the third party dynamic, mentors have insight that teachers, administrators, and even parents do not. Affective mentorship may have the capability to increase peer resources if implemented on a broad scale and thus influence an entire community. Young adults with mentors, natural or formal, see more positive educational outcomes generally than those without mentors (Sanchez, Esparza, & Colon 2008). Erickson, McDonald, and Elder (2009) shows the positive impact of formal mentoring programs which match disadvantaged youth with mentors. In Wright and Borland (1992), adolescent students were paired with kindergarten students in a peer mentoring fashion. Both parties reported learning a lot from the experience. A mentor's level of education seems to correlate with a mentees final level of education (Sanchez, Esparza, & Colon 2008). Because of this, peer mentoring may be even more vital. Through a pyramid of peer mentoring, one college-educated mentor can interact, affect, and promote consistent growth among many mentees. The combined use of natural, formal, and peer mentors may provide mentees with a higher level of academic potential and educational success. Sanchez, Esparza, and Colon (2008) indicate that relationship duration may be an important factor in the effectiveness of mentorships. Frequent communication and consistent, concrete standards seem to be vital for a student's education. In addition, having a consistency of personnel seems to play a key role in student efficacy and morale (Erickson, McDonald, & Elder, 2009). The timing of mentorships and where they happen in relation to life events seem to have an impact on the effectiveness of mentoring programs, thus emphasizing the importance of long term programs (Erickson, McDonald, & Elder, 2009). Frequent, high turnover of mentors fundamentally sabotages the first two stages of the mentoring relationship according to Diversi and Mecham, 2005. Building and establishing trust is a vital step and should not be taken lightly (Diversi & Mecham, 2005). Changing mentors can have negative implications for the results of a mentorship program (Devonport & Lane, 2009). In order for any mentorship to be effective it is important to consider a patient and consistent approach. Mentors seem to be more effective when the mentor and mentee relationship is consistent and reliable over an extended duration of time. Having a mentor is indicative of positive academic outcomes (Sanchez, Esparza, & Colon 2008). Having multiple mentors is indicative of more positive academic outcomes (Sanchez, Esparza, & Colon 2008). Social contact between mentors reduces miscommunication and thus keeps students out of trouble. Social contact can also allow for more affective teaching strategies. More mentors indicates a higher level of education and more communication indicates a higher level of mentoring efficiency. Mentoring relationships that consistently leave both parties feeling satisfied with the results are those in which both parties feel adequate time has been invested (Devonport & Lane, 2009). With multiple mentors, more time is dedicated overall, thus ensuring an adequate investment.
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More mentoring programs are needed to emphasize the importance of community interaction (Erickson, McDonald, & Elder, 2009). Mentors can provide students with positive school experiences (Diversi & Mecham, 2005). According to Erickson, McDonald, and Elder (2009), access to healthy relationships with non-parental mentors correlates with and may influence resilience, helping students to become competent adults in all walks of life. While the value of academic mentoring can vary based on the value of the information being emphasized in the curriculum, one thing is certain: mentoring helps to reduce the impact of 'educational isolation', a key socio-cultural factor stemming behind many students' choices to drop out (Diversi & Mecham, 2005). The number of mentors a student has correlates strongly with lower absenteeism and higher educational standards (Sanchez, Esparza, & Colon 2008). While some forms of mentorship may be better than others, any form of mentorship is valuable. Students can benefit from in group mentorship as well as cross cultural mentorship, the latter providing valuable assimilation tools (Diversi & Mecham, 2005). Mentors provide intensive learning sessions for gifted students (Casey & Shore 2000). Mentees all have different needs and a variety of mentoring personality types may potentially provide mentees with the best possible life outcome. Interpersonal compatibility is important in determining the effectiveness of a mentoring relationship (Devonport & Lane, 2009). It is worth noting the different requirements of gifted students and ungifted students thus emphasizing the need for multiple varied approaches to mentorship. Current compatibility matching software and advances in surveying technology in general could prove successful for future mentoring studies and programs. It is postulated in Sanchez, Esparza, and Colon (2008) that communication between multiple mentors may have a positive impact on students. More longitudinal data pertaining to multiple peer and adult mentors in both a formal and natural format could provide insight into more effective programs. Hurd and Zimmerman (2010) examined the relationship between non-kin mentorship in early adulthood and depressive symptoms in African American adolescents transitioning to adulthood in a longitudinal study. While this was a race specific study the implications might carry over across racial cultural boundaries. The study found that there may be a correlation between a positive psychosocial trajectory and the initial act of seeking out mentorship (Hurd & Zimmerman, 2010). While the study found no correlation between mentors and reduced substance abuse it did find a significant decrease in depressive symptoms (Hurd & Zimmerman, 2010). This study indicates the importance of a mentor in the transitional period between adolescence and adulthood. Self-selection for mentoring relationships, popular amongst mentors and mentees, is not the only method (Devonport & Lane, 2009). According to Dauber and Hogue (2011), most high risk youth with unmet treatment needs are similar statistically. For the purposes of the study, four categories were divided in order to best cover the range of at risk adolescents. At risk adolescents are defined as older youth involved in one of four intervention oriented programs; education systems, child welfare systems, legal systems, and drug treatment systems (Dauber & Hogue, 2011). Adolescents involved in these systems varied in the number of systems and the involvement with each system (Dauber & Hogue, 2011). Youth involved in multiple systems often had conduct disorders or substance abuse issues (Dauber & Hogue, 2011). Of the 253 subjects studied two distinct trends emerged regarding youth with unmet treatment needs (Dauber & Hogue, 2011). The profile differed based on gender dividing subjects with unmet treatment needs into two categories; males with depressive symptoms and females with conduct-disorder symptoms (Dauber & Hogue, 2011). There is no single definitive plan that can treat every high risk adolescent with unmet treatment needs (Dauber & Hogue, 2011). The success of a mentoring relationship has many variables that factor in, including the social compatibility of the mentor and the mentee and both parties commitment level (Devonport & Lane, 2009). Data such as that found in Dauber and Hogue (2011) indicate a need for better evaluation of mentoring needs as well as better mentoring compatibility information. Statistics indicate a correlation between these unmet treatment needs involvement in one or more detention system (Dauber & Hogue, 2011).
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Discussion Schools and Communities that have implicated mentoring programs have seen growth in many areas. Rising educational levels in a student body over a long period of time indicate rising education levels in a community. Higher education levels in a community often indicate decreased levels of crime and poverty. In this way, mentoring is a preventative solution to these problems. Students benefit from mentors because of increased attention to specific needs and teachers benefit because of decreased behavioral issues. Strategies that have proven to be affective include peer mentoring, adult and formal mentoring, and natural mentoring. Adolescents benefit from mentoring through early adulthood. Issues to be addressed include increased communication between mentors and use of compatibility matching to best serve mentors and mentees. In addition to this it should be noted that consistency of program and personnel has proven to be important as well. Curriculum of schools should connect directly to preparing students for life (Casey & Shore 2000). Affective, consistent, compatible, and durational mentoring programs with modern communication capabilities and an established rapport with parents, siblings, peers, and other mentorship programs may provide additional reinforcement for students transitioning from youth through early adulthood and is statistically likely to improve educational results. Future Directions More longitudinal data measuring the growth of mentees involved in multiple programs which communicate with each other and use compatibility matching and are consistent over extended periods of time would be useful. Information regarding a progressive, tiered format of mentorship could also be informative. Studies of peer and adult mentoring combined could be informative with regards to academic success for the mentee, the peer mentor, and the supervising mentor. Limitations More longitudinal data would provide more accurate results pertaining to direct implication of mentorship strategies. More research is needed to determine the impact of the duration of a mentorship as well as the intensity and type of mentorship on educational outcomes for youth (Sanchez, Esparza, & Colon 2008). More research and empirical evidence could demonstrate the high value of formal and natural mentorship for gifted and non-gifted students of all cultures and education levels (Casey & Shore 2000). There is debate as to whether natural mentorship precedes a positive psychosocial trajectory or whether students that are already on a strong path seek out such relationships (Sanchez, Esparza, & Colon 2008). More data on positive psychosocial trajectories is needed. Considering the concrete results of formal mentoring, more longitudinal research regarding natural mentors is needed. REFERENCES Sanchez, B., Esparza, P., Colon, Y. (2008). Natural Mentoring Under the Microscope: an Investigation of Mentoring Relationships and Latino Adolescents’ Academic Performance. Journal of Community Psychology, 36(4), 468482. Casey, K. M. A., Shore, B. M., (2000). Mentors’ Contributions to Gifted Adolescents’ Affective, Social, and Vocational Development. Roeper Review, 22(4), 227-230. Dauber, S., Hogue, A. (2011). Profiles of Systems Involvement in a Sample of High-Risk Urban Adolescents with Unmet Treatment Needs. Children and Youth Services Review. Doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.05.031. Devonport, T. J., Lane, A. M. (2009). Using Mentors to Facilitate the Delivery of a Longitudinal Coping Intervention Amongst National Junior Netball Players. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 7(2), 50-63. Diversi, M., Mecham, C. (2005). Latino(a) Students and Caucasian Mentors in a Rural After-School Program: Towards Empowering Adult-Youth Relationships. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1), 31-40.
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Hurd, N., Zimmerman, M. (2010). Natural Mentors, Mental Health, and Risk Behaviors: A Longitudinal Analysis of African American Adolescents Transitioning to Adulthood. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46(1-2), 36-48. Erickson, L.D., McDonald, S., & Elder Jr., G.H. (2009). Informal Mentors and Education: Complementary or Compensatory Resources? Sociology of Education, 82, 344-367. Wright, L., Borland, J.H. (1992). A Special Friend: Adolescent Mentors for Young, Economically Disadvantaged, Potentially Gifted Students. Roeper Review, 14(3), 124-129
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Stern, M. & Brierley, A. Stanford University Stanford Alumni Mentoring: Creating a Culture of Mentorship ABSTRACT Stanford Alumni Mentoring (SAM) aims to create a culture of mentorship within the Stanford community by connecting students to alumni across disciplines in one-on- one mentoring relationships for career guidance, advice, and advocacy. Since Spring 2009, over 1000 students have been matched with alumni mentors. SAM is a student group on campus supported by the Career Development Center, which has partnered with many student groups, and departments on campus to foster learning across disciplines. Collaborations include ethnic centers, athletics, pre-professional clubs, Vice Provost for Graduate Education, student government, Haas Center for Public Service, The LGBTQ, alumni clubs and more. The on-line mentoring tool designed for scalability is a student driven process whereby the student anonymously searches and requests mentors based on their individual interests and goals. Alumni have the option to accept or decline the student request providing buy-in by both parties and creating a more organic mentoring experience. To assess our program we are using survey data; student/alumni focus group feedback; quantitative and qualitative data from student questionnaires; and analytics/tracking from the website. We examined the effectiveness of the program’s matching process and investigated the quality of the students mentoring experience. Results of our surveys are used to improve high tech and high touch pro- gram components, including mentor/mentee education, registration, matching, and the on-going mentoring process. The purpose of this session is to share practical applications and tips from our own program assessment and evaluation as well as include an interactive component for participants to share their challenges and successes in working with collegiate students alumni programs.
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Shkolnik, E. L., Surcel, A., Shahar, A. & Jang-Condell, H. Lowell Observatory, Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Institution for Science, University of Wyoming GPS Groups: A Peer-Problem-Solving Approach to Mentorship ABSTRACT GPS Groups (Goals and Problem-solving for Scientists) is a peer- mentoring organization that facilitates problem-solving among minority scientists from a wide range of research fields (e.g. women in STEM). The GPS model consists of a confidential peer-mentorship group where individuals come together to discuss professional concerns, engage in analytical problem-solving techniques, and develop individualized plans of action in a supportive, yet exacting environment. Each member is expected to act as a sounding board, reference point, and source of perspective for the rest of the group. Due to the commitment to confidentiality, the group provides a safe environment to ask questions, show weaknesses, test ideas, and give and receive critical advice. Here we present the founding principles of GPS and directions for establishing local GPS groups. These guidelines have been developed experientially – the first GPS group was formed in the Washington, D.C.Baltimore area, and consisted of four women scientists who were all postdoctoral researchers. The initial group has had startling success. After two years, three of the four original members applied for and accepted tenuretrack faculty positions, and three women had second or third children, while still maintaining their career trajectories. The benefits of GPS groups, however, extend far beyond professional development or promotion. Individuals are empowered to change perceptions, enhance self-confidence, and increase their external influence.
Introduction It has been well documented that women, blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans not only constitute underrepresented minority (URM) groups in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) disciplines, but that their retention rate in the pipeline is dismal. While 50% of STEM bachelor degrees and 38% of postdoctoral positions are awarded to women, only 6 to 29% (depending on discipline) of faculty positions are held by women (The National Academies, 2010). Similar two-fold reductions are seen in other URM groups as well (Nelson & Brammer, 2010). The individuals who obtain faculty positions often report feelings of isolation and workplace bias, coupled with low expectations of their scientific ability and performance. Closing the gap between education and retention requires significant changes, both at departmental and institutional levels. The identification of mentors has traditionally been highlighted as an essential element in maintaining URM individuals in STEM fields. Here, we argue that peer problem-solving groups provide a level of support and personal growth unattainable in traditional mentorship models, and that participation in such groups can play a significant role in retaining URM individuals in the academic pipeline. Peer mentorship has been used successfully outside academic environments. First proposed in N. Hill’s (1937) classic book Think and Grow Rich, peer mentorship was facilitated in a “mastermind” setting for business entrepreneurs, which Hill defines as a place for “the coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.” Because scientific research in many ways can be considered entrepreneurial, application of a mastermind model in academic environments can have similar positive effects. The analogous model presented here is a revision and extrapolation of a group problem-solving approach described in Every Other Thursday: Stories and Strategies from Successful Women Scientists by E. Daniell (2006). In this book, several women in Berkeley, California (including members of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers, professors and industry scientists) met every other Thursday for over 25 years, and credit the group for their many professional and personal successes. Although the model presented below would benefit all scientists, the main focus of the group – known as GPS (Goals & Problem-Solving for Scientists) – is to cater to women and other URMs. The first such GPS group was formed in June 2009 in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area. Its founding 275
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members (and authors of this paper) were all postdoctoral fellows in the physical and biological sciences at the time of the group’s inception. Due to its remarkable success (see §4), GPS has expanded with new chapters and splintered into new groups as members have accepted new positions elsewhere in the country. Here we present the basic mechanics, facilitation, benefits and results of a GPS group. A GPS Group is Many Things A GPS group is a confidential peer-mentoring group where individuals come together to discuss professional concerns, engage in analytical problem-solving techniques, and develop individualized plans of action. The private and close-knit nature of the GPS group ensures that members can thoroughly explore concerns in an atmosphere that is both supportive and exacting. Members are required not only to resolve their own conflicts, but also to act as a sounding board, reference point, and source of perspective to others. Through both short-term and long-term assessments, members report professional and personal enrichment, as well as an increased sense of personal power, confidence and external influence. GPS was founded in part to provide peer-mentorship for underrepresented scientists – women, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBT members and scientists with active family lives are all excellent examples. Individuals in these groups often experience a sense of isolation in the workplace, which can be combated through membership in a GPS group. Such a group helps with identifying and conquering workplace bias and self-esteem issues, including the “imposter syndrome” (Clance 1985). Additionally, female GPS members also report that vetting concerns with other women helps relieve much of the competition often experienced among women in the work place, a phenomenon Stone (2007) referred to as “horizontal hostility”. GPS groups can be effective throughout a scientist’s professional career. Although the inaugural GPS group involved postdoctoral fellows, all members acknowledge the benefit of peer-mentorship in the next stages of their career. Discussion with senior scientists confirms the desirability and need for such groups to exist at every stage of one’s career (also demonstrated in Daneill’s book). We argue however that the GPS model is most important during transitional stages, such as the move from postdoctoral positions to faculty positions or from tenure-track to tenured positions. It has proven effective at combating the losses of the “leaky pipeline” common during these leaps on the academic ladder (Pell 1996). GPS Group Formation and Facilitation The goal of GPS is utilitarian: it exists to solve problems that individual members face in their professional environment involving, but not limited to, professional development, goal setting, productivity, conflict resolution, mentoring, scientific writing, interview skills, work-life balance, and harassment. To achieve this, GPS groups should maintain the following rules of engagement: 1. Selection of members: A group consisting of four to six people is ideal. Recruitment of new members must be unanimous, and new members should fit the criteria outlined by the original members with regard to peer similarities. We found that it was extremely useful to have members from disparate fields of studies (See § 3.1 for more details). 2. A commitment to meet every other week. Given the need for a true time commitment, meeting more frequently may not be feasible and yet meeting less frequently diminishes the continuity of discussions. One of the primary benefits of the GPS group is to leave each meeting with the expectation that one will be held accountable for following through on outlined solutions. Showing up at each meeting must be a top priority (with reasonable exceptions, of course). Members should treat GPS meetings the same way that they adhere to other professional commitments. GPS members have attended meetings on the eve of proposal deadlines, job interviews and with newborns in tow. This type of commitment, while perhaps initially difficult, engenders a feeling of mutual respect among members and ensures the long-term viability of the group. 3. A commitment to complete confidentiality. This creates a safe and comfortable environment to ask questions, show weaknesses, test ideas, and give critical advice. Adherence to confidentiality is
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absolutely essential. Breaking this rule weakens the foundational trust within the group necessary for collective and individual success. 4. Restricted times: Each meeting should be 2 to 3 hours in length, depending on the members’ preferences. Meetings start with a 30-second “check-in” during which each member states her (or his) points of discussion for the meeting. Each member requests an amount of time she predicts will be sufficient for a thorough discussion of her issue(s) of choice. The group decides how strict they need to be to stay on track, but this step helps gauge the seriousness of the topics for that meeting, i.e. a member who only wants to speak for 5 minutes probably has a less pressing or more easily solvable issue than someone who allocates 20 minutes of the meeting. 5. Choosing topics of discussion: Members should focus discussions on problems where they seek an active resolution, or on issues relevant to all members. This is critical, as GPS meetings are not merely “venting sessions” – participants must then be willing to do the work needed to overcome pertinent issues. In the event that a member does not have an issue to be addressed, his/her role is still critical for the group. During those times, he/she fulfills the peer-mentorship component of GPS. 6. Honest feedback: The ability of members to both give and receive feedback makes the GPS model a mentoring success. Peer-mentorship means that individuals are likely to be more receptive to internal critical review than in the context of a traditional mentoring relationship. It is not enough to simply meet and discuss problems – it is essential that members be exacting and honest in their feedback. The hardest, but most rewarding part of GPS, is pinpointing personal weaknesses, and then having the support of a close-knit group to work through those weaknesses. This is impossible if members are not committed to honest exchange. 7. Protocols for the beginning and end of each meeting: As with any group, inter-personal conflicts can arise. If such an issue between two or more members is left over from the previous meeting, it should be discussed first thing during the next meeting (before the “check-in” time) in order that the meeting continues comfortably and productively for everyone. At the end of each meeting, members should list concrete goals to be achieved before the next meeting. This strengthens the sense of collegial accountability and is often the cornerstone for the next meeting. Additionally, a useful suggestion found in Daniell’s book (2006) is having group members give and receive compliments to each member with grace, respect and pride. This is a valuable life skill often overlooked by a polite declination of a compliment, an unfortunate, yet socially pressured, practice. Group Homogeneity and Heterogeneity The effectiveness of GPS is dependent on a certain level on homogeneity within the group. For example, the efficacy of a GPS group is most likely diminished if its members consist of both genders, as people interact differently when members of the opposite sex are present (e.g. Smith-Lovin & Brody 1989, Mabry 1985). This defeats the aim of a truly open and free group environment. Similarly, having a group of individuals at similar career levels is important, especially if in the same field, department or institution. This can assuage questions of conflict-of-interest such as: Will the senior members ever need to write letters of recommendation for junior members? Will she be involved in promotion or tenure decisions for a junior GPS member? Also, it is likely that senior members will act as mentors to the junior members and not vice versa. This would violate the peer- mentorship ideal. Learning to trust and validate your own feelings, opinions, and actions by giving advice to others is critical to GPS success, where participants must be both mentors and mentees in order for the system to thrive. GPS does not replace the traditional mentor/mentee relationship, but it works in partnership for personal and professional development. A senior mentor provides key insights into professional development based on experience and advanced information. However, a senior mentor may have a different vision for a junior’s career than the mentee, and may not incorporate all of the personal 277
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parameters needed to make a decision. Also, showing weakness is rarely a good idea in front of a senior mentor who will also likely be the person writing letters of reference for the mentee. A GPS group runs into neither of these problems. Being able to show and acknowledge self-doubt in a safe place is critical to getting past those hindrances. For these reasons, maintaining a group of single gendered members and of roughly the same status is strongly recommended. However, one area where homogeneity may cause friction is when there are overlapping research interests among the members. For example, if all members are astrophysicists studying exoplanets, there is a strong likelihood that the members will find themselves competing with each other for jobs and grants, forcing an environment within the group that may not be fully honest and supportive. Heterogeneity in research interests also provides a number of benefits and lessons that can be drawn from cross-disciplinary interaction. For example, disciplines traditionally have different approaches to everything from intellectual property ownership to publication timetables to dealing with maternity leave and family care at conferences. Awareness of alternative approaches encourages the adoption of more equitable policies in the workplace across STEM fields. Experience, Growth and Success The inaugural GPS group started with E. Shkolnik seeking women who mirrored her personal and professional experiences and goals. For her, this translated to female postdoctoral researchers working in the physical sciences who had hopes of attaining a tenure-track academic position. She also recruited women who already had children, as having young children was a significant part of the challenges she faced in the workplace. She needed to combat the “motherhood penalty” not experienced by childless women in academia (Whittington, 2011). This group began meeting bi-weekly in June of 2009. The members included two astrophysicists, one biologist, and one geochemist (the authors of this paper). By all measures, this first GPS group was successful, as the following results suggest: • Three of the women applied for and are now in tenure-track academic positions in their fields of choice. • Three of the women have had successful second or third pregnancies in this time and managed to avoid the leaky pipeline. • Each woman is committed to beginning another GPS chapter in her local city, which mirrors her current career status. • The problem-solving skills acquired in the GPS group have been successfully applied by the members to their other personal and professional relationships. • GPS has propelled members to apply for fellowships/jobs/conferences outside of their normal bounds of motivation and confidence. This paper, written by scientists for a social science conference, is just one example of how the inter- disciplinary nature of GPS provides its members a window into new fields and thus the confidence to cross disciplinary lines. The success of every GPS group is built on the success of its individual members. The first group was successful because each member built on her strengths and made it a priority to reduce her weaknesses. These changes were possible in large part because of the peer-mentorship model − seeing how one’s advice positively impacts others leads to enhanced self-confidence when it comes time to make key judgments about personal situations. Each woman has come away from GPS more empowered, more confident, and more focused.
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Expansion of the GPS Model The many benefits of participating in a GPS group have precipitated several outcomes. First, the authors have come to the realization that fostering a large-scale environment where women can come together to network is essential – not just for professional development, but also to provide a platform for advertising the advantages of being in a GPS group. To this end, we have organized several Wine & Cheese evenings with female scientists in the greater D.C.-Baltimore area. In these social settings, spontaneous networking and subsequent word-of-mouth has led to new GPS groups forming in the area, including the first all-male group. We plan to continue such networking on a biannual basis. Second, GPS is currently expanding nationally as the founding members diverge both professionally and geographically, regenerating themselves into new homogeneous groups reflecting the new stages in their careers. Third, an online presence at GPSgroups.com is being built. Here, people will have access to peerproblem solving resources, as well as a meeting place for individuals in STEM fields to find each other and form their own GPS group in their city. This database will initially focus on women, with the later expansion to other underrepresented groups in STEM fields. Summary GPS groups are a model for mentorship through peer problem-solving, with the following essential elements: • Autonomy • Self-selection • Status equality • Confidentiality • Commitment • Action GPS groups fill the gap left by traditional mentor/mentee relationships by providing members with the space for professional and personal growth in a safe, confidence- building, highly critical, but highly supportive environment. The benefits of GPS membership exceed career advancement – they affect every relationship, including the one with self – and as such, being part of this group is one of the most important commitments that each of us has made. It is anticipated that the GPS model will continue to sprout new chapters and promote the success and advancement of underrepresented STEM minorities in the near-term future. To help achieve this, we are creating an online problem-solving resource at GPSgroups.com. REFERENCES Clance, Pauline (1985). The Impostor Phenomenon: Overcoming the Fear That Haunts Your Success. Atlanta: Peachtree Publishers. Daniell, Ellen (2006). Every Other Thursday: Stories and Strategies from Successful Women Scientists. Yale University Press. Hill, Napoleon (1937). Think and Grow Rich. Chicago, Illinois: Combined Registry Company. Mabry, Edward A. (1985). The Effects of Gender Composition and Task Structure on Small Group Interaction, Small Group Research, 16, 75-96. Nelson, Donna J. & Brammer, Christopher N. (2010). A National Analysis of Minorities in Science and Engineering Faculties at Research Universities, Retrieved from http://cheminfo.chem.ou.edu/~djn/diversity/Faculty_Tables_FY07/07Report.pdf Pell. A. N. (1996). Journal of Animal Science, 74, 2843–2848. Smith-Lovin, Lynn & Brody, Charles (1989) Interruptions in Group Discussions: The Effects of Gender and Group Composition, American Sociological Review, 54, 424-435.
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Stone, Erin (2007). Women and Workplace Competition: a Study of Horizontal Hostility, MA thesis, Oregon State University, Retrieved from http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/5010. The National Academies’ Committee on Gender Differences in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty; Committee on Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine; Committee on National Statistics; National Research Council (2010), Gender Differences at Critical Transitions in the Careers of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Faculty. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12062. Whittington, Kjersten Bunker (2011) Mothers of Invention?: Gender, Motherhood, and New Dimensions of Productivity in the Science Profession, Work and Occupations, 38: 417-456
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Connor, L. M., Rodgers, J. R., Davidson, L. & Slaughter, G. Baylor College of Medicine, Integrated Learning Innovations Mentoring UR Post-Baccalaureate Students for a PhD in Biomedical Sciences ABSTRACT PhD students master very specific skills and disciplinary knowledge and a variety of trans-disciplinary skills. Successful applicants to these programs display evidence they master these, but some promising underrepresented (UR) students have some deficiencies in their academic or laboratory experience that either make them less competitive applicants. We developed an NIH-funded post-baccalaureate program to provide Scholars not only with lab experience but also a rich variety of instrumental and psychosocial mentoring. The goal of the one year Post-baccalaureate Research and Education Program (PREP) is to prepare UR college graduates for success in entering and finishing high quality PhD programs in biomedical science. PREP Scholars complete a unique Molecular & Cellular Biology course, work on cutting-edge research projects and attend professional development and standardized test PREP workshops. They also take Introduction to Graduate Research (IGR), which adapts to the needs and skills of each student to enhance critical and effective reading, presentation, analysis and writing skills. We use the “One Figure Journal Club” to develop journal club presentation skills. In IGR, scholars receive instant feedback on their presentations from peers and faculty mentors. “Research Relevance” talks by current UR PhD students provide peer-role models. Events throughout the year introduce students to the vibrant UR PhD student and post-doc community at BCM. 28 of 41 (68%) SMART PREP Scholars who completed our program matriculated into PhD programs, and to date, 100% of these students are either still in graduate school or have received PhDs. Because students apply to graduate school in the first months of our program, front-loading trans-disciplinary skills remains important but problematic. Our numerical success may reflect the multiple modes of mentoring, but individualized mentoring is time-intensive. We will critique our program, focusing on lessons learned.
Introduction The Graduate School of Biomedical Science of Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is committed to continuing to increase the numbers of under-represented (UR) scientists who receive high quality training through enhancing our efforts to recruit and retain UR Ph. and MD/PhD students. We are committed to opening the doors of opportunity to those who are historically under-represented in science and to creating and maintaining programs that promote UR students’ access to biomedical careers. Since BCM was awarded our first Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) grant in 1998 (PI G. Slaughter), we have increased the numbers of BCM UR PhD and MD/PhD students enrolled 20, to more than 80 since 2007. Our >80% retention of UR students to the PhD is slightly higher than the rate for nonUR students and UR students have high rates of winning research awards, national fellowships and publication. Our experiences are consistent with those described by Bowen and Bok which UR students who attended top-ranked, more academically competitive universities, than students with similar academic credentials, had a better retention and performance (Bowen & Bok, 1998). While our retention rate of UR students is high, some of the students that we have admitted to PhD programs have struggled to meet the requirements of our challenging curriculum. Each year, promising students apply for our PhD programs who we do not accept, due to concerns that they lack the academic preparation or, more rarely, research background or English skills. BCM was awarded the PREP grant in 2003 from the MORE (Minority Opportunities in Research ) division of NIGMS (PI G.Slaughter). This grant support allows us to help a broader range of students prepare for high quality PhD study, and avoid some stress of overcoming academic struggle early in graduate school. We have found that important impediments to entering and succeeding in BCM PhD programs are deficiencies in academic background and analytical thinking skills. Some promising UR applicants to PhD programs have not taken sufficient modern science courses to be prepared to enter BCM’s PhD courses. Some lack either sufficient English skills or reading skills (speed or analysis) to digest the scientific papers on which graduate courses are based. Others need more experience in critically 281
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analyzing their own research and that of others. BCM PREP Scholars are promising college graduates may have lower GPAs, need academic strengthening in some area(s), have trouble scoring well standardized tests, have lower confidence levels, or need more research experience than successful candidates for PhD programs. The goal of our program is to provide a highly individualized, one-year post-baccalaureate research/training program (PREP) at BCM each year, for 7 Scholars from populations that are underrepresented in science. All PREP Program activities are designed to help students develop the skills that they need to become successful PhD students in biomedical related science and progress to high quality post-doctoral positions and successful, careers in biomedicine. To date, 28 of 41 (68%) of the PREP Scholars who completed our program have matriculated into PhD programs, 21 at BCM. 100% of SMART PREP alumni at BCM are either still enrolled in our PhD programs or have already received their PhDs, compared to an 80% retention rate of UR PhD candidates who did not come through our program. In this paper, we will describe key program components, what we have learned from program assessment, and what issues we continue to address in order to meet the needs of our students. Recruitment and Selection We recruit PREP Scholars through several mechanisms: non-accepted applicants to our PhD programs, technicians at BCM, the SMART (Summer Medical and Research Training) undergraduate research program, conferences, campus visits, and advertising to and discussions with undergraduate advisors and program directors. Over the past three years, the average number of applicants has been 45. Each application is reviewed by the PREP Advisory Committee, comprised of 5-7 BCM faculty members with a special interest in UR education. Applications include a description of research experience and a personal statement regarding career objectives and obstacles they have overcome, letters of recommendation and an official transcript. Participants are selected based on motivation, demonstration of potential to enter graduate schoool, and exhibition of characteristics believed to be important for scientists. Recommenders are asked to rate the candidate’s desire to learn, curiosity, willlingness to work, perserverance, ability to adapt to new situations, interpersonal skills, problem solving ability, scientific knowledge and technical skills. Our own experience, as well as studies in emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1998) and using adversity to grow (Stoltz, 2000), validate the use of non-cognitive factors in considering admission. Evidence of motivation to gain an education and taking good advantage of opportunities, are key factors in the selection process. Positive letters of recommendation from research advisors are seriously considered. We do not set a GPA or GRE minimum, however, we select participants whose science and/or math grades indicate a potential to function as scientists, usually denoted by B grades and a GPA of close to 3.0. Achievements are evaluated with respect to the obstacles that the student has encountered in life, or in gaining an education. Individual Development Plans: We believe that a key PREP’s success is our ability to individualize the program to fit the needs of each PREP Scholar. The Advisory Committee develops a preliminary plan of study for each candidate. A plan of action is developed for each Scholar during individual meetings with PREP leadership. We believe that to enhance UR education, we must recognize that 282
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UR students come from different backgrounds and cultures; each having wide range of academic and social needs. There is a core program (described in detail below) in which all participants participate; Other activities (small group or individual tutoring in calculus or English for example) individualize the preparation of each participant for PhD study. Key Components of the PREP program: Our direct go al is that upon completion of our program, our Scholars will be prepared to just to survive, but thrive in PhD study. We provide our Scholars academic and research development combined with workshops and mentoring that promote professional development (Figure 1). Scholars receive both formal and informal mentoring throughout the year. Our program provides each PREP Scholar the opportunity to develop the thought processes and behavior patterns that are consistent with success in PhD programs. Standardized Test Prep Workshops- Some UR students have GRE scores that are lower than students accepted to graduate programs. Many factors, with little correlation with ability to function as a scientist affect GRE scores, and have demoralized and limited many UR students’ entry into excellent PhD programs. Drs. Slaughter and Connor developed, and Dr. Connor has been teaching standardized test prep-worskhops to summer undergraduates for 11 years and to PREP Scholars for 8 years. Our focus of our workshops is to help motivate students to learn the skills they need to be successful on standardized exams. There are five central elements of the course: diagnostic exams (initial and final diagnostics), a personalized study plan, a series of 9 meetings (3 each for Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical Writing), practice tests and individual counseling. Molecular and Cellular Biology Course Often PhD level courses are very literature intensive, fast paced and not intended for individuals who are working as many hours on a research project, as our PREP Scholars do. A unique feature of our PREP progam is an 8-month Molecular and Cellular biology course specifically designed for our SMART PREP. The physical location of the course provides a consistent meeting place throughout the year, which helps students unite as a cohesive group. The content of the course is based on the knowledge required to enter BCM PhD courses. The course brings together many of the elements that are at the forefront of science education: active learning; understanding experimental strategies and analysis of data, and health disparities. This course also provides opportunities for UR PhD students at BCM to be guest lecturers, presenting a short “research relevance” section for some of the classes, and serving as role models for PREP Scholars. We use material from Molecular Biology of the Cell by Alberts (textbook and problems book by J. Wilson) (Alberts, et al., 2008). The course meets twice a week for 90 minute sessions for a total of ~100 hours of instruction throughout the year. A midterm and final exam is given each of two semesters. Quizzes are given between exams to gauge progress. The course is taught at the complexity level of a graduate level course, beginning at the MS level and progressing to the PhD level in the second semester. Data analysis and critical thinking are key skills that PhD students must master, and are key components of our course. Questions that involve these skills are gradually introduced throughout the year; first in homework problems, then increasing in percentage on quizzes and exams. By the end of the course, the final exam is a “PhD level exam”. The course instructor, Dr. Connor, has an open door policy. Students may come and talk with her at any time. She also provides them her cell phone number and often discusses coursework with them afterhours, as needed. Students comment that they find the consistent availablity of their instructor, an important part of their academic success. (Table 2 Likert ave. 4.55/5 n=11) Introduction to Graduate Research (IGR) Course This course was formally developed because written and oral presentations of scientific research are critical skills that PREP Scholars must master prior to the preparation of graduate school applications and interviews. We need to “front-load” teaching these skills by starting this course at the beginning of the program and continuing to meet weekly throughout the entire year. We have continued to adapt and
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refine IGR, based on the specific needs of the PREP Scholars. The goals of IGR are to provide students with basic skills and experience in analyzing scientific problems and presenting scientific results in a professional manner. We believe that these skills assist students in presenting themselves competently during interviews and ease their entry into PhD study. The focus is to have Scholars to articulate their research in the language of problem-driven research, to use OPTEMASM, a tool for structured criticil thinking, to use a variety of techniques for reading the scientific literature; to use professional skills of data and results presentation in the form of a 10 minute talk and drafting a research paper. Scholars begin the year by applying OPTEMA to the analysis and presentation of a single experiment in the “One Figure Journal Club” then progress to presenting “lab meeting” reports of their research and by the end of the year, present “full paper journal clubs” and a comprehensive 10 minute “PREP research project platform talk”. In the Spring, Scholars also learn how to write up their research in scientific journal format. In IGR, we practice an intensive, open and on-going verbal questioning style that is critical but constructive. We believe teaching approach, reminiscent of the method of “coyote teaching” (Hoefler, 2009; Jørgensen 2010; Young, Haas, & McGown)can have a profound effect on building our Scholars’ confidence in handling themselves before a critical audience, and might afford some protection against stereotype threat(Adams, 2005; Ryan & Ryan, 2005) Formal feedback from course instructors and peers are critical for the continuing development of these important skills. Presentation rubrics have been created and are used to provide students with a quantitative way to access their progress. Feedback from evaluator assessment suggests that students value our IGR course (Table 2; 4.54/5 Likert ave. n=11). Mentored Research Experience: In addition to formal, didactic coursework, each PREP Scholar is required to complete a research project in a BCM laboratory. PREP Scholars work closely with program staff (PI and co-PI) to choose a research mentor whose research matches their interests and whose personalities are compatible. PREP Scholars are offered the opportunity to do a two-week rotation with up to 3 mentors prior to making their final lab decision. Many of our potential mentors have a long and extensive history of working with UR scientists. All of our potential mentors have a significant commitment and the experience to guide our PREP Scholars through this crutial period in their development. Our laborities are productive environments where Scholars will not only learn frontier level techniques and research practices but will also become part of a team of biomedical researchers. Scholars spend 30 hours per week engaged in research. Our mentors structure projects to promote moving toward more independent function in reading the literature, developing hypotheses, deep understanding of experimental design, conducting experiments, interpreting data and moving toward the next experiment. Scholars become active, intellectually engaged participants in their research project. We encourage our mentors to require PREP Scholars to present their data at lab meetings on a regular basis. This is reinforced by lab presentations and group discussion in IGR. Lab mentors also work with each PREP Scholar to prepare for their final research presentation at the end of the year. PREP Scholars value their research mentor as a critical part of the UR mentoring network at BCM (Table 2; Likert ave. 4.82/5 n=11). Professional Development Workshops: The purpose of the PREP is more than imparting information. Students need to learn how to function as PhDs. New skills and behavior patterns are taught throughout the PREP program. Their interactions with our UR PhD students at BCM will re-enforce these goals and behavior patterns. Dr. Slaughter (PREP grant PI) has developed a series of skills building workshops, offered to all graduate students and developing scientists at BCM, which the PREP Scholars are encouraged to attend . These workshops are summaries of practical pointers in fundamental skills critical to PhD student success and formed the basis for the book Beyond the Beakers: SNART Advice on Entering Graduate programs in the Sciences and Engineering (Slaughter). Workshops include: reading the scientific literature, making the most of mentoring relationships, preparing figures and slides, attending conferences and networking and graduate school application workshops. These workshop topics include: “The Graduate School Application Pathway”, “Preparing Successful Graduate School
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Applications”, “Preparing for Successful Graduate School Interviews” and “Choosing a Graduate School”. These workshops have been successfully used with PREP Scholars, in addition to being presented across the nation. Dr. Slaughter often meets with PREP Scholars to provide them with more individualized advice, based on their specific needs and goals. Professional Networking Opportunities for PREP Scholars Our program provides PREP Scholars with opportunities for peer networking with both PREP alumni and UR BCM graduate students. During the first week of the program, PREP leadership bring together incoming PREP Scholars with PREP alumni enrolled in PhD programs at BCM. Alumni share with the Scholars their experiences in the PREP program, and provide advice on how to maximize their time in PREP. Our Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) program also invites all PREP Scholars to attend two receptions (Welcome and Graduation) and a winter party at Dr. Slaughter’s home, where we celebrate the accomplishments of all the the UR post-bacs, PhD students and post-docs at BCM. UR PhD students are also asked to present “research relevance” talks in the PREP MCB class. Our PREP Scholars are also encouraged to attend other IMSD activities, including seminars by UR scientists. UR scientists at all levels of their careers, are invited to present their work and discuss their career development. UR students are invited to a working meal with the speaker. The types of “professional development skills” learned and networking opportunities afforded by the PREP program, can not be overlooked as valuable tools that help our PREP Scholars learn skills that will be required in as PhD candidates. Program Outcomes Table 1: BCM PREP Program Outcomes (2003-‐2010)
Table 1 summarizes key PREP Total number of PREP participants: 41 program outcomes for the past 7 cohorts Total number of PREP participants who completed program: 31 of 41 76% (2003-2010). All 28 SMART PREP alumni PREP alumni who enrolled in BCM PhD programs 21 of 31 68% who enrolled in PhD programs are on track PREP alumni who enrolled in PhD programs at other institutions 7 of 31 23% to complete the degree, or have already PREP alumni enrolled in MD or DO programs 2 of 31 6% graduated. Probably 3-4 will complete the PREP alumni enrolled in Law School 1 of 31 3% PhD within the next year. Of the three retention rate of PREP alumni in graduate s chool 28 of 28 100% PREP alumni who have completed their PREP alumni who have received PhDs* 3 PhD; two are post-docs at MD Anderson total number of PREP authorships related to PREP project 11 Tumor Hospital and Cancer center, one total number of PREP s cholar authorships in peer reviewed journals 30+ 3 supported on a competitive Kellogg national received NIH NSRAs who a pplied t o p re-‐doctoral T 32 t raining p rograms 10 fellowship in health disparities and another *All three in post-‐doctoral positions (NIH, MDAnderson; 1 competitive fellowship) on an NIH training grant; one a postdoctoral position at NIH. The fact that there is a 100% retention rate of UR PREP alumni in graduate school (compared to an 80% retention rate of non-PREP UR graduate students) suggests that our program is helping our alumni persist in PhD graduate programs. Three PREP alumni have received NIH NRSAs (2 at BCM; one at Univ. Alabama Birmingham). PREP alumni have authored or co-authored at least 32 papers in peer-reviewed journals. 68% of the PREP alumni that matriculate to PhD graduate programs do so at BCM. We speculate that this is in part to the vibrant UR community of graudate students at BCM. PREP scholars comment the strong support network for UR scientists at BCM is a factor in staying at BCM for PhD study. Program Assessment Our program is constantly evolving to better meet the needs of our PREP Scholars. The PREP’s assessment has been changed to yield data that more effectively inform and guide us to achieve program goals. Integrated Learning Innovations (iLi) was retained to begin assessing our PREP program. We use 285
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Integrated Learning Innovations’ (iLi,) Integrated Assessment tools to evaluate the PREP program. A web-based survey delivery system collects data for the three program “dimensions”, Performance, Process and People. Impressionistic and perceptual questions use, when possible, Likert survey question formats to obtain quantitative data that can be subjected to statistical analysis. The surveys (Baseline, Acclimation, Mid-training and Exit) have been deployed beginning with the 2009-2011 cohort Table 3 highlights responses and combined outcomes for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 PREP Scholar cohorts as reported on the Exit survey. What we have learned about mentoring UR post-baccalaureate students: Mentoring is a key component of our program. Students from the Likert score 2009-‐10 and 2010-‐11 cohorts (ave) (n=11) past two cohorts (2009-2010 &2010-2011) report spending on average 36.4 hours/month How often during your training year you interacted with the following members of PREP leadership: Dr. Connor 4.55/5 (n=11question 6) being mentored (receiving From the choices provided, how would you describe the career and academic advice, support and overall quality of the IGR workshops? 4.54/5 discussions) (Table 2). The individualized How important was the mentoring by your faculty approach to mentoring that we provide PREP research mentor (i.e. lab PI) and/or research s upervisor to Scholars is very labor intensive. Students value your accomploishments in the PREP program? 4.82/5 benefit from the individual mentoring that they receive from PREP program leadership and How important was the mentoring by the PREP leadership and s taff (e.g. Drs. Connor, Slaughter, and Rodgers) to staff. (Table 2 likert ave. 4.36/5 n=11). PREP your accomplishments in the PREP program? 4.36/5 Scholars agreed (4/5 Likert ave. n=11) that the To what extent do you think the PREP program fostered a intensive BCM PREP program fostered a strong strong community of PREP apprentices? 4.0/5 sense of community, which may play an Hours per month you s pend being mentored in s ome important role in their development as a capacity (e.g., receiving career and academic advise and scientist. The 100% retention rate of PREP support, discussing the graduate s chool application alumni in graduate school suggests that our process, ect.) at BCM 36.4 hours program has been successful in preparing our alumni for the rigors of graduate education. The MCB and IGR courses specifically designed for this program play an important role in academic preparation. The 9-12 month research projects that they perform expose our Scholars to to experimental methods, and to research design and analysis tools which are critical skills needed to become a successful scientist. We have also learned that in order to successfully mentor UR post-baccalaureate students for a PhD in biomedical sciences, the program must continually evolve. We continue to refine our selection process to choose PREP Scholars with a genuine interest in obtaining a PhD. Upon matriculating into our program, 13 of 41 of our students chose a career pathway other than obtaining a PhD. Although funding is not available to personally interview each applicant, a member of the PREP leadership is now contacting promising applicants by phone or video conference (Skype), in an attempt to gauge the applicants’ desire for a PhD in biomedical science prior to matriculation to our program. We have also found that PREP Scholars may benefit from more formal lessons in “professional demeanor”. Some undergraduate students have a false concept that “life in academia” is a place where deadlines are flexible, arriving on time is not important, and hours worked are not monitored. PREP leadership presents a series of formal workshops at the beginning of the program that addresses professional behavior. It is important to teach our students how to present themselves to faculty and staff so that they are looked upon as students who are intrinsically motivated and committed to a career in science. When a PREP Scholar is placed in a faculty mentor’s laboratory, their “daily supervisor” will either be the lab PI or another lab member (typically a post-doctoral fellow or advanced PhD student). Because of the importance of the mentoring provided by the “supervisor”, it is important that the less-experienced, non-PI researcher, participate in workshops designed to learn about PREP and build the skills needed to Table 2: Selected Exit Survey Responses:
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advise the PREP Scholars effectively. To date, PREP leadership meets with mentors and “research supervisors” at the beginning of the year to describe the goals of PREP and to offer important mentoring advice. The graduate school is in the process of creating a series “Effective Research Mentoring Workshops”, which we will encourage all PREP research supervisors to attend. With rare exception, our grant limits each PREP Scholar to 12 months of funding. This necessitates a program design (that starts in August), to “front-load” program offerings to prepare Scholars for graduate school interviews, which are typically in Febuary-March of each year. Working within this 12-month funding constraint, we are constantly looking for ways to maximize the time we have to work with our students to prepare them for success in PhD biomedical research programs. References Adams, T. A. (2005). Establishing Intellectual Space for Black Students in Predominantly White Universities through Black Studies. Negro Educational Review, 56(4), 285. Alberts, B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K., & Walter, P. (2008). Molecular Biology of the Cell (5 ed.). New York: Garland Science. Bowen, W. G., & Bok, D. (1998). The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions Princeton Univ Press. Goleman, D. (1998). Working with Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. Hoefler, E. (2009). Coyote Teaching, from http://erichoefler.com/2007/02/14/coyote-teaching Jørgensen , N. (2010). Old Man Coyote. Working with the Trickster Figure in the EFL Classroom. European Teacher Education Network, (2010/2/21 12:15:20)). Retrieved from http://www.etenonlne.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=165&forum=12&post_id=212#forumpost212 Ryan, K. E., & Ryan, A. M. (2005). Psychological Processes Underlying Stereotype Threat and Standardized Math Test Performance. [Peer Reviewed]. Educational Psychologist, 40(1), 53. Slaughter, G. R. (2006). Beyond the Beakers; SMART Advice for Entering Graduate Programs in the Sciences and Engineering. Houston: Baylor College of Medicine/National Science Foundation. Stoltz, P. G. (2000). The Adversity Quotient @ Work. New York: William Morrow, Harper Collins. Young, J., Haas, E., & McGown, E. (2010). Coyotes Guide to Connecting with Nature For Kids of all Ages and their Mentors (2 ed.). *This work was funded by NIH/NIGMS MORE division grant R25GM06234 (GRS), and R01-GM098456 (JRR) *The authors whish to acknowledge Integrated Learning Innovations’ co-principals, Dr. Caroline L. Szymeczek (President) and Dr. Skip Bollenbacher (Vice President and Professor Emeritus, UNC-Chapel Hill), for the assessment data presented.
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Lihono, M. A., Koo, J., Balogu, D. & Buckner, E. University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Mentoring UR Post-Baccalaureate Students for a PhD in Biomedical Sciences ABSTRACT This project is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Capacity Building Grant. Included in the project are an individualized mentoring by faculty and Federal Food Inspectors (FFI) mentors and a career-training obtained by serving two mandatory internships with the USDA/FSIS. Nine (9) undergraduates with a Grade Point Average (GPA) of at least of 2.8 and with interest to become FFI were recruited as scholars: 8 African-Americans with 5 females, and 1 Caucasian. Accomplishments of scholars include the completion of the ServSafe Food Manager Examination certificate, the participation in internships (2 scholars) and volunteering programs (4 scholars) in slaughter plants in collaboration with FSIS. At this date, three guest-speakers have presented lectures on the career of FFI from the academia perspective, from the industry perspective; and the responsibilities of FFI. A workshop on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) was taught in Spring 2011. The main challenge in this project is to have scholars participate in the internships every summer. Selection of scholars for internship is not guaranteed by FSIS. This year, the agency reduces the number of interns because of budget cuts. We were fortunate to work out a volunteering program with the agency to have 4 of our scholars to spend 2 weeks at a Tyson Foods slaughter plant in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Another challenge was to recruit 10 scholars with a 3.0 GPA as originally set in the project. Exception had to be made to recruit a scholar with a GPA below 3.0. This project has made minority undergraduates at UAPB knowledgeable of the career-path of FFI and some of them will become FFI. Partial payment of tuition for the scholars has been made. Communication with the agency before and during the implementation is essential to the success of any federal agency career-training project.
Introduction The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 6 Americans (48 million people) suffer from foodborne illness each year resulting in roughly 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths (FSIS News, 2011). In 2000, premature deaths caused by these illnesses cost American taxpayers approximately $6.9 billion annually in medical costs, hospitalizations, and lost work time according to USDA Economic Research Service (http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/FoodborneDisease/features.htm). In October 2006, there were three deaths and approximately 200 cases of illness from Escherichia coli O157:H7 (traced to fresh, bagged spinach) from 26 states, and about 200 illnesses caused by Salmonella typhimurium from produce, possibly tomatoes. This year 2011, so far, there have been 29 documented food recalls in the US by FSIS and most of these recalls are related to meat products such as chicken, beef, and turkey products http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FSIS_Recalls/Open_Federal_Cases/index.asp?src_location=Content&src_page =FSISRecalls This August, there was a high alert from FSIS when Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, a Springdale, Arkansas establishment, recalled about 36 million pounds of ground turkey products suspected to be contaminated with a drug resistant strain of Salmonella Heidelberg http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_060_2011_Release/index.asp This is a proof that there is credible risk for foodborne illness in the US and that food safety officials and public health officials have to be in constant alert to detect any possible food contamination and food outbreak, respectively. There is a need for more Federal and state food inspectors to monitor food production facilities. The addition of food inspectors means that the food industry and food producers will examine their operations closely to make sure an outbreak does not occur due to poor practices at their plants. The USDA/FSIS has 288
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over 3,200 Food and Consumer Safety Inspectors nationwide. The inspectors play a vital role in the Agency's public health mission. Entry-level Food Inspectors in private commercial slaughtering plants provide the first line of defense against diseased and adulterated meat and poultry. They are responsible for much of the day to day in-plant inspection of animals before and after slaughter (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Careers/HowtoApplyFoodInspector/index.asp). Regulatory agencies need well trained professionals with backgrounds in food systems safety and agricultural/environmental security. These professionals will help minimize the incidences of food borne diseases and provide the best protection against both planned and unintentional food borne diseases in food system in the United States. However, there has been a shortage of trained minorities in the areas of food biosecurity. In 2006, only 1.3 % of all interns with the USDA are trained in food biosecurity. Also, due to retirement, there will be an increased turnover of skilled workers in the USDA in the next years (http://www.usda.gov/da/employ/2006INTERNETSTURPT.htm). Until before last year, the USDA was increasing its internship programs to train students and possibly to hire them once they complete their studies. One such program is the Student Career Experience Program (currently called Internship Program) where undergraduate students work part-time (full-time during breaks from school) with the USDA and are given the chance to have their positions converted into permanent positions after graduation. USDA is campaigning to increase the number of minorities in these internship programs. Although there was a 10% increase in the number of total interns with the USDA in 2006, the increased number of minority interns was only 4.9%. During the same time, the participation of African American women and men in interns slightly decreased when compared with their participation in 2005. Good mentoring can be the deciding factor for a student in choosing a career. In 2002, the principal investigator of the project, Dr. Makuba Lihono, advised one of his students to enter the profession of Federal Food Inspector. He convinced the student to take the Federal Food Inspector test and the student was hired as a Food Inspector in Pine Bluff in 2003. The student has been working in this position since 2003. He has since come back to UAPB to talk to students in Nutrition and Dietetics, and Food Service Management about the profession of food inspector. Universities in the United States have few minority students graduating with majors in food safety and agricultural sciences. In fact in 2004, only 3.9% of students enrolled in agriculture and natural resource majors were African American, 8.6% were Hispanic, and fewer than 2% were Asian, Pacific Islander, or Native American (US Dept. of Education, 2008). Even fewer of these students are likely to be enrolled in a food science program, especially one that offers food safety training. There is an urgent need to increase the number of minority students in these fields to meet demand. The proposed experiential learning program will provide innovative opportunities to students to enter a career in food safety. Since 2004, FSIS has entered into Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) including the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. By signing a MOU with HBCU, FSIS has committed to have recruiters visit campus at least twice a year to participate in career fairs, serve as guest lecturers, and meet with student groups and faculty to discuss career opportunities with the agency. (http://www.fsis.usda.gov/About_FSIS/Civil_Rights_Outreach_Minority_Schools/index.asp). This USDA capacity building grant was funded in 2008 as a logical next step to the MOU for UAPB to provide USDA/FSIS with very qualified Federal Food Inspectors. Opportunities for scholars in this project include: 1. To be trained for a career as a Federal Food Inspector 2. To obtain a ServSafe® Food Service manager certification 3. To take a workshop on HACCP 4. To have a portion of tuition paid for 3 years 5. To have supplementary mentor through the project 6. Possibility to be hired as a Federal Food Inspector by FSIS after graduation
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As the project got underway, investigators have encountered some challenges that prevented successful realization of the project: 1. The GPA required for selection was not satisfied by all the scholars 2. Selection of interns by FSIS did limit the number of scholars participating in internship 3. Failure for the FSIS to communicate with UAPB about the change of its personnel did prevent the project to meet with its external advisory committee in the year 2 of the project 4. The non-commitment of scholars to participate in internships 5. The economic slow-down resulting in the FSIS to reduce the number of interns in year 2011 and possibly in the future Methodology The first year of this project (10/2008 – 09/2009) was used to select scholars, to set up the external advisory committee, and to establish guidelines for working collaboration with FSIS. Thus, the activities for the project started in the second year and an extension of one year was added to allow completion of the project in 2012. Mentoring This project was designed to provide a sound quality enhancement of programs through mentoring and career-oriented experiential learning to include the courses in the curriculum, additional courses with hands-on research projects and national certification, guest speaker lectures and seminars, and practical internships. Mentoring in this project is novel, as each scholar was assigned a project advisor with one advisor overseeing 2-3 students; this academic mentoring is additional to the conventional academic advising. In addition, each scholar selected for an internship was assigned a FSIS career Food Inspector mentor at the internship site. At UAPB, each scholar was assigned one of the investigators as a mentor. The responsibility of the mentor is to advise scholar to take required courses by the project, to have the scholar participate in lectureships, to encourage the scholar to apply for internship with FSIS, and to monitor the academic performance of the scholar. Once a month, the scholar had to meet with the mentor. Participation to activities related to the project is mandatory. Accomplishment of Scholars Students with a GPA at least of 3.0 enrolled in Regulatory Science, Food Service Management, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Animal Sciences who applied for the project were interviewed. The students who met the criteria and were willing to participate in the 2 summer internships were selected as scholars. Nine scholars were recruited and exception has to be made to select one of the scholars with a GPA below 3.0. Accomplishments of scholars include participation to 3 lecture presentations by guest speakers, the obtention of ServSafe® Food Service Management certificate, the participation to summer internships with FSIS, the presentation of poster sessions at the past 2 UAPB Rural Life conferences, and keeping an average GPA of at least 3.0. Three guest speakers have talked at UAPB as part of the project: Eric Thompson from FSIS in 2009, Dr. Aubrey Mendonca, from Iowa State University in 2010, and Paula Henson from FSIS in 2011. These lectures have helped scholars to learn more about the process of application for job as FFI, the day to day operations in a meat slaughter plants, and the academic foundations of food safety. In 2010, 6 scholars out of 9 passed their ServSafe® examination and were awarded their certificates. During the summer of 2010, 2 scholars participated in the summer internship program with the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). One scholar completed the 12 week internship while the other resigned after 2 weeks as she could not adapt to the slaughter plant working environment. Mr. Joel Tolefree was attached with the Springdale office and reported that working with the FSIS as an intern Enforcement Investigation Analysis Officer (EIAO) was a life a life changing experience. He enjoyed the USDA atmosphere and he was involved in several investigative inspections traveling to plants in
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Jonesboro, AR and New Orleans, LA. He shadowed the food inspector in charge of Tyson Poultry and H & L Poultry in Warren, AR. This past summer 2011, FSIS reduced the number of interns due to the budget cut. Only Mr. Tolefree was selected and he worked as an EIAO (Enforcement Investigation Analysis Officer) trainee in Dallas, TX. He conducted comprehensive food safety assessments at various establishments. His primary focus was to design and validate the HACCP plans. His secondary focus was to verify the sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOP), prerequisite programs, testing programs, written procedures, and any other programs that dealt with food safety system. At the end of his second internship, Mr. Tolefree was told that he could have a very promising career in the USDA/FSIS after he graduates from The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. For the other scholars, a volunteering program was worked out with FSIS this past 2011 summer and 4 scholars participated in a 2 week training program at Tyson Foods in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Opportunities for Scholars This project is novel in that it provides scholars with the opportunity to land a career after their graduation. Scholars who will complete 2 summer internships before graduation will have a chance to be recruited as federal food inspectors with FSIS. Also, this project has enhanced the program of study of scholars by incorporating new courses and experiences in food safety in their curriculum. Additional courses include the HACCP workshop, and HUSC 1200 Applied Food Service Sanitation. Training in ServSafe® Food Manager Certification provided scholars with certificates. Guest-speakers lectured scholars in current issues in food safety. With these experiences, scholars have learned basic concepts and practices in food safety. In addition, scholars were financed through payment of portions of their tuitions. Lastly, mentoring in the project provided a supplementary mentoring to the scholars. Challenges There have been several challenges to the successful completion of this project. In the beginning, there were not enough applicants with the required Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 to fulfill the 10 positions proposed. Exception was made to recruit a scholar who was recommended by one of the investigators and demonstrated a willingness to participate in the activities of the project with a lower GPA. The scholar has since improved her GPA. Recruitment was hindered as some the applicants, even though, they were Juniors at the time, they did not have enough time left to complete the 2 required summer internships. The main challenge to the success of the project has been the inability to have scholars participate in summer internship with the FSIS. Scholars apply to the internship but it is up to FSIS to select the interns. The selection of interns by FSIS does limit the number of scholars participating in internships. In summer 2010, all the scholars except one submitted their applications to FSIS. Only 2 scholars were selected. This past summer 2011, there was a miscommunication between FSIS and the project. The project lost some time trying to communicate with the contact person for the project at FSIS. It happened that the contact person had left the agency and for that reason, the project was not informed on time when it comes to application deadline. Another issue was that the agency reduced the number of interns due to financial constraints. At the end, only one scholar, who was a returning intern, was selected. Fortunately, a volunteering program was agreed between the agency and the project and 4 of our scholars participate in a 2 week volunteering program interning at Tyson Foods in Pine Bluff. Another challenge has been the retention of scholars. Some of the scholars who committed themselves to do summer internships with FSIS changed their mind at a later date. Last year 2010 (first year for internship), one scholar switched and did his internship with another USDA agency. This year, another scholar had a change of mind and opted for an internship in a different agency. This project prepared scholars for jobs in the meat slaughter plants. Slaughter plant’ environment can be less inviting due to the chilly temperature and the carcasses’ odor. One of the scholars resigned from the internship in 2010 as she could not adapt to this working environment.
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Conclusions and Recommendations It seems that the pool of students to satisfy the required criteria for the project was not enough to recruit the number of 10 scholars suggested in the project. Limitations were the GPA, the level of study for the candidate, and the competition with other agencies from the USDA for the same pool of candidates. Therefore, for future project, study to estimate the potential number of scholars for a project is advisable. We will recommend that students training to become federal food inspectors working in slaughter plants participate in the volunteering program before any summer internship to familiarize themselves with the working slaughter plan environment. Communication with the agency before and during the implementation of the project is essential to the success of any federal agency career-training project as the agency is responsible for the selection of the interns. The project should be aware of the criteria for selection of interns and should be in permanent communication with the agency to be informed on time for the deadline for submission of applications. On the other end, the agency should inform the project in situation where the contact person with the project is no longer working with the agency. Due to the challenges encountered so far, only Mr. Tolefree has completed 2 summer internships and has been promised a position once he graduates. We hope that this coming summer 2012, more scholars will be placed as interns to increase the chances of more scholars to be hired after graduation. REFERENCES FSIS News, Issue #8, August 2011 USDA – Office of Human Capital Management. 2007. 2006 Department of Agriculture Student and Internship Programs Report. http://www.usda.gov/da/employ/2006INTERNETSTURPT.htm USDA – Economic Research Service. 2007. Economics of foodborne disease: Estimating the benefits for reducing foodborne disease. http://www.ers.usda.gov/briefing/FoodborneDisease/features.htm USDA – FSIS. Civil rights programs. FSIS partners with minority serving institutions and associations. 2006. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/About_FSIS/Civil_Rights_Outreach_Minority_Schools/index.asp) USDA - FSIS. 2003. FSIS 2000 report to Congress. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/pubs/rtc2000/report.pdf US Dept. of Education. 2008. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008035.p
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Brown, C., Lambert, L., Moulton, B. & Sanft, M. Utah Valley University SUccess through Math Mentoring (SUMM) ABSTRACT Over 70% of students who enroll at Utah Valley University (UVU) are not prepared to successfully complete the quantitative literacy requirement (College Algebra, Introduction to Statistics, or Quantitative Reasoning). Over the next 10 years (2010-2020), enrollment is projected to grow 4% per year from the current 33K to 45K. This staggering growth projection translates to significantly more demand for developmental math courses. Only 63% of underprepared students pass developmental math courses (consistent with national averages); this creates a bottleneck. At UVU, like other open enrollment institutions, more students must persist and pass developmental math courses, and progress more efficiently toward completing the quantitative literacy requirement. The Success through Math Mentoring (SUMM) Project builds upon best practices and lessons learned from the successful 2009-2011 pilot in the Department of Developmental Math at UVU. This pilot is modeled on the nationally recognized UV Mentor Program, operating since 1999 at UVU, for the first-year experience course. The SUMM project assigns student mentors to class sections where they work directly with students and the instructor to provide support for learning to handle the rigors of college math courses. The results of the pilot found an 11% increase in-course retention rates and 7% increase in pass rates. We believe these promising results are due to effective training for both peer math mentors and faculty. This project provides a model for using student peer mentors with college math instruction. Our intent is to share the excitement and success of this project for replication at other institutions.
SUccess through Math Mentoring (SUMM) Utah Valley University (UVU) is an open-enrollment institution that experienced an average increased enrollment growth rate of 24% (8K to 33K students) over the short period of 1994-2011. This growth generated unprecedented problems in a number of areas including skyrocketing demand for students requiring developmental math courses. Demand and low pass rates resulted in developmental math courses becoming one set of bottleneck courses at UVU. UVU must employ effective methods to significantly increase retention and success of students in bottleneck courses. Currently, only 63% of developmental math students pass developmental math courses (consistent with national averages). UVU is projected to have an annual average growth rate of 4% per year from now to 2020. With these daunting numbers approaching, it is essential to UVU’s mission to remain both a serious and inclusive university that significantly more students requiring developmental math courses stay enrolled in and pass, immediately enroll in the next math course, and matriculate toward completing the University’s quantitative literacy requirement (College Algebra, Introduction to Statistics, Quantitative Reasoning). The Department of College Success Studies and the Department of Developmental Math piloted (2009-2011) a student peer mentor program for students in developmental math courses to address this need. Assessment data from the first year of this pilot shows that student in-course retention is higher by an average of 11% in courses with student peer mentors as compared to the same courses without mentors. Pass rates improved by 7%. Surveys indicated that student attitudes towards mathematics have also improved. UVU Developmental Math Peer Mentoring Program The Department of Developmental Math Student Peer Mentor Pilot began as collaboration between the department of College Success Studies and the department of Developmental Mathematics. Ben Moulton, Associate Professor in Developmental Math, and Marni Sanft, Associate Professor in College Success Studies, have been working together since January 2009 to create a Math Mentoring Program for developmental math courses.
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The rationale for pursuing a mentoring pilot was the success of student peer mentoring in UVU’s first year experience course, CLSS 1000 University Student Success, and the fact that most developmental math students fit the profile of first year students. The primary population of underprepared students requiring developmental math courses are first-year students. The scholarship on the first year and successful first year programming (e.g. the UV Mentor Program at UVU), then, informs, in part, approaches to developmental math instruction and concomitant academic support initiatives, like the student peer mentor program in developmental math. The following is well-established in the literature on first year students: If colleges and universities want to improve student retention and persistence rates, the leverage point for the investment of resources is the first year of college. First year students have unique and important needs that need to be met if colleges and universities intend to retain those first year students (retention defined as first year first semester to second year first semester). And, first year students need to be exposed to a number of curricular and extracurricular engagements at the university that have transformative thinking and learning as an outcome (Upcraft, Gardner & Barefoot, 2005) (Mezirow, 1991). When it comes to mathematics, transformational thinking and learning is a critical outcome if we are to (1) improve pass rates in developmental math courses, and (2) matriculate much higher numbers of students to successful completion of the University’s quantitative literacy requirements. The majority of underprepared students have significant barriers to success they must overcome, e.g. math fundamentals skill barriers, negative attitudes and perception barriers, self-efficacy and self-regulation barriers, and general academic success strategy barriers. More often than not, a student’s high school experience with mathematics is dismal and discouraging, at best. Their lack of confidence and other inadequacies with respect to studying and succeeding in mathematics are hurdles they must overcome. Incidentally, another arena requiring transformational thinking and learning is math faculty and instructors. They are aware of students’ negative attitudes toward and negative perception of math. The typical response to this in academia is two-fold: first, that we need to improve how we teach math, and second that we need students to come to college better prepared. While both of these approaches are important and must continue to be pursued, they are clearly not enough (reference the consistently low national average percentage--63%--of underprepared students who pass developmental math courses). The idea that students in developmental math courses could, with the implementation of a student peer mentoring program, result in higher in-class retention and better pass rates is a significant paradigm shift for both students enrolled in these courses and for those involved in developmental math instruction. Training and Development At UVU, the Leadership Mentoring courses for training potential mentors and for continuing education for returning mentors have been in place for more than 5 years. The math mentors have been involved in this mentor training sequence since the beginning of the pilot in 2009. The curriculum for these courses is designed to prepare students to become mentors and to support them in their mentoring experience. The courses also provide a forum for discussing important issues related to expectations and accountability. Mentor Program Academic Training and Development Courses CLSS 2200: Leadership Mentoring I—Students who are interested in becoming peer mentors must take this course before they can be selected as a mentor. The topics covered in this course include: • • • • • •
Becoming a mentor • Defining roles • Building relationships • Facilitating learning • Utilizing campus resources Case studies
Making the transition to college Increasing self-awareness Communicating effectively Planning and problem solving • Developing cultural sensitivity
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CLSS 2300: Leadership Mentoring II—Students selected and assigned to be a mentor in a target developmental math course take this course during their first semester as a math mentor. The topics covered in this course include: • • •
Practical application of mentoring skills, discussion of real mentoring issues, problem-solving Learn strategies for math mentoring, e.g. helping students with anxieties related to math Share best practices for facilitating study groups, working one-on-one with students, and for teaching, facilitation and presenting in the classroom
CLSS 240R: Leadership Mentoring Practicum—After completion of the first semester as a math mentor, mentors enroll in this course. The purpose of this course is further develop mentoring knowledge, skills and abilities; and, as a means of accountability for their mentoring responsibilities. Eligibility, Application and Selection Students who successfully complete CLSS 2200, Leadership Mentoring I, with a grade of “B” or better are eligible to make application to become a student peer mentor. Requirements for applicants also include full-time student status, successful completion of a minimum of 12 semester credits with an average cumulative GPA of 3.0, current enrollment in at least 12 semester credits, and letters of review and recommendation from their CLSS 2200 instructor and from a full time Developmental Math faculty. Applicants must compete for a limited number of student peer mentor slots through an interview process that includes a demonstration of teaching and facilitation skills, observation of their participation and interaction in a team building exercise, and their responses to a number of questions. Upon selection, mentors attend a mandatory “boot camp” and off-campus service expedition (e.g. working with the Trails Division of the Grand Teton National park). Mentors must also enroll in CLSS 2300, Leadership Mentoring II, where their mentor training continues during the first semester of mentoring. Program Leadership Ben Moulton, Associate Professor in Developmental Math, will continue to serve as the lead coordinator of the Math Mentor Program. He has been primarily responsible for recruiting and selecting qualified UVU students to be math mentors, assigning the mentors to specific sections of developmental math, and coaching math faculty in effective ways to incorporate the math mentor in the classroom. Furthermore, Ben will also continue collecting data and assessing the impact of student peer mentors in developmental math courses. Since January 2009, Ben Moulton has selected 29 UVU students to be math mentors and assigned them to instructors. Each of these Developmental Math Mentors (DMMs) have completed the required training and continuing education. In addition to trained and experienced mentors, many developmental math instructors are trained to successfully incorporate the use of a student peer mentor in their classrooms. These faculty have expressed their desire to continue working with student peer mentors and integrating them into their classroom instruction. Mentor Roles and Responsibilities DMMs must fulfill a number of roles and responsibilities to meet the program and institutional requirements to justify receipt of a full tuition waiver (scholarship). DMMs function in five specific mentor roles: Trusted Friend, Learning Coach, Student Advocate, Peer Leader, and Connecting Link. Considerable detail about these roles, their purpose, and how they are fulfilled can be found in the Peer Mentor Companion (Sanft, Jensen, & McMurray; 2005), the textbook used for our mentor training courses CLSS 2200, 2300, and 240R. Mentors are required to accrue a total of 140 hours of mentoring related work and activities per semester. Mentors accrue 10-20 hours per week fulfilling these roles and responsibilities. DMM responsibilities are derived primarily from the five roles. Additionally, math mentors are required to: attend the Developmental Math course to which they are assigned (4-5 in-class hrs/wk); meet weekly with instructor to discuss student needs, approaches to instruction, and how the mentor will be 295
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involved in classroom instruction during the coming week (1 hr/wk); attend CLSS 2300, Leadership Mentoring II, if they are a first-year mentor (3 hrs/wk); and attend CLSS 240R, Leadership Mentoring Practicum, each semester they mentor (3 hrs/wk). DMMs are also expected to meet one-on-one with their mentees at least two times each semester. In actual practice, mentors meet with their mentees more than twice because of study groups and student requests for help. Accountability Mentors are required to submit weekly reflections that report on their mentoring related work and activities, and total hours. The accountability measure is not the number of hours, but is rather that mentors must describe through reflective and descriptive writing what they are doing, how they are mentoring, and who they are mentoring mentored, and why. CLSS 2300 and 240R also have other specific requirements for successful completion. To continue in the mentor program, mentors must complete 2300 and 240R with a grade of “B” or better. Program Goals and Implementation Methods The goals and implementation methods identified for the pilot (see Table 1 below) remain relevant as the program continues. Table 1: Goals and Implementation Methods Goals 1. Advise students unprepared for universitylevel math to enroll in a section of developmental math with a student peer mentor 2. Assess and evaluate in-course retention, pass rates, and students’ attitudes toward math in sections with a math mentor 3. Assign selected student peer mentors to attend and mentor students in a section of a target developmental math class 4. Coach and train both instructors and mentors to help build collaborative and effective working relationships 5. Recruit and train qualified math students as potential peer mentors
Implementation Method • Inform and educate campus academic advisors about developmental math student peer mentor program • Identify for campus academic advisors which sections of developmental math courses will have student peer mentors • Continue to track in-course retention and pass rates • Use assessment data to inform strategic planning and development • Program coordinator pairs student peer mentors with instructors each semester • Provide training and feedback for mentors each semester • Train faculty in effective use of student peer mentors • Track and evaluate student peer mentors throughout the semester • Developmental math faculty identify qualified students • Students complete Leadership Mentoring training (CLSS 2200)
Integration of Research & Learning Peer Mentoring and Math Mentoring Frequently college freshmen experience significant discomfort as they attempt to adapt to college life. It is well-established in the literature on the first year experience that first year students need someone to help guide them into the college scene to help them get the maximum academic benefit out of the college experience (Upcraft, Gardner & Barefoot, 2005). Most 296
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four-year institutions implement programs designed to help this population of students (Hughes & Fahy, 2009). Some of these programs assign faculty to be a student mentor or advisor. The problem is that faculty workload, schedules, and other responsibilities severely limit any close tracking of student adjustment to college. Additionally, most four-year institutions create a culture of “publish or perish” which puts tremendous pressure on faculty to focus more on scholarship (Hughes & Fahy, 2009; McLaughlin, 2010). A highly workable alternative is developing and using student peer mentors. Crisp and Cruz (2009) investigated multiple definitions of mentoring, and identified three definitions of mentoring on which researchers generally agree. (1) Mentoring is focused on the growth and accomplishment of the individual being mentored and provided multiple forms of assistance. (2) Mentoring includes broad levels of support that includes degree selection and professional/career development. (3) Mentoring relationships are reciprocated and personal. Crisp and Cruz go on to state in their findings that mentoring relationships tend to progress through four stages. This first stage is the initial stage. It lasts between six months to a year and is essentially the initiation stage between the mentor and mentee. The second stage, cultivation, lasts between two and five years. In this stage, the role of the mentor expands to cover a wider range of topics related to the wellbeing of the mentee. The third stage, known as separation, is a period where the mentor and mentee slowly begin separation in order to provide the mentee a sense of independence without feeling tied to the coat tails of the mentor. The final stage of mentoring is redefinition and occurs when the mentor-mentee relationship either reaches the point of redefinition or the relationship ends altogether. Crisp and Cruz did not identify time frames for the third or fourth stages. From a math mentoring perspective, the mentor-mentee relationship spans the three definitions agreed upon by researchers (Crisp & Cruz, 2009). Math mentors focus on the growth and wellbeing of mentees and try to assist in the mentee learning of mathematics by using multiple resources. Math mentors also work with mentees by encouraging them not to avoid chasing their dream career path just because they have to take a series of math classes they do not want to take. The math mentor-mentee relationship also can get personal on a reciprocal basis. When comparing math mentoring with the four stages of mentoring presented by Crisp and Cruz (2009), the mentor-mentee sequence follows the initiation → cultivation → separation → redefinition stages. However, in the context of student peer mentors in higher education, in actual practice the mentoring progression has to occur in a much faster pace than that proposed by Crisp and Cruz. Administrators and legislators are anxious for students to reduce the amount of time it takes to complete a degree; and, students do not want to be in college forever. Intrusive advising at UVU communicates a strong message to students that they must complete the quantitative literacy requirement (math requirement) so that prerequisite math courses are completed in order to continue pursuit of their degree. Therefore, the five-plus years of mentor-mentee relationship proposed by Crisp and Cruz is not feasible and has to be reduced to one year or less. This is a short time frame for mentors to help mentees change their perceptions about mathematics as well as help them develop the study skills necessary to become better students. Hughes and Fahy (2009) discuss how it is possible to take the longer, drawn-out mentoring process outlined by Crisp and Cruz (2009). Hughes and Fahy identify how a mentoring program for undergraduate psychology students can take place over the span of one academic year. This approach is one of many one-year programs that exist for college freshmen including the UV Mentors at UVU. Sorrentino (2006) provides two roles of a mentor that fit the more specific roles of math mentors. She states that a primary function of a mentor is to motivate students and retain them in their respective courses. In a difficult subject like mathematics, this is a critical function for math mentors. She states that a primary function of a mentor is to motivate students and retain them in their respective courses. Sorrentino goes on to discuss key features that need to happen in order for mentors to be successful. She states that if mentors stay focused on their goals they will be successful mentors. Specifically, mentors need to maintain a constant focus on student motivation, effort, persistence, and organizational skills.
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Evaluation and Assessment The pre-assessment tools are administered within the first two weeks of a 15-week academic semester, while the post-assessment tools are administered within the last two weeks of the semester. The data is analyzed using independent t-tests to determine whether math mentors significantly impact overall student performance in mathematical aptitude as well as attitudes and perceptions of mathematics. Data on student retention is also collected for students who regularly met with their math mentor versus students who had no contact with mentoring services. Student retention in this context is defined in two parts. The first definition consists of students who persevere through the end of the mathematics course in which they are enrolled. The second definition of student retention looks at the student longitudinally. For the longitudinal observation, student performance is tracked through completion of the quantitative literacy requirement (College Algebra, Introduction to Statistics, or Quantitative Reasoning). Retention defined this way investigates one of three possibilities: (a) whether the student was able to successfully complete each mathematics course on their first attempt, (b) whether the student had to repeat one or more math courses en route to fulfilling their quantitative literacy requirement, or (c) whether they dropped out or transferred to another institution. Indicators of Participant Impact Anticipated Outcomes Seventy percent of the students who are enrolled in developmental mathematics courses with an assigned student peer mentor, and who take advantage of peer mentoring services will pass the course with a grade of “C-” or better. Taking advantage of peer mentoring services is defined as students who meet with math mentors at least one hour each week either in a group or individual setting, with both types of settings taking place outside of class. The math mentoring program has exited the pilot stage, and the first round of assessment data has been analyzed. While initial results are inconclusive, the outcomes appear to be favorable, particularly towards student retention in lower level developmental mathematics courses. • Developmental mathematics course sections in which a math mentor is assigned will have at least a 10% higher course retention rate than sections not assigned math mentors. • Developmental mathematics course sections in which a math mentor is assigned will have at least a 5% higher course pass rate than sections not assigned math mentors. Pass rate in this context refers to courses passed with a “C-“ or better. • Developmental mathematics course sections in which a math mentor is assigned will have at least a 5% higher departmental final exam average score than sections not assigned math mentors. • Students enrolled in courses with math mentors will show at least a 5% greater improvement on subject mastery over their non-mentored peers. • Students enrolled in courses with math mentors will show at least a 5% greater improvement in attitudes toward mathematics than their non-mentored peers. • One hundred percent of all mentors will be trained and certified through the College Reading & Learning Association (CRLA) mentor certification rubric. • One hundred percent of all faculty members working with mentors will be trained each semester on the best methods of working with a peer mentor. Formative Implementation Evaluation will occur during bi-annual project team meetings of the PI, the Co-PIs, and the project team. Accomplishments and activities will be compared to the implementation plan and the data from the tracking system will be discussed. Adjustments will be made if needed. Developmental Math Mentor Project Team meeting minutes containing the information and data discussed will be issued. Formative Process Evaluation will also occur during the bi-monthly project team meetings. In addition to the above reports and review of the data from the tracking system, feedback from various stakeholders is solicited. Stakeholders include instructors, participants, and peer mentors. The team will formulate the questions for the focus groups and surveys and will summarize and report the data.
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Summative Outcome Evaluation will occur at the end of each annual cycle. • A survey of student reflections on instruction is used for both summative and formative validations of assumptions and to inform of needed improvements. • Completion statistics and the results of departmental final exams will be generated Strategic Mechanisms for Project Improvement and Long Term Sustainability The Formative Implementation Evaluation and Formative Process Evaluation form the basis for project improvement. Formative assessment and project adjustment takes place frequently in project meetings. The meetings at each of the training sites will also include discussions of project improvement. We intend to infuse into all products and processes of the project a pedagogical methodology that reflects knowledge and learning approaches and synergizes current best practices in mentored learning. Basis for Comparisons The basis for comparison for the UVU courses is the performance of the broader UVU student population in developmental mathematics. This includes an instrument that is administered pre- and postcourse completion. When sufficient data exists, the pre-data will be analyzed for significant correlations to the structured interview data. Post data will be qualitatively compared to pre-course data until sufficient numbers of students have been assessed to test for meaningful significant differences between mean scores. How Data Is Collected Student data is collected and entered into a customized project database tracking system. Evaluation and assessment information are recorded in team meetings, and included in team meeting minutes and reports. Methods of Analysis Our methods of analysis are a combination of grounded theory and analytic induction. We compare our observed results to predictions based on previous experiences. When there are sufficient numbers of students who have had a peer mentor in their developmental math class to generate meaningful statistics, methods of statistical analysis will be used including t-tests and ANOVAs to evaluate mean differences, chi-squared tests to evaluate outcome distributions, and correlations to evaluate relationships between variables. Conclusion This developmental math peer mentor program at UVU continues this academic year (2011-2012) with very limited funding and a reduced number of math mentors. The goal is to implement a full-scale student peer mentor program in target developmental math courses. In order to achieve this goal, the program team is seeking external funding. Clayton Brown, Assistant Professor, Department of Developmental Math, is the lead for Developmental Math Mentor Grant Proposal Project Team. Under his leadership, this team has prepared and submitted a proposal, “SUccess through Math Mentoring (SUMM)” to the National Science Foundation, DMS - MPS/DMS - Workforce in the Mathematical Sciences program. This team is preparing a second proposal due in January 2012 to a different National Science Foundation grant program. The grant proposal project team is also continuing to aggressively pursue long-term (hard) funding from UVU. Ben Moulton, Associate Professor, Department of Developmental Math, is collaborating on research projects with other UVU colleagues studying mentoring and its effectiveness. Papers have been submitted for publication with several more in the pipeline. 299
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Meanwhile, the concept of implementing student peer mentoring as a means to improve student success, retention and persistence is gaining momentum at UVU. Marni Sanft, Associate Professor and Director of Mentoring, and Lisa Lambert, Assistant Professor, Director of Mentor Training, in the Department of College Success Studies (which houses UVU’s flagship mentoring program, the UV Mentors), are currently supervising an active student peer mentor pilot for UVU’s Utah Fire and Rescue Academy. In discussion are pilots for student peer mentor programs in UVU’s Prospective Students Ambassadors program and in the Department of Biology. REFERENCES Ashman, M., Colvin, J., Lambert, L. (2009) Power and Resistance in Peer Mentoring Relationship Dynamics: Communication Interaction Between Instructor, Mentor, and Student. Grant proposal prepared for The Center for Engaged Learning, Utah Valley University. Funded: $7,500.00. Astin, A.W. (1999) Student involvement: a developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Development, Vol 40(5), Sep-Oct 1999, 518-529. Astin, A. W. (1993) What matters most in college: four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Brownlee, J., Walker, S., Lennox, S., Exley, B., & Pearce S. (2009). The first year experience: Using personal epistemology to understand effective learning and teaching in higher education. Higher Education, 58(5), 599618. Cranton, P. (2006). Understanding and promoting transformative learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Freire, P., Fraser, J.W., Macedo, D., McKinnon, T., and Stokes, W.T., eds. (1997)“Mentoring the mentor: a critical dialogue with Paulo Freire.” Counterpoints: Studies in the Postmodern Theory of Education, Vol. 60, Peter Lang Pub., Inc.. Crisp, G., Cruz, I. (2009). Mentoring college students: A critical review of the literature between 1990 and 2007. Research in Higher Education, (50), 525-545. Hughes, A., & Fahy, B. (2009). Implementing an undergraduate psychology mentoring program. North American Journal of Psychology, 11(3), 463-470. Mandell, A. & Herman, L. (2007). The study and transformation of experience. Journal ofTransformative Education, 5, 4. Mezirow. J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. McLaughlin, C. (2010). Mentoring: What is it? How do we do it and how do we get more of it? Health and Educational Trust, 45(3), 871-884. Mosholder, R, Ashman, M., Goslin, C. and Lambert, L.(2008). Determining the effects of peer mentors in a college success studies curriculum on student retention and academic success. Paper presented, 2008 International Conference on Research in Access and Developmental Education in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Nicol, D. (2009). Assessment for learner self-regulation: Enhancing achievement in the first year using learning technologies. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 34(3), 335- 352. Riggs, L. & Riggs, S. (2009). Beyond information, through participation, to new learning for personal and cognitive growth in higher education: Focusing on the process. The International Journal of Learning, 16, 5. Sanft, M., Jensen, M., McMurray, E. (2007). Peer mentor companion. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage. Sorrentino, D. M. (2006). The SEEK mentoring program: An application of the goal setting theory. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, and Practice, 8(2), 241-250. Snyder, C. (2008). Grabbing hold of a moving target: Identifying and measuring the transformative learning process. Journal of Transformative Education, 6, 3. Tinto, V. (2002). Enhancing student persistence: connecting the dots. Retrieved May 5, 2011 http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/rrc/pdf/Connencting%20the%20Dots%20-%20Tinto.pdf Upcraft, M. L., Gardner, J., Barefoot, B. (2005) Challenging and supporting the first-year student: a handbook for improving the first year of college. San Fran, CA: Jossey-Bass.
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Chandler, G., Zucker, D., Barton-Burke, M. & Jacelon, C. University of Massachusetts Mutual Mentoring for Faculty Retention, Scholarship & Advancement ABSTRACT Purpose The purpose of the Mellon Mutual Mentoring Model initiatives is to demonstrate the mentoring process by which early career faculty invested in their scholarship, engaged in the campus community, initiated a research network and developed work/life balance. Background: Successful mentoring programs have been reported for novice faculty but this unique program was designed for experienced clinical faculty to develop their scholarship, build professional networks, understand evaluation and create a work/life balance to increase retention and satisfaction. Specific Aims 1) to retain new faculty 2) to promote new faculty scholarship and 3) to develop a faculty-student mentoring program Method Project 1 afforded five junior faculty the opportunity to meet with senior faculty mentors to developing a career vision, initiate and maintain a program of scholarship, design a pragmatic career goal plan and discuss the balance of work/ life. Results Project 1 results were overwhelmingly successful: 3 clinical faculty enrolled in doctoral programs, increased scholarly publications and presentations, and demonstrated an investment in their role at the university. Project 2, beginning Fall 2011, with the goal of developing a sustainable faculty–student mentor program. Early career faculty will be paired with senior faculty to develop their university role and a facultystudent mentoring team will design and implement a sustainable mentoring model for graduate and undergraduate programs. Implications Twice funded by the Mellon Mutual Mentoring Team Grants, we have noted dramatic career growth, an improved work environment for faculty, increased faculty retention, a better sense of campus and professional community.
There is a dramatic shortage of nursing faculty across the United States (IOM, 2010) is particularly evident among junior faculty who lack experience in research and scholarship, key area that contributes to mission of a research intensive university goals. Factors contributing to the shortage of nursing faculty include non-competitive salaries, limited available doctoral faculty, faculty role expectations, and alternative career options (AACN, 2011). In addition, nursing faculty members are usually female and may have unique challenges balancing home life with their academic careers. With professional and personal barriers and viable career options recruiting and retaining faculty can be a challenge. The recommendation of National League for Nursing (NLN) was to incorporate mentoring as a primary strategy to establish healthful work environments and facilitate ongoing career development for nurse faculty (2006). The two priorities of the Mutual Mentoring (M3 ) project were to 1) examine our own research to develop a plan to collaborate with our peers and 2) facilitate junior faculty scholarship and career goals to increase retention and develop new research collaborations. The purpose of this paper is to describe the mentoring process in the development of a peer collaboration and junior faculty development through a collaborative group mentoring program. Peer and Collaborative Mentoring In examining our own research we recognized that, although we worked with different research populations, we had a common ground in our clients experience of health and illness. Each of our research efforts focused on the person as individual and the individual’s relationship to their health. We found that while our substantive interests varied (oncology, gerontology, community and mental health), we all shared a common interest in the processes and therapeutic strategies associated with relationships. With this common theme we created a Research Interest Group (RIG), the Self in Relation to Health (SIRH). The RIG met regularly to develop new avenues for scholarship through peer mentoring. Peer mentoring is a process in which individuals at the same level of expertise meet to facilitate collegiality to 301
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encourage, critique and support each other scholarship development (Jacelon, Zucker, Henneman & Stacciarini, 2003). Peer mentoring can elevate collaborative achievement (Mkandawire-Valhmu, Kako & Stevens, 2010). The issue of junior faculty attrition was addressed through a collaborative group mentoring program. Collaborative mentoring is a mutually respectful, non-hierarchical relationship that can still be a relationship between a senior mentor and junior proteje, however, the contribution of each party is acknowledged with each bringing different information, support, resources and opportunities to the table (Chandler, 2004). The program had two goals: 1) to mentor clinical professors into the research and scholar role and 2) to create a community of colleagues through collaboration on programs and projects that will build the scholarly community within the SON. Background Mentoring novice faculty through specific programs has been successful in several schools (Blauvelt & Spath, 2008; Dunham-Taylor, Lynn, Moore, McDaniel & Walker, 2008; Mkandawire-Valhmu, Kako & Stevens, 2010). Providing a mentor that was accessible, approachable, non-judgmental, intuitive and empathetic lead to the success of a new faculty program (Blauvelt & Spath, 2008). These attributes were particularly important to faculty new to the system who may need immediate input on a decision, who feel reticent to admit their lack of knowledge, who need a safe relationship to share fears and to have someone who can empathize with what they are going through. Dunham-Taylor et al, created a dynamic mentoring program in recognition of the importance of timing in entering the educational role, lack of collegial support and limited educational systems knowledge can lead to novice vulnerability, beginners burnout and early resignation (2008). Though these programs reported success with novice faculty the Mutual Mentoring program addressed the need for senior faculty to increase t research collaboration and experienced clinical faculty to develop their scholarship. The Mellon Mutual Mentoring Initiative Both the context and process are important attributes to the development of a successful mentoring program. The Context The University of Massachusetts Center for Teaching and Faculty Development (CTFD) designed a Mutual Mentoring Model (M3) as an alternative to the traditional one-to-one hierarchical senor junior mentoring dyad (2009). Based on faculty surveys and focus groups the CFTD recommends that early career faculty develop mentoring partnerships that benefit both the proteje and the mentor with the recognition that every member of the academic community can teach and learn from each other, encouraging a broad, flexible network of support where no single person possesses all of the expertise an early career faculty may require. The Process Building on the CTFD evidence, the SIRH senior faculty designed the School of Nursing Mutual Mentoring grant to address each of the 5 priorities. 1) Getting to know the institution - The role of faculty at a research intensive institution was discussed with the Associate Dean of Research in the SON and the University Vice Chancellor for Research Affairs. Senior mentor presented their career trajectories and research programs as exemplars of the diversity of potential career paths. 2) Excelling in teaching and research – Senior faculty developed a year-long agenda of once a semester retreats, conferences, monthly dyads meetings and whole mentoring group monthly dinners. To initiate collaboration through learning together a dynamic off-campus retreat was held once a semester with an expert consultant. During the retreat the mentoring group engaged in 302
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scholarly content to spur intellectual discourse, experiential workshops to initiate new self-care practices and opportunities to socialize in a relaxed setting. Together, senior mentors and junior mentees attended the annual Jean Baker Miller Training Institute Self-and-Relation theory conference at Wellesley Centers for Women, to build on evidence developed at the JBMTI to cocreate the SIRH and to engage in an interdisciplinary consultation with Self-in-Relation theory experts. Back on campus mentor dyads met monthly to collaborate on their research interests. In regularly scheduled live and virtual meetings the junior faculty contributed valuable clinical knowledge to the research focus of the senior faculty as the collaboration grew. At monthly dinner meetings, processes essential for beginning a research program were presented, such as writing for publication, actively engaging in current research projects and developing individual scholarship goals. The SON writing coach and the information literacy librarian met with the mentoring group to guide the learning process. 3) Understanding evaluation – at a monthly meeting the details of the university Annual Faculty Report process were reviewed with senior mentors suggesting strategies to organize information, identify evidence and design multi-year plans for building scholarship. 4) Creating work-life balance – all four senior faculty have the lived experience of a dual care partnership, raising children, obtaining a terminal degree and becoming a leader in their field. Comparing notes from their various approaches to work and life issues, addressing junior faculty concerns and reflecting back on roads not taken led to a lively discussion that went late into the evening on issues not usually talked about in faculty meetings. 5) Developing professional networks – senior mentors introduced mentees to on-campus, regional and national networks through personal connections, conference presentations and professional organization participation. Mentors collaborated with mentees to develop abstracts for presentations, posters and publications. Junior faculty who attended national professional conferences for the first time were carefully guided through conference protocol and in-person social networking practices to provide the potential for new career connections. The Mellon Mutual Mentoring Outcomes The mutual mentoring experience resulted in extraordinarily constructive outcomes among both mentors and mentees, “We are communicating & working together, crossing boundaries.” To date, two of the mentees have entered doctoral programs, with one successfully completing her studies. All mentees have presented posters at national conferences, one has several published manuscripts and another has submitted a manuscript, One mentee received a grant to support a professional conference. Mentees reported the relationships with their mentors were the most valuable outcome of the grant, “I have benefited enormously from being fortunate enough to participate in this grant. It has brought me so much closer to the excellent senior and junior faculty involved. This experience has focused my intellectual curiosity in the direction of Relational Theory as it relates to the mother child relationship that I will pursue (in formal education) as my personal life allows.” In addition, mentees reported learning to organize and implement a scholarly project and improve their networking skills, “Senior faculty are beginning to serve as a lifejacket for their mentees.” The mentors gained junior colleagues with a clinical perspective to work with them. In three years, we have had 100% faculty retention rate up until this year with only mentee (out of five) recently moving onto a more advanced clinical practice and one mentor accepting a position at another university. The success of the M3 led to the funding of the current grant to develop senior-junior faculty and junior faculty students mentoring partnerships. The project team will be composed of peers and near peers, who are early, mid and later career faculty who teach in the undergraduate and graduate programs. The two aims of the project are: 1) to prepare faculty by developing an infrastructure of mentoring 2) to develop a mentoring plan for the baccalaureate and graduate programs. We will focus the program on developing faculty roles and responsibilities as well as developing mentoring programs for our students. Mentoring activities will include three types of activities: monthly faculty breakfasts with a focus on developing new faculty, the development of 303
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individual faculty materials such as portfolio and bibliography and consultation with experts in the discipline, and networking with experts electronically and at major conferences. A pre and post-test survey of mentees will determine mentoring needs and provide direction for mentors. Each participant will receive a small stipend to facilitate mentoring with students and to provide for professional conference networking opportunities. Conclusion With the unrelenting national recession it is imperative that schools of nursing be very creative in recruiting qualified faculty. The comprehensive M3 program, designed to address the needs of senior and junior faculty, met its goals to encourage scholarship, facilitate research collaboration, increase satisfaction and retention. Just as our theory of Self-in-relation to health predicts with patients, by creating multilevel mentoring relationships, we have enhanced the health of our scholarship. REFERENCES AACN (2011). 2010-2011 Enrollment and Graduates in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing. http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media/FactSheets/NursingShortage.htm Blauvelt, M. J. & Spath, M.L. (2008). Passing the torch: The faculty mentoring program at one school of nursing. Nursing Education Perspectives, 29(1), 29-33. Center for Teaching and Faculty Development (2009). Mutual Mentoring Grants http://www.umass.edu/ctfd/mentoring/index.shtml Chandler, G (2005). Growing nurse leaders: An undergraduate teaching assistant program. Journal of Nursing Education. 44(12), 569-572. Dunham-Taylor, J., Lynn, C., Moore, P., McDaniel. S. & Walker, J. (2008). What goes around, comes around: Improving faculty retention through more effective mentoring. Journal of Professional Nursing. 24 (6), 337346. IOM (2010) The future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, Robert Wood Johnson/Institute of Medicine, http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2010/The-Future-of-Nursing-Leading-Change-Advancing-Health.aspx Jacelon, CS, Zucker, DM, Stacciarini, JM & Henneman, EA. (2003). Peer mentoring for tenure track faculty. Journal of Professional Nursing, 19(6): 335-338. Mkandawire-Valhmu, L., Kako, M. & Stevens, E. (2010). Mentoring women of color in nursing academia: Creating an environment that supports scholarly growth and retention. Nursing Outlook , 56(3), 135-141. National League for Nursing. (2006b). Position statement: Mentoring of nurse faculty. New York: Author
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Reddick, R. J., Bukoski, B. E., Smith, S. L. & Jimenez, J. M. The University of Texas at Austin Learning across Generations and Disciplinary Boundaries: The Secret Mentoring Lives of Black Faculty ABSTRACT Cultural taxation is defined as situations are imposed on minority faculty by the administration, which assumes that they are best suited for specific tasks because of race/ethnicity. This study of Black faculty at UT-Austin describing their community engagement in a “creative class” city analyzes how professors manage CT, utilizing cross-disciplinary mentoring networks, and spanning generations to advance careers and support mentees. Participants shared the multifaceted nature of CT - the permeability of work/life spheres, unacknowledged support of students in other disciplines, and serving as the “ad-hoc chamber of commerce” for newcomers. Faculty described this work as personally beneficial, accessing spiritual information (“church searches”), and bonding with like-minded colleagues. However, the community’s instability due to tenure pressures impeded their satisfaction. This discussion of reciprocal mentorship illuminates the “invisible” work of faculty, significant in a time where faculty roles are essentialized in terms of “efficiency.” The researchers posit recommendations to institutional leaders, recognizing the work of Black faculty that allows institutions to recruit and retain minority students and faculty, and potentially enhance their job satisfaction.
Purpose Although predominantly White institutions (PWIs) have made strides in faculty diversity since the 1960s (Turner, Myers, & Creswell, 1999), gaps remain in the both the percentage of Black faculty at PWIs (Journal of Blacks in Higher Education [JBHE], 2005) and job satisfaction among Black faculty compared to other faculty and faculty at historically Black colleges (Allen, Epps, Guillory, Suh, & Bonous-Hammarth, 2000). Institutions, however, do not exist in vacuums. Black faculty must navigate not only challenging campus climates but also civic contexts where racism presents daily challenges, such as that experienced in 2009 by Harvard’s Skip Gates, who was arrested for allegedly disrupting the peace when attempting to enter his home (Stripling, 2009). Black faculty navigate both institutional and community concerns; furthermore, education, class, and professional identity do not insulate Black scholars from dealing with garden-variety racism present in many American communities (Dyson, 2009). These challenges often manifest in extra service Black faculty perform at PWIs to address the racialized issues various community constituents face. Activities contributing to the social good − from mentoring students of color who are un-mentored by White faculty, to serving on diversity committees, to diffusing tensions between ethnic communities and the institution − require Black faculty pay a “tax” on time and energy (Cohen, 1998). While individual faculty can elect to disengage from the tax, there is often a price for this choice (e.g., being labeled a “race traitor”) (Brayboy, 2003). This tension untenably positions Black faculty as sacrificing effort potentially applied to research essential for promotion/tenure, contributing to lower rates of job satisfaction among Black faculty compared to White peers at PWIs and, possibly, Black underrepresentation at the associate and professor ranks (Allen et. al, 2000). Given that the percentage of Blacks as well as promotion/tenure rates in the professoriate has virtually stagnated (JBHE, 2005), it is important to understand how Black faculty negotiate the “tax” on their campus and community lives in order to inform institutional policies and practice. This paper uses cultural taxation (CT) (Padilla, 1994) as a framework to examine how Black faculty at a research-intensive PWI navigate professorial roles and their engagement in both campus and community in a context where racial cleavages exist. We found a continued presence of the “Black tax” and learned it encompassed how some faculty embrace this seemingly burdensome work in both professional and personal spheres. This analysis also shows how the mentoring of participant Black faculty contribute to the public good and social change for the benefit of the local community and institution as well as the broader educational community. For society to continue to change, knowledge 305
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and its conference to the next generation must be the domain of a diverse faculty; therefore, it is critical to begin to address the gap in Black faculty satisfaction and promotion/tenure rates by understanding their experiences. Theoretical Framework Padilla (1994) defined CT as “situations…imposed…by the administration, which assume that we are best suited for specific tasks because of our race/ethnicity or our presumed knowledge of cultural differences” (p. 26). Padilla notes six spheres of CT experienced by minority faculty, including being the “expert” on diversity (regardless of the scholar’s preference) and serving on affirmative action task forces/committees, often culminating in unimaginative recommendations with little structural change taking place. Many scholars have examined the differential experiences of faculty of color compared to Whites at PWIs, noting that the former tend to be more dissatisfied with their professional status as a result of institutional demands and community pressures relating directly to their racial identity (Aguirre, Martinez, & Hernandez, 1993; Cohen, 1988; Turner, 2003; Turner, Gonzalez, & Wood, 2008). These concerns are familiar to faculty of color: heightened advising responsibilities (Gay, 2004; HobsonHorton, 2004; Murakami-Ramalho, Nuñez, & Cuero, 2010; Sámano, 2005) and a lack of recognition of “diversity work” in promotion/tenure decisions (Allen, Epps, Guillory, Suh, Bonous-Hammarth, & Stassen, 2002; Sámano, 2005; Fogg, 2003). In addition, researchers have acknowledged CT’s centrality in the minority faculty experience at PWIs (Baez, 2000; Brayboy, 2003; Trower & Chait, 2002; Griffin & Reddick, 2011). These studies, however, situate the institution at the center of analysis, with less attention devoted to the communities surrounding the institutions. However, the professoriate is unique: faculty carry identity, capital, and power of advocacy across multiple contexts, including schools, spiritual venues, and social justice projects. Given the potential for social impact, a logical extension of CT research must incorporate civic contexts. While studies have examined communities in which faculty of color work (see Butner, Burley, & Marbley, 2000; Turner & Myers, 2000), there is a need to examine CT from an intra- and extra-mural perspective to promote institutional equity and social change agendas; this study, therefore, is a unique application of the CT framework. Methods This phenomenological, qualitative study (Patton, 2002) investigated Black faculty experiences engaging in the wider community beyond the research-intensive PWI. Eighteen tenure-track professors agreed to one-hour interviews discussing how they made meaning of their connection to the Austin community via their teaching, research, service obligations, and social interactions. Researchers wrote reflective memos for each interview and shared their developing analyses with the team to clarify thoughts, themes, and approaches to organizing the voluminous data. In addition to the one-on-one interviews, several faculty participated in a focus group to discuss social and political perspectives on the Black experience in Austin; the interactive nature of the focus group generated robust discussion and revealed shared concerns among participants. The data utilized in this paper is derived from the focus group. Narratives comprised the majority of data in this paper, organized utilizing a systematic coding process. We first employed an etic coding procedure, with themes identified from literature on Black faculty experiences; we then re-approached the data integrating emic codes, and revised the code list. Codes were used to construct the findings section based on frequency as well as similarities and differences among axes of difference using Atlas.ti. Trustworthiness concerns were addressed through audiotaped recording and professional transcriptioning, member checks, and sharing coding and memos with an interpretive community (Kvale, 1996; Maxwell, 1996; Seidman, 1998).
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Data Sources The study’s site was The University of Texas, a public, four-year research-intensive PWI in Austin. Though Austin’s history is unique, similar patterns exist in other creative class cities such as Raleigh/Durham, NC and Cambridge, MA. While Austin enjoys a reputation for being a “mind magnet,” or creative class, city with an appreciation for arts and culture (Florida, 2002; Dougherty, 2009), the city has also dealt with significant racial tensions, including the deaths of several youths of color in policeinvolved incidents, insensitivity towards the loss of Black cultural landmarks, and a general sense of not being a welcoming place for Blacks (Howard-Watkins, 2006; Smith, 2005). In addition, the university itself is emerging from a racist past and has made significant efforts to recruit and retain Black faculty in the past 20 years, including the establishment of a Department of African Diaspora Studies (Duren & Iscoe, 1979; Rosales, 2010). Tensions remain in certain departments, however, and Black faculty have departed the institution on a yearly basis for myriad reasons, including unsuccessful tenure decisions, recruitment from peer institutions, and lack of same-sex partner benefits. Findings and Discussion Our findings indicate that cultural taxation (CT) affects the experiences of Black faculty at a research intensive PWI in three domains: their unique perspective on culture, the impact on their scholarly and community service, and their interactions with the institution on individual and collective levels. In this section, we will expand on these three major themes with illustrative quotes from participants in the study. Culture Participants indicated their identity as mentors, supporters, and invested members of the university community motivated them to persevere through challenges; indeed, this identity led to a sense among participants that they were needed, which enhanced their sense of belonging in the city. Faculty participants also expressed that their work in the community imbued them with a strong sense of their ethics, which motivated them to continue their efforts. For faculty participants, the community of scholars and administrators on campus provided opportunity for them to “get their soul injection, their soul inoculation,” which armored them for microaggressive (Pierce, 1995; Solórzano, Ceja, & Yosso, 2000) slights they encountered in their quotidian Austin lives. Much like spiritual outlets, the Black university community reinvigorated the faculty, as Karim noted: A major point that we have had to grapple with, seeing these folks around me who have children the same age as my daughter, with similar research interests. I think we build a very strong cohesive unit within our department, and across the college. For the first time, it became real…what is the real community here, what are the real connections...it’s folks in the college department and the church.
For Karim and others, university life was not simply how they earned a living; it was an integral, anchoring aspect of their lives in Austin. Nathan similarly noted how a connection to colleagues rooted his satisfaction at the University and the city: If things remain the way they are, if [my colleagues] are here I have nothing to be unhappy about…I go to conferences and I’m in an elevator and people say to me, “Have you thought about coming to - fill in the blank?” I’m like, “No, I’m good.”
Nathan did note, however, that stability was assumed: “…with what’s happening in the economy and the craziness…who knows how this place will look in three years?” Cultural taxation, typically viewed as a net negative, emerged as the “glue” retaining many faculty. When reflecting on engagement outside of her official work responsibilities, Yvonne stated, “It is a wage. 307
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It is a tax. You can feel angry about it, but without it, I don’t think I would want to be here.” Throughout the interview, Yvonne discussed how working with students and faculty colleagues on professional, academic, and social issues left her feeling drained, but also indicated that she was needed in the community. Similarly, Nathan saw himself as a repository of knowledge about academia, accrued through his experiences both at the University as a faculty member and as a graduate student at a competitive predominantly White institution: I know that I have, among others, experienced a cultural taxation, not just on the faculty here, but if you ask my mentor…and faculty of color all over the United States, they’ve experienced the same thing…Those are the things that I’ll pass on. When I have students in my office, I say, “Look, the things I’m about to tell you come from many sources, and many places,” and so it’s also sociocultural capital.
David, a tenured professor and institutional leader, further noted how the very fact that he experienced a “burden” in itself meant that there was a community to participate in: I think [cultural taxation] is absolutely the case, but I wouldn’t have it any other way…to feel responsible to the community, it means there is a community to feel responsible to…because there is some kind of expectation and reciprocity one way or the other. The things that you are doing for others, there is some notion that some of those things can’t happen for you in a generally hostile atmosphere.
David summarized what many participants expressed, that stresses about how to balance their time and energy were in a sense positive, because, it meant there were viable, important aspects of life to devote energies toward. In a community with fewer Black colleagues or cultural connections, this might not be the case. The faculty participants discussed how their mentoring spoke to a heightened awareness of adhering to a code of ethics in which the goals of community – specifically, uplifting individuals in hope they will work for the advancement of the Black community – were paramount. Karim described how this approach tended to be the domain of Black faculty and contrasted it with how another professor in his department managed advisees: One professor says, “I only work with people who do quantitative research and when you graduate, you publish an article, I have to be second author.” All these rules that have nothing to do with the student. Nothing…What they may find in you, on the other hand, might be somebody who will allow me to be who I am. Research what I want to, develop as a scholar, who will support me. Who will understand that I have a life. I’m trying to do all these things [with my advisees], so it’s more of a humane approach.
While the other professor erected gates prohibiting access to potential mentees through rules of research and ownership of the intellectual enterprise, Karim described how he and other like-minded Black professors saw themselves as conduits toward their students’ personal goals and self-fulfillment. A further manifestation of this philosophy was evident in Yvonne’s comment: “I feel like [Black faculty are] pretty privileged and that we have a responsibility if we come from marginalized communities. It’s only because of the marginalized communities that we’re here.” She further stated that this belief is not universally held by Black faculty: “I feel like it’s obvious that we have an on-going responsibility but that creates friction because not everyone lives like that.” The ethics of mentoring also inspired discussion among the participants, and the leitmotif of having a heightened sense of this ethical directive became clear when David shared his thoughts about how he approached the additional work of mentoring and supporting students: I’m angry, but that anger feeds me…it makes me feel vindicated. It makes me feel like I’m doing things that are important…At this point in my life I don’t feel like I have to be an activist outside of the university, because there is a community here at the university I can be an activist in. And the things that I’m doing are not only ethically correct, but they are also hopefully having some kind of impact. Even if they don’t, I’m doing what I
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should be doing. I don’t have to seek outside the university for these kinds of morally redeeming practices. They are possible for me right here because there is a struggle here.
Yvonne also discussed how she felt inspired to mentoring and service by a more compelling imperative than promotion and tenure policies. Indeed, the idea that service to the community manifested in faculty supporting students and colleagues – namely in the arena of mentoring – was a widely held belief by faculty participants in the study. Service Participants also saw the service aspect of their professional identities as central, though often unappreciated and unrecognized by colleagues and administrators – and in some cases, even the students they assisted. At times, they described their service to the community as overwhelming and something the University exploited to its advantage. However, the belief that students in whom they invested time and effort would “pay it forward” motivated faculty to continue this challenging work. As the institution is research-intensive and promotion/tenure concerns figure heavily into faculty’s lives, we were unsurprised to hear faculty describe their service in mentoring and advising as undervalued and unrecognized. Karim noted that his efforts to diversify and expand his program were met with little appreciation: “I’ve been teaching six courses a year, directing a program, traveling all over the state,” he said. “People will say that’s great, but you talk to them and they say ‘That’s good, but we’re going reward this other person because they do so much for the department.’” Yvonne reinforced this idea by discussing how the mentoring role that Black faculty tend to occupy simply is not seen as having the same institutional benefit as formal roles: Say you take on a service role in your department as graduate advisor. There is a pretty set understanding of how that goes. There are committees that help you, and you receive applications. You maybe throw a couple of orientation sessions. That’s it…But there are none of these extras – you’re not dealing with all the kind of intangibles and variables that conversations about race or especially in this political climate [require]. All the work that goes into facilitating and leading on those conversations and recruiting, it’s a much less defined role. On paper you look like a director, but your job has all these various tentacles…which means a whole lot more work for you. Compared to other directors in your department who are there – their roles are more circumscribed and kind of tangible. It’s all invisible labor because no one really understands what’s going on, you know?
Nathan reinforced the concept of “invisible labor”: “I think the university will never tell us that this work has some worth – not that we need that. I think we could all share some stories how we’ve done all kinds of things to keep people at this place and to help, just by people seeing us and wanting to come here.” Yvonne added, “I think [administrators] will appreciate you, but I don’t know, they don’t really understand. They don’t acknowledge the scope of the labor.” At times, faculty participants described the intensity and breadth of mentoring and serving in the university community as “overwhelming.” Ernest, for example, discussed assisting a student outside of his college in securing funding and mentorship: “Sometimes you ask yourself, ‘What the hell am I doing? Who am I doing it for,’ you know? You are expected to [serve the community], and unless you take the route that in many ways can be perceived as selfish by our own people, you’ll kill yourself.” The stresses of working intently to support students and other members of the community also potentially impinge on family time, as Karim discussed: “I still want to be there for my family because that’s important to me. Right now I’m prepared to talk to my chair about all I’m doing… at this point, I believe something has to give.” Indeed, time constraints often led to an overextension and involvement in multiple communities, which, as Yvonne described, tended to be unsatisfactory: “I find myself going to these different areas,” she noted. “I’m unable to build a community for myself as a scholar or commit as much time to it, because I feel disjointed with triple consciousness, whatever, the case.”
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Faculty participants believed that their efforts mentoring and developing students were not in vain, though. Many faculty shared that the students they invested in would, in fact, become scholars much like themselves, with a strong community and mentoring orientation. Hakim expressed this commonly held thought during a focus group: It may be that what makes these students attractive or interesting is that they have a community connection of some kind…I think about the students that have that statement of purpose, that talk about the things they do in the community and how they are connected versus somebody who just did good on the GRE. That’s all we know about them. I guess we probably see some of ourselves in the former. The question is, “Who do you want to see in the academy?” It’s a very true statement about this is social reproduction at its most egregious.
Hakim’s use of the term “social reproduction,” often used to critique the academy, demonstrates how Black faculty are using this strategy to bring like-minded protégés into academe to shift the status quo. In a similar manner, Karim expressed how he felt the protégés in which he invested the time would be those who best exemplified a strong mentoring and community orientation, the “type of students and scholars you want to see down the line…So, sometimes you feel like there is something selfish about it, because you feel like there might be a payoff.” Interestingly, the “selfish” payoff Karim referenced is one that benefits future generations of scholars. Faculty Interactions with the Institution When reflecting on experiences of commitment to service and mentoring that faculty termed as cultural taxation, it became evident that these relationships greatly impacted how participants interfaced with the institution. A major finding of this study, then, is that faculty’s perception of their workplace is filtered through cultural taxation. In many ways, faculty discussed how their invisible mentoring and community engagement predominantly shaped their interaction with the university. Nathan’s discussion on this matter expressed his feeling that the institution somewhat exploited his work, and that of other faculty immersed in mentoring and developing students to their fullest potential: I think you are also bearing the burden of the expressed priorities of the university. As an institution they say they care, but they really don’t, or they don’t really put the resources. But you are trapped in this middle position and you end up being that point person.
This sense of being in the “middle” factored heavily in the discussions of the sampled faculty. Acknowledging the imperfection of all organizations, they expressed reserved admiration in the university’s accomplishments, evidenced in David’s comments: But in terms of our numbers, our faculty numbers are higher than they’ve ever been. They are over 4% at this point. In terms of percentages in state population, we rival almost any other university of our kind in the country. In terms of the turnover rate, it is substantial, about 30%, but even at 30%, the population is still building. We feel people leaving and that is a reality, but it’s not like we are at a tipping point where people are leaving faster than they are coming.
Even with notable achievements, faculty expressed concern that their interaction and engagement with the university community was work other agencies and institutional agents should have been doing. When Hakim joked that the work of Black faculty was “another Black chamber of commerce,” Nathan took the analogy further as he discussed how he was involved with orienting potential newcomers to the campus and city: That is so the case. So, there’s this email sent out the other day saying that a potential faculty member is coming in looking for housing – who are the realtors, because we know we’ve got to be careful about which realtors you work with because of the way in which the realtors have different ideas. If they have a bad experience with their realtor, that just kicked it off wrong! Man, we do a lot of “chamber work!” Whenever somebody comes in and I really like them, I throw them in my pickup and we drive all over. We eat the foods that they want to eat. I
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end up selling the place. I hadn’t thought of that.
Mentoring, shepherding, and recruiting imbued the faculty in the sample with opinions of how the university conducted its affairs related to diversity, recruitment, and retention. While the faculty appreciated the complexity of the university’s role in all these domains and understood their involvement in this work, they also expressed concern about the institution’s meager acknowledgement of and focus on issues these faculty worked on. Significance The findings from this study situate Black faculty as powerful agents of change. Black faculty investment in students’ and colleagues’ lives can transform perceptions of the city from offering a culturally vacant locale with substandard quality of life for Blacks to offering the possibility of attaining satisfying cultural, ethnic, and political venues conducive to establishing a lifestyle. Their willingness to share experiences, welcome newcomers, and share social networks made transparent a way of establishing a viable life in a civic context seemingly offering differing experiences according to race. In addition, by contributing to the diversification of curricular and student experiences, Black faculty play a vital role in wider social change. Furthermore, this study challenges us to think differently about CT – traditionally conceptualized as burdensome. The faculty in this study identified this work as a source of pride and an essential contribution to a fragile, yet emerging Black community. Department heads, deans, and provosts should be aware of this interpretation of CT, and the study makes recommendations on how institutional leaders can support the vital work of Black faculty and reconceptualize tenure/promotion processes, as articulated by the ACE (2005) and the AAUP (West & Curtis, 2006). REFERENCES Aguirre, A., Martinez, R., & Hernandez, A. (1993). Majority and minority faculty perceptions in academe. Research in Higher Education, 34(3), 371-385. Allen, W. R., Epps, E. G., Guillory, E. A., Suh, S. A., & Bonous-Hammarth, M. (2000). The Black academic: Faculty status among African Americans in U.S. higher education. Journal of Negro Education, 69(1-2), 112127. Allen, W. R., Epps, E. G., Guillory, E. A., Suh, S. A., Bonous-Hammarth, M., & Stassen, M. L. A. (2002). Outsiders within: Race, gender, and faculty status in U.S. higher education. In W. A. Smith, P. G. Altbach, & K. Lomotey (Eds.), The racial crisis in American higher education: Continuing challenges for the twenty-first century (pp. 189-220). New York: State University Press. American Council on Education. (2005). An agenda for excellence: Creating flexibility in tenure-track faculty careers. Washington, DC: Office of Women in Higher Education. Baez, B. (2000). Race-related service and faculty of color: Conceptualizing critical agency in academe. Higher Education, 39(3), 363-391. Brayboy, B. M. J. (2003). The implementation of diversity in predominantly White colleges and universities. Journal of Black Studies, 34(1), 72–86. Doi: 10.1177/ 0021934703253679. Butner, B. & Burley, H., Marbley, A. (2000). Coping with the Unexpected: Blacks at predominately white institutions. Journal of Black Studies, 30, 453-46. Cohen, J. J. (1998). Time to shatter the glass ceiling for minority faculty. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 280(9), 821–822. Doi: 10.1001/5jama.280.9.821. Dougherty, C. (2009 May 16). 'Youth magnet' cities hit midlife crisis: Few jobs in places like Portland and Austin, but the hipsters just keep on coming. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 30, 2010 from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124242099361525009.html Duren, A. M. & Iscoe, L. (1979). Overcoming: A history of Black integration at the University of Texas at Austin. Austin: University of Texas Press.
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Dyson, M. E. (2009). Commentary: Professor arrested for 'housing while black'. Retrieved August 27, 2009, from http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/07/22/dyson.police/index.html Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class and how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and everyday life. New York: Perseus Book Group. Fogg, P. (December, 2003). So many committees, so little time: Professors’ growing service obligations make advancement tougher for many of them, particularly women and minority-group members. The Chronicle of Higher Education, L(17), A14-17. Gay, G. (2004). Navigating marginality en route to the professoriate: Graduate students of color learning and living in academia. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 17(2), 265-288. Griffin, K. A., & Reddick, R. J. (2011). Surveillance and sacrifice: Gender differences in the mentoring patterns of Black professors at predominantly White research universities. American Educational Research Journal. Hobson-Horton, L. D. (2004). Avoiding the clock stoppers: How to prepare for, endure, and survive the first year of the professorate. In D. Cleveland (Ed.), A long way to go: Conversations about race by African American faculty and graduate students (pp. 94-109). New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. Howard-Watkins, D. C. (2006). The Austin, Texas African-American Quality of Life Initiative as a Community of Inquiry: An Exploratory Study. Applied Research Projects, 115. Journal of Blacks in Higher Education (2005). Black faculty at the nation’s highest-ranked colleges and universities. Retrieved July 20, 2010, from: http://www.jbhe.com/features/48_blackfaculty_colleges-uni.html Kvale, S. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. Maxwell, J. (1996). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (Vol. 41). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Murakami-Ramalho, E., Nuñez, A., & Cuero, K. K. (2010). Latin@ advocacy in the hyphen: faculty identity and commitment in a Hispanic-serving institution. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 23(6), 699-717. Padilla, A. M. (1994). Ethnic minority scholars, research, and mentoring: Current and future issues. Educational Researcher, 23(4), 24-27. Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Pierce, C. (2005). Stress analogs of racism and sexism: Terrorism, torture, and disaster. In C. V. Willie (Ed.), Mental health, racism, sexism (pp. 277-296). University of Pittsburgh Press. Rosales, C. (2010 February 11). UT to open African American studies department. Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved July 20, 2011 from: http://www.statesman.com/news/local/ut-to-open-african-american-studiesdepartment-227248.html?imw=Y Sámano, A. (2005). Cultural taxation: Workload issues for faculty of color in predominantly white institutions. Retrieved July 21, 2011 from http://lanecc.edu/fpd/grants/sabbatical/paid/sabbreports05/CCMomentPaper.htm Seidman, I. (1998). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press. Smith, J. (2005). Quality of life for Blacks in Austin: Going beyond Midtown. Retrieved August 25, 2009, from http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:264998 Solórzano, D., Ceja, M., & Yosso, T. (2000). Critical Race Theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: The experiences of African American college students. Journal of Negro Education, 69(1/2), 60-73. Stripling, J. (2009). News: If It Can Happen To Him... Retrieved August 27, 2009, from http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/07/22/gates Trower, C., & Chait, R. (2002, March-April). Faculty diversity: Too little for too long. Harvard Magazine, 33-37. Turner, C. S. V. (2003). Incorporation and marginalization in the academy: From border toward center for faculty of color? Journal of Black Studies, 34(1), 112-125. Turner, C. S. V., Gonzalez, J. C., & Wood, J. L. (2008). Faculty of color in academe: What 20 years of literature tell us. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 1, 139–168. Turner, C. S. V., & Myers, S. L. (2000). Faculty of color in academe: Bittersweet success. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
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Turner, C. S. V., Myers, S. L., & Creswell, J. W. (1999). Exploring underrepresentation: The case of faculty of color in the Midwest. Journal of Higher Education, 70(1), 27–59. Doi: 10.2307/2649117. West, M. S., & Curtis, J. W. (2006). AAUP faculty gender equity indicators 2006. Washington, DC: American Association of University Professors.
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Marcos, T., Vouga, B., Foland, R. & Witmer, M Azusa Pacific University Educational Leadership and Licensure: How Mentoring Builds Capacity, Well-Being and Hope ABSTRACT Today, school principals and superintendents face a plethora of challenges never be- fore experienced in American education. Current literature expresses the breadth and depth of mentoring strategies which continue to be a solid construct of school leader- ship preparation programs. At Azusa Pacific University we are discovering pathways to effectively build and nurture new school administrators through the identification and development of their strengths, and to sustain seated leaders through measures of their well-being, engagement, and hope. This presentation will highlight the strengths- based constructs of an initial school leadership licensure preparation program and pro- vide strategies for mentoring school and district level administrators who are engaged at the deepest levels of personal well-being.
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Raskin, M. & Ellison, M. George Mason University and Union College Mentoring Experiences of Social Work Faculty who Perform Administrative and Faculty Roles ABSTRACT In social work field education, the mentoring process is underappreciated and understudied. There is a paucity of research or articles examining the experiences or impact that mentoring has on new social work field directors who administer field practicum programs at the undergraduate or graduate level. This exploratory study fills this void by examining the mentoring opportunities and experiences of field directors. The results suggest that there is a need and desire by field directors for assistance with scholarly activities, as well as having a mentor who will act as a sounding board. Suggestions for future endeavors to increase mentoring experiences and programs will be discussed.
Introduction The Social Work field practicum director’s position is unique and differs from that of faculty who hold traditional teaching posts. Frequently, the field director spans two worlds-the administrative and the classroom. In addition, many field directors, while spending much of their time administering the field education program also hold tenure-track lines and are evaluated by the tenure/promotion criteria that apply to the teaching faculty. While classroom faculty have resources to help them learn their roles as educators, field directors have few such resources to assist them in the socialization process. Thus, many field directors learn the administrative role through “trial and error”. A literature search found no publications concerning mentoring of Social Work field practicum directors. This exploratory study was undertaken to determine if field directors receive formal or informal mentoring, the nature of, and satisfaction with such programs, and the mentor and mentees views on the most and least helpful mentoring services. Literature Review Mentoring is a method of guiding new academicians in the ways of the academy. Its dual goals are to socialize new faculty in their roles as learned professionals and to improve their opportunities to succeed in professional pursuits. Mentoring is provided by a more experienced faculty member to a less experienced faculty member and provides the mentee with knowledge, advice, counsel, challenge and support as the mentee advances as a full member of the academy (Johnson, 2007). Benefits of Mentoring As the literature suggests, mentoring is designed to help new faculty members acclimate to their roles and to aid in their success. Much of the literature across academic programs supports the benefits of mentoring, indicating that mentored faculty experience more job success, satisfaction, and productivity (Frongia, 1995; Hill, Bahniuk, & Dobos, 1989; Pierce, 2006; Pololi, Knight, Dennis, & Frankel, 2002; Queralt, 1982; Robbins, 1989; Sambunjak, Straus, & Marusic, 2006; Wilson, Valentine, & Pereira, 2002;). The literature also shows that mentoring has a positive effect upon the mentor and the institution. Ellison, Fogel, Moore, & Johnson’s (2008) study of Baccalaureate Social Work ( BSW) faculty mentors found that 94% of the respondents (n=41) received personal satisfaction from mentoring, with 78% stating that mentoring helped them understand the concerns of new faculty and 69% believing that mentoring provided academic stimulation.
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Russell and Adams (1997) report that institutions with mentoring programs are more likely to have more productive employees, stronger employee commitment to the organization, lower turnover, more faculty loyalty, and stronger development of junior faculty. Donaldson, Ensher, & Grant-Vallone (2000) found that mentees voice a stronger commitment to their organizations and are more inclined to contribute to a positive organizational climate by volunteering to perform tasks not formally required and by helping their co-workers. The reported benefits of mentoring seem to be multifaceted. Drawbacks of Mentoring Most of the literature describes the benefits of mentoring; however a few authors have identified some of the problems that are encountered in the mentoring relationship. Johnson (2007) reports that dysfunctional mentoring relationships consist of mentors not being available to their mentee, engaging in unethical behavior such as taking credit for a mentees work, or mentors sexualizing or attempting to sexualize the relationship. Other problem areas that can compromise the benefits of mentoring are: the mentor falling out of favor with the institution, failing to protect the mentee, creating a toxic mentoring environment, undermining the mentee’s efforts, or becoming too controlling and/or using the mentoring session to air personal problems, (Ellison, et al., 2008; Johnson, 2007; Merriam, 1983; Zey, 1984). Mentoring in Academia Although the literature documents that the benefits of mentoring seem to outweigh the deficits, faculty seldom initiate mentoring and it is rare in institutions that discourage supportive behavior or where faculty are primarily rewarded for productivity other than mentoring (Ellison, et al., 2008; Johnson, 2007; Levinson, Darrow, Klein, Levinson, & McKee,1978). Sambunjak, Straus, and Marusic (2006) examined studies of mentoring in academic medicine and found that in some fields of medicine less than a fourth of faculty received mentoring and that female medical faculty perceived that they had more difficulty finding mentors than their male colleagues. BentGoodley and Sarnoff (2008) state that “Quality mentorship is a problem within the academic environment in general” and indicate that “this gap in mentorship is particularly challenging for women” (p. 3). In addition this lack of mentoring is due, in part, to systems that are focused on individual achievement and “with few institutional and systemic reinforcements of the value of mentorship for both the mentor and mentee” (p. 3). Mentoring in Social Work Education While the literature about mentoring seems to be abundant in many academic/professional disciplines, this does not appear to be the case for social work education or for the social work profession. A literature search revealed that seven studies have been published about mentoring in social work education and/or the social work profession. An early study by Robbins (1989) surveyed 340 graduate and undergraduate social work educators and found that one-third reported having a mentoring experience during their academic career. This study found that assistant professors who were mentored produced significantly more co-authored articles and book chapters than did non-mentored faculty. Berger (1990) reported that mentoring helped social work faculty with their publication records. In his study all 13 participants indicated that the face-to-face meetings with their mentors were useful along with the written comments on their draft articles. All respondents agreed that “the program helped me reach my writing goals and all respondents rated the program as excellent” (p. 71). Two additional studies examined the mentoring experiences of African- American females in social work education. Simon, Bowles, King, and Roff (2004) studied the mentoring experiences of fourteen African-American women and found that all were mentored during the latter part of their professional careers, but not early in their careers. The respondents indicated that the benefits of mentoring enhanced their careers by offering challenging assignments, and opportunities for visibility. Simon, Perry, and 316
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Roff (2008) surveyed ten African-American female social work education administrators and found that nine of the respondents had received mentoring during their doctoral studies and over half of the respondents had received career mentoring as faculty members. Wilson, et al., (2002), utilized a telephone survey to ask eighteen new social work educators about their perceptions of mentoring during their first year as educators. “Seventeen of the 18 respondents said that it {mentoring} was valuable…..” (p. 326). The authors found that formal mentoring was cited as helping the mentees adjust to their new environment and that informal mentoring provided a means “for venting frustration and for learning about specific details related to teaching or research” (p. 326). Ellison, et al., (2008), surveyed a national sample of BSW educators, and found that more respondents participated in informal mentoring than formal (56% vs. 38%); that respondents who received informal mentoring were more satisfied with their mentoring than those receiving formal mentoring (100%-informal/ 46%-formal); and that ninety percent of those receiving informal mentoring believed they were achieving their professional goals as a result of their mentoring compared to forty percent of those receiving formal mentoring. Knowledge about mentoring of faculty in social work education is limited. Moreover, the state of knowledge concerning mentoring of field education directors for their roles as field faculty is nonexistent. The authors were unable to find any studies or publications concerning the mentoring of directors of field education. This study will contribute to the social work knowledge base as this is an unexplored area in social work field education. Methodology The current study examines mentoring of field education directors. In preparation for this study, the researchers reviewed the survey instrument utilized in a previous study of the state of mentoring of BSW faculty (Ellison et al., 2008). Survey questions were modified to be appropriate for field directors. After revisions, a forty-five item, five-section instrument was developed consisting of both qualitative and quantitative response fields. The eight research questions that guided this study were: 1) Do field directors receive formal and/or informal mentoring that is specific to their roles as field directors? 2) What is the nature, structure, and services of mentoring programs that field directors receive? 3) What are the benefits of mentoring as perceived by mentees? 4) What do field directors want their mentors to provide that was not provided? 5) If field directors are not mentored how do they learn to become field directors and perform their designated roles? 6) If field directors are not mentored, what would potential mentees want mentors to provide? 7) What are the benefits of being a mentor to a field director? 8) What do mentors provide to their mentees and what do they wish they had provided? The initial questionnaire was pilot tested by six undergraduate faculty members. Comments from the reviewers focused on its length. The researchers shortened the survey and specific instructions were provided to respondents that only the sections of the survey that were pertinent to their mentoring experiences were to be completed. This accounts for missing data and different N’s on multiple questions. An internet survey was conducted using Survey Monkey electronic software. The survey package was initially distributed to 262 field directors who were members of field consortia. A second email was sent to 282 field directors who were not members of field consortia. A total of 169 usable surveys were received resulting in a 39% response rate. Descriptive statistics are used to report the results of this exploratory study. Findings Demographics The majority of respondents were White (78%, n=83 of 106), female (85%, n=93 of 111) holding the MSW degree (76%, n=83 of 110). Twenty-two percent (n=23 of 106) self-identified as minorities and less than half (41%, n=45 of 111) were field directors in BSW only programs. The mean age was 52,
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with respondents serving a mean of 7.4 years as field directors with a range of less than 1 year to 33 years. The majority held the rank of instructor or assistant professor (54%, n= 53 of 98) and 56% (n=55 of 98) were on tenure earning appointments. Twenty-one percent (n=23 of 110) held doctoral degrees. Fifty-six percent (n=62 of 111) of respondents were employed in public institutions. Mentoring Programs for Field Directors Forty-five percent (n=76 of 169) of respondents indicated that they were receiving or had received mentoring related to their roles as field directors. Nine respondents reported receiving formal mentoring through a departmental mentoring program or an institutional program. Sixty-seven respondents received informal mentoring. Of these 31% (n=23) have been mentored for five or more years. The majority (55%, n=93) received no formal or informal mentoring in their role as field director. Formal Mentoring Nine respondents out of 169 reported receiving mentoring through a departmental or institutional mentoring program. Due to the small number of field directors receiving formal mentoring specifics of this group will not be reported; however these field directors believed that their mentoring was helpful with only two respondents stating it was not helpful. Informal Mentoring Of the 67 respondents who received informal mentoring 50% or more of the mentees received seven services out of the 29 services that were listed on the survey. The four most frequently reported services were: 1) Listening to the mentees concerns and acting as a sounding board 2) Providing advice on administering the field program 3) Providing strategies for success in the field position 4) Providing introduction/overview to the field program. Sixty-nine percent (n=44 of 64) of respondents receiving informal mentoring believed that they were achieving their professional goals as a result of work with their mentor and over three-fourths (78%) rated their mentor as extremely helpful to helpful. The following were services that mentees wanted but did not receive: 1) peer review or advice on field related research 2) jointly working on field related research 3) jointly publishing articles related to field 4) jointly presenting at conferences on field education. Respondents who were mentored were asked to rate the helpfulness of each mentoring service using a 5 point scale of “not helpful” (1) to “extremely helpful” ( 5). A total of 13 services were rated by more than half of the respondents as being helpful to extremely helpful. The four receiving the highest ratings (combining the “helpful” through “extremely helpful”) were: listened to my concerns regarding field (n=53, 93%), provided strategies for success in my field position (n=44, 80%), peer review/advice on administering the field program (n=43, 79%), and provided introduction/overview to the field program (n=36, 69%). Very few respondents rated services as not helpful to slightly helpful. The services rated as least helpful were: providing advice on how to balance work and personal responsibilities (n=5), peer review/advice on field teaching (n=3), recommend participation in conferences or activities (n=3), help understand field legal issues (n=3), introduction to key field and social work community personnel (n=3), provide introduction/overview to field program (n=3), and review student field assignments (n=3). Mentees were asked to rate their overall mentoring experience using the five point scale of (1)“not helpful” to (5) “extremely helpful”. Eighty-eight percent (n=59 of 67) rated their experience as “helpful” to “extremely helpful”. Only 12 % (n=8 of 67) rated their experience as only “slightly helpful” and no respondents rated their experience as “not helpful”. Non-Mentored Field Directors This study also explored how non-mentored field directors learned their roles and what types of services they would want from a mentoring program. Ninety-three respondents did not receive any
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mentoring related to their roles as a field director. The most frequent ways in which respondents learned their roles were: 1) talking to other field faculty 2) reading books/articles about field 3) by trial and error 4) serving as field instructors 5) attending field education workshops/seminars and 6) through membership in a field consortium. The four most desired services of a mentoring program that non mentored respondents (n=86) wanted if they were to participate in mentoring include: 1) peer review/advice regarding administering the field program 2) mentor to listen/ act as a sounding board 3) advice on meeting the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) field accreditation standards and 4) provide strategies for success in their field positions. There were four services that were not desired by approximately a fourth (20%) of the non-mentored respondents (n=86). These services were: 1) help getting appointed to a Journal Board 2) help getting appointed to committees 3) introduction to key people in the department 4) advice on achieving tenure/promotion. The Mentors Perspectives Thirty-seven of 139 (27%) field directors indicated that they were engaged in mentoring. Most mentors (n=33, 89%) were providing mentoring to field faculty within their department with only nine providing mentoring to field directors; 16 were mentoring field liaisons, and 12 (32%) were mentoring assistant field directors, or individuals who would be assuming field directorships in the future. The most frequently provided services by over 70% of mentors were: 1) listening/acting as a sounding board 2) peer review/advice on administering the field program 3) recommending field assignments 4) helping mentee understand department climate relative to field. No mentors reported providing or desiring to provide two services: getting the mentee appointed to a Journal Board and introducing the mentee to key social work community people. While no mentors reported holding weekly meetings with their mentees 31% (n=5) indicated they wanted to do so. Also, no mentors reported jointly publishing field articles with their mentee, yet 13% wished they had provided this service. The two most frequently cited services that mentors wished they had provided include: jointly presenting at conferences on field topics and jointly working on field related research. Respondents were also asked if they felt they had been helpful to their mentees and an overwhelming majority (94%, n=33 of 35) indicated that they had been helpful. Ninety-two percent (n=33 of 36) of mentors indicated that they rated their overall experience as a mentor as “mostly positive” to “totally positive”. No mentors rated their experience as “not positive” and only 8.3 % (n=3 of 36) rated it as “slightly positive”. These mentors (n=35) indicated that the benefits they received from their mentoring activities helped them better understand the concerns of field faculty (n=22, 63%), it provided personal satisfaction (n=21, 60%), and it helped them stay connected to the community and social work practice (n=18, 51%). In reference to institutional benefits only 20% (n=7) indicated that it was a part of their yearly evaluations and 29% (n=10) indicated that it counted as part of their workload. Mentors seem to be more motivated by intrinsic rewards than extrinsic ones Discussion The findings of this study indicate that less than half of field directors receive mentoring, and for those who do, it is primarily through informal means. This finding supports previous research that a significant number of social work educators are not mentored (Ellison, et al. 2008; Robbins, 1989). Overall, the research on mentoring shows that mentoring contributes to career satisfaction, higher productivity, higher incomes and socialization of faculty. The lack of institutional role models and opportunities for mentoring of field directors can be two contributing factors to high turnover, burn-out, low morale, and a relatively small number of published peer-reviewed field articles. According to study respondents a mentoring program that would meet the needs of field directors would be informal in structure and primarily provide the following: 1) listening and understanding field 319
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concerns/being supportive 2) providing strategies on how to be a successful field director 3) assistance and collaboration on field scholarship(publications and presentations) 4) guidance on administration of the field program 5) advice on meeting CSWE field accreditation standards 6) assistance with field research. Mentors need to focus less on the following services: how to balance work and other responsibilities (respondents indicated that their mentors had difficulty with these themselves), introductions to community personnel, recommendations to conferences and activities, and reviewing student assignments. This study echoes the findings of other research that mentoring is perceived to be beneficial by both the mentee and the mentor. It was very evident that the mentees who received informal mentoring were quite satisfied with their mentoring and believed that the mentoring contributed to the achievement of their professional goals. Likewise, mentors were satisfied with their experiences as mentors and reported the rewards for mentoring were more intrinsic than extrinsic. Given that mentoring has been found to be of value to the mentee, the mentor, and to the institution it seems short-sighted of institutions not to provide more incentives for faculty to engage in mentoring. Although this study found high levels of satisfaction with mentoring, mentees did identify services that they wanted to receive but did not. These desired services seemed to cluster around issues of scholarship (publication, research, and presentations) which suggest that field directors are concerned with scholarship, although just over a third of respondents desired these services. This interest in scholarship might be reflective of the study sample which consisted of twenty-one percent who held doctoral degrees, or it may reflect that many field directors are on tenure-track appointments. There seems to be a greater emphasis on scholarship even in schools where the primary mission is teaching. When examining what services mentors indicate they wish they had provided but did not provide, a fourth indicated wanting to jointly present on field topics with their mentee and less than a fourth wanted to jointly work on research with their mentees. Publications about field education in general, and mentoring of field directors specifically, are still needed to enhance our understanding of this important segment of our programs. However, without support such as mentoring, field research may continue to lag behind other areas of social work education. Recommendations and Conclusions As this study demonstrates, there is a need to increase mentoring opportunities for field directors. Existing list serves, field consortia, and social media could play an important role in facilitating this activity. Since informal mentoring seems to lead to greater satisfaction, list- serves and social media could be used for those desiring mentoring and those wishing to mentor to find each other. Face book and twitter on the home pages of CSWE and BPD could begin a mentoring exchange and link mentors and mentees including social work faculty, administrators and field directors. Field consortia can take a more active role in establishing long term mentoring relationships between its members and also offering mentoring services to field directors who do not have access to field consortia. In addition, colleges and universities can provide incentives to experienced field directors to become mentors. These incentives could be components of the field director’s yearly evaluation, possibly in the category of service to the profession or to the program/institution. Field directors in this study who were not mentored wanted to focus more on the “nuts and bolts” of running a field program. As field directors accrue experience and more attain the PhD the activities desired from the mentor shifts to scholarship such as joint publications and presentations. Mentors need to be attuned to this shift and initiate, encourage, support, and participate in scholarship activities with mentees. Ideally, learning the field directors’ role should not be by trial and error, and a successful mentoring program for field directors should also not be through trial and error. This paper begins to build the research literature on the needs of field director mentees and provides the components for a successful mentoring program. This initial contribution to the field education literature has the potential of increasing mentoring thereby reducing the reliance on trial and error by field directors in learning their roles. 320
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More research is needed to identify the variables that comprise a successful field mentoring program including how to avoid the pitfalls and the ethics of mentoring. As one of the authors discovered from an informal telephone survey of a third of the social work doctoral programs, no curriculum is offered on the administration of the field program, nor are opportunities readily available for doctoral students to develop role models by becoming part of the field office. Students have to design these experiences themselves as they are not a routine part of the curriculum. Holding the position of TA and RA prepares students for the world of academia and/or research and introduces the benefits of mentoring relationships. An FA (Field Assistant) position for those who are interested in becoming field directors could be similarly included in doctoral programs to enhance the skills and satisfaction of future field directors through early and planned mentoring. Mentoring of social work faculty including field directors and the accompanying literature is beginning to emerge; however there is a need for additional research to explore ways to develop and enhance mentoring experiences for field directors. Mentoring is beneficial to field directors, but opportunities to be mentored are limited and need to be increased. Furthermore, there are few institutional rewards available to mentors and few avenues for mentors to learn what field directors want from a mentoring relationship. Informal mentoring seems to be the most successful but more structured workshops on how to become a successful mentor to a field director can be provided by academic institutions and professional organizations. Schools of social work, experienced field directors, and researchers can contribute to the positive mentoring experiences of field directors, and the provision of needed supports and resources would be of benefit to help expand these contributions. REFERENCES Bent-Goodley, T. B., & Sarnoff, S. K. (2008). The role and status of women in social work education: Past and future considerations. Journal of Social Work Education, 44, 1-8. Berger, R.M. (1990). Getting published: A mentoring program for social work faculty. Social Work, 35, 69-71. Donaldson, S. I., Ensher, E. A.,& Grant-Vallone, E. J., (2000). Longitudinal examination of mentoring relationships on organizational commitment and citizenship behavior. Journal of Career Development, 26, 233-249. Ellison, M.L., Fogel, S.J., Moore, W. R. & Johnson, A. (2008). What’s the status of faculty mentoring in BSW programs: An exploratory study. Presentation at the 26th Annual Baccalaureate Program Directors Meeting Destin, FL, March 2008. Frongia, T. (1995). Active mentorship in scholarly publishing: Why, what, who, how. In J. M. Moxley & L. T. Lenker, (Eds.), The politics and processes of scholarship (pp. 217-230). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Hill, S., Bahniuk, M., & Dobos, J. (1989). The impact of mentoring and collegial support on faculty success: An analysis of support behavior, information adequacy, and communication apprehension. Community Education, 38, 15-33. Johnson, W. B. (2007). On being a mentor: A guide for higher education faculty. New York: Psychology Press. Levinson, D., Darrow, C., Klein, E., Levinson, M., & McKee, B. (1978). The seasons in a man's life. New York: Ballentine. Merriam, S. (1983). Mentors and protégés: A critical review of the literature. Adult Education Quarterly, 33(3), 161-173 Pierce, G. (2006). Thriving in academe: Mentoring junior faculty. National Educational Association, retrieved from www.2.nea.org/he/adov)4/adv 1004/front.html. Pololi, L. H., Knight, S. M., Dennis, K., Frankel, R. M., (2002). Helping medical school faculty realize their dreams: An innovative, collaborative mentoring program. Academic Medicine, 77, 377-384. Queralt, M. (1982, April). The role of the mentor in the career development of university faculty members and academic administrators. Paper presented at an annual conference of the National Association of Women Deans, Administrators, and Counselors. Indianapolis, Indiana. Robbins, S. (1989). Mentorship in social work education: Do women lose out? Arete, 14, 1-9.
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Russell, J., & Adams, D., (1997). The changing nature of mentoring in organizations: An introduction to the special issue on mentoring in organizations. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51, 1-14. Sambunjak, D., Straus, S. E., & Marusic, A. (2006). Mentoring in academic medicine: A systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Association, 296 (9), 1103- 1115. Simon, C., Bowles, D., King, S., & Roff, L. (2004). Mentoring in the careers of African American women in social work education. Affilia, 19, 134-145. Simon, C., Perry, A., & Roff, L. (2008, Winter). Psychosocial and career mentoring: Female African American social work education administrators’ experiences. Journal of Social Work Education, 44, 9-22. Wilson, P., Valentine, D., & Pereira (2002). Perceptions of new social work faculty about mentoring experiences. Journal of Social Work Education, 38, 317-334. Zey, M. G. (1984). The mentor connection. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
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Plenary Sessions Pascarelli, J. International Mentoring Association Deepening the Quality of Mentoring: The Un-Discussable ABSTRACT Empowerment is the fundamental focus of Mentoring—strengthening the determination, resiliency, selfconfidence, and positive inner drive of the mentee. It is all based on the relationship between the mentee and the mentor -- the deeper the relationship, the greater the empowerment. This session will address two factors that increase the potential to make these relationships richer and deeper— understandings of generational differences and issues relating to culture. What happens, for example, when a Baby Boomer mentors a Millennial? How differently do they see the world? What value differences do they hold? What happens, in another case, when under-represented college or university students are mentored by instructors into the academic world and, at the same time, become challenged to respect and continue to value their differing family values and socio-cultural backgrounds? This session will explore these undiscussables.
Taylor, S. N. University of New Mexico The Importance of Caring in Mentoring Relationships: Defining and Exploring an Old Concept as a New Construct ABSTRACT There has recently been an emergence in research on the importance of compassion, empathy, perspective taking, authenticity, and the like. These have been shown to be critical to the development of stronger connections in the workplace, stronger individual performance, and higher employee engagement. In this plenary session we will present the beginning of our own research on these issues. More specifically, we will look at the importance of caring in the mentoring relationship and to leadership in general. The central, guiding questions of our research have been: What do we mean by caring and how is that different than what we already know about compassion, perspective taking, servant leadership, the ethic of care, and other such constructs? Does a leader or mentor need to truly care for those they seek to influence for the leader to be considered effective? Does the leader or mentor who truly cares help those they seek to influence to produce higher desired outcomes compared to leaders who do not care for those they seek to lead and/or mentor? In relationships where one person is trying to positively influence others in ways that lead to desired outcomes (e.g., performance improvement), we propose that caring is an essential component. We define caring as “the unconditional regard and concern for the wellbeing of others”. We will explore how this definition differs from other similar constructs (e.g., compassion, empathy, authentic leadership, ethic of care, servant leadership, and perceived support). Finally, we will use case studies and experiential activities to help the session participants' more directly connect to our definition of caring. We conclude our session by outlining the future directions of our research and the practical implications it has for the practices of mentoring and leadership.
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Concurrent Presentations Rivera-Mills, S. Oregon State University Establishing a Culture of Mentoring ABSTRACT This paper discusses the importance of establishing a mentoring culture, particularly for institutions that have not had a systematic, structured approach to faculty mentoring. Institutions seeking a stronger sense of community, better faculty retention, and more successful progression toward promotion and tenure, as well as a stronger base of future leaders will benefit from the model and recommendations provided here. Recommendations are based on a review of best practices used by many universities nationwide, and adjusted to meet specific institutional culture, history and needs. This paper does not represent an exhaustive overview of resources, but suggests a starting point for institutions that find themselves transitioning into a commitment to faculty development and effective action.
Overview Although the concept of mentoring has been in place for many years, the idea of faculty mentoring in colleges and universities has only recently begun to be considered as an important strategy for new faculty hires. In this context, mentoring should be used to exchange ideas, strengthen departmental relationships, enhance productivity, and integrate new faculty into the university community (Savage, Karp, and Logue, 2004). Many definitions of mentoring exist, depending on the context, purpose, and intent of the institution or organization. In a broader sense, mentoring can be defined as the process of one person supporting, teaching, guiding and serving as the model for another person (Buell, 2004). Mentoring can also be described as the process by which a person, usually of higher rank or outstanding achievement, guides the development of another person who may be new to a place of work or field. To date, Oregon State University (OSU) has not had a systematic, structured mentoring program either at the college or university levels. Mentoring has historically occurred at departmental levels and has depended on leadership style, resources, value, and support. As such, mentoring efforts have varied widely from department to department and from discipline to discipline. As leadership changed, mentoring would either continue or not occur at all, and when it occurred little training or support was provided, thus relying on the experience of the mentor who received little guidance in his/her efforts. In addition, as we began to face economic challenges, including hiring freezes, the added demand placed on faculty to teach larger courses while carrying out all other research and service expectations in an environment with less resources, placed mentoring efforts on the back burner, as they were not considered essential programs. This reality created an environment in which individuals were left to their own resourcefulness to seek guidance and help as needed. The outcome being low retention of faculty, increased challenges in meeting promotion and tenure requirements, and overall low morale among current faculty trying to balance many expectations. This year marks the first time in which a significant effort has been placed on recruitment and hiring of faculty across university disciplines. Over 100 new faculty members will be joining the OSU community this year. As a result, significant conversations have taken place around the topic of mentoring, leadership development, the impact that such a cohort can have on our institution, and ways in which we can prepare and support current faculty. As an outcome of these conversations, the College of Liberal Arts, has proposed and will implement a New Faculty Mentoring Program for our college. This program brings together a combination of best practices nationwide, as well as customized items appropriate to our university and college culture.
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This proposed mentoring program is a voluntary program consisting of two levels of mentoring: 1) informational mentoring provided by the college/division, and 2) career/intellectual mentoring provided by the department/unit. In addition, leadership development is proposed for new faculty who have successfully integrated into their positions at OSU. This structure can be further developed and applied to faculty seeking promotion from Associate to Full Professor and/or leadership opportunities at OSU. This is meant to be an organic document that will evolve with input from faculty, Directors/Chairs, Deans, and other people involved in the program. It is our hope that many aspects of this proposed program will be extended to a university-wide mentoring plan. In the meantime, this marks a new beginning in our college’s history, and the promotion of mentoring as something of value and importance for our faculty. What follows is a general structure of the program that can be used to begin a culture of mentoring at institutions that historically have not had a systematic or structured mentoring plan. Mentoring: College/Division Level The purpose of providing mentoring support at the college/division level is to offer new faculty information and resources in understanding the structure and culture of OSU. Goals • • • • • •
Provide a website as a resource of important information university-wide (e.g., student support services, human resources information, important dates and events). Share core values of the division/college. Assist in the integration of the division/college structure and mission. Oversee that unit-level mentoring programs are effective, and provide support where needed. Provide necessary information regarding P&T process. Provide workshops around significant themes related to division/college mission (e.g., student engagement, scholarship & grants, technology, global learning, signature areas).
Activities • • •
• • • • •
Two orientations (Fall and Spring) to provide overview and resources. Fall Dean’s reception for social networking and introductions. Monthly Divisional New Faculty Luncheons to be coordinated by more experienced faculty and organized around a thematic agenda that introduces other campus units and resources to new faculty. “Lunch with the Dean” as an opportunity to touch base and check-in with new faculty. 2-3 specific workshops during the year open to all faculty (both new and current) regarding significant themes, as stated above. Offer one training session for Directors/Chairs on best practices for effective faculty mentoring. Offer one training session for Mentors on best practices for effective faculty mentoring. Leadership development training provided as appropriate for faculty successfully approaching tenure, and mid-career faculty.
Assessment End of the year survey for new faculty and directors/chairs to improve existing program. Directors/Chairs will turn in position descriptions and mentoring plans for new faculty by the end of the first year (this may also be requested for current faculty as appropriate). Directors/Chairs will turn in intensive third-year reviews report for new faculty, and identify at-risk faculty (both new and current), so that an individual mentoring program can be designed as appropriate. Mentoring will be included as part of the Director’s/Chair’s annual report to the Dean.
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Mentoring: Unit/Department Level The following is a recommendation for unit level mentoring. Each unit should have the flexibility necessary to shape the mentoring plan according to specific needs and expectations. What follows is based on basic principles of effective mentoring programs nationwide. This is a voluntary mentoring plan through which experienced faculty knowledgeable about the campus and academic life are matched with new faculty to orient them to OSU and their position expectations, inform them about campus support services, and assist them in the early stages of their academic careers at OSU. This program is not meant to be a substitute for existing campus-wide resources and programs, but can be a supplement to those programs. Goals of the Mentoring Program • • • • • • • • • • •
Help new faculty members to: Learn about OSU, the surrounding community, and support resources for faculty. Adjust to the new environment and become active members of the university quickly. Address questions, concerns, and special needs in a confidential manner. Gain insight about teaching, scholarship and career development from an experienced faculty member. Network with other faculty and develop a personal support system within OSU. Encourage experienced faculty to: Share their knowledge and experience with new faculty and gain professional growth through the exchange of ideas. Assist new faculty to adjust quickly to the campus and address their unique needs, concerns, or questions. Provide a valuable service to the university by promoting collegiality through mentoring. Contribute to teaching, research and scholarly activities, and service mission of OSU.
Suggested Mentoring Activities Mentors and new faculty are encouraged to meet face-to-face frequently during the first two years and keep in touch frequently through phone or email. Suggested mentoring activities are: Discuss short-term and long-term career goals and professional interests (e.g., do a “needs” assessment of the mentee). Attend the programs offered by the Center for Learning and Teaching, Research Office or other campus units. • Do peer teaching observations of the mentee. • Share information on academic and student support services on campus. • Discuss effective instructional techniques, course development and curricular issues. • Explore scholarship and sponsored funding opportunities, and writing publications. • Discuss academic policies and guidelines, and university governance structure. • Attend campus events such as sports, theater productions, and cultural programs. • Share information on instructional resources and Web sites useful to new faculty. • Discuss student issues such as advising, motivating, and handling academic dishonesty. • Share experiences on managing time, handling stress, and life/work balance effectively. • • •
Discuss preparing for tenure and promotion and career advancement (e.g., go over P&T dossier format). Explore professional development opportunities available to new faculty. Address special needs, concerns, or questions and help in troubleshooting difficult situations.
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Matching Mentors with New Faculty Directors/Chairs of departments/units will match Experienced Faculty with New Faculty and request a mentoring plan for the first three years of the New Faculty’s tenure at OSU. As the research on successful mentoring has suggested, mentors assigned are generally of the same gender as the new faculty. However, mentors of particular gender, race, ethnicity, or background should be considered for multicultural development or other professional development reasons. Upon completion of a junior faculty member’s intensive third year review, the mentoring structure can be revisited and adjusted as needed for the remainder 2-3 years and as appropriate for all parties involved. Directors/Chairs will check in with the new faculty member once per year to review the position description, the mentoring plan, and make adjustments as appropriate. Duration of the Mentoring Process No set duration is required for the mentoring relationship between a mentor and a new faculty. It is recommended that mentors and new faculty interact frequently during the first two years. At the end of the second year they can decide if it is necessary to continue the mentoring relationship at the same pace, or on an as needed basis, or conclude it if individual goals have been met by the intensive third year review. At any point during the mentoring process, if a mentor or new faculty feels that the relationship is not productive, the Unit Head should be informed so that a different mentor or new faculty can be assigned. Mentors and new faculty should provide feedback on the progress of their interactions at the end of each year so that the Unit Head can evaluate the program and use the feedback to improve the program in the future. Roles and Responsibilities of Mentors Successful mentors are committed, influential and experienced faculty members that are familiar with the university system. They are recognized as good teachers and scholars in their field. Mentors are interested in and committed to the growth and development of their mentee(s), are willing to commit time and attention to their mentees, can and do give honest feedback, and are willing to act on behalf of the mentee to provide connections and direction on questions that come up. Mentors are not expected to listen to grievances and frustrations nor are they expected to be on call or automatically a friend to the mentee. These relationships take time and will strengthen over time if both are committed to the effort and a good fit is established at the beginning of the process. The mentor should provide informal advice to the new faculty member on aspects of teaching, research and committee work or be able to direct the new faculty member to appropriate other individuals. Often the greatest assistance a mentor can provide is simply the identification of which staff he or she should approach for which task. The mentor should treat all interactions and discussions in confidence. There is no evaluation or assessment of the new faculty member on the part of the mentor, only supportive guidance and constructive feedback. If a match does not work out for the mentee there should be an understanding of a no fault approach to terminating the relationship. It is important to note that mentoring is a skill and tenure status does not necessarily equate to good mentoring skills. Mentors are responsible for: Taking the initiative for contacting their mentees and staying in touch with them. Devoting time to the relationship and being available when requested. Assisting new faculty with their various questions, needs, or concerns. Sharing their knowledge and experience to benefit their new faculty and following up on their progress at OSU. • Maintaining confidentiality of the information shared by their new faculty colleagues. • • • •
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• Roles and Responsibilities of New Faculty • New Faculty can take on various roles such as friend, protégé, new colleague, or collaborator depending on their needs, academic experience, and the nature of their mentoring relationship. Mentees are responsible for: • • • • • • •
Devoting the time to the mentoring relationship and interacting with the mentor often. Making use of the opportunities provided by the mentor. Keeping the mentor informed of academic progress, difficulties, and concerns. Exchanging ideas and experiences with the mentor. Seeking help and support when needed. Educating themselves using all available resources to them. Both the mentors and new faculty colleagues have the responsibility for gaining each other's trust and confidence, interacting in a collegial manner so as to value each other's time, and professional and personal commitments, and engaging in activities that support the mission and strategic goals of OSU.
The 10 Commandments of Mentoring 1 1. Don't be afraid to be a mentor. Many mentors underestimate the amount of knowledge that they have about the academic system or their organization, the contacts they have, and the avenues they can use to help someone else. A faculty member does not have to be at the absolute top of his or her profession or discipline to be a mentor. Teaching assistants can mentor other graduate students, graduate students can mentor undergraduates, and undergraduate majors can help those beginning the major. 2. Remember you don't have to demonstrate every possible faculty role to be an effective mentor, but let your new faculty colleagues know where you are willing to help and what kind of information or support you can give that you believe will be particularly helpful. Be clear about whether you are willing to advise on personal issues, such as suggestions about how to balance family and career responsibilities. 3. Clarify expectations about how much time and guidance you are prepared to offer. 4. Let new faculty know if they are asking for too much or too little of your time. 5. Be sure to give criticism, as well as praise, when warranted, but present it with specific suggestions for improvement. Do it in a private and non-threatening context. Giving criticism in the form of a question can be helpful, as in "What other strategy might you have used to increase student participation?" 6. Where appropriate, "talk up" your new faculty accomplishments to others in your department and institution, as well as at conferences and other meetings. 7. Include new faculty in informal activities whenever possible - lunch, discussions following meetings or lectures, dinners during academic conferences. 8. Teach new faculty how to seek other career help whenever possible, such as funds to attend workshops or release time for special projects. 9. Work within your institution to develop formal and informal mentoring programs and encourage social networks. 10. Be willing to provide support for people different from yourself. Summary and Recommendations Mentoring best practices can be summarized into five simple guiding principles: 1) structured mentoring efforts, where senior faculty members are assigned to new faculty and have established guidelines and expectations, are most effective; 2) Units/Departments should spend time exploring and 328
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customizing mentoring programs that are best suited for their particular departmental culture and field; 3) Inter-disciplinary faculty mentoring should be explored whenever feasible and appropriate; 4) To maximize the effectiveness of a faculty mentoring program, department heads should check-in periodically with the mentoring that is being given; and 5) Establish mechanisms that recognize and reward mentoring efforts. Given the voluntary nature of this program, it is particularly important to provide support, structured guidance, and recognition of faculty efforts and participation in the program. To this end, our college intends to define explicitly, at the unit level, what role mentoring plays in the tenure process, and make mentoring part of the position description for both mentors and mentees, recognizing efforts and participation in annual performance reviews. This will greatly affect the level of participation of both parties in the program. In addition, the college will promote, recognize, and reward successful mentoring programs annually (e.g., stipends, fellowships, awards). Our next steps include considering mentoring at the associate professor level in the next phase of this program. We would like to see the university provide centrally more resources to guide the mentoring process. At the same time, it is important for OSU to supplement existing faculty orientation programs with workshops and training specifically focused on mentoring. And finally as an ongoing assessment, we hope to involve actively faculty in the development and evolution of the mentoring program in order to improve the program and build support for future directions. REFERENCES Arizona State University. Faculty development. Buell, C. 2004. Models of mentoring in communication. Communication Education, 53, 56-73. College Teaching, 52, 21-24. Indiana University. Mentoring policy curriculum & instruction. Kansas State University. Mentoring policy. Oregon State Univesity. 2010. Mentoring for Success: A Toolkit for Faculty Mentors and Mentees, by Women’s Advancement & Gender Equity. Purdue University. Teaching Academy: The Faculty Mentoring Network. Sandler, B. 1993. Women as Mentors: Myths and Commandments. Chronicle of Higher Education. March 10, 1993. Savage, H.E., Karp, R.S., & Logue, R. 2004. Faculty mentorship at colleges and universities. UC San Diego. Faculty development programs. Univesity of Illinois. Junior Faculty Mentoring Program. University of Michigan. (2004) Report of the faculty mentoring study: The Provost’s advisory committee on mentoring and community building. University of Minnesota. Faculty Mentoring Program. University of Washington. Mentoring. Univesity of Wisconsin. Provost initiative on mentoring for women.
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Taken from: Sandler, B. 1993. Women as Mentors: Myths and Commandments. Chronicle of Higher Education. March 10, 1993.
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Erdman, J. University of Wisconsin In Transition: From Mentoring One Student a Year to Fellowship Recipient- “Inclusive Excellence” ABSTRACT The goal of this project is to design a plan for institutionalizing the goals and objectives of the UW Oshkosh Inclusive Excellence plan into the COEHS. “Inclusive Excellence” asks us to actively manage diversity as a vital and necessary asset of collegiate life rather than as an external problem. The focus is on two Inclusive Excellence goals: Driving diversity deep into our everyday cultures, daily practices and organizational patterns Improving campus (college) climate to provide a strong, abiding sense of belonging and community for all. Inclusive Excellence is grounded in integrating issues of diversity and inclusivity into the everyday life of the university and college. The purpose of this fellowship is to do an in-depth assessment of diversity and inclusivity within the college by looking at what is currently being practiced, who is actively engaged, the PEP curriculum as related to silences and gaps around diversity, and where there is room for growth. This will be accomplished by: 1) Scholarly reading in the field, 2) Assessment/evaluation of university resources, 3) Assessment/evaluation of COEHS resources, practices and curriculum and 4) Communication with campus, college and system representatives. Final outcomes of the above will include an institutionalized COEHS PEP mentoring program plan for students and faculty from traditionally underrepresented groups and a COEHS plan for the institutionalization of speakers, readings and workshops addressing diversity. This program and plan will be specifically tailored to the results of the fact finding process occurring at the outset and throughout the project. A final report on strengths and weaknesses of COEHS to help identify future growth potential in the area of Inclusive Excellence will be provided.
Why A Faculty Fellowship On Inclusive Excellence? There are some key advantages to focusing a faculty fellowship on Inclusive Excellence. A fellowship provides more freedom to focus exclusively on Inclusive Excellence than an already established administrative position—the gift of time to a skillful faculty member can provide the leverage for success. I will strive to help change the college’s cultural hegemony so that the standpoint for college decision-making, daily practice, and leadership becomes not “the way we’ve always done it before” but rather “social justice”, also known as Inclusive Excellence. The fellowship resources support attentiveness to serving and changing our PEP student body to be as diverse as the K-12 population of children and youth and to supporting COEHS untenured and tenured faculty of color to increase retention. The fellowship foci are multidimensional, and student-centered, and the process of work will be deliberate and coordinated. The overarching goal is to effect transformative, long lasting change by making connections across groups of student/faculty/staff that strengthen trust and create a pathway of support for students of color in PEP and a culture of support for faculty of color in COEHS. In sum, this work on Inclusive Excellence will utilize data and entail work with many others so that diversity becomes the “default” for how daily life unfolds in COEHS. Increasing compositional diversity and retention of students and faculty/staff of color and creating learning environments in which students/faculty/staff of all backgrounds can thrive is exciting. Diversity should be a center for institutional life and an organizing principle around which institutional decisions are made. Relationship to COEHS Mission and UW System Policy I will lead and support COEHS progress on UWS Inclusive Excellence goals and the college mission/goals. The project's main focus will be the Professional Ed Program (PEP). I will create a mentoring program for incoming students, mentor faculty of color; spend time reading and rethinking
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curriculum and climate in PEP, bring in speakers, and better inform COEHS of campus diversity initiatives. The college mission (2007) includes: “The COEHS will be an intellectually rigorous and diverse (my italics) community.”’ a composition currently “light” and uneven in racial/ethnic diversity. Recent COEHS goal statements (2011) include commitments: “…[to have] met the needs of diverse populations,” “involving people with multiple perspectives, backgrounds and experience,” recruiting from and retaining students and faculty/staff from under-represented populations,” and “[providing] educative opportunities to discuss and learn about issues related to diversity in the curriculum…”. The UWS Inclusive Excellence Policy is key to fellowship goals including: driving diversity deep into our everyday cultures, daily practices, and organizational patterns; establishing a critical mass of faculty, staff, and students from historically underrepresented groups; steady and significant rates of retention and upward mobility for faculty and staff who are members of underrepresented populations; proportional representation of students from underrepresented and underserved populations in competitive academic programs; improved campus climates that provide a strong, abiding sense of belonging and community for all; better alignment and cohesiveness between diversity efforts and other institutional initiatives, particularly those that focus on excellence in undergraduate education; and greater numbers of UW students who possess the requisite multicultural competencies they need to navigate an increasingly diverse democracy and meet the ever-emerging and complex needs of its students, the state, and society… My Qualifications I have a deep understanding of UW Oshkosh including experience as an undergraduate at UW Oshkosh. I have an embodied sense of being on campus as an economically poor “townie” who lived “at home”, the first generation to go to college, taught almost exclusively by Euro-American male professors. I was white and privileged to have a mother who stressed the value of education above all else. I “did schooling”. Not all students have “white privilege” or steel-minded parent advocates, and college was more affordable then. Today debt or fears thereof affect enrollment and retention. I have the temperament and background to succeed. I’ve started programs (Fox Valley Writing Project, minors in ESL/Bilingual Ed Spanish/Bilingual Ed Hmong. I’ve mentored a Hmong American STEP student from failure to passage of Praxis II for licensure in English Education I envision building professional relationships with students from under-represented groups and with activities that are most likely to enact change for individuals and to enrich college culture. I will serve as a resource for students and colleagues interested in Inclusive Excellence in COEHS. It will be useful that I can apply extensive knowledge of UW Oshkosh to make stronger connections between campus Inclusive Education activities, support services and people, and the college. A main emphasis will be on engaging one on one or in small groups outside of committee structures to lead and support efforts for enrollment, retention and curricular change supportive of Inclusive Education. Sustainable change efforts must entail wise selection of activities and time/self management that is grounded in a deep, solid, well theorized scholarly understanding. Thus I envision that one fourth of fellowship time throughout the fellowship will be devoted to scholarship—reading, and conference participation related to mentoring and multicultural education. Specific Targeted Academic Activities I will build relationships with student groups: the Multicultural Ed Center, MEC Coalition (student board), the Black Student Union (Byron Adams, Advisor), the Hmong Student Association, the Asian American Student Organization, the Student Organization of Latinos, Intertribal Student Organization, and the Rainbow Alliance for Hope. I met student members from many of these groups during Opening Day, Fall 2011. I will work with Pam Lassiter, Director, Office of Affirmative Action, and Karen King, fellow working with Pam Lassiter; Irma Burgos, Director, Center for Academic Support and Diversity; Jordan Landry Inclusive, Excellence; Guadalupe Salinas , Precollege Programs; Abbas Yaghmaian, scholarships
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for students; Multicultural Education Coalition, Abbas Yahgmaian, advisor; the African American Alumni Mentoring Program; Mary Seaman, Director of the McNair Program which provides a pathway of financial and academic support, the Psychology Department, which has had success with supporting students of color, Jean Kwaterski, Dean of Students Office, working with Resident Assistants; Admissions Liaisons Quincy Grant, Brian Jackson, Flora Stapel, Lomsa Xiong, and Thomas Eades; and Courtney Bauder, International Students. I will strive to figure out how COEHS advisors can leverage the talents of people and campus resources to better support and advise students of color seeking PEP admission, experiencing PPST failure,… I will work also with Dempsey PEP Advisors about advising students and course problem rates, known as “DFW” rates, among students of color in some general education courses, communicate back to C and I, Special Education, and the PEP Committee, and suggest changes or supports, including possibly advising students to avoid high failure rate courses when course choice is an option and to consider faculty support of increasing course choice (via curricular change through UWO levels of review). I will serve as a resource to COEHS PEP Advisors, and work with Jean Inda (PEP director), Marguerite Parks and Kate Short-Meyerson, who are working on mentoring students of color. I will serve as an ad hoc resource/communicator with COEHS Committees--Personnel, Diversity and Culture, Curriculum. I will briefly check out university/faculty senate committees--Diversity Council, Equity and Affirmative Action Council, Gender Equity Council and LBGTQ-- to see what COEHS is missing. I will gather data about students of color in PEP in the areas of access, retention, excellence and institutional receptivity (UW Oshkosh Engaging People and Ideas Equity Scorecard 2008, See Appendix A). I will survey COEHS faculty, staff and students related to diversity, drawing from respected surveys from Stanford and elsewhere during Fall 2011. I will become skillful with and use social media e.g. twitter, facebook, utube, skype via laptop and ipad2 to provide credible, efficient and “fun” communication with prospective and current PEP students of color and student organizations. Nari Kim has agreed to assist me with the learning curve. I will publicize and work to build attendance at campus events supporting Inclusive Excellence augment those already in place with additional speakers. Possibilities include Carl Grant (retired UW Madison), Ron Dunlap (retired, Appleton Public Schools). I will also work with groups related to “diversity months” to publicize activities in a more timely manner and encourage PEP faculty/staff to promote PEP student participation. I will work with webmasters/tech support (Bob Wertel, CASD web site maintenance, Candice Slaney, Margaret Brill in COEHS) to strengthen connections of the UWO website online resources that support students of color. For ex SWEA is missing an orgsync online presence, admissions lacks links to the MEC, some MEC links don’t work. There also is inconsistent use of names of offices and organizations on web pages devoted to student support. I will attend activities already in place to promote selecting majors with teacher licensure, particularly those with good job markets, to students of color: Preview Days, Majorfest (Erin Anderson , freshman/transfer student orientations … African Americans are our most underrepresented group among students of color in PEP. I may strive to build a cohort of African American teachers in PEP, using what I’ve learned from building successful graduate level cohorts. Sue Doemel will be helpful, as she has worked successfully with a cohort of Native American students in PEP. I will provide visual enhancement to the college building: utube clips on the computer by the front of the COEHS Administrative Complex, bulletin boards, posters, etc. I will support and learn from faculty/staff about race and ethnicity, including Norelisha Crawford (faculty member and leader with African American Studies minor, and COEHS faculty/staff Yoko Mogi Hein, Marguerite Parks, Nari Kim, Michael Fonkem, Emmanuel Jean Francios, Florence Muwana, and about LBGTQ from Denise Clark.
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Timeline Summer 11: rewrite proposal and flesh out activities, register for the Cultural Diversity Conference at UW Platteville (Cornell West speaking) September 2011, write proposal to present (paper has been accepted) and register for University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute October 2011; register for National Association of Multicultural Education Conference and mentoring workshop in Chicago Nov 2011, read book by Cornell West, UW Oshkosh Equity Scorecard Report, WI System Climate Assessment project UW Oshkosh Final Reports 2008 (Completed 9/6/2011). Fall 11 : create/adapt/adopt/ administer survey for fact gathering working with Candice Slaney, become proficient with social media and use it and face to face interactions to build connections with student groups and individual student of color; take individual COEHS untenured faculty of color/staff of color with PH Ds), out for a meal and provide support and encouragement, meet with student groups, meet with Irma Burgos and others, work on most of the tasks listed above. Spring 12: register for the White Privilege Conference, analyze survey results, share results with COEHS committees, continue all tasks, report early in the semester COEHS committees and COEHS Administrative Council. Summer 12: update proposal and provide details for Summer 12-Spring 13 Fall 12 Ongoing, details provided Summer 12 Spring 13 Ongoing, major emphasis on institutionalization of all activities by building ownership of fellowship activities by mentors and through functions firmly in place , details provided Summer 12 Budget .25 FTE fall/spring of 2011/2012 and 7.5 % CAS summers 2011 and 2012 $3,000 in travel/books for 2011/2012 Added support for National Association of Multicultural Education Conference 2011 Budget/resource review scheduled June 2012 for 12/13 Requested .25 fall/spring 2012/2013 Requested $3,000 in travel/books for 2012/2013 Added support for National Association of Multicultural Education Conference 2012 REFERENCES Adams, M, et al. (2010). Readings for diversity and social justice. NY: Routledge. Apple, M and Buras, K (eds) (2006) The subaltern speak. Curriculum, power and educational struggles. NY: Routledge. Miller, sj. (2011). Spatializing social justice research in (English) education. Implications and considerations. A paper presented at the National Council of Teachers of English Research Assembly, 2/17/11, Madison WI. Singleton, G & Linton, C. (2006). Courageous conversations about race. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Whitney, D. et al, (2010) The power of appreciative inquiry: a practical guide to positive change. NY: BerrettKoehler Publishers, Inc.
Appendix A Terminology from the UW Oshkosh Equity Scorecard Report: Excellence means achievement and academic opportunity, grades, honors, awards, and grad school preparation Institutional receptivity means openness to diversity of of faculty, staff, administration and climate Retention includes persistence, courses taken, academic success, earning the degree Access refers to enrollment, providing aid, declaring a major, and it has internal and external dimensions.
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Ayalon, A. Central Connecticut State University Teacher as a Mentor: School-Wide Models for Creating Caring Schools for Minority and AtRisk Students ABSTRACT Key to student academic success is close relationships between teachers and students. However, secondary schools tend to deemphasize relationships between teachers and students and focus more on academic achievement. Such approach often leads to high dropout rate and academic failure especially in schools that serve minority and poor students. NCLB legislation further exacerbates dropout rate. As schools emphasize high stake testing teacher-student relationship tend to become more distant. This study presents a school-wide comprehensive model that is based on the role of the teacher as youth mentor. This is a qualitative study of two small exemplary schools - one in Israel and one in Boston. Both schools have been successfully utilizing teacher-as-a-mentor programs for the past 18 years. Findings indicate that the main elements contributing to the success of both models were: mentoring classes that promoted teacher-student as well as peer relationships through on-going dialogue, as well as curriculum and activities that addressed the social, emotional, and academic needs of students; mentor individual attention to students and maintaining ongoing contact with parents; and an elaborate school support system including long-term teacher-student contact, co-mentoring, frequent mentor meetings, mental health team support, and teacher leadership system. This study holds important promise for school reform, especially for schools that serve at-risk, minority, and poor students. In this model, schools promote a sense of collective responsibility where mental health professionals, teachers, school administrators can better address the needs of students and where students and teachers feel valued and engaged.
Introduction Brendtro, Brokenleg, & Van Bockern (2002) suggest that “contemporary society is creating a growing number of children at risk for relationship impairment” (p. 12). They further claim that the nuclear family is ill equipped to address youth problems and it is the larger community that needs to create a nurturing environment for children. Schools, especially in urban areas, are the ones that could provide the most support for children since they are the only ones that provide long-term relationships with children. However, schools and especially secondary schools, tend to deemphasize relationships between teachers and students and focus more on academic achievement. Such approach often leads to high dropout rate and academic failure especially in schools that serve minority and poor students (Balfanz & Legters, 2004; Steinberg, 2002). No Child Left Behind legislation further exacerbates dropout rate. As schools emphasize high stake testing and base their curriculum decisions on test scores, teacher-student relationship tend to become more distant (Akos, Brown, & Galassi, 2004; Chambliss, 2007; Gayler, 2005; Vogler & Virtue, 2007). Therefore, there is a need to establish school environment that enhances close relationship between teachers and students. This paper examines two schools that have been successful in creating caring environment through establishing the role of teachers as mentor to students. Research Method Data was collected from two qualitative case studies. The two cases studies were identified as “critical cases” since both schools used youth mentoring models successfully for over 15 years - an extensive duration.
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The first case is based on a long-term study of Kedma, a 7-12 small alternative school of about 150 students in Israel between 1996 and 2004. During this span of time the researcher conducted multiple observations and formal and informal face-to-face and phone interviews with staff and students. The second study was a qualitative research based on visits to Fenway High School, a small school of 300 students in Boston, spread over five months during fall 2007. The visits included observations, taped interviews with teachers, students, counselors, and a former principal of the school. Data Source Kedma is a 7–12th grade secondary public school comprised of approximately 150 students—one class of 25 students at each grade level—and 13 full-time as well as 9 part-time teachers. Despite Kedma’s lack of resources and its location in a poor neighborhood where the local high school has a low success rate in matriculation exam (exams required for college acceptance) completion (typically 8–16%), Kedma’s students had a significant higher success rate in these exams (46%). One of the hallmarks of Kedma’s success was providing individual attention and support through a mentoring system. It is this program each class was assigned two mentors who, in addition to teaching classes, also conducted a weekly 2-hour mentorship class. As part of their teaching workload, mentors receive several hours a week to meet with students individually and to communicate with parents. The second data source was Fenway High School, a school that has earned numerous awards. The school serves mostly minority students majority of whom were at risk of failing or dropping out of school and 60% of its student body qualify for free or reduced lunch. Nevertheless, on average, 90% of the students graduate in 4 years and about 95% go on to college. Fenway high School currently has 3 sessions of 75 minutes each per week devoted to advisory where students receive individual and group mentoring by two school staff members where at least one staff member is a teacher. Results Mentoring Class Curriculum The elements that seemed to contribute to student success in both programs were: 1. A separate advisory/mentoring class Teachers in both schools indicated that advisory classes enabled them to focus on the social and emotional needs of students; and students, in turn, felt valued and as members of a nurturing community. Teachers and students often compared mentoring classes to a family. 2. Teacher ownership In both schools the mentoring curriculum was developed by the faculty and has been developed by them over the years. Teachers felt they had ownership over the curriculum and were continuously debating how it could be further improved. 3. Preparing for the future and goal setting Both schools included a significant amount of time and activities that enhanced student reflection, self-analysis, and exploration of future plans. This constant goal setting activities often enabled students to realize the relevance of school to their own lives. 4. Student centered Mentoring activities in both schools focused on listening to students, using movies and videos that were relevant to students’ own lives, dealing with students’ relationship with parents and peers, gender relationships, and identity issues. 5. Community building Both schools often put students in discussion circles during mentoring class where they were listened to and were given a voice. Students had ample opportunities to interact with one another, explore stereotypes, develop interpersonal relations skills, and engage in dialogs. 6. Development of skills and tools for student academic success
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Mentoring classes always integrated writing, speaking, and critical analysis skills that were deemed instrumental in students’ academic success. Teacher-Student Individual Mentoring Results indicated that both students and mentors perceived their relationship as close. Both schools shared the following: 1. Mentor as an expert on students Mentors were expected to become “experts” of their students. They were expected to know “everything” about their students’ academic, social, and emotional needs through continuously dialog with and parents. 2. Time for one-on-one relationships Both schools created time for teachers and students to interact. While Kedma designated time for personal conversations between mentors and students, Fenway’s student-advisors’ dialogues occurred before and after school as well as during lunchtime. 3. Advocacy Both schools designated the mentors as advocates for students. When students had conflicts with teachers, mentors often took the role of mediating and advocating for them. 4. Close relationships as key to academic success In both schools close relationship became instrumental to identifying and removing social, emotional, and environmental barriers to academic success and helped transform student attitudes toward academics. Mentor Support System The work environment of both schools showed remarkable common elements: 1. Furthering advisor/mentor contact with students Both schools created structures that prolonged contact between mentors and students. Both schools used scheduling to ensure that advisors had extensive contact with their mentees. 2. Co-mentoring Both schools placed two staff members in each mentoring class. Mentoring in couples enabled mentors to share the workload, provide more individualized attention to students, better prepare curriculum for mentoring, and benefit from the strengths of one another. 3. Teacher leadership support Both schools created leadership positions that provided on-going support to mentors. Teachers were given release time to become guides for the co-mentors, house coordinators, and other supporting roles. 4. Social and emotional support team Both schools invested in support from guidance personnel. Kedma used a mental health team of outside psychologists who met with mentors and provided targeted support to the most needy students. Fenway established a student support team made of guidance counselors who provided advice regarding individual students, support in communicating with parents, and professional development. 5. Professional development Both schools provided opportunities to increase advisors’ capacity through such aspects as weekly mentor forum where mentors learned skills in facilitating mentoring classes, and end-of-the-year workshops for reflection purposes. Often guidance counselors conducted professional development activities with teachers by modeling how to promote social and emotional development among students.
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Discussion With the emphasis on high-stakes testing as mandated under “No Child Left Behind,” learning and academic success have been narrowly defined, and students have increasingly experienced a restricted and un-nurturing environment and feelings of stress and anxiety (Barrier-Ferriera, 2008, Kruger; Wandle, & Struzziero, 2007). In both Fenway and Kedma, students and teachers indicated that the mentoring (called advisory at Fenway) systems created a space where both could relax and release anxieties. Students knew they had somewhere and someone to go to even if they were not doing well in academic classes. Furthermore, mentoring became a focal point for creating a community in the classroom. Students indicated that the experience in their mentoring classes enabled them to get to know their fellow students better, develop empathy with fellow students who were different from themselves, and gain new perspectives about their peers. Mentoring also helped solve peer conflicts and improved the overall classroom climate. Additionally, these systems ensured that students didn’t fall between the cracks, but received full and personal attention. Students felt there was a listening ear at the school and that teachers cared and were more responsive to their needs than other schools had been. Students found it very helpful to have mentors take on the role of advocates, mediating between them and other teachers; help them set high goals; find a balance between social life, work, and academics; and treat them as whole persons. Moreover, students felt that their abilities (and disabilities), culture, needs, and uniqueness were addressed and recognized. Because both teachers and students were recognized and attended to, neither party felt that there was a divide between the school and students. This study also found that teachers benefitted significantly from the mentoring program. Teachers in both schools expressed confidence in their own, as well as their colleagues’, ability (collective efficacy) to connect with students and motivate them to succeed academically, and even persuade students to enroll in college. Furthermore, these mentors displayed few signs of burnout or stress, as was evident by their continuous expression of commitment, love, and high expectations for their students. Goddard et al. (2004) recommends examining types of school reform that “build in teachers the resolve that they can effectively serve socioeconomically disadvantaged students” (p. 422). Indeed, both schools engaged in a long-term effort to create a student-centered environment through developing the advisory model that yielded the kind of school reform that enhances teachers’ collective efficacy. Research Implications Schools are now increasingly incorporating advisory or teacher-as-youth- mentor programs into their curriculum. However, the schools use a mixture of models that vary in number of weekly advisory meetings, amount of time allocated for each advisory, curriculum (and who plans it), and the role of the mentors. Because mentoring programs vary, it is essential to conduct local and national surveys that document how often mentoring programs are used, their stated goals, and their effectiveness in reaching these goals. The two case studies presented in this book raise many issues and challenges for further investigation. Literature survey indicates that schools routinely fail to implement advisory models in an effective and sustainable way. Research should be conducted on more schools in various settings to identify barriers to mentoring program implementation and ways to overcome them. Second, research indicates that simply providing better instruction doesn’t necessarily yield better student academic performance, for school climate is also influential. Therefore, it is recommended that school climate survey instruments be used to assess youth mentoring models. Research could also explore whether advisory models enhance the efficacy of differentiated instruction. Since mentoring students promotes teachers’ knowledge of students it could enable teachers to target instruction and curriculum to students’ needs. Another important element is to investigate how mentoring programs are implemented in various countries. Cross-cultural studies, as exemplified by this book, could highlight how local conditions affect mentoring programs and the adjustments and modifications needed.
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Another topic relevant to effective youth mentoring is the issue of shared decision making in schools. It would be instructive to research the role shared decision making plays in the success of mentoring programs. Furthermore, given that both schools substantially incorporated mental health professionals, exploring effective advisory roles for counselors and school psychologists should be further researched. Parental views and roles in the mentoring model should also be explored. Systematic research should be conducted to identify the most appropriate and effective ways to establish close connections between mentors and parents. Finally, in order to ensure successful mentoring programs, teachers and administrators need to be prepared for their role as nurturers. Teacher and administrator preparation programs should expand the curriculum to provide prospective teachers and administrators with strategies and dispositions that will enable them to better meet student needs. Topics such as conflict resolution, communication, study skills, and test anxiety should be incorporated into educator preparation programs. REFERENCES Akos, P, Brown, D., & Galassi, J.P. (2004). School Counselors' Perceptions of the Impact of High-Stakes Testing. Professional School Counseling, 8 (1), 31-39. Balfanz, R., & Legters, N. (2004). Locating the dropout crisis: Which high schools produce the nation's dropouts? Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Center for the Social Organization of Schools. Barrier-Ferreira, J. (2008). Producing commodities or educating children: Nurturing the personal growth of students in the face of standardized testing. Clearing House, 81(3), 138–140. Brendtro, L.K., Brokenleg, M. & Van Bockern, S. (2002). Reclaiming Youth at Risk. Bloomington, ID: Solution Tree Chambliss, L.V. M (2007). Creating Classroom Cultures: One Teacher, Two Lessons, and a High-Stakes Test. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 38(1), 57-75. Gayler, K. (2005). How have high school exit exams changes our schools? Some perspectives from Virginia and Maryland. Washington, DC: Center on Educational Policy. Goodard, R. D., LoGerfo, L., & Hoy, W. K. (2004). High school accountability: The role of perceived collective efficacy Educational Policy, 18(3), 403–425. Kruger, L. J., Wandle, C., & Struzziero, J. (2007). Coping with the stress of high stake testing. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 23(2),109–128. Steinberg, I. (2002). Adolescence. New York: McGraw-Hill. Vogler, K.E. & Virtue, D. (2007). "Just the Facts, Ma'am": Teaching Social Studies in the Era of Standards and High-Stakes Testing. The Social Studies, 98(2), 54-58.
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Hartigan, B. F. Saint Joseph College Mentoring New Teachers: Connecticut’s Model that Works ABSTRACT This paper examines Connecticut’s Teacher Educator And Mentoring (TEAM) model used to mentor teacher candidates and beginning teachers in their first two years of teaching. The Domains of Teacher Performance outlined in the Connecticut Common Core of Teaching: Foundational Skills (CCT) serve as professional growth modules and provide a framework of support to new teachers. Under the supervision of a mentor teacher selected by the specific school district and trained to use the TEAM model of mentoring, new teachers select models from the CCT to pursue as areas of interest/improvement in their classroom. The CCT domains are: 1) Content and Essential Skills; 2) Classroom Environment, Student Engagement, and Commitment to Learning; 3) Planning for Active Learning; 4) Instruction for Active Learning; 5) Assessment for Learning; and 6) Professional Responsibility for Teacher Leadership (CSDE, CCT, 2010). Mentor and beginning teachers collaboratively decide the focus of each module’s work based on a needs assessment completed by the beginning teacher. They read current research, attend professional development, and implement new knowledge in their classrooms using areas of identified interest or need from each of the CCT domains. Reflections are recorded by them throughout the process and shared with the mentor teacher. At the end of each module, a final reflection paper written by the beginning teacher is submitted to the district and regional TEAM review committee for final review (CSDE, TEAM, 2010). Results. Teacher candidates, new teachers, mentor and/or cooperating teachers, and college supervisors see the important connection between the reflective process and teacher and student learning. The use of the CCT as guidelines for professional growth and reflection, under the direction of a master teacher, provides specific direction for teacher candidates’ or new teachers’ in depth learning.
Introduction As the Director of Student Teaching at Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut, it is my responsibility to place teacher candidates in school districts across the state with qualified teachers. To achieve this goal, I work directly with District Facilitators in each city or town who coordinated training by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) for selected mentor and/or cooperating teachers in their districts who host teacher candidates. The CSDE also provides training for College Supervisors who represent colleges or universities in evaluating teacher candidates. As outlined in the Initial Support Teacher Training (2010), the goals of supporting teacher training are: To prepare teachers to perform the roles of mentor and/or cooperating teacher by: 1) Communicating the high standards for teaching and learning established for Connecticut Public Schools; 2) Developing the skills of reflection, analysis, and articulation about teaching and learning; 3) Building a repertoire of strategies to use when establishing a collaborative relationship and providing instructional support for novice teachers (p.3).
These goals are carried out through an extensive network of staff development and support to teacher candidate, beginning teachers and the teacher mentors and/or cooperating teachers at both the state and district level. A newly selected cooperating or mentor teacher attends a three-day training program where presentations include: 1) Connecticut Common Core of Teaching; 2) Support Teacher Roles and Guides; 3) Coaching and Mentoring Modules (CSDE, TEAM, 2010). Roles of the mentor teacher, cooperating teacher and college supervisor are fully explained and explored. TEAM is designed as a professional growth model that aligns with the six domains of the Connecticut Common Core of Teaching (CCT). Teacher candidates understand the CCT as their mid and final student teaching evaluations are the CCT domains and indicators that identify the foundational skills and competencies. How well teacher candidates demonstrate the six domains of performance listed in the 339
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CCT directly correlates to their final student teaching grade (Hartigan, 2010, p. A39-A52). After student teaching and once hired in a specific school district, new teachers are identified as Beginning Teachers in TEAM by a district facilitator at the CSDE level on www.ctteam.org . The Mentoring Module Process begins when a new teacher starts work in a specific district in Connecticut. Mentor teachers and the beginning teacher work to: 1) Identify a Need or Opportunity for Professional Growth; 2) Develop a Professional Growth Action Plan; 3) Implement Plan to Develop and Apply New Learning; and 4) Reflect on and Document the Module Process in a Reflection Paper (CSDE, TEAM, p.8). The mentor teacher assists the beginning teacher for two years and directs the professional development in each of the six modules based on the CCT. The first step in the Mentoring Module Process is to identify a need for professional growth. To achieve this task, beginning teachers explore the CCT Performance Profiles (CCT, 2010) and select one indicator for desired professional growth. Using the TEAM website, they create a user account and work to record specific examples and evidence of their practice as it relates to the selected module. An Initial Summary, Goal, and Meeting Log record the beginning teacher’s action plan for professional growth. Work is documented in an on-line journal where the mentor teacher has access and comments on the beginning teacher’s work. Specific examples of initial summaries, goals and meeting logs are provided for mentor teachers during mentor training and on-line (CSDE, 2011). The second step in the TEAM Module Process is to develop a Professional Growth Action Plan (PGAP)(CSDE, 2011). At this point, the beginning teacher with help from the mentor teacher identifies specific activities to develop new learning. Resources are selected to support professional growth activities. The beginning teacher records learning activities online while a schedule for future meetings is also created (www.ctteam.org). The building administrator reviews the PGAP and approves specific professional growth opportunities. Next the beginning teacher makes plans to implement their new learning in the classroom all the while documenting changes in practice and the impact on student learning via the online TEAM portal (CSDE, 2011). The beginning teacher examines the Initial Summary document and compares examples and evidence from their work. Reflections, evidence, and decisions are recorded online so that the mentor teacher might comment and offer suggestions. Samples of online journal entires and beginning teacher/mentor meeting logs are available online at www.ctteam.org . The final step in the Mentoring Module Process is to submit a Reflection Paper to the CSDE. This paper should include: 1. a description of what the teacher did to develop new learning; 2. an explanation of what the teacher learned from the learning activities and resources 3. specific examples/evidence of how the teacher used new learning to improve teaching; 4. specific examples/evidence of how students performance/learning improved as a result of changes in teaching practice; 5. a comparison of the changes in teaching practices and positive outcomes for students to what was described in the Initial Summary (CSDE, 2011). This reflection paper is shared with the mentor teacher and feedback is offered. After both parties approve this document, it is submitted electronically for review. Someone from the CSDE will notify the beginning teacher is their reflection paper met completion standard as decided by an in-district review and a regional review committee representing all Connecticut districts. For successful completion of each Mentoring Module, the review committees rate the beginning teacher on development of new learning, impact on practice, and impact on students (CSDE, 2011). The first expectation is that the beginning teacher describes how she/he developed new learning and explains what they learned from the selected activities and resources. Detailed evidence of reflection and deep thinking about her/his practice provides proof of new learning. Specific examples and data regarding how their practice has changed supports impact on the beginning teacher’s practice. Explaining and using evidence of how student performance and learning improved as a result of changes in her/his practice provides support for the impact on students learning as a result of the beginning teacher’s new learning.
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If the Reflection Paper does not meet the specific criteria for success, there are a series of suggested additional activities for the beginning teacher to succeed. Additional data might be obtained from the teacher’s journal or additional professional growth activities might be suggested. Beginning teachers might need to collect additional data or have more detailed discussions with the mentor teacher prior to resubmission of a revised Reflection Paper (CSDE, 2011). When all of the required modules are successfully completed, the superintendent in a specific Connecticut school district will verify that the Beginning Teacher has completed the TEAM Program Requirements (CSDE, 2011). At this time, the beginning teacher is eligible for a provisional certification in Connecticut. Mentoring at the school or district level continues throughout the teacher’s teaching career. Survey data on the first year of the TEAM process completed by District Facilitators, Beginning Teachers, Mentor, Administrators, and Reviewers showed that teacher and student learning were positive outcomes of the TEAM model of supervision (www.ctteam.org) . Teacher candidate, cooperating teacher, and College supervisor surveys at the college level also reveal teacher and student growth due to collaboration and reflection from the teacher candidate. Supporting new teachers is vital to the retention of teachers in education (Brown & Wynn, 2007). The CSDE is highly supportive to beginning teachers, mentor and/or cooperating teachers, and college supervisors through the TEAM process. References Brown, K.M. & Wynn, S.R. ( 2007, November). Teacher Retention Issues: How some principals are supporting and keeping new teachers. Journal of School Leadership, 17(6), 664-498. Connecticut State Department of Education (2010). Common Core of Teaching: Foundational Skills. Hartford, CT: Connecticut State Department of Education. Connecticut State Department of Education (2011). Introduction to TEAM. Hartford, CT: Connecticut State Department of Education. Retrieved July 1, 2011, from http://www.ctteam.org Connecticut State Department of Education (2010). Teacher Education And Mentoring Program (TEAM): Initial support teacher training. Hartford, CT: Connecticut State Department of Education. Hartigan, B.F. (2010). Student Teaching Manual: A reference for teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, and college supervisors. West Hartford, CT: Saint Joseph College.
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Findley, D. E. Portland Community College A Better Life Through Mentoring: Experiences of Community College CTE Faculty who Dare to Share ABSTRACT How does mentoring improve the overall experience of instructors? What elements of the mentoring experience do participants identify as particularly successful and useful to them? The purpose of the study summarized here was to understand the impact of faculty-to-faculty mentoring programs on the experiences of both mentors and first-year instructor protégés in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs with an emphasis on practitioner-educators in nursing and in welding-fabrication. The study was undertaken for four reasons: (a) increases in retirement rates force extensive faculty replacement, (b) teaching effectiveness is linked to student success, (c) mentoring constitutes effective preparation for new professionals, and (d) faculty preparation constitutes a significant challenge for community college leaders well into the future. This paper briefly discusses the key themes derived from the study as they reflect the authentic experiences of the participants. The research design used an interpretive social science philosophical approach and the method of hermeneutic phenomenology. Ten faculty from three community colleges were interviewed in order to understand: (a) what they viewed as the key elements in a mentoring initiative, (b) how the elements of mentoring influence the experiences of first-year faculty, and (c) what common themes emerged concerning mentoring experiences that participants self-describe as “successful.” Career and technical education faculty were of special interest as they tend to join community colleges directly from the field and typically have little or no experience or training in andragogy, classroom management, or the peculiar ways of the community and technical college system. Aspects of mentoring experiences that participants identified as both present and high yield in nature included collaboration, reciprocity, a continuous improvement orientation, experiences that lead to personal and program renewal, and the existence of satisfying transformative experiences. Analysis of participant statements identified the needs of novice instructors and suggested experiences that may support them in their growth.
Introduction Satisfaction and success in teaching require that the instructor be competent and comfortable with both the content to be taught and the practice of teaching. In career and technical education (CTE) fields in community and technical colleges, instructors are often drawn from the ranks of current practitioners. These individuals are prized for their current content knowledge, but it is rare that they come to the college learning environment with either experience or training in areas such as andragogy and classroom management. The purpose of the study summarized in this paper was to understand the impact of facultyto-faculty mentoring programs on the experiences of both mentors and first-year instructor protégés in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs with an emphasis on practitioner-educators in nursing and in welding-fabrication. Through the use of Interpretive Social Science, with special emphasis on hermeneutic phenomenology, the underlying study (Findley, 2011) gave voice to the lived experiences of faculty as they offered their personal insights into what it was like to participate in mentor-protégé relationships designed to prepare them for work in the community college setting and why these experiences added significant value to their lives and efficacy as educators. What follows is a discussion of the essential themes (e.g., collaboration, reciprocal relationships, continuous improvement, renewal, transformation) that emerged from interviews, journal entries, and email responses. They reflect phenomena that were seen as significant from the perspectives of both mentors and protégés. An Act of Collaboration Within the context of the mentoring relationships I explored, collaboration involved faculty working together to achieve a mutually beneficial relationship for the pair. Unlike a direct instruction model, the learning traveled in both directions, and there was considerable esteem afforded to both partners. This
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was evident in many of the statements, as one protégé described when she said, “It’s very much an equal thing when it comes to our relationship…I appreciate being respected for the knowledge that I have.” Pairs found that when they encountered a problem in the teaching environment, “…we definitely talked about it and shared our ideas.” The experiences reported by the participants were consistent with a recent review of the literature on faculty-to-faculty mentoring (Ambrosino, 2009; Baker, 2010; McLeod & Steinert, 2009; O'Neil & Marsick, 2009; Thurston, Navarette, & Miller, 2009). Although participants in the relationship were often at different points in terms of andragogical training, there was often considerable training and experience on the part of both partners regarding the content area. In such cases, collaborations enriched the relationship, as is evident in the following comment from Janice, a nurseprotégé: She was always looking to see how she could adopt things better. She was getting as much feedback from me as I was from her in about how I was doing. So it’s more like a collegial relationship rather than a teacherstudent…She respected that I had experience in certain areas, and that I had this knowledge; I wasn’t just a new student and obviously I respected her for her teaching. So it’s worked out really well (Janice).
Another comment offered by a nurse-educator protégé reflects just how important a healthy collaboration can be in a mentoring relationship: Well, it makes the job…it can make the job, make or break a job really, the people your work with and the collaborations that you have (Karyn).
Reflecting on the impact of her relationship with her mentor, Annie expressed appreciation for the approach used, and she was pleased that the learning honored her personal style. Speaking of her mentor, Annie pointed out that, “She really walked me through every aspect, and that was what I wanted before I felt competent to do that myself.” Like Annie, the rest of the participants indicated that no one can do all of the work alone, and there was an acknowledgement of the value found in this mutual work. Certainly, participants seem to like the benefits they experience—mentoring enriched their professional lives and contributed to the value they were able to add for students as well as colleagues. Based on the experiences reported by participants, collaboration was not only desirable—it was necessary because of the depth of knowledge and experience necessary to equip instructors to succeed. The participants pointed out that no one member of the team has a monopoly on key knowledge. Protégés often possessed valuable current knowledge in the content area, while mentors had the advantage in terms of understanding how a particular department or program runs and teaching can be approached most fruitfully. The collaboration allowed both members to grow, and it helped them work with the community formed in the department to share critical knowledge that can help everyone perform at a higher level. An Authentic, Reciprocal Relationship Mentoring relationships feel like reciprocal experiences because the participants tend to selflessly offer critical knowledge gleaned from both formal education and practical learning in the field of practice. While collaboration can be driven by circumstances and situations, and be more ad hoc in nature, the reciprocity shown by mentor-protégé pairs seems to be an ongoing experience. Pairs who fell into reciprocity in their mentoring described it through such phrases as, “We play off of each other’s talents very nicely,” and “She listens and validates, and then we try to problem solve,” “It’s vice-versa,” and “We learned some things together.” Participants seemed primed to operate in a constant learning mode…and they were prepared to learn from as many sources as they could find. While we ordinarily think of the mentoring relationship as one which involves the mentor and the protégé, observations from the participants would indicate that this thinking would be wrong. Protégés were often referred to other instructors to learn about variant approaches to instruction. Mentors, as we have seen, are eager to learn about the latest developments in
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the field in order to stay current. And because those involved in these relationships are ultimately trying to hone their craft as educators, they are open to hearing directly from the “customers” themselves: I've been a nurse for 27 years. Does that mean I know it all? No. And I have come to learn in practice over these last few weeks is that students can teach you as much as you can teach them (Janice).
The reciprocal relationship was typified by teamwork and the desire to do what is necessary for other members of the team, often including others in the department who are not part of the mentoring pair. It was within the reciprocal relationship that mutual support was expressed. A significant part of the mentoring experience was that relationships at critical points in any system were often reciprocal, meaning that each member learned from the other, and that the work pairs did appear to make a significant difference in the capacity of the organization, whether it be a nursing program or a welding department, to adapt and thrive. The participants who took part in this study were passionately interested in strengthening the present in order to ensure the future. I never once heard participants talk about their individual destinies without weaving them inextricably with the fate of the program they loved. A Process of Continuous Improvement The very nature of career and technical fields necessitates that content area knowledge and practical expertise be updated on an ongoing basis in order to keep practitioners current with the latest innovations and industry standards. Consistent with this idea is the notion that mentoring relationships, by their very design, offer a continuous improvement environment for instructors and the programs in which they teach. Just as the mentor assists the protégé by offering up a conduit between the past and the present, the protégé can provide an important link to evolving knowledge and practice as well as a source of revitalization for the more-experienced, inservice mentor. Chuck, a mentor and welder-educator, spoke of his protégé: I feel that what Bill is bringing in reminds me that I need to continuously try to improve myself and the way I teach. I have tendency of forgetting, and Bill is bringing in a lot of vitality like I had said earlier, and a lot of encouragement (Chuck).
It is especially informative to view the mentor-protégé relationship from within the context established by the pair and with a careful focus on their mentoring practices and conventions. This is helpful when thinking about the transfer of critical knowledge that often happens between partners. Several mentors felt that sharing information that was deemed critical suddenly accorded the dialogic process a much higher level of criticality. Participants focused on the need for accuracy and clarity, and they would often use words such as “overt” and “absolutely clear” to describe the way things should be described. Here is one example provided by a nurse-educator who serves as a mentor: It made me become much more overt with my students about things. Because I had somebody that I was trying to explain things to, and that person...that person would feel comfortable enough to ask me questions that probably the students would have asked, but because you've got that power differential, they're like, ‘Oh, we can't ask that question!’ Where it's like she asked the questions, and I thought, ‘Oh...I bet the student are wondering that, too. Okay, I need to make that just a little more clear.’ So I think that way, particularly, was helpful... (Brenda).
Participants in the study indicated that they were always interested in improving their individual skills and the overall performance of the program in which they served. Content area knowledge was valued, but procedural elements seemed to be accorded equally high esteem. Knowing how to do things at the state of the art was also cited as key to better overall performance and a competitive advantage. The programs addressed in the present study must meet accreditation and certification standards that are imposed from outside of the department. As such, there was a realization that both nursing and welding 344
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must “improve or die” to remain relevant for the benefit of the departments, the students who complete the programs, and the industries. A Source of Renewal Teaching requires a great deal of energy and personal investment in order to support students on their mission to outcomes fulfillment. As practicing educators reach significant milestones (e.g., end of term, end of year, end of career) both their personal energy and the vitality of the profession must be renewed in order to move the profession forward and ensure that there will be educators (and, not coincidentally, successful students) to fill the void down the road (Ambrosino, 2009; Baker, 2010; Gazza, 2008; Kram, 1988; Suplee & Gardner, 2009). At this writing, the first members of the so-called “Baby Boom” generation are turning 65. While many are likely to work for some time to come, this milestone is nonetheless important and drives educators to think of succession planning. As we discussed one of the reasons for mentoring, Brenda described the danger of large numbers of faculty retiring in a field (nurse education) where there are traditionally not enough individuals engaging in the vital work performed by nurse-educators and preceptors. As she reflected tongue-in-cheek on her considerable talents and experience, Brenda made the point that a shortage of nurse-educators means a shortage of competent nurses: It's like, if I don't impart my bad habits on the next generation of nurse educators, and if I can't get [my protégé] excited about being a nurse educator, we don't have any more (Brenda). The prospect of a shortage of instructors in a wide variety of CTE areas is a daunting one. In talking with both welding and nursing faculty during this study, it became evident that providing for the renewal of the profession and looking after the personal and professional wellbeing of current instructors are major concerns and top priorities. Any discussion about renewal and succession planning provides a logical setting for a serious conversation about mentoring. As we discuss how mentoring fits into her professional life, Betty reflected on her experiences with Annie, her nurse-protégé. Betty described the reflexive nature of learning within a mentoring relationship. When I got my certification as a nurse educator through the National League of Nursing, the literature all points to when you're mentoring you're being mentored. It's like a dual relationship. And I think that's just really important. And I know I learned a lot of things from Annie (Betty).
Mentors identified mentoring as a reciprocal relationship. Certainly, the connections between mentor and protégé afforded opportunities for learning and mutual support that reinvigorated practice. Both the professions and the individuals within them must find ways to revitalize and continue the work set before them. Mentors found working with protégés to be renewing because of the new knowledge and perspectives shared within the relationship. Significantly, mentors also identified the degree to which supporting protégés provides a revitalization of the profession, especially in a time of impending retirements and shortages of trained practitioners. A Transformative Experience There may be some question as to whether a mentoring experience can be truly transformational in the manner suggested by thinkers such as Mezirow (1991; 1997; 2000). I would argue that, to the extent that a mentoring experience leads to an epistemological shift in the way a practitioner views the phenomenon of education and the practice of andragogy, mentoring does indeed have the potential to lead to a transformation of some significant degree. Mezirow’s (1991) concept of phases of transformation seems to align with the experiences of most participants in the study. For the majority of educators, these phases involved a recognition of personal discontent with the present situation, an exploration of possible new actions, and the corresponding planning, knowledge acquisition, and trial that accompany a shift in 345
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praxis. These phases correspond to phases four through eight of Mezirow’s 10-phase model (1991, pp. 168-169). Based on this model, faculty participants achieved a Transformation of Consciousness (Taylor, 1989), usually stopping short of an Integration of Consciousness. In other words, they learned and assimilated enough information and experience about variant methods to be able to make intentional decisions about incorporating them into their praxis. Achieving transformation in the praxis of the practitioner-educator can occur with regard to individuals with no other exposure to teaching than that which they themselves experienced as students earlier in life. It can also come to pass in situations where the instructional models are so different that the latter-day experience calls earlier experiences into question and results in a rejection of past practices and experiences in favor of a new epistemological stance on instruction that is truly “owned” by the protégé. As a general concept of transformation not restricted in function to teaching, Kram (1988) described “transformation” as a stage in the development of the mentoring relationships of female managers. In a mentoring application related to nursing education, Ambrosino (2009) described significant changes in nurse-educator protégés engaged in a program at California State University-Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). Concerning the outcomes of the programs, she wrote that, First, mentoring contributed to improved quality of faculty life leading to positive changes in faculty recruitment, retention, and promotion. Second, faculty involvement in communities of scholars and other professional opportunities also had a positive effect on the quality of faculty life (p. 33).
Considering the degree to which these were considered high-value outcomes, and the reality that retention is such a critical element in building and maintaining a healthy institution, the achievement of these outcomes could, in fact, be considered transformational from the standpoint of consciousness. During the early part of their careers, novice instructors frequently face the fear that they have no idea what they are doing. Managing the transition from content-area expert to novice educator can be an overwhelming experience. Mentors help facilitate the process, allay fears of the unknown, and provide an important personal contact. Starting a job with the State, there is so much to learn about the systems that a person cannot possibly be able to integrate it into their brains. I still ask lots of questions about tasks I rarely have to perform. Having a mentor, gives you a direct line to information without feeling like you ‘should have known that.’ It's just a more personal approach (Karyn).
Participants described the impact of the mentoring experience on their lives as individuals and professionals. In many cases, the transformation was described as learning that teaching can be done in completely different ways. Transformation could also be realized by discovering the satisfaction realized by helping someone do something completely novel, such as helping a student complete a course of study, or by supporting the future health of the profession by infusing new ideas to maintain a competitive edge. Mentoring is transformative in degrees, and the depth of the transformation depends on the individual. Final Thoughts Mentoring emerges from both the literature and the underlying study as more than a professional development opportunity that benefits only the institution. The study participants indicated that the relationships and experiences garnered through the mentor-protégé phenomenon both required and provided them with a) opportunities for collaboration, b) reciprocal relationships, c) models supporting continuous improvement, d) sources of renewal, and e) transformative experiences that affected their praxis and provided for personal growth. As the accounts of study participants suggested, higher degrees of competence and satisfaction drive both personal and professional success for mentors and protégés alike. Mentoring initiatives have been shown in the literature (e.g., Baker, 2010; Thurston, Navarette, & 346
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Miller., 2009; Wilson, Brannan & White, 2010) to both attract new practitioner-educators and also help to retain existing and new faculty. Additionally, better-prepared faculty tend to enjoy greater success with students, and students tend to perform better under the direction of well-supported faculty. This is consistent with the existing research (e.g., Allison-Jones & Hirt, 2004; Tinto, 1975; 1994; 1997) that good teaching and successful student engagement tend to correlate positively with student success and retention. The purpose of both the underlying study and this paper was, in part, to give voice to the phenomena within the mentoring experience that practitioner-educators found effective and useful to them. Based on the themes that emerged from the research and the lived experiences of the participants, the utility of mentoring affected every aspect of the teaching experience, including interactions with colleagues, personal growth, and the acquisition of skills and tools that may well contribute to the retention and success of both faculty and students. REFERENCES Allison-Jones, L. L., & Hirt, J. B. (2004). Comparing the teaching effectiveness of part-time & full-time clinical nurse faculty. Nursing Education Perspectives, 25(5), 238-243. Ambrosino, R. (2009). Mentors as fellow travelers. Adult Learning, 20(1/2), 31-34. Baker, S. L. (2010). Nurse educator orientation: Professional development that promotes retention. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 41(9), 413-417. Findley, D. (2011). More than colleagues: Tracing the experiences of career and technical education instructors engaged in faculty-to-faculty mentoring programs. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/handle/1957/22036 Gazza, E. A. (2008). A short take on mentoring matters. Community College Enterprise, 14(2), 57-62. Kram, K. E. (1988). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. McLeod, P. J., & Steinert, Y. (2009). Peer coaching as an approach to faculty development. Medical Teacher, 31(12), 1043-1044. Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative dimensions of adult learning (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education (74), 5-12. Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. O'Neil, J., & Marsick, V. J. (2009). Peer mentoring and action learning. Adult Learning, 20(1/2), 19-24. Suplee, P. D., & Gardner, M. (2009). Fostering a Smooth Transition to the Faculty Role. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 40(11), 514-520. Taylor, J.A. (1989). Transformative learning: becoming aware of possible worlds. Unpublished Master of Arts thesis, University of British Columbia. Thurston, L. P., Navarette, L., & Miller, T. (2009). A ten-year faculty mentoring program: Administrator, mentor, and mentee perspectives. International Journal of Learning, 16(4), 401-415. Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Education Research, 45, 89-125. Tinto, V. (1997). Classroom as communities. Journal of Higher Education, 68(6), 659-623. Wilson, C. B., Brannan, J., & White, A. (2010). A mentor-protégé program for new faculty, part II: Stories of mentors. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(12), 665-671. Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures for student attrition. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago. Tinto, V. (1997). Classroom as communities. Journal of Higher Education, 68(6), 659-623. Wilson, C. B., Brannan, J., & White, A. (2010). A mentor-protégé program for new faculty, part II: Stories of mentors. Journal of Nursing Education, 49(12), 665-671.
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Smith, J. L. University of Texas A Model of Undergraduate Peer Mentoring: The Texas Interdisciplinary Plan (TIP) Mentor Academy ABSTRACT Higher education is experiencing radical reductions in funding and new calls for accountability in the areas of academic achievement and increasing retention and graduation rates. More and more, undergraduate peer mentors are bridging the gaps in higher education by providing effective role modeling and guidance for fellow students (Sanft, Jensen, & McMurray, 2008). According to Astin (1993), “The student’s peer group is the single most potent source of influence on growth and development during the undergraduate years” (p. 398). Additionally, Pascarella and Terenzini’s (2005) exhaustive meta-analysis of how college affects students, also upholds the idea that peers have a significant influence on each other in regards to academic achievement, attitudes, and persistence. The use of peer mentoring within higher education is harnessing this unique source of influence within the undergraduate experience. At The University of Texas at Austin, the Texas Interdisciplinary Plan (TIP) Mentor Academy employs 50-70 undergraduate peer mentors annually who support first-year students participating in the TIP Scholars program. The TIP Scholars student population extends across the disciplines of Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts and Education. This session will introduce a unique training model and implementation method that has led to increased academic achievement and retention for first year students, in addition to providing mentors exposure to leadership, ethics, and student identity development theory.
A Model of Undergraduate Peer Mentoring: The Texas Interdisciplinary Plan (TIP) Mentor Academy Higher education is experiencing radical reductions in funding and new calls for accountability in the areas of academic achievement and increasing retention and graduation rates. More and more, undergraduate peer mentors are bridging the gaps in higher education by providing effective role modeling and guidance for fellow students (Sanft, Jensen, & McMurray, 2008). According to Astin (1993), “The student’s peer group is the single most potent source of influence on growth and development during the undergraduate years” (p. 398). Additionally, Pascarella and Terenzini’s (2005) exhaustive meta-analysis of how college affects students, also upholds the idea that peers have a significant influence on each other in regards to academic achievement, attitudes, and persistence. The use of peer mentoring within higher education is harnessing this unique source of influence within the undergraduate experience. At The University of Texas at Austin, the Texas Interdisciplinary Plan (TIP) Mentor Academy employs 50-70 undergraduate peer mentors annually who support first-year students participating in the TIP Scholars program. The TIP Scholars student population extends across the disciplines of Natural Sciences, Liberal Arts and Education. This session will introduce a unique training model and implementation method that has led to increased academic achievement and retention for first year students, in addition to providing mentors exposure to leadership, ethics, and student identity development theory. Practioners are in search of resources and models that will help to further define peer-mentoring roles and identify new ways to connect peers with their mentees. The TIP Mentor Academy model has been in place for over ten years and is an example of best practices on campus. This session paper will provide a brief introduction into the peer mentoring literature, brief description of the institution, a concise introduction to the TIP program, an outline of the TIP Mentor Academy Model, and will close with thoughts on its future directions.
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Peer Mentoring The definition of mentoring on the surface seems straightforward; however, in reviewing Jacobi’s meta-analysis (1991) a staggering 15 definitions of mentoring across a variety of disciplines are identified. After further review, the Moore and Amey (1988) definition is most germane to the goals of peer mentoring: A form of professional socialization whereby a more experienced (usually older) individual acts as a guide, role model, teacher, and patron of a less experiences (often younger) protégé. The aim of the relationship is the further development and refinement of the protégé’s skills, abilities, and understanding (p. 45).
However, the Moore and Amey definition fails to highlight the dynamic learning taking place between mentor and mentee. The purpose of many peer mentoring programs center on increasing recruitment and retention rates. These programs seek to ensure a smooth transition to college life, promote academic success, and serve as liaisons to introduce first year students to campus resources (Sanft, Jensen, & McMurray, 2008). Unmistakably there will be variation by institution and program in terms of specific goals and methods of implementation, but the goals of academic excellence and smooth transition remain central across programs. Institution The University of Texas (UT) at Austin is a four-year, tier one public research university serving 38,420 undergraduates, of which 94.3% are traditional-aged collegestudents (17 to 24 years of age) in residence. The racial and ethnic distribution of the entering class of 2010 was 47.6% White only, 23.1% Hispanic (any combination), and 17.3% Asian only, 4.6% Black only, 3.9% Foreign, and 0.2% American Indian. Females comprised 53.4% of the first year population, leaving men making up the remaining 46.6% (Office of Information Management and Analysis, 2010). Program Description Overview The Texas Interdisciplinary Plan (TIP) Program is an umbrella housing a set of selective academic programs at The University of Texas at Austin that has operated collaboratively out of the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences since 2002 (Harkins & Huk, 2011). As of fall 2011 the College of Education has also joined in partnership with the TIP Scholars program in serving their Kinesiology majors. TIP’s overarching mission is to “transform the learning experience for its students by creating small academic communities that promote academic excellence and leadership development” (Harkins & Huk, 201, p.2). Programs within the TIP Program include TIP Scholars, TIP Fellows, the TIP Academic Peer Mentor Academy, Getting Ready for Advanced Degrees workshops, TIP Ambassadors, and the Spring Scholastic Seminar. Together, these programs served approximately 900 students during the 2009-2010 academic year (Harkins & Huk, 2011). For the purposes of this session the main focus will be placed on the TIP Scholars and TIP Academic Peer Mentor Academy programs. TIP Scholars The hallmark of the TIP Scholars program rests in its ability to create a small college atmosphere on a campus of over 50,000 students. The program serves approximately 300 first year students annually by providing TIP only sections of courses, seats in sought after courses, linked classes, a signature course, dedicated advising staff, and academic peer mentoring (Harkins & Huk, 2011). The goals of the program include fostering academic performance, retention, and interest in research and graduate study. TIP Scholars pursues students who have one or more characteristics that may lead them to find life in a university setting challenging, such as “low socioeconomic status, first-generation status, low SAT 349
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scores, prior adversity, graduation from a low-performing school, and/or membership in an underrepresented group”(Harkins, & Huk, 2011, p. 2). A clear description of the 2010-2011 TIP Scholars cohort can be seen in Table 1(Harkins & Huk, 2011). Table 1
*Low SAT=total score < 1100; First Generation=neither parent received a four-year college degree; Underrepresented=African American, Hispanic, or Native American; Low SES=Self-reported income of <= $40,000/year. **As of July 2011
TIP Academic Peer Mentor Academy The TIP Academic Peer Mentor Academy is highly selective and nationally certified mentoring and tutoring program which trains successful undergraduates (sophomores through seniors) from the Colleges of Natural Sciences and Liberal Arts to mentor and tutor between four to six first year students in the TIP Scholars program (Harkins & Huk, 2011). A breakdown of the 2010-2011 mentoring class is provided in Table 2 (Harkins & Huk, 2011). Table 2
*Low SAT=total score < 1100; First Generation=neither parent received a four-year college degree; Underrepresented=African American, Hispanic, or Native American; Low SES=Self-reported income of <= $40,000/year. **As of July 2011
Student Success The 2010-2011 cohort of TIP Scholars boast multiple successes such as, lower probation and dismissal rates for TIP Scholars in comparison to our Control (which consists of students who were eligible to apply to TIP Scholars but did not do so), with a special note that students presenting with two or more target background factors tend to benefit most from the TIP Scholars program. First-year grades are higher for CNS and COLA TIP Scholars than for Controls and TIP Scholars earn higher grades in many gateway courses than the Controls (e.g. Introductory Chemistry, Biology, and Calculus). Over the long term (2005-2010 cohorts) Huk and Harkins (2011) note that both CNS and COLA TIP Scholars are well-retained within their colleges, particularly those designated as “at-risk” within the Natural Sciences. Additionally, TIP Scholars are more likely to graduate with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater as compare to Controls (Harkins & Huk, 2011). TIP Mentor Academy Model Beginning in 1999, the Texas Interdisciplinary Plan (TIP) Mentor Academy serves as a critical component of the TIP Scholars program (Harkins & Huk, 2011). Each peer mentor adds to the small college experience by leading a group of four to six TIP Scholars and tutoring an introductory course. Through a thorough application and interview process, academic peer mentors are selected based on their
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academic achievement, awareness of campus resources, and a genuine aspiration to assist first year students. The Mentor Academy coordinator, a full-time staff member, supervises the cohort of mentors, develops and facilitates ongoing training, and teaches an undergraduate peer mentoring course which focuses on ethics, leadership, and student identity development theory (this is a prerequisite of employment). Mentors are required to enroll in the course the spring prior to beginning as mentors the following fall. Training topics presented in the course are based on certification guidelines provided through the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA). Successful completion of the course and ongoing training in addition to prescribed numbers of student contact hours provide the opportunity for mentors acquire Level I (general), Level II (master), or Level III (advanced) certification. Student contact consists of their weekly group mentor meetings where time is devoted to learning a transferrable skill (time management, goal-setting, cultural competency, etc.) and to working on their group project for their signature course. Mentors also have the opportunity to meet with students individually to discuss academic progress and transition to university life. Accountability is ensured as mentors submit a bi-weekly online report, which encompasses time spent mentoring and tutoring in addition to a detailed account of how each of their mentees are doing in regards to academic and social transition. All mentors receive a staff response to their weekly reports. This process permits the mentor to serve as a liaison between the staff and students. These reports keep the staff aware of student activities and progress, and for some cases, alert TIP Staff to an academic or social concern before it escalates. Survey assessments are provided to both the mentees and mentors in mid-October. Pending the data collection, the coordinator meets individually with each mentor regarding their performance and current progress in the CRLA certification process. This session provides each mentor with the opportunity to identify their strengths, reflect on weaknesses, and to further develop their meta-cognitive skills in determining how they should proceed for the remainder of the semester. Future Directions and Conclusion In the upcoming academic year, the mentor coordinator is creating a comprehensive assessment plan focusing on student learning outcomes for mentees and mentors that align with the missions of the university, college, and program. Assessment will also move to an online format. The coordinator also plans to work with the Center for Teaching and Learning to develop a research project centered on the assessment of the peer mentoring course, particularly evaluating student learning outcomes. In conclusion, the TIP Academic Peer Mentoring model is providing a positive academic and community experience for students participating in the TIP Scholars program while also giving undergraduates an opportunity to lead their peers towards academic and personal success. The TIP Model thrives because of its dedication to providing thorough student-centered training in addition to pairing it with a successful first year student program that is based within committed colleges. It is imperative as peer mentoring programs grow and expand within higher education that practioners adhere to a strong commitment to training and professional development. A strong peer mentoring program can result in increased academic success and retention for students and institutions in addition to providing an invaluable leadership experience for those serving in peer mentor roles. REFERENCES Astin, A. W. (1993). What matters in college: Four critical years revisited. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Harkins, S., & Huk, J. (2011, September). Texas Interdisciplinary Plan annual report 2010-2011. The University of Texas at Austin. Jacobi, M. (1991, Winter). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61(4), 505-532.
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Moore, K. M., & Amey, M. J. (1988, Winter). Some faculty leaders are born women. New Directions for Student Services, 44, 39-50. Office of Information Management and Analysis. (2010). 2010-2011 statistical handbook. Retrieved from The University of Texas at Austin website: http://www.utexas.edu/academic/ima/sites/default/files/SHB1011Students.pdf Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series: Vol. 2. How college affects students. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Sanft, M., Jensen, M., & McMurray, E. (2008). Peer mentor companion. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Company.
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Maybee, R. G. Barry University Learning Outcomes- Centered Adjunct Faculty Mentorship ABSTRACT As the use of adjunct instructors continues to increase, institutions are giving greater attention to this important group. Evidence of the important needs of adjunct instructors is presented along with a learning outcomescommunication tools model of mentoring. Components of the model are covered along with characteristics of a good mentoring program, mentor selection criteria, and ethics. A cyclic theory of the mentor-mentee relationship is offered as a further basis for understanding the dynamic nature of the relationship. The role of a mentorship program coordinator is also discussed.
An ever increasing number of adjunct professors are being hired today by institutions of higher education to cut costs. According to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics (2007), adjunct faculty in 2005 accounted for nearly 50% of all faculty teaching in institutions of higher education. A similar percentage was found in a more recent survey by Hart Research Associates on behalf of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) where the data showed that 47% of all faculty are adjunct/part-time, not including graduate employees (2010). In addition, according to the AFT study (2010), nearly 70% of the instructional workforce in community colleges are adjunct/part-time. In this paper, part-time instructors will be referred to as adjuncts. Adjunct employment may be shortterm or long-term, however, they are paid on a part-time contract separate from the regular faculty pay plan. Given the recent economic downturns and volatility, cutbacks to higher education, and the pressure to provide more value for the tuition dollar, it appears that the use of adjuncts will continue to increase. In an article on “The Adjunct Explosion,” McArdle (2006) quotes Christian Gregory, a highly regarded adjunct English instructor at Auburn University as he attempts to explain the change in institutional behavior toward adjunct instructors: “In the early 90’s, universities began to adopt the management techniques of business: outsourcing to minimize labor costs. The easiest way to do that? Increase adjuncts.” (p. 159)
Adjunct professors often complain that they are marginalized by the institution by late hiring, little support from departments or full-time faculty, (McLaughlin, 2005) and lack of faculty development opportunities. Despite these and other less than desirable conditions, adjuncts continue to seek employment and do what they can to survive while meeting the basic teaching requirements of the institution (American Federation of Teachers-Hart Research Associates, 2010). According to Gappa and Leslie (1993), more often than not, adjuncts hold full-time jobs and are augmenting their salaries with adjunct work. Many adjuncts express a desire to give something back to the community and adjunct teaching is an enjoyable way to do so (Gappa and Leslie, 1993). This paper will first examine the reality of adjunct instructor needs. Second, it will propose a model for mentoring adjuncts based on communication tools and learning outcomes. Adjunct Faculty Needs Are the complaints of adjunct instructors justified? Is there evidence for these concerns? A review of literature suggests that there is a strong basis in reality for a broad spectrum of adjunct faculty needs. In a report of a faculty survey sent to 278 part-time faculty at the University of Louisville in 2004, (Hutti, Rhodes, Allison, and Lauterbach, 2007), the following were the adjunct needs most frequently identified: 353
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• promoting student engagement and active learning in the classroom including leading effective discussions • instructional design • dealing with diversity of students, including engaging the quiet student • teaching with technology/ • testing and evaluation • motivating students Nolan, Siegrist, and Richard (2007) report on efforts to improve the status and training of adjunct professors at Delgado Community College, New Orleans, LA. In 2006, using a consultant and focus groups, the following emerged as a summary of the top needs for adjunct faculty: • Desire equipment, supplies, space, photocopying, phones for calling students, internet access including beyond semester teaching • Seek mentoring through policies, procedures, politics etc in timely manner • Seek respect, being valued for important role, and appreciation/recognition for doing a good job • Seek orientation on methods, policies, procedures, rules, values and mission of the institution • Seek sense of belonging to department and institution Renninger, Holiday and Carter, (2007), report on the 2006 results of a campus-wide survey of adjunct instructor needs at Shepherd University, Shepherdtown, WV. Their survey responses are summarized below: • Access to media, counseling, library, instructor & student book ordering • Research of effects of various teaching strategies • Organizational structure, staff, key contacts • How to use technology • Basic procedures, pay periods, grade submission, add/drop, internet access • Grading expectations, attendance issues, dealing with plagiarism, student interactions without office and phone, course flow • Full-time faculty contacts and mentoring In a survey of 132 adjunct faculty needs in nursing at a medium sized university designated as a Carnegie doctoral/research institution, Forbes, Hickey, & White (2010) reported the following themes: • • • • • •
Lack of resources: material and personal assistance Help with technology Inconsistent, unclear, inaccurate communication Feeling isolated, need more contact with full-time faculty, who’s who Access to textbooks and online resources Guidance, assistance, written guidelines
In her 1998 doctoral dissertation, Merodie Anne Hancock conducted an in-depth Delphi technique, surveying the adjunct professor needs at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA. A condensed summary of her final results indicated the following adjunct faculty needs: •
Opportunities for peer support, knowledge exchange, collegiality, and mentoring to include feedback on teaching and observing mentor teaching.
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• • •
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Training in academic use of computer technology including hardware, presentation, internet and on-line library resources and other supporting services Professional development, including certificate training. How to enhance learning for adult and traditional student including adult learning theory, experiential teaching strategies and use of class/outside time, ethics and presentation/speaking skills. Orientation meeting/literature for new adjuncts covering departmental and university policies and procedures, course requirements, and links to local industry for educational purposes, including ways to provide feedback to department chairs How to understand the learning needs of students from a variety of ethnic, cultural, demographic, socioeconomic backgrounds, and various levels of academic preparedness Designing valid and reliable measures of learning and knowledge in traditional and nontraditional settings.
Summary of the Literature The literature related to adjunct faculty needs is extensive and based on a variety of higher education settings using different methodologies. A review of all of the previously cited needs of adjunct instructors suggest that they can be summarized into ten themes of faculty development. Those toward the top of the list were more frequently mentioned in the literature, yet upon reflection, all seem equally important in meeting the genuine concerns of adjunct faculty: • • • • • • • • • •
Need an adjunct faculty orientation where at a minimum, policies, procedures, key persons, and expectations are covered Need access to basic resources such as work space, supplies, copying and assistance to do the job Seek collegiality with full-time staff , fellow adjuncts and a sense of belonging to institution Desire mentoring where an adjunct can observe good teaching and can be evaluated on his/her own teaching Desire information on the teaching effectiveness of different teaching methodologies, classroom management, and student motivation Need assistance with understanding and operating classroom technology Desire understanding of teaching to diverse students, including age differences, cultural differences, levels of learning readiness, and other differences influencing learning Seek specific knowledge of active, student-centered, participative teaching techniques Need information on designing better tests, evaluations, assessments, and rubrics Seek respect, recognition, being valued, appreciation for good teaching
Mentoring: One Faculty Development Approach to Meeting Adjunct Needs Calls for faculty development often fall on deaf ears due to low institutional priorities and budget constraints. Yet, faculty development is seen by some as a high priority, an essential in institutional programming (Altany, 2011). A summary of Altany’s (2010) benefits of faculty development include: • • • • •
Promote faculty responsibility for continuous, career-long growth Expand the understanding of instructional concepts and teaching processes Learning good teaching is an action process, a way of thinking, constituting serious intellectual work including exposure to new ideas and reflection Promote faculty motivation and vitality Provided opportunities to learn about learning, including innovative pedagogical approaches, about students and about themselves 355
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When institutions of higher education take action to respond to adjunct teaching faculty needs, they tend to do so in two ways and in varying degrees: 1. Adjunct orientations and handbooks, and 2. Adjunct mentoring programs. Most literature suggests that both together are optimal for full adjunct and new faculty development (Howard and Hintz, 2002; West, et al., 2009). A Model for Mentoring Adjunct Faculty Mentoring can be defined as behaviors of guiding, nurturing, and modeling from a seasoned faculty member for the continued advancement of the mentee (Smith and Zsohar, 2007; Culleiton and Shellenbarger, 2007). Mentoring is often seen as a continuous process of professional development (Ziegler and Reiff, 2006). This paper offers a learning outcome-based model of adjunct faculty mentoring using a variety of communication tools to facilitate desired outcomes. (See Figure 1.) With the mentor-mentee relationship as the core of the model, a set of common communication tools used in the mentoring relationship (Cohen, 1999) are used to facilitate the attainment of five learning outcomes. Communication Tools The communication tools meet a number of the functional and socio-emotional needs previously stated by adjunct instructors. These communication tools, common to healthy working relationships and important in a mentor-mentee relationship, include: Building rapport and community with full-time and other adjuncts. This tool includes such communication behaviors as empathic and active listening, understanding and accepting the other’s point of view, showing genuine interest. Constructive evaluation of adjunct teaching and class management. This tool includes questioning methods, attitudes and behavior, critical thinking, giving feedback, and evaluating strategies. Seeking alternative methods and attitudes, techniques. This tool involves researching alternatives, setting realistic expectations, reviewing the context, and looking at gains vs. losses regarding strategies and methodologies. Sharing mutually relevant experiences between mentor and mentee. This tool involves sharing experiences and information relevant to needs, referring to relevant resources, and making suggestions. Maintaining accountability for action plans, progress, introspection and evaluation. This tool involves making an action plan, recording progress, and reflection, and program evaluation. Learning Outcomes The learning outcomes in this mentoring model are based on frequently stated adjunct faculty needs previously noted and can be achieved through using the communication tools in the mentor-mentee relationship. There is an important dynamic interaction process between the mentor and the mentee. Although other outcomes may occur, results of the dynamic interpersonal interaction in this model are directed toward the following learning outcomes: Demonstrate successful learner-centered teaching strategies. This outcome would involve researching and applying various teaching methodologies that were student-centered, active learning-based, and student participation oriented. Adjunct mentees would record
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their own observations of effectiveness of a given teaching approach. Based on observation of their mentee adjunct teaching, mentors would give constructive feedback and coaching. Demonstrate improved faculty-student relationships. This outcome would relate to adjunct mentees researching successful practices in dealing with diversity in the classroom and rating themselves on the techniques that proved the most effective in their teaching context. In addition, mentors would guide and observe adjunct instructor mentees coping with student diversity involving age, cultural background, learning readiness, motivation , adult vs. traditional learners and other areas of diversity. Mentors would give feedback on their observations. Demonstrate improved classroom/course management. Again, as above, adjunct mentees would research best practices in classroom management, apply them to their teaching and evaluate the effectiveness of the approaches in their classrooms. Mentors would coach adjunct mentees as to those practices the mentor has had good success with and give feedback to the mentee after observing the mentee’s teaching. Demonstrate improved teaching through application of technology. This outcome is dependent upon the kind of technology available at the college or university where the adjunct is teaching. In general, however, a major perspective of this outcome is from that of the adjunct faculty mentee. Were the following questions answered for the Adjunct: How was the technology supposed to work? Did the system work as it was designed? Was adequate assistance available to get the technology working? The results for this outcome are somewhat dependent on the supporting services of the institution, although adjuncts need to take responsibility to initiate requests for assistance well in advance of the start of a class. Adjuncts will need to rate their achievement of this outcome regardless of the support available. Mentors need to be especially aware of this critical need and anticipate providing assistance or finding assistance for the adjunct mentee. Demonstrate increased use of effective student feedback and assessment techniques. This is another outcome where the adjunct mentee needs to take initiative to research best practices of classroom feedback and student progress measurement. Schools will have different evaluation requirements, often at the department level. Evaluation of student writing has seen a resurgence in the classroom and should be considered among primary progress measures. Adjunct mentees will need to query their mentors regarding school appropriate evaluation methods. Both mentors and mentees should examine the results of student assessment and feedback strategies. Overview of a Good Mentoring Program Mentoring programs are best when they involve the following elements (Johnson, 2007; Nolan, Siegrist & Richard, 2007; Zutter, 2007; Maybee, 2011): Administration and full-time faculty commitment Without this, a mentor program will quickly become ineffective An administrative coordinator with mentoring management software (e.g. Chronus Mentor (Chronus.com, 2011)). Management of mentor-mentee matches, matching characteristics, plans, evaluations, and meetings need effective software to reduce the need for paper and people involvement. A clearly defined matching process where similarity is a priority Mentor-mentee Matching along lines of similarity has been shown to provide the greatest benefits in the relationship (Russell and Adams, 1997) Mentor and mentee orientations Without orientations regarding roles and procedures, the program will likely have difficulty getting off the ground and maintaining a healthy progress. 357
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Frequency and duration of contacts made clear Of course the heart of any mentor program are the contacts between mentor and mentee, whether face-to-face, on-line, or by phone. These contacts need to be structured so that there is a balance between the needs of the mentee and the responsibilities of the mentor. Relationship boundaries and roles established Role boundaries should be established, especially between cross-sex mentor relationships. Mentors need to take an assertive role in clarifying boundaries at the beginning and during the mentor-mentee relationship. Out of bounds behavior should not be tolerated. An updatable action plan/agreement with realistic priorities prepared at the beginning of the relationship An essential part of a successful mentor program is to establish realistic outcomes according to mentee priorities that can be measured and adjusted as the relationship progresses. Periodic evaluations and contact with mentor program coordinator Critical to any mentor program is accountability for progress. In most cases this involves periodic mentor and mentee reports to the mentor program coordinator. Problems can be resolved if there is sufficient notice and progress can be noted. Summative program evaluation At the end of each reporting period (term, semester, etc.) the program coordinator will need to report to his/her supervisor the results of the mentoring pairs, and the overall results of the program. Mentor-Mentee Cycle It is worth noting that as in all relationships, there are phases or seasons. These can best be called cycles as they often repeat throughout the relationship, given changes in circumstances for either party. Kram (1983: 1985) suggested four phases in faculty-student mentorships. Graduate students were the target group in her work, often in mentor relationships for a year or more. Kram’s four stages included: 1. Initiation, 2. Cultivation, 3. Separation, and 4. Redefinition. This paper suggests that group dynamics literature provides a more cyclic perspective into the mentor-mentee relationship allowing for shorter or longer time-frames. Building on the successive stage development group dynamics theory of Tuckman (1965), Tuckman & Jensen, (1977), a number of researchers believe that groups and relationships “cycle” through various stages, often re-entering previous stages to meet an emerging need (Wheelan & Hochberger, 1996, Arrow, 1997). The following is an adaptation of the four basic stages in group development of Wheelan and Hochberger, (1996) applied to the faculty mentor-adjunct mentee relationship: Orientation Usually the initial meeting and the mentee going along with the mentor’s suggestions. Little conflict is expressed. Conflict Different views are expressed during a meeting or several meetings following the initial meeting until agreement is reached on how things should be done. This stage could be very short or, depending on the nature of the mentee-mentor relationship, it could last for a number of meetings. Structure The time during the meetings are spent planning how the tasks will be done. Mutual input is occurring. A “team” attitude is evident. Work There is give and take between mentor and mentee, feedback on tasks, encouragement of high quality teaching.
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It is important to note that in the mentoring application, the length of these stages in the mentormentee relationship can be very short, as in minutes or longer as in hours, days or weeks. Often adjunct mentor programs may last only a term or a semester, thus, the cycle is likely to move quickly through the four stages and may recycle wherever needed for clarification. One would hope that the majority of the time in the mentor-mentee relationship is in the “work” cycle where productivity would be at its highest. Summary First, the paper gave evidence of the increasing use of adjunct instructors in institutions of higher education. The rationale for this phenomenon comes mainly from an economic base. As institutional expenses continue to rise, a primary cost-saving approach is to hire more adjunct instructors. A listing of adjunct faculty needs was drawn from a variety of institutions of higher education using a number of different research methods. It is clear that these needs are real and of serious concern to adjunct instructors. Meeting these needs should be important to institutions as the number of adjunct faculty continue to increase. When institutions attempt to meet adjunct needs, they do so either through orientations/ handbooks and/or mentoring programs. A model of mentoring adjunct faculty was offered where five communication tools and five learning outcomes form an interactive dynamic in the mentor-mentee relationship. Communication tools facilitate achievement of the learning outcomes and both together meet relational, pedagogical, and technical needs of adjunct instructors, especially those new to the institution. The characteristics of communication tools and learning outcomes were discussed. An area not always considered, mentor-mentee phases, was considered with the application of group dynamics theory to the relationship. When considered as cyclic, the four phases of group development can be viewed as emerging and re-emerging as the mentor-mentee’s need arises. The time-frame for the length of one predominate cycle can be a short as a few minutes to several hours, days or weeks. This helps explain some of the volatility that may occur in the mentor-mentee relationship. It may also help the parties understand that the cyclic process is very natural and necessary to the development of the relationship.
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Figure 1. Adjunct Faculty Mentorship Model
Learning Outcomes
Demonstrate Successful Learner-Centered Teaching Strategies
Demonstrate Increased Use of Effective Student Feedback and Assessment Techniques
Building Rapport/Community
Maintaining Accountability
Sharing Experiences
Demonstrate Improved Teaching Through Application of Technology
MentorMentee Relationship
Constructi ve Evaluation
Constructive Evaluation
Demonstrate Improved FacultyStudent Relationships
Exploring Alternatives
Demonstrate Improved Classroom/Course Management
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REFERENCES America Federation of Teachers. (2010). A national survey of par-time/adjunct faculty. (American Academic: 2, March). Hart Research Associates Altany, A. (2011). Professional faculty development: The necessary fourth leg. The Teaching Professor, 25(6),8. Arrow, H. (1997). Stability, bistability and instability in small group influence patterns. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 75-85. Chronus. (2011). Chronus mentor is what I dreamed an ideal mentoring solution would be!. Retrieved from http://chronus.com. Cohen, N. H. (1999). The mentee’s guide to mentoring. Amherst, MA: HRD Press. Culleiton, A. & Shellenbarger, T. (2007). Transition of a bedside clinician to a nurse educator. MEDSURG Nursing, 16(4), 253-257. Forbes, M. O., Hickey, M. & White, J. (2010). Adjunct faculty development: Reported needs and innovative solutions. Journal of Professional Nursing,26(2), 116-124. Gappa, J. M., & Leslie, D. W., (1993). The invisible faculty: Improving the status of part-timers in higher education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Hancock, M. A. (1998). Urban university adjunct faculty perceptions of professional development needs. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA. Howard, B. C. & Hintz, S. S. (2002). Adjunct faculty orientation and mentoring: Developing and retaining the best! Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the national Institute for Staff & Organizational Development (24th, Austin, TX, May 26-29). Hutti, M. H., Rhodes, G. S., Allison, J. & Lauterbach, E. (2007). Part-time faculty institute: Strategically designed and continually assessed. In Lyons, R. E. (Ed.). Best practices for supporting adjunct faculty (pp. 32-48). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company. Kram, K. E. (1983). Phases of the mentor relationship. Academy of Management Journal 26, 608-625. Kram , K. E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman. Maybee, R. G. (2011). ACE faculty mentorship program. Internal report for the School of Adult and Continuing Education, Barry University: Miami Shores, FL. McArdle, E. (2006). The adjunct explosion. University Business. Retrieved from http://universitybusiness.ccsct.com/page.cfm?p=159. McLaughlin, F. (2005). Adjunct faculty at the community college. Second-class professorate? Teaching English in the Two Year College, 33,57-64. National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). Digest of education statistics 2006. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/2007017.pdf Nolan, G., Siegrist, C. &Richard, N. (2007). A mentoring network for adjunct faculty: From proposal to pilot to five-year plan. In Lyons, R. E. (Ed.). Best practices for supporting adjunct faculty (pp. 81-106). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company. Renninger, L., Holiday, S. & Carter, M. (2007). In Lyons, R. E. (Ed.). Best practices for supporting adjunct faculty (pp. 199-216). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company. Russell, J. E. A. & Adams, D. M. (1997). The changing nature of mentoring in organizations: An introduction to the special issue on mentoring in organizations. Journal of Vocational Behavior,51, 1-14. Smith, J. A. & Zsohar, H. (2007). Essentials of neophyte mentorship in relation to faculty shortage. Journal of Nursing Education, 48(4),184-186 Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequences in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63,384-399. Tuckman, B. W. & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of small group development revisited. Group and Organizational Studies, 2,419-427. West, M. M., Borden, C., Bermudez, M., Hanson-Zalot, M., Amorim, F., & Marmion, R. (2009). Ebnchancing the clinical adjunct role to benefit students. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing 40(7), 305-310.
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Wheelan, S. A. & Hochberger, J. M. (1996). Validation studies of the group development questionnaire. Small Group Research, 27,143-170. Ziegler, C. & Reiff, M. (2006). Adjunct mentoring, a vital responsibility in a changing educational climate: the Lesley University adjunct mentoring program. Mentoring and Tutoring 14(2), 247-269. Zutter, C. (2007). Mentoring adjunct instructors: Fostering bonds that strengthen teaching and learning. In Lyons, R. E. (Ed.). Best practices for supporting adjunct faculty (pp. 68-80). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company.
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Ruzgyte, E. Texas Wesleyan University Career in Counseling: Mentoring Future Therapists Abstract Beginning therapists yearn to feel prepared when they begin their work with a client. But before new therapists attempt to create that feeling they need to ask them- selves a question: what are they preparing themselves for? What goals are they trying to achieve? Preparation is not simply a matter of knowledge, or emotional availability, or good intention. It is all these-and more. Because therapists generally do not produce a tangible product, and clients do not always walk out with measurable changes, it can be difficult to define what ”being prepared” means. Therapy is more than a basket of techniques, questions, and home assignments. It is important to have knowledge of the techniques and interventions that can be used in session, but new therapists also need to develop the courage of just ”being” with clients. Working with the practicum stu- dents on the daily basis the presenter developed different approaches that help students to experience therapy and see their work outside the list of questions and techniques that their theory provides them. In this presentation participants will learn how to men- tor the future therapist in their process of learning to connect with the client, knowing how to manage their anxiety when they do not know how to respond, and realizing that therapy is about more than simply taking clients’ pain away. At the end of the presentation participants will have ideas about how to talk to their students about the paradox of therapy process - that in order to feel prepared, we need to give up what we have learned, and connect with the client-bravely and honestly, without knowing exactly what is going to happen.
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Ayodele, Y. Zion Power Ministries Four Cardinal Ways of Effective Mentoring ABSTRACT Mentoring is undeniably the interface for all disciplines as principles and practices are the same which makes the informal training transformational. This discussion though from a religious angle of mentoring, applies in academics, “Those things which you have learned, received, heard and seen in me do…” Effective mentoring is about teaching for learning, giving for receiving, saying for hearing, and showing for seeing between a committed mentor and a serious-minded mentee. Professional-know-how is vital in mentoring programs. The quoted mentor tasked his mentees to do (essence of mentoring): to put into use all they have learned, received, heard and seen in him. The paper discusses practically and in strong terms the best ways mentees can maximally learn, receive, hear and see. Essentially, mentors should always have what to teach, give, say and show; the how is resourcefully discussed, since it is for these reasons someone is made a mentor, or one makes himself/herself a mentor. Bringing his experience to bear, the author practically considered what each entails: pointing out what to teach, how to, whom to and when to; what to give, how to, whom to, and when to; what to say, how to, to whom, and when to; what to show, how to, whom to and when to. Learning across disciplines through mentoring will be best practiced and most effective as mentors in different fields consciously employ these four elements of mentoring. There are two classes of mentoring in the academia—lecturer/student; experienced, accomplished lecturer, professor/assistant lecturer or researcher. How to make the best of the relationship by both parties is discussed.
Introduction This paper calls for acknowledgement of mentoring as an integral part of the academic life. It is an essential extracurricular activity that should not be treated as a pastime, particularly, in developing countries. Lecturers and students are therefore enjoined to attend mentoring seminars and conferences for proper understanding of the subject, for efficacious best practices. Mentoring as a leadership strategy is as old as man! It started between God and Adam, “Out of the ground the LORD formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature that was its name”2. Incorporating mentoring into lecturing makes the mentor a guardian or career parent to the mentee, without standing in his/her way. Mentoring becomes an extra supportive training in terms of time and resources on the part of a lecturer-mentor and extra learning on the part of the student-mentee or lecturermentee, and must be valued to worth the while. Being an additional responsibility, it calls for extra commitment and hard work by both parties to make sacrifices possible when necessary. Academic mentoring is practically the best platform for the integration of both students and new lecturers into their disciplines. The proven practices discussed in this paper are indispensable to mentoring best practices—“Those things which you have learned, received, heard and seen in me do…” This claim implies that he had effectively mentored them in four ways: taught, gave, said and showed. Consequently, the charge to them to do (essence of mentoring); to put into use or practice all they have learnt, received, heard and seen in him; this shows the duties of each party in the relationship. From the paper, the four cardinal ways of effective and maximal impart in mentoring are; teaching for learning, giving for receiving, saying for hearing and showing for seeing. On the other hand, they are the surest ways by which a mentee can actively imbibe from a mentor.
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Two Classes of Mentoring There are basically two classes of mentoring programmes in the academia – Lecturer/student and senior lecturer, researcher, professor/new-assistant lecturer or researcher. Either can be formal or informal. A student under a mentor becomes a student-mentee and the new-assistant or up-coming lecturer being mentored is a lecturer-mentee. This is why the paper recommends that both lecturers and students should attend mentoring conferences for a good knowledge of the practice. The reputation of lecturer that mentors is crucial because he/she becomes a role model to the mentee. Another mentoring relationship is between new or young/old, experienced students. Mentoring is also necessary in nonteaching professions like in the library, laboratory, administration, workshop, parks and garden and clinic among others; this could be called professional mentoring. Responsibilities of Mentors and Mentees An academic mentor should always be equipped with the four means of mentoring for resourcefulness, efficiency and effectiveness, since it is for these purposes someone is chosen as a mentor, or one makes himself/herself a mentor. All these means of mentoring are very important, thus the mentee should not undermine any but position him/herself to learn through them. Professional-know-how of: what to teach: how to, whom to and when to; what to give: how to, whom to, and when to; what to say: how to, to whom, and when to; what to show: how to, whom to and when to are discussed below: Methods Teaching for learning Teaching is the mainstay of mentoring. It is should be goal-directed and purpose-driven and the end product is learning. To teach is to give information, instruct, direct, guide, train, coach or tutor as the programme demands, for acquisition of knowledge, understanding, wisdom, skill and capacity building by the mentee. A mentor should have the resources, skill, ability, capacity and willingness to teach; while the mentee should put self in a learning position to assimilate and appropriate; otherwise, teaching will be wasted if not useless. The development of learning in its various guises of individual, team and organizational learning has been recognised by many as of critical importance (Robert Sullivan, 2000). Learning is the developmental process of acquiring knowledge through information or personal experience to understand a subject, trade, principle, practice or philosophy. Unity of purpose between the mentor and mentee is a critical backbone of a successful mentoring programme. What to teach What a mentor teaches should primarily be guided by basic factors like purpose of mentoring, the discipline, type and level of mentoring. For instance, what to teach an engineering student will be different from that of a medical student; but the mentoring purposes and principles can be the same. A mentor should teach on the basics of the discipline, productive study techniques, career possibilities, time and self management and learning enhancers. Others are diligence, values and virtues. Extra attention should be given to mentee’s area of difficulty. For a lecturer/research-mentee, mentoring is for grooming for mastery; thus, things that will upgrade knowledge in relevant principles, practices, goal setting, procedures, presentations, research, proposal writings, administration, leadership and management are to be taught. Formal and informal assistance should also be offered the lecturer-mentee from the mentor’s wealth of experience on the job and in life generally. How to teach A clue from God’s concept of mentoring applies here, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go: I will guide you with mine eye…”3. Teaching for mentoring therefore, one has to further instruct i.e. give instruction or directive, direct or command; teach i.e. aid, show the way or 365
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explain, and guide with the eye i.e. watch over, supervise, advice, counsel or support. Being an extracurricular activity there should be time for coaching and training to master what could not be achieved in a classroom setting. Mentoring should interactive, creating a freer atmosphere than the classroom. As an experienced mentor, who can see in the mentee what the individual may not realise, help to unlock and develop the innate potentials. Mentoring as a systematic learning process from an expert or professional calls for patience and further explanations. Whom to teach Every student or new-assistant lecturer needs to be taught for effectiveness and efficiency. For the highly intelligent student, he/she needs to be taught (mentored) to boost performance. The average one needs to be mentored for better performance while the poor student should also be mentored for improvement. For a lecturer-mentee, mentoring will fast-track his/her knowledge and experience. However, some mentees (student or lecturer) would be more interesting and fulfilling to mentor. A student or lecturer proving promising will be endearing to mentors. Seriousness is the underlying factor; this will entail availability, punctuality, focus, commitment and diligence. A mentee should be active and acute. The mentee to be taught is the one eager to acquire extra knowledge, skills and virtues, who desires what he/she admires in the mentor. When to teach Teaching should start from the on set. From experience, early exposure to mentoring makes a new student or lecturer become purpose-driven. A purpose-driven mentee will be more focused than his/her mates and hunger for knowledge and perfection which will be an indication of readiness for learning. A lecturer-mentee should in particular note this scenario; in the Holy Bible, the apostles (mentees) of Jesus attempted casting out a demon in the absence of their mentor, but could not. After their failure they were wise enough to ask, “Why could not we cast him out?”4 Of course, they got the key to the solution (power). The best and fastest way to learn is to find out about ones inabilities and not pass the buck when one fails, and that offers a good opportunity for teaching. From a mentee’s questions, the mentor will be able to assess how much the individual is learning, how and where to help and his/her readiness to learn. Anyone that asks relevant questions will learn faster and better. Giving for receiving Giving is a super motivational agent for meaningful, effective and enduring mentoring. It makes mentoring practical and fulfilling, earns a mentor great respect and reputation. Any mentoring that does not involve giving will not be touching. This is the aspect of mentoring that boosts commitment on the part of the mentee. Genuine giving is a practical expression of love, care and commitment to the receiver. Giving gifts makes mentoring indelible and enduring. It is a rewarding investment in mentoring that should be preached for selfless and not selfish service. A true mentor must expectedly have things to give the mentee; thus, be conscious and prepared for that, as it is a major way of being a real helper as a mentor is defined. A selfish or stingy individual will not make an effective mentor in this regard; but a generous one will. Anyone not willing to give may hoard information and others things that should benefit the mentee. In essence, a mentor should give for the mentee to receive. This will make the mentor resourceful, responsible and worthy of emulation. This was exemplified by Jesus Christ, the master mentor, when He observed that his listeners (mentees) were hungry and he had to create food miraculously to feed them before continuing the lesson. What to give What to give can be categorised as material things, psychological treatments, social interaction, professional opportunities, spiritual impartation and the word of God. Material things include books, magazines, journals, tapes, DVDs, MP3, equipments and instruments. Others are accommodation, office
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space and even money as may be necessary among other things. Psychological treatments can come in form of encouragement, moral support, compassion, counsel and burden sharing. Social interaction are socialising generally, visiting as convenient, having coffee together, going for lunch or dinner, partying, clubbing and sporting together and bill payment. Friendly interaction is a stimulant for effective mentoring. Professional opportunities can be exposure, delegated authority, attending conferences and seminars together, representing the mentor where possible, including travels. A mentor is a leader, should therefore be a ladder for the mentee to climb to the top. Others are giving of addresses and contacts, websites, links, and personally introducing mentee to people that matter in the society both locally and internationally. Spiritual impartation will be to give edifying spiritual materials for the salvation of the soul, sharing of burdens for spiritual counsel and prayers. Giving practically adds value to mentoring, makes a mentor a caring individual and makes mentoring totally different from lecture room. How to give Surprise a mentee with giving by offering unsolicited and unexpected assistance. The author never realised the release of his car for his young mentees to drive in the 1980s made so much impact on them until several years latter. A mentor should discern and determine what suits the mentee’s training and give it. It will boost commitment and reliance on the mentor. A mentor either makes giving part of the relationship (which should be) or the mentee makes it happen by responsibly asking. A mentee can help a mentor overcome self-centeredness by asking for obviously undeniable things. This is why mentoring should not be forced on either party, but with mutual agreement. Giving as being discussed should be part of the full package of mentoring at all levels. Obviously, whoever receives nothing leaves with nothing. Whom to give Every mentee is to be encouraged and equipped through giving. However, a mentor will be more apt to give to a serious, ambitious and committed mentee who is making the extra activity worthwhile. This is a call for seriousness and quest on the part of a mentee. A mentor has material resources to give, but a mentee should sometimes initiate it; ask for as the mentor may forget. The Bible charges, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”5 When to give ntroductory materials should be given to a starter and advanced ones given as the mentoring progresses. Every opportunity to support (give) the mentee with what will advance learning should not be delayed as this may cause lost of opportunity and set in discouragement. Saying for hearing This is of crucial importance to mentees. The use and choice of words is to be noted. Saying is used on purpose instead of telling. Basically, when teaching, instructing, or training the mentor directly tells the mentee words for learning. When the quoted mentor therefore said what the mentees have heard, he meant beyond things he told them directly. He also meant things they must have heard through his sayings. Hence, saying as being used here refers to things a mentor says generally, most times unconsciously as he/she mentors, but which are important for a mentee to hear (over hear)—catch from his/her mouth. Listening as one hears is then vital in mentoring. Randy Emelo (2008) submitted that listening is as common as breathing, and like breathing, it can be taken for granted. Hearing someone talking does not guarantee listening; listening has to do with concentration, attentiveness and reasoning along with what one is hearing; the key to comprehension, assimilation and appropriation. The true proof of listening in mentoring is that the mentee grasps the substance of what is heard or taught and utilises it.
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What to say Again, what to say will be in accordance to the discipline. Things to say should include professional languages, technical languages, terminologies, expressions, deep saying, phrases, ethics and explanations. Encouraging, assuring and corrective words should be heard. How to say A mentor can deliberately use some professional or technical terms, terminologies or idioms of expression outside layman language to improve the professional vocabulary of the mentee. The mentor sometimes comes to the level of the mentee and then carries the individual to a higher level just as God comes to man’s level to take him to His level. At other times it could be that the mentor is carried away as if in the midst of his/her contemporaries, and so mentors at that level, by that, the mentee is carried along to a greater height. To whom to say The saying that he who has an ear, let him hear, is a critical condition for a mentee. The art of listening is vital to a mentee. A mentee should train self to be a good listener. Part of the dynamics of listening is that a good (trained) listener does not hear with the ears alone but with the mind also, thereby reasons along as he/she listens; becomes a fast thinker which makes comprehension easy. He/she also listens with the eyes, for instance, if something is being described or demonstrated, he/she views and sees with the eye of the mind while listening (Yemi Ayodele (SOG), 2011). A mentee should itch to hear words that will build him/her up for, “…unto you that hear shall more be given,” so declares Jesus6. The more one hears, the more he/she has to hear. This implies there are degrees/levels of what to hear. “Jesus spoke to the people the word as they were able to hear it”7. A mentee’s disposition will determine the level of information and communication by the mentor. A mentee that is dull of hearing and slow to understand will be dealt with that way by the mentor. A mentee must show readiness to hear. When to say The mentor speaks to the mentee as often as it is necessary; and the mentee who has ear to hear will hear it. Also if a mentor is in high spirit he/she might be moved to say such expressions from a cheerful heart. A mentee should be sensitive to such periods to catch the uncommon communications. Impress your mentor by telling him/her, “I heard you saying…” and he/she will say more. If you hear it you will have it. Train yourself to be a good listener and you will be a good mentee and ultimately a good mentor in your own time. Again, learn to listen and listen to learn!” Mentoring Ezekiel as a prophet, God instructed him, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears…”8. Ezekiel was asked to mark well i.e. take note, pay attention, watch carefully; to see with his eyes i.e. be vigilant, be observant, be sharp to see, catch the scene, comprehend what you see, and to hear with his ears i.e. not dull of hearing, not absentminded, and have understanding. Showing for seeing The mentee should be observant to see what the mentor is showing. Paul said, “Those things which you have…seen in me”1. Things they have seen in him and not from him. In other words, things they have observed about him apart from what he directly showed or taught them. Imperatively, this throws a big challenge to a mentor; that, for effective and thorough mentoring, apart from knowledge impartation and training, a mentor owes a mentee the duty of mentoring by example in values and virtues. On the other hand, it is expected of a mentee to study the person of the mentor and not presentations alone. So, a mentee is to be observant and vigilant to discern values and virtues in the mentor and imbibe same. This is a vital and critical aspect of mentoring as the mentee is bound to imbibe some of the traits of the mentor, good and bad. Yemi Ayodele (SOG) (2011) posited that the eye is the highway to the heart, mind and brain. The eye is stronger and faster at catching things in the environment than the ear. The eye
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operates magnetically. Whatever is seen does have great effect and influence and its impression lasts long, if not permanent. Mentor must therefore take advantage of this power of influence in working on a mentee. What to show This is in two forms; firstly, physical things related to the discipline e.g. instruments, equipments, models, samples, and formulas; secondly, values and virtues from the mentor; which will be – voluntary and involuntary. The voluntary ones will include professionalism, expertise, hard work, integrity, punctuality, deadline observation, decency, tidiness, love, giving and help. The involuntary ones, (that is, the mentor’s persona) will include charisma, character, attributes, virtues guise, role personality, and faith among other things. Character is vital in mentoring, that is why charisma without character can end in catastrophe. How to show This also is either actively or inactively. A mentor should live an exemplary life for the mentee to see and emulate—mentoring by example as a mentee may decide to model his/her life after the mentor. This again makes who mentors crucial as mentoring could make or mar. It should be noted that God instructed Ezekiel to mark well, see with his eyes and hear with his ears, all that He said to him. A mentor in the same way can instruct a mentee to prepare him/her for a significant thing that is about to happen or shown. Whom to show Let whoever has eyes to see, see who the mentor is or what he/she shows. Observation is a technical way to see what one is not shown. Observation is a strong, effective and enduring way to learn. What one learns by observation sticks to the brain and mind. When medical students surround a medical consultant with a patient, they learn by observation; and ask questions to verify what they observed. A mentee who is not observant or sensitive will lose a great deal. A mentee must thus be alert and vigilant at all times to be able to imbibe as much as he/she can see. “Seeing is believing,” says an adage; it can also be said that, “seeing is imbibing.” What you have not seen in your mentor you cannot aim at imbibing or becoming. Hence, learn to observe and observe to learn! When to show The mentor should have something to show the mentee each time they meet. This should not be limited to classroom, laboratory or workshop alone. Thus a mentee should be prepared at all times to see what the mentor has to show. Conclusively, unprecedented best practices in mentoring of any type is guaranteed as these infallible techniques are employed. Mentoring is indeed an interface capable for providing a platform of intercourse for transformational learning across disciplines. The key to effective application of these mentoring techniques for best practices is for a mentor to constantly be mindful of another three words consciousness, commitment and consistency in applying them. REFERENCES Randy Emelo, 2008: “Listening as a leadership attribute”, Triple Creek’s Monthly Mentoring Newsletter, © 2008. Robert Sullivan, (2000): “Entrepreneurial learning and mentoring”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour & Research, Vol. 6 No. 3, 2000, p. 161. © MBC University Press. 1355-2554. The Holy Bible. New King James Version , edited by Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1982. 1. Philippians 4:9; 2.Genesis 2:19; 3. Psalm 32:8; 4. Mark 9:28; 5. Matthew 7:7,8; 6. Mark 4:24; 7. Mark 4:33; 8Ezekiel 44:5. Yemi Ayodele (SOG), Mentoring par Excellence: Published by Zion Power Ministries Int’l., Nigeria, © 2011.
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Abrams, E. S. & Weaver, A. L. University of California Challenges and Rewards of Mentoring Graduate Students ABSTRACT Challenges and Rewards Mentoring Graduate Students Across Disciplines to Teach First-Year Writing: a UC Santa Cruz Story Unlike writing programs that staff many of their first-year composition classes with English Department graduate students and re- quire them to teach their first course or two from a set syllabus, the Writing Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz purposefully recruits graduate student instructors from across all campus graduate programs, and requires them to create their own syllabi, often themed from their disciplines of origin. Our pedagogy course and subsequent mentoring of new composition teachers serve as a model for the campus, and have been cited by graduates now teaching elsewhere, in a variety of fields, as their most useful pedagogical training. This approach is challenging, however, requiring us to train graduate students for a professional field composition and rhetoric that most will only enter for a quarter or two, while simultaneously encouraging them to see lower-division composition instruction as itself an interdisciplinary enterprise. This task is complicated and enriched by our insistence occasionally against institutional pressure on recruiting grads from as many fields as possible. Speaker 1 will examine the program- and campus-wide expectations and challenges for maintaining consistency and excellence in the first-year composition program while working with graduate students with a variety of disciplinary backgrounds. This paper will outline how UCSCs Writing Program mentors establish expectations and standards for writing courses while encouraging graduate student instructors simultaneously to draw from and transcend their disciplines of origin. Speaker 2 will focus on best practices: how do we teach others to teach with us? This paper will focus on methods of instruction and mentoring that have been successful with the UCSC Writing Programs highly varied population of graduate student instructors.
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Lindberg, D., Rivera, D., Li, J. & Mosemann, D. Pennsylvania State University Porous Borders: Mentoring Where Real Problems Meet ABSTRACT The most important take away in mentoring colleagues from other disciplines is that people have to be invested in order to build a community around an idea -- not allowing this invites mistake. The second important take away in working with experts from other disciplines is that misperceptions are important drivers. Misperceptions about a contributor’s knowledge base, their process, their skills, or even their level of curiosity will drive an outcome or a conclusion and those misperceptions will undoubtedly end up in missed opportunities. Thirdly, limiting a colleague by their discipline or background alone instead of allowing them to participate as informed citizens cuts them off from engaging in the full range of systems that connect all problems to one another. Our research team, for instance, over the course of over two years watched mathematicians work as architects, and biologists work as economists, and architects work as biologists. Our research began with a hypothesis of health disparities and policy resistance as a function of place. The U.S.Mexico border provided a context for our critical analysis of community dynamics and grassroots systems amplified by unique conditions of international mobility, social/political uncertainty, and economic disparity. Together, we would propose new theories about the root causes of policy resistance. The results would recognize porous borders not only as a more realistic characteristic of some of the today’s most pressing global issues, but also serve as a metaphor for productive disciplinary mentoring for critical emergent thinking tomorrow.
Where Real Problems Meet This paper presents a collaborative research experience that happened quite organically among the unlikeliest of faculty beginning with some shared conversations about real problems. It then grew into a rich learning environment where all participants felt challenged in their own disciplinary expertise but also mentored to work significantly with other experts. The research project at the core of this experience began through the development of a framework for understanding feedbacks between institutional arrangements impacting human behavior towards commons environments, all characteristic of real problems in society. Developed within an architecture graduate seminar, “Topics in Community Design” at The Pennsylvania State University, the framework also helped students launch a range of case-study research contributing to graduate and undergraduate research endeavors. Simultaneously, faculty from the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics (CIDD), also at The Pennsylvania State University, began compiling a list of courses and seminars that contributed to the topic of disease dynamics from the microbiological scale to the macro environmental scale. Faculty associated with CIDD learned of the range of topics associated with commons environments covered in “Topics in Community Design” and began sitting in to learn more. Faculty from Biology, Economics and Applied Mathematics were particularly interested in the course material. As they listened to students discuss and translate their research interests with the course material it provided a wonderful forum for an interdisciplinary analysis of some of the world’s most pressing problems. “In the higher education setting, where expertise is conveniently clustered into disciplinary areas structured around degree programs, I found my interests challenged the lock-step rigidness of my degree program. Comparatively, in experiences working in unincorporated settlements in Peru, design and problem solving did not occur in any one disciplinary vacuum. The factors at work there were economical, cultural, geographical, and architectural – to name a few. This was not reflective of how I learned to undertake an architectural design project. My experiences with the Rio research team stand in stark contrast. Problem solving occurs across the traditional lines of institutionalized disciplines and reflects the conditions in which real-world problems exist. In an increasing globalized world, the mentoring model of the Rio team is the model on which higher education should be based.” --David Mosemann, Architecture Research Assistant.
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Arch 542: Topics in Community Design The course that started the collaboration builds on two underlying theories: Systems Theory and Game Theory. Combined, the course takes a transdisciplinary approach to determining the most relevant problems and research questions involved. Transdisciplinarity is a research strategy intent on creating a holistic approach and is focused on problems that cross the boundaries of two or more disciplines. Introduced first by Jean Piaget in 1970, it was adopted at the First World Congress of Transdisciplinarity in 1987 as the Charter of Transdisciplinarity at the International Center for Transdisciplinary Research (Nicolescu, 2010). It is used to signify a unity of knowledge beyond disciplines. Systems knowledge is used to consider the relational, interdependent or interacting functions, so systems theory is at the foundation of understanding any relational attributes involved in ecologies or communities. Systems theory explains the history of developments that are simultaneously economic and political, artificial, conjured, designed or naturally occurring. It investigates the principles of these complexities (or why and how things work the way they do – so why the shirt-making industry or poetry function more when unregulated while the power grid needs regulation by state and national governments (Seabright). The course also seeks to develop representative models that can be used to describe these relationships and feedbacks and uses applied mathematics to set up algorithms articulating how problems work in relation to unique settings. Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that is typically associated with economics. However, game theory is used in virtually every other discipline today. Today, game theory is a sort of umbrella or ‘unified field’ theory for the modeling of relational feedbacks, where ‘social’ is interpreted broadly as relational to another, so includes human as well as non-human irrational global entities, or rational biological occurrences – like disease spread. Together these theories allow an investigation of relational feedbacks between: 1. Environments we share in common and are usually valued because that sharing induces possible shortage, scarcity or conflict. 2. The institutions invested in those shared commons that develop social contracts and assign power, set the rules, laws, guidelines, and regulations for operating in community and society. 3. This profoundly impacts human behavior when weighing choices and consequences especially connected to the gravity or levity of a person’s unique circumstances. Students have used the seminar to investigate undergraduate and graduate research topics that range from how the social security system is linked to immigrant issues in the U.S, to public housing regulations impacting land use development across the European Union, or how the Clean and Green Tax Law contributes to developer McMansions in suburban sprawl, to how alternatives to tax increment financing of municipality’s infrastructure are important to offset the economic cleansing of student rental housing in college towns. Building on recent work by Social Scientist and Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom for enduring institutional design, students propose design principles for cooperative self-regulating and monitoring of interdependent environments and ecologies (Ostrom, 1990). The work seeks to make sense of the feedback processes among individuals, the institutions we create, and the effectiveness of those institutions to keep pace with urban, environmental and ecological conditions of constant change and flux.
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Fig. 1. Model developed to study relational feedbacks impacting effective institutional design
The Research Conversation Therefore, the conversation began in the context of Arch 542: Topics in Community Design. Faculty auditing the course wondered about the ability of institutional systems designed under the assumptions of more stable conditions to keep pace with the reality of any context under constant change and flux. For instance, the yellow pages might be described as a syntactical city. Letting your fingers do the walking through the yellow pages might not take you down streets and alleys, but the alphabet orders and forms the logic for accessing a city as a collection of services, products, and people. As the city changes, the yellow pages are updated. Likewise, the institutional city – extending the metaphor – is a cataloging of the evolution of conventions and social contracts accessing and assigning power described by its regulations, policies, laws and decision-making systems. But unlike the yellow pages that might update at least annually, the institutional city may change very little. How amenable those institutions are to rethinking and reforming hints at the protractible characteristics of power poorly fit to most typically dynamic or unstable instances. Because collective decision-making is not easy, and power is not easily relinquished once attained, it seems necessary to account for complex feedbacks between institutional factors and human behaviors amidst dynamic tensions in the formation and governance of institutions impacting an emergent and constantly changing world. The conversation grew more compelling when we situated the notion of policy resistance as it might play out in the context of our various research interests. Policy resistance has been defined as “the tendency for interventions to be defeated by the system’s response to the intervention itself” (Sterman, 2006). Given that definition, the biologist in our conversation described seasonal migration of birds and animals between North and South America and the impact of that dynamic on the quality of the local aquifers that also served as critical breeding and feeding sites for these migratory animals near the municipalities of El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. The lack of real understanding of the confluence and overlap of environmental, seasonal, and animal systems impacts the health and welfare of both human and wildlife habitats. The economist in our conversation described the mobility of migrant farmworker families (some authorized citizens, others perhaps not) working between planting and harvesting seasons throughout the United States and the challenge of tracking infant and childhood immunization when the family is not yet part of the public daycare or school system. The architect in our conversation described the disconnect between systems that provide for infrastructure – sanitation,
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utilities, roads – designed for incorporated communities associated with tax contributions, utilities bills and land access and the health and economic disparities of residents without a similar infrastructure characteristic of the sprawling unincorporated Colonias communities. The mathematician in our conversation described the dilemma of creating policies to address public health interventions based on assumptions that resulted from studying stabilized networks where financial, social, and geographic resources may be coordinated. These policies may not function well in contexts where networks fluctuate or fragment and shift as a result of increasing mobility. Thus, the shared conversation revealed a societal bias towards stability while the world around us was rarely stable and highly mobile. But more importantly, the shared conversation opened up the possibility that any investigation into the root causes of policy resistance would benefit from a more ecumenical reading from multiple perspectives and expertise that in the terms of Piaget, “which will not be limited to recognize the interactions and/or reciprocities between the specialized researchers, but which will locate these links inside a total system without stable boundaries between the disciplines.” (Piaget, 1972, p. 144). "As one of the last ones to join the group, and as one with very little experience collaborating with experts from other disciplines, it was challenging at first and even a bit scary for me to walk into to the room and join the discussions with the others in the group. Fortunately, due to the common interests of everyone in the group, the process of acclimatizing myself to the group was much less scary than what I had imagined. The common concerns and problems arising in community and urban design, biology, mathematics and economics turned out to provide us with a means of gathering expertise from these different disciplines. Even though questions can be formulated differently in each discipline, communication within the group makes it possible to find a common ground for expressing and addressing research goals and problems. We also learned in the course of working in this interdisciplinary setting to better listen to and understand those from other fields. This has led to a more efficient exchange of ideas. " --Jing Li, Post Doc
Beyond Disciplines We compiled the research questions and sought out appropriate funding to study this together. The research resulted in successful funding through National Institutes of Health/Fogarty International Center. Currently, two-thirds of the way through the award, the goal of the research is to understand policy resistance and the impact of institutional feedbacks contributing to a healthier health commons, viewed in our work as a common pool resource (CPR) system. The U.S.-Mexico border provided the context for critical analysis of community dynamics and resilient grassroots systems amplified by unique conditions of international mobility, social/political uncertainty, and economic disparity. The project is affectionately called, “Rio” for the Rio Grande Valley as the study area. But the successful proposal did not necessarily mean we all knew how the other disciplines would contribute either to the process or to the outcomes. Consequently, we each took the time to present to the group the key issues from the perspective of our own disciplinary lens. The presentations were in the language and in the approach significant to the respective disciplines so everyone could understand the various tools and techniques for analysis and investigation without seeing them watered down or generalized. The group identified concepts that were conceived differently from discipline to discipline, such as how to gather, analyze and experiment with data. And we learned to see crossovers that were common and fluid between all disciplines, such as “model,” “modeling,” and “design.” We had to confront the urge to make designers into scientists and applied mathematicians who value rational systems describing society into social scientists who prefer systems of influence on behavior. It was important to allow in each case the unique disciplinary investment happen. In doing so we could appreciate the full extent of a disciplinary perspective and response. To address the range of interests in a short period of time, and to allow each expertise to take risks with the breakthroughs, we divided into focus groups. One focus group would address the dynamics between government involvement and individual investment. Another focus group would address issues of institutional and policy response to conditions of uncertainty, including disaster relief, recovery and development. Another focus group 374
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would address mobility among populations with low levels of trust in a local community. Together our collaborative and interdisciplinary work developed an innovative combination of mathematical modeling and institutional design frameworks presenting a foundational analysis to begin to understand a shifting paradigm in global disease management more characteristic of a world of porous borders. Significantly, the group could also disseminate the work in a range of ways appropriate to every unique discipline. As a result, the unique analysis and collective understanding have become a resource for disciplinary harvesting. Quite fortunately, the work is being broadly shared and represented. One of the team members summed it up this way: “Today's greatest challenges lie in the crevices between disparate disciplines. Through my experiences on the Rio team, interacting with biologists, mathematicians, and economists, the issues at hand seemed to be clearer and more defined. This is perhaps because the problem does not reside in just urban design or biology or mathematics or economics -- instead, it resides partly within all these disciplines. In a sense, the group created a special language to define the problem, merging all our expertise into a fluid discussion, thereby addressing the heart of the problem from multiple perspectives by leveraging each person's point of view.” --Danielle Rivera, Architecture Research Assistant.
REFERENCES Nicolescu, Basarab. 2010. “Methodology of Transdisciplinarity – Levels of Reality, Logic of the Included Middle and Complexity.” Atlas & Co., New York, NY. ISSN: 1949-0569 online. Last viewed September 12, 2011. Ostrom, Elinor. 1990. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action. Cambridge University Press. Piaget, Jean. 1972. “L’epistemologie des relations interdisciplinaires,” in Leo Apostel et al., p. 144. Seabright, Paul. 2004. The Company of Strangers: A Natural History of Economic Life. Princeton University Press. Princeton, NY., pp. 13-26. Sterman, John D. 2006. “Learning From Evidence in a Complex World.” American Journal of Public Health, 96: 3, pp. 505-514
Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge support for this work from the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics, Pennsylvania State University This research was supported by NIH grant PAR-08-224
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Heileman, G., Knotts, D. & Compeau, R. University of New Mexico Challenges of Offering Cross-Institutional Online Engineering Courses ABSTRACT A two year pilot project involving cross-institutional collaborations between the University of New Mexico (UNM), Northern New Mexico College (NNMC), and Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) has been funded by the National Science Foundation. The primary objective of this project is to leverage the limited resources available in New Mexico to provide quality STEM undergraduate education to a larger student population via the creation of high-touch on-line instructional materials related to existing lower-division courses in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). In this panel discussion, the Discussion Moderator and Director of New Media & Ex- tended Learning at UNM will discuss the development of a virtual classroom and the facets that must be considered for the virtual classroom to be viable. UNM’s ECE Associate Chair and Director of Undergraduate Programs will talk to the courses chosen to be pilots for the virtual classrooms, including how these courses lend themselves to being taught in this manner, and the mentoring challenges that this format presents. Finally, a representative from UNM’s College of Education will speak to the modification of existing or assessments of development of new assessments to make them a valid set of instruments for the measurement of the quality of delivery of this course content.
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Muniz, E. J. & Serviere-Munoz, L. University of North Texas Dallas Measuring Needs of Undergraduate Students: A Look into a Multi-Dimensional Concept ABSTRACT Mentoring in higher education has become a popular approach to minimize undergraduate student attrition and maintain diversity. Additional goals of mentoring at the college level include enhancing students’ academic success and facilitating their progression to post-graduate plans (i.e., graduate study or a career in the workplace). In such mentoring programs, students seek faculty guidance on developing career plans, coping with academic demands, balancing work and college life, and interpreting degree requirements. Researchers studying the concept of mentoring indicate it is an effective approach in many settings, including higher education (Colvin & Ashman, 2010; Overeem et al., 2010; Ramaswani & Dreher, 2007; Simpson, Hastings & Hill, 2007). However, literature is limited in providing insights about how to identify or measure mentoring needs of undergraduate students (Crisp, 2009; Noe, 1988). Based on a literature review, we wrote survey items to measure the mentoring needs of undergraduate students. These items were developed based on the definitions of one of the following mentoring functions: psychological and emotional support, academic and career support, and importance of a mentoring relationship. Then, we analyzed the responses of 230 undergraduate students to this measure to identify any latent mentoring functions. Results of a confirmatory factory analysis using Structural Equation Modeling indicated that all fit indices reflected an acceptable fit between the proposed and implied covariance matrices. After achieving acceptable fit indices for the model, the significance levels of the standardized parameters were inspected to test for the direct relationships of each item to their corresponding dimension (i.e., mentoring function). The analysis revealed significant and positive relations of all the standardized parameters. Results of these analyses provided support for the three mentoring functions: psychological and emotional support, academic and career support, and importance of a mentoring relationship. Implications for implementing a mentoring program in higher education will be considered. In addition, we will offer suggestions for future research studying the role of mentoring functions and protégé success.
Introduction Higher education strives to increase the number of students who graduate prepared to meet the demands of work and contribute to the civil society. The achievement of these objectives requires an increase in efforts to improve enrollment and graduation rates of students, particularly those who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education (e.g., students with low income background, first generation students, minorities, and non-traditional students). Many programs exist throughout the nation to address the needs of undergraduate students. For example, in Texas the higher education improvement plan, “Closing the Gap, sets goals and targets for student participation in higher education. The Closing the Gap 2011 report noted that Texas is enrolling more college students, but additional efforts are needed to encourage Hispanics and African American men pursue a college education (Smith, 2011). Despite the state’s efforts at improving participation in higher education, there is a need to develop strategies to increase the success of students, in particular those underrepresented in college. Staff members employed to provide college student support services have a deep understanding of the effectiveness of academic support programs and organizations that provide support to ensure students’ academic success. Many practitioners and researchers agree that mentoring is a valuable approach that provides students with the emotional and instrumental support they need to achieve their goal of completing a college degree (Jacobi, 1991). Typically, in a mentoring relationship an individual with advanced experience and knowledge commit to the development of skills and knowledge of a protégé to support his/her career (Kram, 1988; Kram & Isabella, 1986; Ragins, 1999). This form of relationship in a college setting allows students to receive information, guidance, and support that help them achieve their college aspirations and prepare their transition from college to work. The success of mentoring in college settings has been documented by a number of researchers. For example, mentoring by college faculty has resulted in an increase in student persistence and higher undergraduate grade point average (Crisp and Cruz, 2009; Campbell and Campbell 1997; Freeman 1999;
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Kahveci et al. 2006; Mangold et al. 2003; Pagan and Edwards-Wilson 2003; Ross-Thomas and Bryant 1994; Salinitri 2005; Sorrentino 2007; Wallace et al. 2000). In addition, minority students who participate in mentoring programs experience numerous benefits such as higher levels of comfort with a university setting (Border & Arredondo, 2005), increased academic achievement, and increased retention levels (Terenzini, Psacarella & Blimling, 1996). Many undergraduate students also report that participating in a mentoring program allowed them to develop skills and behaviors that are much needed to be successful in their profession (Schlosser, Knox, Moskovits & Hill, 2003). Thus, researchers studying mentoring indicate it is an effective approach in higher education (Colvin & Ashman, 2010; Overeem et al., 2010; Ramaswani & Dreher, 2007; Simpson, Hastings & Hill, 2007). However, literature is limited in providing insights about how to identify or measure mentoring needs of undergraduate students to develop a formal mentoring program in a college setting (Crisp, 2009; Noe, 1988). An effective mentoring program should be based on research that identifies the needs of students and the most effective strategies for addressing such needs. Mentoring programs are typically designed in terms of functions provided by mentors. Within the mentoring literature there are over 15 different types of mentoring functions (Jacobi, 1991); however, the two most frequently commonly cited mentoring categories are career and psychosocial mentoring functions (Kram, 1985; Noe, 1988; Olian, Carroll, Giannantonia & Feren, 1988; Schockett & Haring-Hidore, 1985). Kram (1983; 1985) defined career mentoring functions as sponsorship, coaching, protection and providing protégés with exposure, visibility, and challenging assignments. These forms of mentoring functions help protégés adjust and advance in their chosen career (Schockett & Haring-Hidore, 1985). The second most commonly defined mentoring function is the psychological function which includes role modeling, acceptance and confirmation, counseling, and friendship. These types of mentoring functions allow protégés to clarify their sense of identity and develop a greater sense of self efficacy and self worth (Schockett & Haring-Hidore, 1985). In a college setting, students will benefit from mentors who can provide psychological support in terms of providing encouragement, assistance with academic problems, and reassurance about their ability to succeed academically. Mentors can also provide career and academic support by helping students explore their career interests, beliefs, and abilities, as well as to assist them with their academic and career goals to develop their professional potential. In addition to these two mentoring functions, mentors of undergraduate students are in the unique position to educate their protégés about the value of a mentoring relationship. A student that does not believe that a mentoring relationship can be valuable for personal and professional development is less likely to be less receptive to the mentor’s influence attempts (Kram, 1985). Mentoring relationships with faculty and staff allows students to be socialized in clarifying their roles in their career of interest, coping with college and work demands, helping with their personal and professional development (Feldman & Brett, 1983; Kram & Isabella, 1985). However, the positive effects of mentoring will only occur for individuals who value this relationship (Fisher, 1985). Further, the perceived value of a mentoring relationship will have a significant effect on the success of a mentoring relationship. Thus, a third mentoring function that should be provided in a mentoring program for undergraduate students is conveying the value of this relationship. Identifying mentoring functions is an important step in the development of a mentoring program. The collection of this information is useful in identifying key characteristics that should be emphasized in a formal undergraduate mentoring program. In this study, we develop an instrument to assess undergraduate students’ mentoring needs and identify mentoring functions. This measure contained items that were developed based on the definitions of one of the following mentoring functions: psychological and emotional support, academic and career support, and importance of a mentoring relationship. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to validate the proposed mentoring functions (i.e., psychological and emotional support, academic and career support, and importance of a mentoring relationship).
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Method Participants Participants in this study were 230 undergraduate students from a south central state of the United States. The sample consisted of 90 males and 139 females. Their average age was 27.57 year. They had an average of 8.80 years of work experience. The average self-reported grade point average was 3.08. The sample consisted of 89 African-Americans, 70 Hispanic-Americans, 1 Arab-American, 53 AngloAmericans, 3 Asian American, and 8 other. Participants were classified into these groups based on their self-reported ethnicity. Five participants chose not to report their race or ethnicity. Procedure Participants were provided with a written introduction to the study. After this, they were asked to read and sign an informed consent that described the nature of the study. Once participants completed this form, they were asked to complete a question dealing with mentoring functions. Following this, participants filled out a form designed to gather information concerning their demographic background such as age, race, ethnicity, and employment status. After participants completed both questionnaires, they were debriefed using a standardized form. Measures Mentoring Needs Survey Students’ mentoring needs were measured using modified items from a scale designed by Crisp (2009). The measure contained 38 items, and it used a 7-point scale ranging from ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Demographic Questionnaire Participants completed a questionnaire inquiring about three categories: personal characteristics (e.g., sex, age, race or ethnicity, religious preference), work situation (e.g., occupation, job position, years of experience), and family situation (e.g., marital status, number of children, likelihood of having additional children). Results The literature review gave us the path to follow in terms of the functions that were relevant to mentoring activities. Then, to ensure that such dimensions were relevant in forming the proposed structure a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). SEM is a multivariate technique that estimates a series of interrelated dependence relationships simultaneously (Hair, Anderson, Tatham, R.L. & Black, 1999).The analysis was completed using the software package AMOS. To empirically estimate the strength of each relationship (path), path diagrams were depicted for each dimension based on the dimensions identified in the exploratory factor analysis. For the first dimension the test of the proposed model yielded the following results: χ2 = 47.42 with 20 degrees of freedom, significance p=.001. However, because of chi-square’s sensitivity to sample size (Bagozzi & Yi, 1998), additional fit indices were considered. The additional fit indices reported the following results: GFI= .956, RMSEA= .077, NFI= .971, AGFI= .902, CFI= .983, PGFI= .425 and PNFI= .539. The second dimension yielded the following results: χ2 =21.363 with 10 degrees of freedom, significance p=.019. The additional fit indices are: GFI= .972, RMSEA= .070, NFI= .981, AGFI= .922, CFI= .990, PGFI= .347 and PNFI= .467. Last, the third dimension’s results were: χ2 =3.979 with 2 degrees of freedom, significance p=.137. The additional fit indices are: GFI= .993, RMSEA= .066, NFI= .996, AGFI= .948, CFI= .998, PGFI= .132 and PNFI= .199. All fit indices reflected an acceptable fit between the proposed and implied 379
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covariance matrices, as it is revealed by the pattern of fit indices within their acceptable ranges as suggested by Hair et al. (1999). After achieving acceptable fit indices for the model, the significance levels of the standardized parameters were inspected to test for the direct relationships of each item to their corresponding dimension. The analysis revealed a significant and positive influence of all the standardized parameters. The standardized path estimates can be found in table 1. As this study proposed, all three dimensions, the psychological and emotional support, the academic subject knowledge and the career support, and the importance of the mentoring relationship dimensions were significant to developing the structure of the mentoring program.
Table 1. Standardized Regression Weights
The first component represents the psychological and emotional support that students expressed is needed as part of an undergraduate student mentoring program, and it is formed by the following items: “Faculty provide me with that emotional support that I need while in college”; “I can talk to faculty about social issues related to going to college”; “Faculty helps me perform to the best of my abilities in my classes”; “I can talk to faculty about problems I encounter in college”; “Faculty give me emotional support related to succeeding in my career”; “Faculty express confidence in my ability to succeed academically”; “I can talk openly to faculty about personal issues related to being in college”; “Faculty makes me feel I belong in college”; and “I can discuss with faculty any problems I am having with my coursework”.
The second component represents the academic and career support, and it is formed by the following items: “Faculty help me consider the sacrifices associated with my chosen degree”; “My universityprovides me with a realistic appraisal of my professional skills”; “I discuss with faculty the implications of my degree choice”; “I use faculty as a sounding board to explore what I want in my 380
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career”; “I discuss with faculty important skills that are needed to succeed in my career”; “I can discuss with faculty strategies to improve my study habits”; and “I copy behaviors of faculty related to going to college”. The third component represents the perceived importance of a mentoring relationship and it was formed by items: “I believe that the opportunity to consult with faculty about my career is a valuable experience”; “Discussing my career interests with faculty will benefit me in the long run”; “I believe it is important to receive information from faculty that will help me perform better at school”; “I value faculty’s opinion about my academic performance”, and “I value faculty opinions about my career choice”. Discussion The current study identified three distinct functions of mentoring as perceived by undergraduate students enrolled in a south central state university. These results represent an attempt to describe mentoring functions in an undergraduate college setting. Our results are similar to the final outcome of Kram (1985) and Crisp (2009). For example, psychological and emotional support and career support were identified as two important mentoring functions. In contrast to these studies, we defined another dimension that is relevant in a college setting. In our results, the dimension of conveying the importance of a mentoring was identified as an important mentoring function. Overall, our results indicate that a mentoring program for undergraduate students should consist of the two mentoring functions that are well supported in the literature, as well as an additional function where mentors convey to students the importance of a mentoring relationship. Consequently, universities and colleges should continue to investigate which mentoring functions that are typically used in corporate settings generalize to the unique setting of undergraduate education. Given the increased efforts of developing mentoring programs to address the needs of students that are traditionally underrepresented in higher education, hopefully the current study will encourage additional research on strategies to identify these students’ needs and mentoring functions that will support them. REFERENCES Bagozzi, R.P. and Yi, Y. (1988). On the evaluation of structural equation models. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 16, 74-94. Colvin, J. W. & Ashman, M. (2010). Roles, risks, and benefits of peer mentoring relationships in higher education. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 18, 121-134. Crisp, G. (2009). Conceptualization and initial validation of the College Student Mentoring Scale (CSMS). Journal of College Student Development, 50, 177-194. Feldman, D. C. & Brett, J. M. (1983). Coping with new jobs: A comparative study of new hires and job changers. Academy of Management Journal, 26, 258-272. Fisher, C. D. (1985). Social support and adjustment to work: A longitudinal study. Journal of Management, 11, 3953. Hair, J.f., Anderson, R.E., Tatham, R.L., Black, W.C. (1998). Multivariate data analysis. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Education Research, 61, 505-532. Kram, K. E. (1985). Mentoring at Work: Developmental Relationships in Organizational Life. Glenville, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company. Kram, K. E. (1988). Mentoring in the workplace. In D.T. Hall (Ed.), Career Development in Organizations (pp. 160-201). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Kram, K.E. & Isabella, L.A. (1985). Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development. Academy of Management Journal, 28, 110-132. Noe, R. A. (1988). An investigation of the determinants of successful assigned mentoring relationships. Personnel Psychology, 41, 457- 479.
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Overeem, K., Driessen, E. W., Arah, O. A., Lombarts, K., Wollersheim, H. C., Grol, R. (2010). Peer mentoring in doctor performance assessment: Strategies, obstacles and benefits. Medical Education, 44, 140-147. Ragins, B.R. (1999). Gender and mentoring relationships: Definitions, challenges, and strategies. In G.N. Powell (Ed.), Handbook of Gender and Work (pp. 347-370). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Ramaswami, A. & Dreher, G. F. (2007). The benefits associated with workplace mentoring relationships. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspective approach (pp. 211231). Malden: Blackwell Publishing. Schockett, M. R. & Haring-Hidore, M. (1985). Factor analytic support for psychosocial and vocational mentoring functions. Psychological Reports, 57, 627-630. Simpson, T. Hastings, W. & Hill, B. (2007). ‘I knew that she was watching me’: The professional benefits of mentoring. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 13, 481-498. Smith, D. (July 26, 2011). Texas makes ‘significant progress’ in college enrollment completion. Star Telegram.
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Ryan, R. C. & Dietrich, J. K. University of Oklahoma Mentoring Faculty Using a Positive Annual Evaluation Process ABSTRACT Most universities require annual evaluation of faculty member teaching, research and service performance. While there are benefits, many programs struggle with keeping faculty evaluations part of the mentoring process. In 2008 to help overcome these challenges the authors, as part of the University of Oklahoma College of Architecture Committee A, (a standing committee of five tenured faculty elected from each college academic discipline) helped lead development, adoption and implementation of a new annual faculty evaluation process. The process requires better communication, documentation, personal assessment and self-reflection by the faculty member. However, the primary change lies in a focus on performance improvement, once deficiencies are identified. This process is underpinned by realistic review based on meeting expectations, a positive approach to the evaluation experience and mentoring from the evaluation committee and Director. This article briefly outlines the annual evaluation and discusses the following three mentoring mechanisms included in the process. • Use of an Evaluation Committee meeting face to face with each faculty member. • Required annual revision/acceptance of each academic discipline’s Evaluation Document. • Focus on development of a strategy for improvement, including documentation of measurable goals. After the second year of use, faculty, Committee A and Directors are demonstrating better understanding and acceptance of the process. Adoption has not been without challenges, but new faculty members are openly appreciative of the better defined tenure path. Directors appreciate committee accountability for the evaluation, especially for evaluating senior faculty. Directors are assuming more accountability for documenting annual evaluations, while better utilizing the process as part of quality control for their Divisions. The authors feel that the mentoring mechanisms discussed in this article are major influences on the observed improvements to date, but future optimization will require consistent effort and focus.
Introduction Most universities require annual evaluation of faculty member’s Teaching, Research/Creative and Service performance. Often the process is administered by the chair/director of the academic unit using peers of the evaluated faculty member to help with the performance assessment. The importance of this process is obvious at all levels - faculty, program, college, university and public. However, many programs struggle with faculty evaluations, many times inadvertently creating a confrontational setting casting both sides into a defensive posture. Issues with the process are often compounded by performance criteria or guidelines that are many times purposely vague. These criteria can be used selectively, positively and negatively, depending on the Director’s or faculty’s perspective or need at the time of the evaluation. Many times performance reviews are an unwanted task performed by administrators not prepared or trained to evaluate and deal with faculty in stressful sensitive situations. To compound this, many Directors are not prepared to deal with confrontation, so the process is influenced by confrontation avoidance or inflated evaluations. On the other side of the table many times a well thought-out documented evaluation and plan for improvement is lost on underachieving or over sensitive faculty. Like most academic units the University of Oklahoma (OU) College of Architecture (CoA) has struggled with these evaluation issues. Prior Conditions Prior to 2008 the process started by faculty evaluating their past year’s performance and submitting this self-evaluation to the Director. The faculty member would then meet with the Director and discuss the evaluation. As a faculty member, there was great incentive to rate oneself at the maximum or high level, even if it was not realistic. It automatically put the Director in a defensive posture if the Director was serious about assigning a realistic rating for the faculty’s annual performance. The process was 383
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focused on negotiating the rating, rather than focusing on deficient areas of performance and identifying ways to improve. The faculty’s evaluation was then submitted to a five member committee (Committee A) composed of an elected faculty member from each of the CoA disciplines. The Committee would review the evaluations for bias and otherwise unfair evaluations. New Evaluation Process and Procedures In 2008 to help overcome these challenges, the authors, as part of the OU CoA Committee A, helped lead development, adoption and implementation of a new annual faculty evaluation process. The process requires better communication, documentation, personal assessment and self-reflection by the faculty member. However, the primary change lies in a focus on performance improvement, once deficiencies are identified. This process is underpinned by realistic review based on meeting expectations, a positive approach to the evaluation experience and mentoring from the new evaluation committee. The purpose of this article is to briefly outline the annual evaluation and discuss the following three mentoring mechanisms included in the process. • • •
Use of an Evaluation Committee meeting face to face with each faculty member. Required annual revision/acceptance of each academic discipline’s Evaluation Document. Focus on development of a strategy for improvement, including documentation of measurable goals.
The authors feel that the mentoring mechanisms discussed in this article are major influences on the observed improvements to-date. It is hoped that other university faculty will consider this discussion when grappling with annual evaluations and consider these positive mentoring approaches that can be included in the process. The 2010 Version - CoA Annual Faculty Evaluation Guidelines The OU Faculty Handbook (OU, 2011) states “Among the various mechanisms for ensuring faculty accountability, the most important include annual evaluations for possible salary increases, annual progress towards tenure letters for tenure-track faculty on the Norman Campus, post-tenure reviews for tenured faculty on the Norman Campus and such periodic evaluations as those for advancement in rank.” It further states the need for every faculty member to be evaluated annually by Committee A in the appropriate academic unit or department according to the criteria and procedures approved by that unit. Over the last two years the annual faculty evaluation process adopted in 2008 has been expanded and detailed to include all aspects of the procedure. Input from faculty and Directors has been included to improve and make the requirements and timeline more concise and understandable by faculty and administration. The full text of the CoA Annual Faculty Evaluation Guidelines (CoA, 2011) can be found at http://arch.ou.edu/docs/docs/Faculty_Evaluation_Process_Document_2011.pdf. Positive Mentoring Mechanisms Included in the Evaluation Process When the revision effort began a primary objective was to develop a positive process focusing on improvement, not lack of performance. It was felt that using a three person evaluation committee would provide a more conducive discussion platform and better address concerns about evaluation fairness and equity for comparison within the Division and the College. This approach also more closely conformed to the traditional OU model of two elected faculty members and the chair/director composing the evaluation committee for the academic unit. The elaborated guide incorporated many suggested practices for conducting evaluations and helping faculty increase performance. The word ‘positive’ was openly used by Committee members and discussions were held promoting a mentoring approach, especially for tenure track faculty. It was further hoped to place more of the burden for success and accountability on the faculty member by providing better communication, process documentation and focus on what Director, 384
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Division and College support is available to improve performance. The following three mechanisms were included and elaborated in the process to facilitate a positive mentoring based approach. Use of the Evaluation Committee The faculty approved process in the CoA prior to 2008 was that the academic director evaluated each faculty member. A faculty committee provided oversight only to identify possible bias or otherwise unfair evaluations. In small academic units the director often chose to avoid alienating faculty by awarding unrealistically high ratings. While some directors gave more realistic evaluations, there was little or no discussion of plans to improve performance. The standard on campus was for the annual evaluation to be conducted by a team composed of the academic chair and two elected faculty members, a team that the university calls “Committee A”. The 2010 CoA Annual Faculty Evaluation Guidelines state that the Committee A Chair assigns two members to work with the Director of each Division. One member is to be the Division Committee A representative and the other is to be a Committee A member from another CoA Division. These two members, along with the Director, form the (evaluation year) (Division) Faculty Evaluation Committee. This was the basis for the evaluation committee composition. It was hoped that the evaluation committee composition would naturally achieve several objectives. Collectively the evaluation perspective would be broadened and the opportunity for more and better ideas regarding support increased. The member from the same academic unit would bring balanced content expertise complementing the Director’s and the out of division member would provide assessment objectivity and process equity. Very importantly the accountability for the evaluation would be spread to the Committee from just the Director, leading to more realistic and consistent faculty evaluations. The required face to face meetings between the Evaluation Committee and faculty member would offer greater opportunity to discuss the faculty’s performance in a setting focused on a positive mentoring attitude. This type of meeting would heighten accountability for participation and attention to the process by all parties. Discussion would focus on improvement, including documenting specific support and mentoring needed and desired by the faculty. Goals would be defined and documented. Distribution of effort for the next year would be discussed, balanced appropriately and documented based on the faculty member’s duties. Specific attention would be paid to tenure track faculty needing the most guidance and mentoring. Annual Acceptance of Evaluation Criteria Prior to 2008 the College had only one annual evaluation criteria that applied to all five academic disciplines. In 2008 the faculty from each academic unit developed unit specific annual evaluation criteria. Thus, faculty members were given the opportunity to define the specific criteria that would be applied to their individual evaluations. The criteria focused on establishing a “meets expectations” standard for each academic unit. This is an important threshold in that CoA faculty members are not typically tenured for just “meeting expectations”. An important part of the ongoing process is that the annual evaluation criteria are now modified and/or re-ratified on an annual basis prior to the beginning of each year’s evaluation cycle. The 2010 CoA Annual Faculty Evaluation Guidelines state that during week four or five of the Fall semester each College of Architecture (CoA) Division will meet as a whole to review and amend or re-adopt, based on previous year considerations, the division’s Annual Evaluation document. Reuse of the existing version, without changes, or revision to existing performance criteria must be adopted by consensus vote of faculty attending the meeting. The new evaluation committee used these unit specific criteria to evaluate each faculty member’s performance on a standardized scale. Evaluations were discussed in a face to face meeting between the evaluation committee and the faculty member. While the performance scores were discussed, the focus of these meetings was on how the team could help the faculty member improve performance and on developing a plan of action to achieve positive change.
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It was hoped that the process of annual acceptance of faculty evaluation criteria would naturally achieve several objectives. It would primarily establish a consistent and replicable process requiring directors and faculty to annually review their division performance criteria and the CoA faculty evaluation process. The process may be accepted as is, amended or changed based on the previous year’s experiences or faculty desires. This places responsibility on faculty to help develop and refine evaluation criteria, not only promoting self-evaluation, but self-governance as well. The review helps clarify division annual evaluation criteria, including performance expectations, process steps, deadlines and responsibilities and the CoA process. Encouraged faculty involvement in this part of the process makes it difficult to hide behind the excuse of not understanding the evaluation requirements and process. Faculty developed evaluation criteria are a primary quality control assessment tool available to an academic unit. This annual review of the evaluation criteria offers the division director and faculty the opportunity to work collectively as a unit to determine policy. The collective effort creates an opportunity to explore academic unit objectives and required duties and responsibilities related to faculty member strengths, weaknesses, investment of time and interests. The review also offers the opportunity for senior faculty to identify specific junior faculty that need or desire more mentoring. Focus on a Strategy for Improvement The 2010 CoA Annual Faculty Evaluation Guidelines state that each year tenure-track and tenured faculty member prepares the following material and submits it to their Director. • A one-page mini-vita articulating accomplishments for the last calendar year; • A brief narrative listing objectives for the next year; • A narrative describing how objectives from the previous year were met; • A narrative self-assessing Teaching, Research/Creative and Service performance for the previous year; • Copies of supporting materials such as course syllabi, course notebooks, course handouts, acceptance letters, papers, reviews of publications, contracts signed, awards received or other related items as required by and in the requested format described in the division performance evaluation criteria. For most faculty members the development of this documentation helps clarify what has been accomplished for the year. In addition, the self-assessment starts the faculty thinking about past performance and how they might improve. The evaluation committee then utilizes this material to focus on a strategy for improvement, including mentoring the faculty. The approach promotes more positive participant attitudes hopefully resulting in more constructive dialog and solutions. So, the focus is not only on identifying what the faculty can do to improve, but on what the Director, Division and College can do to help. This makes a positive statement to the faculty and presents a realistic “we are in this together” approach. The focus on improvement and required supporting documentation results in better understanding of distribution of effort and realistic alignment of this effort with achieving goals and objectives. It offers the opportunity to make sure that tenure track faculty understand performance expectations for tenure/promotion and that related documentation is adequate and correct. The intellectual exercise of realistically identifying perceived strengths and weaknesses, combined with developing an improvement strategy for the next year and assessing how the previous year’s goals and objectives were accomplished, is a vital part of designing an achievable strategy. Observations The process has been used for two annual evaluations resulting in a noticeable change in the culture of evaluations and mentoring for the CoA. The positive team approach of “how can we help” has allowed true mentoring to occur and assures the faculty that all are working together for improvement. Until 2008 the same evaluation criteria, which had been in-place for many years, was used for all faculty in the
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college. The evaluation was primarily the responsibility of one person and the focus was on past performance. The new process annually involves faculty in developing the criteria and thus establishing a higher level of knowledge of the expected standards, while creating buy-in to the criteria and process. Faculty members have the opportunity to determine what meets expectations and what exceeds expectations. In addition, the evaluation is now conducted by a team which has reduced the confrontational nature of the process. Perhaps most importantly, the focus of the process has changed from one that was retrospective in nature to one that looks to the future and tries to initiate positive change to benefit not only the individual, but the team. Faculty more openly plan how to better respond to documented expectations. This has resulted in an increased dialog about performance and the evaluation process, which has in turn minimized confusion and heightened the awareness of all parties involved in the process. The composition of the evaluation committee, specifically inclusion of an outside of the division member, has improved the perception of process equity. The one-on-one meetings between the faculty member and the evaluation committee have helped to communicate sometimes negative perceptions about past performance and sometimes rigid expectations for future improvements. The discussions of how the faculty, the director and the academic unit can work together to achieve improvements, along with defining and documenting measurable performance goals provides a strategy that can be used as the basis for performance measure and discussion. Evaluated faculty and evaluating Directors have been openly appreciative of the improvements and the shared burden for the review. There is a noticed shift to more realistic performance appraisal as most faculty members’ ratings are lower and more focus is placed on ways to correct or minimize identified deficiencies. This type of mentoring, in direct response to a problem, has been both productive and well received. In one instance an evaluated faculty who received a negative review left the face to face meeting thanking the committee and shaking their hands thankful for the help in establishing a plan for improvement. This approach has begun to transform negative perceptions that many CoA faculty and Directors have had in the past. After the second year of use, faculty, Committee A and Directors are demonstrating better understanding and acceptance of the process. Adoption has not been without challenges, but new faculty members are openly appreciative for better defined evaluation criteria and the better defined tenure path. Directors appreciate the evaluation committee participation and accountability for the evaluation, especially for evaluating senior faculty. Directors are assuming more accountability for documenting annual evaluations, while better utilizing the process as part of quality control for their Divisions. As an extension of this transformation there is a new process for the outgoing chair of Committee A to mentor the incoming chair to promote continuation of the positive process approach and attitude. Due to the heightened focus on the faculty evaluation process related faculty processes such as progress toward tenure, promotion and tenure, post tenure review, promotion, and CoA awards have all started to see related changes in very positive ways. The consistent approach and process should result in a more realistic measure of CoA faculty individual and collective performance, providing a much better basis for quality assessment and improvement. It is hoped that a consistent identifiable bar for performance will be set so true differentiators stand out by listed accomplishments, not by subjective assessment. The authors recognize that emphasis and committee approaches will vary with different faculty filling the roles of the evaluation committees. Future optimization will require consistent effort and focus. None of these changes by themselves represent new thought or a process that has not been previously tried. For the CoA the transformational change has been the combination of faculty involvement, team evaluation and mentoring that has been well received and perceived as successful. References College of Architecture. 2011. CoA Annual Faculty Evaluation Guidelines. [WWW]. http://arch.ou.edu/docs/docs/Faculty_Evaluations_Process_Document_2011.pdf University of Oklahoma. 2011. OU Faculty Handbook. [WWW]. http://www.ou.edu/provost/ouncfhb.pdf
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Bruno, D., McManus, S. & Verhasselt, A. University of Wisconsin The Effects of Mentoring Relationships on the Explanatory Style and Depressive Features of Children and their Parent: An Exploratory Study ABSTRACT Explanatory style and depressive symptoms are the two primary measures that concern the reformulated theory of learned helplessness (more recently called learned optimism). This study assesses how formal mentoring relationships influence youth on the variables of optimistic-pessimistic explanatory style and depressive features when compared to wait list group. The second purpose of this study explores the interactional component of family systems theory, which postulates that elements within a system do influence other parts of the system. Specifically, how mentored youth may influence their family on the variables of explanatory style and depressive features. In this study the family members assessed were the child and parent. A pre-experimental posttest-only design with nonequivalent groups was used; a sampling frame from two agency rosters were used via systematic sampling; participants included both genders; persons from Black, Latino, and Native American minority groups were part of the study (youth n = 32, ages 8-16 yrs; parent n = 24). Data analyses found no significant difference between the mentored and wait list groups; however, a non-significant family pattern of higher levels of depression in parents of the mentored youth corresponded to lower levels of optimism in the mentored youth was found, congruent to learned helplessness theory and evidence of family interactional component of systems theory.
Formal mentoring programs, generally described as one adult volunteering to mentor one youth under the guidance of a non-profit community agency, began in the United States during the early twentieth century. Today, this type of one-on-one adult to young person mentoring relationship has existed for close to 100 years, however, academic research on youth mentoring is relatively new, and, the amount of research concerning the adult mentoring of youth is relatively sparse, with only a handful of these early studies being published in academic journals prior to the 1990s (Baker & Maguire, 2005; Rhodes, 2002). Thus, in the past twenty-years there has been an increase in academic research on formal mentoring relationships that have been published in journals and textbooks. These recent studies tend to have greater specificity in their approach to understanding mentoring relationships, and are beginning to move beyond the general question of whether mentoring works to such questions such as: How does mentoring work? Under what conditions does mentoring work? And, what are some realistic outcomes for mentored youth? (Nakkula & Harris, 2005). This increase in academic research in the mentoring of youth within the last two decades has brought about greater clarity concerning the benefits and risks involved in mentoring relationships. With regard to the benefits of dyadic adult-to-youth mentoring, several studies have found evidence of positive youth outcomes in areas such as: academic achievement, pro-social behavior, self-concept, and interpersonal relationships (Davidson, Redner, Blakely, Mitchell, & Esmhoff, 1987; DuBois & Karcher, 2005; Grossman & Tierney 1998 ; LoSciuto, Rajala, Townsend, & Taylor, 1996). Further, Rhodes (2002) in her extensive research on mentoring found evidence that mentoring experiences for 12 months or longer in agencies that used certain best practice conditions (discussed later in this section), improved aspects of the mentored youths’ social-emotional development, cognitive development, and, youth-parent interaction when compared to a waiting-list control. In addition, Grossman & Rhodes (2002) found evidence that mentoring relationships lasting 12 months or longer produced positive results for mentored youth in the areas of academics, psychosocial attributes, and behavioral outcomes. Although the latter research provides evidence of positive social-emotional growth in mentored youth, it is important to understand that mentoring relationships, like all human relationships, entail some risks (i.e., misunderstandings, perceive and actual interpersonal rejection), and therefore, also have the potential for contributing to distress in the mentored youth. For example, Grossman & Rhodes (2002) found that youth involved in mentoring relationships that terminated prior to a one year duration had less 388
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beneficial outcomes to the young person. In addition, they found that youth who were terminated within the first three months of the mentoring relationship actually reported a decrease in self-worth and decrease in perceived scholastic competence. Dubois, Holloway, Cooper, and Valentine (2002, p. 157) in a meta-analytic review on youth mentoring studies from 1970 through 1998 found only a small positive effect size for the mentored youth when compared to the waiting-list comparison group. However, Dubois et al. (2002) also found that the effect size increased in studies that involved agency programs that made use of the following recommended practices: 1) an agency mentor screening and supervision; 2) ongoing mentor training by agency personnel; 3) a priori expectation for frequency of contact between adult mentor and youth; 4) parental support and involvement; and, 5) overall agency case management monitoring. Thus, this metaanalytic study found that agencies that provided the latter stated high quality attention to the mentor and mentored youth relationship (also called best-practice conditions) did yield greater outcome benefits for youth. One area of increasing interest in mentoring research concerns the interpersonal interaction variable with the family of the mentored youth (Keller, 2005) . DuBois, Neville, Parra & Pugh-Lilly (2002) found evidence that mentoring relationships can influence the mentored youth and the youth’s family. In addition, DuBois, et al. (2002) provides evidence that mentoring can facilitate gains in the relationships mentored youth have with parents, peers, and other adults such as teachers (Tierney, Grossman, & Resch, 1995) and, that these improvements can benefit the emotional health of the mentored youth (Rhodes & Dubois, 2006). Hence, these positive findings from mentoring research provide evidence for how the mentoring relationship may influence mentored youth as well as the youth’s family members. Further, these latter studies support the idea of the system’s theory construct of an interactional component in mentoring relationship, which the present study sheds light on. The present study adds to the increasing knowledge-base of mentoring in two ways. First, this study explores youth cognition and depressive symptoms via the assessment instruments of explanatory style and depressive features, which are the two variables that make up reformulated theory of learned helplessness (Abramson, Seligman, and Teasdale, 1978; Peterson and Park, 2007) --also called, more recently, learned optimism (Seligman, 1990; Seligman, Reivich, Jaycox & Gillham, 1995). The reformulated theory of learned helplessness has a long empirical research tradition in its correlation with the variable of depression dating back to the 1970s with its strong link to the theory of learned helplessness (Peterson & Bossio, 1991; Peterson & Park, 2007; Seligman, 1975; Seligman, et al., 1995). The reformulated theory of learned helplessness postulates that individuals with relative high levels of pessimism are more prone to depression and persons that score higher in optimism tend to have lower rates of depression. In general, there is extensive research evidence from various studies with children and with adults that supports the latter postulate of reformulated helplessness theory (Nolen-Hoeksema, Girgus, & Seligman, 1986; 1992; Peterson & Bossio, 1991; Peterson, Maier, & Seligman, 1993; Peterson & Park, 2007; Peterson & Seligman, 1984; Seligman, 1990; Seligman, et al., 1995). With regard to this literature review, application of the reformulated theory of learned helplessness, using explanatory style and depressive features as outcomes measures for mentoring relationships, has been used sparsely in previous mentorship research. More specifically, a comprehensive search on the three important variables in this study: explanatory style, depressive symptoms and mentoring---conducted by the first author of this study, using PSYCInfo subject and two other social sciences data bases, produced no citations. Thus, this research project adds to the mentoring knowledge-base by evaluating how mentoring influences theoretical aspects of the reformulated theory of learned helplessness---explanatory style and depressive features. The second reason this study adds to the knowledge-base of mentoring research is due to the novelty of attempting to assess the family systems theory interaction component, which postulates that one element or person within a system can produce change by influencing other persons within the family system—on the outcome variables of explanatory style and depressive features, which has not been done
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in previous mentoring research (Dale, Smith, Norlin & Chess, 2006; Keller, 2005; McGoldrick, Gerson, and Shellenberger, 1999). What is Youth Mentoring? The term mentor dates back to the ancient Greece times. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, the character named Mentor served as friend and council to King Odysseus’s son while the King was away at war (Baker & Maguire, 2005; DuBois & Karcher, 2005; Freedman, 1993). Mentor was a wise and trusted friend to the King’s son during a time when the King’s family and his son were in a vulnerable state, with the King away at war. Recent academic literature on youth mentoring generally agree on the following three aspects in defining the mentoring of youth: 1) the mentor is a person with greater experience or wisdom than the mentored youth; 2) the mentor offers guidance that is intended to promote psychosocial growth and development of the mentored youth; and, 3) there is a sense of trust and an emotional bond between the mentor and the mentored youth (DuBois & Karcher, 2005). In addition, when defining the traditional one-on-one dyadic mentoring, the type of mentoring assessed in this study, the mentor is a nonparent adult of the youth (Rhodes, Bogat, Roffman, Edelman, & Galasso, 2002). With regard to one-on-one dyadic mentoring relationships, there are two basic types: natural mentoring and formal mentoring. Natural mentoring relationships have probably occurred since the beginning of time as part of human social behavior. Natural youth mentoring is an interpersonal, supportive relationship between a non-parental adult and a young person that happens without any formal assignment, in which the mentor serves to provide guidance, encouragement, and emotional support to the mentored youth (Rhodes, et al., 2002; Zimmerman, Bingenheimer, & Notaro, 2002). The second type of youth mentoring relationship is called formal youth mentoring. Formal youth mentoring occurs when caring adults volunteer to become mentors, as assigned to a youth in a systematic but sensitive manner by non-profit social agencies that specialize in matching mentors with at-risk youth. Formal mentoring is the primary intervention variable in this study. Formal youth mentoring began primarily during the Progressive Era of the early 20th century in the United States. As part of this historic time period, social reformers began to notice that some environmental risk factors, such as the high number of immigrant urban poor with little or no social safety-net, were negatively affecting youth. These early reformers also assessed that a variety of environmental stressors made it difficult for impoverished parents and natural mentors in the community to make themselves available to young people. Hence, these social reformers encouraged adults, with the available time and resources, to volunteer as a mentor to a child in-need. As time went by, the adult mentoring of youth became more popular, which led to the development of non-profit organizations that specialized in the matching of adult volunteers to serve as a formal mentor to a young person. By 1917 there were 98 cities in the U.S. with formal mentoring programs, such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters (Beiswinger, 1985). During most of the 20th Century in the U.S., mentoring programs grew at a steady rate, with a phenomenal increase during the 1990s. Today, there are more than 4,500 agencies in the U.S., with an estimated five million American youth currently involved in school- and community-based volunteer mentoring programs (McLearn, Colasanto, & Schoen, 1998). This recent increase says a great deal about the faith our society places in mentoring relationships (Rhodes, 2002). Public opinion of youth mentoring programs has generally been quite favorable in the North America. Popular public perception usually invokes an image of an older, wiser adult providing guidance to a young person with an assumed resultant positive effect for the young mentored person such as: reducing risk for youth delinquency and substance use; improving youth self-esteem; or, increasing academic achievement (Baker & Maguire, 2005; Freedman, 1993; Grossman & Tierney, 1998). Often, television media also tend to influence the public by generating mentoring stories that display a “good-news-only” mentality, typically making unsubstantiated claims about mentoring effectiveness (Rhodes, 2002).
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Youth Depression and Depressive Symptoms Although formal mentoring programs were only meant to provide a supportive friendship to a youth in-need and not designed to target youth behavioral or emotional difficulties, the consequences of supportive friendships have only begun to attract the attention of social science researchers within the last twenty years (Grossman & Tierney, 1998). For example, resiliency theorists have found some evidence that persons found high in resiliency have indicated that at some point during their life, they recalled having—at least—one important meaningful relationship—which somehow helped the resilient person to effectively cope during a highly stressful life event (Wolin & Wolin, 1993). Further, the strengths model states as one of its nine key propositions “People who are successful in living have a meaningful relationship with at least one other person” (Rapp & Goscha, 2006). Hence, this study explores how mentoring relationships influence youth in the area of depressive features. In this section, research in youth depression is discussed. Depression is the most prevalent and pervasive form of psychopathology in children and adolescents (Elliott & Smiga, 2003; Reynolds, 1992). Although psychological researchers have not all agreed on the exact percentage of depressed youth, most of the current evidence has pointed to a high prevalence of depression in prepubertal children and adolescents (Hammen & Rudolph, 1996). Reynolds (1992) estimated the range from roughly 4% to 12% in teenagers while the occurrence of depression is slightly lower in children. Elliott & Smiga (2003) in their discussion on major depression in the United States mentioned a 2% rate for school-age children and 5% rate for adolescents. Costello, Erkanli & Angold (2006) describe the rate of depressive disorders at 2.8% in children and 5.7% in adolescents. Lewinsohn, Hops, Roberts, Seeley & Andrews (1993) have pointed out that as many as 20% of children will experience an episode of major depression by the time they complete high school. Nolen-Hoeksema, Girgus, & Seligman (1992) indicated that at any given time, approximately 10% to 15% of children in the general population will report moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Roberts, Andrews, Lewinsohn, & Hops (1990) presented data that between 12%, and 31% of the general adolescent population could be considered to have elevated depressive symptomatology. Of further concern to the high prevalence of depressive features in youth, there is also research evidence indicating that young people with high levels of depressive symptoms are also at-risk for future episodes of depression (Beach, 2001, p. 79; Mufson, Pollack-Dorta, Moreau, & Weissman, 2004). For example, Gotlib, Lewinsohn, and Seeley (1995) suggested that adolescents with elevated depressive symptomatology also have an increased chance for developing a clinical affective disorder in the future. Lewinsohn et al. (1993) found in their research with depressed youth, a relapse rate of 18.42% for teenagers previously diagnosed with unipolar depression. Further, Poznanski and Mokros (1994) reviewed two different longitudinal studies of prepubertal children with depressive features, and found that once the initial episode of depression was experienced, this greatly increased the risk for new episodes of depressive symptoms to occur in the future. Hence, there is evidence that high levels of depressive features in young people place youth at-risk for future depressive episodes. Youth Explanatory Style and Depressive Features This section reviews research in explanatory style and its clinical correlate---depressive features, which are the basic measures related to the reformulated theory of learned helplessness (Peterson & Park, 2007). Explanatory style is essentially a cognitive measure that refers to how an individual habitually explains the causes of events (Peterson & Seligman, 1984). The original research in this area took place primarily in the late 1960s to mid-1970s and it was called learned helplessness theory. Essentially, this theory postulates that learned helplessness is caused by a person learning that their responses are independent of reinforcement; the person develops the belief that their actions are futile. Eventually, if the person’s maintains this type of pessimistic explanatory style, then they are more proned to develop depressive symptoms and even depression (Seligman, 1975). By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the explanatory-style instrument was developed to measure the level of optimism and pessimism in children
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and adults; pessimistic explanatory style was found to correlate with measures of depressive symptoms— providing evidence for the reformulated learned helplessness theory (Abramson, Seligman, and Teasdale, 1978; Peterson & Park, 2007). Research in youth explanatory style has found fairly consistent evidence that prepubertal children, and adolescents, who display depressogenic attribution (also called pessimistic explanatory style) are more vulnerable to depressive features. For example, Seligman, Peterson, Kaslow, Tanenbaum, Alloy, and Abramson (1984) examined whether depressive symptoms in youth were associated with a depressogenic explanatory style. Results indicated that youth explanatory style, as measured by the CASQ, significantly correlated with depressive symptoms: explanatory style-composite measure for bad events (CN) covaried with CDI scores (composite rs = 0.51, 0.40, ps < .001); a significant correlation with explanatory style-composite measure for good events (CP) covaried with CDI scores was found, but in the expected, reversed direction (composite rs = -0.53, -0.54, ps < .001). In another study that compared type of explanatory style and depressive features, Quiggle, Garber, Panek and Dodge (1992) investigated cognitive patterns in depressed and aggressive youngsters (N =220). Results from MANOVA found depressed children were significantly more likely than nondepressed children to attribute negative events to the combination of internal, stable, and global causes (composite negative score on CASQ), F (1, 216) = 13.03, p < .001. Nolen-Hoeksema, Girgus and Seligman (1986) in a 12-month longitudinal study examined the relationship between depressogenic explanatory style, and depressive features. The sample consisted of 168 school-children, ages 9- to 11-years old. The CASQ and CDI measures were taken at pretest, 3 months, 6 months, 10 months, and, 12 months. Results found that youth with an initial depressogenic explanatory style early in the study had higher levels of depressive features at the end of the study than did children with a more optimistic explanatory style. In a subsequent study with youth, Nolen-Hoeksema, Girgus and Seligman (1992) conducted a five-year longitudinal study investigated the relationship between explanatory style, negative life events, and depressive features. Measurements were taken every six months for a five-year duration. Results showed a significant correlation between depressogenic explanatory style and depressive features. In a review by Joiner and Wagner (1995) of 27 studies with prepubertal children, and adolescents concerning the reformulated learned helplessness model of depression: thirteen studies found a significant relationship between depressogenic explanatory style (CPCN) and self-report depression/clinical depression; the remaining studies indicated strong (although nonsignificant) relationships between depressogenic explanatory style and self-reported depression/clinical depression. In summation, over the past thirty years, there has been relatively consistent research evidence supporting Seligman’s reformulated learned helplessness theory (Peterson & Park, 2007), which postulates a strong relation between the variables of cognitive explanatory style and youth depression. Hence, this theory provides fairly stable research evidence indicating that young people exhibiting a more pessimistic or depressogenic explanatory style would be prone to higher levels of depressive features when compared to youth displaying a more optimistic explanatory style. Family System’s Theory an as Interactional Component Family systems theory was derived historically from general systems theory. During the 1930s, general systems theory began in the discipline of mathematics, in which mathematicians proposed the idea that a system is any organization of interacting elements having a purposeful outcome. Also, during this latter time-frame, biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy found that systems theory more accurately described his work with living biological organisms due to its explanation of how living biological organisms interact with other systems, in which biological change and growth was explained to also occur in non-linear, reciprocal ways (Dale, et al., , 2006). Thus, systems theory in biology helped researchers understand and explain change via the interactions between organisms and the environment as a functional interdependent relationship among a living ecosystem (Bitter, 2009; Griffin, 1993; Nichols, 2010). 392
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By the 1950s, social and communication theorists began to apply systems theory to family social behavior—understanding the family as system that is influenced by subsystems within the family dynamics as well as the family being affected by larger systems outside of it. Gradually, social theorist began to postulate a variety of concepts or variables that make up every family social system. The following are three examples: a) family structure- which is defined as the relatively enduring communication and behavior patterns that occur within the family; b) family feedback- which is a process of enabling family members to assess whether they are on-task or off-task with regard to a previously understood family expectation or a goal. And, with regard to the second purpose in this study—c) the system’s theory characteristic of interaction- which postulates that all elements within a system interacts in an ongoing, constant and reciprocal manner both within and outside of the family (Dale, et al., 2006; Griffin, 1993; McGoldrick, et al., 1999; Nichols, 2010; Winek, 2010). This research study is interested in the assessment of the family interactional component, in order to explore how formal mentoring relationships influence the mentored youth and the youth’s family, most specifically—the youth and the youth’s parent. Explanatory Style and the Interactional Component of Family Systems Theory Although learned helplessness explanatory style theorists assume that the explanatory style of children can be influenced by their parents through simple modeling (Peterson and Park, 2007), studies in the area of parents influencing the explanatory style of their children are relatively sparse—with inconclusive results. A few studies do indicate some convergence between causal attributions of mothers and their children; other research projects of an equal proportion reporting no association (Peterson & Park, 2007; Seligman, Peterson, Kaslow, Tanenbaum, Alloy, and, Abramson, 1984). However, Vanden Belt and Peterson (1991) did find in their research that children whose parents had a pessimistic explanatory style for bad events were found to be working below their potential in classroom situations. In the present study, the researchers are addressing the more novel issue based on the theoretical component of family interaction—the assessment of whether a mentored youth could influence their primary parent on explanatory style. For example, in this exploratory study, a statistically significant explanatory style similarity between the mentored child and the parent of the mentored child would provide evidence for a possible family characteristic of interpersonal interaction. Of course, due to research design of this exploratory study, this similar pattern of explanatory style within the family would not show causality. With regard to the related topic of genetics and explanatory style, there is presently no direct evidence for an optimism gene. However, Schulman, Keith, and Seligman (1993) did find that the explanatory styles of monozygotic twins were more highly correlated than that of dizygotic twins (r = .48 versus r = .00) . Of course, the present study is not measuring explanatory style of sibship relationships. Purpose The history of nonprofit agencies that created the opportunity for caring adult volunteers to be formally matched with young people at-risk began almost a century ago in the United States. This one-onone mentorship of a youth with a caring volunteer adult was never meant to ameliorate specific youth problems, such as depression, rather these mentorship programs were designed only to provide a friendship between a caring adult and a young person (Grossman & Tierney, 1998). The present study aims to shed new light on the benefits and risks of mentoring. The first purpose of the present study evaluates how the reformulated learned helplessness theoretical correlates of explanatory style and depressive features are impacted by mentoring. Thus, children matched with a mentor (for at least 12-months) were assessed on the variables optimism-pessimism explanatory style (CASQ) and depressive feature (CDI) while compared to a wait-list group. As indicated earlier in this report, although explanatory style measure and its theoretical association with depressive features have a long history of empirical correlations (Peterson & Park, 2007; Seligman, 1990), a 393
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comprehensive search conducted by the lead researcher of this study, which combined the three variables-explanatory style, depression, and mentoring, using several social science data bases, found no citations. Hence, this research sparseness adds to the exploratory nature of this study. The second purpose of this study assesses the interactional family systems theory construct when applied to the young person and their parent, in order to better understand how the mentored child influences her or his family on the variables of explanatory style and depressive features— (Dale, et al., 2006; Dattilo, 2010; Seligman, 1990; Seligman, et al., 1995). Due to the uniqueness of attempting to assess the family systems theory interactional component using the latter two outcome measures related to the reformulated theory of learned helplessness, this second aspect of the study is also considered exploratory. Research Hypotheses Hypotheses 1 and 2: The explanatory style and the level of depressive features of the mentored youth group will display a significant difference when compared to the explanatory style and the level of depressive features of the wait list youth group. Hypotheses 3 and 4: The explanatory style and the level of depressive features of the parents of the mentored youth will display a significant difference when compared to the explanatory style and the level of depressive features of the parents of the wait list youth group. Methodology Research Design A pre-experimental posttest-only design with nonequivalent groups was used in this study (Campbell & Stanley, 1963; Rubin & Babbie, 2005). Participants had already met agency criteria acceptable for involvement in the agency formal mentoring program. Participants were then selected from the agency roster via a systematic sampling procedure—(i.e., every seventh person) with a random start in order to reduce bias in recruiting participants (Rubin & Babbie, 2005). Variables Hypotheses 1and 2: The independent variable for hypotheses one and two is group membership. Youth participants were grouped into the mentored category or the wait-list category. The two dependent variables were explanatory style and depressive feature of the youth. Hypotheses 3 and 4: The independent variable for hypotheses three and four is group membership. Parent participants were grouped into the mentored category or the wait-list category, based on their child’s status. The two dependent variables were explanatory style and depressive features of the parents (Abu-Bader, 2011; Kerlinger, 1992). This research project made use of the following three severity levels for depressive features in youth on the CDI: a) severe-CDI score equal to or greater than 20; b) moderate-CDI score from 12 to 19; and, c) normal-CDI score equal to or less than 11 (Kovacs, 1992). Severity levels for depressive features for adults on the BDI are as follows: a) severe-BDI score (29-63); b) moderate-BDI score from 20 to 28; c) mild-BDI score (14-19); and, d) minimal-BDI score (0-13); (Beck, Steer, and Brown, 1996). Key for explanatory style measures (CASQ and ASQ) are generally as follows: higher positive scores (e.g., 8 to 18) indicate optimism while high negative scores (e.g., -5 to -18) show pessimism (Kaslow, Tanenbaum, Seligman, Abramson, & Alloy, 1995; Seligman, et al., 1995). In this study, the term family was defined as follows: a family is a grouping that consists of two or more individuals who define themselves as a family and who over time assume those obligations to one another that are generally considered as essential component of family systems (NASW, 1982).
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Instrumentation Children's Attribution Style Questionnaire (CASQ): The CASQ (Kaslow et al.,1995; Seligman et al., 1984) assesses the explanatory style of children along three bipolar dimensions of causality: internalexternal; 2) stable-unstable; and, 3) global-specific (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978). Seligman et al. (1984) found an internal consistency reliability Cronbach alpha was fairly consistent: CP of 0.71 (p< 0.001); CN of 0.66 (p < 0.001); and, CPCN of 0.73 (p < 0.01) (Seligman & Peterson, 1986; Seligman et al., 1984). Nolen-Hoeksema et al. (1986) found test-retest correlations for the explanatory style (CPCN) that were consistent and statistically significant across the five testing periods (all ps < 0.001). Two studies provide evidence of concurrent and predictive validity for a depressogenic explanatory style on the CASQ to be associated with depressive features on the CDI (Nolen-Hoeksema et al., 1986; NolenHoeksema, et al., 1992). Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) assesses explanatory style, which examines the level of optimism and pessimism explanatory style an adult makes along three bipolar dimensions of causality: internal-external; 2) stable-unstable; and, 3) global-specific. Explanatory style theory postulates that a depressogenic explanatory style occurs when the test-taker scores provide internal, stable, and global attributions for bad events while external, unstable and specific attributions for good events (Peterson & Park, 2007). Depressogenic explanatory style as measured on the ASQ has been found to have an empirical association to adults with depressive symptoms (Peterson, Semmel, von Baeyer, Abramson, Metalsky, & Seligman, 1982; Peterson & Seligman, 1984; Seligman, 1990). ASQ reliability found internal consistency reliability for global, stability, internal attributions-moderate to high; test-retest reliability was significant over several weeks; ASQ validity found significant results for concurrent and predictive validity for depressogenic style to be associated with depressive features (Tennen & Herzberger, 1996). Children's Depression Inventory (CDI): The Children's Depression Inventory (Kovac, 1992) is one of the most widely used assessment instruments of depression for children and adolescents (Carey, Faulstich, Gresham, Ruggiero & Enyart, 1987; Reynolds, 1994). Kovacs (1985) found an internal consistency reliability-Cronbach alpha of 0.87. Saylor, Finch, Spirito, & Bennet (1984) indicate resultant split-half reliability (K-R test) alpha coefficients of 0.94 for the latter normal subjects and 0.80 for the emotionally disturbed subjects. Saylor, et al. (1984) found a test-retest reliability correlation for a oneweek interval to be r = 0.87, p < 0.001 and for a 6-week interval to be r = 0.59, p < 0.006. Content validity for the CDI was assessed as having strong congruence with DSM-III (Lobovits & Handal, 1985) and DSM-III-R (Ponterotto, Pace, & Kavan, 1989) items for symptoms of depression. The Beck Depression Inventory II (Beck, Steer, Brown, 1996) is a self-report questionnaire for adults that measures depressive severity. It is one of the most widely accepted instruments for assessing depression severity for detecting possible depression in normal population and for severity of depression in diagnosed patients (Piotrowski & Keller, 1992). The BDI-II has a 35 year history of clinical use, and a corresponding accumulation of sound psychometric data with the BDI (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock, & Erbaugh, 1961) and its revision in the late 1970s (BDI-IA; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979). Coefficient alpha reliability for outpatients adults (N = 500) was .92 and for college student (N = 120) it was .93; there coefficient alphas are higher than for the BDI-IA. Test-retest reliability was based on a subsample of 26 Philadelphia outpatients tested approximately one week apart; test = retest correlation of .93 was significant (p < .001). Content validity is congruent with DSM-IV criteria for depression; convergent validity (N = 87) of the BDI-II indicated a positive correlation (r = .71) with the Hamilton Psychiatric Rating Scale for DepressionRevised. Further, BDI-II was found to have a robust discriminant validity (N = 87) between depression and anxiety (r = .47) on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety-Revised (Beck, Steer, and Brown, 1996).
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Setting & Participants Data collection occurred at two different non-profit community agencies in northeastern Wisconsin; each agency specialized in the matching and monitoring of adult volunteer mentors with youth. One agency site was in a metropolitan area with a population of over 300,000; the second site was a more rural town with a population of about 24,000. Both agencies have a history of good community presence as well as the utilization of best practiced measures for mentoring. Youth participants had met criteria acceptable for involvement in the agency’s formal mentoring program. Participants were children ages 8 to 13 years of age, as well as, their primary parent. Participants included both genders as well as inclusion of persons of Black and Latino ethnicity. Participants consisted of two overall categories—mentored and the unmentored (or wait list). The mentored youth were involved in a relationship with their mentor for a minimum of 12 months while the unmentored youth were on a wait list. The mentored group was arranged into two subgroups: a subgroup of mentored children; and, a subgroup which consisted of the mentored youth parents (only one parent per child). The unmentored group was similarly divided: a subgroup of unmentored (or wait list) children; and, a subgroup of the unmentored youth parents (only one parent per child). Procedures Following Institutional Review Board approval of the research project and agency sites, participants were selected from agency rosters via a systematic sampling procedure—(i.e., every seventh person) with a random start in order to reduce bias in recruiting participants (Rubin & Babbie, 2005). The initial phone contact for recruiting participant volunteers were made by agency staff personnel to the parent of the child (a policy for both agencies). The designated agency staff read from a brief script, written by the lead researcher, in order to ensure that potential participants received a clear, consistent request in asking a parent and their child to volunteer for this research project. All groups that participation in this study were informed that their involvement would not influence their status at the agency; informed consent forms were signed by parents and assent forms were signed by youth prior to testing. Participant youth and their parent met as a group only one time at their respective agency with the researchers to undergo testing. During this one meeting: after an initial discussion by the researchers with the children and their parent (which included some refreshments and a snack-a large part of both agencies culture); parents and children were separated into two groups for testing. In the presence of a researcher, children completed the explanatory style (CASQ) and the depressive features (CDI) instruments while in another room, another researcher was present in order to assist the participating parent on completing their explanatory style questionnaire (ASQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and a brief demographic survey. All of the test items were read aloud to both groups by a researcher. Since the size of the groups varied between four to nine individuals, the data collection procedure occurred over a period of several months. Data Analysis The data collected from the instruments were entered into a computer file using SPSS. All inferential statistical analyses used an alpha level of 0.05 as the criteria for acceptance for statistical significance based on two-tailed, non-directional hypotheses (Abu-Bader, 2011). Inferential statistic procedure for hypotheses one through four consisted of independent t-tests which were conducted in order to assess the effects of the mentoring relationship intervention on explanatory style and depressive features on the mentored group and waiting-list group. Results Descriptive Summary of Demographic Data A sample size for the parents of the mentored youth (n = 12), as well as the parents of wait list youth (n = 12) allowed for visual inspection of much of demographic data. Both groups of parents were very
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similar on the following demographic variables: household composition; education level of mother and father; number of children in the home; gender of children; ethnicity of child; neighborhood safety and death or divorce within the last years. Demographic data given by parents indicated that the mean age of children in the mentored group was age 11 years (sd = 1.96) and a mean of 10 years of age (sd = 1.34) for the wait list group. Mentored youth ethnicity data were the following: White = 13; Black 1 and Latino 2. While wait list group youth ethnicity were listed as: White = 12; Black = 2; Native American = 1; and other = 1. Thus, minority children were represented with approximate equality: three children in the matched group and four children in the wait list group. It is important to note that all parents of the mentored youth were female. With regard to the parents of the wait list youth: nine were female and three were male. All parents identified themselves as either the mother or father of the child (step-parent classification was not assessed in this study). Another important difference between parental groups was level of annual income: the median income of parents of the mentored youth was $14,875 while the median income of wait list parent group was $22,500. However, the differences were not statistically significant via independent t-test that corrected for unequal variance (t = 1.08; p = 0.30). Descriptive Summary of Data Descriptive data analyses indicate a relatively normal distribution for matched and unmatched (or waitlist) youth with seventy-eight percent of their explanatory style scores (CASQ) and seventy-five percent of the depressive features results (CDI) within one standard deviation from the mean; inspection of this data using SPSS graphic analyses indicate no box plot outliers. Parental group data analyses also show normal distribution of matched and unmatched (or wait list) parents with sixty-seven percent of the explanatory style scores (ASQ) and seventy-five percent of depressive symptoms (BDI) within one standard deviation from the mean; SPSS graphical inspection found only one box plot outlier score for explanatory style. (The existence of only one outlier supports the evidence for a relatively normal distribution for both parent groups on each of the outcome variable.) Analysis of the Hypotheses Four research hypotheses were developed for this study. All hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 level of significance using non-directional, two-tailed, tests of probability (Abu-Bader, 2011) . Each hypothesis was tested using independent t-test statistical analysis. Hypothesis one postulated that the explanatory style of the mentored youth group would display a significant difference when compared to the explanatory style of the wait-list youth group. The results are in Tables 1 and 2. Table 1-Independent Sample Test for CASQ
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Table 2-CASQ Means and Standard Deviations
Data results for hypothesis one indicate that although there was a near significant trend (p value of 0.07) for the independent t-test (Aron & Aron, 1994); it was in an unexpected direction . Explanatory style score key (CASQ ) show scores from 8 to 18 to indicate optimism while high negative scores (e.g., -5 to -18) show pessimism (Kaslow, et al., 1995; Seligman, et al., 1995). Hence, wait list youth sample had a higher level of optimistic explanatory style (mean = 8.56; sd = 3.61) than mentored youth (mean = 6.31; sd = 3.21). Hypothesis two stated that the level of depressive features in the mentored youth group would display a significant difference when compared to the level of depressive features in the wait list youth group. The results are in Tables 3 and 4. Table 3-Independent Sample Test for CDI
Table 4-CDI Means and Standard Deviations
Data results for hypothesis two show no significant difference in the level of depressive features between the mentored youth and the wait list youth via independent t-test. Thus, the mentored youth group had a very similar level of depressive features (mean = 9.25; sd = 6.70) when compared to the wait list youth group (mean = 9.13; sd = 6.99) for this variable of depressive symptoms. Both groups mean scores were considered in the non-depressed range. On the CDI, non-depressed scores range from 0 to 11 while moderate scores of depressive severity range from 12 to 19 (Kovacs, 1992) . Hypothesis three postulated that the explanatory style for parents of the mentored youth group would display a significant difference when compared to the explanatory style of the parents whose children were in the wait list youth group. The results are in Tables 5 and 6.
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Table 5-Independent Sample Test for ASQ
Table 6-ASQ Means and Standard Deviations
Data results indicate no significant difference in the level of explanatory style (optimism-pessimism) between parents whose children were mentored compared with parents whose children were in the wait list group. Key for explanatory style measures (ASQ) are generally as follows: higher positive scores (e.g., 8 to 18) indicate optimism while high negative scores (e.g., -5 to -18) show pessimism. Results show parents of mentored youth had a similar level of explanatory style (mean = 2.25; sd = 2.73) as parents of the wait list youth (mean = 2.67; sd = 2.31). Hence, both groups of parents have mean scores in the low optimism range with regard to their explanatory style. Hypothesis four stated that the parents of the mentored youth will display a significant difference in the level of depressive features when compared to the parents of the wait list youth group. The results are in Tables 7 and 8. Table 7-Independent Sample Test for BDI
t-test for BDI
df
Sig. of Test
1.68
22
.109
Table 8-BDI Means and Standard Deviations
Variables
Mean
sd
N
Parents of Mentored
23.00
17.10
12
13.08
11.14
12
Youth Parents of Wait List Youth
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Results for hypothesis four indicate no significant difference in the level of depressive features between the parents of the mentored youth and the parents of the wait list youth via independent t-test analysis adjusted for unequal variance. In fact, resultant information was in the opposite direction. The parents of the mentored youth assessed had a much higher level of depressive features (mean = 23.00; sd = 17.10) than the parents of the wait list youth group (mean = 13.08; sd = 11.14). Beck Depression Inventory scale key indicates that parents of the mentored children have a mean depressive severity level in the moderate range while the parents of the wait list youth have a mean depressive severity level that is within the normal range, however, more specifically, it is only one point below the initial range for mild depressive symptoms on the BDI (Beck, Steer, and Brown, 1996). Discussion Although formal mentorship programs were created to provide a supportive friendship to a youth inneed, and not meant to ameliorate specific youth difficulties- such as depression or behavior difficulties (Grossman & Tierney, 1998), this study explored the idea of how the nonclinical mentoring relationship could influence two specific variables that have a close link to clinical studies of depression in children and adults---namely explanatory style and depressive features. These two outcome variables make up the reformulated theory of learned helplessness, which is based on empirical studies indicating that high levels of pessimistic causal attributions are related to depressive symptoms in children as well as in adults (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978; Peterson & Park, 2007; Seligman, 1990; Seligman, et al., 1995). The first purpose of this study was to assess the effect of mentoring relationships on theoretical aspects of learned helplessness via the outcome measures of youth explanatory style and depressive features. Hypotheses one and two addressed this first purpose. For hypothesis one, resultant inferential statistical analysis using an independent t-test found no significant difference between a mentored youth and wait list youth on the variable of explanatory style. Further, the mentored youth group was found to have an explanatory style (mean = 6.31; sd = 3.21) that was less optimistic than the wait list youth (mean = 8.56; sd = 3.61), with this difference indicating a near significant trend—see Table 1 (Aron & Aron, 1994). There are several reasonable explanations that could elucidate this lower level of optimistic explanatory style in the mentored youth. First, the pre-experimental posttest-only design with nonequivalent groups did not control for how youth were selected to be matched with their mentor, which occurred prior to this study. Therefore, the matching of each youth with their mentor was conducted, at least a year prior to the beginning of this study, by conventional agency guidelines and procedures. It is quite possible that the agency matching specialist were intuitively more sensitive to youth who displayed lower levels of optimism in their explanatory style. Hence, based on the higher needs of these youths, they were matched more readily. Second, the pre-experimental design did not control for possible mortality in the mentored youth group. Thus, mentored youth with higher levels of optimism may have dropped out of their relationship with their mentor during the first year due to not finding their relationship with their mentor that beneficial. This explanation is congruent with research results from previous mentorship studies which found that youth that were at either extremes—either young persons with severe difficulties or welladjusted middle-class youth were less likely to benefit from mentoring (Dubois, et al., 2002; Grossman and Johnson, 1999). Hence, these earlier studies found evidence that the youth who fall in the middle of the continuum were most likely to benefit (Rhodes, 2002). In sum, in the present study, the mentored youth, who were mentored for at least 12 months, may have stayed with their mentor because this group was benefiting from their mentoring relationship, as explained by their functioning “in the middle of the continuum”. This would help explain the lower mean score in optimistic explanatory style for the mentored youth than the more optimistic wait list youth group. Third, although the researchers did state to all groups of wait list participants prior to their participation in this study, that their voluntary involvement will not have any effect on subsequent matching for a mentor, it is still possible that the youth wait list group might have not heard or 400
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misunderstood the researchers’ comments. Thus, the higher mean optimism score of the wait list youth group may be a result of the wait list participants exaggerating optimistic aspects of their explanatory style due to their mistaken belief that a greater frequency of optimistic responses may make them more desirable to be matched to a mentor. Fouth, demographic descriptive statistics indicate that the wait list youth group come from families that have an annual median income of $22,550 while the mentor group families median income was $14,875. Although this income difference was non-significant (t = 1.08; p = 0.30), these two income levels do present a substantial socioeconomic difference that might influence one’s level of optimistic explanatory style, which has its theoretical roots in a person’s perception of their surrounding environment and its attributional relationship to learned helplessness and hopelessness theory (Peterson & Parks, 2007). Hypothesis two resultant inferential analysis using an independent t-test found no significant difference between a mentored youth and wait list youth on the variables of depressive features. The mentored youth group was found to have a mean depressive features level (mean = 9.25; sd = 6.70) that was very similar to the wait list youth group level of depressive features (mean = 9.13; sd = 6.99). Hence, both groups produced mean scores in the non-depressed range. The likeness between the two groups appear an accurate measure of depressive features between the two groups. However, given the research design limitation of having no pretest in this pre-experimental posttest only design with nonequivalent groups, the researchers in the present study can not know whether the mentored youth group were more depressed prior to beginning their relationship with their mentor, which began at least 12-months prior to the testing date. The second purpose of this study was to assess the effect of mentoring relationships on the family systems theoretical component of interaction, using the reformulated learned helplessness outcome measures of youth explanatory style and depressive features. In this exploratory study, it was assumed that if an interactional family system’s component were present, then it was reasonable to expect that a positive or negative effect in a mentored youth would influence another family member—in this case, the primary parent, in a similar manner. A hypothetical example of this scenario would be when a mentored youth with an increased level of optimism would be able to improve the optimism of other family members—in this case, his or her primary parent. Hypotheses three and four focused on this second purpose. Results for hypothesis three found no significant difference between the parents of the mentored youth group and parents of the wait list youth group on the variable of explanatory style. The parents of the mentored youth group were found to have an explanatory style (mean = 2.25; sd = 2.73) that was very similar to the parents of the wait list youth group (mean = 2.67; sd = 2.31). In order to better understand these findings on parental explanatory style, with regard to the postulated theoretical component of family interaction, it is important to compare these results with the explanatory style of the youth in hypothesis one. In the first hypothesis, the mentored youth displayed a near significant difference, with the mentored youth having lower optimism than the wait list children, yet the explanatory style of both groups of parents were very similar hypothesis three. Therefore, there is no evidence of a discernible, observable pattern of family interaction between primary parent and their child on the explanatory style variable in either the mentored or wait list groups. The resultant inferential statistical analysis for hypothesis four, using an independent t-test adjusted for unequal variance, found no significant difference in the level of depressive symptoms between the parents of the mentored youth and the parents of the wait list youth. In fact, results were in the opposite direction than one might have logically expected based on earlier mentorship research. The parents of the mentored youth were found to have a mean depressive severity score in the moderate range (mean = 23.00; sd = 17.10) while the parents of the waitlist youth displayed a mean depressive score within the normal range (mean = 13.08; sd = 11.14). Thus, the findings that the parents of the mentored youth were moderately depressed while the parents of the wait list youth were in the normal range was unexpected. The following four explanations
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are similar to the ones given in hypothesis one, in which the mentored youth displayed a less optimistic explanatory style than the wait list group. First, the posttest-only design with nonequivalent groups did not control for how youth were selected to be matched with their mentor, which occurred, at least, one year prior to this study. Therefore, it is realistic to speculate that the agency matching specialist were intuitively more sensitive and empathic to the needs of a family with a depressed parent and a youth with a low level of optimism than to a family less depressed and more optimistic youth. Hence, families with higher psychosocial needs were matched more readily. Second, the pre-experimental design does not control for mortality, thus, the less depressed mentored youth---whom we assume come from less depressed families---- may have dropped out of their relationship with their mentor during their first year. Third, although the researchers did state to all groups of waitlist participants prior to their participation in this study, that their voluntary involvement will not have any effect on subsequent matching for a mentor, it is still possible that the parents of the youth waitlist group might have not heard or misunderstood the researchers’ comments. Therefore, the less depressed mean score displayed by the parents of the wait list children may be a result of minimizing their depressive symptoms due to their mistaken belief that less depressive responses may make their waitlist children more desirable to be matched by the agency to a mentor. Fourth, the moderately depressed parents of the mentored children group were found to have a median income that was much lower than the parents of the wait list children. Although this income difference was non-significant, these two income levels do present a substantial socioeconomic difference that could help explain the level of depressive symptoms for poor family (Beach, 2001). Upon reflection, both hypotheses one and four do show a non-significant finding that is based on the reformulated learned helplessness theory and, although it appears unrelated to effect of mentoring, this finding does provide evidence of family interaction pattern between the mentored youth group and the parents of the mentored youth . Specifically, while the mentored youth were found to display a near significant trend for lower optimism than the wait list youth ----in hypothesis one, the parents of the mentored youth group exhibited a moderate level of severity in depressive features compared to normal level of depressive features in the parents of wait list children—in hypothesis four. Hence, the much lower level of optimism in the mentored youth group and the higher level of depression in their parents is congruent with reformulated learned helplessness theory; this finding indicates non-significant evidence for the interactional component within the family. However, while the reformulated helplessness theory does provide some evidence in previous studies of children modeling parental causal attributions (Seligman et al. 1984; Vanden Belt and Peterson, 1991), the researchers want to emphasize that although this non-significant pattern of family interaction is interesting, further research is needed to address the cause.. Limitations of the Study 1. The pre-experimental posttest-only design with nonequivalent groups does not control for selection and mortality internal validity concerns. With regard to the selection process, in addition to overt process in how mentoring agencies make decisions as to which youth are chosen to be matched, there may also be an intuitive, covert aspect to agency matching decisions, such as the psychosocial and environments needs of the child and the child’s family. 2. Youth and family members from only two mentoring agencies may not adequately represent the overall population mentored youth and their family members. Recommendations 1. In future mentoring research projects that make use of reformulated learned helplessness outcome variables of explanatory style and depressive features, it is recommended that all youth and all family members be assessed on explanatory style and depressive symptoms when the youth initially comes to the mentoring agency—certainly, prior to any mentoring relationship match.
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This would provide an accurate baseline in terms of measuring any change in the level of optimism-pessimism explanatory style and depressive features. Further, an initial baseline on these variables for all family members would more accurately track any family interactional patterns. 2. A larger sample size is recommended for future studies in order to increase the possibility of a more representative sample. REFERENCES Abramson, L. Y., Seligman, M. E. P. & Teasdale, J. D. (1978). Learned Helplessness in Humans: Critique and Reformulation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 87, 49-74. Abu-Bader, S. H. (2011). Using Statistical Methods in Social Science Research with a Complete SPSS Guide. Chicago, Illinois: Lyceum Books, Inc. Aron, A. & Aron, E. N. (1994). Statistics for Psychology. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Baker, D. & Maguire, C. (2005). Mentoring in Historic Perspective. In D. L. DuBois & M. J. Karcher’s Handbook of Youth Mentoring (Eds.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication. Beach, S. R. (2001). Marital and Family Processes in Depression: A Scientific Foundation for Clinical Practice (Ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford Press. Beck, A. T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An Inventory for Measuring Depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561-571. Beiswinger, G. (1985). One to One: The Story of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Movement in America. Philadelphia: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Bitter, J. R. (2009). Theory and Practice of Family Therapy and Counseling. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Campbell, D. T. & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Chicago: Rand McNally College Publishing Company. Carey, M. P., Faulstich, M. E., Gresham, F. M., Ruggiero, L. & Enyart, P. (1987). Children's Depression Inventory: Construct and Discriminant Validity Across Clinical and Nonreferred (Control) Populations. Special Issue: Eating Disorders. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 55, (5) , 755-76. Costello, E., Erkanli, A., & Angold, A. (2006). Is There an Epidemic of Child or Adolescent Depression? Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47 (12) 1263-1271. Dale, O., Smith, R., Norlin, J., & Chess, W. (2006). Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Social Systems Theory. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Davidson, W. S., Redner, R., Blakely, C., Mitchell, C., & Esmhoff, J. (1987). Diversion of Juvenile Offenders: An Experimental Comparison. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 68-75. Dubois, D., Holloway, B., Cooper, H., & Valentine, J.C. (2002). Effectiveness of Mentoring Programs for Youth: A Meta-Analytic Review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, (2), 157-197. Dubois, D., & Karcher, M. J. (2005). Youth Mentoring: Theory, Research, and Practice. In D. L. DuBois & M. J. Karcher’s Handbook of Youth Mentoring (Eds.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication. Dubois, D., Neville, H., Parra, G., & Pugh-Lilly, A. (2002). Testing a New Model of Mentoring. In J. E. Rhodes (Ed.) A Critical View of Youth Mentoring. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Elliott, G., & Smiga, S. (2003). Depression in the Child and Adolescent. Pedriatric Clinics of North America. 50, 1494. Freedman, M. (1993). The Kindness of Strangers: Adult Mentors, Urban Youth, and the New Voluntarism. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Griffin, W. A. (1993). Family Therapy: Fundamentals of Theory and Practice. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel. Gotlib, I. H., Lewinsohn, P. M. & Seeley, J. R. (1995). Symptoms Versus a Diagnosis of Depression: Differences in Psychosocial Function. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 63, (1) 90-100.
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Grossman, J. B., & Johnson, A. (1999). Assessing the Effectiveness of Mentoring Programs. In J.B. Grossman (Ed.), Contemporary Issues in Mentoring (pp. 24-47). Philadelphia: Public/Private Ventures. Grossman, J. B., & Rhodes, J. E. (2002). The Test of Time: Predictors and Effects of Duration in Youth Mentoring Programs. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 199-206. Grossman, J. B., & Tierney, J. P. (1998). Does Mentoring Work? An Impact Study of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program. Education Review, 22, 403-426. Hammen, C., & Rudolph, K. D. (1996). Childhood Depression. In E. J. Mash & R. A. Barkley (Eds.), Child Psychopathology. New York: Guilford. Joiner, T. E. & Wagner, K. D. (1995). Attributional Style and Depression in Children and Adolescents: A MetaAnalytic Review. Clinical Psychology Review, 15, (8) , 777-798. Kaslow, N. J., Tanenbaum, R. L., Seligman, M. E. P., Abramson, L. Y. & Alloy, L. B. (1995). The KASTAN: A Children's Attributional Styles Questionnaire. Unpublished Manuscript, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania. Keller, T. E. (2005). A Systemic Model of the Youth Mentoring Intervention. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 26, No. 2, 169-188. Kerlinger, F. N., (1992). Foundations of Behavioral Research. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt Brace & Company. Kovacs, M. (1985). The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Psychopharmacology Bulletin, 21, 995-1024. Kovacs, M. (1992). The Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Multi-Health Systems, Inc. Lewinsohn, M., Hops, H., Roberts, R., Seeley, J., & Andrews, J. (1993). Adolescent Psychopathology: I. Prevalence and Incidence of Depression and Other DSM-III-R Disorders in High School Students. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 102, 133-144. Lobovits, D. A. & Handal, P. J. (1985). Childhood Depression: Prevalence Using DSM-III Criteria and Validity of Parent and Child Depression Scales. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 10, (1) , 45-54. LoSciuto, L., Rajala, A. K., Townsend, T. N., & Taylor, A. S. (1996). An Outcome Evaluation of Across Ages: An Intergenerational Mentoring Approach to Drug Prevention. Journal of Adolescent Research, 11, 116-129. McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., & Shellenberger, S. (1999). Genograms: Assessment and Intervention. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. McLearn, K., Calasanto, D., & Schoen, C. (1998). Mentoring makes a difference: Findings from the Commonwealth Fund 1998 Survey of Adults Mentoring Young People. Retrieved August 20, 2011from http://www.dropoutprevention.org/content/newsletter.html Mufson, L., Kristen-Pollack, D., Moreau, D., & Weissman, M. (2004). Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depressed Adolescents. New York: The Guilford Press. Nakkula, M., & Harris, J. (2005). Assessment of Mentoring Relationships. In D. L. DuBois & M. J. Karcher’s Handbook of Youth Mentoring (Eds.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication. National Association of Social Workers. (1982). Changes in NASW family policy. NASW News, 27, (2), 10. Nichols, M. P., (2010). Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J. S. & Seligman, M. E. P. (1986). Learned Helplessness in Children: A Longitudinal Study of Depression, Achievement, and Explanatory Style. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 435-442. Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Girgus, J. S. & Seligman, M. E. P. (1992). Predictors and Consequences of Childhood Depressive Symptoms: A Five-Year Longitudinal Study. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 405-422. Peterson, C., & Bossio, L. (1991). Health and Optimism: New Research on the Relationship Between Positive Thinking and Physical Well-Being. New York: The Free Press. Peterson, C., Maier, S.F., & Seligman, M.E.P. (1993). Learned Helplessness: A Theory for the Age of Personal Control, New York: Oxford Press. Peterson, C., & Park, N. (2007). Explanatory Style and Emotion Regulation. In J. J. Gross (Ed.) Handbook of Emotion Regulation. New York: The Guildford Press. Peterson, C., & Seligman, M.E.P. (1984). Causal Explanations as a Risk Factor for Depression: Theory and
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Evidence. Psychological Review, 91, 347-374. Peterson C, Semmel A, von Baeyer C, Abramson L Y, Metalsky G I & Seligman M E P. (1982).The Attributional Style Questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy Research. 6:287-99, 1982. Piotrowsk, C., & Keller, J. W. (1992). Psychological Testing in Applied Settings: A Literature Review from 19821992. Journal of Training & Practice in Professional Psychology, 6, (2), 74-82. Ponterotto, J. G., Pace, T. M. & Kavan, M. G. (1989). A Counselor's Guide to the Assessment of Depression. Journal of Counseling and Development, 67, (5), 301-309. Poznanski, E. O. & Mokros, H. B. (1994). Phenomenology and Epidemiology of Mood Disorders In Children and Adolescents. In W. M. Reynolds & H. F. Johnston ( Eds. ) Handbook of Depression in Children and Adolescents. New York, New York: Plenum Press. Rapp, C., & Goscha, R. (2006). The Strengths Model: Case Management with People with Psychiatric Disabilities. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. Reynolds, W. M. (1992). Depression in Children and Adolescents. In W. M. Reynolds (Ed.) Internalizing Disorders in Children and Adolescents. New York: Wiley. Reynolds, W. M. (1994). Assessment of Depression in Children and Adolescents by Self-Report Questionnaires. In W. M. Reynolds & H. F. Johnston ( Eds. ) Handbook Of Depression in Children and Adolescents. New York: Plenum Press. Rhodes, J. (2002). Stand by Me: The Risks and Rewards of Mentoring Today’s Youth. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Rhodes, J., Bogat, G. A., Roffman, J., Edelman, P., & Galasso, L. (2002). Youth mentoring in perspective: Introduction to special issue. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 149-155. Rhodes, J., & DuBois, D. (2006). Youth Mentoring: Bridging Science with Practice. Journal of Community Psychology, 34, 547-565. Roberts, E., Andrews, J., Lewinsohn, P., & Hops, H. (1990). Psychosocial Correlates of Depressive Symptomatology Among High School Students. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 19, (3) , 211-220. Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. (2005). Research Methods for Social Work. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole-Thomson Learning. Saylor, C.F., Finch, A. J., Spirito, A. & Bennett, B. (1984). The Children's Depression Inventory: A Systematic Evaluation of Psychometric Properties. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 52, (6) , 955-967. Schulman, P., Keith, D., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1993). Is Optimism Heritable? A Study of Twins. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 31, 569-574. Seligman, M. E. P. (1975). Helplessness: On Depression, Development, and Death. New York, New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. Seligman, M. E. P. (1990). Learned Optimism. New York, New York: Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster Inc. Seligman, M. E. P., Peterson, C., Kaslow, N. J., Tanenbaum, R. L., Alloy, L. B. & Abramson, L. Y. (1984). Attributional Style and Depressive Symptoms Among Children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, (2) , 235-238. Seligman, M. E. P., Reivich, K., Jaycox, L., & Gillham, J. (1995). The Optimistic Child. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Tennen, H. & Herzberger, S. (1987). Depression, Self-Esteem and the Absence of Self-Protective Attributional Biases. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, (1) , 72-80. Tierney, J., Grossman, J., and Resch, N. (1995). Making a Difference: An Impact Study of Big Brothers Big Sisters, Philadelphia, Pa.: Public/Private Ventures, 1995. Vanden Belt, A., & Peterson, C. (1991). Parental Explanatory Style and its Relationship to the Classroom Performance of Disabled and Nondisabled Children. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 15, 331-341. Winek, J. L. (2010). Systemic Family Therapy: From Theory to Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Wolin, S. J., & Wolin, S. (1993). The Resilient Self. New York: Villard Books. Zimmerman, M., Bingenheimer, J., & Notaro, P. (2002). Natural Mentors and Adolescent Resiliency: A study with urban youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30 (2), 221-243.
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Ellison, M., Moore, W., Fogel, S. & Johnson, A. Union of College, University of South Florida, North Carolina A&T State University The Status of Baccalaureate Social Work Faculty Mentoring: An Exploratory Stud ABSTRACT There is a paucity of research or articles examining the experiences or impact that mentoring has had on new social work faculty members who teach in social work education programs. This exploratory study addresses the limited research available on mentoring experiences of social work education faculty by examining the mentoring opportunities and experiences for BSW faculty. The results suggest that there is a need and desire from junior BSW faculty members for more scholarly assistance to help them transition to the academy. Implications for future endeavors to enhance the mentoring experiences and programs are discussed.
Introduction The mentoring of junior faculty members by senior faculty members has been the primary means by which higher education integrates new faculty into the organization and socialize them into their roles as faculty members (Eddy & Gaston-Gayles, 2008; Johnson, 2007). In social work education, the literature is replete with articles suggesting the need for social work educators, especially new faculty members, to establish “mentoring relationships” to achieve their professional goals; however little discussion is provided on the processes, methods, and ways to find a mentor, how to create a mentoring environment, or how social work faculty have been mentored (Branwein, 1980; Green, 2008; Sansone, Bedics, & Rappe, 2000; Weick, 1991). Given the dearth of research in this area, the current authors conducted an exploratory study of mentoring experiences for undergraduate social work faculty members. For the purposes of this study, mentoring is defined as acting as a guide or a trusted counselor. Literature Review Interest and research on mentoring and the benefits of formal versus informal mentoring has evolved since the early 1970s. The business sector first identified the positive benefits mentoring provided when mentored executives reported earning more money, having clearer career goals, and greater career satisfaction (Roche, 1979). In the 1980s, academic medicine and higher education focused on the organizational context of mentoring by examining the impact of mentoring on relationships, career development and career satisfaction, and distinguished between formal and informal mentoring (Blackburn, Chapman & Cameron, 1981; Bogart & Redner, 1985; Darling, 1985). Mentoring programs in the early 1990s were prescribed to address the concerns that women and minorities in higher education were not successful in gaining tenure and needed guidance and assistance to meet the demands of an academic career (Mills, 1994; Sands, Parson, & Duane, 1991). Also during this period research showed new faculty members expressed dissatisfaction and disillusionment within the teaching environment (Bolger & Kremer, 1999). Sorcinelli’s longitudinal study found 33% of new faculty members in their first year reported being very stressed and this rose to 71% by the fifth year (1994). However, faculty members who experience positive mentoring report higher levels of career satisfaction, as well as insight into the formal and informal expectations of their academic department and institutional culture (Austin, 1996; Cawyer, Simonds, & Davis, 2002; Johnson, 2002 & 2007; Schrodt, Cawyer, & Sanders, 2003). Mentoring in Social Work Education One of the first studies on mentorship in social work education was by Robbins (1989) who used a nationwide random sample of 340 graduate and undergraduate social work educators, Robbins found that 67% of respondents reported that they had not been mentored. Robbins also found that women were equally mentored by both male and female mentors; while men were more likely mentored by other men. 406
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Gender differences in publication rates for assistant professors emerged showing that mentored women produced significantly more authored books than did mentored men and non-mentored faculty of either gender. Mentored men produced more co-authored articles than mentored women and non-mentored faculty of either gender. Wilson, Pereira, and Valentine (2002) completed a telephone survey with 19 new social work faculty in social work programs across the United States. Using a semi-structured interview the researcher explored the respondents’ perceptions of their mentoring experiences. Their findings overall suggest that mentoring did provide positive assistance, especially in areas of research skills, scholarship, social emotional support, and teaching. In a small survey of African American female graduate social work education administrators, Simon, Perry, and Roff (2008) examined ten women who had mentoring experiences both in their doctoral studies and as faculty members, and who were providing mentoring. Over half of the respondents reported that, as doctoral students and as faculty members, they had received mentoring, consisting of advice in negotiating barriers, introductions to professionals for career mobility, and help with research and scholarship. Respondents reported receiving support in psychosocial areas as well, such as encouragement when discouraged or frustrated. A second study by Simon, Bowles, King and Roff (2004) examined the mentoring experiences of African American women in social work education. From a mailed survey, 14 respondents were interviewed comprising 12 deans or directors of MSW programs and two MSW directors; all had doctorates except one. All reported having had a mentor during their professional career but not as a part of their early career experiences. Most respondents had pursued doctoral work and careers in social work education following social work practice. They emphasized that the benefit they received was career mentoring i.e. being offered challenging assignments and opportunities for visibility. This benefit was more important at the stage of their career than psychosocial mentoring, i.e. being offered a sense of caring which develops self-confidence. Research on the impact of mentoring activities for social work faculty or what they received through formal or informal mentoring is quite limited. Missing in the research is a focus on the structures and programs that are used to facilitate mentoring at the department or the institutional level. Therefore, the purpose of this exploratory research was to identify if and how BSW faculty members were being mentored, either formally or informally, what components comprised their mentoring, and what these faculty members thought of their experiences with the process. In addition, this study examined what mentors stated they provided, what they didn’t provide, and their satisfaction with being mentors. Methodology The broad research questions were: Are BSW faculty members being mentored? If they are being mentored, what is the structure and components of these formal and informal programs? What are the perceptions of the mentees concerning the effectiveness of these mentoring programs? What components do mentees wish were included in their mentoring that are not? The survey was also constructed to answer the following questions related to being a mentor: What mentoring activities do mentors provide and what do they wish they had provided but didn’t? How effective do they judge their mentoring to be? What benefits do mentors receive from their mentoring? A pilot test of the original questionnaire was conducted with six BSW faculty members which resulted in some minor changes to the instrument. The final 55-item survey, containing quantitative and qualitative response fields was distributed through the Baccalaureate Program Directors (BPD) listserv in January 2008 utilizing SurveyMonkey electronic software. The survey remained open for a six-week period with two follow-up emails. Findings
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A total of 88 surveys were received. However, due to the skip patterns in the questionnaire, responses to certain questions did not equal the total number of surveys received. In fact, many sections received significantly fewer responses as the directions asked respondents to only respond to questions that were pertinent to their experiences. As respondents were asked to respond to all areas of the survey that applied to their experiences, responses to multiple areas of the survey were possible. Demographics The majority of respondents were White females, with advanced degrees. Respondents ranged in age from 31-68 years of age with 56% being in their 40s and 50s. The majority were on tenure-track positions with the majority (89%) having been at their institutions from 1 to 10 years with the range being from 1 to 38 years. Among the respondents, 55 % were in a public college or university; 76% within a undergraduate social work department. Are BSW Faculty Members Being Mentored Within Their Institutions? BSW faculties receive mentoring through three channels - institutional programs, departmental programs, and informal mentoring arrangements. A total of 63 respondents (72%) indicated that they were being mentored through one of these three channels. However, only 22 out of 58 (38%) of respondents indicated that they participated in a formal mentoring program either in their institution or through their department. Thirty-seven out of 88 (42%) respondents indicated that their institution or department had a formal mentoring program. Fifty-six percent (41 out of 73) respondents indicated that they had or were participating in informal mentoring, with 54% indicating that this relationship had been ongoing for more than five years. Four principal reasons for participating in formal mentoring were given: being told about it (n=15), relevant to their career (n=12), being advised that it was necessary (n=12), relevant to their position (n=12). The top four reasons for not participating identified by nine participants were: program was not in existence at time of employment (n=7), not being told about the program (n=2), program not relevant to their position (n=3), the program was geared for junior faculty only (n=2). Ten respondents indicated that they had discontinued their involvement in their formal mentoring program for the following three most common reasons: 1) unable to find someone to whom they could relate 2) didn’t believe the mentoring was relevant to their position 3) did not like the way the program was operated. Structure of Mentoring Programs The majority of respondents (56%, 24 out of 43) indicated that their formal mentoring programs were operated out of the Provost’s Office or the Dean’s office; only 14% of respondents (6 out of 43) reported that their formal mentoring programs were operated by the social work program or department. For those who received informal mentoring 59% reported that their mentors were members of their current institution and was a current colleague. Components of Mentoring Programs When asked to identify what activities mentees received from their mentors through the formal programs, 21 respondents identified these activities: discussion of strategies for success (71%); advice on department or institutional politics (67%); regular meetings to discuss progress (57%); engaging in scholarly discussions and providing teaching tips (52% each). Only 19% of mentees indicated that they published with their mentor, and 29% indicated that they presented at conferences and worked on research with their mentors. The components most frequently mentioned that comprised the informal mentoring programs were: 1) discuss strategies for success; 2) engage in scholarly discussions; 3) advise on office/institutional politics; 4) provide teaching tips; and 5) review mentee’s written material.
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Effectiveness of Mentoring Programs – Formal Mentoring Respondents receiving formal mentoring at the institutional and departmental level were asked to rate each mentoring component on a Likert Scale of 1 (not adequate) to 5 (extremely adequate). The overall average satisfaction of each of the mentoring programs was similar: 3.2 for institutional programs and 3.1 for departmental programs. Overall ratings of formal mentoring revealed that 46% (n=28) rated their mentoring as “adequate” to “extremely adequate”, while 45% rated their mentoring as "inadequate", with 9% rating it as "somewhat adequate". Sixty percent of respondents indicated that their formal mentoring was not helping them achieve their professional goals. Effectiveness of Informal Mentoring All 40 respondents (one respondent did not answer this question) believed that their informal mentors had been helpful to them and all respondents rated their informal mentoring as "adequate" or "extremely adequate" with 90% of respondents who received informal mentorship believing they were reaching their professional goals because of this relationship. Components Mentees Wish Were Included in Their Mentoring but Were Not Mentees, who were receiving formal mentoring were asked to indicate what they wish their mentors would do but did not do, of the 19 respondents who answered this question the following activities were identified: 50% wanted mentors to help with scholarship, 44% wanted mentors to provide advice on teaching, 39% wanted help to obtain funding, to co-author articles, and present together at conferences. The least-wanted activities were advocacy with higher level administrative personnel (11.1%), discussions about institutional or departmental climate (17%), and how to balance work and family roles (17%). Mentees who were receiving informal mentoring identified five activities that they wished their mentors had provided: 1) assistance with obtaining funding (50%) 2) publication of articles together (50%) 3) work on research together (43%) 4) engage in scholarly discussions (43%) and 5) advise on balancing work and personal responsibilities (43%). Being a Mentor Thirty-two out of 71 respondents (45%) indicated that they were serving as mentors to a colleague, and most obtained their mentee through an informal relationship. Of the eight mentors who did not have a mentee within their department they were either mentoring someone from another department (5 respondents) or a social worker from another institution (3 respondents). What Mentoring Activities Do Mentors Report Providing? The most frequent activities that these 32 mentors reported providing were: 1) discussing strategies for success (88%, 30), 2) advising on office or institutional politics (79%, 27), 3) recommending the mentee for conferences or other professional activities (68%, 23), 4) engaging in scholarly discussions (68%, 23), 5) providing teaching tips (77%, 26), 6) reviewing written material (65%, 22), 7) regular meetings to discuss progress or work (62%, 21 ). Fifty percent of mentors (17 out of 32) indicated that they advised their mentees on how to balance work and personal responsibilities. Fewer than 32% of these mentors reported jointly working on research with their mentees (11 out of 32), jointly presenting at conferences (n=7), or publishing articles together (n=8). Effectiveness of Mentoring as Perceived by Mentors All 32 mentors indicated that they had been helpful to their mentees with 27 mentors stating that their mentees listened to them most of the time.
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What Mentoring Activities Do Mentors Wish They Had Provided but Didn’t? Seventeen mentors responded to this question indicating that the three most frequently mentioned activities which they wished they had provided were: 1) assisting the mentee with obtaining funding (41%), 2) co-presenting and co-publishing (41% for each), 3) working with mentee on scholarship (35%). What Benefits Do Mentors Receive From Being Mentors? Ninety-four percent of respondents (30 out of 32) indicated that they received personal satisfaction from being a mentor, with 78% (n=25) stating that it helped them understand the concerns of new faculty, and 69% (n=22) indicating that it provided academic stimulation. Only two mentors out of the 32 stated that their mentoring counted as part of their workload and only seven mentors indicated that it counted as part of their yearly evaluation. Twenty out of thirty mentors rated their experiences as either slightly above adequate or extremely adequate with no respondents rating their experience as not adequate. Discussion and Recommendations The small number of responses has prevented statistical analysis; however, key themes have emerged from the responses which shed light on the state of mentoring for BSW faculty. Overall, both institutional and social work departmental mentoring programs are rated as “adequate” to assist the faculty member. The low satisfaction scores with institutional and departmental components related to teaching and research were somewhat surprising. This emphasizes what mentees indicated that they wanted their mentors to do-work with them on scholarship and teaching but were not receiving. Respondents indicated that discussion of office or institutional politics was a key component of their mentoring at both institutional and departmental level, but this was a component that mentees did not desire. Thus, it is not surprising that most respondents indicated that formal mentoring was not helping them achieve their professional goals. However, faculty members who had informal mentoring overwhelmingly believed that they were achieving their professional goals as a result of their mentoring. They evaluated their overall mentoring experience much higher than did mentees receiving formal mentoring. As demonstrated, the informal mentoring focused more on research and teaching activities, as well as areas for tenure and promotion. These results support the growing evidence that informal mentoring produces better outcomes (Austin, 2003; Ewing, Freeman, Barrie, Bell, O’Connor, Waugh, & Sykes, 2008; Johnson, 2007). Comparing what mentees would like to receive in a mentoring program with what they actually receive, it is evident that there is a disconnection. Mentees, both formal and informal, indicated they wanted mentors to work with them on scholarship (co-publishing and co-presenting) and obtaining funding. Mentors also recognize this disconnection as they indicated that they wished they had assisted their mentees with these same areas but didn’t. It is possible that mentors do not have the time to work with mentees on research, publication, and presentations, or their areas of research interest differ from their mentee’s interest. The major recommendation emanating from this study is that formal mentoring programs should include more components on scholarship, publishing, presenting, and teaching, while limiting discussion of office politics, or advice on how to balance work and personal responsibilities. Moreover, the perceived success of informal mentoring suggests the following recommendations for both formal and informal programs: 1) that the mentor-mentee connection is desired by both parties; 2) that the mentor and mentee have shared common research or scholarship interests; 3) that institutional recognition for mentoring is provided; and 4) that procedures and guidelines that produce measureable outcomes are established. Conclusion
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This study found that mentoring is of benefit to both mentees and mentors and that with some modifications it could be even more effective. However, it does appear that the utility of formal mentoring programs are not adequate and thus produce less satisfaction from the recipients of these mentoring efforts. Furthermore, fewer than half of the respondents’ institutions provided formal mentoring programs. Since informal mentoring programs were reported to be more effective and more satisfying to the mentees, maybe it is time for colleges and universities to develop more mechanisms to actively support and develop these activities through such mechanisms as mentoring fairs and mentoring workshops. If institutions care about their faculty it seems clear that more efforts should be made to expand mentoring opportunities. REFERENCES Austin, A. (1996). Institutional and departmental cultures: The relationships between teaching and research. New Directions for Institutional Research, 90, 57-66. Austin, A. (2003). Creating a bridge to the future: Preparing new faculty for changing expectations in a shifting context. The Review of Higher Education, 26, 119-144. Blackburn, R. T., Chapman, D. W., & Camerson, S. M. (1981). “Cloning” in academe: Mentorship and academic careers. Research in Higher Education, 15(4), 315-327. Bogart, G. A., & Redner, R. L. (1985). How mentoring affects the professional development of women in psychology. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 16, 851-859. Bolger, R., & Kremer-Hayon, L. (1999). The socialization of faculty members to university culture and norms. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 23, 31-40. Branwein, R. (1980). Encouraging women to write. Social Work, 28, 431-432. Cawyer. S., Simonds, C., & Davis, S. (2002). Mentoring to facilitate socialization: The case of the new faculty member. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 15, 225-242. Darling, L. (1985). Mentors and mentoring. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 15, 42-43 Eddy, P. L., & Gaston-Gayles, J. L. (2008). New faculty on the block: Issues of stress and support. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 17(1-2), 89-106. Ewing, R., Freeman, M., Barrie S., Bell, A., O'Connor, D., Waugh, F., & Sykes, C. (2008). Building community in academic settings: The importance of flexibility in a structured mentoring program. Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning 16, 294-310. Green, R. (2008). Tenure and promotion decision: The relative importance of teaching, scholarship, and service. Journal of Social Work Education, 44, 117-127. Johnson, W. B. (2002). The intentional mentor: Strategies and guidelines for the practice of mentoring. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 33, 88-96. Johnson, W. B. (2007). On being a mentor: A guide for higher education faculty. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Mills, B. (1994). Faculty development in the 1990s: What it is and why we can’t wait. Journal of Counseling and Development, 72, 454-464. Robbins, S. (1989). Mentorship in social work education: Do women lose out? Arete, 14, 1-9. Roche, G. (1979). Much ado about mentors. Harvard Business Review, 57, 14-28. Sands, R., Parson, L., & Duane, J. (1991). Faculty mentoring faculty in a public university. Journal of Higher Education, 62, 174-193. Sansone, F., Bedics, B., & Rappe, T. (2000). BSW faculty workload and scholarship expectations for tenure. Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, 5, 27-46.
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Schrodt, P., Cawyer, C., & Sanders, R. (2003). An examination of academic mentoring behaviors and new faculty members’ satisfaction with socialization and tenure and promotion processes. Communication Education, 52, 17-29. Simon, C., Bowles, D., King, S., & Roff, L. (2004). Mentoring in the careers of African American women in social work education. Affilia, 19, 134-145. Simon, C., Perry, A., & Roff, L. (2008). Psychosocial and career mentoring: Female African American social work education administrators’ experiences. Journal of Social Work Education, 44, 9-22. Sorcinelli, M. (1994). Effective approaches to new faculty development. Journal of Counseling & Development, 72, 474-479. Weick, A. (1991). Should scholarly productivity be the primary criterion for tenure and promotion decisions! No. Journal of Social Work Education, 28, 135-138. Wilson, P., Pereira, A., & Valentine, D. (2002). Perceptions of new social work faculty about mentoring experiences. Journal of Social Work Education, 38, 317-334.
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Nkembe, E., Rucker, J. & Navarro, M. University of Georgia Mentoring in MANRRS ABSTRACT MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences) is a national society that encourages the recruitment, academic advancement, and professional development of minorities in agriculture, natural resources, related sciences, and other disciplines where minorities are often underrepresented. The purpose of the paper is to document and analyze the mentoring activities provided by MANRRS at the University of Georgia, using Haring’s (1999) conceptual base. A secondary purpose of the paper is to present a case study of blended grooming and networking mentoring (Haring, 1999), in the form of a personal account of the first author of the paper, who describes his “mentoring” experiences as a member of MANRRS at the University of Georgia, as an undergraduate student mentee, undergraduate student mentor, chapter secretary and president, national vice-president, and as graduate advisor and mentor. The analysis reveals MANRRS mentoring includes a wide range of mentoring activities: grooming mentoring, most significant with Junior MANRRS members; and a complex system of networking mentoring, where university students are simultaneously mentors and mentees and interact with a large number of people and organizations.
Introduction and conceptual framework Mentoring youth According to Goldner and Mayseless (2009), mentoring is “a special dyadic relationship between non-professional, non-parental adults and their protégés, and is naturally fairly common” (p. 1339). Scholars classify mentoring and mentoring programs depending on 1) the functions and roles of the mentor, program objectives, and the characteristics of the relationship between the mentee and the mentor (Jacobi, 1991); 2) the setting where it takes place (community, home, educational, employment) and the type of mentoring (community, group, one-on-one, electronic, peer) (Brown, Takahashi, & Roberts, 2010); 3) the organization of the mentoring (informal/natural or formal/organized) (Crawford, 2010), the mentoring model (grooming, networking, or blended) (Haring, 1999). Though mentoring programs for youth abound, the evidence and validation of their impact is more elusive, and more information is needed regarding best practices (Brown, Takahashi, & Roberts, 2010; DuBois, Holloway, Valentine, & Cooper, 2002; Jacobi, 1991). In a meta-evaluation of 55 youth mentoring programs, DuBois et al. (2002) highlighted several practices as important for program success. These included 1) training opportunities for mentors, 2) structured activities for mentees and mentors, 3) an expectation of a quality, strong, and frequent relationship between mentees and mentors; 4) programs were focused on specific situations; and 5) there was a formative evaluation of the program (DuBois et al. 2002; see also Goldner & Mayseless, 2009). DuBois et al. (2002) also found while the majority of youth benefitted only nominally from most mentoring programs, the potential benefits for youth from families of lower socio-economic status were much greater. In addition, they noted problems with bad programs were not just the losses attached to a ‘zero’ gain, but they could even have negative consequences (DuBois et al., 2002). Mentoring minorities in higher education and colleges of agricultural sciences Most mentoring programs in higher education focus on career development, leadership development, recruitment, retention, and academic success (Jacobi, 1991). Some programs also give mentor responsibilities to students to further develop their leadership skills and strengthen their commitment to academic success (Jacobi, 1991). Of particular concern in higher education is the discrepancy between the need for mentoring and the availability of mentoring for some groups of students. Particularly, Caucasian students have more social support, information, and informal “natural” mentoring available to them than students from minority groups or first generation university students (Jacobi, 1991), while it is the latter 413
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who have the greatest need. These discrepancies are even more accentuated in colleges of agricultural sciences, where people from minority groups are highly underrepresented, among both faculty and students. Conceptual framework Haring (1999) defined mentoring as “significant career assistance that is given by more experienced person(s) to less experienced one(s) during a time of transition,” (p. 6) and proposed a conceptual base for mentoring programs targeting minorities that emphasized 1) focus on the goals, design, and practices of the program; 2) reflection on the models of mentoring, considering the roles played in the mentee-mentor relationships, and 3) social and cultural implications of each model. The two models Haring suggests to use as a basis for the design of programs to mentor minority students are the “grooming mentoring” and “networking mentoring.” The two models differ in “such characteristics as who participates as mentors and protégé, expectations of the flow of benefits, structure and power dynamics of the mentoring relationship, and staffing” (Haring, 1999, p. 11). Grooming mentoring is a model in which “a mentor is paired with a protégé to enhance the protégé’s possibilities of a successful transition. The mentor is noticeably more experienced . . . and the flow of benefits is expected to be from mentor to protégé” (Haring, 1999, p. 11). In contrast, in networking mentoring, the relationships are between many people, and the flow of benefits is in all directions (all contribute to the success of others, and all serve as mentors or mentees, depending on the occasion). There are two prominent strengths associated with this model including 1) the ability of the model to encourage contributions of new participants, and thus, encourage fluidity and change within the organization; and 2) the sustainability of the organization because many people support it and contribute as a team to its programs at any given time, thus they do not depend on a single individual for its continuity. Additionally, Haring (199) introduces a third conceptual base, which is a blend of the two models. Purpose of the paper The purpose of the paper is to document and analyze the mentoring activities provided by the organization Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences [MANRRS] at the University of Georgia, using Haring’s (1999) conceptual base. A secondary purpose of the paper is to present a case study of blended grooming and networking mentoring (Haring, 1999), in the form a personal account of the first author of this article, who describes his “mentoring” experiences as a member of MANRRS at the University of Georgia, as an undergraduate student mentee, undergraduate student mentor, chapter secretary and president, national vice-president, and as graduate advisor and mentor. A 1999 study by Talbert, Larke, and Jones discussed how MANRRS could be used to increase participation and success of minorities in agricultural disciplines. The study used the same conceptual base to discuss MANRRS mentoring processes at Texas A&M University and Purdue University (Talbert et al., 1999). Mentoring in MANRRS Mentoring in MANRRS is a type of organized mentoring that uses volunteers to “empower the youngsters’ self, promote their personal development and compensate for lack of role models” (Goldner & Mayseless, p. 1339). In addition, these volunteers can also contribute to the academic and professional development of youngsters. In fact, the mentoring provided by MANRRS efficiently recruits and retains students into colleges of agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences, and prepares them for candidacy and professional development in agricultural-related careers. The national society of MANRRS is divided into six regions to better accommodate approximately 50 active university/college chapters, which boasts more than 1,000 members. Membership in MANRRS is
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open to all ethical and racial backgrounds. Anyone who promotes the academic and professional advancement of minorities is encouraged to join. There are three levels of membership in the national society of MANRRS. Those levels of membership include: 1) Junior MANRRS, which consists of high school or younger students in affiliate Junior MANRRS programs; 2) Student MANRRS, which consists of undergraduate and graduate students; and 3) Professional, which consists of professionals in industry (MANRRS, 2009). Though there is mentoring involved in all three levels of membership in MANRRS, in this paper we examine the mentoring provided to members in the Junior and Student levels. Mentoring youth (pre-college) Minorities are underrepresented in agriculture and other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers (Burke & Mattis, 2007). Troutman (2008) indicated an individual’s attitude towards agriculture was an important factor that affected recruitment into colleges of agriculture. She also noted minorities usually had a more negative attitude towards agriculture than non-minorities, and reported these perceptions are often based in lack of knowledge. Jones and Larke (2001) found recruitment by minorities was an important factor in the decision of minority students who enrolled in colleges of agriculture (Jones & Larke, 2001). One of the roles of MANRRS is to increase recruitment of minorities into colleges of agriculture. MANRRS is addressing this goal by increasing knowledge about agriculture among minority youth through the affiliate Junior chapters. While not every university chapter of MANRRS has an affiliate Junior MANRRS program, many do and the number is growing. The major goal of the Junior MANRRS program is to begin exposing younger students to the opportunities available to them through the national society of MANRRS and/or about possible careers in the fields of agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences. This is accomplished by helping pre-college students interact with the student members of the local university chapter, advisors, faculty, guest speakers, and representatives from industry. Often, Junior MANRRS members have a college student mentor, and their relationship is similar to the one described by Haring (1999) as grooming mentoring. Having their own student mentor allows them to be proactive and explicitly ask and get feedback on what can be expected of college life, the best methods for transitioning from high school to college, and what steps they need to take in order to be successful in careers in agriculture. Having this exposure not only gets Junior MANRRS students excited about their options in agriculture, natural resources and related sciences, but it also gives students a detailed account of what they need to prepare for their future academic and professional endeavors in agriculture. Mentoring college students In a March 2004 article, Dr. Fay Payton suggested one of the leading barriers for access, retention, and progression of minorities in STEM careers is a “lack of role models and networking opportunities” (p. 90). In the case of agricultural sciences, some authors consider it is not just the lack of role models, but the opposition of role models to youth enrollment in agricultural sciences: “African American children almost have to rebel against their parents if they want to pursue agricultural science” (Conciatore, 2000). Payton (2004) indicated “at the undergraduate, master and doctoral levels of education, mentoring programs for underrepresented minorities have shown some rates of success in upping the numbers” (p. 90). These programs include the Louise Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Program (LSAMP), Multicultural Scholars Program, Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Program, and MANRRS. At the college level, MANRRS activities focus on resumé writing, public speaking, interviewing, networking, and other skills helpful to increase students’ competitiveness in the job market. The mentoring model for MANRRS at the college level depends on the activity. Mentoring activities range from one-on-one grooming mentoring relationships between MANRRS students and their faculty mentor, where benefits flow primarily from the mentor to the student, to a highly complex networking mentoring model, where students serve as mentees and mentors simultaneously, relationships are forged within the organization and with other institutions, newcomers participate in setting the direction of the organization, 415
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and students provide a service to faculty and the university. Specifically, students receive mentorship from MANRRS faculty advisors. MANRRS also helps students by placing them under the mentorship of other faculty at the university. In addition, the organization arranges community service activities, visits to businesses, recruiting events, and panel discussions. Community service events range from local cleanup activities to tutoring in local schools. Visits to businesses help students network and learn more about employers who hire students from colleges of agriculture. Recruiting activities are very often connected to other college and university recruitment efforts, and may include tours of labs and facilities for high school students, breakfast or dinner with representatives of other organizations and faculty, and social events. One of the most beneficial opportunities MANRRS members have within their local chapter is to interact with faculty and representatives from industry at presentations and panel discussions. Here students are given the opportunity to interact and get guidance directly from individuals who currently work in the fields in which they aspire to excel. In addition to the opportunities provided by local chapters of MANRRS, opportunities are also available through the national society/office of MANRRS, the annual national conference, and the career fairs. There are several scholarships, fellowships, and opportunities offered to MANRRS members by national sponsors of the organization (e.g., United States Department of Agriculture, ConAgra, Kraft Foods, and Monsanto). At the annual conference, members participate in a wide range of competitions, such as public speaking, poster presentations, and impromptu speech. Members also can attend and participate in workshops presented by representatives from industry who are actively recruiting minorities to work in the fields of agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences. During the career fairs, many MANRRS students have the opportunity to be interviewed for internships, fellowships, assistantships, and jobs. Case study: Erik Nkembe personal account During my tenure at the University of Georgia (UGA), I have had the privilege of being involved in the student organization MANRRS. I have served the organization in several capacities. I have been a “general” undergraduate member, and I have taken several leadership roles, including UGA chapter Secretary and President, and National Undergraduate Student Vice-President. Presently, I am a graduate student at UGA, and I serve the organization as the graduate advisor. During my MANRRS tenure, I have benefitted immensely as both a mentee and as a mentor. In fact, I believe the most beneficial experience afforded to me has been the opportunity to grow and transition from being a student mentee to being a mentor to other students. My involvement in MANRRS began the spring semester of my freshman year when my dormitory Cultural Advisor and then Vice-President for the University of Georgia chapter asked me to accompany her to a program hosted by MANRRS. I spent several minutes trying to persuade her that there was nothing an agricultural organization could offer me that I did not already know from my rural upbringing. After reaffirming to me how beneficial membership in the organization was for her, she finally convinced me to attend. I’m glad she did because my life has not been the same since I became involved in the organization. After being introduced to MANRRS, it did not take long for me to take interest and become heavily involved in the organization. Coming from a small rural county in South Georgia to the University of Georgia was not an easy transition, but having the support and mentorship provided by MANRRS definitely made it easier. The first major benefit I received as a new member of MANRRS was more access to knowledge about available opportunities at the university. When I first joined MANRRS, I was a clueless first year student aspiring to go to medical school. When I was introduced to MANRRS, the advisors and members opened up a world of available options for me, including pre-medicine programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), a small and welcoming college in an otherwise huge and impersonal environment. I changed my major to biological science, in CAES, and have been a member of MANRRS ever since. Through MANRRS I was introduced to a group of people, both peers and mentors, who shared common interests with me and were willing to work with me towards reaching my goals. Although the name of the organization suggests the emphasis is solely on 416
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agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences, individuals from all backgrounds, majors, and colleges have benefitted from membership in MANRRS. The bulk of my experience as a mentee in the UGA chapter of MANRRS came in the form of guidance (about majors, courses, career paths, etc). While there was always an abundance of guidance provided by the faculty advisors, there was no shortage of guidance from peers who were more familiar with how things worked in CAES and MANRRS. In addition to receiving guidance about which courses I should take, I was also given the opportunity to work one-on-one with faculty and staff in the college. MANRRS facilitated the opportunity for my employment in two different poultry science labs with world renowned scientists, studying parasitology and avian behavior, as well as working directly under the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Multicultural Relations in CAES. My job working under the Assistant Dean consisted of recruiting minorities to CAES and developing activities and opportunities for MANRRS students. It was at this point I began transitioning from mentee to mentor, a very crucial moment in my personal leadership growth. The final step of the transition from mentee to mentor came with the opportunity to serve as the first national officer of MANRRS from the University of Georgia. The transition really became official at this point for me because I went from leading and providing guidance solely to individuals affiliated with the UGA chapter (as the chapter president), to serving as the leader/liaison for an entire region of the national society of MANRRS, which included the students, staff, and faculty from 13 other colleges and universities. As a national officer in MANRRS, I was given the opportunity to work side-by-side with professionals in the agricultural industry to organize and plan events for the national society, including the annual national conference. It was then I really found my passion to lead and reach out to others who need guidance. This experience, combined with advice from my MANRRS advisor/mentor encouraged me to continue my education by pursuing a master’s degree. Currently, I am a second year graduate student at the University of Georgia, pursuing a Master in Agricultural Leadership degree in the Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication department. In addition to my role as a graduate assistant in my department, I also serve as the graduate advisor for the University of Georgia Chapter of MANRRS. While my schedule may not allow me to participate as much as I would like, I still have a strong presence in the organization. I continue to support and mentor undergraduate members for one reason: they deserve it. I am a successful graduate student in a field I love. I believe it is because of the guidance and opportunities I was given by the individuals who mentored me as an undergraduate. It is for this reason I choose to mentor now and will continue to mentor in the future. My experiences with my mentors have inspired me to make positive contributions to the lives of others through mentorship. Conclusion The MANRRS organization encourages the access, retention, and progression of minorities in STEM careers by providing role models and networking opportunities to its members, a need identified for minority students by Payton (2004). The MANRRS organization exemplifies one of the best practices for youth mentoring at the college level by encouraging quality, strong, and frequent relationships between mentees and mentors (DuBois et al., 2002). One of the mentorship models used by this organization can be described as grooming mentorship (Haring, 1999) because MANRRS works to pair college MANRRS members with Junior members in high schools. This process teaches younger members how to successfully mentor, encouraging all members to eventually evolve from mentee to mentor. This peer teaching process provides sustainability to the mentoring aspect of the organization. The case study clearly demonstrates this evolution through the author’s experience as a mentee and now as a mentor. Furthermore, MANRRS also reflects network mentoring (Haring, 1999) as there are relationships forged between multiple members, all members serve as mentors or mentees, depending on the occasion, and people from many different organizations contribute to a variety of networking and mentoring activities. MANRRS reflects network mentoring through activities such as organizational leadership roles, professional development activities, employment opportunities, and the access to campus knowledge. The 417
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outcome of the mentoring relationship created by the MANRRS organization helps students develop both academically and professionally, which ultimately provides members the tools to become quality candidates in their chosen career path. REFERENCES Brown, S. E., Takahashi, K., & Roberts, K. D. (2010). Mentoring individuals with disabilities in postsecondary education: A review of the literature. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 23(2), 98-111. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Burke, R. J., & Mattis, M. C. (Eds.) (2007). Women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: upping the numbers. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc. Conciatore, J. (2000). Group minds its MANRRS & cultivates careers. Black Issues in Higher Education, 17(8), 3637. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Crawford, C. J. (2010). Manager's Guide to Mentoring. McGraw-Hill Professional. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. DuBois, D. L., Holloway, B. E., Valentine, J. C., & Cooper, H. (2002). Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: A meta-analytic review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 157-197. doi:10.1023/A:1014628810714 Goldner, L., & Mayseless, O. (2009). The quality of mentoring relationships and mentoring success. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38, 1339-1350. doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9345-0 Haring, M. J. (1999). The case for a conceptual base for minority mentoring programs. Peabody Journal of Education, 74(2), 5-14. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61(4), 505-532. Retrieved from JSTOR. Jones, W. A., & Larke, A. (2001). Factors influencing career choice of African American and Hispanic graduates of a land-grant college of agriculture. Journal of Agricultural Education, 42(1), 39-49. doi:10.5032/jae.2001.01049 Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences [MANRRS]. (2009). MANRRS Homepage. Retrieved from http://www.manrrs.org Payton, F. C. (2004). Making STEM careers more accessible. Black Issues in Higher Education, 21(2), 90. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Talbert, B., Larke Jr., A., & Jones, W. A. (1999). Using a student organization to increase participation and success of minorities in agricultural disciplines. Peabody Journal of Education, 74(2), 90-104. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Troutman, T. D. (2008). Students’ perceptions of agriculture at an 1862 land-grant institution. (Unpublished master’s thesis). The University of Georgia. Retrieved from http://dbs.galib.uga.edu/cgibin/ultimate.cgi?dbs=getd&userid=galileo&action=search
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Osano, L. Illuminate Africa Initiative Mentorship and Role Modeling as the Most Powerful Tool in a Learning Institution ABSTRACT Kenya is a favorite destination for tourists to enjoy a safari adventure or to relax on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Its national parks include the legendry Masai Mara, famous for the Maasai people and the wildlife, including lions and the annual migration of wildebeest. However, this beautiful coun- try has been scarred by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and poverty which have left approx- imately 1.6 million children orphaned. HIV/AIDS pandemic has been cited as one of the contributing factors to the declining education standards among the girls and high poverty levels besides lack of adequate facilities and teachers in Nyanza province. The pandemic has had a devastating impact on girls in the area as many had been left or- phaned after their parents succumbed to the disease. Ordinarily, enormous resources should translate into better living standards; however this is not the case in a province that borders the world’s second largest fresh water lake. Nyanza province is Kenya’s poorest province with an urban poverty rate of 63 per cent and a rural poverty rate of 65 per cent despite its endowment with enormous resources. Nyanza is ranked the poorest province in Kenya, according to inequality reports by Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and the Society for International Development (SID) for instance, constituencies in Nyanza have a high disparity in terms of poverty distribution where in Kitutu Masaba the urban poverty rate is at eight per cent while in neighboring Nyaribari Masaba the rate stands at 99 per cent. Rongo is classified as the least poor constituency with a poverty index of 34 per cent while Kuria is the poorest with 80 per cent poverty index. This is a region where a dismal 0.6 per cent of the population has access to safe drinking water despite residing on the shores of the second largest fresh water lake in the world. In a feasibility study carried out by Illuminate Africa Initiative in early 2005, cultural factors have been cited as contributors to poverty and underdevelopment in the province. For instance widow inheritance has contributed to an escalation of HIV/ AIDS. Female genital mutilation is also rife in some areas especially among the Kisii and Kuria communities causing young girls as young as 12 years to drop out of school to take up matrimonial duties. Low education standards and lack of health facilities were also seen as some of the biggest contributors to poverty in the region according to statistics by CBS, poor education standards and high infant mortality rates were the biggest indicators of the poverty situation. Ladies and gentlemen, education is no longer a luxurious undertaking world over but a very fundamental basic need without which an individuals capacity to comprehensively partake of social, political and economic dispensations is greatly hampered. It is those with the best academic qualifications mostly that continue to shape and direct the course of the world in business, law, medicine, information technology, governance and such like. This import has ensured that education remains competitive with examination systems continuously evolving. The levels of education in the wider Nyanza province have not only stagnated, but worse still, gone down. While this can to a large extent be blamed on the prevalent poverty, it is too apparent that for quite along time there has not been noticeable payback/reward/appreciation by professionals and academicians especially in the sense of capacity building and societal motivation, as well as information on emerging trends.
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Cook, C. Capiche Leveraging the Science of Happiness in the Workplace ABSTRACT The Performance-Happiness Model was born out of positive psychology (PosPsy), a theory and research-based approach to old organizational behavior concepts. Martin Seligman (University of Pennsylvania) was the leader of this international movement that began in 1998, studying new core concepts of efficacy, hope, optimism, happiness, and resiliency. To Fred Luthans (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), this PosPsy research seemed to have genuine relevance to the workplace and the same broad appeal that bestselling management books had received (Luthans, 2002). Luthans espoused that one can actualize human potential through the synergistic integration of human capital, social capital, and psychological capital (PsyCap) (Luthans, Avolio, Avey, & Norman, 2007). Although his work and that of his colleagues related to PsyCap is compelling, it stops short of the discoveries from the newly researched topic of happiness at work. In Happiness at Work: Maximizing your Psychological Capital for Success (2010), author Jessica Pryce-Jones takes PsyCap to the next level. PryceJones’ research adds the constructs of pride, trust, and recognition to PsyCap and finds the right combination for people to achieve their potential. Based on research with more than 3,000 respondents from 79 countries, Pryce-Jones arrived at the heart of what drives happiness and found that happiness drives performance. Happiness predicts employee time on task, intent to stay in job, sick time, motivation, engagement, satisfaction, self-belief, and respect for self and others—all of which contribute the success of any organization. The Performance-Happiness Model, developed based on the above research, has been successfully applied in more than 8,000 cases.
Introduction The purpose of this paper is to offer an overview of research in positive psychology and its application in the workplace. The presentation will focus on happiness at work, the latest research and using the Performance-Happiness Model for improving workplace productivity by advancing individual employees and teams, thereby increasing an organization’s bottom line. Positive Psychology: Historical Overview In the 1940s and 1950s, the mission of psychology was to help the mentally ill and make people’s lives more productive and fulfilling as espoused by Carl Jung and Abraham Maslow. Then there was a shift to concentrating research on what was wrong with people. In 1998, Martin Seligman was president of the American Psychological Association and took the focus of the profession back to exploring what was right with people, what makes life worth living, and it’s focus was on strengths, not weaknesses (Seligman, 2011). Unlike the feel-good bestselling management titles, positive psychology insists on sound theory and research prior to application and practice (Luthans, 2002). Positive psychology (PosPsy) is a theory and research-based approach to old organizational behavior concepts. Seligman was leading this international movement, studying new core concepts of efficacy, hope, optimism, happiness, and resiliency. To Luthans, this PosPsy research seemed to have genuine relevance to the workplace and the same broad appeal that bestselling management books had received (Luthans, 2002). This new positive approach to psychology was heartily embraced. There have been numerous issues devoted to PosPsy in the American Psychologist. These issues focused on the evolution of positive psychology and included articles detailing the personal traits that contribute to positive psychology. The traits were subjective well-being, optimism, happiness, and self-determination. Editors Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) concluded that positive psychology would “allow psychologists to understand and build those factors that allow individuals, communities and societies to flourish” (p. 15).
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Applications of Positive Psychology in the Workplace Luthans researched the implications of positive organizational behavior (POB) and differentiated it from the Big Five personality traits (extroversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism). As he defined them, POB capabilities are states and therefore may be learned, developed, changed, and managed in the workplace; thus, they can be measured and researched. Luthans studied and developed theory on the importance of hope, optimism, subjective well-being (or happiness), resilience, and emotional intelligence. He found that through developing these states, leadership, employee development, and performance was enhanced (Luthans, 2002). The levels of analysis have been at the subjective level (i.e., positive subjective experience such as wellbeing and contentment with the past, flow and happiness in the present, and hope and optimism into the future); the micro, individual level (i.e., positive traits and the capacity for love, courage, aesthetic sensibility, perseverance, forgiveness, spirituality, high talent, and wisdom); and the macro group and institutional level (i.e., positive civic virtues and the institutions that move individuals toward better citizenship such as responsibility, altruism, civility, moderation, tolerance, and a strong work ethic). (Luthans, 2002, p. 697)
Luthans believes that humanity needs a positive search for and understanding of what is good in people—at work and at home. Luthans views positive organizational behavior as a “step in the direction of not only new and exciting things to study and apply, but also the right way to move our field ahead in these unprecedented times in which we work and live” (Luthans, 2002, p. 704). Wright’s 2003 essay called for more research on positive organizational behavior, serving as a reminder that too much research has focused on the more negative aspects of human nature. Advocating Barbara Fredrickson’s broaden and build theory of positive emotions, Wright stated, “through the impetus provided by happiness or joy, individuals are more easily able to transform themselves and become more creative, resilient, socially connected, and physically and mentally healthy” (p. 440). Wright concluded that the future success of positive organizational behavior was reliant upon the discipline’s ability to clearly articulate a mission that valued employee betterment as a viable goal in addition to how it may help a business’s bottom line. Current Research: Happiness at Work Luthans espoused that one can actualize human potential through the synergistic integration of human capital, social capital, and PsyCap (Luthans, et al., 2007). While his work and that of his colleagues related to PsyCap is compelling, it does not include the broader discoveries from the newly researched topic of happiness at work. In Happiness at Work: Maximizing your Psychological Capital for Success (2010), author Jessica Pryce-Jones takes Luthans’ research on PsyCap to the next level. Pryce-Jones’ research adds the constructs of pride, trust, and recognition to PsyCap and finds the right combination for people to achieve their potential. Happiness at work is defined by Pryce-Jones as a mindset that allows individuals and organizations to maximize performance and achieve their potential. This happens during the highs and low—both when working alone or in teams. By mindfully making the best use of the resources you have, you overcome challenges. This not only builds your happiness but also that of others—who will be affected and energized by what you do (Pryce-Jones, 2010). Based on research with more than 3,000 respondents from 79 countries, Pryce-Jones got to the heart of what drives happiness and found that happiness drives performance. Happiness predicts employee time on task, intent to stay in job, sick time, motivation, engagement, satisfaction, self-belief, and respect for self and others. The Performance-Happiness Model, which was developed based on the above research, has been successfully applied in more than 8,000 cases.
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The Performance-Happiness Model At the center of the Performance-Happiness Model is believing that you are achieving your potential. This is important because that belief makes you happy, and the statistics around happy versus unhappy employees are staggering. Pryce-Jones’ research (2010) shows that the happiest employees compared to their least happy colleagues: • are 47% more productive; • take on average 1.5 sick days per year compared to the United States average of 6 days per year (in the public sector the sick days range from 11 to 20 days per year); • are 108% more engaged; • are 50% more motivated; • have 180% more energy; • have 82% more job satisfaction; • are 25% more efficient and effective; and • have 25% more self-belief (pp. 28 – 29). The five strong factors important to achieving your potential at work are the 5Cs: contribution, conviction, culture, commitment, and confidence. Three vital sub-themes giving additional perspective of happiness are trust, recognition, and pride. Contribution Contribution is the effort you make at work and your perception of it. People who are happiest at work contribute 25 % more than their least happy colleagues—making this the most important component in the Performance-Happiness Model (Pryce-Jones, 2010). Contribution can be looked at in terms of what you do and in terms of how others in the workplace interact with you. In terms of what you do, to be most able to contribute, you must have clear objectives, be comfortable raising issues important to you, believe you are secure in your job, and be achieving your goals. In addition, related to how others interact with you, you must feel appreciated at work, receive positive feedback, feel respected by your boss, and feel listened to. To increase your level of contribution, start with the more concrete items, such as clear and actionable objectives and goals, and going on to achieve these goals. When these parts of contribution are in place, you are more likely to receive positive feedback from your boss, etc. If you think that you aren’t getting positive feedback, respect or aren’t listened to, make sure you are doing these things toward others. These happiness-making activities are contagious and their effects will spread (Pryce-Jones, 2010). Conviction Conviction falls next in line of importance to create happiness at work. It is what keeps you going if your feeling of contribution wanes. Conviction is your motivation to perform whatever the situation, and it comes from inside you. It is closely tied to feelings of autonomy, mastery, and purpose (Pink, 2009). The components of conviction include motivation, believing that you are effective and efficient, knowing that you are resilient, and believing that your work has a positive impact on the world (Pryce-Jones, 2010). Culture Culture is the environment in which you work—something you have much less control over than contribution and conviction. However, culture makes a big impact on how happy you are at work as it governs how people behave. According to Pryce-Jones, it is on a fixed-fluid continuum, with some elements set in stone or harder to change and other elements perhaps changing from day to day. Fixed 422
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elements include agreeing with the values your organization stands for, believing that the organization acts fairly, and thinking that you have control in your daily activities. More fluid elements are liking your job, genuinely relishing the work you do, and liking your colleagues. It is important to note that culture can negatively or positively affect your health and well-being. Commitment Commitment comes from believing you are doing something meaningful, understanding and being in alignment with the vision of your organization, being engaged in your job—feeling like you are in the “flow,” and feeling strong moments of positive emotion on a regular basis (Pryce-Jones, 2010). All four of these elements build a sense of happiness and well-being and contribute to your feeling of achieving your potential. This relates strongly to Frederickson’s broaden and build theory where positive emotions and experiences make way for further positive emotions and experiences. Feeling as though are achieving your potential is critical to happiness at work. Confidence Confidence is the last of the 5Cs in terms of statistical importance. But it’s one on which all the others depend. . . . If you’re in the category of people who have the highest levels of happiness at work, you’ll have a whopping 40% more confidence than your least happy colleagues. (Pryce-Jones, 2010, p. 127) In addition, people with greater confidence have 25% more self-belief, get 35% more done, and have 180% more energy (Pryce-Jones, 2010). So you can see how important confidence is to contribution, conviction, and commitment.
Luthans et al. (2007) defined confident people as having the ability to summon the motivation and cognitive resources and invest the effort necessary to accomplish goals, even as obstacles may arise. According to Luthans et al. (2007), confident people have five characteristics: 1. They set high goals for themselves and self-select into difficult tasks. 2. They welcome and thrive on challenge. 3. They are highly self-motivated. 4. They invest the necessary effort to accomplish their goals. 5. When faced with obstacles, they persevere. (p. 38) Collective confidence (or efficacy) moves a business forward and ties its multiple units and functions together for a greater outcome and competitive advantage. Without high levels of efficacy, businesses will stagnate. Progress toward goals will stall as employee motivation wanes and he or she shies away from taking risks. These businesses will not be able to function in challenging, stressful, or fearful times because of their lack of efficacy. Trust, Recognition, and Pride As Pryce-Jones was analyzing her first big data set, she says she had a major wow moment—it was clear to her how important trust, recognition, and pride are in that they are elements of each of the 5Cs. They are completely interwoven. Trust and pride work together as feelings you have for your organization. Recognition is something that you receive from your organization. Without trust, pride, and recognition, each of the 5Cs is lowered. Trust in your organization comes when your goals and values are in alignment. Trust enables you to have the confidence to take (calculated) chances or risks to meet your goals. It increases contribution, as there is open sharing of knowledge. Trust is critical to your fit within the organization’s culture and contributes and feelings of wellbeing. Trust between you and your organization is critical to your ability to have high levels of each of the 5Cs and to achieve your potential. Recognition keeps you motivated. It increases trust and pride as well as the 5Cs. It can come from within your organization or from the outside. It’s important to get it and to give it. People like different forms of recognition; some like it in public, others in private. Some like symbols of achievement; others 423
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prefer a handwritten note, phone call, or personal visit. It isimportant to provide recognition in a manner that the person you are recognizing is comfortable with. It is also important to be specific about what you are recognizing someone for and how, specifically, it made a difference to you/your client, etc. This makes the recognition meaningful. Pride increases the motivation to accomplish the organization’s goals. It comes when you feel a sense of belonging and a sense of contributing to a greater good. This is different from hubris, or too much pride in oneself. It pushes you to higher levels of confidence, commitment, and conviction. The Significance of the Performance-Happiness Model The Performance-Happiness Model is significant and matters to an organization’s success because one can measure the levels of the 5Cs, trust, recognition, and pride, and by building them, help individuals achieve their potential. This, in turn, will translate to higher potential of their organization, team, department, etc. The bottom line is that better performance leads to better business outcomes. The iPPQ (iOpener People and Performance Questionnaire) The measurement tool for the elements of the Performance-Happiness Model is the iPPQ, created by the iOpener Institute for People and Performance. The iPPQ is a research-based assessment tool used by businesses and organizations in both the public and private sector. The assessment measures an individual’s levels of the 5Cs, trust, recognition, and pride. The results give a coach or mentor an indication about where to focus their work to increase levels of the 5Cs, trust, recognition, and pride to help individuals achieve their potential. iPPQs also can be done with a combined report for entire organizations, teams, departments, divisions, or any other subset of an organization. Steps for Improving Performance and Happiness in an Organization 1. Assess whether your organizational goals (e.g., sales, production, customer retention, employee retention) would be more likely to be achieved if there was less sick time, more engagement, more motivation, and greater productivity. 2. Get a clear picture of sick time taken by your employees. 3. Assess employee turnover in all areas throughout your organization. 4. Assess the level of PsyCap and happiness in your organization by having your employees take the iOpener Institute for People and Performance Questionnaire (iPPQ). The short version is free, with personalized results and suggestions, and is available at www.iopener.com/ippqreport. 5. Consider a combined report for your entire organization, teams, departments, divisions, or any other subset of your organization (contact me for more details and a sample report at chris@capiche.us). 6. Work with your human resources department if you have one, and hire an expert in organizational development, training, or coaching to design a program to address your specific needs. The return on investment will manifest in greater profits and happiness—a combination that will please employees, clients, and shareholders. Summary The workplace is changing, and today’s employees are loyal to themselves. How do businesses create organizational commitment leading to sustainable growth and competitive advantage? How do businesses foster pride, trust, engagement, and job satisfaction? By helping their employees achieve their potential through increased PsyCap and happiness. Most organizations are ignoring a significant renewable resource that they currently possess—the psychological capital of their current workforce (Luthans et al., 2007, p. 47). For organizations to develop a more competitive advantage, they must provide training, programs, and a culture to increase managers’ and employees’ PsyCap and happiness. If an organization cannot include all employees in the training, it should start with management, as research shows that 424
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leaders who possess greater levels of PsyCap positively influence PsyCap levels of their followers (Hodges, 2010). While larger businesses can often achieve economies of scale in training programs, the return on investment is substantial even for small organizations. Given the research on a variety of business sectors and sizes, it is likely that the return on investment in PsyCap would be substantially higher than from traditional investments in financial and economic capital. The ROI and increased employee performance has been demonstrated in a variety of business sectors and with a variety of employees. For example, the Silicon Valley engineering managers who participated in PsyCap micro-interventions resulted in an ROI of 270% for the firm (Luthans et al., 2006). A study of 79 police leaders and their 264 direct reports demonstrated that leader PsyCap positively related to the performance of followers, and leaders who possessed higher levels of PsyCap directly enhanced follower performance (Walumbwa, Peterson, Avolio, & Hartnell, 2010, p. 956). Studies with university students, insurance processors, and engineers and managers at a Fortune 100 firm have also shown increased performance (Luthans, Norman, Avolio, & Avey, 2008). Organizations are overlooking a valuable resource that can give them a competitive advantage: their current workforce. By investing in their current workforce, organizations can realize increased work performance, commitment, and job satisfaction within their existing workforce. They will see fewer sick days and more time on task. This equates to positive organizational change, a competitive advantage, and higher profits. “Organizations that capitalize on the inimitability of the human, social, and psychological capital of their valuable employees and leaders are likely to enjoy long-term competitive advantage” (Luthans, et al., 2007, p. 103).
REFERENCES Hodges, T. (2010). An experimental study of the impact of psychological capital on performance, engagement, and the contagion effect (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No.3398191) Luthans, F. (2002). The need for and meaning of positive organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 695-706. doi:10.1002/job.165 Luthans, F., Avolio, B. J., Avey, J. B., & Norman, S. M. (2007, Autumn). Postive psychological capital: Measurement and relationship with performance and satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 60(3), 541572. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2007.00083.x Luthans, F., Norman, S. M., Avolio, B. J., & Avey, J. B. (2008). The mediating role of psychological capital in the supportive organizational climate—employee performance relationship. The Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29, 219-238. doi:10.1002/job.507 Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books. Pryce-Jones, J. (2010). Happiness at work: Maximizing your psychological capital for success. West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. New York, NY: Free Press. Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 0003-066X, 55(1), 5-14. doi:10.1037//0003-066X.56.1.89 Walumbwa, F. R., Peterson, S. J., Avolio, B. J. & Hartnell, C. A. (2010). An investigation of the relationships among leader and follower psychological capital, service climate, and job performance. Personnel Psychology, 63, 937–963. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6570.2010.01193.x Wright, T. A. (2003). Positive organizational behavior: An idea whose time has truly come. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24, 437-442. doi:10.1002/job.197 425
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Poorman, J. A. Appalachian State University A Small Business’ Investment in Mentoring: A Case Study ABSTRACT A smart small business owner needs to be not only an employer, but a life-long mentor. Realistically, the majority of small businesses can’t compete with large firms in the areas of salary and promotion, but by utilizing mentoring best practices, owners can recruit and retain the brightest talents in their fields. The benefits of effective mentoring in the workplace not only lead to higher profitability, but also serve the profession and the employees. When an owner invests in an individual’s professional development through coaching and support, it not only benefits the company’s performance, but contributes to the development of a stronger industry through better trained and committed professionals. For this reason, an employers’ personal involvement in a mentoring process is key. Fortunately, utilizing and supporting professional and higher education mentoring programs can provide a framework for the agendas of individual businesses. As the owner of a small North Carolina architecture and interior design firm, the discussion will be approached from a case study perspective. Presented from a first-hand account, the case’s lessons pertain to all disciplines.
The United States Department of Labor differentiates and defines businesses and classes by NAICS codes. A microbusiness is generally defined as an organization with fewer than 10 employees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, firms with one to four employees make up 61% of employer firms; businesses with one to nine employees make up 78.6 percent of employer firms. The majority of Architectural and Interior Design (A&D) firms are microbusinesses. A medium firm or local branch of a larger national organization would fall within the 15-50 employee range. Within the industry, firms with more than 50 employees are generally considered as large. A&D firms with multiple office locations take into account the total number of employees employed, but individual locations often act as independent entities when implementing internal programs like mentoring. One difference in microbusinesses versus small and large firms is evident in job responsibilities. Microbusinesses do not have the compartmentalized structure of larger companies. Employees are often required to perform multiple tasks during a workday. Not only do employees have to deal with shifting workloads and duties, but the firms’ principles must also perform multiple tasks. Differentiating between the principles’ daily roles and the design activities is often difficult to separate, and even harder to research and evaluate. Most owners of A & D firms are not trained to run a business. They are more likely to be trained in their chosen specialty within the design industry and not in business practices. Successful ownership normally comes from being successful at the specific discipline or service combined with personal investment in the firm. Therefore, the management of a microbusiness is often highly integrated into the personality of the owner. Whether it is a true family business or not, small design firms can be run like a family business reminiscent of the early twentieth century. Employees, therefore, become integrated in the “family.” From a recruiting standpoint, newly hired employees are essentially being brought into a small family with all of the personality dynamics that are embedded in the current make- up of the organization. Similar to understanding the dynamics of the organization, employees must quickly assess the firms’ organizational structure and personalities. Mentors are invaluable in guiding new hires through the transition from “outsider” to “insider.” However, if the mentor is also one of the firm’s principles, there must be clear lines drawn to differentiate the two roles. If those roles are not clearly defined from the initial stages of employment, the intern/apprentice may have difficulty in establishing boundaries. Phrases like “speaking as your mentor” or “as the managing partner” help frame the conversation so the mentee is clued into where the comment is coming from in the overall discussion. Another aspect to be considered is that microbusinesses cannot offer their employees many of the traditional upward methods of advancement. There are fewer steps available to the “top of the corporate 426
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ladder.” In an A&D firm, the steps typically follow a path like intern/apprentice, design staff, project manager, and principle. To compensate, A&D firms can offer individualized professional development opportunities through mentoring. Additionally, by investing in employees’ development, microbusinesses can build on their small personalized structure to provide valuable skills and training tailored to stated goals and interests. Mentoring Programs for Microbusinesses Microbusinesses are not as apt to have formal mentoring programs; many would be considered informal. Although informal, A & D firms typically utilize an apprentice model of mentoring. Professional organizations within the field like the American Institute of Architecture’s Intern Development Program (IDP) and the National Council for Interior Design Qualification’s Interior Design Experience Program (IDEP) are direct descendants of the trade guild’s apprentice programs. These formalized programs include a structure that separates the roles of supervisor and mentor. The programs have also added enhanced structure to allow the protégé greater professional development and higher likelihood of success in the field. For these programs, successful passage of licensure/certification exams is the primary goal. Personal development is playing an increasingly important role, but still, the primary function of IDP and IDEP programs end once licensure/certification and professional status is achieved. The programs require that the mentor not be a supervisor and preference is given to the mentor who works for a competing firm. These roles need to be reviewed further for their effectiveness in long- term professional development. Organized program aspects of the IDP or IDEP which focus on mentoring and educational experience are beneficial to both the microbusiness and the protégé. Organized primarily to help graduating students transition to the job market, these programs can be utilized as useful tools for recruitment. However, the principle that is also the mentor must go beyond the organized program. Principles must be actively engaged in employees’ growth and development. Although more formal programs can provide structure and goals, effective mentoring is an on-going learned behavior. Role of Owner/Mentor Particularly in a microbusiness, it is important for owners to not only distinguish the various roles served in that capacity, but to be able to clearly articulate each role to employees. Principles serve in the capacity of CEO, CFO, human resource officer, as well as architect, project manager and design staff supervisor. In the context of mentoring, principles must be able to differentiate between these roles. This can be challenging to both mentors and mentees due to physical space limitations and the increased likelihood that owners and employees may literally work side-by-side. More than ever, principles need to be deliberate in their approach to mentoring. Mentors are playing two primary roles in the relationship with the mentee. The mentor serves as a technical advisor on design related issues and as career counselor for navigating the logistic of a career path and professional development. To help mentees in their career development, mentors must go beyond mere role modeling. Principles/mentors must learn to delegate and transfer authority. Mentees must be helped to also take ownership of the product or service. To accomplish this, mentees must be given authority for making decisions that relate directly to the outcome of the product or service. There is cost involved in this process, especially since for many microbusinesses, “time is money.” More often than not, mentors can produce the work in less time. However effective mentoring offers mentees challenging assignments that will increase their professional exposure within the field. Additionally, client relationships are vital to continued business growth, especially in a competitive market place. By relinquishing control, mentors further the second function: professional development. By building trust and enhancing mentees identity and self-worth, owners are more like to retain satisfied employees. The high level of retention is often viewed favorably by clients as a sign of the firm’s stability.
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Although true for all mentors, effective listening skills are particularly important for owner/mentors of microbusinesses. Not only must they listen, they must also act on what is heard. In the end, listening makes the difference in understanding how mentees perceive the mentors’ interest. Acting on what is heard reinforces the fact that the mentor is willing to back up the mentee’s concerns with action. This action will not only reinforce the mentoring relationship, it also helps to build trust. Mentees have to believe that they are respected, heard and seen as an equal partner in the process. Equally, mentors have to trust that mentees share the values and concerns the owner/mentor brings to the business and to the mentoring process. To build this trust, owners must convey a consistency of the message and be fair to all employees. The even-handed approach and consistent outcome in the messages reduce mentees’ confusion as to what the consequences are to a given action or task. When irrational reprisal is not a likely outcome, mentees know boundaries, know when and how exemptions are made, and how those exemptions are dealt with internally. Benefits Many microbusinesses operate on limited resources, making the investment of mentoring time often “recorded” in the profit and loss column. To help justify this investment, owners look for benefits that will not only help develop competent and successful employees, but help with the bottom line. Two such benefits are reduced overhead through successful recruitment of talented designers and retaining staff beyond the intern/apprentice stage. A&D firms benefit most from a seasoned design staff capable of handling projects and clients, but are not yet in a profit-sharing position. Recruitment Due to the nature of microbusinesses, owners are very skilled laborers in their chosen profession. It is not uncommon for an owner to start the business as a sole proprietorship and “grow” the business slowly by adding one employee at a time. Just like larger companies, the cost of finding good employees cost both time and money. One way owners can reduce this cost is by participating in university-sponsored mentoring programs. The professional expertise and commitment to the field that principles have make them highly desirable volunteers. The benefits to the university and to the students are obvious; what owners need to recognize is that volunteer mentors have a wealth of potential employees to screen, interview and evaluate at no cost. Specifically in the design fields, volunteer mentors can see beyond the student portfolio to gain insight into motivation, cooperation, and ambition. By developing a relationship with university faculty, volunteer mentors can be assigned mentees with similar interests and goals. In essence, faculty help play the role of recruiter through their longer term and supplemental knowledge of their students. A word of caution: streamlining the recruitment process is an excellent byproduct of serving as a volunteer mentor, but cannot be the only motivating factor. A commitment to furthering the field must be present. Retention According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, it can cost a company $14,000 or more to replace one employee. Add to this figure the cost of training, and micro-businesses cannot afford to have high turnover rates. Anecdotally, design students entering the workforce with A&D firms as an intern/apprentice will change jobs three times in five years or once every year and eight months. Statistically accurate or not, the fact remains that students transitioning from academia to the job market are very likely to move to other opportunities unless they find a good fit. Successful retention rates within a micro- business specifically involve more than increased wages and advancement. As already stated, these benefits are less likely to occur on a regular basis in businesses with few employees. A strong mentoring relationship leads to employees’ positive feelings of self- worth and value. By utilizing the mentoring practice of transferring authority and responsibility, A&D firms allow mentees to see that what 428
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they do directly impacts project results. The process starts small with a few individual tasks but can quickly evolve into more substantial project responsibilities. This frees the principle for other tasks which are a time-savings, but more importantly, gives mentees a greater sense of ownership of the project and of the firm. Mentee are less likely to look for other employment when they feel connected to and invested in a firm’s success. More responsibility is often coupled with access to how the firm is managed. By seeing the inner workings of the firm and access to the principles, mentees are able to understand what is involved in running the organization. They see the personal time and financial commitment made by the principles. The transparency of the inner workings often slows the mentees desire to strike out on their own. Another benefit of increased employee retention is client retention. Soliciting new work is a major expense for A&D firms. Maintaining an existing client eliminates the expense of marketing and the timeconsuming competition for the projects. Clients trust is increased by the stability of the firm’s employment record. The comfort level a client has with the firm’s staff and in consistent contact is critical to repeated projects with the same client. By bringing a mentee into the dialog early, clients often respect the principle/mentors commitment to the educational process. The firm is viewed as a responsible member of the industry and as a valued member of the community. The firm is also more likely to retain the client if an employee leaves for other employment. The client sees the firm as the basis for the relationship and thus the project doesn’t leave with employee. Recommendations Individuals hired to work in A&D firms must understand the nature of microbusinesses. Workers must seek out individuals and firms who can assist their career and professional development beyond passing an exam. Microbusinesses need to understand the benefits in investing in mentoring. To that end there needs to be more opportunities for owners of microbusinesses to take advantage of mentoring training. Successful designers are not inherently good business managers or mentors. It takes conscious effort and training. Principles of firms can take advantage of organized programs but the behavioral mind-set must be promoted and developed. Mentoring in traditional A&D firms should go beyond the traditional intern/apprentice programs to glean the benefits of the original investment in an employee. Architecture and Design firm’s principles need to become life-long mentors. References American Institute of Architecture. (2011) National Council of Interior Design Qualifications. (2011) US Census Bureau. (2008) Statistics about Business Size including Small Business. US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2011) Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition The US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2011) Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
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Miltenberger, A. & Lemke, K. Adams Stae College The Mentoring Helix: A New Family Support for Latino Students ABSTRACT This session offers strategies to strengthen significant learning for Latino students. This presentation will provide a theoretical basis for new strategies that suggest that peer-mentoring relationships are an essential means of supporting Latino students. This session will feature an interactive component that aid student affairs professionals in designing a meaningful peer mentoring intervention in their institution.
Desired Learning Outcomes • • • •
To increase understanding of the essential theories underlying peer mentoring initiatives particularly in regards to Latino/a students To apply theories in creating peer or near-peer mentoring relationships in practical terms. To share innovative strategies for fostering a mentoring helix that mirrors the family support structure. To conceptualize opportunities for students to serve both as mentor and mentee in your community.
Introduction and Overview • •
Overview the presentation- Tell them what they should know after Participants introduce themselves and include one burning question about mentoring that they bring with them
Activity I: Mentoring Dyads (10 Mins) • • •
Ask participants to group with another participant Describe the ground rules for the dyad (2 mins each, silent listening, no judgments, no after conversations) Dyad on a significant mentor you had in your life
Discussion of Theories & Handout (15 Mins) Connections will be made between the Dyad activity on mentoring experience and the strong impact of family among Latino/a students. The facilitators will describe the White model of Minority Student Mentoring, describing each stage. Each stage will be related to the family model. • Stage 1: What is a mentor • Stage 2: Articulate Dream • Stage 3: Understand the Learning Process • Stage 4: Faith, Confidence, and Belief • Stage 5: Hands-on Learning Activity II: Mentoring Dyad 2 (5 Mins) • • •
Ask participants to group with a new partner Review the ground rules for a Dyad Dyad on time when you were a mentor to another person
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Discussion of Theories & Handout- Continued (5 mins) • • •
Continue on White’s model Mentor Ladder Interdependence
Introduce three competencies of mentoring • • •
Psychological / emotional support Support for setting goals and choosing a career path Academic subject knowledge support
Activity III: Competencies Jigsaw (20 Min) • • • • •
Number participants 1,2,3 Break into groups Each group will create a list of strategies that will support one assigned competency of mentoring (10 Mins) Participants will be asked to find representatives from two other groups. This new group of three (1,2,3) will discuss interventions to complete the picture of mentoring initiatives. (10 Mins)
Reporting out (10 Min) Participants will have an opportunity to describe innovative approaches to mentoring discussed in their small groups. Conclusion (5 Mins) Presenter will bring the exercise back to the theoretical framework. Next steps. Provide contact info/remind them that there will be an email. Feel free to reply. “Thank you” REFERENCES Alon, S., & Tiend, M. (2007). Diversity, Opportunity, and the Shifting Meritocracy in Higher Education. Amerian Sociological Review, 72(4), 487-511. Doi:Article Attinasi, L.C. (1989). Getting in: Mexican American’s Perceptions of University Attendance and the Implications for Freshman Year Persistence, Journal of Higher Education, 60(3), 247-77. Castellanos, J. (2003). The majority in the minority: expanding the representation of Latina(o) faculty, administrators, and studentes in higher education (1st ed.) Sterling Va.: Stylus Pub. Hurtato, S., & And Others. (1996). Latino Student Transition to College: Assessing Difficulties and Factors in Successful College Adjustment. Research in Higher Education, 37(2), 135-57
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Hillard, J. R. Michigan State University Workplace Mobbing: Mentoring for Recognition, Prevention and Harm Reduction ABSTRACT Workplace mobbing is a pattern of malicious communications among a group of co-workers against a targeted individual, with the goal of humiliating, stigmatizing and ultimately eliminating that person. Workplace mobbing is a very common and very destructive occurrence in academic environments. Although extensively recognized and researched in Europe and Canada, mobbing has, so far, not received comparable attention in the United States. Mobbing, for the purpose of this paper, is to be distinguished from bullying, which involves repeated mistreatment of a target predominantly by a single individual, although the two terms are often used synonymously. Targets are often unable to figure out what is happening to them and often experience extreme psychological stress, which can lead to post traumatic stress disorder, depression, paranoia or somatic symptoms. It is important that mentors in academic settings understand workplace mobbing so that they can help their mentees be able to recognize the pattern, whether it is occurring towards the mentee or towards someone else in a shared work environment. It is, perhaps, even more important that new supervisors be mentored to understand the pattern and to intervene effectively to halt it. New supervisors can also be mentored in how to create units that do not lend themselves as easily to mobbing behaviors.
Consider that coworkers’ hostile behavior could be causing paranoid symptoms Mr. G, age 46, works for a large federal government agency in a middle-management position. He presents seeking treatment for insomnia. He says, “I just need a sleeping pill. I haven’t been able to sleep for the last 3 months because everybody at work is talking behind my back and spreading rumors about how I’m crazy. My boss is in on it, too. She is always trying to undermine me and makes a big deal out of every little mistake I make.”
Mr. G is suspicious, asking questions about the confidentiality of medical records. His speech is rapid, and he is anxious but exhibits a full range of aff ect and no pressured speech or fl ight of ideas. Mr. G describes early, middle, and late insomnia, decreased energy and interest, and gaining 10 pounds over the past 3 months. He admits owning a gun and having frequent thoughts of suicide and fantasies of killing his boss, although Mr. G repeatedly affi rms he would never act on these thoughts. A week ago, his wife moved in with her parents because, he says, “she just couldn’t stand to be around me any longer.” I consider involuntary hospitalization for Mr. G. Ultimately I contact his wife, who agrees to pick him up, stay with him overnight, and return with him the next morning. Because the only medication Mr. G is willing to consider is sleeping pills, I prescribe fl urazepam, 30 mg qhs. Mr. G was apparently paranoid, thinking of killing his boss, and had a gun. If his wife had not answered the phone and been willing to stay with him, he might have been involuntarily committed. As it was, further interviews with him revealed that Mr. G had been a tar-get of workplace “mobbing,” and that his insomnia and paranoia developed because of a deliberate campaign by coworkers. This article discusses how to recognize symptoms of workplace mobbing, using Mr. G’s experience to illustrate the dynamics of this group behavior. An informed mental health professional can be of enormous help to a mobbing victim, but an uninformed professional can unwittingly make the situation much worse.
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What is ‘mobbing’? Initiated most often by a person in a position of power or infl uence, mobbing has been described as “a desperate urge to crush and eliminate the target…. As the campaign proceeds, a steadily larger range of hostile ploys and communications comes to be seen as legitimate.”1 This behavior pattern has been recognized in Europe since the 1980s but is not well recognized in the United States. Davenport et al2 brought the phenomenon and its consequences to the U.S. public’s attention in 1999 with the publication of Mobbing: emotional abuse in the American workplace. Otherwise, little professional literature on workplace mobbing has been produced in the United States. A PubMed search on the term “mobbing” limited to 1982 through October 2008 returned 95 listings, excluding those dealing purely with ethology, but only 1 report from the United States. Studies from outside the United States indicate that mobbing is relatively common. In 1990 Leymann3 estimated that 3.5% of the Swedish workforce had been victims of signifi cant mobbing. Studies from various other European countries have estimated prevalence of mobbing at 4% to 15% of the total workforce. Studies from Europe have shown that all age groups can be affected, but that posttraumatic stress disorder among mobbing victims is more common in patients age >40. Both genders are equally at risk.
Mobbing, bullying, and harassment. The term “workplace mobbing” was coined by Leymann,3 an occupational psychologist who investigated the psychology of workers who had suffered severe trauma. He observed that some of the most severe reactions were among workers who had been the target of “an impassioned collective campaign by coworkers to exclude, punish, or humiliate” them. Many researchers use the term mobbing to describe a negative work environment created by several individuals working together. 1-3 However, some researchers suchas Namie et al4 use the term workplace bullying to describe the creation of a hostile work environment by either a single individual—usually a boss—or a number of individuals. Why I first thought ‘paranoia’ During our fi rst interview, Mr. G said that 6 months before he sought treatment he had reported misuse of government property by his supervisor’s boss. The case was investigated and dismissed. Mr. G’s supervisor never confronted him about the complaint, but shortly afterwards Mr. G started to notice disturbing changes in the workplace. His supervisor avoided Mr. G’s phone calls and e-mails and stopped meeting with him. Instead, she met with Mr. G’s subordinates. The subordinates started to ignore Mr. G’s instructions and would roll their eyes or be inattentive when he spoke. Coworkers stopped talking when Mr. G approached, and he started receiving anonymous e-mails questioning his ability and sanity. He was reprimanded in writing for having made a $9 mathematical error in an expense reimbursement request. Mr. G said when he approached his superior about the work environment, she stated that he was “just paranoid” and needed to see a psychiatrist. When Mr. G’s wife accompanies him to the second interview, she confi rms his impressions of ostracism and gossip at work. She also relates her experiences with people from Mr. G’s offi ce who previously had been friendly but now were distant or hostile. Mr. G shows me copies of harassing work emails and memos. I tell Mr. G I believe his story and diagnose him as suff ering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He begins supportive/cognitive therapy and continues flurazepam. Mobbing syndrome As it turns out, Mr. G was not paranoid; his coworkers really were trying to get him. Leymann5 divided 45 types of mobbing behaviors into 5 categories. These were organized as attacks on: • self-expression and ability to communicate (victim is silenced, given no opportunity to communicate, subject to verbal attacks) 433
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• social relationships (colleagues do not talk to the victim, victim is physically isolated from others) • reputation (victim is the target of gossip and ridicule) • occupational situation (victim is given meaningless tasks or no work at all) • physical health (victim is assigned dangerous tasks, threatened with bodily harm, or physically attacked). Davenport et al2 distilled this list into 10 key factors of the mobbing syndrome (Table 1); identified 5 phases in the mobbing process (Table 2); and defined 3 “degrees” of mobbing analogous to first, second, and third-degree burns. Table 1
Mobbing syndrome: 10 factors Assaults on dignity, integrity, credibility, and competence Negative, humiliating, intimidating, abusive, malevolent, and controlling communication Committed directly or indirectly in subtle or obvious ways Perpetrated by ≥1 staff members* Occurring in a continual, multiple, and systematic fashion over time Portraying the victim as being at fault Engineered to discredit, confuse, intimidate, isolate, and force the person into submission Committed with the intent to force the person out Representing the removal as the victim’s choice Unrecognized, misinterpreted, ignored, tolerated, encouraged, or even instigated by management *Some researchers limit their defi nition of mobbing to acts committed by >1 person Source: Adapted with permission from Davenport N, Schwartz RD, Elliott GP. Mobbing: emotional abuse in the American workplace. Ames, IA: Civil Society Publishing; 1999:41
Table 2 Table 2
Phases of mobbing Conflict, often characterized by a ‘critical incident’ Aggressive acts, such as those in Table 1, page 47 Management involvement Branding as difficult or mentally ill Expulsion or resignation from the workplace Source: Adapted with permission from Davenport N, Schwartz RD, Elliott GP. Mobbing: emotional abuse in the American workplace. Ames, IA: Civil Society Publishing; 1999:38
Degrees of mobbing First degree: Victim manages to resist, escapes at an early stage, or is fully rehabilitated in the original workplace or elsewhere Second degree: Victim cannot resist or escape immediately and suffers temporary or prolonged mental and/or physical disability and has difficulty reentering the workforce Third degree: Victim is unable to reenter the workforce and suffers serious, long-lasting mental or physical disability Source: Adapted with permission from Davenport N, Schwartz RD, Elliott GP. Mobbing: emotional abuse in the American workplace. Ames, IA: Civil Society Publishing; 1999:39
Redirecting energy into a job search As I met with Mr. G over the next 3 months, the pattern of malicious communication and actions continued at his offi ce. For example, he received a written reprimand for being 10 minutes late after 434
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having overslept when starting fl urazepam, which he continued to take for about 6 weeks without further tardiness. I encouraged Mr. G to withdraw energy from work by keeping a low profi le and trying not to react to provocations. Instead, I counseled him to put energy into family activities and try to fi nd a new job. Within 3 months, Mr. G found a new position in the private sector at a similar salary, although with lower benefi ts. Six months later, he was still with his wife, had been promoted at his new job, lost the 10 pounds he gained, discontinued psychotherapy, and was sleeping well without medication. He reported that he still thinks “almost every day” about what happened in his previous job but keeps telling himself “everything did work out OK after all.” Mr. G experienced relatively mild, first degree workplace mobbing, but it had a substantial effect on his quality of life and that of his wife for almost 1 year. If I had followed my fi rst impulse and had Mr. G involuntarily hospitalized after our first interview, it would have confi rmed rumors at his office and probably would have escalated the mobbing behavior. Diagnostic recommendations Consider the possibility that seemingly paranoid individuals could be the target of mobbing at work, and don’t underestimate the psychological stress of being mobbed. Other forms of workplace harassment can be extremely stressful but do not have the “paranoidogenic” potential of mobbing. Patients may be so distressed that it is difficult to fi gure out what is going on in their work environment. Ask patients to present physical evidence of conspiracy or harassment. Mobbing patients usually are willing to bring in large quantities of material. Keep in mind that when subjected to mobbing behavior over time, a person who is not initially paranoid is likely to develop some secondary suspiciousness and even frank paranoia. Also consider the possibility of “pseudomobbing,” in which an individual falsely believes he or she is a mobbing victim. Cases of pseudomobbing have been reported in European literature11 and may represent a negative side effect of greater public awareness of the mobbing phenomenon (and of legal remedies to mobbing available in various European countries). Mobbing is a serious stressor that can lead to psychiatric and medical morbidity and even suicide. Major depressive disorder— often with suicidal ideation—is frequently associated with being mobbed.12 A diagnosis of PTSD can be missed if the mobbing victim does not seem to have been subjected to a severe enough stress to meet PTSD criteria. Treatment recommendations First, do no harm: Do not allow yourself to be used by the mob. This process can be direct—as in the Mr. G’s case, where the patient was almost involuntarily committed— or subtle. For example, a person you know may describe the behavior of “someone at work,” and you may be tempted to respond, “Well, I have not examined this person, but from what you say, it sounds like maybe…” You could then be quoted as a psychiatrist who agrees that the person is paranoid. Giving your patient a name for what is happening to him or her may be the most therapeutic intervention. Generally, patients have not heard of mobbing. They typically are confused about what is happening and may blame themselves. Treat the patient’s family. Giving a patient’s spouse or partner a name for what is happening is almost always helpful. Onethird of mobbing victims suffer breakup of their marriages or relationships during the course of a mobbing, which can create a vicious cycle of stress, leading to isolation, leading to more stress.3 Encourage the patient not to subject the spouse to repeated ruminations about insults at work. Treat secondary symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, or other sequelae with pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, or a combination as appropriate. Refer patients with somatic symptoms to primary care if you feel that they need further evaluation. Encourage your patient to visualize choices and ways to escape the situation. Frequently, patients will 435
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be locked into “fighting for justice” or putting up with the situation because they see no options. Encourage your patient to withdraw energy from work and invest it in family, social life, or anything else. At the appropriate time, encourage him or her to grieve losses experienced as a result of the mobbing. REFERENCES Westhues K. At the mercy of the mob: a summary of research on workplace mobbing. Canada’s Occupational Health and Safety Magazine. 2002;18:30-36. Davenport N, Schwartz RD, Elliott GP. Mobbing: emotional abuse in the American workplace. Ames, IA: Civil Society Publishing; 1999. Leymann H. Mobbing and psychological terror at workplaces. Violence Vict. 1990;5:119-125. Namie G, Namie R. The bully at work: what you can do to stop the hurt and reclaim your dignity on the job. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, Inc; 2003. Leymann H. The content and development of mobbing at work. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 1996;5:165-184. Leymann H, Gustafsson A. Mobbing at work and the development of post-traumatic stress disorders. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 1996; 5:251-275. Bonafons C, Jehel L, Coroller-Bequet A. Specifi city of the links between workplace harassment and PTSD: primary results using court decisions, a pilot study in France. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2008 Oct 25 (Epub ahead of print). Girardi P, Monaco C, Prestigiacomo C, et al. Personality and psychopathological profi les in individuals exposed to mobbing. Violence Vict. 2007;22:172-188. Duffy M. Workplace mobbing: individual and family health consequences. The Family Journal. 2007;15:398-404. Pompili M, Lester D, Innamorati M, et al. Suicide risk and exposure to mobbing. Work. 2008;31:237-243. Jarreta BM. Medico-legal implications of mobbing. A false accusation of psychological harassment at the workplace. Forensic Sci Int. 2004;146(suppl):S17-S18. Girardi P, Monaco E, Prestigiacomo C, et al. Personality and psychopathological profiles in individuals exposed to mobbing. Violence Vict. 2007;22(2):172-188.
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Collier, M. University of New Mexico Literacy Mentoring Club ABSTRACT Individuals diagnosed as medically fragile and those with multiple disabilities who have been abused or neglected and placed in foster care are two increasingly important populations to serve and support. Many of these youth frequently experience less mobility and independence than other youth without disabilities, and have limited social opportunities in which to participate in school and community activities. The majority of these youth experience high levels of social and physical exclusion. As a result of segregation and isolation, these youth are at risk for poor developmental outcomes. The at-risk status of youth with disabilities paired with research findings that indicate other at-risk youth have benefited from the influence of caring adults in their lives has provided optimism when considering mentoring programs as a way of promoting positive development for this population. The Literacy Mentoring Club is a research project that focuses on sharing the pleasure of reading with individuals with extensive needs for support. As part of a class project, graduate students enrolled in a special education methods course to teach reading to individuals with extensive needs for support will form groups consisting of three college students. These triads will be matched with an individual with extensive needs for support and meet at the child’s home on a weekly basis. The students will both mentor the child in their literacy club and take turns mentoring one another on how to encourage, support, and teach reading to the child in their club.
Content: Literacy, Rights & Inclusion The Need for a More Expansive Definition of Literacy The conventional and definition of literacy “as the ability to read and write” provides a narrow perception of literacy and has commonly led to limited access and exclusion of individuals with extensive needs for support from opportunities to engage in literacy instruction. Research has shown that when the definition of literacy is broadened, individuals with extensive needs for support are likely to gain increased access to literacy instruction and to be provided more inclusive educational experiences and opportunities participation in their communities (Browder, Mims, Spooner, Ahlgrim-Delzell & Lee, 2008; Kliewer, Fitzgerald, Meyer-Meyer, Hartman, English-Sand, & Raschke, 2004; Mirenda, 2003). From their findings in a research project that examined how literacy is defined by educators, administrators, policy-makers, researchers, individuals with extensive needs for support and their families, Keefe and Copeland (2010) determined five core elements essential when defining literacy. These core elements include: 1) all people are capable of acquiring literacy; 2) literacy is a human right; 3) literacy is a social phenomenon; 4) literacy includes communication, contact, and the expectation that interaction is possible for all individuals, and 5) literacy is the collective responsibility of every individual in the community (p. 15). The definition of literacy used by the stakeholders in the education community directly influences the extent to which individuals with extensive needs for support are included in literacy instruction. An expanded definition of literacy makes it possible to provide more inclusive opportunities to learn for all people. The Right to Literacy Although literacy has been recognized as a human right, the lack of literacy access and opportunities to include individuals with extensive needs for support has denied many individuals this right. Access to the general curriculum in the least restricted environment for all students is mandated by IDEA (2004). However, as a result of conventional and often times narrow definitions of literacy, many students with extensive needs for support have been excluded from the opportunity to develop literacy skills (Koppenhaver & Erickson, 2003; Mirenda, 2003). Examples of teachers using expansive definitions of
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literacy demonstrate successful participation of individuals with extensive needs for support in the literacy community (Duff, 2006; Kliewer et al., 2004). Inclusion Individuals with extensive needs for support who are developmentally disabled as well as either medically fragile or been abused or neglected and are a vulnerable population with many needs that require home-based services. Typically, many of these children’s needs are met outside of the classroom, preventing them from experiencing the educational and social benefits of inclusion in the regular classroom. One cannot underestimate the loneliness and isolation that many individuals with extensive needs for support experience throughout their educational lives. Based on their review of literature on inclusion, Ryndak and Alper (2003) found that students with extensive needs for support who had been included in inclusive settings had more opportunities for social interactions, friendships, improved communication, and social skill development. Mentoring Mentoring Programs for Individuals with Extensive Needs for Support Findings that indicate at-risk youth benefit significantly from having caring adults in their lives (Rhodes, 2002) has stimulated interest amongst educators, practitioners, and researchers in the use of mentoring programs to promote positive development among youth with disabilities population. Although adolescents with disabilities are attributed an at-risk status, there has been less attempts made by mentoring programs to include adolescents with disabilities. There have also been a substantially less number of mentoring programs designed specifically for youth with extensive needs for support. Action Research Mentoring as a Teaching and Role-Modeling Strategy for Graduate Students In addition to mentoring the child in their literacy club, they will take turns mentoring one another on how to encourage, support, and teach reading to the child in their club. Research Project: Literacy Mentoring Club Action Research Graduate students will plan and present literacy-related strategies and activities that have been individually designed with the child's interest in mind and suited to the child's level of academic, social, and functional goals. Literacy activities will include language, pre-reading, and reading skill development that is tailored specific to the child's needs. Informal assessments will be used to determine children's abilities and skill levels. Students will use informal assessments learned in class, including meeting, observing, and talking with the child as well as the parent; learning the child's goals and the parents' goals and expectations; if the child has expressive skills, a quick screening reading assessment will be given to the child to determine their phonemic awareness and reading fluency; if the child is nonverbal, phonemic awareness will be done using pictures; and reading comprehension will be assessed both verbally or nonverbally. The college students will develop short literacy lesson plans designed at the child’s level of understanding, skill, and specific needs. Students will draw from a variety of language and reading strategies as well as accommodations and modifications that will have been presented and discussed in class prior to when they incorporate them into their literacy-related lesson plans. Literacy activities will include reading, singing, reading-related activities and games. Students will follow up after each Literacy Mentoring Club meeting by reflecting how the meeting went and describing the child’s level of interest, engagement and participation. Students will also note which strategies were successful and describe what they gained in both mentoring as well as being mentoring. Participants in the Study
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Graduate students enrolled in a southwestern university special education methods course to teach reading for students with developmental and severe disabilities will form groups consisting of three college students. Individuals with extensive needs for support and their families who are interesting in the Literacy Mentoring Club will be identified by two participating agencies. Although the Medically Fragile Case Management Program and ARCA are two distinctly different programs, both serve individuals who developmentally disabled. Medically Fragile Case Management Program serves children who are medically fragile and are developmentally disabled. A medically fragile child is someone who has been diagnosed with a chronic medically fragile condition that places them in a prolonged dependency on skilled medical care. Through the Center for Development and Disability at the University of New Mexico Health Science Center, the Medically Fragile Case Management Program provides in-home services that support families who care for their medically fragile children at home. As a family centered program, the program focuses on addressing the needs of the family of individuals who are medically fragile within their community setting, accessing resources that help to stabilize the individual’s health and well being, and supporting the dynamic relationship of the family. ARCA’s Family-Based Service Foster Care Program works to place children with multiple disabilities who have suffered from abuse or neglect into loving foster homes. ARCA supports children, their families of origin and foster families in all areas of care. ARCA also functions as Child Placement Agency by placing children into adoptive homes. Graduate students enrolled in a southwestern university special education methods course to teach reading for students with developmental and severe disabilities will form groups consisting of three college students. The Purpose and Goals of the Research Project The purpose of this proposed study is three fold: to examine college students’ perspectives on a number of critical issues when learning to interact with and teach individuals with extensive needs for support, including the challenges of engaging and teaching these students in literacy-related activities within home settings; to examine the impact mentoring on both college students and students with disabilities actively participating in a small group literacy activity; and to examine the perspectives of parents, foster parents, or guardians on having their child participate with college students in a literacy club. Although there are ample research studies on a wide variety of mentoring programs, there are only a limited number that include individuals with extensive needs for support that have been examined. Throughout the remainder of the paper, the term “parents” will connote a child’s biological parents, foster parents, guardians, or primary care givers. Research questions of interest include: 1. How do college students perceive, value, and evaluate the opportunity to directly interact with individuals with extensive needs for support and engage them in literacy activities? 2. Do parents of individuals with extensive needs for support perceive a visit of college students participating in a “Literacy Mentoring Club” a meaningful form of inclusion for their child? 3. What do parents report about the degree of inclusion that their children have experienced both in and out of the classroom? 4. What do graduate general education and regular education students report about the impact of their engagement in teaching individuals with extensive needs for support and their mentoring relationship that they form with their fellow student colleagues? Data Collected Data related to this project will be collected throughout the 2011 fall semester. Pre- and post-surveys, student reflections of their mentoring and teaching experience, and questionnaire responses from both the 439
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parents and their children individuals with extensive needs for support will be evaluated, analyzed, and interpreted. Anticipated Benefits of the Study Benefits for All. Benefits will potentially be gained by all the participating member of the study, including, the individuals with extensive needs for support around which the literacy mentoring club is formed; their parents and families; and participating special education graduate students enrolled in the reading methods class. Anticipated benefits include the following specific benefits for each of the three participating groups: Individuals with Extensive Needs for Support will experience innovative reading strategies and reading-related activities that the college students bring with them. They will also prosper from the interest that the college students will share in spending time together and the attention they pay to individuals who frequently spends much of their time at home apart from others. Additional benefits that these individuals gain may include increased motivation and incidental learning that may place, as well as greater self-confidence and interest in reading-related activities. Graduate students studying special education are provided the opportunity to practice using methods and strategies learned in class to teach reading to individuals with extensive needs for support. They will also be able to develop communication skills with families. Developing competency to work effectively with families is critical for teachers when attempting to cultivate home and school collaboration (Childre, 2004; Chin & Miles, 2004). Parents and families are not only given some respite from their very long days of caring and working with their children but are also provided a chance to learn innovative strategies and creative ideas on how to include literacy-related strategies and activities in their child’s day. REFERENCES Browder, D. M, Mims, P. J., Spooner, F., Ahlgrim-Delzell, L., & Lee, A. (2008). Teaching elementary students with multiple disabilities to participate in shared stories. Research and Practice for Persons With Severe Disabilities, 33(1-2), 3-12. Childre, A. L. (2004). Families. In C. H. Kennedy & E. M. Horn (Eds.), Including students with severe disabilities (pp. 78-99). Boston: Pearson. Chin D. & Miles, C. (2004). Working with families. In F.P. Orelove, D. Sobsey, & R. K. Silberman (Eds.), Educating children with multiple disabilities (4th ed., pp. 31-65).Baltimore: Brookes. DuBois, D. L., Holloway, B. E., Valentine, J., & Cooper, H. (2002). Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: A meta-analytic review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30(2), 157-234. Duff, F. R. (2006). Differentiating instruction at the secondary level. In E. B. Keefe, V. M. Moore, & F. R. Duff (Eds.), Listening to the experts (pp. 143-152). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, 20 U.S.C. 1400, H. R. 1350. Keefe, E. B., & Copeland, S. R. (2010). What is literacy? Unpublished manuscript. Kliewer, C., Fitzgerald, L. M., Meyer-Mork, J., Hartman, P., English-Sand, P., & Raschke, D. (2004). Citizenship for all in the literate community: An ethnography of young children with significant disabilities in inclusive early childhood settings. Harvard Educational Review, 74, 373403. Koppenhaver, D. A., & Erickson, K. A. (2003). Natural emergent literacy supports for preschoolers with autism and severe communication impairments. Topics in Language Disorders, 23, 283-292.
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Mirenda, P. (2003). “He’s not really a reader…”: Perspectives on supporting literacy instruction in individuals with autism. Topics in Language Disorders, 23, 271-282. Rhodes, J. E. (2002). Stand by me: The risks and rewards of mentoring today’s youth. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Ryndak, L.D. and Alper, S. (2003). Curriculum and instruction for students with significant disabilities in inclusive settings. (2nd ed.,). Boston, MA: Pearson. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (2010). Facts Sheet. Washington, DC: Author. Wagner, M., Newman, L., Cameto, R., and Levine, P. (2006). The Academic Performance and Functional Achievement of Youth With Disabilities. A Report From the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) (NCSER 2006-3000). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International
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Meyerer, S. University of New Mexico Mentoring in the Art and Science of Grant Writing ABSTRACT Grant Proposal Development and Writing involves knowledge and skill pertinent to all ages and level(s) of education. Finding funding sources and preparing persuasive proposals to support one’s ideas, research, education, or future life pursuits can be a rewarding challenge. Providing guidance/mentoring in this pursuit can be even more rewarding… as each one…teaches one and passes on the torch to “a new generation” of entrepreneurs, scientists, thinkers, dreamers, and agents of transformation in our societies, cultures and world. This workshop will assist mentors and/or mentees in the Art and Science of Grant Writing: from developing a research question (in 25 words or less) … to finding funding sources…to preparing a proposal responsive to funding agencies’ priorities and requests with a measurable plan of action.
Developing a Research Question or Research Agenda or Plan of Action: (Source: NSf Research Program/Proposal Development Proposal Workshop (2007) http://www.nsf.gov/eng/cmmi/conferences/2008/rpdpresentation.pdf)
What is Research? • • • •
Research is the process of finding out something that we (everyone) don’t already know Scientific research builds upon the extant knowledge base and it is methodical, repeatable and verifiable Methodical means that you can specify, in advance, a procedure to accomplish your stated objective Question: Exactly what will your research contribute to the knowledge base?
The Research Objective: The research objective is a concise statement of what you intend to find out that we don’t already know. It is probably the hardest part of the proposal. A. Examples of how NOT to do it: • The objective of my research is to provide a quantum leap in the design of anti-gravity boots. • The goal of this project is to develop an integrated modeling tool for the hardening process. • The goal of this project is to develop innovative advances to enhance wire sawing processes. • Rapid prototyping machines are an important part of the vast array of tools. This research will bridge the accuracy gap in these processes by developing theoretical and technological means to implement significant gains in accuracy. B. Four Acceptable ways to do it right: • The research objective of this proposal is to test the hypotheses H. • The research objective of this proposal is to measure parameter P with accuracy A. • The research objective of this proposal is to prove conjecture C. • The research objective of this proposal is to apply method M from field Q to problem X in field R. C. How to do it right: • The research objective of this project is to measure the cross section of the muon-nutrino interaction at 5 GeV accurate to 10%. 442
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The research objective of this proposal is to test the hypothesis that chip formation in high-speed machining of brittle materials is determined by parameters x, y and z. The research objective of this project is to account for uncertainty in engineering design decision making through the application of utility theory.
D. How to do it wrong (“actual” submissions) • This project aims to advance the research in predictive modeling for manufacturing process optimization • The proposed study will significantly advance the theory of random fields. • This study will develop modeling and simulation-based technologies for building construction • New methods in robust optimization are proposed for optimizing complex models under uncertainty. A. Doing it right: • Begin: “The research objective of this project is...” • Limit: 25 words or less • Be specific about what you intend to find out • Be specific about what you intend to find out (yes, it was stated TWICE!) • Be sure your statement is comprehensible • Be sure your objective leads directly to a research procedure to accomplish the objective • Put it up front—sentence one, paragraph one, page one • Do not give a weather report or state-of-the- union address Do not use words that mean “not research” such as: Develop, Design, Optimize, Control, Manage. Use of words such as these gives the reviewers the impression that you are not doing research…. BUT WAIT – What if I AM NOT DOING RESEARCH? This is ok. You just need to make sure you are not applying to NSF or NIH – two agencies primarily interested in research --- although NSF is now moving toward Research in Cyberlearning and STEM Education – that is a vortex of where research and education (application of what works in STEM education) meet. But wait again… what if I am an educator/teacher/coach/social activist, etc., etc. Is it possible for us/them to do “research”? YES! And we/they should be – in order to change/transform school systems and education, it is necessary to do research – to find out… utilize … and IMPROVE UPON what works – in order to move education into the 21st Century. Ask questions: How do people learn? How do people learn TODAY? How can we use what we know about how people learn and current learning tools (such as technology, cyberlearning, computational thinking) to enhance student learning (and maybe even motivate students to WANT to learn and continue to learn and to apply what they learn to today’s problems and possibly do (continued) research on what works in order to (even) provide solutions to major local, national and worldwide issues)… but I pontificate --- back to research…. YES! Educators and social scientists/activists/world leaders/”non-scientists”/out-of-the-box thinkers and in fact ANYONE can “do” research. It is often called “practitioner” or “action” research. Or as Yogi Berra put it: “You can observe a lot by watching.” So back to crafting the research question/statement. Try it here: (Forgot how? Go back and reread hints J): Remember start with “The research objective of this project is”: _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________.
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1.) Finding Funding Sources: to support your research, ideas, dream, teaching/learning, etc. Federal: http://www.grants.gov – Click Find Grant Opportunities (left side). Initial search might start with “Browse by Agency” or “Browse by Category.” 2. Google Searches: grants for…cyberlearning, STEM, water conservation, ecology, art, literacy, biology, city planning, entrepreneurship, small businesses, graduate studies, etc. 3. Foundations: http://www.foundationcenter.org 4. New Mexico Grantmakers Directory: http://nmgrantmakers.org/g/search?theme=cne 5. UNM Resources for Finding Funding: http://research.unm.edu/FindFunding/ 6. Corporate/Business Grants – Look for Corporations, Businesses within your area: Intel, Hewlett Packard, Target, Sandia National Labs, Dollar General, Toshiba, AT & T 7. GrantsNet: http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/funding: One stop free resource for funding in sciences 8. American Educational Research Association: http://www.aera.net/grantsprogram: Grants for education research (funded by NSF). Also provides research-backed evidence on education and socioeconomic factors affecting learners. 9. Institute of Education Sciences: (U.S. Department of Education) http://ies.ed.gov/funding/ Education Research grants; RFA’s (Request for Applications) and examples of funded projects 10. Calvin College: http://www.calvin.edu/admin/provost/grants/ Click Helpful Links. Click List of Funding Sources. 1.
2.) Grant Development/Writing Overview: Three-Step Process 1. Needs Assessment – Identify Stakeholders & Expressed Needs • Based on research & current data • Sometimes required by Funding Agency. • You can develop as you prepare proposals. But should have some knowledge (beyond background knowledge – based on research). • Collect sources, articles, quotes, data, trends, etc. on this research as you progress in your development of your research, idea(s), likely data will lead to more questions, ideas, cumulative effect – the more you look, the more you see. • Seek partnerships with others interested in the similar research, ideas, or those who share your passions, dreams, goals - even if it’s sitting under a palm tree observing nature – after all that’s where Newton got his start – that and apples… 2. The One-Page Concept Paper-A Brief Description of Your Research/Idea/Goal Includes: a. An Overview of Your Research/Project/Program: What? • Start with your research question/statement • Include brief description of your research/project/idea: What will you do? • Write goals and measurable objectives to achieve goals. b. The Need: Why? • What is the need for this project? • Include research on community demographics & statistical evidence of need. • Why now? c. Why you – or your organization: Who? • What do you have to offer? Think broadly – Everyone has gifts – what are yours? • Your background & information on other personnel who work w/you. • Include: Brief history of organization, overview of accomplishments, available facilities, work accomplished, mission, goals, purpose. • If no “organization” per se – What Partners? Collaborations? Future?
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d. Resources needed: How? • What resources will it take? • Preliminary Budget? • Sustainability? • Inkind Support? 3. Match your Idea to Funding Sources: • Use Funding Opportunities Resource List to Research Funding Sources • Keep a record of funding sources • Take “RFP’s” – Request for Proposals and “parse” out the pieces There is an organization called TED where people with ideas meet. TED X Conferences are held in cities, states, communities around the world. In short (not to exceed 18 minutes) speeches, folks – just like you – stand up and share their ideas. At the last TEDXABQ conference, one of the first presenters made the point that it is IMPORTANT to WRITE DOWN your ideas – in this way you force your thought processes to focus. Stay focused. DREAM BIG. There are no small ideas – only lessons that will remain unlearned and a world that will remain unchanged unless you choose to participate. WE need YOU. Keep alert – watch for opportunities – share your story(ies) – and be well and together we can help eliminate poverty, hunger, find the cures we need for all those diseases, maybe even take a step forward toward world peace. Find a mentor; help a mentee… volunteer… coach… learn… teach…take action… Together we have many hands and feet; together we we are the hands and feet an; together we can make a difference. REFERENCES: Hazelrigg, George. Deputy Division Director, Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation, National Science Foundation. Research Program Development Workshop; NSF Research Program/Proposal Development Workshop (2007). January 7, 2007. http://www.nsf.gov/eng/cmmi/conferences/2008/rpdpresentation.pdf Proposal Development Resources: 1. NSF: A Guide to Proposal Writing: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2004/nsf04016/nsf04016.pdf 2. Foundation Center: Grant Short Course http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/shortcourse/index.html 3. Selected Proposal Writing Websites: http://www.pitt.edu/~offres/proposal/propwriting/websites.html 4. Aesthetics & Technicalities for Grantwriters: http://www.grantproposal.com/ 5. NIH Grant Writing Tip Sheet: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/grant_tips.html 6. Grant Writing Proposal Tips: http://www.cpb.org/grants/grantwriting.html 7. What to do before you write a grant proposal: http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/grants/first.html 8. Quick Guide to Research Proposal Development: http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/extra/extdocs/gntapp.htm#12 9. San Antonio College-How to Write a Grant Proposal: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/grantsac/write_grant.htm 10. Grant Writing: http://www.grantsalert.com/grant_writer_resources.cfm Budget Preparation Resources: 1. U.S. Office of Management & Budget OMB Circulars: http://whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/ 2. NIH Conversion Tool: effort to person months: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/person_months_faqs.htm 3. Guidelines for Budget Development: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/developing_budget.htm 4. Preparing a Budget- Sample University planning: http://osp.syr.edu/forms/Preparing%20a%20Grant%20Budget.doc
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Evaluation Resources: 1. Evaluation List of Resources: http://www.cdc.gov/eval/resources.htm#manuals 2. Center for Program Evaluation & Measurement: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/evaluation/guide/pe4.htm 3. Program Development & Evaluation: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande/evaluation/index.html -logic model templates 4. W.K. Kellogg Foundation Evaluation Handbook: http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2010/W-KKellogg-Foundation-Evaluation-Handbook.aspx; and W.K. Kellogg Logic Model Handbook: http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/resources/2010/Logic-Model-Development-Guide.aspx 5. Evaluation Toolkit: http://www.namac.org/evaluation-toolkit 6. Tools & Resources for Data Collection & Evaluation: http://nnlm.gov/evaluation/tools/index.html 7. Evaluation Tools: Collecting Data: http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/MM_Tools/evaluation.html 8. Writing Measurable Objectives: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/grantsac/docs/9%20Objective%20Worksheet.pdf 9. Useful Links for Evaluation: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/evaluation/links/index.htm#top 10. Outcome Measurement Resource Network: http://www.liveunited.org/outcomes/ Samples: http://www.alamo.edu/sac/grantsac/docs/Samples%20for%20how%20to%20write%20a%20grant.pdf
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Otters, R. University of Arkansas Social Work Mentoring: We Need One Another ABSTRACT Mentoring is central to the discipline of social work, emphasizing that we are systemically interdependent upon one another at all levels of society. As mentoring expert David Clutterbuck asserts, "Everyone needs a mentor!" Jane Addams, an early founding mother of social work, envisioned her life work as the development of relationships that would move toward a socially just society. From Addams' writings five concepts can be utilized in developing mentoring relationships: First, sympathetic knowledge, the development of an empathetic relationship with others. Second, lateral progress, which emphasizes that social progress is dependent on all of us moving ahead, even if that means some of us will move more slowly. Third, pluralism, which recognizes that social diversity is necessary for future progress. Fourth, democracy represented for Addams both a mode of living and a social ethic. Fifth, fallibilism (we are all fallible), is the opportunity to learn from mistakes and move on. Social work's strengths perspective updates Addams relational concepts and is applied through solution-focused interviewing techniques. The strengths found in the mentee's stories are utilized as the basis of mentee empowerment in moving toward a desired future by building on the mentee's personal strengths and resources. Solution-focused practice behaviors can be applied in the interviewing process using both active listening techniques as well as specific solution-focused interventions that build on mentee strengths and resources. We all, no matter our discipline, need to remember Jane Addams, both as role model and theoretician of the mentoring relationship.
Mentoring appears in many disciplines as a practice application where the mentor seeks to help the mentee further some relational and/or instrumental goal. In education, mentoring programs assign more experienced teachers to mentor novitiate teachers (Gale Encyclopedia of Education, found in answers.com, 2011). However, a distinction is often made between mentoring individual growth versus coaching for a specific performance level. Starcevich (2009) differentiates between mentoring and coaching: The mentor focuses on the person without a specific agenda. The mentee asks for this relationship, which is related to lifetime development. In contrast, the coach focuses on performance and has a specific agenda to reach that goal. The coach expects teamwork and results that are related to specific tasks (Parker, Freytes, Kaufman, Woodruff, & Hord, 2004; Walker, 2006). Mentoring is central to the discipline of social work, though the definition of mentor may be fluid, may minimize distinctions between the terms mentor and coach, or emphasize the integration of these roles. Many social work researchers use the term mentor to mean a supportive adviser or counselor who points the way for the development of the protégée. Social work mentoring may include mentoring young social work professors in order to develop future mentors for the profession (Lubben & Harootyan, 2002; Simon, Perry & Roff, 2008) or the importance of role modeling in the mentoring relationship (Barretti, 2007). Other researchers emphasize the coaching aspect of advising and counseling toward a specific goal (Shafer, Kiebzak & Dwoskin, 2003), peer mentoring (Badger, 2010), the mutual benefits to both mentor and mentee in the mentoring process (Strand & Bosco-Ruggiero, 2010) or mentee developmental issues in mentoring (Bogat, Liang, & Rigol-Dahn, 2008). Informal mentoring benefits mentee development in some social service organizations (Kelly, 2001). As mentoring expert David Clutterbuck (2004) asserts in the title of his well-known text, "Everyone needs a mentor!" Jane Addams, an early 20th century founding mother of social work and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1931), envisioned the mentoring relationship as the medium for growth in a society. Specifically, individuals form an association with one another and interact in order to create a society based on the ideals of justice and mutuality. Mentoring is relational -- whether individually or in groups or organizations. Though Addams was influenced by the Christian social gospel movement of the time, she always refused to adhere to sectarian Christianity or any religious dogma (Dorrien, 2009). 447
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Hamington (2006) has organized Addams' thinking into five concepts, which can also be thought of as the core principles in the mentoring relationship: sympathetic knowledge, lateral progress, pluralism, democracy and falllibilism. First, sympathetic knowledge is the development of an empathic relationship that goes beyond facts, impacting our experiences of one another and the world around us. Emotional understanding is an important kind of knowledge and is needed for living in a complex world. Addams herself learned this lesson after a bitter experience when she naively faulted an out-of-work immigrant breadwinner for not finding a job, only to later find that in his despondency he killed himself: "…wisdom to deal with a man's difficulties comes only through some knowledge of his life and habits as a whole; and that to treat an isolated episode is almost sure to invite blundering" (Addams, 1910/1961, p. 123). Second, lateral progress emphasizes that social progress itself is dependent on all persons moving ahead, even if some move more slowly than others. In order to help others move forward we need to look to the common good: "… it is a long step in moral progress to set the good of the many before the interest of the few, and to be concerned for the welfare of a community without hope of an individual return (Addams, 2002, p. 100). Yet in a democratic society we either move ahead together or we all fall behind. Third, pluralism understands that social diversity from all sectors of society is necessary for future progress. Our differences can provide creativity and energy to address social problems; we should seek rather than avoid social diversity. In a democracy our differences can encourage our interdependence. In the settlement house environment of early 20th century Chicago both the immigrants themselves and the upper class intellectuals flocking to the Hull House buildings in the immigrant quarter had something to give one another. Addams reports examples of immigrants' self-sacrifice, unknown to those in more affluent circles of life. In one such example of an Irish family, the husband has lost his job and his wife is struggling to help by doing manual labor. Though this family is barely making ends meet, they "will take in the widow and her five children who have been turned into the street, without a moment's reflection upon the physical discomforts involved" (Addams, 2002, p. 14). Fourth, democracy represented for Addams both a way of living and a social ethic. Addams' life work was to develop citizens who have equal opportunities, learn from one another, and work toward a common good (Knight, 2005). Mentoring the development of citizens forms the basis for a social ethic based on these democratic ideals. Through mentoring relationships we become socialized as citizens in a democratic society. Democracy does not just hope for the best for others, or merely believe in the worthiness and equality of all, but in addition, democracy is intertwined with an ethical understanding of a society which "affords a rule of living as well as a test of faith" (Addams, 2002, p. 7). Addams concludes that it is in the everyday lived life that democracy flourishes. The medium through which it flourishes is that of developing the best in others for the common good, a central feature of mentoring. Fifth, fallibilism (we are all fallible) gives us the opportunity to learn from our mistakes. Being flexible and learning ever more deeply about ourselves and the world around us enriches us all. Mistakes are the price of moving toward our goals as we learn that others have something to offer us, even as we feel we need to help them: "A man who takes the betterment of humanity for his aim and end must also take the daily experiences of humanity for the constant correction of his process" (Addams, 2002, p. 78). All five of these concepts point to ultimate value in the worth of each person. Addams offers us, as both mentors and mentees, a direction for empowerment, connecting hope with reality and theory with practice. In this she is a bridge builder (Comager as found in Adams, 1961, p. xii), connecting the expert with the novitiate, the powerful with the excluded, the questioners with the self-satisfied. A democratic society should encourage its citizens toward social change for a better society. Without social progress there is no personal progress. Speaking out of her own experience as an upper class woman who had struggled to find meaningful outlets for her education as part of the first generation of women college graduates, Addams observes: "The young life, so sincere in its emotion and good phrase and yet so undirected, seems to me as pitiful as the other great mass of destitute lives. One is supplementary to the other, and some method of
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communication can surely be devised" (Addams, 1910/1961, p. 95). Such learning is not that of dusty books and memorization of customary habits and rules for living. Rather, learning is found in integrating knowledge with its application in the real world: "Our young people feel nervously the need of putting theory into action, and respond quickly to the Settlement form of activity" (Addams, 1910/1961, p. 95). All of us who mentor, no matter what our discipline, need to remember Jane Addams both as role model and theoretician of the mentoring relationship. Mentoring today can apply these five concepts-sympathetic knowledge, lateral progress, pluralism, democracy and fallibilism--through a strengths perspective where social workers collaborate with individuals, families or groups, community organizations or even larger systems. The strengths perspective is a "collaborative process depending on clients and [social] workers to be purposeful agents….honoring the innate wisdom of the human spirit, the inherent capacity for transformation of even the most humbled and abused" (Saleebey, 2009, p.1). In contrast to a problems perspective that highlights labels and deficits to be resolved, the strengths perspective starts with client goals as well as personal and environmental resources that can be built upon toward finding solutions (Blundo, 2009). From a strengths perspective, and enacting Addams' five relational concepts, the mentor and mentee develop their relationship (sympathetic knowledge), even as they work on goal formation. The mentor goes at the mentee's pace, understanding that for change to be consolidated the mentor and mentee must both attend to the mentee's abilities and interests (lateral progress). In an increasingly diverse world, both the mentor and mentee benefit by learning from the other as well as the viewpoints of the larger community (pluralism). They seek social justice through the political process in a society where citizens both create rules and live them with neighbor, family, community, nation and the world (democracy). But both the mentor and mentee will make mistakes in their relationship and goal development as they collaborate. Though all make mistakes, learning from mistakes is a strength (fallibilism). The mentoring relationship can also be perceived as one in which both the mentor and mentee are looking for some kind of change -- either first order change or second order change. While first order change is doing more of the same thing even while desiring something different, second order change is doing something unexpected, something creating new energy that can build toward a changed situation: "While first-order change always appears to be based on common sense (for instance, the 'more of the same' recipe), second-order change usually appears weird, unexpected, and uncommonsensical; that is a puzzling, paradoxical element in the process of change" (Watzlawick,Weakland & Risch, 1974, pp. 82 83). Change occurs beyond either the mentor or the mentee's present assumptions of what needs to change, how to get there or what to do when change occurs. Change is therefore something of a gamble that may require thinking outside or beyond ordinary rules and expectations. Underlying Addams' five relational concepts, as well as the contemporary social work strengths perspective, is a hope in a desired future. Such hope is the focus of goal setting and goal attainment for second order change. The mentor/mentee relationship develops out of these approaches. However, we need specific techniques in interviewing that can build more effective practice behaviors as the mentor and mentee work together. Solution-focused interviewing techniques can implement the strengths perspective through specific practice applications (DeJong & Berg, 2009). Through a solution-focused interviewing process, the strengths found in the mentee's life are utilized as the basis of empowerment in moving toward mentee goals. The mentor listens respectfully to the mentee's story, seeking to better understand the mentee's goals as well as encourage tentative steps toward the desired future. Specifically, solution-focused interviewing helps the mentor better understand how to draw the mentee out, clarify mentee's goals and develop ways to reach them. Eliciting details of the desired goal is necessary to create well-developed goals, central to solution-focused practice. The process of goal development itself creates the expectation of a positive outcome. As a result, a synergetic relationship is created, one hopeful and energizing toward future outcomes. Solution building is the practical application of Addams' theoretical concepts and the strengths perspective. Following DeJong and Berg's (2009) understanding of solution-focused interviewing, solution building is developed in four stages. The first stage is engagement: The mentor and mentee get
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to know one another and develop rapport. Second is goal setting: The mentee explains in detail her concerns or what she hopes to change (knowledge, skills, values). The mentor works with the mentee, assessing what is important for the mentee and planning with the mentee for change. In this stage the mentee is encouraged to focus on creating clear goals that specifically can answer the question, "What will be different?" when they are achieved. The mentor's job is to listen carefully, helping the mentee to develop exceptions to the problem --identifiable instances of progress -- that will signify when the goal has been at least partially reached. It is these exceptions to the problem that the mentor and mentee want to expand in creating a successful goal attainment. The third stage, end-of- session feedback, implements what has been learned through accurate compliments and suggestions that build on actual exceptions to the problem (times when success has been achieved). The fourth stage, evaluation, emphasizes scaling (e.g., from one to ten) a behavior, thought or feeling that expresses client progress (as motivation or cope). The last stage, termination, concludes the process by summarizing what has been achieved, so as to then begin on another issue or to end the relationship. As a whole, this is envisioned as a brief interviewing process. For a longer-term mentoring relationship these steps can be extended and repeated, with ongoing issues clarified into goals supported by goal attainment scaling. Overall there are six key aspects of solution-focused mentoring. First, the mentor leads from one step behind by letting the mentee guide the interview process. The mentor accomplishes this by taking a notknowing stance (DeJong & Berg, 2009, p. 20) relying on the mentee's frame of reference rather than the expertise of the mentor. The mentee understands herself better than the mentor and is the expert in how she sees the world. The mentor can be helpful by being curious and hopeful in listening to the mentee's story but without preconceptions about mentee goals. In this way the mentoring process is open to many possible avenues rather than the more limiting expectations and experiences of the mentor. Basic interviewing skills comprise a second key aspect of this technique. By mentor and mentee learning the interviewing process, the mentee can help the mentor listen more carefully to the mentee's story. Many basic active listening techniques (Ivey & Ivey, 2007) can be utilized in getting the details of who, what, when, where and how the mentee wants to change. Learning that listening is an active process rather than a passive one can move the mentor/mentee relationship toward achieving more measurable goals and greater satisfaction for both the mentor and mentee. Active listening seeks to understand what is conveyed by asking open-ended questions, seeking clarification, at times repeating key words or phrases, and periodically paraphrasing and summarizing while confirming with the mentee if this summation represents how she actually sees her goal. Being relational as a mentor is a third key aspect in learning to be a good mentor. The mentor must know how to be natural, matching at times the language, style and even dress of the mentee. For instance, the mentor for high school youth probably will do better knowing some slang terms used by youth as well as what to wear when interviewing them. It is also important that the mentor's nonverbal behavior mesh at least somewhat with the mentee, especially in the pace of talking and silences, facial expressions and even distance from the other. The mentor needs to know too how much to disclose about self and how much might just get in the way of listening to the mentee. A fourth key aspect in learning to be a good mentor is knowing how and when to compliment or empathize with the mentee. Complimenting is the process of noticing and verbally recognizing positive changes, strengths and resources -- perhaps relating to past mentee successes, the ability to survive and be resilient in tough times, or some personal characteristic of the mentee. In solution-focused interviewing, complimenting is used throughout the interview as the mentor and mentee together work toward finding and reaching small, measurable goals. Compliments may be direct ("What a great job!") or indirect ("I wonder how you have been able to handle so many roles: at home, in school and at work."). The mentee may also compliment herself, ("I decided to take the next step and apply for that position in my company!"), which the mentor can then acknowledge. Closely related to noticing self-compliments is the mentor's affirmation of client behaviors, whether they are thoughts, feeling, beliefs, or actions. In addition, personal empathetic statements which are conversational and relevant to the discussion can also be helpful ("You're right!"; "Great!").
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A fifth key aspect or consideration in becoming a good listening mentor is communicating to the mentee that the mentee's understanding of the situation and its difficulties is something others also go through as they seek to enact their goals. The mentor wants to move the focus away from the problem and toward the mentee and the hoped-for future that is even now showing small signs of springing up. What might be the first small step toward the mentee's goal? The second…? In this way the mentor looks to any small signs of change (exceptions) that the mentee is already experiencing. These small signs can then be built upon as together the mentor and mentee seek solutions out of the mentee's experience rather than that of the mentor's expertise. The mentee rather than the mentor becomes the expert of his or her own life and hopes. Lastly, a sixth key aspect involves the mentor ending the session by taking time to sum up what has been done with a short summary of what seems most important to the mentee at this point. The purpose is to encourage legitimate hope and create a conversational movement in the direction of motivating the mentee to create her own solutions by making use of previous successes as well as personal strengths and resources. The mentor then links these positive mentee exceptions to a suggestion of what the mentee might do before they meet again. Often these suggestions are process oriented rather than content oriented, encouraging the mentee to take the initiative. The mentor may suggest that the mentee do more of what seems to be working or do more of a certain successful strategy of the past. If the mentee is not clear yet about goals, it may be enough to compliment the mentee's effort thus far without offering any suggestion. If both mentor and mentee agree, another session can be scheduled. Mentoring, as envisioned here, begins with Addams' five relational concepts and proceeds to an emphasis on the strengths perspective applied through solution-focused interviewing. The mentee is the expert of her life, while the mentor has some tools from both experience and expertise that can be helpful to the mentee as together they work toward the mentee's goals. This social work approach to the mentoring relationship emphasizes both our interdependence on one another and the need to develop goals out of what has worked successfully in the past. A synergetic mentoring relationship results, giving focus and energy to move toward goals that are meaningful to the mentee. Such change is more likely to have an impact on the mentee because it comes from the mentee rather than the mentor. The mentor becomes more like a mid-wife at the birthing of a baby rather than some celebrated doctor whose skills overshadow both the mother and the baby in the birthing process. As a social work technique, solutionfocused interventions are situated in the larger environment. Social work, both conceptually and in application, emphasizes that we need one another from the smaller systemic levels as individuals, groups and families up through the larger levels of community, governmental policies and even globally. REFERENCES Addams, J. (1910/1961). Twenty years at Hull-House. Forward by Henry Steele Comager (1961). New York, N.Y.: The New American Library. Addams, J. (2002). Democracy and social ethics. Introduction by Charlene Haddock Seigfried. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. Badger, K. (2010). Peer teaching and review: A model for writing development and knowledge synthesis. Social Work Education, 29, 6 - 17. DOI: 10.1080/02615470902810850. Barretti, M.A. (2007). Teachers and field instructors as student role models: A neglected dimension in social work education. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 27, 215 - 239. DOI: 10.1300/J067v27n03_14. Blundo, R. (2009). The challenge of seeing anew the world we think we know: Learning strengths-based practice. In D. Saleebey (Ed.).The strengths perspective in social work practice (pp. 24 - 46). New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc. Bogat, G.A. Liang, B, & Rigol-Dahn, R.M. (2008). Stages of mentoring: An analysis of an intervention for pregnant and parenting adolescents. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 25, 325 - 341. DOI: 10.1007/s10560-0080130-4. Clutterbuck, D. (2004). Everyone needs a mentor: Fostering talent in your organization. CIPD: London, United Kingdom.
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DeJong, P. & Berg, I.K. (2009). Interviewing for solutions.Belmont, CA.: Thomson Higher Education. Dorrien, G. (2009). Social ethics in the making: Interpreting an American tradition. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Gale Encyclopedia of Education. Mentoring. In answers.com (2011). Retrieved from http://www.answers.com/topic/mentor Hamington, M. (2006). Jane Addams (1860 - 1935). The internet encyclopedia of philosophy, 1-15. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/addamsj.htm Ivey, A.E. & Ivey, M.B. (2007), Intentional interviewing and counseling: Facilitating client development in a multicultural society. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Kelly, M.J. (2001). Management mentoring in a social service organization. Administration in Social Work, 25, 17 33. Knight, L.W. (2005). Citizen: Jane Addams and the struggle for democracy. Chicago, Ill.: The University of Chicago Press. Lubben, J. & Harootyan, L.K. (2002). Strengthening geriatric social work through a doctoral fellowship program. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 39, 145 - 156. DOI: 10.1300/J083v39n01_12 Parker, W.M., Freytes, M., Kaufman, C.J., Woodruff, R., & Hord, R. (2004).The mentoring lab: A small group approach for managing emotions from multicultural counselor training. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 29, 361 - 375. DOI: 10.1080/01933920490516062 Saleebey, D. (2009). Introduction: Power in the people. In D. Saleebey (Ed.). The strengths perspective in social work practice (pp. 1 - 23). New York, N.Y.: Pearson Education, Inc. Shafer, K.C., Kiebzak, L.& Dwoskin, J. (2003). Coaching: New role for addictions social workers? [Special topics]. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 3, 105 - 112. DOI:10.1300J160v03n02_07 Simon, C.E., Roff, L.L. & Perry, A.R. (2008). Psychosocial and career mentoring: Female African American social work education administrators' experiences. [Special section]. Journal of Social Work Education, 44, 9 - 20. Starcevich, M.M. (2009). Coach, mentor: Is there a difference? Center for coaching & mentoring, Inc. Retrieved from http://www.coachingandmentoring.com/Articles/mentoring.html Strand, V.C. & Bosco-Ruggiero, S. (2010). Initiating and sustaining a mentoring program for child welfare staff. Administration in Social Work, 34, 49-67. DOI: 10.1080/03643100903432941. Walker, J.A. (2006). A reconceptualization of mentoring in counselor education: Using a relational model to promote mutuality and embrace differences. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 45, 60 - 69. Watzlawick, P., Weakland, J.H. & Risch, R. (1974). Change: Principles of problem formation and problem resolution. NewYork, N.Y.:W.W. Norton.
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Turner, T. E. Jacksonville State University Successful Faculty Mentoring of At-Risk Secondary Students ABSTRACT This pilot study reflected the implementation of a faculty mentoring program with secondary students who were at-risk of failing the state graduation exam. Training was provided with the essential elements of a mentoring program as related in the professional literature and adjusted for the secondary school setting. Seventy-five students from grades ten, eleven, and twelve identified as being at-risk for not passing the graduation exam. Thirty-three faculty and staff mentors were enlisted. The mentoring relationships extended over five to six months in the fall and spring semesters. The results showed a favorable increase in the percentage of students who passed all parts of the graduation exam, thereby placing the school in a favorable position to meet Average Yearly Progress according to the standards of No Child Left Behind.
Introduction History of Mentoring The term "mentoring" originates from Homer's Odyssey. In this classic, the character Mentor coaches and counsels Telemachus, Odysseus' son, as Telemachus prepares to take on the responsibilities of the family in his father's absence. Mentor also advises Odysseus on how to search for his father. Telemachus thanks him for his help: "Sir, I thank you for your kindness; you might be a father speaking to his own son, and I will not forget one word of what you say..." (Jeste et al, 2009). The term “mentoring” has been used ever since to describe a relationship where an individual receives advice, coaching and/or counseling from a more senior wise counsel. For the mentor, it is an opportunity to develop another individual both personally and in a specific domain. For the mentee, it is an opportunity to learn from a more sage person. Mentoring relationships are found in business and industry, at management and labor levels, in educational institutions at all levels, in religious and spiritual organizations, in families, and on and on. As more and more mentoring programs have been implemented in organizations, mentoring has been defined in a broader, more fluid way, i.e., colleagues, peers and even subordinates can be mentors and these relationships may last days to weeks to months, or even years. Definition of Mentoring Mentoring is a learning partnership between an experienced person (mentor) and a less experienced person (protégé/mentee) for the purpose of sharing knowledge, information, encouragement, or other types of help (Kram, 1988) . Benefits of a Mentoring Relationship Why mentor or be mentored? Research results show that people who have been mentored report greater satisfaction and career/domain success than non-mentored individuals (McCauley, 2007). Two thirds of top corporate officers interviewed for one study reported having had at least one mentor who significantly helped them in their careers (McCauley, 2007). Of twenty-five successful women executives interviewed in a different study, all were found to have had at least one mentor as well (OrtizWalters, 2009). Benefits To Mentors While the mentoring relationship is generally and primarily established to benefit the mentee/protégé, research has shown that the mentor reaps significant benefit as well. The mentor gains personal satisfaction from fostering the personal development of a protégé/mentee. The mentor experiences the gratification of investing oneself in a new generation. Oftentimes, the mentor 453
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is exposed to new ideas, technologies, and perspectives through interaction with the mentee/protege. The mentor is challenged to further development of interpersonal skills. The mentor finds ways to improve and counseling skills. It is not unusual for the mentor to gain an enhanced reputation as a role model and leader. Intrinsically, the mentor may achieve a significant sense of accomplishment and realize stimulating personal growth. And of course, the mentor increases in knowledge and experience, with a broadened perspective and job enrichment (Stead, 2005; Butterworth et al, 2008). Benefits to Mentees/Proteges Significant benefits have been shown to accrue to the mentees/protégés in the mentoring relationship (Karcher, 2008; Ryan et al, 2002). The mentee acquires new skills- technical, interpersonal or otherwise, which often results in increased personal confidence. The mentor, through interaction with a more entrenched and experienced person, is able to gain key information on the culture and inner workings of the organization that could not be gained in a regular class. Furthermore, mentoring offers development of a relationship with a person who can be a role model and sounding board to give feedback on and plans and problems. The close relationship with a senior member of the organization leads to increased perception of organizational support, resulting in increased performance by the mentee (Chew & Wong, 2008). Benefits to the Organization Not only is there personal benefit that comes to the mentor and mentee in a mentoring relationship, there are overarching and related benefits that come to the organization. Experience validates the institutional benefits that are intuitively obvious. A mentoring program provides across-the-board development of employee talent in a variety of skills. The entire organization benefits from higher levels of motivation. An environment is created which is conducive to greater productivity. The leaders/managers of the organization show improvement in coaching and counseling skills, resulting in increased organizational communication and understanding. Mentoring relationships are cost effective; participants receive additional training, new skills and knowledge, without the cost of structured training or in-service development. In educational institutions particularly, there is better integration of students into the educational environment, and increased student retention. What Does A Mentor Do? A mentor may teach technical skills, as well as information about the organization, its culture and procedures. A mentor coaches through comments, support, encouragement and even criticism about the skills, talents, behavior and career of the protege. A mentor counsels with advice on how to confront difficult situations, ways to succeed, approaches to improving skills. A mentor champions the protege by emphasizing the protégé’s talents. A mentor may play one, some, or all of these roles. What is important is that the mentor shows a positive interest in helping the protege grow and develop. Characteristics of A Good Mentor A good mentor values the organization, its mission and its work, and in the mentoring relationship, has a platform to champion those values. A good mentor cares about others and treats everyone with respect. It may be said that the good mentor is tolerant, non-judgmental, and accepts personal differences. This ability to accept differences comes primarily from a mentor who is confident and secure with self. The effective mentor is approachable; he/she is able to establish a comfortable environment for discussions. The successful mentor will demonstrate sensitivity to the needs of the mentee. Certainly the mentor enjoys watching a protege develop. The mentoring relationship must be built on a foundation of mutual trust; the effective mentor trusts others and can be trusted (Erdem & Aytemur, 2008) 454
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Few mentors have all of these characteristics. These are skills that can be developed and practiced both in Mentoring Workshops and in mentoring relationships. Critical Mentoring Skills Specific skills have been identified which are critical to mentoring effectiveness (Terry, 1999). The mentor must, first and foremost, be a good listener and know how to give effective feedback. The mentor must have skill in goal setting and planning. The mentor must know when to give and when not to give advice. The mentor must have the skill of encouraging others, the ability to instill confidence and motivate people. Characteristics of Successful Mentoring Relationships Ryan et al (2002) have identified specific characteristics that are found in successful mentoring relationships. First, and most importantly, the mentor and mentee must spend time together. The aforementioned skills and practices cannot be introduced nor implemented without tan adequate allocation of time. The relationship should be fostered in a consistent manner. Rapport must be established, with resultant mutual respect. The goals for the mentoring relationship should be clear and specified, as well as agreed on by all parties. Such paves the way for realistic expectations on the part of all. Method This pilot study was implemented in semi-rural high school in North Alabama. The 550-600 students in grade levels 9-12 classify this a medium-sized secondary school in the state. Of the student population, 84% were White, 14% were Black, 2% were Hispanic, and 1% was Asian. The socio-economic level would be classified neither high nor low, with 45% of the students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. Grades 9-12 had 51 teacher units, with a student-teacher ratio of 19:1. A mentoring program was introduced with the specific goal of increasing the number and percentage of students in grades 11 and 12 passing the state- required graduation examination. In the year previous to the implementation of the mentoring program, in the five distinct subject areas of testing (Language, Science, Reading, Math, and Social Studies), that percentage of students in grade 12 who passed the subject-specific portions of the exam as listed were: Language- 93%, Science-96%, Reading- 96%, Math- 95%, and Social Studies- 93%. The percentages of student sin grade 11 that passed the subject-specific portions of the exam were, predictably, significantly lower at 84%, 88%, 90%, 88%, and 84% respectively. These rates placed the school at risk for not meeting the Average Yearly Progress levels required by No Child Left Behind. Reviews of records discussion among faculty, counselor and administrators identified 75 students in grades 10, 11, and 12 who were considered at risk of not passing at least one section of the graduation exam. Of those 75 students, 18 were seniors, 52 were juniors, and 5 were sophomores. Thirty-three faculty members agreed to serve as mentors. Obviously, this necessitated multiple mentees (2.3 students per teacher). Some students were chosen directly by faculty members to be their mentees; others were assigned by administration. The stated goal of the mentoring program was to increase the graduation rate by targeting and mentoring students who have failed (at least one section of) the Alabama High School Graduation Exam. Secondarily and specifically, the mentoring effort was to building trusting relationships between teachers and students that would lead to increased confidence, enhanced motivation, and improved academic performance, as measured by the percentage of students passing all sections of the graduation exam. The program was implemented at the beginning of the second month of the academic year, and concluded with the administration of the graduation exam in the spring. Mentors were not only required to keep a record of their encounters with the mentee and their academic progress (Appendix A), they were given the opportunity to respond to a survey regarding their mentoring activities. Twenty-five of the 455
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mentors responded. Five mentors indicated they met with mentees on a daily basis, seven met weekly, 12 met monthly, and 1 indicated a varied schedule. The content (in order of prevalence) of the mentoring sessions or meetings included the Graduation Exam, Academic Progress, School Relationships, Family/Home Issues, Extracurricular Activities, Other (Dropping Out, Attendance, etc.). At the conclusion of the academic year, the mentors were asked how they perceived their role. Their responses, in order of prevalence, were: Encourager (22 out of 25), Guide (17 out of 25), Teacher, Confidant, Friend, Policeman/Woman (1 out of 25). Multiple responses were possible. The mentors indicated that additional, components needed to be added in order to be more successful. Those components included More time, More Communication, Other (Teacher seriousness, Mentor accountability, Parental involvement), and More training. A two-hour training workshop had been provided prior to mentee selection/assignment. Results By the end of the year in which the mentoring program was implemented, 52% of juniors (27 out of 52) had passed any section of the graduation exam which they had previously failed. Among seniors, 78% (14 out of 18) had passed any section of the exam that they had previously failed, and 72% (13 out of 18) of seniors passed all sections they had previously failed. The overall percentages of students passing the graduation exam in the subject-specific areas increased by 5% in Language (93 to 98%), 3% in Science (96 to 99%), 2 percent in Reading (96 to 98%), 2% in Math (96 to 98%), and 4% in Social Studies (93 to 97%). Implications Several principles emerged from the pilot study. The teachers and administration were convinced that mentoring does produce a positive effect on academic performance, as measured by the graduation exam. Secondly, the primary content of the discussions (Alabama High School Graduation Exam) between mentors and mentees correlates with an increase in exam scores. Thirdly, the teachers’ perception of their role as an encourager correlates with an increase in graduation exam scores. Anecdotal evidence suggested that the subject matter content of the meetings between mentors and mentees was not necessarily all important; neither was frequency or duration of meetings, or even the personality match between mentor and mentee. It was widely asserted that the most critical element was that the student knew someone was personally interested in their well-being and their academic success. This provided heightened motivation, increased sled-esteem, better attendance and in the final analysis, more significant academic engagement and accomplishment. Limiting Factors Some of the surveys were not completed accurately. When the surveys were distributed, the listing of mentors was not updated and accurate. Only 25 out of 33 mentors completed the survey. Further Study and Adjustments Correlations need to be run between the number and frequency of mentor/mentee contact and the passing rates on sections of the graduation exam, and overall passing rates on the exam. Improvements and adjustments were planned for implementation the following year. Mentors were to be assigned fewer students. Priorities for discussion were to be identified. An more stringent accountability system was to be implemented for both mentors and mentees. Some changes would be made in the way students were referred or identified for the mentoring program. REFERENCES
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Butterworth, C., Henderson, J., Minshell, C. (2008). Increase your status with mentoring. Occupational Health, 60 (11), 37-40. Chew, Y.T., & Sai, K.W. (2008). Effects of career mentoring experience and perceived organizational support on employee commitment and intentions to leave: A study among hotel workers in Malaysia. International Journal of Management, 25 (3), 692-700. Erdem, F., & Aytemur, J.O. (2008). Mentoring- a relationship based on trust: Qualitative research. Public Personnel Management, 37 (1), 55-65. Jeste, D.V., Twamley, E.W., Cardenas, V., Lebowitz, B., Reynolds, C.F III. (2009). A call for training the trainers: Focus on mentoring to enhance diversity in mental health research. American Journal of Public Health, 99 (S1), 531-538. Karcher, M.J. (2008). The cross-age mentoring program: A developmental intervention for promoting students’ connectedness across grade levels. Professional School Counseling, 12 (2), 137-143. Kram, K.E. (1988). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman. McCauley, R. (2007). Building a successful mentoring program. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 30 (2), 17-19. Ortiz-Walters, R. (2009). Mentoring collaborations: A longitudinal examination of the association with job performance and gender. Journal of Business and Economic Studies, 15 (1), 26-47. Ryan, S., Whitaker, C.R., Pinckney, J. (2002). A school-based elementary mentoring program. Preventing School Failure, 46 (3), 133-138. Stead, V. (2005). Mentoring: A model for leadership development? International Journal of Training and Development, 9 (3), 170-184. Terry, J. (1999). A community/school mentoring program for elementary students. Professional School Counseling, 2 (3), 237-240.
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Knight, S. M. University of Arizona Meaningful Mentoring to Make Internships Relevant ABSTRACT Problem: Student interns are often adrift, their experiences as random as the events unfolding daily or as narrow as the discrete tasks they are assigned. Internships can be disconnected from knowledge and the reflection necessary to ground meaningful learning. I became concerned we might be failing students and the organizations for which they work. I began speaking informally with young journalists, former interns, editors, and others: what were the components of a successful internship and what made the experience turn sour. Many said interns may get to do some real-world work, but often they are lost. The quality of the experience is circumstantial. I joined forces with a former student-cumeditor, and together we created an enhanced internship, a partnership between the University of Arizona School of Journalism and the Arizona Daily Star, known as The Newspaper Apprenticeship Program — and called by some “the internship on steroids.” A dozen students are selected for the competitive program each semester and summer to participate. We train and support newsroom mentors and editors, building in expectations for their scheduled communication with the students. The classroom component utilizes Kolb’s four stages of experiential learning — concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation — to ensure learning and growth. The program includes assigned mentors for each student, cues for examining practice and ethics, peer discussions, a professional-development research project, and other strategies to prepare for and grow from work experience. While this project focuses on journalism, the partnership, curriculum, and training are replicable in any professional internship. “Experiential learning takes place when a person involved in an activity looks back and evaluates it, determines what was useful or important to remember, and uses this information to perform another activity.” —John Dewey
Introduction Though successfully completing an internship is increasingly considered essential for students in nearly every area of study to be employable following graduation from a university, the college internship can be a lonely, tedious, even confusing experience. In some workplaces, college interns come on board with no clear set of expectations or planned experiences; the student can be subject to a hit-or-miss approach. “Let’s see, Go follow that person for a day.” “Here, try your hand at this maybe.” “Oh, do you need something to do?” If they happen to be in the right place at the right time, or if they are particularly assertive, the interns may come away with experience that will serve them well in the future. But the outcome of an internship can be more about luck or accident than about an organizational strategy, particularly one that educates as well as trains. Not all companies that hire interns have been so lackadaisical. Some companies have had concerted efforts with excellent training programs to educate the college intern on the job, but recent economic times have meant that employees often are stretched thin and don’t have as much time to ensure that the interns working beside them have high quality experiences. Furthermore, it’s not unusual for students to work one to six months as interns with little opportunity to discuss their work, to reflect in an organized manner on expectations, experiences, or their performance, or to examine observations and find answers to questions as they arise. About ten years ago, before we had a full-time internship coordinator, I was struck by the inconsistency in the experience of our students from the University of Arizona School of Journalism who were interning at local newspapers and broadcast media. Often students came out with a handful of good clips they could put in their portfolios, but they couldn’t articulate what they’d learned. The good work seemed more a matter of chance than concerted learning or training. One student’s experience left me bewildered. Joseph Altman, one of the strongest students in our school in many years, called me one afternoon to say he was leaving his prestigious internship as a night-cops reporter at Tucson’s morning
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paper. He planned mid-semester to return to the student newspaper on campus. His reason: He wasn’t learning anything. Daily he followed up on police reports, made calls, went to crime scenes, and wrote stories. Yet no editors on the city desk ever communicated with him about the quality of his work, how to do a better job, how he might take his skills to the next level, nor did they respond to his email memos asking to work on more complicated stories. The internship seemed to be a matter of leave-the-kid-aloneas-long- as-he’s-not-messing-up. Our student had higher expectations. He knew he’d landed one of the most sought-after paid internships, but he was finding it anything but useful or educational. Informally, I began talking to many interns, former interns, young reporters, senior reporters, editors, photographers and others, to gain an understanding about what can go right and what can go wrong for a college intern. Soon after Joe’s departure from the morning paper, I had the opportunity to sit down with one of my former students who was then working as an assistant city editor at the Arizona Daily Star, the same paper the unhappy intern had just left. Leslie Anne Newell was as concerned as I was about the uneven experiences college interns were having. The paper was under new management, having been sold by the Pulitzer Publishing Co. to Lee Enterprises, and Leslie saw an opportunity to develop an improved internship program that would serve the newspaper as well as the students better. We put our heads together to develop a partnership that would develop excellence in workplace training accompanied by reflective classroom work to make for meaningful, lasting learning. We knew we would have to engage everyone in the newsroom, with particular attention to training editors and mentors to maintain a sustained effort with a dozen interns each 16-week semester; the program was so successful that we eventually added a third session, a 10-week intensive summer-school version of the internships. In addition to the new approach in the newsroom, we designed an educational component that brought the interns together in the classroom for two hours weekly for meetings, presentations, reflection, tips, airing of concerns, ethical and professional exploration, and candid discussion. The students also were regularly engaged in critical thinking, research, and writing, relating directly to, and augmenting, their on-the-job training. The partnership between the University of Arizona School of Journalism and the Arizona Daily Star, now in its fifth year, is known as The Newspaper Apprenticeship. Development of The Newspaper Apprenticeship What we envisioned was an internship with 1) complete buy-in and participation from editors and other staff members in the newsroom, 2) support and guidance for the editors and newsroom mentors throughout the semester, with prompts for regular communication and evaluations, 3) a support system for students on the job, which might be used for example when a student needs advice on how to approach a recalcitrant supervisor, or other workplace issues, and 4) a classroom component with meaningful discussion and assignments to articulate, enhance, and build on the work experience. We successfully proposed a 3-unit course, which was a departure from the usual one unit of credit students can earn in an internship. Selecting and managing the apprentices and joining the class in the School of Journalism two hours a week became part of the mid-level editor’s job description. As the professor, I expanded my duties to include time in the newsroom, particularly at the beginning of each semester; I have been involved in the editor and mentor training, regular communication with the apprentice’s managing editor, and some communication throughout the semester with the more than two dozen editors and mentors; additionally I have managed the classroom component, with readings, speakers, writing assignments, and discussions. (The full-time internship coordinator, a full-time adjunct, has taken over the class, but the duties remain the same.) Mentoring occurs at three levels in The Apprenticeship Program: the mid-level editor and professor mentor students in the newsroom and the classroom; that mid-level editor and professor also mentor the newsroom editors and staff members who will work with the students; and then the newsroom editors and staff members mentor the students in the workplace. The Apprenticeship Program, initially just an experiment in shared leadership and responsibility between the UA School of Journalism and the Arizona Daily Star, has become known among faculty and
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students as “the internship on steroids.” When students enroll, they learn that the objectives for them are to: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Engage in direct journalism work experience Apply reflection, critical thinking and synthesis to your workplace experiences Expand your awareness of ethical standards and professional behavior for journalists Utilize co-learning in an experiential learning environment Gain experience in taking initiative, making decisions and being accountable in the workplace Pose questions, research, experiment, be curious, solve problems, assume responsibility, and be creative and construct meaning related to your apprenticeship Identify and articulate journalism’s guiding work principles Develop competencies that enable you to more successfully enter the journalism profession Expand on technical, personal, and professional skills Gain opportunities to reinforce social and ethical values necessary in journalism environments Form linkages between workplace and classroom learning Understand the dynamic nature of today’s news business Form the basis for future learning and experience Develop workplace relationships that bring about job satisfaction and success
David A. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory It’s well known that active learners synthesize knowledge much better than those in a passive learning environment. But simply having an active learning experience, such as an internship or job, doesn’t mean one will learn or learn well. Some researchers and practitioners in education and organizational development have identified strategies extremely useful for linking classroom learning and workplace learning, known as experiential learning. Building on the educational philosophy of John Dewey, education theorist David A. Kolb describes one such strategy in his four stages of learning: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. (Kolb and Fry, 1975). The idea is that a learner will experience something, then when given the opportunity to reflect on the experience, think critically and make connections and ask questions. The student can then take that reflection and thinking about the original experience to learn more, then test the learning in new situations, and achieve more lasting and meaningful learning. (Kolb, 1984) Explaining the theory in the Encyclopedia of Informal Education, Mark Smith (2001) wrote “…the learning process often begins with a person carrying out a particular action and then seeing the effect of the action in this situation. Following this, the second step is to understand these effects in the particular instance so that if the same action was taken in the same circumstances it would be possible to anticipate what would follow from the action. In this pattern the third step would be understanding the general principle under which the particular instance falls.” A learner begins, then, to apply the learning from the experience to a variety of situations, considering what principles apply. In the fourth and last step in the experiential learning circle, a learner is ready with the knowledge learned in new situations to strike out in new ways. (Kolb, 1984; Smith, 2001). We embraced this theory as a foundation for The Apprenticeship Program, believing that the application of the experiential learning cycle would lead to enriched learning in the internship experience. Throughout the semester, we guided students through a variety of readings and assigned a range of writing cues that were both preparatory and reflective in nature. Sometimes these writings were shared among peers; sometimes they were read only by the professor. We found that this approach, indeed, was successful in leading students to synthesize their experience and knowledge and to gain confidence in the workplace rapidly.
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The Newsroom Component Each student works 10 hours (or more) weekly in his or her apprentice position at the Arizona Daily Star. Typically, a dozen or more students are assigned to different departments: metro news, photo, online, copy desk, Caliente (an entertainment weekly), Estrella (a Spanish-language weekly), sports, business section, design desk, multimedia production and other areas. Students are not expected to take over the busywork for others, for example inputting scores in agate for sports, no more or less than any other staff member is expected to do. Students are thrown into their jobs as full-fledged staff members fairly quickly, with many producing publishable work as early as the first week. They are treated like regular staff members in other ways. Newsrooms don’t have spring break or many other holidays that students typically enjoy, so the apprentice interns must clearly communicate with their supervisors about days off and other similar newsroom policies. Also when sick they cannot follow the usual college practice of just staying in bed; the interns must call the editor and let them know they’re out sick, even when not being paid. Editors might have had something lined up for them to do that day. Each student is assigned one primary editor and a mentor to work with all semester. For a successful apprenticeship program, the education of the interns had to become a valued company-wide project, not the work of just one or two employees working with a student for a few months. Many editors wanted an apprentice, to help with an increasing workload because of hiring freezes (and later layoffs). We made an orientation mandatory; if an editor wanted an apprentice they had to attend the orientation, where we communicated the philosophy of the program, the support we’d be offering them in teaching, managing, and evaluating students. At the orientation for editors, we articulate the expectations and offer support in all of the teaching tasks they’ll be doing with the apprentices. We tell them, we ask you, as the apprentice’s editor, to: • Set a work schedule (including whether the student will work Spring Break) • Define the workload and job expectations • Clarify copy flow and newsroom/section protocols, such as photo assignments • Guide the student on developing stories • Provide on-the-job application of ethical and journalistic principles the student has learned in school • Inform the student of the balance between must-dos and enterprise work • Give constructive feedback on ideas as well as stories • Submit an evaluation of the student’s work at the end of the semester We also coach them on their first meeting with the students, reminding them to give the students a tour, inform them of daily and weekly meetings and deadlines, explain copy flow, provide a job description, make it clear how to make photo and art assignments, how to handle corrections and callers, explain policies and ethical practices, describe the audience, clarify expectations for story length, etc. (These instructions came from the many interviews we had with former interns about what had gone wrong or was missing in their own internship experiences.) Similarly, we hold an orientation for mentors, who are not editors but who are staff members in the apprentice’s section and who are doing tasks similar to what will be expected of the apprentice. The expectations are minimal for the mentors. We thank them for volunteering to be a mentor and tell them that their advice and guidance are an important and critical complement to the work the student apprentice will be doing in the classroom and the newsroom. “Our hope is that as a mentor, you can be a friendly face and a font of information for students who might be in their first-ever newsroom job. The studentmentor relationship is unstructured, but we encourage students to talk with their mentors in the newsroom or over coffee or lunch no less than every couple of weeks. More often, of course, is preferred.” The Classroom Component To design the curriculum, we began by informally interviewing — in person and in email — current interns, former interns, beginning and experienced journalists, editors, educators, and others. Primarily we 462
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asked: What makes the best internship experience? Good, consistent communication and guidance was the overwhelming answer, though most said finding internships in which supervisors had time to do so was near impossible, increasingly so with staff cuts in newsrooms commonplace these days. Moreover, we asked the journalists: What do you wish you would have known when you were new to the profession, when you were the newbie in the newsroom? What was missing in your training? In your journalism education? What do you wish someone had told you? While we didn’t conduct a formal survey with a distinct methodology, we listened to the concerns of everyone who would talk to us about what constitutes an ideal educational work experience and education for beginning journalists, and we built our curriculum and work program around their stories and opinions. The answers to the latter question led to some innovative class sessions. For example, many journalists said that while they often find themselves talking to people who are victims, to people who have experienced trauma or loss, seldom are journalists prepared for their first time doing this, or their third or fourth time, or ever. We created a session that brings together people from the local chapter of Homicide Survivors, Pima County Victim-Witness, and Ben’s Bells, a program that teaches about survival in the midst of profound grief, started by a linguistics professor after her young son died in her arms when his lungs became swollen from croup. The students have an opportunity to learn about people’s varied reactions to trauma and grief, about ways to show respect and compassion while objectively doing a job, about how to handle their own grief. (Just a week ago an apprentice came by to tell me that she was so grateful the summer session on grief, trauma and loss was held a day before she had to interview the parent of a drowning victim. “I don’t know how I would have handled it otherwise. I felt like I could do it, like I could be a journalist and be human. I was very proud of myself and thankful I’d had that session,” she said.) The practicum class sessions, for two hours week, are run much like a meeting among colleagues. Attendance is mandatory. Class usually begins with a team meeting, at which each apprentice is called on to report on what they’re working on, issues that have come up on the job, or on specific readings or writing cues they had as assignments for class. In class, we cover everything from navigating office politics and developing good habits in initiative and follow-up to facing ethical dilemmas in social media for personal and professional use. At the beginning of the semester or summer session, students read a variety of articles on how to succeed in a new job, how to communicate with supervisors, how to be heard and seen in the office. Then we move into professional and sometimes proprietary areas that are unique to the Arizona Daily Star. Editors, writers and photographers are invited to class to talk about depth interviewing, the future of the news industry, the rise and fall of multimedia at the Star, increasing attention to alternative forms of storytelling and presentation, and other topics. Then we go into professional and ethical topics in the classroom, such as covering diversity in faith communities, GLBTQ issues, as well as he aforementioned session on how to handle grief, trauma, and loss. Finally, students each complete a research project on an industry trend, writing a paper and making a five-minute presentation to their peers; graduate students present their research projects as a training session to the entire Arizona Daily Star staff. Many of the writing cues for class ensure that students will have a full introduction to the professional practices in the newsroom; there won’t be any hit or miss for gaining the experiences we think are important in understanding the operation of the newspaper. For example, following are a few of those assignments: The News Meeting Memo Attend a news meeting at the Star and write a memo that includes your observations and your thoughts about the process of how editors decide what stories go on the front page, how good art drives story play, whether multimedia is discussed, how editors present their reporters’ work, etc. The aim here is just to have you see how editors who manage sections interact with each other. Take notes so you can capture some dialogue. Try to be specific with stories, dates, etc., and if possible, check out how the stories they talked about appeared later in the paper.
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The News Training Memo All Star staffers have to continue learning, often through in-house training sessions. Attend a session of Star U. Or, complete a NewsU training online at poynter.org. Choose a session that you think will be helpful. In this memo, summarize the sessions. List the points that you learned the most from. Guided Communication with Supervisors Students have specific assignments to meet with their editors and mentors, and then to write a memo for the professor and lead editor on their experience. They receive cues, in the way of writing assignments, to plan their communication: what questions do they have for their editors, what do they want their editors to know about their goals and aspirations, in what areas do they feel weak and in need of the most guidance, in what areas do they have strengths that might help a particular section of the newspaper. Additionally, students are expected to then report back, in a memo to the professor and in class to their peers, about their experience meeting with their editor on the communication. At this time they summarize and think through what they are learning and how to proceed for the most success. Evaluations Editors are required to evaluate their apprentices twice: once midway through the semester and then again at the end. For the mid-semester evaluation, the editor answers three questions: 1. Please describe three areas in which your apprentice is doing well or is showing significant improvement. (These could cover work skills, journalism practice, or specific assignments.); 2. Please list and explain at least one area your apprentice needs to work on for improvement. Feel free to list more than one; and 3. Please use this space to tell me if there is anything that I can clarify for you or do to make things better in working with your apprentice. We also include a list of prompts for performance characteristics, which include: Attitude, Dependability, Ability to Learn, Listening, Accuracy, Quantity of Work, Quality of Work, Ideas, Follow-Through, Relations with Others, Initiative, Written Communication, Oral Communication, Attendance, Punctuality, Flexibility, Creativity, Responsiveness to Criticism, Ledes, Writing to Length, Professionalism. At the end of the semester, editors are given the option of filling out an evaluation form, with a Likert-type scale, or writing up an evaluation. REFERENCES Kolb, D. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Kolb. D. A. and Fry, R. (1975) 'Toward an applied theory of experiential learning; in C. Cooper (ed.) Theories of Group Process, London: John Wiley. Smith, M. K. (2001). 'David A. Kolb on experiential learning', the encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved Sept. 5, 2011 from http://www.infed.org/b-explrn.htm.
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Poster Presentations Baxley, S. M. & Bond, M. L. University of Texas Mentoring Partnerships PROBLEM The question to be addressed is whether structured mentoring program activities along with academic programs, are instrumental in the development of nurse leaders for PhD in nursing students.
Our mentoring program began in the fall of 2003 concurrently with the implementation of a new PhD program and has been continuous. Two consultants provided guidance to assist with the structure and evaluation of the program. Early in the program the definition of the mentoring we used was “long term relationships with persons who have accomplished goals to which the student aspires; mentor provides advice, contacts, and professional guidance, often in conjunction with emotional/moral support” (Bond, Cason, et al., In Press). To obtain the perspectives of the protégés and mentors, “Candid Conversations”, a panel discussion held six years later was open to all PhD in Nursing students and faculty who served as mentors, included descriptions of the mutual expectations of both mentors and protégés. The event was motivated by frequent questions/comments from both mentors/protégés (i.e. – how can I help my protégé better and/or what can I expect from my mentor?). Protégés expressed the need for mentors to listen, offer suggestions to current or ongoing problems, and serve as resource persons for research activities, networking, navigating the system, and connecting protégés to resources within the local and national community. In order to be helpful, the mentor needs to understand the individual needs of the protégé and identify his/her characteristics and values. Mentors expect the protégés to be ambitious and interested in their own careers but also understand that the relationship is reciprocal. They believe that the mentoring relationship should include confidentiality, trust, and commitment. Faculty coordinators of the mentorship program have responded to the suggestions from candid conversations’ and have continued to link mentors and protégés by interests. Additionally, ‘cascade mentoring’, offering the 13 PhD graduates the opportunity to serve as mentors has added a new dimension to the program. The concept of cascade mentoring refers to the creation of an intellectual community which is enriched by multigenerational interaction, which fosters development of new ideas and encourages risk taking (Walker, Golde, Jones, Bueschel & Hutchings, 2008). Peer mentoring and “cascade mentoring” are often what the protégé needs in the early years of his/her program when they are beginning to understand what is expected of them. By forming a bond with others who are recent graduates or those in the program, an unconditional acceptance of each other occurs and a sense of purpose, confidence, and direction provides a way to get through it together. This type of mentoring may meet the early needs of the PhD student and provide the confidence and timing for a more experienced mentor. “Candid conversations” reflected protégé beliefs that mentoring assists them in becoming future leaders as nurse scientists through role modeling, sharing of knowledge, networking and supportive guidance.
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REFERENCES Bond, M. L., Cason, C.L. Gleason-Wynn, P., Gray, J., Ashwill, J., Coggin, C., Lopez, M., Trevino, E., Moon, M., Denke, L. & Baxley, S. (In Press). Finding and Keeping Diversity in your Program: Hispanics in the Health Professions. In Hispanic Voices, National League for Nursing. Walker, G. E., Golde, C. M., Jones, L., Bueschel, A. C., & Hutchins, P. (2008). The formation of scholars Rethinking doctoral education for the twenty-first century. CA: Josey Bass.
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Carroll, D. L. Massachusetts General Hospital The Experience of Mentoring Clinical Nurses in the Performance of Nursing Research PROBLEM With clinical research beginning with the patient, nurses are in a key position to observe the needs of patients, the limitations in the health care system, and to define opportu- nities for knowledge development and improvements in patient care. Working within clinical settings, nursing research teams were formed to answer questions from clinical practice. The teams included clinical nurses that had interest in the research question and a mentor who provided guidance and direction in the research process. The pur- pose of this presentation is to share my experience as a mentor to clinical nurses in the research process that addressed patient care. As a doctorally-prepared nurse, I have mentored 10 clinical nurse research teams in research projects that addressed issues in clinical practice. There were specific areas were the clinical nurse or the mentor took the lead. The clinical nurse was able to rec- ognize clinical issues/problems, while the mentor was able to assist in the prioritization of research questions. The mentor was able to apply research design and methods to facilitate the best method to answer the research question, and to develop a proposal that could be submitted for funding and approval to enroll human subjects. Once the proposals were approved, the clinical nurse collected data in the patient care arena. The mentor reviewed and analyzed the data, and with the clinical nurse, facilitated decisions regarding the data and its appropriateness to impact on patient care. The outcomes from these projects included the development of evidence for clinical practice that allowed for the improvements in patient care, and professional development of the clinical nurse through presentations and successful publications. As a mentor I gained meaningful experience and actively participated in improving clinical care of patients and their families.
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Ferguson, A. & Hughes, D. University of Arkansas A Natural Fit or Culture Shock: Mentoring a Social Work Student in a University Legal Clinic PROBLEM Social Work and Law have long been interconnected. In most communities, professionals from these fields work together in many ways and in a variety of settings, with varying degrees of success. In anticipation of successful work experiences, both social work and law students should experience collaboration while still in training so that people who understand the complexities of interdisciplinary cultures can mentor them. This idea is supported by research on interdisciplinary teams that shows cross training as a way to span the cultural divide. Effectively bringing people with diverse training together to work toward a common goal is not always simple. In addition to general mentoring skills, mentoring across disciplines requires specific knowledge about crossdisciplinary work as well as skills and experience in working with interdisciplinary teams. Also required is knowledge of all disciplines involved. In the case of this project, mentoring the social work student as she found her way into the established team of law students, established her role as an expert team member and experienced co-supervision by a social work professor and law professor within the law clinic structure proved to be challenging for everyone involved. This poster will chronicle the creation of the Social Work and Legal Services program in the University of Arkansas School of Law Legal Clinic and illustrate what was discovered about mentoring across disciplines in the process.
In the fall of 2010, The University of Arkansas Law and Social Work Services Program was created to provide social work services to clients in the student legal clinics at the University of Arkansas School of Law. An Associate Professor of Law and an Assistant Professor of Social Work selected a graduate MSW student to fill the position in the Clinic. Creation of the Program: This program was created in 2 years - from the initial idea to program start. Routine university approvals and buy-in were the first steps in this process. The social work field education program then established the program as a field site for social work interns (masters level). Policy and procedures were to develop as a part of the first internship. Supervision and mentoring activities were to be flexible, allowing a structure to develop over time. The social work intern was selected by the field education director based on student interest, maturity and past performance record. The law students chose voluntarily to take the course. The program was promoted within departments and across the university. There was no special funding and start up costs were very minimal. Mentoring Processes: From the outset, we co-mentored the student. The three of us met in our offices and in informal environments (coffee shop) to discuss all aspects of the program including the development of how social work would be administered in the clinic and other projects to be completed. We met separately with the student as well. The law school professor primarily to discuss work product as this related to the structure of the program within the clinic and work with law clinic clients. The social work professor to discuss practice issues, documentation and masters project that was connected to the placement. These lines became blurred with both mentors and student continuing to work toward program successes.
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Mentoring Outcomes As time went by, we realized that little progress was being made toward any program goals. The student continued to ask for role clarification for each of us. The student’s perceived lack of role clarity made co-mentoring challenging. Successes Role Clarity: After several attempts, clarity in supervisor/mentor roles was mutually established. The law professor was the “boss” in the host setting and social work professor was “consultant” to the student. Acceptance: Initially, the law students accepted the social work student as a part of the team. This was enhanced using a social work student presentation about the professionalism and scope of social work practice. Mentorship Team Work: We honed team mentorship skills by discussing profession specific philosophies, approaches and internship requirements. Meeting documentation: Documentation structure was developed so that outcomes were documented for follow-up. Failures Program structure: The unstructured, unsupervised work time and informal meetings were not always productive. The lack of policies and procedures and office space was problematic. Mentor assumptions: The student did not necessarily share the work ethic and learning philosophies of the mentors. Feedback provided to the student was cognitively filtered by the student through a perceived power differential and lack of role clarity in supervision. Expectations of student: The lack of initial role clarity was distressing for the student who negatively perceived power differentials and alliances between us. Perceived attitudes and values of law students were also problematic and led to difficulty in creating a team atmosphere. Other school and home life demands seemed to interfere. Expectations for the program: A team atmosphere (milieu) was not easy to create without more direction than was available, partly because of timing and partly because of perceived professional cultural differences. Clients were not easy to recruit in a timely manner. The perceptions of social work and the profession’s role with clients were difficult to change. Impact of Differing Professional Cultures: The significant culture clash for the social work student may have been supervision role clarity and supervision styles. Another issue was related to the social work student’s perception of the values and work philosophy of lawyers in general and the student attorneys’ and client perception of the role of social work. Finally, differing perspectives on day-to-day activities and procedural issues were noted: formality of the law school clinic, dress codes, etc. Implications for the Future: The first year for the Law and Social Work Services program was very instructive. Many changes were made to promote program continuation and success. Program Structure: Office space for the social work intern is needed for efficiency and inclusion into the team. Clear, written expectations for work and supervision, mandatory work hours and times to be in class and court with the law students are all necessary because continual supervision and mentorship is not available. Meetings should be documented so that work moves forward.
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The Intern: Interviews with prospective interns will be used to determine if goals of the program and intern are compatible and to determine the student’s comfort level working in a host setting. During these interviews, more comprehensive information about what to expect will be discussed, including clear definition of roles and mentorship/supervision styles. Cultural Considerations: The recognition that mentoring across disciplines requires professional cultural competency is very important to this process. Attitudes, values, roles and supervision styles vary and must be considered part of cross-cultural education for all disciplines involved,. Mentor Training: Mentors for this program should be trained to recognize differences in professional cultures and how these differences affect mentoring activities. Emphasizing professional cultural competency for mentees is an important part of an interdisciplinary collaboration so that the student may be successful in the future. Discussion about interaction and communication patterns is also important to avoid misunderstandings and mentor/mentee team breakdown. Conclusion The first year did not prove to be a natural fit for the social work student, however the Law and Social Services Program in the University of Arkansas School of Law Legal clinic is alive and well in Fayetteville, AR. Many changes have been implemented so that the program will have continued success both in helping disadvantaged clients in the legal clinic and promoting a health interdisciplinary environment for social workers and law students.
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Howard, J. T. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Developing and Implementing Group Mentoring to Improve Formal Mentor Programs PROBLEM This poster session will describe a group-mentoring model for large organizations. Group mentoring can expand the organizational capacity of current mentor programs. One issue facing many formal mentor programs is the paucity of available mentors. Available time to devote to the mentor/protege relationship is another concern potential barrier to effective mentor programs. Creating a sense of community via groups has been effective regarding, retention, organizational learning and individual performance. When structured properly, group mentoring can positively impact formal mentor pro- grams by mitigating the mentor shortage conundrum, leveraging available time and building camaraderie. The session explains the benefits, structure and operational constraints that can make formal mentor programs more effective. The model presented will outline roles, responsibilities and expectations of mentors and proteges involved in group mentoring arrangements. Crucial information for mentor program administrators regarding how to establish, create, monitor the effectiveness of group mentoring will also be presented. This poster session will present a group-mentoring model that attempts to solve potential problem facing many mentor programs. The model presented will address how to overcome a shortage of available mentors as well as offer ways to make effective use of mentors time. Also, this poster session will illustrate how group mentoring not only benefits mentor and proteges, but also speeds organizational learning. Additionally, the session will provide crucial information for mentor program managers who desire to leverage group mentor relationship to improve the overall effectiveness of mentor program.
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Kline-Gabel, K. James Madison University Amistad: A Mentoring Program Connecting College Students with Local Latino Youth PROBLEM One of the greatest challenges teaching college students is finding ways to help them connect with the local community. An even greater challenge is helping them connect with youth sub-groups in the community that need their mentorship. The community of Harrisonburg, Virginia has seen one of the most rapid growths of the Latino population in the state. With such an influx of central American immigrants, local k-12 schools and service agencies have exhausted their efforts in trying to educate, support, and prepare the community for a new era of cultural diversity. As our local schools try to deal with a 35% of English Language Learners, needs have arisen to find assistance for teachers that have little or no cultural training and little language skills in Spanish. Meanwhile, local college students are seeking more ways to learn about the Hispanic culture and language – outside of their classrooms. How can we connect college students studying Spanish with Hispanic youth that struggle with English and assimilation in their new environment?
In 2005 the AMISTAD program was created in an effort to bring together JMU foreign language students and local Latino youth. The program was created to knock down the barrier between JMU and the Harrisonburg community by mentoring sixth and seventh grade Latino students in a local middle school. Every other Wednesday JMU students who are members of the AMISTAD program go to Thomas Harrison Middle School to talk with Latino kids about their own culture and diversity in the cultures and people around them. The mission of the group is to provide a place kids to come after school, to have fun, and learn something at the same time. “AMISTAD” means friendship in Spanish and there was an intentional approach to not be teachers to the kids, but simply mentors. Our community faces an uphill battle to shatter negative stereotypes of immigrants so our overall goal was to build bridges through friendship. Although a knowledge and background in Hispanic culture and history is required, speaking fluent Spanish is not a requirement. Many of the Latino kids are bilingual and several don’t speak Spanish at all. Now that we are facing second and third generational issues, cultural assimilation is becoming more of a dominant factor than language learning. JMU student leaders strive to create a fun environment through art projects and games. Engaging with the students prevents the kids from feeling like the college students are in charge. Activities include a self identity art project where students took a picture of themselves and surrounded it with things they thought were representative of who they are. The middle school students leave with a feeling of acceptance and an outlet for creativity. The middle school students however, aren’t the only ones who walk away with a new understanding. JMU students learn patience and leadership and are often reminded about what it’s like to be in middle school. Remembering their own experiences allows them to realize how much harder it must be on the students that are coming from other countries under very difficult circumstances. In one meeting, a college student was brought to tears by seeing a young Latina middle schooler draw a picture of her old home in Mexico. The student suddenly stopped and said, “Oh no, I’m forgetting all about my other life.” The results of this program – in it’s fourth year – have been tremendously positive. College students come to class eager to learn more about the countries where their middle schoolers come from. Middle schoolers look forward to their college friends and start asking them questions about higher education. And, teachers at the middle school are grateful that they have some assistance with all the needs that they aren’t able to meet. Slowly, the community of JMU starts making a difference in the local community and the connection between both groups becomes an energy that will hopefully spread throughout the greater community.
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Konstantinov, K. University of New Mexico Rheu-Mythology: Mixing Disciplines in Anticipating a Convergence PROBLEM The information explosion in medical sciences presents major concerns in effective educational content and teaching skills (1). Students are frequently overwhelmed by a deluge of dry data, details of which seem difficult to remember or use in critical thinking.
In an effort to maximize learning and engagement in advanced rheumatology training we have experimented with an educational experience focused on the interaction between two unrelated, but somehow connected disciplines (Greek Mythology and Rheumatoid Arthritis and Modern Rock Music and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus). A similar approach was used by Suk and Tamargo (2) who discussed neuroanatomy using Renaissance Art. Mixing classic and pop culture knowledge with rheumatology in anticipating convergence follows a model of learning which combines data from different sources to facilitate more efficient information flow, easier memorization and recall. We believe that such approach engages the fractal neural networks of the brain, postulated to spur the building of stable synaptic networks in a shorter time than the more traditional teaching practices (3). The information retention potential of this approach was compared to standard lectures on the same general topics (RA and SLE). Medical students without prior knowledge in rheumatology from Copenhagen University and the BA/MD Program at UNM were asked to answer a series of questions one week after reviewing one of the paired presentations (Update on Rheumatoid Arthritis/ Greek Mythology Lesser Gods Introduction to Rheumatoid Arthritis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus / SLE Rock Update). The results of this limited testing clearly show that students recall less when exposed to text with medical information alone. REFERENCES Eisenberg M, Small RV. Information based education: an investigation of the nature and role of information attributes to education. Information Processing and Management 1993, 29:263-275. Suk I, Tamargo RJ. Concealed Neuroanatomy in Michelangelo’s Separation of Light from Darkness in the Sistine Chapel. Neurosurgery 2010, 66:851-861. Nuhfer E. Think in fractals, think like a successful faculty developer: educating in fractal patterns XXX. The National Teaching and Learning Forum 2010, 19: 9-11.
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Mirowsky-Garcia, K. White, V. A. Stewart, D. M. & Nolte, K. B. University of New Mexico Using a Continuing Quality Improvement (CQI) Program as a Tool for Peer-to-Peer Mentoring PROBLEM The compliance and administrative units of the Office of Research (OR) at the University of New Mexico, participate in an ongoing Continuing Quality Improvement (CQI) program. This CQI effort is a novel program that began as an outgrowth of the strategic planning process in the OR. Central to the new program is a peer-topeer coaching and mentoring process, where units who have dealt with similar problems can guide and assist other units. The CQI program uses the scientific method as a basis for improving operations in lieu of typical business management practices and terminology that might not be as easily understood by academic biomedical research administration (Nolte et al., 2008). Each administrative or compliance unit creates their own CQI initiatives based on areas where improvement is needed. Multiple CQI initiatives are managed concurrently and old initiatives are retired as new ones are implemented. The initiatives are structure along the lines of publishing an applied scientific paper, which includes multiple peer reviews of the initiative by the other units. The reviews act as peer mentoring across units, and help formulate good CQI initiatives and metrics. Crosscutting CQI initiatives were more recently implemented to foster greater communication and cooperation among the OR units and to further eliminate duplication of effort. This program can easily be adapted by other academic or administrative offices or research units and can serve as an invaluable peer-to- peer coaching or mentoring tool.
Intro and the Scientific Method The CQI Process began in the OR in 2006. It was comprised of unit heads or other members of the 5 compliance or administrative units: • Animal Resource Facility (ARF) • Biohazard Compliance (BHC) • Conflict of Interest (COI) • Human Research Protections Office (HRPO) • Office of Animal Care Compliance (OACC) Kurt B. Nolte, MD, (Assistant Vice President for Research at the time) served as chair. Douglas M. Stewart, PhD (Associate Professor, Anderson Schools of Management) served as quality management expert. Since the OR is part of the Health Sciences Center at UNM, and most related personnel had scientific experience of one kind or another, the CQI group decided to adopt a system whereby the scientific method would be used as a tool to improve processes instead of more complex business management systems that would require the participants to learn foreign terminology and concepts. Scientific Method • Observation • Hypothesis • Experiment • Conclusion Each unit initially presented challenges they were facing to the CQI group for discussion. The group was able to help each unit develop sound hypotheses and metrics through the peer-to-peer mentoring process, progress reports were given, and then the group discussed the results together afterwards. This was an invaluable coaching tool for personnel and units that were new to the OR and to the CQI process.
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Forming Hypotheses A common concern of compliance units is reducing the turn-around time required for protocol review and approval. Statement of the problem “Protocol turnaround time often exceeds “X” amount of days”. The following hypothesis was developed to address this problem and was applicable to several of the compliance units in the OR. Hypothesis “Improvement of internal procedures will decrease protocol-approval time”. Peer input was especially important in the formation of good hypotheses that would lead to sound metrics. Metrics Metrics are the hardest part of the CQI process. The most significant peer discussions usually revolved around how best to measure CQI results and accurately display them to the group. It was very important to remember to measure only one variable at a time. Initially, the OACC focused on measuring processing time at each stage in the process, but soon discovered that some of the steps were beyond our control (IACUC reviewer and PI response turnaround times). Through peer-discussions, we realized that since our Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee’s (IACUC’s) meet monthly, this puts a lower limit on our turnaround time. Therefore, we made a new goal to maximize the number of approved submissions at each convened IACUC meeting. We’ve been measuring and improving on this goal ever since and now report our approval percentages on the quarterly Office of Research action plan. The other compliance units measure their protocol turn-around time in various ways that are meaningful to them, and have various goals to related to either turn-around time in days or quality of reviews or percentage of protocols approved. The common goal here though is customer satisfaction and increasing our compliance with state and federal regulations. The common approach is to draw on the peer network as a resource to develop new improvement strategies. Cross-cutting CQI initiatives We were able to use the CQI meeting as a frame work for not only improving our own processes, but also for understanding what other units did, how their processes compared with ours, and how we fit into the big picture. We could then gain context for our mission and benefit from the experience of other units in tackling similar problems instead of wasting time and effort “reinventing the wheel”. One cross-cutting initiative that was formed between BHC and the OACC was better institutional compliance. We often have protocols that need both Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) and IACUC approval but there was no way to formally communicate about this process or to keep track of it. Now we keep a joint spreadsheet with all protocols that required both IBC and IACUC approval listed on it and cross-linked to one another. Discussion and Conclusion We believe the CQI process is an inexpensive and efficient way to improve one’s processes in an office or administrative unit. It allows peers to compare their internal processes to those of others in similar units or roles and to learn from and help one another to improve those processes. This is one way to get buy-in from employees who will now have a bottom-up instead of a top-down approach to management practices. It allows new employees to be exposed to the “big picture” by seeing what other 475
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units do as well as to examine one’s own processes in great detail. It prevents re-invention of the wheel or duplication of effort when tackling common problems or when new leadership takes over a unit. It’s a great way to do team building and allows people in the individual units to feel like they’re a part of the overall mission of the office. It also helps keep processes moving along when people know they have to present their progress at a monthly meeting of their peers. REFERENCES K.B. Nolte, D.M. Stewart, K.C. O’Hair, W.L. Gannon, M.S. Briggs, A.M. Barron, J. Pointer, and R.S. Larson, “Speaking the Right Language: The Scientific Method as a Framework for a Continuous Quality Improvement Program Within Academic Medical Research Compliance Units,” Academic Medicine, 2008, Vol. 83 pp. 941948.
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Noll, K. R. & Bywater, B. J. Valdosta State University The Effect of an Initial Contact on the Mentoring Relationship PROBLEM An initial study was conducted in spring of 2011 which surveyed the graduate students in the program of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) about their experiences with mentors and their notions about mentoring relationships. This study revealed that the peer-mentoring program that was administered by the program was not effective in meeting the needs of the students. The CSD program assigned a mentor, or more advanced clinician, to each beginning clinician, or student in the first semester of clinical practicum. At the beginning of the semester the mentor and mentee received a letter or email describing the mentor program briefly and the name and email of the partner they had been assigned. At the end of the spring semester, sixteen beginning clinicians completed the mentoring survey. Only six students responded that they had a mentor and three of those six indicated that their mentor had been assigned by the program. Furthermore, 12 of the 16 surveyed indicated a desire to have a mentor assigned to them. The results of this initial study revealed that 75% of the spring beginning clinicians wanted to have a mentor. Although all beginning clinicians were assigned a mentor through the mentoring program, only 38% of respondents had a mentor, and less than 20% had their mentor assigned to them through the CSD program. From these initial results the investigators posed the question; if mentor/mentee pairs met once when the pairings were assigned, would this initial face-to-face meeting provide the necessary contact to establish a productive mentoring relationship?
As an initial step toward a more robust mentoring program for the graduate students in the program of Communication Sciences and Disorders, an initial face-to-face contact was arranged for the mentor/mentee pairs. At the beginning of the 2011 summer term the mentors, or the more advanced students in the program, and mentees, beginning graduate clinicians, were able to meet to initiate their mentor relationship. Each mentor had the opportunity to meet with their mentee to get to know each other and to exchange contact information. At the end of the 2011 summer term the mentoring survey was administered to the mentees, or beginning graduate clinicians. Twenty-five summer beginning graduate clinicians completed the survey. Results showed 22 responded that they had a mentor and 17 of those 22 indicated that the program assigned their mentor. These results showed that with the face-toface meeting, 68% of mentees indicated that they had a mentor assigned by the program. The survey results from the summer term, when the students had a face-to-face initial contact, showed an increase of 49% in students mentored by their program assigned mentor over the results of the spring 2011 study. This increase in mentored students indicated that the mentoring program was more successful in establishing a mentoring relationship when the initial face-to-face contact was implemented. Furthermore, 15 of the 17, or 88%, respondents who indicated they had a program assigned mentor and met regularly with their mentor during the semester. These results indicate that the initial meeting spawned an active mentoring relationship according to the mentees, or beginning graduate clinicians. Further analysis of the data was needed to determine if the mentoring relationships were productive for the students. The investigators looked at the group of 15 beginning practicum students who responded that their mentors were assigned by the program and they had met with their mentor during the semester. Ten of 15, or 67% of this active and assigned mentored group indicated that a mentor was important to their professional development. This idea about the professional importance of mentoring was consistent with the respondents mentoring experience. Survey results indicated that 13 of the 15 active and assigned mentored students indicated that their mentor gave them advice about clinic, while 10 of the 15, or 67%, of the same group indicated that their mentor helped them in school. Since professional development for our graduate students is largely in the areas of academics and practice of clinical skills, these results indicate that the mentees with assigned mentors garnered assistance in their professional development from their mentor.
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Responses to the survey also indicated that they thought mentoring is important to personal development. Eleven of the 15, or 73% of respondents with active and assigned mentors indicated that personal development was an important part of mentoring. At the same time, 5 of 15, or 33% of respondents in the active and assigned mentor group, indicated that they had a meaningful personal relationship with their mentor. Only 3 of 15, or 20% responded that their mentor provided help in personal matters. While the survey revealed that students with active, assigned mentoring relationships felt mentoring was important to personal development, these same students’ experiences with an assigned mentor was not productive in the area of personal development. In conclusion, the initial study in spring 2011 of mentor/mentee relationships revealed that the assigned mentoring program was not fulfilling the needs of the mentees, or beginning graduate clinicians. A face-to-face meeting was introduced to allow the mentor/mentee pairs to meet and exchange information and these students were later surveyed to determine if an initial meeting allowed the establishment of a productive mentoring relationship. The survey results revealed that, indeed, there was a large increase in the number of mentees that answered that they had mentors who were assigned through the program. These results indicate that an initial mentor/mentee meeting is effective in initiating the mentor/mentee relationship. Once established 88% of the assigned mentor pairs met regularly and were considered active. Although the respondents indicated that mentoring was considered important to both professional and personal development, survey results indicated that these active and assigned mentoring relationships were productive in the area of professional development but were not deemed productive for the mentees in personal development. REFERENCES American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2005). The ASHA Gathering Place: Mentoring Manual, Retrieved from http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/students/gatheringplace/MentoringManual.pdf Wright-Harper, W. & Cole, P.A. (2008). A Mentoring Model for Enhancing Success in Graduate Education. Contemporary Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders, 35, pp.4-16. Wunsch, M. (1994). Developing Mentoring Programs: Major themes and issues. In M. Wunsch (Ed.), Mentoring revisited: Making an impact on individuals and institutions (pp. 27-34). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.
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O’Regan, K. University of Wisconsin A Look at the Barriers of and the Reasons for Success in Formal Mentoring Relationships PROBLEM Formal mentoring programs are considered one of the most highly valuable tools to many corporations (Blickle, Witzki, & Schneider, 2009). However, there are three specific problems that are barriers to success in formal mentoring programs. The first problem is that cultural and gender diversity issues in formal mentoring programs do not seem to be highly valued (Childs, Seguin, Soon, & Iskendarian, 2009). One can look at the profile of employees who are formally mentored and the gender and diversity of the profile will not be in harmony with the gender and diversity of our true workforce. The workforce is far more diverse than those who mentor and those who given the opportunity to be mentored (Childs et al., 2009). The second problem is that there does not seem to be a ‘norm’ for what a formal mentoring program looks like due to lack of significant long-term case studies and quantified results in the field. Finally, the third problem is the expectation of what a formal mentor is expected to provide a mentee is not defined. Despite the structural arrangement for the formal mentorship relationship, pressure can evolve from the expectation of what a mentor should provide. Pressure can also evolve when the mentee has unattainable high expectations to live up to, or has unwritten loyalty expectations garnered upon them by the mentor. These barriers to success are sensitive issues not easily detected from outside the relationship of mentor and mentee.
The purpose of this session is to discuss how to a find a framework for further research in the field of cross-cultural mentoring that fills the current gaps in mentoring. Theoretical Background and Hypothesis Development Kram and Higgins proposed that individuals rely upon not just one, but multiple individuals for developmental support in their careers - a phenomenon she and Higgins call relationship constellations (Higgins & Kram 2001). I will flush out more theory based upon lateral relationship mentoring in order to substantiate my further research on this topic. There has been research on this, but not to the degree that is prevalent. Definition of Formal Mentoring “A formal mentoring partnership is comprehensive and includes a facilitated matching process, formal training and clear goals for measuring success. A formal mentoring program offers a structured approach to developing employee talents and abilities. A formal mentoring process capitalizes on the experiences of successful individuals (mentors) in the organization who are committed to helping develop a highly skilled, high-performing workforce” (International Mentoring Association, 2011). Literature Gaps Previous research suggests there are two significant gaps in the research of formal mentoring programs. The first gap is, “No known research has examined the relationship between perceived formal program characteristics and the degree of mentoring provided or relationship quality” (Allen, Eby, & Lentz, 2006; p. 567). The authors go on to state, “A second gap in the literature is the omission of the perspective of the mentor” (p. 568). The third gap is a lack of literature on how to manage multi-gender mentoring relationships, and how to find ways to find successful ways to create gender equality in who gets mentored and who does not. These are three rather gaping holes in the research of formal mentoring programs. This being the case, I see an ample need for new research in this field.
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Questions to be Asked to Find Solutions to Barriers After working on this research, I have developed questions that need to be answered in order to overcome the barriers to successful formal mentoring programs: What are management and employee feedback structures for formal mentoring programs? What are the incentive and recognition programs for mentors? What are the programs that have a continuous improvement standard and mission statement that is affective and inspiring? How do we document success? Are we aware of the diversity issues that need to be addressed within the corporate culture and community? What are the standards for who gets mentored and when do they get mentored? Discussion With a different look at who should be mentoring, and who should be mentored can we can develop healthier, more diversified working communities, and the strength of the organizational mind-tank can be developed to create more prosperity. REFERENCES Allen, T., Eby, L., & Lentz, E. (2006). Mentorship behaviors and mentorship quality associated with formal mentoring programs: Closing the gap between research and practice. Journal of Applied Psychology 91(3), 567-578. Blickle, G., Witzki, A.H., Schneider, P.B. (2009). Mentoring support and power; A three year predictive field study on protégé networking and career success. The Journal of Vocational Behavior 72(2), 181-189. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.12.008. Chandler, D., & Kram, K.E. (2005). Applying an adult development perspective to developmental networks. Career Development International 10(6-7), 548–566. Childs, T., Seguin, P., Soon, D., & Iskenderian, M.E. (2009). Advancing women in Asia. Retrieved from http://www.asiasociety.org/video/business-economics/ advancing-women-asia-complete. Higgins, M.C., & Kram, K.E. (2001). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. Academy of Management Review 26(2), 264-288. International Mentoring Association. (2011). Retrieved on July 9, 2011 from http://www.mentoring-association.org. Russell, J.E.A., & Adams, D.M. (1997). The changing nature of mentoring in organizations: An introduction to the special issue on mentoring in organizations. Journal of Vocational Behavior 51(1): 1-14
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Palmer, E. L. University of Texas Mentoring Haiti Nursing Research Problem The presentation documents the success of the steps to conduct nursing research in a country that has limited access to an Instructional Review Board. The steps were developed to include two in-country nurses as coinvestigators and orient data collectors. The steps to preparing Haitian nurse leaders to be investigators in a research project included: 1. Learning about an Instructional Review Board (IRB). 2. Reviewing an application to Instructional Review Board. 3. Training requirements of a principal investigator and orientation of data collectors. 4. Preparing consent forms for all participants sensitive to language of the country. 5. Selecting a population to study and requesting permission/authorities. 6. Submitting an application to an Instructional Review Board. 7. Creating a time-line for a study and measure the success factors of the project. Learning the steps was completed over nine month period. The two Haitian investigators and two North America nursing professors submitted the research request to the University of Texas at Arlington IRB : Assess and Enhancing the Social and Occupational Functioning of Haitian Nursing Students and Clinical Nurse Health Care Promoters. The study was approved. The details of the study and the data collector orientation were completed. The selection of the population studied included 70 student nurses and 20 health care promoters and completed in 30 days. The data analysis completed in 60 days.
Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to learn the steps in conducting a nursing research. The study was to assess the prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and comorbid PTSD and MDD among the nursing students at the Haitian National School of Nursing and the clinical nurse health promoters at International Child Care-Haiti, Inc. following the January 2010 earthquake and subsequent disasters (hurricane November 2010 and cholera outbreak December 2010.) The results of the research will be presented to Haitian nurse leaders with discussion of future nursing research projects. REFERENCES Gross, Sheila C; Mentoring in Nursing. (2007), Springer Publishing House Company, LLC AACN Advance Critical Care, (2011) July-Sept, 22 (3): 190-200
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Pastore, D. L. & Brown, L. Ohio State University An Examination of the Mentoring Functions between Sport Management Faculty Mentors and Mentees PROBLEM The purpose of this study was to examine the mentoring functions of sport management faculty mentors and mentees in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of mentoring programs in the field. A web-based survey was developed based upon the work of Williams and Blackburn (1988) and Paul, Stein, Ottenbacher, and Liu (2002). The survey was developed and validated by a panel of experts and a pilot test (N=40). Afterward, the survey was sent to a sample of 291 sport management faculty. A total of 126 faculty responded for a 43% response rate. Of the respondents, 52 tenured faculty indicated they served as a mentor and 31 nontenured faculty indicated they were a mentee. The results showed that the top three functions carried out by tenured faculty mentors were: (a) provided professional guidance/advice; (b) listened to the mentee’s ideas; and (c) provided general support and encouragement. The top three functions non-tenured mentees perceived were their mentor’s carried out included: (a) provided professional guidance/advice; (b) listened to your ideas; and (c) provided general support and encouragement. Both mentors and mentees identified writing grant proposals and finding research funding as areas in need of improvement.
An Examination of the Mentoring Functions between Sport Management Faculty Mentors and Mentees Mentoring has been studied in many academic fields, such as business, higher education, nursing, and physical education (Burden, Harrison, & Hodge, 2005; Dodds 2005; Jones, Harris, & Miles, 2009; Sambunjak, Straus, & Marusic, 2010). A literature review indicated there is not an exact definition for mentoring, mentor, or protégé (Weaver & Chelladurai, 1999). The word “mentor” originated from Greek mythology (Young, 1990). According to Sands, Parson, and Duane (1991), “Odysseus’ son Telemakhos was entrusted to the fatherly Mentor who looked after Telemakhos when Odysseus was at war” (p. 175). A relationship developed between Mentor and Telemakhos, as Mentor provided guidance, advice, education, and protection (Sands, et al., 1991; Wright & Smith, 2000, Young, 1990). Consequently, the notion of mentoring evolved. While the principle components of mentoring lack consensus definitions, those definitions put forth in the literature allow for an understanding of the key terms in this context. The word mentor has been defined as “individuals who go out of their way to successfully help their protégés meet life goals” (Schweitzer, 1993, p. 50) or as individuals who have experience and knowledge and are committed to helping their protégés careers (Ragins, 1997). Protégés have been defined as “individuals who have received special assistance from other persons (mentors) in reaching their life goals” (Schweitzer, 1993, p. 50). Anderson and Shannon (1988, cited in Paglis, Green, & Bauer 2006, p. 451) referred to mentoring as “a nurturing process in which a more skilled or more experienced person, serving as a role model, teaches, sponsors, encourages, counsels, and befriends a less skilled or less experienced person for the purpose of promoting the latter’s professional and/or personal development” (p. 40). Other scholars have cited similar definitions for mentoring. For example, Weaver and Chelladurai (1999) definedmentoring as “a process in which a more experienced person (i.e., the mentor) serves as a role model, provides guidance and support to a developing novice (i.e., the protégé), and sponsors that individual’s career progress” (p. 25). Based on the aforementioned definitions of mentoring, it appears mentors serve a variety of functions. Kram and her colleagues are credited for completing a number of studies on mentoring functions and for the development of the career and psychosocial mentoring functions (Kram, 1983, 1988; Kram & Isabella, 1985). Career functions included: (a) information sharing, (b) career strategizing, and (c) jobrelated feedback, whereas psychosocial functions included: (a) confirmation, (b) emotional support, (c) personal feedback, and (c) friendship (Kram, 1988). A number of scholars have referred to Kram’s work 482
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in their studies to advance the knowledge base on mentoring (e.g., Mullen & Hutinger, 2008; Paglis, Green, & Bauer 2006; Weaver & Chelladurai, 1999). One aspect of mentoring that warrants further study are these functions, as carried out by faculty mentors and mentees. Williams and Blackburn (1988) first examined mentoring functions in the nursing field and found senior faculty mentoring enhanced junior faculty’s research productivity. Paul, Stein, Ottenbacher, and Liu (2002) replicated their study in the field of occupational therapy and found similar results. In Williams and Blackburn’s (1988) study, a survey was sent to faculty members to “determine the extent to which mentor relationships between senior faculty and junior faculty influence the scholarly productivity of these junior faculty” (p. 204). A total of 189 faculty responded and the results indicated that faculty involved in a mentoring relationship were more productive than those faculty not involved in a mentoring relationship. Paul et al.’s (2002) study examined the role of mentoring on the research productivity of occupational therapy faculty. In addition, the study examined the role of institutional support factors on research productivity. A total of 127 faculty responded to the survey. The results indicated that “mentoring plays an important role in increasing research productivity in junior faculty” (p. 24) and that “senior faculty mentors perceive their mentoring experience to enhance their research productivity” (p. 24). Institutional support factors, such as, internal funds, release time, administrative support for research, grant writing seminars, statistical/computer help correlated (low and positive) with research productivity. Sport management is an academic field that continues to grow. Jones, Brooks, and Mak (2008) highlighted the growth of programs: Since 1966, the number of degrees offered in sport management has increased. In 1992, the total number of degrees offered by colleges and universities in the United States, including associate, bachelor, masters, and doctorate, totaled 567 (Lambert, 1999). By 1995, the number more than doubled to 1,173 degrees (Lambert, 1999). In 2003, 166 institutions were identified by the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) (p. 78). Although the field of sport management continues to grow and evolve, a review of the literature showed a dearth of studies completed on mentoring (e.g., Bower, 2008; Bower & Hums, 2009; Carter & Hart, 2010; Pastore, 2003; Weaver & Chelladurai, 1999; Weaver & Chelladurai, 2002; Young, 1990); thus, additional studies are warranted. An investigation of the mentoring functions of sport management faculty is timely and the findings have the potential to help not only sport management programs, but institutions of higher education develop high quality faculty mentoring programs. The purpose of this study was to examine the mentoring functions of sport management faculty mentors and mentees. Specifically, the study examined: (a) the mentoring functions carried out by tenured faculty to assist their mentees; (b) the mentoring functions non-tenured faculty perceived being carried out by their mentors; and (c) the top mentoring functions being carried out. Method Operational Definitions For purposes of this study, the operational definitions developed by Williams and Blackburn (1988) for mentor and mentee were used. However, modifications were made to the definitions to reflect the focus of the current study. For example, Williams and Blackburn (1988) used the terms senior and junior faculty, whereas in the current study, tenured and non-tenured faculty were used. Further, the current study focused on mentors and mentees at the same institution. Respondents were asked to focus on the one relationship with one person if they had more than one mentor/mentee. The definitions included: Mentor - A tenured faculty member (associate or full professor) engaged in a professional relationship with one or more non-tenured faculty (assistant professor) and one who provides support and guidance. The individual carries out behaviors that assist a non-tenured faculty member's productivity, for example: (a) stimulating intellectual growth, (b) assisting mentees with publications, (c) assisting mentees
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to learn research skills and to write grant proposals, (d) helping the mentee understand the culture and politics of the system, and (e) sponsoring the person for various types of advancement. Mentee - A non-tenured faculty member (assistant professor) engaged in a professional relationship with a tenured faculty member who carries out the functions and behaviors spelled out in the definition of mentor. Subjects The study population was the professional and emeriti members of The North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM). A list of members was obtained through the NASSM website and at the time of data collection, included 483 members. A total of 43 members were removed from the list due to their affiliation with a company instead of a college/university or participation as a member of the panel of experts. Thus, this reduction took the list to a total of 440 members. A random sample of 40 members was selected for the pilot test and this again resulted in a reduction of the list to a total of 400 members. Based on the recommendation of Dillman, Smyth, and Christian (2009), a random sample of 291 sport management faculty was selected from the NASSM professional list. Dillman, Smyth, and Christian (2009) suggest that “the estimate of interest will be with +- 3 percentage points 95% of the time” (p. 56). A total of 126 (43.3%) members responded to the web based instruments that were sent through the email and 92 were usable for a 31.6% response rate. Instrument A web based instrument was developed through the SelectNet survey program. More specifically, the present study employed the Paul et al. (2002) instrument which was originally developed survey by Williams and Blackburn (1988). Paul et al. (2002) updated Williams and Blackburn’s (1988) instrument and established content validity through a panel of experts. In the present study, five sport management faculty members were asked to serve on a panel of experts to establish the face and content validity of the survey. The panel assessed the instrument for clarity, length, order, and relevance. Based on the experts’ feedback, several items were reworded and or eliminated. A pilot test was conducted to establish the reliability of the instrument. However, due to the low response rate (20%, 8 faculty), the pilot test was not large enough to confirm the subscales structure. Four sections comprised the instrument. The first section included items related to mentoring roles and functions. The second section contained items that related to productivity. The third section consisted of institutional factors that may influence faculty productivity and the last section included demographic information. Williams and Blackburn (1988) developed several mentoring functions subscales through principal components analyses. Four factors were extracted and titled: (a) role specific modeling/teaching; (b) encouraging the dream; (c) organizational socialization; and (d) advocate. Williams and Blackburn (1988) reported that the factor loadings ranged from .45 to .81. Due to the instrument modifications made by the panel of experts and a low sample size, principal components analyses, item-to-total correlations, and Cronbach’s alphas were not carried out to verify the subscale structure. Instead, the researchers examined each individual mentoring function item. It should also be noted that data was collected using the entire instrument. However, due to the enormity of the data, the present study focused solely on the results of the mentoring functions. The 18 mentoring functions items for mentors and mentees are shown in Table 1. The respondents were asked to rate the extent each mentoring function was carried out. Specifically, the items for mentors were preceded by the statement: “Please indicate how frequently you have carried out any of the functions listed below with your mentee on his/her behalf.” While the items for mentees were preceded by the statement: “Please indicate how frequently your mentor carried out any of the functions listed below with you or on your behalf.” The response format for each item was a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never, 2 = seldom, 3 = occasionally, 4 = often, 5 = very frequently). Demographic data included gender, marital/partner status, race, age, academic rank, and tenure status.
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Table 1 Mentoring Function Items
Data Analysis To analyze the data, SPSS version 19.0 was used. Descriptive statistics were compiled for (a) demographic information, (b) mentoring functions carried out by mentors, and (c) mentoring functions non-tenured faculty perceived being carried out by their mentors. In addition, the top three mentoring functions carried out by mentors and the top three functions non-tenured faculty perceived being carried 485
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out by their mentors were computed by combining the Likert scale values for often (4) and very frequently (5). Frequencies and percentages were computed for the top mentoring functions. Results Demographic Data A total of 126 faculty responded for a 43% response rate. For purposes of this study, the demographic information of the mentors and mentees is presented in Table 2. A total of 52 tenured faculty indicated they served as a mentor and 31 non-tenured faculty indicated they were a mentee. Of the tenured faculty mentors, 29 (56.9%) were males and 22 (43.1%) were females. A total of 47 (92.2%) of tenured faculty mentors were White/Caucasian and four (7.8%) were Asian/Pacific Islander. By rank, 19 (38%) were full professors, 26 (52%) were associate professors, and five (10%) were assistant professors, and the mean age was 49.2 years. Although mentors were considered to be tenured in the study, ten (19.6%) mentors indicated they were not tenured. Of the non-tenured faculty mentees, 11 (55%) were males and 9 (45%) were females. A total of 14 (70%) of non-tenured faculty mentees were White/Caucasian, two (10%) were Asian/Pacific Islander, one (5%) was Black/check for African American, two (10%) were Hispanic, and one (5%) was mixed race. By rank, 18 (100%) were assistant professors and the mean age was 36.6 years. Although mentees were considered to be non-tenured in the study, one (5.0%) mentee indicated he/she was tenured. Mentoring Functions by Mentor Table 3 showed the mentoring functions carried out by mentors. The results indicated that mentors (44.2%) were very frequently involved in providing general support and encouragement for their mentees. This function was followed by mentors (38.5%) pushing mentees to write and present their ideas and the mentors (34.6%) encouraging the mentees to believe in themselves. It is interesting to note that 54.9% of the mentors were not assisting mentors in grant writing and 46.1% of the mentors were not helping mentees find funding resources. Furthermore, 34.6% of the mentors were not co-authoring a paper or publication with their mentees. Perceived by Mentee Table 4 showed the mentoring functions that mentees perceived are carried out by their mentors. The results revealed that mentees (33.3%) very frequently received professional guidance and advice from their mentors. This function was followed by mentees (28.6%) ideas being listened to by their mentors and mentees (28.6%) receiving general support and encouragement from their mentors. Additionally, the mentees (28.6%) indicated very frequently that the mentors stimulated their intellectual development. It should be noted that 50.0% of the mentees were not assisting by their mentors in grant writing and 42.8% of the mentees were not helped by the mentor when it came to finding funding resources. Top Mentoring Functions Tables 5 and 6 indicated the top mentoring function performed by mentors and those functions perceived by mentees. It is interesting to note that the top three functions (i.e., provided general support and encouragement, provided professional guidance/advice, and listened to ideas) were similar for mentors and mentees. It was order of the functions that differed. While mentors indicated providing general support and encouragement as the top function, mentees reported listened to your ideas as the top mentoring function.
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Discussion This study sought to identify the functions that mentors perform and the functions that mentees perceive their mentors carried out. It is interesting to note that mentors and mentees were fairly similar in their perceptions of the functions carried out. Mentors and mentees reported that providing support, guidance, and advice were very frequently provided. A closer examination of the top three mentoring functions indicated that two of these functions (e.g., listened to your ideas, and provided general support and encouragement) fell under Kram’s mentoring category of psychosocial functions. This finding is interesting because often professional training focuses on professional skill sets to get ahead, not necessarily the support. However, according to Waldeck, Orrego, Plax, and Kearney (1997) “when both functions (i.e. career and psychosocial) are present in the relationship, protégés can be better assisted in their advancement and well being” (cited in Mullen & Hutinger, 2008, p. 183). Mullen and Hutinger (2008) developed a New Faculty Mentoring Program (NFMP) for first year and second year junior faculty. The program included a department and college mentor. The scholars discussed how both of Kram’s mentoring functions (i.e., career and psychosocial) appear in the program: In the first year of the NFMP, college mentoring partners emphasized career functions (e.g., professional networking), while departmental counterparts gave more attention to psychosocial elements (e.g., confidence building); however, in the second year, while the departmental relationships continued as the more vibrant, resourceful and steadfast of the two, the support for career development and psychosocial aspects of the work was more evident in both types of mentorships (p. 187).
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Based on the current study’s findings, sport management faculty may consider incorporating both career and psychosocial functions into a mentoring program. In addition, the NFMP developed by Mullen and Hutinger (2008) can serve as a model mentoring program for sport management faculty members and administrators. An intriguing finding in the study is that there is a lack of mentoring provided and received for grant writing and procurement. It is conceivable this is the case because grants in sport management are difficult to obtain and therefore mentors have elected to focus on scholarly publications. Further, it may be that many sport management mentors were tenured and promoted during a time when there was not pressure to procure external funding. Today, greater emphasis is being placed on faculty to secure external funds. Thus, non-tenured sport management faculty members may have to seek mentoring in this area by aligning themselves with colleagues outside the department in fields (e.g., exercise science) where grant procurement is the norm and positioning themselves on grants as a potential co-principal investigator. For example, it is conceivable that a sport management faculty member may be able to assist with the marketing of a major project that receives NIH (National Institutes of Health) funding. Limitations Although the study provides findings that can be of value to faculty and administrators not only in sport management, but in higher education, several limitations were identified. First, the study included mentors who were not at the rank of associate or full professor. Five mentors (10%) held the rank of assistant professor. The researchers decided to include these individuals since the nature of the study was exploratory. In the future, it is suggested that investigations include only mentors who have achieved the rank of associate or full professor. An assistant professor can serve as a mentor; however, a limitation is that this faculty member may not fully understand and know the ropes when it comes to promotion and unable to assist a mentee. Second, the study included mentors who were not tenured. Again, the researchers kept these individuals in the analysis since the study was exploratory and these individuals may have provided valuable advice to a mentee. However, in the future, it is suggested that the sample include only those mentors who have been tenured and promoted. Third, the type of institution was missing from the demographic data. Sport management faculty members work in a variety of institutions (i.e., doctorate-granting institutions, master’s colleges and universities, and baccalaureate colleges). The survey utilized in the current study emphasized research needs and the mentoring for faculty in research universities. Sport management faculty members in teaching institutions will have different needs than those in research institutions. Thus, it is suggested that future studies identify the type of institution so that the mentoring functions can be geared toward the institution’s mission. Recommendations Given the paucity of research on mentoring in sport management, there are opportunities for further investigations. Earlier in the paper, the top mentoring functions were discussed. While these types of functions are important, it would be of value to know more of the specific type of guidance and advice that mentors are providing and mentees are receiving. By understanding more of the specifics, this information has the potential to enhance the mentees opportunities for advancement and to help create quality faculty mentoring programs. Therefore, it is suggested that qualitative studies be completed to understand the breadth and depth of advice that sport management mentors are providing to mentees. An examination of whether the mentors and mentees were involved in an informal or formal mentoring program would be of value. Mullen and Hutinger (1988) mentioned that “while formal mentoring programs have increased in popularity nationwide, much more critical analysis is needed” (p. 182). It may be that informal mentoring has a more positive effect on a mentee. Therefore, additional studies are warranted.
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Lastly, the type of training mentors receive is important to examine. It may be that certain types of training have a more positive effect on the mentor. Thus, a future mentoring study can incorporate this aspect. REFERENCES Anderson, E. M., & Shannon, A. L. (1988). Toward a conceptualization of mentoring. Journal of Teacher Education, 39 (1), 38-42. Cited in Paglis, L. L., Green, S. G., & Bauer, T. N. (2006). Does adviser mentoring add value? A longitudinal study of mentoring and doctoral student outcomes. Research in Higher Education, 47 (4), 451-476. Bower, G. G., & Hums, M. A. (2009). Mentoring women to advance within leadership positions as international physical educators. Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal, 18 (2), 3-13. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Bower, G. G. (2008). Developing effective mentoring relationships with women in the health and fitness industry: Suggestions from the perspective of the protégé. Women in Sport & Physical Activity Journal, 17 (1), 38-46. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Burden, J. W., Harrison, J., & Hodge, S. R. (2005). Perceptions of African American faculty in kinesiology-based programs at predominantly White American institutions of higher education. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 76 (2), 224-237. Carter, A. R., & Hart, A. (2010). Perspectives of mentoring: The black female student-athlete. Sport Management Review (Elsevier Science), 13 (4), 382-394. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Dillman, D.A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian, L. M. (2009). Internet, mail, and mixed mode surveys: The tailored design method. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dodds, P. (2005). Chapter 4: PETE women’s experiences of being mentored into postsecondary faculty positions. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 24, 344-367. Jones, D., Brooks, D. D., & Mak, J. Y. (2008). Examining Sport Management Programs in the United States. Sport Management Review (Sport Management Association of Australia & New Zealand), 11 (1), 77-91. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Jones, R., Harris, R., & Miles, A. (2009). Mentoring in sports coaching: A review of the literature. Physical Education & Sport Pedagogy, 14 (3), 267-284. Kram, K. E. (1983). Phases of the Mentor Relationship. Academy of Management Journal, 26 (4), 608-625. Kram, K. E. (1988). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. Kram, K. E., & Isabella, L. A. (1985). Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development. Academy of Management Journal, 28 (1), 110-132. Mullen, C. A., & Hutinger, J. L. (2008). A the tipping point? Role of formal faculty mentoring in changing university research cultures. Journal of In-service Education, 34 (2), 181-204. Mentoring Functions 21 Paglis, L. L., Green, S. G., & Bauer, T. N. (2006). Does adviser mentoring add value? Alongitudinal study of mentoring and doctoral student outcomes. Research in Higher Education, 47 (4), 451-476. Pastore, D. L. (2003). A different lens to view mentoring in sport management. Journal of Sport Management, 17, 112. Paul, S., Stein, F., Ottenbacher, K. J., & Liu, Y. (2002). The role of mentoring on research productivity among occupational therapy faculty. Occupational Therapy International, 9 (1), 24-40. Ragins, B. R. (1997). Diversified mentoring relationships in organizations: A power perspective. Academy of Management Review, 22, 482-521. Sambunjak, D., Straus, S. E., & Marusic, A. (2010). A systematic review of qualitative research on the meaning and characteristics of mentoring in academic medicine. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25 (1), 72-78. Sands, R. G., Parson, L. A., & Duane, J. (1991). Faculty mentoring faculty in a public university. Journal of Higher Education, 62 (2), 174-193. Schweitzer, C. A. (1993). Mentoring future professionals. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, 64, 50-52. Waldeck, J. H., Orrego, V. O., Plax, T. G., & Kearney, P. (1997). Graduate student/faculty mentoring relationships:
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Who gets mentored, how it happens, and to what end? Communication Quarterly, 45 (3) 93-110. Cited in Mullen, C. A., & Hutinger, J. L. (2008). A the tipping point? Role of formal faculty mentoring in changing university research cultures. Journal of In-service Education, 34 (2), 181-204. Weaver, M., & Chelladurai, P. (1999). A mentoring model for management in sport and physical education. Quest, 51 (1), 24-38. Weaver, M., & Chelladurai, P. (2002). Mentoring in intercollegiate athletic administration. Journal of Sport Management, 16 (2), 96-116. Williams, R., & Blackburn, R. T. (1988). Mentoring and junior faculty productivity. Journal of Nursing Education. 27 (5), 204-209. Wright , S. C., & Smith, D. E. (2000). A case for formalized mentoring. Quest, 52, 200-213. Young, D. S. (1990). Mentoring and networking: perceptions by athletic administrators. Journal of Sport Management, 4(1), 71-79
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Pembridge, J. J. & Paretti, M. C. Virginia Tech University Prominent Mentoring Functions Seen in Engineering Capstone Courses PROBLEM The undergraduate engineering capstone experience provides a project-based learning environment that allows students to apply knowledge from their prior coursework and develop new technical and professional skills that will help prepare them to succeed in their future careers. In order to facilitate student learning and success of the project, faculty often describe their roles as that of a mentor. Despite the importance of this class and the faculty role in it, much of the literature describing the teaching of the course provides anecdotal best practices. This study seeks to observe and describe capstone mentoring activities in order to develop a model of capstone mentoring that can be used as a first step towards developing assessments of capstone teaching practices and support faculty professional development that will improve student achievement in the course. The poster presented here will identify the prominent mentoring functions observed through descriptions of the capstone course from both the faculty and student perspective.
Since 1997, ABET, the accreditation organization for engineering has required that undergraduate engineering programs incorporate a capstone course as a way for students to integrate their experiences in their curriculum, while developing technical and non-technical skills (ABET, 2010). These projects provide an opportunity for experiential learning of design as well as a setting for incorporating topics such as ethics and social impact into the engineering curriculum (Dym, Agogino, Eris, Frey, & Leifer, 2005). Given the wide variety of professional and technical learning outcomes and the experiential, projectbased structure, capstone courses require a different pedagogical approach than typically seen in the engineering science and math courses. Teaching roles in capstone courses include instructors that lead class meetings, course coordinators that are responsible for class management, and project advisors who provide technical guidance, and industry representatives that support and guide the project (Bruhn & Camp, 2004; Rover, 2000; Sternberg, Johnson, Moen, & Hoover, 2000). Despite their varied positions, faculty involved in the course consistently perceive their role as guiding the scope of the project, aiding students with identifying necessary technical information, assisting students in the development of their deliverables, and maintaining student motivation and involvement in the course (Pembridge & Paretti, 2010). In the literature describing capstone courses, authors have typically classified these types of activities as “mentoring,” though the term has also been used interchangeably with coaching, supervising, and managing, though these terms are rarely defined (Bruhn & Camp, 2004; Manuel, McKenna, & Olson, 2008; Rover, 2000; Sternberg, et al., 2000). Without a clear definition, however, it becomes difficult to train new design educators, provide professional development, and support to current faculty, or assess the efficacy of teaching practices. Dorst (2008) has indicated that to prescribe ways in which practice can be improved and develop the methods and tools necessary to support the practitioner and student, it is necessary to first observe and describe the activity to create models that could explain the phenomenon. This poster presents the initial findings to a study that seeks to describe the mentoring activities observed in capstone course posing the following research question: What are the prominent mentoring functions enacted in engineering capstone design courses (ECDC)? Theoretical Framework Kram’s model of mentoring functions (1985) is used to explore capstone mentoring as it is a systemization of mentoring concepts, specifically the mentor’s behaviors and roles that has been applied to academic setting (Johnson, Rose, & Schlosser, 2007). Within her theory, Kram noted that the mentor fulfills functions in the domain of career and psychosocial development (Johnson, et al., 2007; Kram, 1985).
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The career development domain consists of functions targeted at preparing or promoting a protégé in their career (Johnson, et al., 2007). This function is characteristic of mentor providing sponsorship, coaching, exposure and visibility, protection, and challenging assignments to the protégé (Kram, 1985). The mentoring functions associated with the psychosocial development domain focus on supporting the protégé’s personal and emotional self including their sense of competence, identity, and effectiveness in their professional role (Johnson, et al., 2007). This function is characterized by the offering of acceptance and confirmation, counseling, role modeling, and friendship by the mentor to the protégé (Kram, 1985). Methods This study employs a sequential mixed methods design that begins with the collection of data from a survey of capstone faculty, interviews of the survey respondents, and a survey of the interview participants’ students. The data analysis utilized a complementary triangulation mixed method approach characterized by the analysis of quantitative data through descriptive and nonparametric statistics of the survey responses and the analysis of qualitative data through a phenomenological analysis of the faculty interviews. These data sets were then integrated during the interpretation stage of the study (Creswell, Clark, Gutmann, & Hanson, 2003). Findings By examining the distribution of responses to the faculty survey regarding the practices associated with the mentoring functions, it can be seen that faculty place importance in the functions of offering challenging assignments, protection, and acceptance-and-confirmation. In a similar response, students concur with this perception, as a majority of the respondents agree that their capstone instructor provide practices related to protection and the offering of challenging assignments. While not as identified as protection and challenging assignments, more than half of the student respondents also agree that their faculty offer acceptance-and-confirmation and act as a role model. An additional analysis, examining the occurrence of practices related to the mentoring functions throughout the interviews revealed that the predominant functions, mentioned by more than 60% of the interview participants included the practices related to seven of the nine mentoring functions. Out of these seven functions, the practice of “knowing the status of the project” (protection) was mentioned the most by 92% of the participants. The next highest mentioned practice was that of offering new experiences and content (84%) (challenging assignments). Additional predominant mentoring practices included giving students the opportunity to interact w/professionals (exposure-and-visibility), establishing a classroom environment that mimics the workplace (role modeling), and aiding in the development of students as professionals (acceptance-and-confirmation). The least mentioned practices were associated with the functions of sponsorship and friendship. Only 12% of the participants mentioned practices associated with sponsorship, indicating that it is not a prominent component of the capstone course. Friendship was also identified as one of the least prominent functions where fewer than 50% of the interview participants mentioned a practice related to that function in the descriptions of their course and approaches to dealing with technical, design, and teaming issues. REFERENCES ABET. (2010). Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs. Baltimore, MD: ABET. Bruhn, R., & Camp, J. (2004). Creating corporate world experiences in capstone courses. Paper presented at the 34th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Savannah, GA. Creswell, J. W., Clark, V. L. P., Gutmann, M. L., & Hanson, W. E. (2003). Advanced Mixed Mehods Research Designs. In A. Tashakkori & C. Teddlie (Eds.), Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research. London: Sage. Dorst, C. H. (2008). Design research: a revolution-waiting-to-happen. Design studies, 29(1), 4.
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Dym, C. J., Agogino, A. M., Eris, O., Frey, D. D., & Leifer, L. J. (2005). Engineering design thinking, teaching, and learning. Journal of Engineering Education, 4(1), 103-120. Johnson, W. B., Rose, G., & Schlosser, L. Z. (2007). Student-faculty mentoring: Theoretical and methodological issues. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), The Blackwell Handbook of Mentoring. Malden, MA: Blackswell. Kram, J. P. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in oprganizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, and Company. Manuel, M. V., McKenna, A. F., & Olson, G. B. (2008). Hierarchical Model for Coaching Technical Design Teams. [Article]. International Journal of Engineering Education, 24(2), 260-265. Pembridge, J. J., & Paretti, M. C. (2010). The current state of capstone design pedagogy. Paper presented at the 2010 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, KY. Rover, D. T. (2000). Perspectives on learning in a capstone design course. Paper presented at the 30th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, Kansas City, MO. Sternberg, S. P. K., Johnson, A., Moen, D. O. N., & Hoover, J. (2000). Delivery and Assessment of Senior Capstone Design via Distance Education. [Article]. Journal of Engineering Education, 89(2), 115-118.
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Raney, E. C. & Bowman, B. J. Midwestern University Implementing a Mentoring Strategy for Leadership Development in a Pharmacy Student Organization PROBLEM Many health professions are undergoing a process to redefine their roles within the ever-changing healthcare environment. The advancement of pharmacy within this environment will continue to depend upon the development of leaders within the profession (Janke et al., 2009; Sorensen & Biebighauser, 2003). In addition, the development of leadership skills can lead to greater professional success and career satisfaction (Janke et al., 2011; Sorenson et al., 2009; Wilkinson & Falter, 2009). However, reports have indicated that there is a lack of pharmacists assuming formal leadership roles and a perceived under-appreciation for leadership among pharmacy students (Patel et al., 2009; Wilkinson & Falter, 2009). As a result, pharmacy educators have begun exploring various approaches for enhancing the leadership awareness and skills of new graduates (Janke et al., 2009; Patel et al., 2009; Sorenson et al., 2009; Sorensen & Biebighauser, 2003; Wilkinson & Falter, 2009). One such approach is through the mentoring of students serving as officers within extracurricular organizations (Patel et al., 2009; Sorenson et al., 2009). However, the level of mentorship provided by organizational advisors regarding these leadership development opportunities varies within and among institutions. The goal of this project was to implement a structured leadership development process for Doctor of Pharmacy students serving as officers within a campus-based chapter of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists.
Midwestern University College of Pharmacy-Glendale offers a three year, year-round Doctor of Pharmacy program. The College promotes the professional development of its students through the support of campus-based chapters of multiple national pharmacy organizations. Beginning in 2008, the two faculty advisors for the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of Student Pharmacists chapter designed and implemented a series of leadership development activities for the chapter officers. The first activity occurred at the beginning of the officer term and involved individual meetings between the faculty advisors and each of the chapter officers. In preparation for these meetings, each officer was asked to complete an assessment of their leadership skills and develop personal goals for their respective duties. The second activity occurred mid-term and involved another set of individual meetings between the advisors and each officer. In preparation for these meetings, the officers were asked to reflect upon what they felt was the most important thing they learned about their leadership skills, why they felt this was the most important thing, and how gaining this knowledge would influence the remainder of their term. The final activity occurred near the completion of their terms and involved a group discussion between the advisors and all of the officers. In preparation for this meeting, each of the officers was provided with a StrengthsFinder® 2.0 book and asked to complete the corresponding standardized strengths-based leadership assessment. During the meeting, an activity was utilized to discuss all of the strengths represented within the group as a whole. The officers were also asked to reflect upon their accomplishments throughout the year and complete exercises that simulated the utilization of their leadership skills within clinical rotation and workplace scenarios. At the conclusion of the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 terms, each group of officers (n=11; 22 total) was surveyed to determine the extent to which they perceived each of the previously described activities as being beneficial for their leadership development using a four-point Likert scale of “least beneficial” to “most beneficial.” In addition, the officers were asked to similarly rate the perceived benefits of more traditional student organization activities (e.g. completion of the duties of their elected position, participation in leadership development workshops at regional and national association meetings, and informal interactions with chapter advisors). The survey also included four open-ended questions that asked the officers to identify which of the activities was most beneficial to their leadership development, what improvements could be made to the activities, what additional activities should be incorporated and 496
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what other experiences throughout the year helped develop their leadership skills. Each survey item had a response rate of 95% and the majority of officers who participated within a particular activity (73-100%) rated the experience as being either beneficial or very beneficial for their leadership development. The activity most frequently cited as being the most beneficial was completing and discussing the StrengthsFinder® 2.0 leadership assessment. Working with other officers and leading committees were most frequently cited as additional experiences that provided leadership development. The two most frequently cited recommendations for improvement were moving the StrengthsFinder® 2.0 leadership assessment to the beginning of the officer term and better promoting participation in regional and national leadership development workshops. The same groups of students were also surveyed upon graduation using five open-ended questions directed at their experiences during the nine months between the end of their officer terms and the completion of their degrees. During these months, the past officers were participating in their off-campus clinical rotations. The survey asked them to identify how their officer experiences had helped them since the completion of their terms, which of the experiences had been most beneficial, and how the officer experiences could be improved to better help students after the completion of their terms. The survey also asked past officers to describe how they may have continued to develop their leadership skills since the completion of their terms and how their continued development may have been limited or prevented. Each survey item had a response rate of 36% and the responses varied widely based upon individual experiences. Examples of how their experiences helped them since the completion of the term included improved time management skills, increased confidence, and improved communication skills. Organizing events, completing the leadership development series, and communicating with general members, faculty advisors, and the community were cited as the most beneficial officer experiences. The past officers recommended increasing the collaboration between officers and moving the StrengthsFinder® 2.0 leadership assessment to the beginning of the officer term as potential improvements to the officer experience. The past officers also indicated that they continued to develop their leadership skills through the mentoring of other students while on rotations and through proactively seeking out networking opportunities. The most frequently cited limitation for their continued leadership development was a lack of time due to the demands of clinical rotations. Based upon this feedback, the leadership development activities implemented by the chapter advisors appear to help provide a solid foundation for developing pharmacy students into future leaders. To further assess the impact of this mentoring strategy, the same cohorts of students will be surveyed again as new practitioners (i.e., 1 – 3 years post-graduation). In addition, the feedback already collected is being utilized to enhance the mentoring of current officers. This includes asking the officers to complete the StrengthsFinder® 2.0 leadership assessment prior to the second quarter of their term and having them reflect upon their individual strengths and leadership styles during the individual and group meetings that follow throughout the year. REFERENCES Janke, K. K., Traynor, A. P., & Sorenson T. D. (2009). Student leadership retreat focusing on a commitment to excellence. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 73 (3), Article 48. Janke, K. K., Traynor, A. P., & Sorenson T. D. (2011). Refinement of strengths instruction in a pharmacy curriculum over eight years. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 75 (3), Article 45. Patel, H. K., Parikh, R.C., Doan, T. T., & Sansgiry, S. S. (2009). Assessing the prevalence of leadership skills in the PharmD curriculum at US Pharmacy Schools. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 73 (4), Article 57. Sorensen, T. D., & Biebighauser, S. M. (2003). Pharmaceutical care leadership: an innovative pharmacy practice residency model. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 43, 527-532. Wilkinson, J. J. & Falter, R. A. (2009). Leadership in pharmacy elective course. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 73 (4), Article 57
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Sandridge, S. A., Newman, C. W. & Lesner, S. A. Cleveland Clinic & University of Akron Precepting/Mentoring Students in Healthcare Settings: Clinical Experiences as Teaching Opportunities PROBLEM The clinical milieu offers a unique and powerful setting for providing education to students pursuing careers in healthcare professions. Yet, a host of issues must be considered prior to accepting students into a clinical practice and taking on the role of a preceptor/mentor in that environment. In contrast to traditional classrooms where learning is often passive, the healthcare setting requires a more active learning approach where the preceptor/mentor is responsible for integrating classroom theory, clinical practice, and patient care - which is of utmost importance. This poster addressed a number of issues relevant to precepting/mentoring in the healthcare environment including: considerations prior to accepting students in the clinic; application of an experiential learning model relevant to teaching clinical concepts; interactive teaching triads involving the preceptor/mentor, student and patient; and the need to develop and incorporate learning opportunities in daily clinical practice.
Mentoring versus precepting In the clinical setting the student has two very different roles—he or she functions as both a learner and provider. Accordingly, clinical education is a “service-learning” opportunity for the student. Similarly, the clinician is not only responsible for direct patient care but may potentially serve the dual role of both mentor and preceptor. Although these terms are often used interchangeably a difference exists in terminology and it relates to the types of interactions that occur between the student and clinical educator. More specifically: Mentors may be considered counselors who act as an advocate, nurturer, and friend in the professional setting. A mentor will assist students in selecting experiences that will encourage growth, learning, and access to other professional opportunities over the long-term (White, Purcell, Ball, & Cuellar, 2009). Preceptors share their clinical expertise in the real world environment using a one-on-one tutorial relationship with the student. Clinical education is focused on interactive triads involving the student, clinician, and the patient all within the clinical context (Newman, Sandridge, and Lesner, 2011a). Typically the mentor/protégé relationship is based on a personal relationship and is not the result of an assignment, which is often the scenario associated with student placements at a clinical site. Accordingly, clinicians must minimally function as a preceptor in order to teach clinical decision-making skills in the short-term, but may also take on the additional role of a mentor having more long-term implications. Motivation and Readiness There are two primary questions preceptors/mentors must address prior to accepting students for clinical rotations (Zachary, 2000). 1). Am I motivated to be a preceptor? • Do I like the feeling of having students seek me out for advice? • Do I find that helping students learn clinical skills is personally rewarding? • Do I have specific knowledge that I want to pass on to students? • Do I enjoy collaborative learning? • Do I find working with students energizing? 2). Am I ready to accept students into my practice? 498
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Am I willing to provide clinical education using a patient/preceptor/student clinical education model? Can I commit adequate time to the process? Do I have access to a variety of clinical opportunities that support student learning (e.g., number/diversity of patients)? Do I have adequate support (e.g., from administration; other clinicians in my practice)?
Experiential Learning and Teaching Strategies The experiential learning cycle by Kolb (1984) describes a clinical education model that ties selfreflections by the student to appropriate feedback provided by the preceptor. This educational framework involves four learning stages, including: concrete experiences; reflective observation; abstract conceptualization; and active experimentation. The preceptor’s role is to ask probing questions at each phase of the process in order to help the student integrate new knowledge and clinical decision-making skills. In the healthcare setting, communication between the preceptor and student is only part of the learning equation. That is, ongoing exchanges between preceptor, student, and the patient are critical to promoting critical thinking, discussion, and cognitive processing related to the clinical experience itself. These interactions occur in a variety of interactive teaching triads (i.e., among the preceptor/student/patient) which vary based on experience level of the student (Spencer, 2003; Newman et al., 2011b). • • • •
Triad A: The student acts as a passive observer of the clinical encounter with the interaction occurring exclusively between the patient and preceptor; Triad B: The student assists in providing patient care by working directly with the preceptor and patient. Triad C: The student assumes the role of service provider with the preceptor serving in a direct observational role. Triad D: The student provides patient care independently with the preceptor only offering minimal guidance typically out of the patient’s line-of-sight.
Additionally, preceptors can provide teaching opportunities in a busy clinical practice by employing the “one minute preceptor” approach (Neher, 1992). This strategy uses five steps or “microskills” that set the stage for teaching clinical skills. These include: • • • • •
Getting a commitment from the student assesses knowledge and skills; Probing for supporting evidence identifies learner’s strength and gaps in knowledge; Teaching general rules provides “pearls” at the student’s level of understanding; Telling students what they did right offers positive reinforcement; and Correcting mistakes helps students identify and correct errors, omissions, or misunderstandings.
Creating a Learning Environment A variety of activities can be established by the preceptor to help enhance learning experiences in the healthcare setting. The preceptor should consider several core areas to be addressed. Following are four specific core content areas and associated examples: • Advanced clinical decision-making skills Ø Attendance at lectures and “grand rounds” Ø Review related professional organization clinical guidelines and position statements • Student as “teacher” Ø Present lectures and case presentations to other students and staff 499
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Ø Peer teaching (i.e., student-to-student) Practice management Ø Participation in performance improvement projects Ø Attendance at staff meetings where items such as staffing, scheduling, and reimbursement issues are discussed Research Ø Present and critique current research literature using a “journal club” format Ø Participate in preceptor’s research activities
Summary Learning opportunities provided by clinical preceptors/mentors crystallize the academic knowledge and theory students receive in the traditional classroom setting. The overall objective is to provide “hands-on” experiences to the student to foster the development of the necessary clinical skills required for the provision of appropriate patient care. The clinical environment is a unique educational setting in that it provides clinical training while delivering patient care. The role of the preceptor/mentor is to assist the student’s transition to a healthcare professional. REFERENCES White, S.J., Purcell, K., Ball, R., & Cuellar, L. (2009). Precepting fundamentals. In L.M. Cuellar & D.B. Ginsburg (Eds.), Preceptor’s Handbook for Pharmacists (2nd ed.) Baltimore: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. Newman, C.W., Sandridge, S.A., & Lesner, S.A. (2011a). Becoming a better preceptor: The fundamentals. The Hearing Journal, 64(5), 20-27. Zachary, L.J. (2000). The mentor’s guide: Facilitating effective learning relationships. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Spencer, J. (2003). ABC of learning and teaching in medicine: Learning and teaching in the clinical environment. British Medical Journal, 326, 591-594. Newman, C.W., Sandridge, S.A., & Lesner, S.A. (2011b). Becoming a better preceptor: The clinic as classroom. The Hearing Journal, 64(7), 10-18. Nehr, J.O., Gordon, K.C., Meyer, B., & Stevens, N. (1992). A five-step “microskills” model of clinical teaching. Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 5, 19-24
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Slimmer, L. University of Illinois Mentoring and Alliances Among Nursing Faculty PROBLEM The impact of decreasing faculty numbers on the imminent nursing shortage has been well documented. In the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) 2009 Special Survey of Vacant Faculty Positions, 554 schools of nursing reported 803 faculty vacancies (AACN, 2009). Moreover, in 2009 this faculty shortage was a major contributing factor to baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs denying admission to 54,991 qualified candidates (AACN, 2010). Mentoring is recognized as the most significant way to grow and nurture nurse educators (Dunham-Taylor, Lynn, Moore, McDaniel, & Walker, 2008). In nursing education, mentoring is often a short-term orientation experience assisting new faculty to transition into the nurse educator role (Dunham-Taylor, et al., 2008; NLN, 2006). This orientation experience can certainly address novice faculty members’ immediate need for information about school policies/procedures and the organizational aspects of teaching (i.e. syllabus preparation, use of electronic teaching platforms such as Blackboard, and the clinical evaluation process). Beyond orientation, effective mentoring is a long-term process that provides on-going support to facilitate the maturation of faculty members (Dunham-Taylor, et al., 2008; NLN, 2006). Literature describing academic mentoring programs tend to focus on overall career development; however, there is a lack of publications describing specific models for mentoring nurses toward the role of nurse educator (Sawatzky & Enns, 2009). The purpose of this paper is to describe the Teaching Mentorship Program within the College of Nursing Department of Biobehavioral Health Science at a large midwestern state university.
The mission of the College of Nursing Department of Biobehavioral Health Science (BHS) and its 37 faculty members is to educate highly competent nurse leaders for clinical practice, academic scholarship, and healthcare administration in adult health science areas. The Department employs a Teaching Mentorship Program to facilitate its achievement of this mission through excellence in teaching and learning. Stimulated by the College of Nursing strategic goal to build a stronger learning organization with a robust culture of mentoring, the BHS Department developed this program with the primary purpose of advancing the quality of teaching and learning within the department. The Teaching Mentorship Program was formally introduced in the Academic Year 2006-2007 with the designation of the Associate Department Head position whose principal role is to implement the program and serve as the primary teaching mentor. The program activities are designed to address three objectives: 1. To facilitate new faculty members’ transition from the role of nurse clinician and researcher to the role of nurse educator. 2. To support the implementation of evidence-based teaching practices. 3. To encourage the development of teaching scholarship. Recognizing the need to provide new faculty with experiences to facilitate their transition into the nurse educator role, one component of the Teaching Mentorship Program is a New Faculty Departmental Orientation. This orientation is an individualized, one year experience facilitated by the teaching mentor. First, prior to beginning their teaching assignment, new faculty engage with the mentor to review the Department New Faculty Manual, discuss teaching role expectations identified in the College’s Guidelines for Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure, and identify actual and potential strengths as an educator and areas that need growth and development. During the first semester, the mentor guides and supports new faculty in participating in faculty development activities related to their own self-identified growth areas. During the second semester, the mentor and faculty member review the teaching evaluations completed by students at the end of the first semester. This review is a venue for the mentor to provide positive reinforcement for teaching strengths and to discuss evidence-based best teaching practices to address areas needing more development. Also during the second semester, the faculty member continues to participate in development activities. At the end of this semester, the faculty 501
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member completes the College required end of year Achievement Report with special attention to describing teaching enhancement goals for the next academic year. The Teaching Mentorship Program includes three activities to support the implementation of evidence-based teaching practices by all department faculty. First, the primary mentor uses Teaching Enhancement Conferences to guide, support, and nurture individual faculty member’s teaching expertise. These conferences may be initiated by a faculty member or the primary mentor in response to peer and/or student concerns about a specific learning experience. Second, the primary mentor serves as a resource to faculty to facilitate implementation of courses. Third, the primary mentor assesses faculty development needs and provides programs to address these needs. The primary role of the Teaching Mentorship Program in encouraging teaching scholarship is to serve as a resource to faculty as they work on scholarship activities. The motivation of the Department faculty to enhance their teaching expertise has been the most important factor in increasing the amount and quality of their teaching scholarship. The Teaching Mentorship Program serves as a catalyst for this motivation to be transformed into action by raising the visibility of teaching scholarship within the College and growing a culture in which teaching scholarship is valued. Program outcomes include retention of new faculty, improved student satisfaction with the quality of instruction, and increased teaching scholarship. Positive outcomes are associated with three factors. First, the program is supported by an institutional culture that values mentoring and provides it with a formal organizational home. Second, the mentor is an experienced educator who has passion, confidence, and the expertise to guide others toward teaching excellence. Third, the protégée has flexible, timely access to the mentor. REFERENCES American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2009). Special survey of vacant faculty positions. Retrieved June 18, 2010 from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/IDS/pdf/vacancy09.pdf. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2010). Enrollment and graduations in baccalaureate and graduate programs in nursing. Retrieved June 18, 2010 from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/media/newsreleases/2010/enrollchanges.html. Dunham-Taylor, J., Lynn, C., Moore, P., McDaniel, S., & Walker, J. (2008). What goes around comes around: Improving faculty retention through more effective mentoring. Journal of Professional Nursing, 24(6), 337-346. National League for Nursing. (2006). Position statement: Mentoring of nurse faculty. Nursing Education Perspectives, 27(2), 110-113. Sawatzky, J., & Enns, C. (2009). A mentoring needs assessment: Validating mentorship in nursing education. Journal of Professional Nursing, 25(3), 145-150
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Wilson, B. E. & Beeley, P. University of New Mexico Finding and Nurturing Academic Passions: A Guide for Clinician Educator Mentors and Protégés PROBLEM The Clinician Educator track became a widespread alternative to the Tenure track in many Academic Medical Centers across the nation in the 1990s as clinical programs expanded and research funding shrank. Tenure track rules for pro- motion were well described but those for the Clinician Educators varied considerably, and are institution dependent. Most new SOM faculty are now hired as Clinician Educators whereas most senior faculty are tenure track. Proper orientation, mentorship and resource identification are critical for new faculty career advancement. As pioneer members of the senior faculty promoted on the CE track, we designed a pilot mentorship program for the junior CE faculty in the Department of Internal Medicine (DoIM) to enhance their academic success. Objectives: 1. Orient new faculty to workplace culture, clinical services, educational development and teaching opportunities 2. Develop clear expectations for clinician educator promotion as a guide for mentor & proteges. 3. Encourage new faculty to find their passion in clinical & educational scholarly projects consonant with Department and SOM missions Methods: A day long orientation pro- gram was first designed in 2008 to orient new faculty to DoIM work place expectations and culture. In 2009, Dr. Wilson wrote specific promotion guidelines for Clinician Educators that were modified and adopted by the DoIM in 2010. We then developed a new faculty workshop to review the new guidelines, how to identify academic passions, and appropriate mentors for success. A self- assessment tool for teaching skill training was also administered. Items were matched to available resources. Outcomes and Next Steps: The orientation program and career development workshop were implemented and favorably received. The department now has a set of clear guidelines for promotion for Clinician Educators available to mentors and proteges. We plan to expand our program to all CEs, and develop a formal assessment plan.
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Zlateva, M. Boston University Acculturation Aspects of Tutor Preparation for Work with International Students PROBLEM International students constitute a growing percentage of the university population. Their needs for acclimation to the demands of academia overlap with those of native speakers, but an added challenge for them is the specific format of American education: the dialogic Socratic exchange of knowledge, the expectation for proactive inquiry, collaboration, as well as accountability at each stage of the educational process. Americanborn tutors may not be aware of the cultural differences their tutees bring to the university resource centers and, in order to serve those students better, they need to be sensitized to the educational traditions, rhetorical conventions, and modes of tutor-tutee interaction. Thus, a training course for incoming tutors is necessary to put in place the parameters of a successful tutoring session. That course needs to be designed by faculty that aims to transfer knowledge and to set the tone for a mutually beneficial mentoring culture in educational resource units.
The poster presents modules balancing theoretical and practical issues of tutor training. The theoretical section covers topics such as: an overview of contrastive rhetoric and educational conventions; features of second-language writing in juxtaposition with American models of argumentation; contrastive academic roles and conventions in higher education; specifics of the secondlanguage reading process with attention to heuristic techniques in reading and writing; linguistic patterns of structure and usage that affect communication during the tutoring session. The practical section deals with the actual management of the tutoring process: building a tutor-tutee partnership; diagnosing needs and setting priorities for the session(s); cultivating self-monitoring behavior and self-editing skills; determining agendas for follow-up and tracking progress; calibrating perceptions of collaboration and success. A series of mini case studies of both typical and idiosyncratic situations in the life of a large writing center are brought in to illustrate the challenges of the tutoring process and to analyze problematic or effective intervention. The cases are dissected to offer tips for further training programs involving transfer of cultural and disciplinary knowledge between faculty and undergraduate and graduate tutors who are hired in university educational resource centers that serve large international populations. References Connor, U. (2002). New directions in contrastive rhetoric. TESOL Quarterly, 36, 493-510. Harris, M. (2008). Cultural conflicts in the writing center: expectations and assumptions of ESL students. In The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for writing tutors (pp. 206-219). Boston. Meyer, E. & Smith, L. (1987). Reading and writing across the disciplines. In The practical tutor. (227-255). Oxford. Weigle, S. & Nelson, G. (2004). Novice tutors and their ESL tutees: three cases studies of tutor roles and perceptions of tutorial success. Journal of Second Language Writing,13.3, 203-255. Williams, J. & Severino, C. (2004). The writing center and second language writers. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13.3, 165-172.
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Concurrent Presentations Levy, S. J. University of Miami Metrics for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Success: A Study on Firm Performance in the South Florida Region ABSTRACT The geography of innovation is built upon an agglomeration of economies and “innovation hearths”, (Crevosier, 2004). Innovative success of a firm is often indicated by their creativity, access to alliances, and usage of access to local resources. Few metrics have been able to give adequate rise to a definition for Innovation as a means of measuring entrepreneurial and innovative success in combination. This paper utilizes a combined measurement scale of entrepreneurial and innovative success to define the location determinants for innovative and entrepreneurial success in today’s business environment. Principal Components Analysis drawing on the attributes contained in Linder (2006) and Mankin’s (2007) work on innovative success is revisited to construct a stronger index of innovative success along with identifying key dimensions associated with innovative firms. The Factor Analysis demonstrates that components of innovative culture, effort, productivity, management, and success are required as a combination to achieve high sustainability of innovative success. A Factor Analysis for proximity to resources and amenities is also utilized in the research to identify components associated with the importance of access to capital and financial resources. The Components for the local resource Factor Analysis include: Proximity to funding, proximity to alliance/networks, proximity to community resources, and proximity to amenities. Multivariate modeling using a Discriminant Analysis suggest the combination of local resources and alliances dimensions that contribute to strong overall performance for defining determinants for high performing firms (Entrepreneurially and Innovative Successful Firms).
Introduction The implementation of new ideas in an attempt to create value is what Linder (2006) coins as the definition for innovation. While Linder (2006) has attempted to standardize and define innovation, there remains the need to build an efficient business model by which researchers can effectually gauge innovation and entrepreneurial firm performance. The number of projects in the pipeline, patent applications per year, CEO commitment to innovation, and the percentage of employees currently involved in an innovative project (Mankin, 2007) are all components of successful innovation measures. However, additional contributors like the location and access to resources and amenities also play a vital role in a firm’s entrepreneurial success. The design of the research uses a combination of statistical methodologies and scaling to support the descriptive analysis and hypothesis testing. Additionally, a Discriminant Analysis is used to construct an overall model that defines the local resources and alliance predictors associated with a successful firm that is both above average in both entrepreneurial and innovation success. Theoretical Background The premise behind the determinants that ultimately generate high performance firms that are both innovative and entrepreneurial stems from a wealth of classic and contemporary literature. Ulrich and Barnay (1984) support the framework for this research in their discovery of the Population and Resource Dependency perspectives. The population perspective allows one to assume individual organizations can be classified into cohorts based on common organizational forms. These formations represent structure, processes, and systems that characterize individual organizations. Each of these organizations represents niches that form industrial clusters; in this case, professional business and technology based firms. Each
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of these clusters formulates social networks, and is grouped into populations, niches, and environments. Organizational survival can be explored once these organizational formations have taken place. The Resource Dependency perspective (Ulrich and Barnay, 1984) helps to define many of the survey questions asked in the instrument generated for this research. Within the constructs of the Resource Dependency perspective, organizations are said to assume patterns of behavior to meet, acquire, and maintain the need for external resources to survive, obtain a first mover advantage, and compete in the market place. In the case of technology service firms, access to local community resources is also necessary to survive entry into the market. These resources include primary access to education, capital, and technology itself. The theoretical underpinnings associated with accessing local resources such as education, capital, and technology stems from what the research defines as the “innovative milieu concept”. The geography of innovation builds upon an agglomeration of economies identified as regions that have unique identifiers making them innovation hearths (Crevosier, 2004). In order to sustain a competitive advantage and to live the first eight years maintaining and growing their entrepreneurial status access to these resources within their geographical location is quite significant. Decarolis and Deeds (1999) additionally suggest a Knowledge Based theoretical component as a source for superior performance. Often, organizational knowledge is seen as a flow of knowledge into the firm. The authors suggest that a firm’s location and it’s alliances with other institutions (education), and its’ R&D expenditures (capital) are all representative of knowledge flows. In the instrument used in this research, it is evidenced that access to universities, community partnerships, venture capitalists, municipal institutions, and so forth all help to legitimize the Knowledge Based theory as a strength for performance of firms. In other words, the relativity of alliances and social networks to entrepreneurial support is extremely valuable in defining success. Conceptual Foundation and Data The conceptual foundation for this research is proposed in the three theoretical perspectives (Population, Resource Based, and Knowledge Based Perspectives). All three theoretical foundations are used as the foundation for an Internet Based Survey to assess perceptions of senior managers of professional and technology service firms in the 541 NAICS code located in South Florida. The study identifies firms that are start-ups (less than eight years) and established firms (more than eight years) using survey research. Out of 2,411 CEO’s and executives, two hundred and fifty agreed to participate, and seventy six actually participated. The primary objective of the survey is focused on determining how economies of geographic agglomeration (South Florida viewed as a Development Incubator) contribute to entrepreneurial and innovative success.. Herein, the hypothesis is identified: Senior management of professional and technology service firms in the NAICS541 category view accessibility to alliances and local resources to be associated with a successful firm (both above average in entrepreneurship and innovation). The literature of geographic innovation and entrepreneurial success has argued that senior management generally views alliances and proximity to resources as very important location contributors to success (Boasson and Boasson, 2005). In other words, Innovative milieus are the ideal geographically bounded space paradigm that articulates innovation, know-how, networking, and learning. Based on the aforementioned, it is assumed that firms displaying the highest degree of entrepreneurial activity and firm success will have the greatest dependency on the resources and alliances of the local innovative milieus (Crevosier, 2004 and Beugelsdijk, 2007). The propensity to engage in alliance networks and the proximity to the necessary resources such as; capital will encourage knowledge spillovers and contribute to an evidentiary business model of high performing entrepreneurial and innovative firms. 506
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Findings Descriptive Analysis At the descriptive level, the survey findings display a high level of importance placed on local alliance building and resource use as a key to success. It is important to note that these findings related to local resources remain high even though 21% of the firms in the survey indicate they have virtual alliances. The descriptive research confirms that perceptions associated with the importance of local alliances (See Table One) and resources (See Table Two and Three) as being important to executives in professional business and technology firms in the NAICS541 category. It is clear from Table 1that Firms place considerable importance on linkages between their firms and universities, research institutions, business partners, and professional associations. . Interestingly, professional associations, business partners, and complementary business are ranked as the top three performers in this group.
Table Two illustrates that respondents believe that 69% of their partners should be within close proximity to their business, while 51% feel that same or similar industries should be within a close distance. Access to friends and family yield 63%, business partners (69%), support services (61.3%), and financial institutions (47.8%) are also considered important. The findings confirm that proximity to major resources is viewed as an important factor in the location behavior of firms in the sample.
Location theory argues for the importance of accessibility to amenities such as the quality of local housing, schools, recreation, and climate play a major role in attracting industries. Table 3 confirms the preceding in showing that an emphasis on the accessibility to housing (93%) and recreation (89%) as being important to executives. A supportive climate is also recognized as significant to firm location
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yielding 86.3%. The aforementioned table is representative of a firm’s perception of significance to the proximity of resources and amenities within the South Florida region.
Multivariate Analysis and Discriminant Modeling The second phase of the analysis concentrates on multivariate methodologies to determine major relationships between the independent and dependent variables. Principal Components Analysis is employed to generate scales for both the independent and dependent variables. Supporting the hypothesis testing effort are factor analyses aimed at determining underlying dimensions of innovation and local alliance and resource usage. Lastly, a Discriminant Analysis and is used to construct the overall model that defines the importance of alliances and resources as predictors for a successful firm. The factor analysis (Principal Components Analysis) is used as an extraction method to identify key location dimensions and scaling for both the independent and dependent variables. The research demonstrates that four underlying dimensions for location to resources account for 68% percent of the variance in the original 20 location attributes (See Table Four) measured in the survey. The factor analysis employs a Varimax rotation to achieve four independent orthogonal dimensions of location resources: Component 1 – Proximity to funding Component 2- Proximity to alliance/networks Component 3 – Proximity to community resources Component 4 – Proximity to amenities A second factor analysis was also implemented to define the internal management and innovation dimensions related to firm behavior. A primary motivation for the second factor analysis is based on the lack of internal reliability defined in the initial scale items contained in Linder (2006) and Mankin’s (2007) scales. In performing the Components Analysis, the intial step was to convert the individual items into z-scores to overcome differences in metrics among the individual items. The z-scored variables were then applied to the Principal Components Analysis using a Varimax rotation to generate five orthogonal dimensions of innovation. The five components identified in the analysis account for 67.6% of the total variance explained among the set of 17 variables (See Table 5):
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Component 1 – Innovation culture Component 2 – Innovation Success 509
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Component 3 – Innovation productivity Component 4 – Innovation effort Component 5 – Innovation management
The combinations of the aforementioned analyses provide the foundation for exploring the key determinants (dimensions)that predict a high performing firm. A Discriminatory Analysis was used to define determinants for the highest performing firms when it came to the combination of entrepreneurial and innovative success. A dichotomous variable (above the mean for both innovation and entrepreneurial success) is utilized in the Discriminant model in combination with the factor dimensions to determine the attributes that best predict the most successful and least successful firms. The two variables used to generate the dependent variable (Best Performing Firms) for the discriminant model include an overall entrepreneurial success scale and an innovation success scale.
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Entrepreneurial success is measured based on above average (Mean) growth in total sales per year for years of operation. The Innovation success scale utilizes the second component (Innovation Success) defined in the Principal Components analysis of innovation behavior and culture. Thus, the Best Performing Firms were those that demonstrated both above Mean average performance on the innovation success and entrepreneurial success scales. Based on the preceding criteria, 28.9% of the firms in the study were defined as above average on both entrepreneurial and innovation success. The independent variables used in the Discriminant Analysis consist of the factor analysis components defined in the proximity to local resources analysis, the remaining four innovation factor analysis dimensions of innovation behavior, along with a measure that defines the percentage of alliances in South Florida. The results of the Discriminant Analysis reported in Table 6 are consistent with the hypothesis. The Discriminant function matrix (Table Six) shows that the significant predictors for the highest performing firms are associated with the components that measure proximity to networks/alliances and the innovation management culture dimension. The performance of the model is relatively effective with a correct overall classification of level of 92.6% correct and 100% correct for the most successful firms.
Implication of the Research The overall findings of the research suggest that the combination of proximity to local networks and alliances when combined with an innovative internal management culture are key measures that predict high performing firms. The research has also confirms the important role the resource based perspective, knowledge based theory, and population based theory play in creating the concept of the innovative milieu. This is clearly demonstrated by the way firms synopsize the environment in showing the role of agglomerative economies support alliance building and accessibility to spatial resources within their own geographically bounded space. Moreover, the lack of internal reliability of Linder and Mankin’s scale presented challenges in measuring innovation in the field of organizational behavior. Thus, the factor analysis scales identified in this research may be useful for supporting further research on how spatial incubators can encourage new product development and create an innovative community based culture. Conclusion The implications of the study allow us to look more closely at the correlates that define entrepreneurial and innovative success. By examining proximity to resources and alliance and their significance to business owners, the research determined those that are most important. Looking at the structure of the organization with respect to innovation management can also help predict high 511
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performing firms. Lastly, the research demonstrates that Florida is an incubator for professional business and technology service firms. Additionally, other avenues that can be explored in future research include; virtual alliance implications, examining local investment strategies, as well as public policy implications. These findings also pave the way for new areas of research in measurement of innovative and entrepreneurial success. REFERENCES Beugelsdijk, S. (2007). The regional environment and a firm’s innovative performance. A plea for a multilevel interactionist approach. Economic Geography, Vol.83(2), P.181-200. Boasson, V. and Boasson, E.(2005). Firm value and geographic competitive advantage: Evidence from the US Pharmaceutical industry. The University of Chicago. Crevosier, O.(2004). The innovative milieus approach: Toward a territorialized understanding of the economy. Economic Geography, vol.84(4), Pp.367-380. Decarolis, D. and Deeds, D. (1999). The impacts of stocks and flows of organizational knowledge on firm performance. Strategic Management Journal, 20, Pp-953-968. Kenney, M. and Patton, D. (2005). Entrepreneurial geographies: Support networks in three high technology industries. Economic Geography, Vol. 81(2), Pp.201-229. Linder, Jane (2006). Does innovation drive profitable growth? The Journal of Business Strategy. Vol.27(5), Pp. 38 Mankin, Eric (2007). Measuring Innovation Performance. Research Technology Management. Vol.50, (6). Rosenthal, S., and Strange, W. (2005). The geography of entrepreneurship in the New York Metropolitan Area. Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY. Shane, S. and Cable, D. (2002). Network Ties, Reputation, and the financing of new ventures. Management Science, Vol. 48(3), Pp364-381. Ulrich, D. and Barnay, B. Perspectives in Organizations. Resource Dependency, Efficiency and Population. The Academy of Management Review, Vol.9(3), Pp.471-481.
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Bustos Flores, B., Claeys, L. Mata, E. , Riojas Clark, E. Villareal, A. & Rodriguez, M. E. University of Texas Creating a Model for Preparing Culturally Efficacious Induction Mentors ABSTRACT An overview of the Academy for Teacher Excellence’s field-tested model, including expert and user evaluative feedback, for the preparation of culturally efficacious induction (CEI) mentors will be presented and shared. Experts highly rated each criterion and found the online module activities to be extensive, with a strong literature to support the activities, and provided suggestions for improving the module activities.
The preparation of the CEI Mentors is approached from a socioconstructivist-transformative lens. We suggest that knowledge is shared, socially constructed and mediated within the social context (Lave & Wegner, 2001). As within any cultural and linguistic community, there are funds of knowledge that members possess (Vélez-Ibáñez, & Greenberg, 1992). Transformation is a term we are associating with metamorphosis, and in our case is deeply rooted on Freire’s (1993) philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings, which promotes anti-dialogical thinking and rejects a banking approach to education. Rather than assuming the status quo, we challenge thinking and structures that disempower our ability to make decisions, express our thoughts, and convey our knowledge. Building on Clark’s (1996; Clark & Flores, 2010) Metamorphosis Model, to prepare culturally efficacious induction mentors, we envision a journey that begins with: a) Awakening Cultural Consciousness—examining and recognizing unexplored own identities and multiple selves; b) Acquiring Cultural Competence— exploring the sociocultural learning context and acknowledging cultural displays in understanding of others; being able to function within another cultural system; c) Developing Cultural Proficiency— acquiring a deeper understanding of cultural knowledge and others’ way of being and beginning to recognize and apply cultural connections in practice; d) Actualizing Cultural Responsivity—enacting in transformative practices and advocating for social justice; promoting empowerment and self-determination e) Realizing Cultural Efficaciousness-- becoming a transformative guide, having agency and assuming responsibility; and assuring that practice impacts outcome. These five dimensions form the Cultural Efficaciousness Evolution Model, which guide the modules and serve as the foundation for career teachers to become CEI mentors. Methodology An evaluation design was employed for this study. The selection of the expert panel was guided by a set of rigorous criteria: (1) professionally recognition for their work in the preparation of teachers who will work with EL; (2) published in peer reviewed journals germane to the preparation of teachers of culturally and linguistically different students; and (3) recommended and approved by a committee of widely recognized and respected researchers and practitioners. Each expert received a copy of the module and an e-survey to assess the module based on the following criteria: (a) Content Appropriateness, (b) Appropriateness, Sequence, and Variety of Activities, (c) Propensity for Success in Mentoring Teachers to become Culturally Proficient, (d) Module Construction and Organization Effectiveness, (e) Appropriateness of Workshop Assessment Instruments, and (f) Quality of Mentoring Tools Provided to Participating Mentors. Panelists rated each item using a Likert-type 1-4 point scale (1=Yes, definitely, 2= Mostly, 3= Not sure, and 4= No, not at all). Each panelist was also asked to respond to two open-ended questions after 513
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each assessment question, which provided panelists an opportunity to qualify ratings at both extremes of the Likert-type scale. Descriptive statistics were used to describe findings. Responses to open-ended questions were summarized by assessment topics. Findings Results were reported and clustered around seven major sections, namely, (1) Module’s Overall General Assessment, (2) Content Appropriateness Assessment, (3) Assessment of Delivery Method Appropriateness, (4) Module’s Propensity for Success in Mentoring Teachers to become Culturally Proficient, (5) Module’s Construction and Organization Effectiveness, (6) Appropriateness of Workshop Assessment Instruments, and (7) Quality of Mentoring Tools Provided to Participating Mentors. Expert panelists rated each of these areas as high with an overall mean of 3.7. One panelist suggested that the modules were unique in that she had not seen any other material that specifically attended to the development of induction mentors. Another expert indicated that reviewing the module provided her with great insight as to how prepare induction mentors. Panelists also agreed that the research-based activities met the module objectives. In terms of sequencing, the panelist indicated that activities allowed for natural development of knowledge and skills. Experts also provided critical feedback for improving the module activities. REFERENCES Claeys, L. (2011). Motivation to teach and remain teaching linguistically and culturally diverse students. Unpublished dissertation. University of Texas at San Antonio. Clark, E. R. (1996). Metamorphosis. Unpublished document. Clark, E. R., & Flores, B. B. (in press). The metamorphosis of teacher identity: An intersection of ethnic consciousness, self-conceptualization, and belief systems. In P. Jenlink, Teacher Identity and Struggle for Recognition, Routledge a Taylor & Francis Corporation. Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). From preparation to practice: Designing a continuum to strengthen and sustain teaching. Teachers College Record 103(6), 1013-1055.
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Ghosh-Dastidar, U. & Liou-Mark, J. New York City College of Technnology Bridging Pathways through Mentoring for Underrepresented Students in STEM ABSTRACT Effective mentoring is one of the most significant factors for increasing student motivation, engagement, and retention for underrepresented minority (URM) students in STEM. As an effort to increase diversity in the STEM fields, New York City College of Technology of CUNY has developed a three-tiered mentoring program which includes 1) Peer Assisted Learning leadership opportunities, 2) undergraduate research, and 3) graduate studies preparation. Through the Peer Assisted Learning leadership program, students are trained as workshop facilitators in mathematics and science for groups of eight to ten students. As peer leaders, their contextual understanding of the material, reinforcement of concepts, leadership and communication skills are enhanced through this involvement. A research experience for URM students has been instrumental in deepening students’ understanding of their field of study, informing them of opportunities for a career in research, and motivating them toward higher studies. The quantity and quality of faculty-student interactions inside and outside the classroom play a significant role in motivating their desire to remain in their majors. The undergraduate research programs that are discussed are interdisciplinary in nature and have integrated service learning with mathematics, biology, and geophysics. Lastly, as an effort to encourage URM students into the academic pipeline, a graduate studies preparation program has been initiated. Efforts to prepare them for the graduate standardized examinations and the graduate school application process have been well-received. This paper will highlight the successes and challenges of this mentoring model.
Introduction Effective mentoring is one of the most significant factors for student engagement, retention, and motivation for advanced studies (Shore, 2005; Khan, 2008). The quantity and quality of faculty-student interactions inside and outside the classroom play a significant role in students' retention and graduation, particularly for minority populations. Underrepresented minority (URM) students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) are identified as African-Americans or people of Caribbean descent, Hispanic Americans or Hispanics or Latino/Latina persons, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives, and Pacific Islanders. A report issued by the Higher Education Research Institute (2010) indicated that 15.9% of Hispanic-American students, 13.2% of African-American students, and 14.0% Native American students who intended to major in a STEM discipline completed a STEM bachelor’s degree within four years. Furthermore, URM students accounted for almost 8.8% master’s degrees and 5.9% doctoral degrees (NSF, 2002). Minority students face several socio-economic barriers that hinder their academic progress. Some of these barriers include the lack of family support, financial difficulty, family responsibilities, inadequate information of college preparation and application process, lack of information of graduate studies, and often lack of motivation due to an absence of college graduate role models in the family (http://www.asha.org/practice/multicultural/recruit/litreview.htm). Typically a minority student with high academic standing and high graduate standardized examination score has an increased likelihood of receiving full or partial scholarships from graduate schools. However, these students will have a gap from the time of graduating college to starting graduate school. The reasons for this vary from not taking the necessary standardized examination prior to the application process, lack of financial funds to pay for tuition, and deficiencies in knowing how to research graduate school scholarship opportunities. The traditional retention and career information strategies through the institution’s counseling service, though somewhat helpful, may not be effective for the URM population. These students need continuous supervision in the form of academic guidance, including a frequent one-to-one correspondence with a faculty mentor. A community of practice through a peer leadership program is also proven to have positive influence on student retention and motivation for higher studies. Personal contacts with faculty or peers provide a sense of inclusion and support. These student mentors will often continue with advanced 515
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degrees through peer motivation and thus serve as positive role models to the sophomores or juniors. In this paper, we discuss how a three-tiered mentoring model bridges several pathways for URM students to pursue an advanced education in STEM. Background New York City College of Technology (City Tech) is a minority-serving institution and designated college of technology of the City University of New York, currently offering STEM baccalaureate and associate degree programs in Applied Mathematics, Chemical Technology, Computer Information Systems, Computer Science, Telecommunication and various Engineering Technologies. Although it is a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), of the 15,000 plus student population, 34.0% of students identified themselves as Black (non-Hispanic), 31.7% as Hispanic, 18.5% as Asian/Pacific Islander, 11.0% as White, 0.5% as Native American, and 4.3% as other. Sixty-seven percent (67%) are the first in their families to attend college. Fifty-two percent (52%) reported a household income of less than $30,000 and 74% of incoming first-year students received need-based financial aid. Sixty-eight percent (68%) are the first in their families to attend college (New York City College of Technology, 2011). Bridging Pathways Model The Bridging Pathways model is a three-tiered mentoring designed to promote the pipeline to advanced degrees in STEM (Figure 1). In the first tier, City Tech students are enrolled in the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) Leadership program. In the second tier they become Research Scholars through three stages: 1) the institution’s Emerging Scholars program where they are mentored by a City Tech faculty; 2) the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program; and 3) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU). The last tier is an intense graduate studies preparation program. Each tier will be discussed in detail. Tier I: Peer Assisted Learning Leadership Leadership skills do not necessary emerge in the natural course of a student’s life during their undergraduate years. The Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) Leadership program provides STEM students the opportunity to develop, refine and practice leadership skills in the context of their majors. PAL is a form of instruction adapted from the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) student-centered instructional model where students actively learn in a small group facilitated by a peer leader (Gosser, et.al, 2001). PLTL has been used successfully for many years in Chemistry to improve course retention, increase grades, and enhance students’ enthusiasm for the subject. In a typical workshop, the PAL peer leader oversees a group of eight to ten students who meet regularly for one hour per week. As a team, the peer leader and the students solve structured problems that are designed to enhance computational proficiency and foster critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities (Quitadamo, et.al, 2009). Several studies have indicated that the benefits of being a PLTL workshop leader in a STEM discipline include the fostering of various areas of leadership development, reinforcement of concept knowledge, and greater confidence. Johnson and Loui (2009) found that student leaders facilitating a course for freshmen in electrical and computer engineering reported that this experience increased their self-confidence and developed an appreciation for intellectual diversity. Micari, Streitwieser, and Light (2005) found team leaders reported an improvement in their cognitive aptitude and personal skills.
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The peer leaders who facilitate mathematics and science workshops are trained through a one-credit course. Peer leaders learn to lead a group of students by focusing on communication, group dynamics, motivation, learning styles and other process issues, to help participants actively engage with course material. A weekly reflective journal revealing the development of workshop practices is required. The course goals for the students are to use pedagogical techniques in workshops, write about their workshop experience and their role as peer leaders using learning theory, understand the emphasis on students’ learning in a collaborative setting, and research a learning theory based on their experience and present the results in a poster presentation (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Peer Leadership Seminar with Prof. Dreyfuss
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Tier II: Research Scholars Several studies have been done to investigate the impacts of undergraduate research on career choices for minority students. David Lopatto (2004) tested the hypothesis that undergraduate research improves the educational experience of science undergraduates, motivates and retains good students to choose careers in science, and assists minority students into choosing science careers. Lopatto reported that among 1135 undergraduate research participants from 41 institutions, 83% of the students began or were continuing their graduate studies in science fields. Those students who discontinued their plans for postgraduate studies reported significantly lower gains than the continuing students. No significant difference was observed among ethnic groups and between men and women regarding the levels of benefits and plans for career choices. The Summer Undergraduate Program in Engineering Research at Berkeley (SUPERB) program at the University of California-Berkeley focuses on students of color, first-generation college students, educationally disadvantaged students, and students from Minority Serving Institutions. The program provides underrepresented engineering students opportunities to conduct research with engineering faculty and graduate students. The success of SUPERB is reflected in the fact that more than half of the SUPERB students, since the program’s first initiation in 1990, continued to graduate studies (Aspray and Bernat, 2000). At City Tech, students, especially those who are participating in the PAL Leadership program, are mentored into the Research Scholars tier. The institution’s Emerging Scholars Program provides students with an initial research experience for one semester with a faculty member. Most often Emerging Scholars are identified by a faculty mentor through classroom interactions. They work with their mentor for approximately fifty hours per semester and receive a $500 stipend. At the end of the semester students are expected to present their findings at the institution’s Honors and Emerging Scholars poster presentation. They also present their findings at regional or national conferences. These promising Emerging Scholars, if they are URM students, are then channeled to the LSAMP program where summer research and academic year research programs are available to them. Emerging Scholars are also recruited to participate in research programs sponsored by the institution as well as apply for REU programs located on various campuses nationally. Due to increasing interest in multidisciplinary collaborations, City Tech faculty initiated several interdisciplinary research projects for the undergraduates. As examples, projects included hospitalacquired infections (nosocomial infection), oral cancer and its prevention, and water quality analysis of the Hudson River and the Gowanus Canal. The student researchers reviewed literature, identified the problem statements, learned about prevention, delivered reports, produced fliers to be distributed, and presented in various regional and national conferences. Students, particularly in the water quality analysis project funded by a National Science Foundation STEP grant and a LSAMP grant, worked under the joint mentorship of Professors Ghosh-Dastidar (Mathematics) and Tsenova (Biological Sciences) intensively for four weeks during thensummer of 2010 (Figures 3 and 4). Six of these students are URM students and three are Asian Americans. All but one majored in Applied Mathematics. During their research, students collected and cultured water samples from Hudson River and Gowanus Canal, identified total cultivable bacteria (TCB), coliforms, E.coli, antibiotic resistance bacteria in a Microbiology lab, calculated the most probable number (MPN) for various types of bacteria, and performed statistical analyses. Students’ reflections on this experience are shared below.
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With the mentor’s initiatives four students from this team applied for the Rutgers Summer REU program and were accepted in the Center for Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS) program (Figure 5). This eight week undergraduate research program provided students with an exciting research experience that prepares them for higher studies and choosing future career paths. According to Dr. Fiorini, the Associate Director of DIMACS, “The key to our (DIMACS) REU program is a one-onone research experience under the direction of a mentor.” Students’ satisfaction is best reflected by their own words. “Being part of the Center for Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS) program was a meaningful and valuable experience. I was fascinated to have the opportunity to conduct research on graph rubbling, although I at times was frustrated because of my slow progress, unsolved problems and unfamiliar proof writings. However, I enjoyed the painful experience of learning by working toward the problems. Through this process, I experienced the pleasure of coming up with good ideas, the happiness of seeing a big problem being solved little by little and the achievement of writing a concrete proof. The DIMACS program brought me the pleasure of doing research and an enjoyable way to acquire new knowledge and skills.” “This Dimacs REU summer research 2011 at Rutgers is such a wonderful learning experience. During this 8 weeks research program, I was exposed to a lot of interesting workshop presentations that were involved in different fields… Not only my research experience and the workshop presentations were great learning experiences, the information about graduate school was very helpful and prepared me for graduate school. The graduate school panels were very inspiring, motivating and encouraging. They give me a heads-up on how life in graduate school will be like.”
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Tier III: Graduate Studies Preparation To assist students in the graduate application process workshops on preparing students for the GRE general test and the application process were offered. URM students are often unable to afford test preparation courses; therefore, free workshops are offered to the students. As they collaboratively work on past actual GRE examinations, support groups are purposely formed. Sessions to assist in the application process include how to write a resume, how to write a personal statement, how to write a statement of purpose, and how to ask for letters of recommendation. Students are asked to create a database of the requirements and deadlines of their list of graduate school of choice. Results The efforts from the Bridging Pathway model have been very positive. From the Fall 2008 to Spring 2011, a total of fifty-four (54) students have participated or are participating as peer leaders for the PAL Workshops in Mathematics and Science, of which 53.7 % (29) are from an underrepresented group in STEM. Of the fifty-four (54) students, fourteen (14) have graduated, five (5) transferred to another institution, and thirty-five (35) are still persisting in their STEM majors or Liberal Arts and Sciences degree. Of the fourteen (14) students who graduated (one was an Associate degree), nine (9) are pursuing graduate work in a STEM discipline, one (1) is continuing in a baccalaureate program, three (3) are in medical or pharmacy school, and one (1) is working in a STEM-related job. “When I started City Tech, my goal was to get a baccalaureate degree in Computer Engineering Technology. During my undergraduate years, I was involved with a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates and Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation. I had never imagined myself pursing a graduate degree until I became involved in the Peer Assisted Learning community. I am currently in my first year of graduate school pursuing a master’s degree in Information.” Peer leaders have been pipelined into a three stage research program: the institution’s Emerging Scholars Program, Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation and Research Experiences for Undergraduates. From the group, 68.5% (37 out of 54) of the peer leaders have or are conducting research in a STEM discipline of which 59.5% (22) of the students are from underrepresented groups in STEM. Approximately 72.2% (39 out of 54) of all the peer leaders have made oral or poster presentations at national and regional STEM conferences. As a result of this research experience four of the underrepresented minority peer leaders have co-authored articles with their mentors in peer-reviewed journals.
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Conclusion The outcome of the mentoring program at New York City College of Technology demonstrated the profound effects of a vibrant community wherein students, especially underrepresented minorities, are nurtured and encouraged to continue to pursue advanced degrees in the STEM disciplines. The culmination of leadership and research experiences and supportive measures to guide students in the graduate school process have been positive mechanisms to channel students, especially underrepresented minorities, to pursue advanced degrees in STEM. The leadership opportunity enabled peer leaders to experience a power to effect change in attitudes towards mathematics or science in formal and informal environments. Students have been empowered by the new knowledge obtained that cannot be learned from a textbook, the development of new attitudes, and the gained experiential practice in their role as leaders. The undergraduate research experiences have trained our students to be ‘informed consumers of learning.’ An institution-wide comprehensive service is necessary to have sustainable activities that enable undergraduate students to make “effective and informed” decisions regarding their career choices. Workshops preparing students for the graduate standardized test, in the graduate school application process and in writing personal statements have provided students with the additional assistance and encouragement they need to pursue a graduate degree. By providing accessible pathways, a support system such as this type of mentoring can positively impact students’ persistence in the STEM disciplines and create a pipeline for students to achieve advanced degrees in STEM. Acknowledgements This work was partially supported by the NSF STEP Grant #0622493, MAA NREUP Grant #433480, MAA/Tensor Foundation Women and Mathematics Grant, the Emerging Scholars Program, LSAMP program and Black Male Initiative at New York City College of Technology. Prof. Ghosh-Dastidar is immensely grateful to DIMACS, Rutgers University for providing undergraduate research opportunities to City Tech students during the summer of 2011. She is also grateful to Prof. Liana Tsenova for collaborating with her on water quality analysis project during the summer of 2010 and Dr. Pamela Brown for her continuous support. Prof. Liou-Mark is grateful for the support of Prof. Dreyfuss in partnering with her on the Peer Assisted Learning program. REFERENCES Aspray, W. & Bernat, A. (2000). Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Minority Graduate Students in Computer Science, Report of a Workshop March 4 – 5, 2000. Organized by the Coalition to Diversify Computing.
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Gosser, D., Cracolice, M., Kampmeier, J., Roth, V., Strozak, (2001). Peer-Led Team Learning: A Guidebook. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Higher Education Research Institute (2010). Degrees of success: Bachelor’s degree completion rates among initial STEM majors. Retrieved on March 1, 2010, from http://www.heri.ucla.edu/nih/HERI_ResearchBrief_OL_2010_STEM.pdf Johnson, E.C. & Loui, M.C. (2009). How Can Students Benefit as Peer Leaders of Learning Teams? Proceedings of the Thirty-Ninth ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, San Antonio, TX, October 18–21, 2009. Khan, S. (2008). Mentorship of College Women in Science, Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 19(1), 81101. Lopatto, D. (2004). Survey of Undergraduate Research Experiences (SURE): First Findings, Cell Biology Education, 3, 270-277. Micari, M., Streitwieser, B., & Light, G. (2005). Undergraduates leading undergraduates: peer facilitation in a science workshop program. Innovative Higher Education, 30(4), 269–288. Minority Student Recruitment, Retention and Career Transition Practices: A Review of the Literature, http://www.asha.org/practice/multicultural/recruit/litreview.htm (accessed 15 September, 2011) New York City College of Technology (2011). “Facts 2010-11”, Retrieved from http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/files/aboutus/facts.pdf. National Science Foundation (2002). Science and engineering degrees, by race/ethnicity of recipients: 1991-2000. Tables 1-3. Arlington, VA (NSF02-329) August 2002. Retrieved May 17, 2008 from http://nsf.gov/sbe/srs/nsf02329/sectb.htm Quitadamo, I.J., Brahler, C.J., Crouch, G.J. (2009). Peer-Led Team Learning: A Prospective Method for Increasing Critical Thinking in Undergraduate Science Courses. Science Educator, 18, 1 (Spring), 29-39. Sedlak, C.A., Doheny, M.O., Anaya, E., Panthofer, N. (2003). Critical Thinking in Students’ Service Learning Experiences, 51 (3), College Teaching. Shore, C. (2005). Towards Recognizing High Quality Faculty Mentoring of Undergraduate Scholars, Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 16(2), 111-136
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Mosseau, T. University of New Mexico Peer-mentor Training ABSTRACT When developed properly, peer mentoring can play a critical role in the success of students in higher education. Before implementing a mentoring system however it is important to focus on the curriculum and design of such a program. Working through techniques of instructional design, it has been possible to create three separate classes for the University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute. These classes will each focus on training peer mentors amongst undergraduate students. This paper will analyze the learning outcomes created for these programs and how previous research done on peer mentoring helped decide which learning outcomes are essential. Before starting the design of these programs the important question was how could a successful yet measurable program be created that would serve in the training of peer mentors. It was crucial to analyze the programs of peer institutions and research in the field of mentoring to help identify the elements of a successful program. It was also important to build upon pre-existing training programs already in place at the University of New Mexico. This paper will discuss the methods used in these circumstances to create a successful undergraduate level peer-mentoring program. Through this discussion, this study will show how a peer institution with similar resources could also follow this path to create their own mentoring program. It will advocate that such programs should become more widespread at higher education institutions to help improve retention and graduation rates. It will touch on the importance of protégés transitioning to mentors thus creating a rotating cycle of mentoring at a University undergraduate level.
While researching the essential components of mentoring that would help to develop a competent peer mentor program, it was almost impossible to find one unified definition for the term. Each higher education discipline has an understanding of what it means to be a mentor and what assets a successful peer mentor must possess. For those in the education field, peer mentors must be astute tutors helping to develop their protégés ability to succeed academically and enhance their thirst for scholarly success. (cite) The business concentration focuses on peer mentors as tools for professional development, emphasizing the building of career skills ranging anywhere from resume and portfolio creation, to interviewing and networking (cite). Compare these different mindsets to the communication discipline that exclaims that mentors are competent because of their great abilities to apply non-verbal, interpersonal, intercultural, and organizational theories to their mentoring. (Cite) For any who would look outside of the various disciplines of higher education and their takes on peer mentoring, an obvious place to gravitate towards seems the various interdisciplinary scholars who have ventured into the fields of leadership. Again the largest problem when reaching into this aspect is that no definition of mentoring within leadership development has emerged. Various international scholars are certainly more widely accepted in their beliefs often expressing that a successful peer mentor fits into their perception of leadership theory. Still however the field of leadership development offers no concrete solution towards designing an effective peer-mentoring program. The next step that seems attractive after working through the research available in the various fields of higher education and with the elaborate research on leadership development was to then reach out to peer institutions. Peer mentoring has become more common since the (date) as scholars have realized the benefits present through such programs. (Cite) While these programs again offer insight into what can create a successful peer-mentoring program, many of them are distinguished through specific resources, classes, or institutional cultural factors. It would be easily possible to copy or mimic entire elements of one of these mentoring programs but even this would fall short because it would lack the specific, minute details that help untie a program to the institution Even with these large varieties of differences present in the fields of higher education concerning mentoring, some common ground has stilled formed on which to base the beginning of a peer-mentoring
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program. Define and then selecting which of these collectively shared beliefs will help in the creation of a strong and cohesive program. It will also help by being able to connect the organizations mentoring program with similar programs from around the nation and influence the ability to use other research in shaping a peer-mentoring program. It is important to recognize that the creation of a peer-mentoring program can be simplified by seeking outside input. Currently, many scholars agree that peer mentoring should be a voluntary commitment based program between students of a similar age. (Cite) Many have found it works best when upperclassmen work to mentor lowerclassman to allow for the transferring of knowledge and experience. (Cite) It is unanimously accepted that professionalism and ethics should play a large role in peer mentoring. (Cite). Programs need to focus on training mentors in ethics early on in the program to avoid any complications as peer mentors and protégés form their relationships. Scholars often advocate quite vocally for the establishment of personal goals in peer mentoring programs. (cite) While it is important for the institution to designate learning outcome upon a program, it is important that both the mentors and mentees are able to seek out areas of their own personal growth. A majority of the choices that will not be so easy to make will present themselves as the program begins to develop however. Some scholars favor a long-term program that can span over a students entire college education (cite) while other researchers find it best to have a shorter program that allows mentees to quickly serve as mentors. (cite) Another large determination comes from the selection criterion of program participants. As some programs have chosen to do, should the participants be of a certain demographic (cite) or should it be offered to any general student who expresses interest in mentoring. (cite) Or what about faculty involvement in the program? Will the administration and teachers have a hands on say in the mentoring process (cite) or will they simply train the mentors and allow the students autonomy in developing their own specific programs. (Cite) The decisions that need to be made concerning the creation of a peer-mentoring program can be vast and overwhelming. All of these various methods for seeking outer input into the creation of a peer-mentoring program are helpfully but ignore one of the largest facts. Each and every organization is responsible for dictating and deciding on what their own mentoring program should develop into and become. Whether the organization seeking to create such a program is specific school department, an office with a mission, a class program, or the institution as a whole, they are responsible for deciding in their own terms what their mentoring program should accomplish. Organizations should be responsible for creating their own peer mentoring programs through their own methodology and with the support of the intellect of their members. It can be a daunting task to jump into the creation of a mentoring program and attempt to develop a new one with no basis or model. Organizations and individuals should not ignore the work previously done in the field of mentoring but instead should adapt it to their own organizational values and cultures. When developing the program, it is easy to become overwhelmed by focusing on the program at a larger level. A key step in the success of the design of a peer-mentoring program is a focus on the smaller details. The first question that individuals working to design a peer mentor program should ask is what are the learning outcomes that the University would like the students trained as peer mentors to accomplish. Developing learning outcomes within a peer-mentoring program is important because it helps identify key elements based on tangible needs. By focusing on the learning outcomes, administrators can address concerns they have about the current state of their institution. If research shows that their institution is currently suffering from retention and graduation rates, they can gear their peer-mentoring program towards educational peer tutors that function as tutors. If they wish to enhance their students’ involvement on campus, then it would be possible to create a mentoring program that focused on the student leadership and campus activities. The choice when creating the mentoring program leans heavily on the institution for where they would like to focus their peer mentors. By focusing on the learning outcomes first and then moving into and focusing on other aspects of the peer-mentoring program, it is possible to design a mentoring program that has a strong connection to the
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University, thus improving student enjoyment and passion for participating in said program. The creation and development of the learning outcomes for a peer-mentoring program should be an inclusive task and involves a variety of elements. Working through these elements individually will help the designer of the program in reaching success. Elements of Influence on a Learning Outcome When working to determine the learning outcomes for a program it is important to focus on a number of elements. These elements are both external and internal influences that will determine the direction of the creation of a peer-mentoring program. Internal elements can be factors such as institutional values, the department the program will be benefit, difficulties faced by the students within the institutions, or the amount of resources available for the program. Internal influences can be easier to develop first when developing a peer-mentoring program because they will help make the program unique to the University and address a majority of the learning outcomes. External factors that might affect the creation of such program can stem from considerations for peer institutions programs, needs of the surrounding community, or sources of funding offered outside of the institution. External factors will also play a large role in the creation of a peer-mentoring program and often can provide some of the best tools that allow feedback for genuine ideas considering original internal learning outcomes. (Cite both for internal and external) One of the greatest roles that external factors will help play is the support of internal learning outcomes are that are being created by the program designer. By looking to external forces, it is possible for the designer to gain an understanding of what has worked in the past or programs with similar elements. If designers are struggling with the specific wording or meaning behind a learning outcome, they might benefit from looking towards peer institutions. In cases where designers do not know how to apply an activity for one of the learning outcomes they have developed, scholars might have already create an idea about how to teach or demonstrate these outcomes. It is both possible to learn entirely new outcomes or mold older outcomes to a program specific to an institution. One last element to pay attention to that can fall into both of the internal and external categories is consideration of the designer or designers of the program. This individual can be considered to fit into both fields because throughout the design process because they hold pre-conceived notions that will have an impact on the program as well as their constant growth an adoption of new ideas which must be taken into account. The designer as an element will be the first discussed in this analysis. The next sections will break down both the internal and external elements listed about The Designer The individual designer or group of designers will play one of the most significant roles on the overall design and implementation of the program. Their personality, beliefs, experiences, values, biases and ambitions all have the power to influence the ultimate result of the program. While these individuals must conform to the goals of the institution they are working for, they still have some creative say in the program development. Regardless of their work environment is autonomous or heavily restricted they will leave a piece of themselves in the program they are designing. It is important to recognize this when selecting a designer and even more important for the designer to recognize this when they are working on establishing learning outcomes. Designers fall into the categories of both internal and external factors because of their uniquely human characteristics. As a designer, they can be considered an external element because their perceptions of mentoring are going to constantly be influence by outside stimuli. Even when an individual is not engaging in research, an event they experience outside of work, or a relationship, or media they take in may determine their view on mentoring. The dissolution of one of their relationships may cause them to focus on interpersonal communication in conflict and thus determine this to be vital in a mentoring relationship.
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Smith, D. L. & Douglas, A. G. Texas A & M University Characteristics of Effective Student Peer Mentoring for Undergraduate Students ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics deemed most important as traits of a good mentor, both from the perspective of the mentors and the mentees, and to explore students’ perceptions of activities provided to assist them. Research in the field of education identifies peer mentoring as an effective way to enhance the academic success of undergraduate students (Fox & Stevenson, 2006; Jacobi, 1991; Smith, 2008: Heirdsfield, Walker, Walsh & Wilss, 2008). The five writing-intensive courses in which the program operated included a total of 20 sections of 412 students who were served by 13 mentors as needed throughout the semester. A survey was administered that was modeled after Terrion and Leonard’s review (2007) of characteristics of mentors. Students cited knowledge of the writing process, previous enrollment in the course, and good communication skills as the three most important characteristics a UPM should possess. UPM’s also reported knowledge of the writing process as the most important characteristic and good communication skills as second (as opposed to students’ ranking of third). Trustworthiness was ranked third overall by the UPM’s. Peer mentoring programs offer considerable potential in achieving positive academic results for university students learning how to use written communication more effectively in required coursework. These benefits appear to be enhanced when students are linked with mentors who have previously taken the courses they are mentoring and who have career fields common to the mentees.
Research in the field of education identifies peer mentoring as an effective way to enhance the academic success of undergraduate students (Fox & Stevenson, 2006; Jacobi, 1991; Smith, 2008). Peer mentoring is defined as an assistive relationship in which two individuals of similar age and or/experience work together, either formally or informally, to fulfill some kind of informational and/or emotional need (Terrion & Leonard, 2007). Kram and Isabella (1985) verify peer mentoring as a suitable alternative to traditional mentoring programs because it can not only provide academic, but also social and emotional support while matching mentors and mentees on levels of age and/or experience. Based on previous research, peer-mentoring programs are widely accepted as a means of providing additional instructional support for students. In addition to the academic benefits, peer mentoring has several other advantages. Peer mentoring programs are able to offer students an additional instructional outlet thereby relieving some of the pressures from course instructors while still providing students adequate opportunity for assistance (Fox & Stevenson, 2006; Heirdsfield, Walker, Walsh, & Wilss, 2008; Mazur, 1997; Smith, 2008). Moreover, peer mentor programs provide an opportunity for both mentors and mentees to reflect deeper on the learning process. In this regard, peer mentoring can be especially useful in teacher education programs where students are preparing for a career in educational service (Heirdsfield et al., 2008). Peer mentoring can also provide emotional support which, in turn, may enhance undergraduate students’ academic success (Fox & Stevenson, 2006; Rice & Brown, 1990). Several studies of effective mentoring programs have reported that undergraduates feel less intimidated by peer mentors and more likely to ask questions they may not be willing to ask course instructors (Heirdsfield, et al., 2008; Page & Hanna, 2008). Thus, it follows that if students feel more secure in asking course-related questions, they will become more comfortable with the material and more likely to succeed in the class. Based on the previously cited research and well established theoretical frameworks of learning and cognition, it is generally assumed that student success in the area of writing could be enhanced through the academic and social interaction provided by a peer mentoring program. Vygotsky’s (1978) social learning theory attributes cognitive development to social interaction between a learner and a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). According to Vygotsky, the MKO is anyone with a higher understanding of a particular concept than the learner, including peers and other students. 526
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According to Heirdsfield et al. (2008), both academic and social competence are important characteristics of a mentor. Terrion and Leonard (2007) support this claim in their review of the literature where they describe the psychosocial characteristics most central in a mentor’s role. These include: communication skills, supportiveness, trustworthiness, a reciprocal attitude, empathy, personality match with the mentee, enthusiasm, and flexibility. In addition, McLean (2004) asserts that peer mentor programs are most effective when the mentors share the same curriculum as the mentees. While it is clear that peer mentoring can have a positive impact on student learning, important questions remain. Specifically, what academic and personal characteristics of mentors are perceived to contribute most effectively to the mentees’ learning and academic achievement in undergraduate courses designated as writing intensive. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics deemed most important as traits of a good mentor, both from the perspective of the mentors and the mentees, and to explore students’ perceptions of and reactions to the course context (writing intensive) and mentoring activities provided to assist them. The undergraduate peer mentor (UPM) program was embedded in the education department of a large university in the southwest and was modeled from a similar program previously implemented in the university’s College of Engineering (Yalvac, et al., 2009). A full-time Graduate Assistant was assigned to help recruit, train, and coordinate the program. Peer mentors were selected by several criteria. First, they had to have previously taken, and excelled, in the writing-intensive course in which they would mentor. In addition, they had to be recommended by their instructors after demonstrating exceptional writing and interpersonal skills, along with being deemed highly motivated to help others with the writing process. Their duties consisted of attending monthly meetings with the program coordinator for training and informational purposes, assisting instructors in class, maintaining office hours for conferencing, and assisting students with writing assignments in a total of 20 sections. Although peer mentors were available to students through email, the UPMs chose to do all formal discussions regarding mentees’ papers in a face-to-face format. The UPMs felt this allowed for more thorough feedback and provided an opportunity for new topics to emerge through discussion that may have been missed by simply providing feedback via email. The UPMs’ interactions with mentees were strictly in a mentoring capacity and were non-evaluative. Three survey instruments were developed by the researchers and served as data sources for the study. The Undergraduate Peer Mentor Ranking Survey (UPMRS) was modeled from the characteristics of mentors found to be important in Terrion and Leonard’s review (2007) as well as characteristics reviewed by Rice and Brown (1990). For the UPMRS both students and mentors were asked to rank each of 10 mentor characteristics from 1-10 with 1 being the characteristic they perceived as most important and 10 the characteristic they found least important in a peer mentor. The characteristics included: availability; ability to spend one-on-one time; same gender; knowledgeable of the writing process; previously enrolled in the course; prior mentoring experience; good communication skills; enthusiastic about the writing process; supportive; and mentor is trustworthy. These results were then compared for the similarities and differences in the characteristics students and mentors perceived as most and least important in the mentoring relationship. The final survey, the Undergraduate Peer Mentor Survey (UPMS), was administered to mentors only. This survey was also developed by examining recurring issues affecting peer mentors as identified in the literature ( Heirdsfield, 2008; LeCornu, 2005; Page & Hanna, 2008). It was designed to ascertain how the program impacted mentors’ academic, emotional, and interpersonal skills. Students (400+) who were mentored in the program were enrolled in upper level, writing-intensive, education courses (five courses; 20 sections) designed to prepare pre-service teachers for classroom instruction. All of the courses were required for degrees and various licensure areas in K-8 elementary and middle school education. Participants received writing instruction in the context of the teacher preparation curriculum and were provided access to at least one undergraduate peer mentor (UPM) per course section. More than 400 students were originally surveyed for the study; however, any surveys that were incomplete or inaccurately filled out were excluded from analysis. For the student survey measuring perceptions of
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writing (UPMSS), 370 surveys were included for analysis. Of these students, 354 (96%) were female and 328 (89%) were White. Additionally, 327 (88%) had GPR’s of 3.0 or higher. For the ranking survey (UPMRS), 335 student responses were included in the analysis. Of these students, 320 (96%) were female and 296 (88%) were White. Additionally, 310 (89%) had GPR’s of 3.0 or higher. Finally, the undergraduate peer mentors who were surveyed consisted of 12 females and one male. One of the UPM surveys was found to be incomplete and was therefore excluded from analysis. All of the peer mentors were White and 11 of the 13 peer mentors (85%) had a grade point ranking of 3.5 or higher. Peer mentors (N =13) completed both the UPMS and the UPMRS during a monthly meeting with the researcher. UPMs also filled out a consent form prior to completing the surveys and were able to complete the surveys in approximately 30 minutes. Of the 13 surveys completed by peer mentors, 12 were included in the analysis. Descriptive statistics for the UPMRS are reported as mean rankings by both students and mentors for 10 UPM characteristics and are displayed in Table 1. Students and mentors ranked each of 10 characteristics on a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being the most important and 10 being the least important. Therefore, lower means indicated a higher ranking of importance. According to the means, students cited knowledge of the writing process, previous enrollment in the course, and good communication skills as the three most important characteristics a UPM should possess. UPMs also reported knowledge of the writing process as the most important characteristic and good communication skills as second (as opposed to students’ ranking of third). Trustworthiness was ranked third overall by the UPMs. This is in contrast to the students’ rating of trustworthiness at number nine. Both students and peer mentors cited the UPMs’ gender as the least important characteristic. Prior mentoring experience also fell in the bottom three characteristics for both students and UPMs with a ranking of eight and nine, respectively. Additionally, peer mentors cited availability as one of the least important characteristics with a ranking of eight, while students found it more important with a ranking of four. An independent samples t-test was performed in order to determine whether or not significant differences existed in how students and peer mentors ranked the 10 characteristics. Several significant differences were found and the results are displayed in Table 2. The students (M = 4.59) ranked availability significantly higher than the mentors (M = 6.25), t (345) = -2.2, p = .028. Students also ranked prior mentoring experience significantly higher (M = 6.27) than peer mentors (M = 8.67), t (345) = -10.311, p = .001, while mentors (M = 3.17) ranked good communication skills significantly higher than students (M = 4.43, t (345) = 2.02, p = .045. Mentors and students ranked supportiveness significantly different with mentors (M = 4.00 ) ranking it higher than students (M = 5.68), t (345) = 2.693, p = .007. Finally, peer mentors (M = 3.58) ranked trustworthiness significantly higher than students (M = 6.31), t (345) = 3.58, p = .001. The results of this study indicated there were similarities and differences in what students and mentors considered to be important characteristics of a peer mentor. Common to both students and mentors was the perception that knowledge in the field of writing and good communication skills were the most important characteristics of a UPM. Indeed, it seemed likely that these two concepts would rank high for both groups as teaching and learning are predicated on the ability to communicate what one knows to others. The students’ high ranking of “previous enrollment in the course” (# 2 for students vs. # 6 for mentors) may have been because they attributed previous enrollment and prior academic achievement in a writing intensive course (two criteria for selection of the mentors) as reflective and integral to mentors’ knowledge characteristics. These findings were consistent with previous research that has cited expertise in the field and achievement of a level of academic success that gives mentors “credibility in the eyes of the students they will be mentoring” as important criteria for selecting mentors and establishing effective mentoring programs (Terrion & Leonard, (2007, p. 153). According to MeeLee and Bush (2003), sharing the same programs of study (teacher education) and, in this case, a body of coursework with intensive writing frameworks as a basis for demonstrating knowledge leads mentees to attribute greater credibility to their mentor. Several open-ended student comments noted mentors’
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previous experience in the course as being particularly beneficial. One student wrote: “Having a student who has previously taken the course was the most significant benefit of the UPM program.” Results of students’ and mentors’ bottom three rankings of UPM characteristics also indicated similarities in two out of three components. Students ranked prior mentoring experience (8th), trustworthiness (9th), and same gender (10th) as being the least important while UPMs ranked availability (8th), prior mentoring experience (9th), and same gender (10th) as least important. The results indicated quite clearly that gender of the UPM is the least important of the 10 characteristics presented to students and mentors. Prior research has suggested that gender and race matching reflects conflicting findings and that these may actually be explained by contextual factors “such as the culture of the university, the characteristics of the student population served by the university, the structure of the mentoring program, and so on” (Terrion & Leonard, 2007, p. 153). Careful consideration was required, however, when examining the ranking of prior mentoring experience (students 8th; mentors 9th). Although both students and mentors ranked it in the bottom three, significant differences were found between the two groups with students ranking it higher than mentors. A qualitative analysis of students’ and peer mentors’ written responses regarding the program also did not offer any insight into why this difference occurred. Other differences in students’ and mentors’ rankings revealed areas that merited further consideration in structuring of this and other mentoring programs. Although feedback for the UPM program was overwhelmingly positive, the most often recurring theme written in the suggestions portion of the survey was a need for more office hours to accommodate busy schedules for classes and work. Differences were also found in how students and peer mentors ranked communication skills, supportiveness, and trustworthiness with peer mentors ranking these inter- and intrapersonal aspects of peer tutoring higher than students. In particular, there was a major contrast in how trustworthiness was ranked between the two groups. Students ranked it very low, at number 9, while peer mentors ranked it fairly high at number 3. However, there was no mention of these specific characteristics in the qualitative analysis of students’ and mentors’ comments. These differences may indicate that mentors felt strongly about the social and emotional role they played in students’ learning experience while students were more focused on the academic outcomes. Peer mentoring programs offer considerable potential in achieving positive academic results for university students learning how to use written communication more effectively in required coursework. These benefits appear to be enhanced when students are linked with mentors who have previously taken the courses they are mentoring and who have career fields common to the mentees. Recognizing and understanding mentor characteristics that are critical to developing mentees’ capacities to benefit from the relationships, while also providing mutual benefits to the mentors are important considerations for institutions interested in creating effective peer mentoring programs. Based on the students’ and the mentors’ reactions and comments, the undergraduate peer mentoring program established at this university appears to have been successful during its first year of implementation and worthy of continuation. The concerns expressed by students and mentors can be easily addressed in the future and should not prevent the program from continuing to benefit both students and mentors in a substantive way. REFERENCES Farris, C., & Smith, R. (1992). Writing-intensive courses: Tools for curricular change. In S.H. McLeod & M. Soven (Eds.), Writing across the curriculum: A guide to developing programs, pp. 52-62. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Fox, A., & Stevenson, L. (2006). Exploring the effectiveness of peer mentoring of accounting and finance students in higher education. Accounting Education: An International Journal, 15, 189-202. Heirdsfield, A. M., Walker, S., Walsh, K., & Wilss, L. (2008). Peer mentoring for first-year teacher education students: The mentors’ experience. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 16, 109-124. Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61, 505-532.
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Kram, K., & Isabella, L. (1985). Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development. Academy of Management Journal, 28, 110-132. LeCornu, R. (2005). Peer mentoring: Engaging pre-service teachers in mentoring one another. Mentoring and Tutoring, 13, 355-366. Mazur, E. (1997). Peer instruction: A user’s manual. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. McLean, M. (2004). Does the curriculum matter in peer mentoring? From mentee to mentor in problem-based learning: A unique case study. Mentoring and Tutoring, 12, 174-186. Mee-Lee, L. & Bush, T. (2003). Student mentoring in higher education: Hong Kong Baptist University, Mentoring and Tutoring, 11, 263-271. Page, D., & Hanna, D. (2008). Peer mentoring: The students’ perspective. Psychology of Learning and Teaching, 7, 34-37. Rice, M. B., & Brown, R. D. (1990). Developmental factors associated with self-perceptions of mentoring competence and mentoring needs. Journal of College Student Development, 31, 293-299. Smith, T. (2008). Integrating undergraduate peer mentors into liberal arts courses: A pilot study. Innovative Higher Education, 33, 49-63. Terrion, J. L., & Leonard, D. (2007). A taxonomy of the characteristics of student peer mentors in higher education: Findings from a literature review. Mentoring and Tutoring, 15, 149-164. Vygotsky, L. (1978). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Yalvac, B., Economides, C., Brooks, L. A., & Smith, D. (Eds.) . (2009). Proceedings from EEET ’09: The 2nd International Multi-Conference on Engineering and Technological Innovation. Orlando, FL: IMETI.
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Stout, K., Opsal, C., Pohl, A. & Bragg, D. University of Minnesota & University of Illinois It Takes More than Listening: Mentoring in the Community College Setting ABSTRACT This paper describes the development of a community college student retention intervention, Making the Connection (MTC), which utilizes one-on-one mentoring (by a college staff member) and small group mentoring (among a group of students). This intervention is an adaptation of Check & Connect (C&C), an evidence-based K-12 dropout prevention intervention, to the community college environment. The development of MTC was funded by the U.S. Department of Educations Institute of Education Sciences. It was piloted at two community colleges in 2010. The role of the staff mentor in MTC is based on the role of the mentor in C&C. In C&C, the mentor (either a dedicated C&C staff person or a school staff member) fuels student motivation and keeps education salient for the student. Specifically, the mentor checks student attendance, behavior, and course performance data and connects with the student to help him/her troubleshoot barriers to success in school. While this fundamental role of the mentor remained the same in MTC, how the role was enacted had to be reenvisioned given the different organizational context (e.g., attendance data is not available in higher education). In addition, the role of the mentor had to be delineated from similar support roles in higher education (e.g., advisors, counselors). One way in which we made that distinction was by adding a coaching and accountability component to the MTC staff mentor role. In MTC, we also broadened the mentoring function beyond the staff mentor. In addition to individual meetings and contact with their staff mentor, participating students also received mentoring both from the staff member and several of their peers as part of a small group that met weekly. The small groups were intended to help students help each other navigate the college environment, as well as increase their feelings of social integration at the college.
Background In 2009, the Institute on Community Integration (ICI) and the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota received funding from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education to determine the feasibility of adapting Check & Connect (C&C), a secondary dropout prevention and intervention model, for use in postsecondary education settings. The project, entitled Making the Connection (MtC), focused on academic engagement, social integration, and goal commitment—three key components documented by research on both C&C and postsecondary education as influencing successful school completion. Two community colleges, located in metropolitan areas of the Midwest and south central regions, respectively, were the authentic settings for the development of this postsecondary adaptation of C&C. C&C was developed at ICI by a partnership of researchers, practitioners, parents, and students beginning in 1990 and has undergone several trials to validate its effects on improving school completion rates (Christenson, Sinclair, Thurlow, & Evelo, 1999; Sinclair, Christenson, Evelo, & Hurley, 1998; Sinclair, Christenson, & Thurlow, 2005). In 2006, C&C met the evidence standards of IES and was included in the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC, 2006) as an evidence-based intervention (see WWC for more information on previous C&C studies: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/reports/topic.aspx?tid=06). Much has been written about the effectiveness of C&C at the secondary level, but C&C had never been used at the postsecondary level. The Making the Connection project was based on the premise that educational outcomes for students in community and technical colleges could be improved through the development of specific structured intervention strategies to increase student persistence, engagement, and retention (Bailey, Alfonso, Scott, & Leinbach, 2004). The student population of many community and technical colleges includes students at-risk of non-completion, but research has identified alterable behaviors and conditions (e.g., factors within the community college as well as within the power of educators and students to change) that can be positively influenced by intervention strategies. Students who attend community and technical colleges face a number of unique challenges, including previous negative educational experiences, lack of 531
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preparation for postsecondary education, higher incidence of poverty, and greater family responsibilities (American Youth Policy Forum, 2007). Given these complex issues, the development of a structured approach to support student engagement and retention was critically important. We developed our intervention by building on the foundation of research and practice on the C&C intervention at the secondary level. The C&C intervention for secondary education has two main components: “Check” and “Connect.” The “Check” component employs mentors to continually assess student engagement through close monitoring of student performance data and progress indicators (such as attendance, grades, and credits). The “Connect” component involves program staff intervening in a timely fashion based on individual student data obtained from monitoring or systematic checking, in partnership with school personnel, family members, and community service providers. Development of MtC involved feedback from three iterative cycles. In summer and fall 2009, planning committees from each site—including administrators, advisors, faculty, and student services personnel—developed the intervention; in the spring 2010 and fall 2010 semesters, each site piloted it. The intervention took a slightly different form at each community college because of differing institutional policies, programs, structures, and student populations. At the end of the third iterative cycle, the following components of MtC emerged from data collected across sites: 1. A small group of community college students who want/need extra support. 2. A mentor/small group leader who keeps the focus on achieving the students’ academic and career goals. The mentor both facilitates the group and is available for individual mentoring. The mentor provides active support. 3. Systematic self-monitoring by students with feedback from the small group and mentor. 4. Intentional, timely, personalized “interventions” designed to help students stay on goal. The model was delivered as a weekly small group meeting of 5-7 participants led by the mentor, with individual mentoring provided on an as-needed basis. Figure 1 provides a visual of the final Making the Connection model. The focus of what follows is the individual and group mentoring, the second component and linchpin of Making the Connection. Methods Iterative development involves data collection at the end of a development phase, with feedback from that phase used to inform the next. Our data collection methods included an online biweekly mentor survey about group processes and individual mentoring, interviews with mentors and participants, and observations of small group meetings. College records of participants were used to look at persistence and credit accrual (these data will not be discussed here). Although over the course of the development project we had about 30-40 student participants per site, data was collected consistently from about 15-20 students per site. One site had 6 mentors: 1 faculty member, 1 Dean of Students, and 4 student services personnel; the other had 7 mentors: 3 instructors of a student success course and 4 counselors/advisors. Findings Three themes or tensions emerged over the iterative development process. The first concerned the larger goal of the model—improving persistence of community college students. Approaches to this issue focus on either improving the student or improving the community college environment. The second tension concerned whether effective mentoring is proactive or passive. The third issue concerned the content of mentoring: should mentoring be largely about navigating the community college setting and career counseling, or should mentoring include psychosocial skills associated with academic success? Our findings and lingering questions for each theme are discussed in turn below.
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Figure 1: Final Model
Person/Environment Fit College attrition has significant personal, societal, and national implications (Baum & Payea, 2004; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Individuals who complete a community college degree earn an average of $11,000 more per year than those with only a high school diploma (O’Leary, 2007). As a society, college attainment for underserved students—i.e., first generation students, low-income students, and students of color—is significantly lower than that of other students, and the achievement gap is widening (Matthews, 2009). While more than 30% of white, non-Hispanic adults have at least four years of college, only 18% of African Americans and 12% of Hispanics have the same level of education. Nationally, the U.S. once enjoyed the status of having the most college graduates ages 24-34, but now the U.S. now ranks 16th out of 36 developed nations (StarTribune, September 21, 2011). Because of the high stakes involved, studying the conditions that contribute to postsecondary success and persistence has been a focus of educational and psychological research for the last three decades, with dominant models drawn from research at four-year institutions (e.g., Tinto, 1975; Bean & Metzner, 1985). Such models place the onus for persistence on the individual student, and indeed, popular interventions such as developmental education and college success courses target student characteristics. Of late, more attention is being paid to how institutions need to change to improve persistence. Scott-Clayton (2011) argues that tightly structured academic programs that limit deviation from the pathway to completion and
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limit bureaucratic obstacles help community college students succeed. Another approach, the Equity Scorecard (Harris, Bensimon, & Bishop, 2010), “is designed to shift practitioners’ attention away from what is wrong with students to what they, and their own institutions or departments, might be doing wrong or might be failing to do at all” (p. 280). Rendón’s theory of validation (1994; 2002) and Cox’s research on the obstacles that institutional culture creates for non-traditional students (2009) also describe how institutional practices influence persistence and retention. The dichotomy of the two approaches to retention—i.e., change the person; change the environment—is described by the notion of person/environment fit. C&C seeks to improve the personenvironment fit. When we developed the MtC model, we realized that some components of C&C would not fit in the community college environment, but we preserved the goal of improving the personenvironment fit. MtC bridges the opposing positions of the student as responsible for persisting and the institution as needing to create conditions that promote retention. In relationship with the student, the MtC mentor comes to know the preconceptions and circumstances that the student brings to the environment. He/she builds skills for “fitting” into the environment from the strengths and challenges of the student, while developing ways for the student to be successful in that environment through the teaching of cognitive problem solving. At the same time, as a participant and representative in and from the institutional environment, the mentor constantly works to refocus that environment to meet the needs of the student. MtC mentors support students in handling the academic and personal issues that threaten their academic success. The small group structure provides social integration and the building of social networks to draw on outside the mentoring relationship. Many non-traditional students do not have role models for navigating the community college environment. The small group provides a model in the mentor, validates that the student belongs in college and can succeed, and exerts pressure to be accountable for reaching goals. Finally, MtC formalizes and provides structure to the delivery of nonacademic supports (Karp, 2011). Proactive or Passive Mentoring At the beginning of the second semester of implementation, the project director and a community college consultant observed the small groups in action. During these observations, they noticed different styles of mentoring. Some mentors adopted a counseling/advising, almost therapeutic, approach while others had a coaching (Hudson, 1999) approach that pushed feedback and accountability for achieving short-term, weekly goals. We believed that an accountability approach would be more effective than simply listening and encouraging. Relatedly, in K-12 C&C, mentors are proactive; they reach out to students. We believed that our mentors should do likewise, which is at odds with the culture of higher education. Colleges have traditionally expected the student to seek his/her own help in terms of counseling, advising, and academic supports. Such an approach is passive, it does not reach out to students; rather, it demands that they seek their own help. Students who have risk factors (e.g., first generation status, underprepared academically, ethnic and racial minority status, low socioeconomic status) are less likely to know how and where to ask for help (Cox, 2009; Rendón, 2002). Based on our observations and on the literature on community college students, we believe MtC mentoring should be a coaching approach that is proactive. The C&C model on which MtC is based has nearly 20 years of empirical support for the power of mentoring (Anderson, Christenson, Sinclair, & Lehr, 2004; Kaibel, Sinclair, & VandenBerk, 2008; Lehr, Sinclair, & Christenson, 2004; Sinclair, Christenson, Evelo, & Hurley, 1998; Sinclair, Christenson, & Thurlow, 2005; Sinclair & Kaibel, 2002). The Connect in the C&C intervention refers both to connecting with a mentor and being connected to evidence-based interventions. MtC also uses this approach, in line with evidence-based coaching recommendations: mentors make intelligent use of best current evidence integrated with their own expertise to provide coaching to participants (Hudson, 1999). Participant interviews confirmed that some mentors held high expectations and were both approachable and proactive. One noted that their mentor established a climate of “No question is dumb or 534
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should be left unanswered or unasked” in the small group. Another remarked about how having such a mentor made her feel: “It was the connection. I had tried to finish my education several times, but not feeling connected can be a problem. It is especially for me, someone who likes to be involved. That is really what kept me. I felt like I was involved in the university, that the university cared about me, and I wasn’t just a number.” Mentoring Content In perusing mentoring programs described on various community college websites, we noticed common foci of helping students navigate the community college and pursue their chosen career path. Although the literature supports the need for these kinds of mentoring (Rosenbaum, Deil-Amen, & Person, 2006), we believe that adult students also profit from development of psychosocial skills associated with academic success. Social cognitive career theory (SCCT; Lent, 2007) informed our selection of intervention targets for MtC, with mentors fostering psychosocial skills and dispositions in addition to providing career guidance. Specifically, SCCT calls for modeling and facilitating students’ expansion of vocational interests, clarification of career goals, strengthening of self-efficacy beliefs, development of realistic outcome expectations, management of environmental barriers, and building of environmental support systems. Conclusion One contribution of our pilot project, Making the Connection, is a better definition of effective mentoring for community college students. Our model uses a proactive approach to mentoring, in which the mentor actively reaches out to students. This approach is supported by our findings. Mentors and students described the MtC mentoring role in the following ways: taking a personal interest in the student, offering guidance and support, providing answers, helpful, understanding, welcoming, professional, encouraging, facilitator, good listener, seeing students holistically (not just academically), proactive in seeking out students (unlike a counselor). One student commented in reference to her mentor: “He made me feel like I could succeed, and that at above 50 and all, it was no big deal . . . that there was so many older students at school. He told me different ways of studying.” Another noted, “It is not something that is readily available in most colleges . . . it is a door you can go open or go knock on. I think the information I received was just priceless.” Second, as we refined our model, we developed a structure for the small groups based on feedback and a coaching approach to mentoring. Studies on small groups with secondary-school-age students note that groups are more effective when they are well-structured with guidelines for participation (Dishion et al., 1999). Our pilot demonstrated that more work was done in groups that adhered to a consistent structure. This involves opening with a 1-2 minute check-in per student (what went well, not so well, and progress toward goals during the past week); presentation of a related topic determined by the mentor with group members (e.g., goal setting, writing a coursework plan, student skills); and setting goals for the week. Third, while the approach is coaching with accountability, the content is goal setting, problem solving, self-monitoring progress, navigating the college system, and student success skills (e.g., time management, study skills, working with instructors). Once the cognitive problem solving approach is taught, it is then modeled and becomes a process whereby, during small group sessions, a student concern is chosen to use for problem solving with the group. The content of individual mentoring reinforces the small group work, and as such involves individual problem solving, goal setting and achievement, career planning, coursework progress, academics, financial aid, and personal issues that impede academic progress. We are continuing to refine the Making the Connection model. Lingering questions involve further differentiation of the MtC mentor role from other similar existing roles in the community college context (e.g., advisors, counselors, instructors) and facilitating the proactive mentoring role with a population of
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students who frequently move, change phone numbers, do not reside on campus, and who need validation of their role as students. REFERENCES American Youth Policy Forum. (2007). Issue Brief: Postsecondary access and success. Retrieved from http://www.aypf.org/programs/briefs/PostsecondaryAccessandSuccess.htm Anderson, A. R., Christenson, S. L., Sinclair, M. F., & Lehr, C. A. (2004). Check & Connect: The importance of relationships for promoting engagement with school. Journal of School Psychology, 42(2), 95–113. Bailey, T. R., Alfonso, M., Scott, M., & Leinbach, T. (2004). Educational outcomes of occupational postsecondary students. New York: Columbia University, Teachers College, Institute on Education and the Economy. Baum, S., & Payea, K. (2004). Education pays 2004: The benefits of higher education for individuals and society. Washington, DC: College Board. Bean, J. P., & Metzner, B. S. (1985). A conceptual model of nontraditional undergraduate student attrition. Review of Educational Review, 55, 485–540. Christenson, S. L., Sinclair, M. F., Thurlow, M. L., & Evelo, D. (1999). Promoting student engagement with school using the Check & Connect model. Australian Journal of Guidance and Counseling, 9(1), 169– 184. Cox, R. D. (2009) The college fear factor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Dishion, T. J., McCord, J., & Poulin, F. (1999). When interventions harm: Peer groups and problem behavior. American Psychologist, 54(9), 755–761. Harris III, F., Bensimon, E. M., & Bishop, R. (2010). The Equity Scorecard: A process for building institutional capacity to educate young men of color. In C. Edley, Jr. & J. Ruiz de Velasco (Eds.), Changing places: How communities will improve the health of boys of color (pp. 277–308). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Hudson, F. M. (1999). The Handbook of coaching: A comprehensive resource guide for managers, executives, consultants, and human resource professionals. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Karp, M. M. (2011, February). Toward a new understanding of non-academic student support: Four mechanisms encouraging positive student outcomes in the community college. New York, NY: Community College Research Center. Retrieved from http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?uid=860 Kaibel, C., Sinclair, M. F. & VandenBerk, E. (2008). Check & Connect- Achieve Minneapolis! Bush Foundation interim report. Minneapolis, MN: Minneapolis Public Schools. Lehr, C. A., Sinclair, M. F., & Christenson, S. L. (2004). Addressing student engagement and truancy prevention during the elementary years: A replication study of the Check & Connect model. Journal of Education for Students Placed At Risk, 9(3), 279–301. Lent, R. (2007, May). Social cognitive career theory: What attracts students to – and keeps them in – STEM fields? A theoretical perspective. Presentation at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Understanding Interventions Conference, Washington, DC. Available at http://dels.nas.edu/bls/more/Lent.pdf Matthews, D. (2009, February). A stronger nation through higher education: How and why Americans must meet a “big goal” for college education. Indianapolis, IN: Lumina Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/A_stronger_nation.pdf Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students (Vol. 2): A third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Rendon, L. I. (1994). Validating culturally diverse students: Toward a new model of learning and student development. Innovative Higher Education, 19(1), 33–51. Rendon, L. I. (2002). Community College Puente: A validating model of education. Educational Policy, 16, 642– 667. Rosenbaum, J. E., Deil-Amen, R., & Person, A. E. (2006). After admission: From college access to college success. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
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Scott-Clayton, J. (2011, January). The shapeless river: Does a lack of structure inhibit students’ progress at community colleges? New York, NY: Community College Research Center. Retrieved from http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID=839 Sinclair, M. F., Christenson, S. L., Evelo, D. L., & Hurley, C. M. (1998). Dropout prevention for youth with disabilities: Efficacy of a sustained school engagement procedure. Exceptional Children, 65(1), 7–21. Sinclair, M. F., Christenson, S. L., & Thurlow, M. L. (2005). Promoting school completion of urban secondary youth with emotional or behavioral disabilities. Exceptional Children, 71(4), 465–482. Sinclair, M. F., & Kaibel, C. (2002). Dakota County: Secondary Check & Connect program: Program evaluation final summary report. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration. Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45(1), 89–123.
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Varecka, L. & Yslas Velez, W. University of Arizona The Math Center as a Mentoring Center ABSTRACT The Math Center in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Arizona is the focal point for the mentoring of undergraduate math majors. The Math Center staff is responsible for recruiting students into the math major and providing the math majors with information that is motivational and that encourages students to pursue further mathematical studies. Students are informed about internships, scholarships and travel opportunities. There has been a substantial increase in students taking advantage of these opportunities. The Math Center staff is very proactive in the interactions with the math majors. It is not enough simply to recruit students into the major. Constant contact with the math majors is necessary in order to guide them in their studies. Most of this contact is initiated through numerous emails that are sent to students. However these emails are intended to bring the students in to discuss the issues. Emails provide the opportunity for the establishment of a mentoring environment. When students respond to an email, mentoring begins. Beginning six years ago, the Math Center made substantive changes in its outreach to students. There has been a huge increase in the communications with students. These changes have resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of mathematics majors. The academic year ended with 638 math majors. This is more than double the number from six years ago. Faculty also play a major role in mentoring students. There is a constant quest to create activities that bring together undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty to work on projects. During the course of these projects, mentoring occurs in a very natural fashion. This effective approach to mentoring has been honored by the American Mathematical Society, which recognized the Math Center with the 2011 Award for an Exemplary Program or Achievement by a Mathematics Department.
Background: What is the Math Center? The Undergraduate Math Major Advising Center at the University of Arizona, known as the Math Center, is the focal point for the mentoring of undergraduate mathematics majors. The Math Center staff consists of Associate Head for Undergraduate Affairs and University of Arizona Distinguished Professor, Dr. William Yslas Vélez, Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Laurie Varecka, and a part-time student worker. Approximately 40 faculty advisors round out the work of the Math Center. Once a student begins fourth semester courses in mathematics, then the student is assigned a faculty advisor. Until then, Ms. Varecka serves as the student’s advisor. Besides the offices of Vélez and Varecka, there is a room furnished with tables and chairs, white and chalk boards for students to work on, two desktop computers, and a small library of donated books. There is a little money for pizza or snacks for meetings of MathCats, the undergraduate math club. The Math Center’s activities revolve around undergraduates – getting them in the door to declare the math major, mentoring them through to graduation, and keeping in touch with them after graduation whenever possible. The goal of the Math Center is to enrich the academic lives of the undergraduate math majors by informing them of opportunities and by assisting students in applying for experiences that will help them refine their career goals. We want to produce well-rounded mathematics majors by designing programs of study that meet their career goals. By the time math majors graduate we want them to have functioned as mathematicians. Not only will the students have learned mathematics, but they will have had the opportunity to communicate mathematical ideas and had the experience of creating mathematics or to apply mathematical ideas to solve problems in other areas. We are preparing professionals.
Recruiting Activities – Getting Students in the Door
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There are several types of recruiting activities that the Math Center engages in each year, targeting prospective students, new students and continuing students. Email has proven to be an effective way to make initial contacts and to invite those who are interested to engage in a conversation with the Math Center. Thanks to information systems available to faculty and staff on campus, access to data is relatively easy; using mail merge capabilities of an email client lends a more personal feeling to each message sent. Each spring, a list of newly admitted students for fall is generated; the list includes the student’s name, email address, and chosen major. Each student is sent an email letter that appears to come personally from Vélez. However, these emails are sent out by the staff of the mathematics department. In March & April 2011, approximately 3000 emails were sent out. Students often comment that it is comforting to receive a letter from a professor at the university who is interested in their career. The letter that Vélez sends out congratulates them on their admission to the University and choice of major, but it also invites them to add more mathematics to their program of studies at the University of Arizona. The message suggests that adding more mathematics – possibly a minor or even a major in mathematics – would be beneficial to the student, a message that is backed by an example of an application of mathematics to the student’s chosen discipline. Each message includes a link to a “Mathematical Moments” poster from the American Mathematical Society’s website, featuring an application of mathematics likely to be of interest to the student. (http://www.ams.org/samplings/mathmoments/mathmoments) In a postscript to the letter, Vélez offers to send students a document entitled “Resources for Calculus Students”, which includes information about placement into Calculus and pre-Calculus courses, suggestions for review prior to beginning a math course at the University, and descriptions of courses that may be of interest to Calculus-bound students. When students respond, a dialog begins which has, in some cases, lasted throughout the student’s undergraduate career and beyond. Students who express interest in the major are invited to join other new freshman and transfer students at a special orientation program for new math majors on the Saturday before fall classes begin. The orientation program includes information about the major requirements, strategies for success in college, information about various teaching and research opportunities that current majors have participated in, and it also gives new students the chance to spend some time with the Math Center staff and faculty advisors in an informal setting. The mathematics department teaches thousands of students each semester. The fact that so many students take mathematics classes provides an opportunity for INREACH. Rather than recruit students into the study of mathematics by performing outreach activities, the Math Center concentrates on reaching into our own mathematics classes, particularly classes in the Calculus sequence and above. During registration periods, the Math Center goes over enrollments in selected mathematics courses. The course records of each student are viewed and messages are sent out to students about their course selection. The message might suggest a different course that would better suit the career goals or background of the student, or it might suggest that the students add the mathematics minor or major. When a mathematics major is suggested, a sample schedule of mathematics courses is included in the message that would lead to completion of the mathematics major. Specific groups of students are also targeted as part of the Math Center’s inreach efforts. Once grades have posted for Fall or Spring, a list of students who have earned an A or B in Pre-Calculus is generated; the students are congratulated on their achievement, and encouraged to continue on to Calculus 1. Special encouragement is also given to underrepresented minority students at all levels (Vélez, 2006). After the Student Declares the Major – Now What Once students have added the mathematics major, it is important to inform them of opportunities that serve to motivate students to continue on in mathematics. Students receive a weekly message from the Math Center with pertinent information: Internship and research opportunities, tutoring positions, scholarships, conferences, special lectures, information about new courses, important deadlines. Because
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students are often deluged with emails, the Math Center packages this information into one weekly message, which also is a means of archiving that information for students. There are many opportunities for professional development for math majors. Part of being a professional is to have an updated resume. A Sample Resume has been created that shows students what a resume should look like. Every effort is made to encourage students to create a resume and to provide a copy to the Math Center. Part of being a professional is taking an active role in professional organizations. The undergraduate math club, Math Cats, fills that need. Math Cats activities range from social events to organizing sessions on internships to offering free exam preparation workshops for selected classes. Attending Math Cats events and conferences together naturally brings up opportunities for peer mentoring, as well. The University also has an official peer mentoring program (http://peers.asua.arizona.edu), which pairs each student with a mentor in the same major or field; however, a more informal approach to peer mentoring is preferred by some students. Math majors can apply for a variety of positions in the department to develop as professionals. There are Undergraduate Teaching Assistant positions that allow students to experience the important role of communicating mathematics. Undergraduate Research Assistants work with faculty on research projects. There are many research opportunities for students across campus and around the nation. Many math majors work in research labs in the life sciences; some of these students have reported that their supervisors were specifically interested in mathematics students because it was “easier” for them to teach the science to the mathematics students than to teach the mathematics to the science students. Together these experiences produce mathematics majors whose experiences closely mimic the activities of a professional mathematician. In order to provide a cohesive program of study for math majors, seven options have been developed that allow students to prepare themselves for their chosen career. In conjunction with their faculty advisor, students select an option and plan their program of study. Some of these options prepare students for post-graduate studies, while others provide students with a body of knowledge and skills that lead to employment after graduation. Integrating Mathematics Majors Into the Academic Life of the University In all email messages sent to students, it is never suggested that students should change their major to mathematics. It is always suggested that students add mathematics as another major, that the mathematics major should be viewed as enhancing their career opportunities. The role of mathematics in academics has changed dramatically in the last few years and quantitative tools and mathematical reasoning are now pervasive in many academic areas. Students are not aware of these changes and the Math Center has taken on the responsibility of informing students of these changes. Many students understand the importance of incorporating more mathematics into their undergraduate curriculum and choose to either major or minor in mathematics. Approximately one-third of the mathematic majors have another major. The mathematics minor is an attractive option for students and the Math Center uses that option in helping students design their program of study. Students who declare the math minor can change it later to a math major, and vice-versa. In fact we see many talented and hard-working students who work on two majors and in the end do not have room in their schedule to complete the math major, and these students complete the math minor. The Math Center views these students as tremendous successes. These students are graduating with another major, yet with a strong quantitative and mathematical background. They are certainly better prepared to enter the workforce or pursue post-graduate studies. How Faculty and Staff Can Complement Each Other in Mentoring Students To get the most out of their University experience, undergraduates can benefit from a wide variety of types of mentoring, and it is rare to find one person who can provide for all of a student’s needs. Faculty mentors are a key component of undergraduate students’ experiences. In many cases, those who have chosen to pursue mathematics as a career will point to a teacher or professor who inspired them.
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Undergraduates who participate in research activities with faculty obtain a deeper appreciation of what mathematics can be outside of a classroom, opening up additional career paths they may not have considered before. While faculty advisors can supply a great deal in the way of course selection, career or graduate school preparation, research information, and so much more, students also benefit from access to a staff advisor. In this model, the staff member (Varecka) is responsible for keeping abreast of University policies and procedures, meeting with and advising new first-year majors during orientation, meeting with students to formally declare the math major, assigning faculty advisors, generating data for recruitment and retention purposes, and generally making sure that everyone has what they need. Though the number of female faculty advisors has been increasing in recent years, it is still a relatively small number, so it is especially helpful to have a female staff member in this position to better serve the growing population of female mathematics majors. Having a mathematics background is also beneficial in working with the majors, as students are more engaged when they hear about their mentor’s path as an undergraduate. Though appointments are necessary for more lengthy conversations, some walk-in availability is essential to mentoring undergraduates. Particularly in their first year, students will drop in to talk about issues like homesickness, or just to talk with a friendly face that cares about their well-being, both academic and personal. For most first-year students, the advisor they meet during orientation is the first person at the University to work with them on an individual basis, and may be the easiest person to approach when difficulties or questions arise. As students well know, it is easy to get lost on a big campus, so frequent communications from advisors can go a long way to helping students stay engaged and on track. Graduate students can also be influential in mentoring undergraduate students. The senior-level course in mathematical modeling offered by the department matches undergraduate student teams with both a faculty and a graduate student mentor, to help guide students as they tackle a significant modeling project. The Math Center may explore additional ways of pairing undergraduate students with graduate mentors in future. Since the Math Center has access to student data, we routinely go over our records to see how students are performing academically. If grades are down, students are sent a message to come in and discuss their situation. The University is also currently working on implementation of a new Degree Tracker tool that will alert advisors when a student does not successfully complete one of the “checkpoint” courses, designated by the major department. This tool will help us identify additional situations in which we can invite students into conversation and mentoring can take place with the faculty advisor, the staff advisor, or both. When students do not enroll in a mathematics course in a given semester, students are sent messages inquiring as to changes in educational and career plans. Though it takes additional time, including details regarding the number of courses that remain to complete both the math major and minor can help students make informed decisions about continuing with the major. The Data The Math Center adopted a more aggressive stance in recruiting student in 2003, and the data shows the changes in the math major program. The number of mathematics majors and minors has dramatically increased, and since increased attention is still paid to enrollment of underrepresented minority students, the number of underrepresented minority math majors has also increased. The goal of integrating mathematics into the academic life of the University is clearly demonstrated when one looks at the percentage of math majors who graduate with another major or degree. The majority of the math majors pursuing post-graduate education do so in areas outside of the mathematical sciences, further giving evidence to achieving our goal. Students tell us the mathematics majors made them more competitive when applying for graduate study.
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Year 2000 -01 2001 -02 2002 -03 2003 -04 2004 -05 2005 -06 2006 -07 2007 -08 2008 -09 2009 -10 2010 -11
Num ber of Math majors 295 327 323 307 456
% of minority math majors ~15 % ~15 % ~15 % ~15 % ~15 %
Nu mber of math minors
Num ber of graduates
% of minority graduates
199
46
13%
355
52
17%
390
59
8%
447
50
6%
531
65
20%
% of double major or two degrees
% pursuing postgraduate education
% of graduates pursuing middle and high school teaching
472
16%
487
62
8%
505
19%
527
82
13%
30%
34%
17%
564
22%
572
79
14%
37%
19%
15%
567
22%
562
70
21%
40%
23%
21%
582
20%
624
92
17%
40%
30%
13%
638
21%
650
106
15%
45%
23%
18%
Post-Graduation Mentoring Relationships One of the challenges faced by the Math Center is that of sustaining relationships with our students after they have graduated. Current undergraduates can benefit greatly just by learning the various paths their predecessors have chosen. For this reason, the American Mathematical Society (AMS) created an Early Career Profile Network some years ago (http://www.ams.org/early-careers/). Though the AMS is no longer able to support the maintenance of this resource, the Math Center is committed to preserve and update profiles of our own alumni on the Math Center website: http://math.arizona.edu/ugprogram/prospective/alumniprofiles.html. When possible, the Math Center has also brought alumni in to speak to the current undergraduates about their career paths. In some cases, alumni have been able to provide excellent networking opportunities to undergraduates in their field of interest. It is all too easy to lose contact with alumni, so the Math Center needs to continue to explore ways to keep in touch with this valuable resource. As the math major program continues to grow, so will the potential for helping alumni to also network with each other.
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Though the Math Center is at center stage in working with the math majors, the success of the math majors is a direct result of the quality of teaching in our classes and of the mentoring that goes on throughout the department. Math majors excel in an environment that shows concern for their success. While the Math Center received the 2011 AMS Award for an Exemplary Program or Achievement in a Mathematics Department “for its dedication to students and its outstanding success in increasing the number of mathematics majors at the University of Arizona” (Jackson, 2011), it is really the department as a whole that earned the award through its commitment to undergraduate education. REFERENCES Jackson, A. (2011). Arizona’s Math Center Wins AMS Award. Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 58, 718 – 721. Retrieved from http://www.ams.org/notices/201105/ Vélez, W. (2003). Not Business As Usual, Opinion Piece. Notices of the American Mathematical Society, 50, 533. Retrieved from http://www.ams.org/notices/200305/ Vélez, W. (2006). Increasing the Number of Mathematics Majors. Focus, 26, 24 – 26. Retrieved from http://www.maa.org/pubs/march2006web.pdf Vélez, W. (2010). The Importance of Advising. College Academic Support Programs Conference Biennial Newsletter, Fall 2010, 23 – 24. Retrieved from http://www.tade.org/CASP%20Newsletters/CASP%20fall%20newsletter.pdf
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Teruya, S. & Friedman, T. Charles Drew University Learning Models for Biomedical Research Faculty in a Translational Research Environment ABSTRACT A survey of the literature revealed little on research faculty development. What studies exist often consider programs that reflect what is valued and rewarded by administration and departments, rather than focus on career enhancement for the individual. Research like this also tends to rely heavily on self-assessment and perceptions to test their effectiveness. In this article, we detail approaches and posited metrics found at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) in Los Angeles, California, that are founded on current adult learning theory. Studies and program outcomes show that a traditional, class-driven didactic approach produces excellent results in terms of vocational training, and in achieving specific, goal-oriented objectives such as a degree or certificate. Alternatively, an autonomous and purely independent, interest-guided approach can leverage selfdetermination as a motivating factor, but tends to be subjective and ad hoc, with no external, objective assessment. A third, guided study approach employs an individualized curriculum of traditional didactic and open learning activities to increase scientific productivity and competitiveness. These are derived in periodic meetings with counselors and mentors, who also provide career guidance and advice. Ideally, senior mentors will also enable collaborative and interdisciplinary learning through shared projects and venues, e. g. coauthored journal articles and grant proposals. Important considerations in all models and approaches include the universal applicability of traditional lectures and textbook instruction, understanding and applying motivating mechanisms, and discerning accurate methods through which career development, scientific competency and competitiveness, and program effectiveness can be measured and tracked.
Introduction Our survey of the literature revealed little on theoretical models and comprehensive approaches in adult learning specifically for biomedical research faculty, perhaps in part because their number is relatively small in comparison to teaching and even clinical faculty. In general, we found that what research exists on faculty training and career enhancement is not founded entirely on adult learning principles and theory. Many programs are developed and implemented by university administration or departments, rather than by education specialists, and are based on what is respected and valued at the organizational, rather than at the individual level. Many studies also consider faculty development from an applied standpoint, through methods such as cooperative, faculty-student endeavors1 and active learning of students through teaching.2 Some interpret enabling technologies as faculty development approaches in themselves, such as web based curricula for both learning3 and instruction.4 Most importantly, program efficacy is often demonstrated through surveys, self-assessment and perceptions,5-8 rather than through objective, quantitative outcomes. Andragogy and Faculty Development Self-determined, independent and interest-guided learning concepts originated by Maria Montessori9 (1870-1952) and Célestin Freinet10 (1896-1966) may have influenced Malcolm Knowles’ modern construct of andragogy in adult learning.11 Knowles’ tenets illuminate fundamental differences between how adults and children learn and evolve, and are highly relevant in any faculty development program. Adult learners are seen as independent, autonomous and self-directed, and believe that they can and should direct their own educational and developmental activities.6,11-12 Any faculty development activity must clearly demonstrate its value in helping them, as goal-oriented learners,11 to attain their educational and career objectives. Powerful enabling mechanisms include action learning, experiential learning and self-directed learning.13 Adults are also relevancy-oriented, such that learning must be practical and applied.11 544
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Andragogy proponents believe that adults are motivated primarily by internal, rather than external factors.14 Consistent with self-determination theory, the desire to advance knowledge in one’s own field, to publish and to achieve tenure, and to further one’s career are seen as powerful motivators for research faculty.6 This concept is especially significant when learning or career enhancement does not automatically result in institutional rewards such as a pay increase or tenure. Other relevant andragogy incentives in learning include establishing social relationships (as in expanding collegial networks) and fulfilling external expectations,13 such as mandatory requirements from the University or the Department. Models and Approaches We have synthesized three faculty development approaches within two distinct theoretical models based on andragogy and other adult learning concepts (Table 1). The Independent and Guided Study approaches operate within the Open Learning Model, a self-directed paradigm that empowers faculty in determining what training and education they believe appropriate. Both independent and guided study approaches employ open learning theories such as action learning, experiential learning and self-directed learning. Both also appear better aligned with problem-centered learning, rather than the content-oriented training4 found in traditional, didactic curricula. Table 1: Models and Approaches Learning Model/Construct
Open
Didactic
Characteristics
Relatively unstructured, self-determined, independent and interestguided learning
Approaches
Independent Study
Guided Study
Prescribed lecture and Traditional Didactic textbook coursework and Curriculum instruction
Characteristics Informal, ad hoc mentoring, no regulary counseling and career guidance, self-determined coursework and activities
Learning Methods
Didactic, e. g. lectures and textbook study, and open, e. g. experiential, social learning events
Regular, periodic counseling, career and performance evaluation and review, referrals to coursework and activities Degree, certificate or mandatory Primarily didactic, e. g. program. Process mentoring or lectures and textbook oversight, curriculum is study prescribed
In independent and guided study, faculty can choose whatever courses, classes and learning experiences they feel will address career goals and deficiencies, which they probably could not do in a degree or certificate program. However, because the open learning model is inherently flexible and versatile, faculty could also participate in didactic activities such as traditional classes offered in a degree or certificate program, for example, to enhance their careers. Mentoring, or the lack thereof, is a critical consideration in both open and didactic development approaches. While a didactic curriculum can provide vocational training and basic competency, career and professional development counseling are not assured. Similarly, faculty who pursue independent study are not likely to enjoy structured and focused mentoring by someone identified and referred through a thorough and objective review of their development needs, background and capabilities. The Didactic Curriculum approach operates within a Didactic Learning model and is characterized by traditional prescribed coursework and curricula. Well-suited to task-oriented training,15 the didactic approach employs traditional classes, lectures and textbook instruction. Often found in degree and certificate programs, as well as to obtain evidence of training and competency, it is the norm in medical school15-18 and pharmacology education.19-20 Didactic coursework is seen to impart basic competency21 which can be easily assessed, as through medical and bar exams.
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Independent Study Recent studies and adult learning theory suggest that effective development programs empower faculty to chart their own successful careers.6,12 At CDU, a number of research faculty pursue an autonomous, independent study approach that allows them complete discretion over content, frequency and type of development activities, including both didactic and open learning. These “independent” faculty also determine the type and conditions of mentoring – if any – they believe to be useful and appropriate, and seek out their own advisors accordingly. Such an approach may be well-suited for established and accomplished research faculty who continue to display impressive research, grant and publications success. Purely independent study, however, tends to be ad hoc. There is no external, objective assessment of career-enhancing needs, formal counseling, nor planning as in setting and attaining professional goals. Participants must also be convinced that any learning is in their best interest, and worth undertaking. It is also difficult to evaluate this approach, as faculty are not required to report on their educational experiences, or accomplishments such as grant or publication success. At CDU, we have also observed that “independent” researchers naturally tend to work with colleagues in their chosen fields and realms of interest, rather than form cooperative, interdisciplinary ventures. This may be especially true for established, senior faculty, who may see no need for exposure to other scientific topics, nor to collaborate and partner in the spirit of true translational research. Guided Study A guided study approach leverages self-accountability and the ability to make one’s own strategic decisions as motivational components, and provides important mentoring and career guidance. Individualized coursework is determined in faculty interviews and as-needed counseling, normally with the Department Chair or a qualified designee. At CDU, faculty engaged in this approach complete a form prior to meeting that details past year grant and publication accomplishments, planned publications and grant proposals, current and proposed learning activities, appointment and promotion status and eligibility data, and current and desired mentoring activity. The resulting development plan is a collaborative effort: a mutually agreed-upon didactic and scientific curriculum is often augmented with open learning experiences incorporating interdisciplinary and non-scientific topics. Organizing skills, time management, and administrative competence training are seen as essential, as well as classes in managing stress and hectic schedules.22 Guided study can foster translational research through recommended, interdisciplinary coursework and activities, and by encouraging the cooperative teaming of basic, social and behavioral scientists and others with different talents, perspectives, and temperaments. The mentoring component of guided study is especially important. A senior faculty career and research mentor, rather than the Faculty Affairs Office or administration, is likely to be more familiar with the mentee’s unique needs, qualifications and skills, and better motivated to facilitate advancement in his or her scientific and professional career. Amicable and collegial mentoring relationships are an important motivational, learning and development tool, especially for racial minority faculty,6 who benefit from emotional and cultural, as well as scientific and career guidance. Expanded Mentoring At CDU, we have observed that the guided study approach is particularly useful in facilitating an enhanced form of both career and scientific development. In expanded mentoring, senior faculty will guide less established researchers in collaborative and interdisciplinary learning by enabling and managing shared projects and venues, e. g. co-authored journal articles and interdisciplinary grant proposals. These deliver experiential and social learning, as well as scientific exposure outside of one’s usual interests.
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Key factors in an effective, structured, possibly institutionalized, expanded mentoring process include the senior member’s willingness to assume all requisite responsibilities in a translational research environment. He or she must possess the right skill set, background and temperament, dedicate the required time, and perhaps most importantly, have the sincere desire to facilitate and promote the junior faculty member’s career and professional advancement. The specific aims and desired outcomes of the mentoring relationship, and the process to achieve them, should be documented and clearly understood by both parties to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts, and to attain all stated goals. The Didactic Curriculum Approach In terms of achieving specific learning objectives for a degree or certificate, or for vocational training, a constrained approach of prescribed study may be the most effective. Examples include medical residency, and degree and certificate programs such as CDU’s current Master’s of Public Health (MPH) and past clinical research training programs. Basic scientific and academic competence (as program qualification and enrollment requirements), and adequate motivation (the willingness to pursue a degree or certificate), are assumed. This, of course implies that remedial training and education, and strong reward mechanisms and incentives, are not primary concerns. However, a targeted didactic approach can be used to correct specific training and education weaknesses, as through curriculum tracks that allow participants to attend separate workshops or individual classes. A program mentor is assigned to oversee the student’s progress, and to ensure the completion of all required courses and projects. However, it is uncertain whether this individual is responsible for facilitating career development, or for encouraging exposure to interdisciplinary and translational research. It is important to note that traditional, instructor led-activities can also be used in guided study, but that the mutually agreed-upon curriculum is usually not limited to scientific topics. Recommended didactic coursework, though, may provide exposure to areas outside of one’s own discipline and interests, thus facilitating collaborative research. Assessing Each Approach A number of confounding variables can make assessing any faculty development approach difficult. In andragogy theory, adult learning is affected by thinking patterns based on work experience, previous positive and negative learning experiences, time between learning interactions, and aging.13 In addition, perhaps the most significant variables are individual, human attributes and life altering events. A talented and conscientious person is likely to outperform a similarly gifted individual who is undergoing severe financial or emotional hardship, and suffers under intense stress and pressure, for example. Personal attributes, life circumstances, and myriad other human factors are part of one’s personal andragogy “briefcase,”11 and can have both a negative and positive effect in career development and research competency, competitiveness and productivity. Evaluating a didactic curriculum approach may be straightforward, because the process can largely ignore a person’s “briefcase.” Since perhaps the main, desired outcome is the successful completion of a degree or certificate program, efficacy may be represented simply as the number of those who attempt the program, as opposed to those who succeed. Completion and testing also implies, but does not necessarily assure, training and greater vocational and/or scientific competency. To what extent a participant’s career trajectory has been enhanced, however, is uncertain. While surveys may be used for evaluation purposes, we have found that the results are more likely to reflect components such as instructors, individual courses, or the curriculum and programming, as opposed to the approach itself. Assessing the independent study approach can be difficult, as participants need not report on quantitative metrics such as grants and publications. This approach also does not naturally encourage learning new ways of doing things, as in interdisciplinary teamwork and cooperation. This makes measuring performance improvement in a collaborative and cooperative environment especially difficult, even irrelevant, if participants continue to pursue compartmentalized research efforts. The guided study
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approach, on the other hand, seems better aligned with translational research environments, in that counseling and expanded mentoring can encourage and foster interdisciplinary teaming and projects. Faculty feedback in guided study also helps assess the design and implementation of the approach. Data from interviews may also help to clarify whether posited metrics such as the number of publications in top-tier journals reflect the individualized curriculum, the effectiveness of individual courses, adequate program design, or other possible factors. Discussion It is important to remember that the development approaches described in this article are intended to facilitate and enhance the careers, and scientific competency and competitiveness, of junior, rather than established, senior research faculty. The latter are assumed to require less and/or different types of training and guidance to achieve their professional goals, and perhaps benefit most from purely autonomous, independent study, as mature and accomplished, independent researchers. However, mentoring, as well as interdisciplinary exposure and collaborative projects, appear crucial in a translational research environment, regardless of scientific accomplishments and academic rank. In terms of specific, goal-oriented objectives, a curriculum approach of lectures and textbook instruction within a didactic model has traditionally yielded excellent results. In the absence of institutional incentives such as pay raises for scholarly achievement, however, self-determined, interestguided, open learning approaches provides motivation, and may be more appropriate for busy, lessestablished research faculty. Self-assessment in purely independent study, though, may determine that no additional education and training are necessary, especially in non-scientific topics such as time management and collaborative etiquette. Moreover, an independent approach does not naturally encourage learning new ways of doing things, as in interdisciplinary teamwork and cooperation. The guided study approach can yield valuable career advice and counsel through one-on-one interviews, an individualized curriculum of both didactic and open learning activities, and foster interdisciplinary cooperation. Guided study enables traditional and expanded mentoring, valuable motivational, learning and development components, especially for racial minorities. All approaches described in this article should be rigorously tested in a randomized study using clear and credible quantitative metrics. REFERENCES McWey LM, Henderson TL, Piercy FP. Cooperative learning through collaborative faculty-student research teams. Family Relations. 2006;55(2). Kommalage M, Imbulgoda N. Introduction of student-led physiology tutorial classes to a traditional curriculum. Adv Physiol Educ. 2010;34(2). Combs SB. Building a model: Identifying learning episodes to include within a web-based faculty-training program for the conversion of a traditional course to an online course. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences. 2008;68(10-A). Mosley AL. An evaluation study of a training program to prepare community college faculty for online teaching. Dissertation Abstracts International Section A: Humanities and Social Sciences. 2007;68(4-A). Barratt MS, Moyer VA. Effect of a teaching skills program on faculty skills and confidence. Ambul Pediatr. 2004(4). Wells JG, Short G, Lester F. Intrinsic motivation and environmental factors affecting research of social work faculty on aging. Educational Gerontology. 2010;36(3). Bland CJ, Center BA, Finstad DA, Risbey KR, Staples JG. A theoretical, practical, predictive model of faculty and department research productivity. Acad Med. 2005;80(3). Beck E, Wingard DL, Zuniga ML, Heifetz R, Gilbreath S. Addressing the health needs of the underserved: a national faculty development program. Acad Med. 2008;83(11). Montessori M. The Montessori Method. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company; 1912.
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Associazione_di_promozione_sociale_Asinitas_onlus. Metodi a confronto: Maria Montessori e Celestine Freinet. n.d. http://www.asinitas.org/download/montessori_freinet.pdf. Accessed August 23, 2011. Knowles MS, R.A. S, Holton EF. The adult learner. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann; 2011. Thorndyke LE, Gusic ME, George JH, Quillen DA, Milner RJ. Empowering junior faculty: Penn State's faculty development and mentoring program. Acad Med. 2006;81(7). Conlan J, Grabowski S, Smith K. Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. 2003. http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/. Accessed August 20, 2011. Merriam SB. Andragogy and self-directed learning: Pillars of adult learning theory. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education. 2001;89. Vassiliou MC, Dunkin BJ, Marks JM, Fried GM. FLS and FES: comprehensive models of training and assessment. Surg Clin North Am. 2010;90(3). Hurwitz SR, Slawson DC. Should we be teaching information management instead of evidence-based medicine? Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2010(May). Potomkova J, Mihal V, Zapletalova J, Subova D. Integration of evidence-based practice in bedside teaching paediatrics supported by e-learning. Biomed Pap Med Fac Univ Palacky Olomouc Czech Repub. 2010;154(1). University_of_Minnesota. Didactic. 2009. http://www.med.umn.edu/psychiatry/education/residency/childadoles/didactic/home.html. Accessed June 9, 2010. Karimi R, Arendt CS, Cawley P, Buhler AV, Elbarbry F, Roberts SC. Learning bridge: curricular integration of didactic and experiential education. Am J Pharm Educ. 2010;74(3). Kane-Gill S, Reddy P, Gupta SR, Bakst AW. Guidelines for pharmacoeconomic and outcomes research fellowship training programs: joint guidelines from the american college of clinical pharmacy and the international society of pharmacoeconomics and outcomes research. Pharmacotherapy. 2008;28(12). Ross DD, Fraser HC, Kutner JS. Institutionalization of a palliative and end-of-life care educational program in a medical school curriculum. J Palliat Med. 2001;4(4). Hewins-Maroney BR. The endorsement of teaching, research, and service goals and the intent to persist among university faculty. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. 2004;63(9B).
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Nielsen, S., Soules, A., & White, N. California State University Collaborative Mentoring: Creating a Support Team for Students ABSTRACT All disciplines require discipline-specific information literacy, but they also require general information literacy such as knowing how to locate and evaluate appropriate information and understanding concepts such as the process of peer-review that leads to scholarly publication. This presentation by two faculty members in different disciplines (TESOL and Hospitality, Recreation, and Tourism) and a librarian describes projects undertaken to mentor students in developing more sophisticated information literacy. This involves both handson and technological interventions. The professor provides instruction in face-to-face classes or online regarding the scholarly processes and resources she expects students to use. The librarian provides tutorials targeted to key information literacy concepts, such as peer-review, and also specific library skills, such as how to find particular journals; visits classes (either face-to-face or online) to provide relevant instruction; and is available for individual consultation. This process applies both in face-to-face and online environments, and builds long-term partnerships that give students a dual source of support for their program and course experience, and facilitates lifelong learning beyond the immediate experience.
Introduction Collaborative mentoring expands the process of mentoring from a traditional “one-one” relationship to a “many” relationship. For university students, when this collaborative mentoring involves the instructor of record, a librarian, and the students themselves, this both expands the support base and integrates program/course work with the research process. As all disciplines require discipline-specific information literacy and general literacy, this mentoring structure facilitates the integration of conceptual learning about both information literacy and library skills, such as effective searching, meaningful evaluation, and identification of peer-reviewed sources for scholarly publication. Two projects at California State University, East Bay (CSUEB) illustrate the effectiveness of collaborative mentoring. One is programmatic; the other is course-specific. The professor provides instruction in face-to-face classes and online regarding the scholarly resources she expects students to use. The librarian provides tutorials targeted to key information literacy concepts, such as peer-review, and specific library skills, such as how to find particular journals; visits classes (either face-to-face or online) to provide relevant instruction; and is available for individual consultation. This process applies both in face-to-face and online environments and builds long-term partnerships that give students a dual source of support for their program and course experience and facilitates lifelong learning beyond the immediate experience. Before providing a description of the projects, it is useful to look at the context for collaborative mentoring. As far back as 1991, Lave and Wenger identified a process they called “legitimate peripheral participation.” Their goal was to highlight the point “that learners … participate in communities of practitioners and that the mastery of knowledge and skills requires newcomers to move toward full participation in the sociocultural practices of a community” (29). Since then, Lave has continued her pursuit of the social theory of learning, while Wenger has pursued communities of practice in sociolinguistics. In 2005, in the context of linguistic practice, Eckert and Wenger explored how power works in and between communities of practice, separating it from the concept of hierarchy (588). In the specific collaborative mentoring process of instructor-librarian-student, there is clearly a power structure in that the instructor of record determines the student’s grade; however, the librarian provides alternative support. There may be power in that relationship, too, because the librarian is often older than the students and in many cultures, that carries significant power; however, because the librarian has no role in determining the students’ grades, a different relationship is possible.
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In the library field, there is an expanding literature supporting both the community concept and a concept called “embedded librarianship.” There is even a blog devoted to embedded librarianship. In 2010, Shumaker reported on a presentation by Dano and McNeely in Portland, Oregon. According to Shumaker, they “adopted a working definition of embedded librarianship as being ‘integrated into small work teams,’” and spoke of the importance of strong relationships and mutual responsibility among team members. He also described the embedded model as “transformative.” Where the traditional model was “siloed” and “tactical” and made available by “information providers,” the embedded model is “integrated” and “strategic” and offered by “knowledge gurus” (http://embeddedlibrarian. wordpress.com/2010/07/04/embedded-librarianship-at-sla-and-ala/). Thus, the collaborative mentoring process provides specific and important roles for all participants: the instructor of record, the embedded librarian, and the students. The M.A. TESOL Program The two-year M.A. TESOL program at California State University East Bay (CSUEB) prepares teachers to work with adult English language learners in varied instructional contexts in the United States and abroad. The M.A. TESOL program stresses the need to shape language instruction to students’ language use goals and the importance of life-long learning in the professional life of teachers. The programmatic approach to information literacy development used with M.A. TESOL cohorts and the mentoring relationships that result from this approach are key mechanisms through which teachers-intraining learn to practice the values of instruction built around students’ needs and life-long learning in their profession. The information literacy curriculum, through its assignments and mentoring relationships, helps M.A. students gain the skills they need to stay current in the field of second language learning and pedagogy; contribute to professional TESOL communities as full members of those communities; and do the day-to-day work necessary to meet their students’ needs. Before the implementation of the information literacy curriculum in the M.A. TESOL program, those students who came to the program with solid research skills did well on research-based course assignments and handled their thesis research competently. Those students with more limited information literacy struggled to find and evaluate current peer-reviewed sources and use search strategies and technologies effectively. In fact, through regular course and program evaluation, a number of M.A. students echoed Nielsen’s own concerns as program coordinator, expressing a desire to have more explicit instruction in research techniques and tools. The initial response to students’ need for more information literacy skills in the M.A. TESOL program was to ask the library liaison to the program (Soules) to provide one-time library orientations linked to specific M.A. TESOL classes. In these orientations, Soules shaped her presentation to the research assignments for a particular course; yet, many students reported that they felt overwhelmed by the amount of information and the number of tools available to them. Based on this feedback, Nielsen and Soules began collaborating on a more integrated approach to information literacy, developing a sequence of information literacy assignments that are embedded in three core introductory M.A. TESOL classes (to view specific assignments, go to https://sites.google.com/site/tesolcsueb/ and click on the individual course numbers on the left navigation bar). Currently, M.A. TESOL information literacy assignments include an entry survey about students’ research knowledge and experience; attendance at a general library orientation; team reports on databases and journals relevant to TESOL; attendance at an advanced Web research techniques workshop; and evaluations of Web sites aimed at English learners and teachers as well as Web sites developed for a specific class or program. There are a series of supporting tutorials that students may use for self-paced learning (https://sites.google.com/site/tesolcsueb/information-competency-tools/tutorials). Each of these assignments engages students in practices they will need to prepare appropriate lessons for their own students and stay current in the field of TESOL. Because the student reviews of English learner and teacher Web sites are also posted to a Google site that can be accessed by anyone interested in TESOL (https://sites.google.com/site/tesolcsueb/bibliography/web-evaluations), the M.A. students have the 551
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opportunity early in their careers to contribute to the larger community of English teachers and learners by providing recommendations about useful Web sites. At the end of each of the three introductory M.A. TESOL classes, students also complete a short, reflective paper about the information literacy assignments. These papers not only provide M.A. students with a chance to reflect on their information literacy skills, but also highlight areas of the information literacy curriculum that Nielsen and Soules may need to revise. In fact, a number of revisions to the information literacy curriculum have been made based on student feedback in the reflective papers, thus modeling the ideas that meeting students’ needs means involving them in the instructional process and that reflection and action taken based on that reflection are key to life-long learning in one’s profession. As one example, the following excerpt from a reflective paper made Nielsen and Soules rethink the sequence of assignments in the initial two courses of the program. Initially, they designed the sequence to move from Web-based information literacy assignments to ones that dealt with doing research in subscription databases and peer-reviewed journals. Our idea was to start with something more familiar to most students, Web-based research, as a way to scaffold the more specialized information literacy assignments. However, Ms. Al Rifae’s comment made us realize that students needed the more specialized information literacy skills right away in their other graduate TESOL classes. “Completing the information competency survey on-line educated me about the concept of ‘information literacy’ and opened my eyes to some defects in my abilities as a student and as a teacher....The survey's questions about the ability to find and evaluate different information sources and the tools used in doing research related to teaching ESL/EFL students drew my attention to the fact that I do have trouble sometimes finding information.” Kinda Al Rifae
The embedded information literacy curriculum has been fully implemented with two cohorts and partially implemented with a third cohort now entering its second year in the M.A. TESOL program. In the reflective course papers, students report an increased understanding of information literacy generally and increased confidence in being able to find and evaluate appropriate sources of information. The quote below from a reflective paper completed at the end of the first-year illustrates this well. “I learned that information literacy plays a very important role in the teaching-learning process. It is important for teachers to develop information literacy because their job requires them to research things all the time— good teachers are life-long learners. Also, teachers are now being asked to prepare students who can demonstrate understanding as well as knowledge and skill….[B]asic skills are necessary, [but] they are no longer sufficient for students today. Information literacy can be transferred across subject areas, improve research, writing, and critical thinking and help students interpret and understand the world. There is a need to educate students for lifelong learning in a time of exponential growth of information." Suzana Alves
In work with individual students on course research assignments and thesis writing, Nielsen has found that the types of questions that students typically ask have changed from “How do I find information about my topic?” to “Which of the following databases is more likely to be relevant to my topic?” or “Do you have any suggestions for search terms?” Similarly, Soules has found that current M.A. TESOL students are more likely than earlier cohorts to contact her for specific assistance on research for course and thesis work and to do so earlier in their program, as Ms. Lee noted in a reflective essay. “The best thing I got from three assignments was to narrow down the distance I used to have with librarians.” Sujin Lee
While the information literacy assignments themselves are an important part of what has made the embedded curriculum successful, the mentoring relationships that develop through the assignments are also critical to this success. The mentoring relationships themselves are fluid and varied and richer for that fluidity and variety. Nielsen and Soules act as mentors for each other’s fields, Soules enriching Nielsen’s understanding of research tools and techniques, Nielsen expanding Soules’ knowledge of the 552
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specific information literacy needs of a global profession like TESOL. Both Nielsen and Soules mentor M.A. students by engaging them in information literacy activities that mirror activities they will practice as independent language teaching professionals. In the group reports on TESOL-related databases and journals and in their Web evaluations, students act as mentors to each other, sharing information about useful sources for TESOL professionals. The students also act as mentors to Nielsen and Soules in a number of ways, including finding new and interesting TESOL resources and providing feedback about the information literacy curriculum in order to improve it. Although long-term follow up studies have yet to be completed, it is hoped that M.A. TESOL students will use their own information literacy skills in mentoring their own language learning students to become efficient and critical researchers and evaluators of information. The Philosophy of Leisure Course The ability to locate useful and timely information, and to apply that information in the decision making process is important for success in students’ academic studies and in their future careers. One learning outcome for students in the Hospitality, Recreation and Tourism (HRT) Department at CSUEB is to demonstrate the ability to research, analyze data, and draw conclusions based on evidence. Innovative approaches are needed to achieve this learning outcome in the online environment, which is the most common mode of delivery for the majority of courses in this major. Despite the use of a variety of teaching methodologies, students continue to struggle with understanding and locating scholarly references. Information literacy has been identified as an area where embedded information literacy and mentorship of a librarian can significantly improve student understanding and performance for online and face-to-face courses. The signature assignment for an upper division undergraduate Philosophy of Leisure course at CSUEB is a research paper. Students are required to use a minimum of two scholarly references published in the past 5 years for development of the paper. References should be relevant to one of the three fields being studied in the course; hospitality, recreation, or tourism. Students in the online sections of the class receive written instructions and descriptions of appropriate scholarly references. The written instructions and descriptions have been modified every quarter based on student feedback and performance to improve clarity for students taking the section in the following term. A number of additional steps have also been added prior to submission of the final paper to help guide students in the selection of these scholarly references. Use of resources outside the online classroom has been suggested to provide further support to students seeking reference materials for their research paper. Students are directed for assistance to the CSUEB Library, to online databases, and to the Student Center for Academic Achievement (SCAA, CSUEB’s tutoring center). Individualized assistance is provided by librarians at the Reference Desk and students have access to a wide variety of online databases. Student tutors at SCAA, located in the CSUEB Library, provide individualized writing assistance. Early in the quarter, students are asked to post reference information and citations in a discussion board for instructor review and feedback. In the middle of the quarter, a discussion board thread is provided for posting drafts of the paper for peer review and instructor feedback. Two avenues are provided to let students know if the selected references are appropriate and meet the assignment requirements prior to submission of the final paper. Despite these measures, the most common problem noted in the final research papers submitted in past courses has been a lack of adherence to the requirement for scholarly references published within the last five years. The underlying problem is a lack of student understanding about how to locate and recognize timely peer-reviewed journal articles and books. The instructor and librarian are collaborating to identify practical and effective steps to increase student understanding of scholarly references. A study designed to determine methods for improving understanding of scholarly and timely reference materials is being conducted with two online sections of the Philosophy of Leisure course. Both sections of the class receive the latest version of the written instructions which contain a description of scholarly references, tips for identifying peer-reviewed journals and books, and a list of research 553
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journals in the fields of hospitality, recreation, and tourism. Instructor feedback and peer-review of draft papers are also provided in both classes. In one section of a class, however, links to two online tutorials are added. One tutorial focuses on what constitutes scholarly peer-review and how to identify both scholarly-reviewed materials and materials that were published within the last five years (http://library.csueastbay.edu/modules/scholarly_peer_review/scholarly_peer_review.htm). The second tutorial covers the periodical locator to enable students to find the database where each journal listed on the written instructions is indexed (http://library.csueastbay.edu/modules/periodical_locator/periodical_locator.htm). The librarian is also available for individual consultation if students have questions related to the tutorials provided in the second class and is a T.A. in the class in order to be available through the relevant discussion board thread. It is surmised that the collaboration between the instructor and librarian will improve the students’ ability to locate and evaluate appropriate and current scholarly materials and, ultimately, also improve their overall information literacy and critical thinking abilities. Provision of tutorials that provide step by step instruction in visual and oral format will provide a multidimensional learning environment for this complex learning requirement and should increase student understanding about scholarly references and effective library searching in general. Students’ overall information literacy may also be improved through the availability of a librarian for individual consultation if a student has questions after viewing both tutorials. In previous sections of the class, despite encouragement from the instructor, a relatively small number of online students have reported obtaining personal assistance from a librarian in person or online. Ideally, embedding the tutorials in an online class and providing a discussion board for consultation with the librarian will clarify the process of locating suitable scholarly references for a research paper and bring the librarian to the students rather than waiting for the students to approach the librarian. The immediate goal is to increase the number of appropriate references being used for the final research papers. The longer term goals are to increase the students’ overall information literacy and to change their thinking about consulting librarians in this and future projects. Conclusion Expanding mentoring from a traditional one-to-one relationship to a collaborative process offers opportunities and benefits. All parties have the opportunity to learn from each other, as is the case with a learning community; however, collaborative mentoring is more formal and recognizes the key roles of the instructor of record, the librarian, and the students. Collaborative mentoring also targets specific mentoring goals. In these cases, the goals are educational and focused on information literacy that will serve the specific assignment, the discipline itself, and the students’ overall capabilities which they can carry forward to future learning situations. For the students, the approaches taken in these examples provide more than one learning mode, offer them more than one mentor/consultative source, and present them with more options to learn. For the collaborators, there are opportunities to improve the students’ experiences, learn more about the integration of information literacy into the curricula, and generally develop new and rewarding working relationships. The authors anticipate moving forward on these and future collaborative mentoring projects to enrich both themselves and their students. REFERENCES Eckert, P., & Wenger, E. (2005, November 1). Communities of practice in sociolinguistics. What is the role of power in sociolinguistic variation?. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 9(4), 582-589. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press. Shumaker, D. (2010, July 4). Embedded Librarianship at SLA and ALA. The Embedded Librarian. Retrieved from http://embeddedlibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/07/04/embedded-librarianship-at-sla-and-ala/
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Thorson-Barnett, S. & Fillippino, T. M. Northwestern State University of Louisiana & Arkansas State University Help! I Have to Mentor Students Too! ABSTRACT This session will focus on how to survive the mentoring jungle. The information that will be presented is based on the theoretical foundations of mentoring and the theoretical foundations of the microcounseling communication skills. This session will be divided into the following topics: definitions of mentoring, teaching, advising, and modeling behaviors, barriers to communication, microskills (effective listening and attending behaviors), and how to utilize this information in a mentoring session. While this session focuses on the faculty member who does mentoring, it would also be beneficial to new professional mentors. Each participant will receive a PowerPoint handout of this discussion.
In an article that appeared in the March 2008 edition of The Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal, three faculty members wrote about the trials and tribulations of faculty members trying to manage teaching responsibilities, research and publication requirements, service activities, and academic advising and mentoring. To accomplish such an arduous task, requires prodigious time management and organizational skills. While it is beyond the scope of this presentation to give tips and tricks to tackle each of the aforementioned responsibilities, the presenters will focus on developing communication skills that will enhance mentoring. Therefore, the objectives are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Define mentoring Know the similarities and differences between: teaching, advising, modeling and mentoring Understand the definition of the philosophy of mentoring Identify and address the barriers to effective communication skills Identify and implement the microskills (effective listening and attending behaviors) Effective use of the microskills will increase level of trust, genuineness, and empathy.
Mentoring can be defined several different ways. The William T. Grant Foundation defined the mentor as an individual who will help the protégé be whoever he/she wants to be. The classic Greek meaning of mentor is a wise and trusted teacher or counselor. For this presentation, mentors will be defined as “persons of greater knowledge who share their experience to help develop abilities of the protégé” (OCPM Mentor Handbook,1993, P.3). Often times, being a faculty mentor, can be confused with being a teacher, an academic advisor, or being a role model. These terms can be used interchangeably; however, there is a difference in the terms. For example, a teacher is one who imparts knowledge. An academic advisor is one who through the process of advising (guiding) helps students diminish the confusion that comes with a new environment, clarify their goals, and get the most out of their education (Noel-Levitz, 1997). A role model is someone who serves as a standard of excellence, who is worthy of imitation (Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Department of Education). With that being said, the Department of Psychology at Northwestern State University of Louisiana and the Department of Education at Arkansas State University- Bebee Degree Center have developed their philosophy of mentoring which states: The mentoring program is a planned, initial relationship between the mentor and protégé through which advice and counseling can be given, ideas exchanged, and encouragement offered to the protégé. Now that the presenters have defined the terms and stated the philosophy of mentoring, they would now like to discuss the importance of effective communication skills to meet the goal and objectives of mentoring. This discussion will be divided into two parts: 1) identifying barriers of communication and 2) using the microskills to eliminate these barriers.
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Barriers to Communication There are two types of barriers, external distractions and poor communication skills of the mentor. For example, the following are the types of external distractions that can impede the mentoring session: • Uncomfortable temperature-too hot or too cold • Noise • Poor lighting • Uncomfortable seating • Telephone/cell phone going off There are several ways to address the external barriers. Check your office space and regulate the temperature, close the door if there is noise, and use proper lighting. Sit in the chair that your protégé would use. If you are uncomfortable, you can be assured that your protégé will be too. Get rid of the chair. And always, turn off your cell phone and ask your protégé to do the same. The second type of communication barrier and the one that this presentation will address in detail will be the poor communication skills of the mentor. This includes the following • Language • Using acronyms • Difference in interpreting words • Poor organization of mentoring session • Lack of interest • Poor listening/attending skills Mentors should be aware of their language, such as do not use acronyms. This can cause confusion. This happened to one of the presenters. During one of mentoring sessions that took place on the NSU campus, the protégé asked where one of his classes was locate. It happened to be located in a building that is known by the acronym, CAPA (Creative and Performing Arts). When this acronym was used, the protégé just looked blank. Sidebar: The presenter now uses the correct term. It is also important to organize the session. Ask yourself this, why is the protégé coming to your office? Once you have answered that question, then you will have a productive mentoring session. And needless to say, the mentor needs to be interested in helping the protégé. With that being said, above all the mentor must possess the basic communication skills. These skills are known as the Microskills of counseling (Ivey, Gluckstern and Ivey, 1997). Based on earlier research, Ivey and Ivey (2003) developed the Microskills Hierarchy. Please refer to Figure 1. This presentation will focus on the basic listening sequence: attending behavior and effective listening. When used effectively, these skills can improve the mentoring process. Attending Behaviors Attending refers to the ways in which mentors can be with their protégé, both physically and psychologically. The purpose is to increase the protégé “talk-time.” The skills included are eye contact, vocal qualities, verbal tracking, and body language. Eye Contact. Eye contact is a way that mentors indicate interest and is one of the most important components in effective communication. Maintain proper eye contact without staring. It is important to look away from time to time. Vocal Qualities. One’s voice is an instrument that communicates emotion. That is an increase in volume helps to emphasize main points. Hesitation or breaks in talking indicate confusion or stress. Mentors should be aware of their vocal style. Vocal Style includes: rate, volume and tone. Verbal Tracking. This refers to the mentor staying with the protégés topic. This does include selective attention, in that we often listen to certain things and ignore other stimuli. Mentors need to be alert to their own pattern of tracking a conversation. If not, they miss important information the protégé is trying to convey.
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Figure 1: Microskills Hierarchy (Ivey & Ivey, 2003)
Body Language. This is nonverbal attending. Egan (2007) used the term SOLER to define nonverbal communication. The definition of Egan’s term. S = Squarely face the protégé O = Open posture L = Lean slightly E = Eye contact R = Relax In summary, the attending behaviors refer to the ways in which mentors can be with their protégés. Egan (2007) used the term visibly tuning in. By that he meant, those individuals who are in the helping profession must show to their clients (or protégés) that they have an empathic presence. The purpose of the attending behaviors is to increase the protégés “talk-time.” Effective Listening Skills Listening refers to the mentors’ ability to understand the messages the protégés communicate, whether these messages are verbal or nonverbal. Listening often times implies a passive mode, but it is actually involves a very active process of responding to the protégé’s total message. Active listening is not a state of mind, like being happy or relaxed. It is an activity and it requires work. There are several known barriers to active listening. Such as evaluating listening, non-listening, partial listening, taperecorder listening (just repeating back what you heard), and rehearsing (mentors stop listening and begin to rehearse their response). To avoid these pit falls, the mentor incorporate the skill of active listening. This includes using open and closed questions, developing skills in observing protégés behaviors and using higher levels of active listening such as encouraging, paraphrasing and summarizing. Open Questions. This allows the protégé to freely explore and discover their dreams. That is when mentors utilize positive open-ended questions they can draw out what the protégé enjoy doing, their strengths, and their passions. Here are several examples of open questions.
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Describe three life events that have made you into the person you are today. Since coming to this institution, what is something you have accomplished that you are proud of? Who are the most important role models in your life? Why? The use of open questions your protégé to formulate vision of what they might become and how you can assist them. Closed Questions. These questions emphasize factual content. These help you get to know your protégé. Here are several examples of closed questions. Are you living campus? What is your major? Again, these questions give the mentor facts and assists with getting to know your protégé. Developing skills in observing nonverbal and verbal behavior of their protégé. Nonverbal. The major function of observing the protégé’s behavior is to help establish the mentor/protégé relationship. The face is the main channel for emotional expression. While there are cultural differences in how much expression is allowed, there are universal facial expressions for anger, disgust, fear, sadness, and happiness. One tip for enhancing the mentor/protégé alliance is to be able to acknowledge the facial expression of your protégé. Other nonverbal behaviors would be spacing, movement and mirroring. Verbal. There are four useful verbal observations: 1) selective attention, 2) listening for key words, 3) use of abstract vs. concrete cognitive processing, and 4) the use of “I” statements and “other” statements. Be familiar with these four verbal observations allows the mentor to get to know the fears and dreams of their protégé. Higher levels of active listening: These skills assist with getting to know your protégé and letting them know you are with them. Encouraging. This keeps the protégé talking. This includes the mentors nodding their heads, using open gestures, positive facial expressions and the repetition of key words. Paraphrasing. This is repeating back the essence of a protégé’s words and thoughts. Paraphrasing communicates that the mentor is trying to understand. Summarizing. This skill is used at the end of a mentoring session. It ties together in one statement several ideas and feelings. It concludes the session. It can also be used at the beginning of a session to bring together several sessions. Such as, “Last week you said ___ and today you stated___.” The goal of this presentation was to provide a working template to help faculty survive the mentoring jungle. To accomplish this, the presenters listed six (6) objectives, with the main focus on Objective 5, which was to identify and implement the microskills of effective listening and attending behaviors. This presentation cannot conclude without discussing the last objective: Effective use of the microskills will increase trust, genuineness, and empathy. According to the literature, microskills have been studied for over 35 years, resulting in 450 studies. According to Daniels (2003), overall the use of the microskills has had a positive effect on clients, such a as satisfaction with the helper, increased client talk time and the strengthening of rapport. The research in the psychological journals attests to the effective use of microskills. Therefore, these same techniques can be used effectively in the mentor/protégé alliance. REFERENCES Daniels, T. (2003). A review of research on microsounseling: 1967-present. Unpublished paper, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College o Memorial University of Newfoundland, Cornerbrook, Newfoundland. Egan, G. (2007). The skilled helper (8th ed.) United States: Thomson & Brooks/Cole. Fillippino, T. & Barnett, S. (2008 March). HELP! Do I Have to Advise College Students Too?The Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal. Hicks, S. (Executive Director) Academic & Career Engagement Center at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Resources. http://ace.nsula.edu/resources/
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Ivey, A.E. & Ivey, M.B. (2003). Intentional interviewing and counseling: Facilitating Client development in a multicultural society (5th ed.) Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole-Thompson Learning. Ivey, A. E., Gluckstern, N.B., and Ivey, M.B. (1997). Basic attending skills (3rd ed.) North Amherst, MA: Microtraining Associates. King, Margaret C., NACADA Clearinghouse; Academic Advising Resources: Developmental Academic Advising. http://www.nacadea.ksu.edu/clearinghouse/advisingissues/dev_adv.htm Meyers, S. (2000). Empathetic listening: Reports on the experience of being heard. The Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 40 (2), 148-174. Office of Civilian Personnel Management (OCPM), Dept. of the Navy. Mentor Handbook (June 1993). http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/navy/mentoring_hand.pdf
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Yount, A. R. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Convergence of Self with Group Equals Dynamic Organizations ABSTRACT This meta-analysis helps evolving institutions alleviate the crisis over transitioning from hieratical bureaucracies to employee empowerment and group management. Moreover, this paper presents an in-depth study of the individual identity and its interrelationship with the group, which offers the institutional mentor a greater understanding of group and organizational dynamics. This study discusses how culture and human emotions such as anger, passion and depression can appear as obstacles to group communication. This study concludes that the self is a social product and that the extent to which one is able to think critically about ideas that conflict with one's basic attitudes and values is inversely proportioned to the extent to which one is cultured. This study also concludes that groups can reach consensus only through mutual accountability and through commitment to a set of common goals.
Convergence of Self with Group Equals Dynamic Organizations A History of Employee Empowerment and Group Management Wren (1994) posed that management began its shift from hierarchy to the organizational ethic as early as the 1940s. He argued, "For the most part, the social person [self] was conceived, born, and nurtured in these trying times" (p. 337). In the 1970s, Scott (1979) asserted that the reference point in the social ethic was the group and the collective nature of people, a need for collaboration and social solidarity. Wren (1994) agreed, arguing that even technical literature of the early 1900s included ideas of teamwork, participation, group decision making, small groups, committee management, the interweaving of responsibilities, and democratic leadership. Davis (1957) defined human relations as "the integration of people into a work situation in a way that motivated them to work together productively, cooperatively, and with economic, psychological, and social satisfaction" (p. 4). According to Wren (1994), Davis's work marked the beginning of a modern view of human relations that was more understanding of organizational behavior and "philosophically broader in understanding people's interactions in a more complex network of societal forces" (p. 371). Davis held that modern human relations consisted of understanding, describing, and identifying causes and effects of human behavior... (Wren, 1994, p. 371). General Electric's Jack Welch Welch's concept of a “boundaryless” organization meant violating the chain of command and communicating across layers. Essentially, Welch tore down departmental layers by creating crossfunctional teams, project teams and even partnerships (Byrne, Internet, 1998). When completed, Welch named his new management structure "Work-Out." The name implies that the employees take the “work” out of "work." An employee presenting a problem at one Work-Out might well find that someone has found a solution when he or she attends the next session (Smart, Internet, 1996). For GE, employee empowerment paid off with significant gains. In 1997, Welch's Work-Out program delivered $320 million in productivity gains and profits, more than double his original goal of $150 million.
Southwest Airline's Herb Kelleher
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Like Welch, Kelleher's popularity as a well liked and respected CEO did not prevent him from returning a profit for his shareholders. Kelleher increased SWA's returns 200 percent in just five years. Kelleher's outward mentoring posture contributed more toward SWA's increased profits than any other single issue. Kelleher reduced SWA's bureaucracy and avoided hierarchy as much as he could; his “boundaryless” organization had employees, at all levels, interacting with each other person-to-person and informally instead of through a formalized network of communication. Kelleher argued that just "treating people right" has created SWA's culture. “The people … They have the hearts of lions, the strength of elephants and the determination of water buffaloes,” said Kelleher (Reed, 1966, p. 92). Welch and Kelleher’s policy of reducing the bureaucracy and avoiding hierarchy can help evolving institutions alleviate crises when transitioning from hieratical bureaucracies to employee empowerment and group management. Not only is employee empowerment important to institutional managers, but it reappears as a contributing factor to success. Kirby's View on Sensing and Feeling Kirby (2002) asserted that our thinking often begins in our senses, and shapes itself to our sensing habits; conversely, thinking can shape the way we sense. He argued that sensing for adults is concurrent with thinking, and that senses both enlighten and deceive our mined. Kirby suggested that one's senses feed one's brain much as food feeds the body; without their input, the brain would be almost empty. Geertz (1973) presented a similar analogy that humankind's nervous system "demands a relatively continuous stream of optimally existing environmental stimuli as a precondition to competent performance" (p. 79). Nevertheless, Kirby (2002) argued that the world is not always what it seems on the sensual surface, and one's senses do not always deliver accurate data to the brain. Habits, interests, and biases, can focus and thus limit one's perceptions; language also limits one's senses. Accordingly, seeing should not always result in believing. Kirby suggested that we must place our bodies into a listening posture by adjusting our environment. Kirby posed that one's thoughts and feelings fan and fuel each other, that they trigger "a complex system of glands, hormones, enzymes, and neurons"; he argued that feelings can block and bias thought. Kirby asserted, "So strong is the force of our feelings that it can override the content of our message" (p. 105). Gross (1999) added, "Becoming aware of these feelings—and using them as cues to your instinctive reactions—can often be crucial for good learning" (p. 158). Mead on Personal Barriers Mead (1934) asserted that one could study an individual's behavior only in terms of the entire social group. He argued that the individual's acts are "involved in larger, social acts which go beyond himself and which implicate the other members of that group" (p. 7). Mead summed his argument, "For social psychology, the whole (society) is prior to the part (the individual), not the part to the whole; …. (pp. 7-8) Kirby on Culture Kirby discussed enculturation as a barrier; accordingly, mentors must understand that one's values and preferences, including religious ideas, sexual mores, and work ethic, are instilled since birth by one's culture. Kirby (2002) asserted, "… the extent to which you are able to think critically about ideas that conflict with your basic attitudes and values is inversely related to the extent to which you are 'enculturated'" (p. 14). How one thinks about masculinity, violence, food and drink, sex, God, and most other things is often a matter of enculturation. Geertz (1973) offered a similar argument: he referenced the works of Parsons, Weber and Vico as his foundation when he identified culture as a system of symbols by which man conferred significance upon his own experience: 561
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Symbol systems ... provide human beings with a meaningful framework for orienting themselves to one another, to the world around them, and to themselves ... they are to the process of social life as a computer's program is to its operations…. (p. 250) Ego Defenses Mentors must realize that one's self-concept may include one's favorite sports, school grades, home, friends, religion, where they live, the kind of car they prefer, their political party or other values and possessions. "To some folks these elements become central to the notion of self, such that they defend them as though they were defending themselves" (Kirby, 2002, p. 21). Kirby pointed out that all too frequently we respond emotionally and engage in ego-defense mechanisms, self-serving biases, and other distortions when the things that we identify with are challenged. Littlejohn (2002) explained, "Ego involvement is the degree of personal relevance of an issue. It is the degree to which one's attitude toward something affects the self-concept, or the importance assigned to the issue" (p. 131). Griffin (2000) offered a parallel concept arguing that ego-involvement refers to how crucial an issue is in one's life and whether it is important or central to one's well-being (p. 181). According to Kirby, anxiety and guilt can trigger ego defenses, but so can denial, projection and rationalization. Projection According to Kirby (2002), "Projection is the defense mechanism by which we see in others a part of ourselves that we cannot accept and do not recognize" (p. 23). Kirby asserted, "In short, we see others not as they are, but as we are" (p. 23). Like denial, projection interferes with one's ability to think critically in social situations. Rationalization Mentors must also cope with rationalization. Rationalization protects us from bad feelings by attempting to justify behavior motivated by self-interest or unacceptable drives. In sum, rationalization is lying to one's self about the real reasons for one's behavior and feelings to fulfill self-serving biases. Selfserving biases, in our thinking, tend to protect or elevate one's self-esteem. "Most people tend to see what they need to see and what they want to see in order to maintain or strengthen positive feelings about themselves" (Maslow, 1954). Nevertheless, Macquarrie (1966), while speaking at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City, New York, argued in favor of humankind's ability to rationalize: Certainly, the ability to judge, discriminate, sift, understand, interpret, is a striking characteristic of man, ... for rationality has to be assumed as the postulate for any discussion. (pp. 56-57) Stereotyping Generally, stereotypes are biased views about members of certain groups. However, all too frequently, we tend to stretch stereotyping to include an entire group, not recognizing the differences of the individual group members. Gannon (2001) agreed: "… at a minimum, it represents a distorted view or mental picture of groups and their supposed characteristics, on the basis of which we tend to evaluate individuals from each group" (p. 19). Gannon warned that stereotyping can lead to erroneous conclusions; however, most all of humankind use stereotypes because they are an easy way of classifying "the multitude of stimuli to which we are exposed" (p. 19). Moreover, we frequently absorb concepts of stereotypes through enculturation. Scollon and Scollon (2001) offered another example of stereotyping: "…stereotyping often arises when someone comes to believe that any two cultures or social groups … can be treated as if they were polar opposites" such as Asians are inductive and westerners are deductive (p. 168). Kirby on Emotions
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Mentors must constantly remind themselves that many obstacles to group communications are emotionally driven. Kirby (2002) asserted that while emotions give us taste, richness, joy, and surprise, they could also induce pain and sorrow. Moreover, emotions can affect and inspire thought, or they can destroy thought. Geertz (1973) put it this way: "… man is the most emotional as well as the most rational animal….man cannot perform efficiently in the absence of a fairly high degree of reasonably persistent emotional activation (p. 80)" Anger. According to Kirby (2002), the emotion of anger "has destroyed intimacy, thwarted good judgment ... and probably burned more bridges in the career paths of men and women than any other single force" (p. 31). Mentors must remember that anger can distort one's perception of a situation, or color one's ability to think critically; anger can even impair self-control. Moreover, anger is a deceiver; it can distort facts so that one believes that what one is doing is justified and rational. Passion. Enculturation will create passions unique to the individual. Passions might include religion, food, drugs, sports, television or a material object. Gannon (2001) explained that encultured passion interacts with political, social, and economic forces (p. 21). Accordingly, passions generally differ between groups and between members within a single group. However, Gannon insisted it, "is possible to understand cultures and use this understanding to enhance relationships between individuals and groups" (p. 21). Depression. Kirby (2002) described depression: "when the object of “passion” is lost." Mentors should realize that depression could also be brought on by biochemical factors, severe stress, a sense of hopelessness, fruitless illogical thinking and even a lack of sunlight. Depression presents a serious problem to group thinking because it changes individual expectancies and subscribes members to irrational beliefs. Kirby referred to depression as the common cold of mental illness. He suggested that one's own irrational thinking might be the cause, and therefore, one should put off major decisions until the depression lifts. Cognitive Consistency Kirby (2002) brought the subject of personal barriers together through cognitive consistency. Generally, group communication strives for cognitive consistency because inconsistency or dissonance can create an unpleasant state resulting in misleading rationalization. "When we find ourselves in a state of cognitive dissonance, we will often try to change out thoughts or our behaviors to achieve harmony and thereby reduce the tension" (p. 38). Gouran (1979 presented a similar argument: "… in any group, the characteristics peculiar to the interpersonal relationships that develop can stand in the way of the group's realization of its full potential" (p. 126). Gouran argued that by understanding the nature of the group and the social forces surrounding it, one could narrow the gap between performance and the real potential that resides in the self and the group (p. 127). Mead and Kirby on the Meld of Self and Group Mead (1934) argued, "It is through group experiences that a person forms the first notions of both self and social unity" (p. 172). Moreover, thinking always implies a symbol system shared with other selves within a group. "Such a symbol is a universal of discourse; it is universal in its character" (p. 147). Using symbols, "a person … is saying to himself what he says to others; otherwise he does not know what he is talking about" (p. 147). Accordingly, in communication management, the group mentor should form language that will arouse, in group members, what is going on in the mentor. However, According to Mead, to understand one's self, one becomes an object to one's self, and must understand how one's individual identity affects one's interrelationship with the group. Mead (1934) stated, "The individual experiences himself as such… indirectly, from the particular standpoints of other individual members of the same social group, or from the generalized standpoint of the social group as a whole to which he belongs" (p. 138). Wren (1994) expounded on Mead's theory arguing that the "looking glass self," is "the idea that the social self arises reflectively in terms of a person's reactions to the opinions of others." Wren posed that 563
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every person will enter society through the process of social interaction, and these interactions will constantly reshape the person. Mead (1934) presented a similar argument; not only does social interaction create the self, but also the individual selves create the group: "One is continually affecting society by his own attitude because he does bring up the attitude of the group toward himself, responds to it, and through that response changes the attitude of the group" (p. 180). "The individual, as we have seen, is continually reacting back against this society. Every adjustment involves some sort of change in the community to which the individual adjusts himself" (p. 202). Budd (1991) described these changes as a system of "selfreflexiveness": The ways in which man senses and informs himself of the environment, his ways of thinking, seeing, and creating information, are largely a consequence of how he has organized himself with and how he has been organized by the environment…. (pp. 108-109) Conclusion The self is a social product. Remembering that one's self identity originates from within the group, and that the group is made up of multiple selves similar but different to one's own self will aid the mentor in understanding the overall group identity. The self is a social product, a product of the society in which it dwells. Therefore, the self influences the community and the community influences the self. Accordingly, the acts of individuals implicate the other members of a group. In this study, enculturation applies to both an organizational system of beliefs held in common by members of a particular institution, and it applies to different ethnic cultures that make up society. Accordingly, encultured members of the same societal group who have garnered longevity in the same organization are more likely to share common interpretations. Moreover, one must remember that the extent to which one is able to think critically about ideas that conflict with one's basic attitudes and values is inversely related to the extent to which one is enculturated. How Groups Reach Mutual Accountability Mutual accountability is necessary before the group can reach a common goal and ultimately arrive at success. Individuals and groups must be morally responsible in the sense of being liable, and in the sense of being accountable for their actions and failures to act. Broadly speaking, both the self and group must be morally responsible for all of their actions; moreover, they are responsible for fulfilling their obligations both as self and as a group. Accordingly, the self is responsible to the group, and the group is responsible to the self. Mead (1934) explained the relationship: "The self, as that which can be an object to itself, is essentially a social structure, and it arises in social experience" (p. 140). "The unity and structure of the complete self reflects the unity and structure of the social process as a whole..." (p. 144). Accordingly, both the self and the group hold each other morally accountable; and with accountability, one finds responsibility. Because the self belongs to a group, the group can also assign moral accountability to the self: both the self and the group can hold each other morally liable, and they may demand moral accountability (DeGeorge, 1990, p. 95). When Groups Commit to Common Goals Group commitment to a common goal is another prerequisite to success. House and Dessler (1974) viewed the process of group interaction in terms of what they call the goal-path model. This model represents the goal of a group as the end state or destination that its members try to reach and the activities they perform as the means by which they move along a path toward the goal. Nevertheless, a primary obstacle inhibiting group commitment to a common goal is the initial selection of group members. Parsons (1951) argued that "encultured" members of the same group would share a common interpretation of the empirical nature of situations in which they find themselves and their relation to the
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future course of events. Therefore, selecting like-minded group members may be essential to group success. Success – A Meld of Self and Group The group will realize ultimate success only after the group accepts mutual accountability and unites on a common goal. Pacanowsky and O’Donnell-Trujillo (1983) explained that employees use passion performances to transform monotonous tasks into organizational passions. Moreover, Leonardi (2001) argued, "An absence of passion performances may impact group interaction…. If participants do not share a common passion for their work…it is possible that they will not work well together towards a common goal." Group members can focus on common goals by communicating organizational passions; this focus, in turn, will increase their satisfaction and enhance group success (Keyton, Harmon, & Frey, 1996). Geertz (1973) posed that the passions of religion, philosophical interests, aesthetic values, scientific endeavors and individual ideologies, "provide a template or blueprint for the organization of social and psychological processes..." (p. 216). Certainly, a shared passion within the group enhances the group's probability for success. REFERENCES Bass, B. M. (1990). Bass & Stogdill's handbook of leadership: Theory, research, & managerial applications (3rd ed.). New York: The Free Press. Budd, R. W., & Ruben, B. D. (1991). Beyond media: New approaches to mass communication. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers. Byrne, J. A. (1998, June). How Jack Welch runs GE. Business Week. Retrieved April 19, 2006 from: http://www.businessweek.com/1998/23/b3581001.htm. Davis, K. (1957). Human relations in business. New York: McGraw-Hill. DeGeorge, R. (1990). Business ethics (3rd ed.). New York: MacMillan Publishing. Gannon, M. J. (2001). Understanding global cultures: Metaphorical journeys through 23 nations. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures. New York: Basic Books. Gouran, D. S. (1979). Making decisions in groups: Choices and consequences. Glenview: Waveland Press. Griffin, E. (2000). A first look at communication theory. New York: McGraw Hill. Gross, R. (1999). Peak learning: How to create your own lifelong education program for personal enlightenment and professional success. New York: Putnam. House, R. J., & Dessler, G. (1974). The path-goal theory of leadership: Some post hoc and a priori tests. In J. G. Hunt & L. L. Larson (Eds.), Contingency approaches to leadership, pp. 29-62. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Keyton, J., Harmon, M., & Frey, L. R. (1996). Grouphate: Implications for teaching group communication. Paper presented at the Speech Communication Association, San Diego, CA. Kirby, G. R., & Goodpaster, J. R. (2002). Thinking (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. Leonardi, P. M. (2001). The mythos of engineering culture: A study of communicative performances and interaction. (Master's Thesis, St. Mary's College of California). Littlejohn, S. W. (2002). Theories of communication (7th ed.). Belmont: Thomson Learning. Macquarrie, J. (1966). Principles of Christian theology: New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Brothers. Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind self and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pacanowsky, M., & O'Donnell-Trujillo, N. (1982). Communication and organizational cultures. The Western Journal of Speech Communication, 46, 115-130. Parsons, T. (1991). The social system (2nd ed.). Glencoe: Routledge.
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Reed, D. (1966, Oct). Flying like a madman. Sales & Marketing Management, 148(10), 92. Scollon, R., & Scollon, S. W. (2001). Intercultural communication (2nd ed.). Malden: Blackwell Publishers. Scott, W. G., & Hart, D. K. (1979). Organizational America. Boston: Houghton, 1979. Smart, T. (1996, Oct). Jack Welch’s Encore. Business Week. Retrieved April 19, 2006 from: http://www.businessweek.com/1996/44/b34991.htm. Wren, D. A. (1994). The evolution of management thought. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Zemanek, B. & Mizell, K. Educator Support Center Using Rapport and Paraphrasing to Mentor Educators in Public Education ABSTRACT The staff from the Educator Support Center would like to propose a presentation titled “Using Rapport and Paraphrasing to Mentor Educators in Public Education”. The presentation will provide a process that will enhance mentoring skills through relationship-based conversation. The conversations will align with the research conducted by Costa and Garmston (2002) Cognitive Coaching, Linda Darling-Hammond on pre-service trainings, Barry Sweeny’s mentoring process and the New Teacher Center (2001) Foundations in Mentoring, that blends the research from cognitive coaching with the mentoring process for educators. The blending of the four forms of research will be conducted in an experimental format, engaging group conversation, activities that encourage the applied knowledge gained, and a PowerPoint that provides an outline of the process with supporting research that will guide the conversations. The presentation will incorporate posters addressing quotes from research and the format will embrace round table discussions about the content presented. There will be two presenters, Bobbie Zemanek a Cognitive Coaching Agency Trainer and Kim Mizell a Certified Cognitive Coach. Both presenters are former elementary school teachers and administrators who have practiced and applied the proposed process for several years. This proposal will provide an introduction to the concepts and highlight the need for and benefits of mentoring in education. Key concepts addressed in the presentation will be the following: Guiding Principles of Mentoring in Education, Mentor Roles, Building a Trusting Relationship, Rapport, Coaching Cycle, The Planning Conversation, Principles of Paraphrasing, Paraphrasing, Pausing, and examples of Coaching Questions to Elicit Desired Thinking: Planning. The presentation will encompass video presentation, modeling of interactive presentation skills, while engaging the participation of the participants in a content knowledge discussion. The conversations will embrace the exchange of ideas on how to apply their own disciplines to the process in a meaningful and transparent manner that is easily applied to professionals and students.
Need Beginning teacher attrition is a serious problem. In a five year period 46% of new teachers leave the profession (NASSP Bulletin, 2002, pp. 16- 31). Based on the multiplying number of teachers who leave for non-retirement reasons by the U. S. Department of Commerce it is estimated that it costs $12,500 for each lost full-time employee. The total cost attributed to the U.S. economy due to teacher attrition was $2.6 billion (Report for National Commission into Teacher and Americas Future, 2005). The biggest losers are the students. Research has provided evidence that mentoring of new teachers promotes new teacher success. Cognitive Coaching, Mentoring Processes, and Pre-service Training can facilitate mentoring discussions between mentors and mentees. “Teachers are not ‘finished products’ when they complete a teacher preparation program. Guided entry into teaching, via residencies and mentored induction, should become a standard feature of every high quality teacher preparation approach” (National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future, Washington, D. C., January 2003). Cognitive Coaching Costa and Garmston (2002) stated, “the purpose of Cognitive Coaching is to refine and make automatic the intellectual skills associated with effective instruction” (p. 52). Costa and Kalick (2008) articulated the philosophy of “focusing on, teaching, and encouraging growth in the Habits of Mind changes the design of activities, determines selection of content, and enlarges assessments. The bigger the circle in which the outcomes live, the more influence they exert on the values of each learning.”(p. 52). This philosophical approach will be the foundation for the mentoring framework for the mentor and mentee to promote intellectual stimulation skills through various conversational strategies. The research supporting Cognitive Coaching process was refined and developed over the past twenty years that 567
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provided a simple model for conversations about planning, reflecting, or problem resolving. Research demonstrated the ability to facilitate and increases the capacity for sound decision making and selfdirectedness, which helped to achieve goals by honoring autonomy, encouraging interdependence and producing high achievement. Cognitive Coaching functions as a nonjudgmental, developmental, reflective model derived from a blend of the psychological orientations of cognitive theorists and the interpersonal bonding of humanists. The model follows current work in brain research and constructivists learning theory, and practices that best promote learning. Mentoring Bass’ and Burn’s characteristic (Individualized Considerations) involved offering support and encouragement to individual followers. In order to foster supportive relationships, the lines of communication must be kept open. The theories of Linda Darling-Hammond on pre-service trainings, Barry Sweeny’s mentoring process and the New Teacher Center (2001) will be discussed, addressed and modeled as a framework for strong mentoring. The pre-service program will be partially aligned with the research done by Linda Darling-Hammond, L. (2007) and the New Teacher Center (2001) containing the following elements: • Social and professional support in the form of formalized mentoring; • Research findings and best practices; • Mentors Role – problem solver, advocate, facilitator, coach, collaborator, learner, assessor, trusted listener, teacher and resource • Phases of Beginning Teachers – anticipation, survival, disillusionment, rejuvenation, reflection and back to anticipation • Support and Assessment Strategies • Building a trusting relationship- confidential interaction, predictability, reciprocity, common vocabulary, focus and hard evidence • Mentoring conversation – A protocol of paraphrasing, clarifying, and mediating The “Strategic Mentoring Culture,” developed by Sweeny (2008) will be aligned with the Mentoring of Mentors Strategies, where a brief outline of the mentor’s role will be addressed to facilitate the learning of the mentee in an educational setting. The purpose of this strategy is to ensure that the mentors become an effective school mentor. The outline and discussion will provide introductory skills gained through the mentoring process. The introduction to the mentoring process will provide participants with emerging skills on how to demonstrate relationship-based mentoring. Fullan, (2004), stated “If moral purpose is job one, relationships are job two, as you can’t get anywhere without them. In the past, if you asked someone in a successful enterprise what caused the success, the answer was ‘It’s the people.’ But that’s only partially true: it is actually the relationships that make the difference.” Conclusion This study and presentation is intended to provide the theoretical framework for an exploratory implementation of a blended process of mentoring to enhance the role of a mentor and provide intellectually stimulating conversations and learning for the mentees. The blending of research conducted by Costa and Garmston (2002) Cognitive Coaching, Linda Darling-Hammond on pre-service trainings, Barry Sweeny’s mentoring process and the New Teacher Center (2001) Foundations in Mentoring demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of what a strong mentoring model should incorporate in order to provide a strong foundation that will support mentoring efforts in educational settings.
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REFERENCES Bass, B., (1985). Leadership and performance. N.Y.: Free Press. Retrieved (2010, June) from http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/transformational.htm. Burns, J., (1978). Leadership. NY: Harper & row, Publishers. Retrieved (2010, June) from http://cbae.nmsu.edu/~dboje/teaching/338/transformational_leadership.htm. Costa, A, & Garmston, R. (2002). Cognitive coaching: A foundation for renaissance schools. Massachusetts: Christopher-Gordon Publisher, Inc. Costa & Kallick, (2008). (2010, June posting). Arthur Costa: Curricular theorist, Power Point by Jeannette, Larinee, Melvina, & Tracey. Retrieved from http://nmsu.edu/blackboard.org. Darling-Hammond, L., LaPointe, M., Meyerson, D. & Terry Orr, M. (2007). Preparing school leaders for a changing world: Lessons from exemplary leadership development programs. Stanford Educational Leadership Institute. The Wallace Foundation. Fullan, M. (2004). Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco: Jossey – Bass. New Teacher Center (2001). Foundations of Mentoring. University of California, Santa Cruz: Induction Institue. Sweeny, B. (2008). The strategic mentoring culture. Retrieved from http://www.businessmentorcenter.com/StratMculture.php.
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Kittelson, P. & Kelly, B. Gustavus Adolphus College A Peer Mentor Program Enhances Confidence, Leadership and Interdisciplinary Learning in STEM ABSTRACT In 2009-2010, we developed a Peer Mentoring Program for students in introductory biology and chemistry courses with a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Our Program aims to develop strong learning skills, reinforce foundational concepts, and create a diverse community of student-scholars. We run 45-70 peer mentoring sections/week, where students are required to participate with the same small group of peers. Junior or senior majors serve as Peer Mentors and facilitate activities designed by faculty teaching the courses. During both semesters, mentees scored high on all statements related to enthusiasm for and confidence in science, interest in research, understanding interdisciplinary connections and a sense of being part of a community. In fall, the greatest gains were related to student confidence, while spring mentees expressed gains in engagement and interdisciplinary relationships. No increases in average retention between courses or course grades have occurred. Peer Mentors were assessed qualitatively through interviews and quantitatively with surveys. Mentors reported gains all areas most notably in communication skills, confidence in content knowledge and as a leader. Peer Mentors also had a greater interest in incorporating teaching into their career, and recognized that mentoring had enhanced interpersonal and life skills. Positive outcomes among Peer Mentors went well beyond expectations. The strength of the Program is highly dependent on involved faculty. Assessment pointed to the need for faculty to better synchronize lecture material and to reinforce peer mentoring in class. Workshops and regular meetings in 2010-2011 have catalyzed a new chemistry curriculum and more deliberate integration between Chemistry and Biology courses. Globally, assessment has supported the program’s effectiveness at reinforcing confidence related to scientific analysis, development of group learning, and creating a strong interdisciplinary community at Gustavus. Future assessment will include how Peer Mentoring may affect upper-level coursework, retention and engagement in science.
In 2008, we received a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to transform the first-year student experience in the STEM disciplines with a primary focus on biology and chemistry. Pedagogy in our introductory courses was becoming more integrative and investigative, and we sought HHMI support to develop a dynamic, proactive peer mentoring program to build upon enthusiasm for and better knowledge in the sciences. Our first semester introductory courses enroll approximately 45% of all firstyear students and therefore draw a wide-range of abilities and interests. The Peer Mentoring Program at Gustavus aimed to help introductory biology and chemistry students: • increase their engagement in science • promote development of strong learning skills, especially to apply, synthesize and better understand principles in biology and chemistry. • give opportunities to further understand scientific inquiry and practice writing, analytical and quantitative skills associated with being a scientist. • enhance student understanding of the ethos and how to participate in scientific inquiry. • create a community of student-scholars that supports the success of all individuals. We outlined a number of short-, medium-, and long-term outcomes and intended impacts from the Program on student mentees, peer mentors and faculty (Table 1). For students, we expected to observe increased independence and confidence in problem solving, better knowledge of concepts, interdisciplinary connections and critical thinking skills, an enhanced sense that science is collaborative, increased preparedness for research, and increased retention in science courses at Gustavus. For mentors, we expected to instill an increased understanding of and management of group dynamics, enhanced interpersonal communication and problem solving strategies, deeper understanding of scientific concepts 570
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and skills, and heightened interest in leadership. For faculty, we expected adaptations to course assignments, schedules and pedagogies to maximize potential positive outcomes of the Program. Our peer mentoring program was designed to impact all students, but we recognized the compelling national need to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM. The peer mentoring program was built on recent success in recruiting students of color (since 2002, Gustavus’ number of students of color has more than doubled, to 14.3% of the entering class) and responded to rapidly changing demographics of our region (e.g., local elementary school populations that range from 20% 25% Latino, Somali and Hmong) by aiming to increase retention and sense of belonging among all students. In developing the Peer Mentor Program, we combined features of supplemental instruction with aspects of our successful Writing Center program, which is recognized for its supporting writers of all skill levels using a peer mentoring approach. In our program, we used weekly peer-assisted study sessions that encouraged students to grapple with assigned supplemental material. Group size was limited to six students or less, and was facilitated by a junior or senior major called a Peer Mentor (PM). Students signed up for one time and consistently participated in that group through the semester. Times ranged from mid-afternoon to 10:30 pm on Sunday-Thursday and lasted for 50 minutes. Students enrolled in sessions appropriate to the courses they were enrolled in: chemistry only, biology only or coenrolled for students concurrently enrolled in both chemistry and biology. Students were required to attend and actively participate in 80% of the semester’s sessions. If they missed more than the maximum allotted absences they lost up to 5% of their course grade; there were no points associated with attending sessions. The curriculum of supplemental activities was designed collaboratively by the peer mentoring coordinator and faculty teaching the introductory biology and chemistry courses. Sessions were hands-on, inquiry-based, integrative activities, which provided introductory students with out-of-classroom time for application, synthesis and enhanced understanding of applied principles. Instructors were encouraged to synchronize their respective classes, and cover or emphasize concepts in class at about the same time that the related PM activity occurred. The curriculum included three main types of activities: 1. Lecture and Laboratory content reinforcement and practice using case studies, modeling, discussion questions, and applied or integrative problems. 2. Skill building. E.g. effective oral and written scientific communication, analysis, graphical and tabular expressions of data, quantitative skills, and incorporating or reading technical material. 3. How to do good science, how to be a good scientist when communicating results, issues of integrity, plagiarism, and related to collaboration. The coordinator’s roles were administrative and educational. The coordinator developed a schedule for all the sessions, assigned peer mentors to each session, monitored attendance for all students, addressed student queries and concerns, provided pedagogical- and skills-training to peer mentors (semester orientation and weekly meetings), worked with faculty instructors to develop activities, edited and disseminated activities to peer mentors and students, assessed programmatic goals and learning gains, and modified curriculum, program or assessment tools based on feedback. In collaboration with course instructors, the coordinator interviewed and selected peer mentors.
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Table 1. Logic Model for the Gustavus Adolphus College HHMI Peer Mentor Program.
Outcomes (Short Term – Learning) Mentees and Mentors • Increased engagement in science • Enhanced understanding of chemical, biological, and biochemical principles • Increased ability to apply scientific principles • Enhanced ability to transfer/synthesize complex, interdisciplinary problems • Enhanced sense of an academic learning community/cohort group Mentors • Enhanced leadership skills • Enhanced selfawareness Faculty • Increased awareness of student skill and challenge in course material • Increased knowledge of pedagogical styles • Increased knowledge of cross-disciplinary course coverage
Impacts (Long Term – Conditions) Mentees and mentors • Enhanced sense of belonging to a • Increased student independence and confidence community of in problem solving scholars/cohort group • Enhanced ability of students to think critically across • Enhanced sense disciplines at all levels that science is collaborative • Increased number of students interested in cross-disciplinary • Expansion of or interdisciplinary research, interdisciplinary coursework, or majors programs and faculty at • Increased preparedness, Gustavus independence and confidence to conduct science research • Increased use of peer mentoring • Increased retention of all model as students from the first to pedagogy in all second year/semester science courses/disciplines courses at Gustavus Mentors • Increased • Increased interest in all types collaboration of leadership positions among students • Increased understanding of and faculty in group dynamics teaching and • Enhanced understanding of research. problem solving strategies • Peer mentoring • Increased adaptability and program becomes acceptance of others a model for other • Enhanced communication and departments and listening skills colleges Faculty • Design of exercises that directly address areas that are challenging to students • Changes in course pedagogy to adapt to student learning styles • Make more cross-disciplinary references to allow students to ‘see’ the connections between disciplines (Medium Term – Action)
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Peer mentors (PMs) were recruited from among the highest achieving STEM students (14-19 mentors selected from a pool of 20-40 vetted candidates). The peer mentors experienced a new way to engage with science while they led other students and facilitated activities. Peer mentors also filled out weekly assessments of the activity and their groups’ dynamics. They were active participants in discussing outcomes of each activity every week and the overall program. At the beginning of each term peer mentors participated in full day orientation that focused on interpersonal communication, group dynamics, ethics, pedagogy and skills training, and the goals of the program. The peer mentor coordinator, the peer mentors and the participating faculty met each week for 50 minutes. These meetings served as weekly training and assessment opportunities. The faculty presented the next week’s activity, its objectives and gave advice for how to facilitate the activity. Faculty from previous week learned how their activity proceeded and was potentially modified, and heard how they might improve the activity for the future. Other faculty in attendance had an opportunity to hear how students in their classes were responding to and understanding the material. These meetings were ongoing opportunity to discuss pedagogical strategies and challenges. In 2009-10, we implemented a pilot peer mentor program where only half of the sections in biology and chemistry participated (Table 2). Of the total number of students, 50% were coenrolled in both biology and chemistry while the other 50% were only in biology or chemistry. Coenrolled students comprised 60% of the enrolled population in the spring. Table 2. Number of sections, mentors, groups and students in the pilot peer mentor program.
Pilot Fall 2009 Spring 2010
# Sections 3 Biology, 2 Chemistry 3 Biology, 1 Chemistry
# Peer Mentors 12 11
# Groups 40 37
Total # Students 225 200
In 2010-11 and 2011-12, all sections of biology and chemistry participated in the program (Table 3). Of the total number of students, 50% were coenrolled in both biology and chemistry in fall and 60% in the spring. One-third of the peer mentor groups were coenrolled, while the other two-thirds was evenly comprised of only biology and only chemistry students. In any year we typically see that only ~15% of Biology students are sophomore, junior or seniors, while ~30% of Chemistry students were beyond their first year. Table 3. Number of sections, mentors, groups and students in the full peer mentor program.
Full program Fall 2010 Spring 2011 Fall 2011 Spring 2012
# Sections 6 Biology, 5 Chemistry 4 Biology, 3 Chemistry 7 Biology, 6 Chemistry 5 Biology, 4 Chemistry
# Peer Mentors 17 13 19 14
# Groups 67 45 77 TBD
Total # Students 394 223 431 TBD
Assessment tools were developed by the coordinator, in consultation with the project director and interested faculty. Assessment occurred weekly by peer mentors, after each semester by peer mentors and students, and also included focus groups or interview with students, faculty and peer mentors. We gauged our progress primarily through quantitative results of an attitude, behavior, and learning gains survey. Student responded to 15 statements about learning/ engagement/behavior outcomes using a Lickert scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree). In 2009-10, all students enrolled in introductory biology and chemistry courses completed a paper end of semester survey and we compared student responses in peer mentoring vs. non-peer mentoring sections. In 2010-11 all students participated in peer mentoring and all were invited to assess the program using Survey Monkey resulting in a 60% response rate.
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During 2009-2010, PM-enrolled students scored themselves higher than non-mentored students on a numerical scale in 15 out of 15 statements (Table 4) such as enthusiasm for and confidence in science, interest in scientific research, sense of being part of a collaborative community and understanding interdisciplinary connections relative to their non-mentee peers. In addition, mentees were more highly engaged in extracurricular science activities relative to their non-mentee peers, particularly in spring 2010. The areas of the greatest gains in mentees (vs. non-mentee peers) were different between the fall and spring semesters. In the fall, the greatest gains were in areas related to student confidence, while the spring mentees expressed greater gains in areas of engagement in science and interdisciplinary endeavors. Thus, the Program appeared to be nurturing different aspects of student growth and development. We look forward to determining if positive outcomes transfer into the upper-level science courses and if we will observe a different Gustavus student population (e.g. more diverse science majors, a more wellinformed student citizen scientist community) because of the Program. In 2010-2011, student response values were similar to lower than the peer mentored students in the previous year (Table 4). Respondents were likely to take another science class (~70%) and were A or B students, while 44% had a strong interest in the sciences. Students stated they talked about science with others, wanted to do more science or research (but didn’t necessarily seek out opportunities), had more confidence, worked collaboratively, felt part of a community, were better able to apply concepts, and connect ideas. However, when asked directly about the helpfulness of peer mentor activities and the quality of the activities, students rated activities as average (~3 on a 5 point scale); in some cases students felt that the Program had no impact on developing good learning skills and study habits. Written comments about peer mentoring ranged from, “it was a waste of time, irrelevant, did not enhance my knowledge, it was a stress to my schedule, not applicable, rarely related to the class, a burden, too ambitious/long/tangential, this is annoying and not needed” to “a good experience, extremely helpful, concepts were brought down to my level of engagement, my PM was great and went above and beyond for us, it was good to be able to ask questions and hear questions of others, great!, I got to know new people, easier to understand than the professor, I learned how to apply terms and concepts.” We did not observe any difference in retention into the next biology or chemistry course or in course grades between mentee and non-mentees. Retention from one core course to the next is very similar to historical trends. Grades may not differ between PM vs. non-PM classes possibly because average grades are relatively high to begin with and performance depends highly on students. Moreover, historically some section times appear stronger regardless of instructor and peer mentoring. Taken together, our assessment results suggest that mentees may value skills and activities in a manner distinct from grades or interest in science. The curriculum also was assessed weekly using a Lickert numerical assessment survey and via discussions at peer mentoring meetings. Upon review, the Coordinator modified and enhanced curricular activities annually. In fall 2009, the curriculum focused on the development of learning skills because participating faculty felt that practice in learning strategies would have a positive impact on future success of introductory students. However, mentees grew tired of these exercises and did not recognize how the exercises were helping with course content. Since then we focused proportionally more on content and skill-based activities. Student suggestions for improving PM also included: linking activities to lecture or lab better and presenting activities only after concepts had been covered in lecture or lab, aligning fall chemistry sections better so activities were relevant, making some sessions more like a review or tutoring session, shortening activities so co-enrolled groups don’t feel stressed, and allowing more flexibility for student-led discussion topics. Based upon this feedback, we focused on tailoring the activities to a 50minute period, suggesting adaptations to activities and allowing peer mentors to approach their sessions more flexibly. Outcomes for the peer mentors were assessed through end-of-semester numerical surveys and qualitatively with 30 minute interviews. Mentors reported gains in ten out of ten measured areas, with the most substantial gains observed in confidence in their content and interdisciplinary knowledge, leadership roles, management of group dynamics and communication skills. Although none of the peer mentors
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completely changed their career trajectory, all of the mentors had a much greater interest in incorporating education into their future career. Finally, the recognition that mentoring had enhanced their personal growth was pervasive; mentors used words or phrases, ‘enlightening,’ ‘ability to be creative,’ ‘fulfilling,’ ‘rewarding,’ ‘passion for mentoring’ to describe their experiences. Although we anticipated significant growth and development of the peer mentors due to participation, the positive outcomes were beyond our expectations. The success of the Program was highly dependent on faculty commitment to and participation in the Program and how they leveraged the Program in their classes. Biology courses were synchronized and sections administered all exams on the same day. In contrast in 2009 and 2010, fall chemistry courses followed distinctly different schedules despite faculty acknowledgment that section alignment would benefit students highly. As a result, fall student and peer mentor responses reflected a high degree of dissatisfaction in chemistry activities because the extensive logistical differences resulted in pedagogical challenges. For example, some students in a peer mentoring group were not exposed to a chemistry concept while others had been tested on it already; as such many activities lost their relevance and impact. After sharing assessment data, the Departments of Chemistry and Biology focused on the faculty’s role in shaping students’ attitudes and experiences in the Program. In 2011, faculty held a summer workshop to concentrate on course alignment, and how to better reinforce PM activities within and among courses. Faculty became more attuned to problems that arose when lecture and lab content were not synched with peer mentor activities. Faculty expressed more willingness and shared ideas how to reinforce the Program’s activities on exams, homework, and in class as a means to help students better understand the relevance of peer mentoring activities to overall learning and understanding. Notably, in 2011 a new Chemistry curriculum emerged with a focus on major areas of Chemistry (physical, analytic, environmental, biochemistry) and faculty in Chemistry intend to follow a similar schedule (+ 4-5 days). Chemistry exam dates also were aligned among sections mirroring existing alignment in Biology. The feedback from peer mentors and students was very helpful in reshaping faculty attitude toward the Program and also resulted in exciting, innovative curricular changes to Chemistry. In a global sense, assessment of the HHMI Peer Mentoring Program supported the effectiveness of the Program for both students and mentors; each group was more engaged in science, possessed more confidence, developed strong learning and leadership skills, and understood interdisciplinary connections better. However, although the Program was effective globally, there were multiple challenges that were recognized, especially if there were direct learning gains and how to communicate the relevance of peer mentor activities to course performance and scientific understanding. Our experiences and assessment also highlighted that the strength of the Program is highly dependent on the contributions and participation of introductory biology and chemistry faculty. Efficacy of the activities was highly correlated with timeliness, which was whether or not faculty covered or reinforced similar concepts in lecture. Assessment pointed to the need for the involved faculty to better synchronize lecture material across sections and to reinforce the importance of peer mentoring within the lecture section. New curricular innovations grew from the peer mentoring program; we look forward to the next year as we assess how these changes combined with the peer mentoring program continue to impact undergraduate learning, confidence, leadership and interdisciplinary connections.
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Table 4. Assessment of Attitude, Behavior and Learning Gains.
Paper Optional Paper Optional # student replies (paper or optional) n=178 n=227 n=156 n=137 Classes served (Bio101/Chem107 and Bio102/Che141): 101/107 101/107 102/141 102/141 F'09 F'10 S'10 S'11 Attitudes 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree average average average average I have great enthusiasm for science. 3.99 4.17 4.40 4.59 I enjoy discussing biology and/or chemistry with my family and friends. 3.41 3.76 4.00 4.08 I have interest in and/or plan to enroll in another course in biology or chemistry. 4.04 3.98 4.59 4.5 I have confidence that I can be successful in other courses or a future career in biology or chemistry. 4.03 4.05 4.33 4.38 I have frequently worked in a study group (other than my peer mentoring group) on biology or chemistry2.85 not asked 3.72 not asked I am able to work effectively with my peers on group assignments or in study groups. 4.03 4.19 4.28 4.37 I am willing to seek help from others (peers, instructors, peer mentors, etc.) when I have an academic problem. 4.26 4.26 4.28 4.28 I have frequently (~four times/semester) attended activities or events that relate to science (i.e. Nobel Conference, departmental seminars, science club meetings), even though they are not required for my grade. 2.68 2.81 2.78 3.2 I feel part of the science and academic learning community at Gustavus. 3.51 3.56 3.92 3.75 Knowledge of biology and/or chemistry helps people address and solve real world issues and problems. 4.11 4.25 4.31 4.4 I have interest in conducting scientific research. 3.26 3.44 3.83 3.94 I have interest in learning about/taking courses that connect biology and/or chemistry to other subjects. 3.76 3.79 4.21 4.24 I have a better understanding of chemical or biological principles in general. 4.31 4.10 4.43 4.39 I am better able to successfully apply the principles that I learned in biology and/or chemistry to other 3.99 3.84 4.18 4.1 Ideas and concepts in biology and/or chemistry relate to ideas encountered in other classes outside of these 3.80 3.78 4.25 3.9 Peer Mentoring Please rate the effectiveness of Peer Mentoring at stimulating or sustaining your interest in science. 3.35 3.21 3.85 3.6 Please rate the effectiveness of Peer Mentoring at enhancing your knowledge and understanding of biology 3.5 3.35 4.25 3.96 Please rate the effectiveness of Peer Mentoring at promoting the development of learning skills and study habits. 3.65 3.08 3.97 3.51 Choose a numerical ranking of the helpfulness of Peer Mentor activities that focused on concepts from BIO. not asked 3.14 not asked 3.23 Choose a ranking of the helpfulness of Peer Mentor activities that focused on concepts from CHEM. not asked 2.91 not asked 4.12 Choose a numerical ranking that assesses your opinion of the quality of Peer Mentor activities related to BIO. not asked 3.24 not asked 3.44 Choose a numerical ranking of the quality of Peer Mentor activities that focused on concepts from CHEM. not asked 3.19 not asked 3.96 Provide a ranking of content based activities that were used in peer mentoring program during fall 2009. 3.26 not asked 3.45(Bio) not asked 4.28(Che) Provide a ranking of skill-building based activities that were used in peer mentoring during fall 2009? 3.03 not asked 3.59(Bio) not asked 4.11(Che) Research Did you seek a research opportunity this semester? not asked 13Y/206Nnot asked 25Y/103N Integration This semester helped increase my ability to make connections between biology and chemistry. not asked 3.80 not asked 3.87 In Bio, I saw examples of chemical principles related or applied to biological systems. not asked 4.18 not asked 3.98 In Che, I saw examples of biological concepts related or applied to chemical principles. not asked 3.76 not asked 3.96
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Collins, J. M., Hall, A. L. & O’Rourke, C. H. University of Wisconsin & Central New Mexico Community College Setting and Achieving Financial Goals: Insights from the Emerging Field of Financial Coaching ABSTRACT Whereas other financial capability building interventions commonly focus on providing information or advice to participants, financial coaching is concerned with assisting individuals in translating their knowledge and intentions into lasting behavior change. To this end, financial coaches help participants define their goals, assist them in establishing concrete plans of action, hold them accountable to these plans, and offer support along the way. Although financial coaching as defined in this paper is distinct from other interventions, financial coaching remains a complement, rather than a substitute, to other approaches. Admittedly, the term “financial coaching” is used to refer to a wide range of interventions, many of which diverge significantly from the approach described in this paper. The financial coaching approach described in this paper is a specific form of intervention that draws upon adult learning theory and the broader field of coaching psychology. Although financial coaching is applicable across a range of income brackets, this paper focuses on how community-based organizations utilize financial coaching with low-to-moderate income households. This paper provides background information on financial coaching, defines financial coaching in greater detail, highlights how organizations across the US have integrated the coaching approach into their work with low-to-moderate income clients, and concludes with an outlook on financial coaching’s future. Readers are encouraged to consider how the more general coaching model can be applied across a range of organizations, including those that are not focused on financial capability building.
Overview of the Financial Coaching Community-based financial capability building interventions that serve low-to-moderate income households commonly focus on providing information or advice to participants through financial education and counseling. Participants must then turn this information or advice into action. However, learning something new or even receiving direct advice does not necessarily translate into action. Knowledge and intentions may prove insufficient for lasting behavior change, a fact that is perhaps most readily demonstrated by the low success rates for New Year's resolutions (for example, see Ciccone, 2011; Norcross & Vangarelli, 1989). In some cases it is unclear whether information and advice represent participants’ most pressing needs. For instance, individuals may already know what they want to accomplish and intend to take action, but could benefit from external support to reach their goals. Recognizing the inherent challenges in behavior change, financial coaching has emerged as a novel approach to working with individuals to realize their goals. Financial coaching is best thought of as a complement, rather than a substitute, to other financial capability building approaches, with each approach making a unique contribution to individuals' efforts to enhance their financial security. Financial coaching focuses on facilitating behavior change so individuals can reach their selfdetermined goals. To this end, financial coaching, as defined in this paper, is an ongoing process that involves setting goals, establishing a concrete plan of action, monitoring one’s progress, and, ideally, forming new positive financial habits. In this way, financial coaching has the potential to assist individuals who are contemplating or preparing for behavior change in overcoming all-too-human barriers to lasting change, including procrastination and lapses in self-control. In contrast to more prescriptive interventions that define 'ideal' outcomes for clients, financial coaching allows participants to establish their own goals. Allowing participants to develop their own visions of success typifies financial coaches’ commitment to treating participants as “creative, resourceful, and whole.” In practice, the term “financial coaching” is used to refer to numerous types of interventions, many of which diverge significantly from the approach outlined in this paper. A quick internet search yields a
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range of programs labeled “financial coaching,” “money coaching,” “debt coaching,” and any number of related terms. In a similar vein, two leading researchers recently noted that “anyone can call themselves a coach, and the practice of coaching is unregulated” (Grant & Cavanagh, 2011, p. 295). Given this ambiguity, this paper seeks to establish financial coaching as a distinct intervention with its own set of defining characteristics. Thus, financial coaching as defined in this paper is not simply a rebranding of existing financial capability building approaches. Instead, the approach outlined below draws from the more general literature on coaching psychology and adult learning theory. The financial coaching approach outlined in this paper has proven highly adaptable across a range of organizations. The remainder of this paper is divided into three sections. First, financial coaching is defined in greater detail. Second, the paper highlights how three organizations utilize the financial coaching model. The paper concludes by describing challenges within the financial coaching field and discussing the outlook for the field's future. The Financial Coaching Relationship Financial coaching is designed to assist individuals who would like to change their financial behavior and want some help in following through on their own intentions. To this end, financial coaches help participants form concrete action plans, hold participants accountable to their stated intentions, and offer support along the way. Financial coaching is intended to strengthen participants’ resolve, help them stay focused on the steps necessary to reach their self-defined goals, and ultimately help them develop new skills so they can take greater control of their personal finances. O’RourkeFinancial coaching draws upon the more general field of coaching. A leading researcher defines coaching as “a collaborative solution-focused, result-orientated and systematic process in which the coach facilitates the enhancement of life experience and goal attainment in the personal and/or professional life of normal, nonclinical clients” (Grant, 2003, p. 254). This definition highlights several core features of coaching. Throughout the coaching process, the participant and the coach are equals working together towards the participant’s goals. A coach is a facilitator rather than an educator or advisor. Whereas other interventions may reinforce the belief that the participant is broken and in need of an expert's help, financial coaching seeks to empower participants to use the latters' own existing resources to engage in the process of behavior change. One of the most common frustrations novice coaches experience stems from having to avoid telling participants what to do. Instead, coaches allow participants to define their own vision of success, which frees the coach from having to function as an expert on the participant’s financial decisions. Moreover, coaching is future-oriented and is focused on helping participants attain measurable goals. To a casual observer, coaching may appear unstructured and driven solely by the client, when in fact coaches are trained to engage in a systematic process of active listening and critical questioning. Most notably, the coaching framework is best suited for “non-clinical” populations, meaning individuals who possess sufficient internal resources to engage in the process of behavior change. In nonprofits, coaching is utilized as a strategy for families who have goals but are also experiencing distress. However, there are people for which coaching may not be appropriate such as individuals who are actively abusing drugs, suicidal, or clinically depressed. In such cases, it is still possible to utilize coaching skills to help clients move forward to the resources they need. In addition to the features highlighted in Grant’s definition of coaching, financial coaching draws upon principles relevant to adult learning (e.g. self-direction) while emphasizing psychological mechanisms, including goal orientation and external support, that are particularly relevant to personal financial management. Again, many participants are attracted to financial coaching because they have a goal in mind and want some help in attaining it. Participants enter financial coaching with goals that range from general to specific and from short-term to long-term. Oftentimes, participants enter coaching with vague notions about the steps they would like to take financially, such as “saving more money.” In other cases, participants enter coaching with more concrete goals already in mind. For example, a participant may 578
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want to accumulate $500 in an emergency fund by the end of the year. Regardless, the coach’s first task is to work with clients on helping clients to clarify their goals. The coaching framework assists participants in clarifying and reaching their financial goals through an iterative process that may last six to 12 months or more. Throughout this process, the goal serves as both a motivational device and as a tool to focus the participant’s attention on certain tasks and behaviors. Coaches are trained in a range of techniques, including powerful questioning, to help participants refine their goals and develop realistic action plans. Critically, the coach documents what the participant says he or she will do in order to check in with the participant about these commitments. Clients have reported that this accountability piece is a key motivating factor for completing their commitments. The coach also helps the participant define and articulate the latter’s competencies, resources, and desires. Coaches often work with participants to break down overarching goals into several smaller steps, with the participant committing to complete each step by a particular date. Suddenly, a vague goal that initially seemed elusive becomes more manageable, and the participant has a concrete, yet self-defined, plan of action. This approach to facilitating participants’ goal attainment is broadly consistent with well-known models of behavior change including the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1985) and the transtheoretical model of behavior change (Prochaska, DiClemente, & Norcross, 1992). Of course, having a well-defined goal by no means guarantees that the participant will make timely progress toward that goal. Even participants with well-defined goals may struggle to save small amounts of money, pay down debt, or pay bills on time to avoid late fees. Thus, financial coaches are also charged with holding participants accountable, providing encouragement, and praising their success. When participants face challenges to meeting their goals, the coach works with them to address the barriers that are impeding their progress. To illustrate this process, one can think of a coaching participant who wants to establish a $500 rainy day fund by the end of the year. This individual may start by tracking his or her spending for one month to gain a better understanding of how much money he or she can realistically set aside. Throughout this one-month period, the participant will likely face competing demands for his or her attention and resources. Ideally, having set a concrete plan of action and being held accountable by a third party will help the participant stay the course. Once the month has passed, the participant checks-in with the coach to see whether the individual succeeded in tracking his or her spending. If the participant successfully follows through, the coach and participant celebrate this achievement and agree on the participant’s next set of goals and timelines. If the participant is unsuccessful, the coach and participant work together to refine the strategy for accomplishing the goal. This process may even involve reformulating the goal altogether. In terms of the coaching timeline, the coach and participant initially meet either in person or on the telephone. Additional sessions may occur in person, on the telephone, via email, or even through text messages. For some coaching participants, a single sentence via email or text may be enough to remind them of their goals and thereby encourage them to stick to their plan of action. Being held accountable to a third-party enhances self-control and also helps keep intended behaviors in the forefront of participants’ minds. Multiple studies indicate that mechanisms which motivate and systematize disciplined financial behavior enhance individuals’ ability to sustain behavioral changes (Hilgert, Hogarth, & Beverly, 2003; Robb & Woodyard, 2011; Shockey & Seiling, 2004). Adapting Financial Coaching across a Range of Contexts A growing number of nonprofit organizations that serve low-to-moderate income households have created financial coaching programs in line with the framework outlined above. However, even though they follow the same basic approach to financial coaching, organizations retain significant discretion over how to adapt financial coaching to their unique circumstances. Perhaps most importantly, organizations must choose whether to train volunteers or staff as coaches, and how to integrate financial coaching into their preexisting services. By describing some of the nation's leading coaching programs, this section will give readers a stronger sense of how financial coaching is used on the ground and will demonstrate how 579
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the financial coaching model can be adapted across a range of contexts. The adaptability of the coaching approach remains central to its appeal to organizations engaged in financial capability building. Of course, if the financial coaching approach is seen to vary too widely, concerns may arise about whether one “financial coaching” field exists, or whether the term “financial coaching” is used so loosely that it loses its descriptive power. Although it is true that “financial coaching” and similar terms are used to describe many different types of interventions, a cohesive financial coaching field that uses the model described above is distinguishable. Central New Mexico Community College The Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) is a leader in providing coaching to its students and in training new coaches. CNM has a diverse student body in terms of racial and ethnic backgrounds, age, and language. CNM provides a range of services to its students, including academic and career coaching, financial aid, assistance for unforeseen circumstances, housing, childcare assistance, and budgeting help. CNM is committed to meeting the needs of students and helping them succeed. In terms of delivering coaching, CNM provides direct financial coaching services for low-income community college students. CNM coaches are called “Achievement Coaches,” and they typically hold a master’s degree in counseling, social work, or education. CNM has also developed a coaching training program. CNM utilizes both Achievement Coaches and professional financial planners for more advanced financial issues. The financial planners are paid at a discounted rate below market rates by CNM to provide coaching on issues such as filing for bankruptcy, repairing credit, and obtaining a mortgage or car loan. CNM employs 20 full-time Achievement Coaches, each of whom sees an average of eight to 15 students each day. Most coaching is episodic, guided by the needs of each student. CNM has also provided group coaching sessions which allow students to practice financial goal setting under the guidance of an Achievement Coach. Approximately 3,600 enrolled students have received coaching at CNM. The college decided to expand coaching services throughout the entire college to approximately 30,000 students. New Achievement Coaches were in place at all instructional sites in the spring semester of 2011. One of the most valuable lessons CNM has learned since it started delivering academic and financial coaching is the importance of training the coach. Providing all coaches the knowledge, the tools, and a common language have been instrumental in the program’s success. CNM’s experiences also highlight the importance of gaining buy-in not just from frontline staff, but also from senior management, a vital factor in expanding the program throughout CNM’s entire college. The materials and topics covered in CNM’s financial coaching trainings have been replicated and used on a national basis as part of almost 30 coaching training sessions over the past two years. University of Wisconsin-Extension In 2009, the University of Wisconsin-Extension (UW-Extension) began building the system’s capacity to deliver coaching within Wisconsin communities. Many Extension educators are using coaching techniques as part of ongoing education and counseling programs, but several initiatives specific to coaching have emerged. In one initiative, an Extension educator serves as a coordinator for community-based volunteers. The Extension educator recruits volunteers, trains them in financial coaching, and then helps match the volunteers with individuals interested in working with a financial coach. This program entails a structured six-month meeting schedule that includes workshops and other opportunities for coaches and clients to interact. To date, more than 25 volunteer coaches have been trained, and 50 individuals have entered into financial coaching. Extension educators also work directly as financial coaches. Most significantly, financial coaching was a component of a recent partnership between Head Start and UW-Extension. During the 2010-2011 school, Head Start programs in 16 Wisconsin counties participated in the Money $mart in Head Start (MSiHS) initiative. The MSiHS program offered a mixture of three financial capability building
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interventions to Head Start families: financial coaching, monthly financial newsletters, and financial literacy workshops. Head Start staff members and UW-Extension family living educators collaborated to promote the MSiHS program and collect survey data. Extension family living educators delivered the program’s financial capability building services, including financial coaching, to Head Start parents. The MSiHS program represents a novel approach to integrating financial coaching into an existing public program in order to reach lower-income families. EARN EARN of San Francisco is a national leader in providing matched savings accounts, which are designed to help participants amass savings that they can then use for secondary education, purchasing a home, or starting a small business. EARN also provides financial education, connects participants to financial services, and offers investment-specific training. In 2007, EARN developed its Wealthcare financial coaching program to serve individuals who have completed its matched savings program. Upon reaching their savings goals, EARN’s matched savings accountholders are eligible to continue working towards their financial goals with a Wealthcare financial coach. EARN’s Wealthcare financial coaching program primarily serves alumni of the matched savings program, but clients at other nonprofits can also participate. Coaching clients must be low-income, cannot currently be in credit crisis (meaning that they are at least paying required minimum monthly payments), and must be employed. EARN’s coaching clients mirror the demographics of the Bay area, with significant participation among African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino/Hispanic communities. EARN also offers coaching services in Spanish. EARN offers trainings to other nonprofit organizations interested in using financial coaching. EARN has six professional financial coaches, one of whom is a full-time coach. EARN’s coaches all go through EARN’s own financial coaching training program. Financial planning assistance is available from Certified Financial Planners, an arrangement that is similar to the CNM program described above. Coaches have a year-long engagement with their clients, consisting of one to two sessions per month. Coaching sessions are delivered in-person or via the telephone. EARN has developed a set of qualitative and quantitative measures to track coaching clients, including assets, liabilities, net worth, at the beginning of the coaching engagement and then over time. Additionally, EARN collects data on client’s self-reported satisfaction across a range of areas, including money, credit, and overall financial outlook. As with other programs, each client goes through a goal setting process, as well as a focus on budgeting at the outset of their engagement with a coach. One of EARN's key lessons regards the importance of crafting a coaching program that is driven by clients’ goals and needs. Whatever coaching model is implemented, coaches must be reflective of the goals and objectives set by the client. Conclusion Despite financial coaching's promise, the field must continue to make strides in several areas. First, financial coaching's infrastructure—including financial coaching trainings, communication across organizations, common standards for what constitutes “financial coaching,” and simply the availability of coaching to lower-income populations—is still underdeveloped. Progress has been made in each of these areas, but it remains to be seen whether this momentum will be sustained in the coming years. Second, organizational culture is often a key barrier to adopting financial coaching. Financial coaching requires a shift in thinking from being an expert to allowing participants to define their own visions of success. This shift can prove quite difficult for organizations that use counseling and case management approaches. Thus, more research is needed on how organizations can more readily make the shift towards coaching. Third, financial coaching has yet to demonstrate its effectiveness through rigorous field research. Although research has established associations between coaching and positive outcomes, this research is by no means causal evidence.
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Early research on financial coaching conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Center for Financial Security indicates that individuals who participate in financial coaching report more positive financial behaviors and greater confidence in achieving their goals, relative to individuals who were not coached (Collins, 2010). However, in the absence of a randomly assigned control group, these associations are merely suggestive of financial coaching’s potential effects. Financial coaching participants likely differ from those who elect not to participate in coaching when it is available, so any differences between the participants and nonparticipants may not be attributable to the coaching intervention. Over the next two to three years, more rigorous evaluation research should emerge on financial coaching's effectiveness. Aside from establishing causality between coaching and participant outcomes, researchers are also concerned with developing better outcome measures. In the meantime, some of the best evidence on financial coaching rests in participants’ feedback about their satisfaction. As demonstrated below in Figure 1, financial coaching participants are overwhelmingly positive about their experiences in coaching. Figure 1 displays findings from a survey conducted in early 2010 with students from CNM who had participated in coaching. Figure 1. CNM Coaching Participant Satisfaction
How satisfied are you with how well you and your coach work together to solve your problems? Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied 11%
Dissatisfied 2%
Satisfied 31%
Very Satisfied 56%
Source: CNM 2010 Financial Coaching Survey, n=55
Overall, the financial coaching model described in this paper remains a relatively new approach to building individuals’ financial capability, especially when compared to the long-established financial education and counseling fields. Financial coaching is a potentially powerful complement to these widely established approaches. Because financial coaching focuses so intently on behavior change, it holds great promise for working with families to improve their financial security. At its core, financial coaching is designed to turn knowledge and intentions into action by enhancing individuals’ self-control, focusing their attention, and holding them accountable. Financial coaching can be used to extend education and counseling in new and important ways. REFERENCES Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhi & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action Control: From Cognition to Behavior (pp. 11-39). Heidelberg: Springer. Ciccone, S. J. (2011). Investor Optimism, False Hopes and the January Effect. Journal of Behavioral Finance, 12(3), 158-168. Collins, J. Michael Collins. (2010). Snapshots of Financial Coaching. Available at: http://fyi.uwex.edu/financialcoaching/files/2010/07/Snapshots-of-Financial-Coaching-Slides-4_26_10.pdf. Grant, A. M. (2003). The Impact of Life Coaching on Goal Attainment, Metacognition and Mental Health. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 31(3), 253. Grant, A. M., & Cavanagh, M. (2011). Coaching and Positive Psychology. In K. M. Sheldon, T. B. Kashdan & M. F. Steger (Eds.), Designing the Future of Positive Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Hilgert, M., A., Hogarth, J. M., & Beverly, S., G. (2003). Household financial management: The connection between knowledge and behavior. Federal Reserve Bulletin (July), 309-322. Norcross, J. C., & Vangarelli, D. J. (1988). The resolution solution: Longitudinal examination of New Year's change attempts. Journal of Substance Abuse, 1(2), 127-134. Prochaska, J. O., DiClemente, C. C., & Norcross, J. C. (1992). In search of how people change: Applications to addictive behaviors. American Psychologist, 47(9), 1102-1114. Robb, C. A., & Woodyard, A. S. (2011). Financial Knowledge and Best Practice Behavior. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 22(1), 60-70. Shockey, S. S., & Seiling, S. B. (2004). Moving into action: Application of the transtheoretical model of behavior change to financial education. Financial Counseling and Planning, 15, 41-52.
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Montroy, M. Moonchaser, Ltd. Cyber-Aristotle: Towards a Poetics for Interactive Screenwriting ABSTRACT Through analyzing appropriations of Aristotelian dramatic theory within interactive digital narratives (Laurel 1991, Hiltunen 2002, Mateas and Stern 2005), this approach assesses the merits of Aristotles Poetics in providing a basis for an interactive screen- writing poetics. From the six components of tragedy (plot, character, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle) to mimesis and catharsis, these concepts are examined for their value in a new media context. The hierarchy of the components is challenged and new formal and material causative relations are explored, using the interactive drama Faade (Mateas and Stern, 2005) as an example. With new dramatic configurations emerging (such as spatial plotting and narrative architecture), the question posed is - to what degree can Aristotelian thought really aid the interactive screenwriting process? If this approach cannot yield substantial results, what is the alternative?
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Harrison, A. & Moerer, T. Azussa Pacific University Riding the “Ripple Effect”: Corroborating Research of the Benefits of a Mentoring Program ABSTRACT In 1949, William E. Hall, a teacher in a one-room Midwestern schoolhouse began his doctoral research with the philosophy that the greatest resource is the human resource and that talented people learn best by building on their strengths. Building upon this premise, Dr. Donald Clifton developed strengths-based mentoring programs involving undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university. The purpose of this paper is to share the findings of two research studies of this program. Study One was a longitudinal qualitative study of the history and shared experiences of representative participants spanning 30 years of the program’s history. These former counselors spoke of building relationships, identifying and mirroring strengths, developing leadership skills, listening effectively, and demonstrating empathy. “Reinvesting” in others, the “Ripple Effect” phenomenon, emerged as an illustration of the mentor/mentee relationship building experiences. The mentees, in turn, were empowered to become the mentors of others. Study Two was a longitudinal mixed-methods study of the growth/nature of the mentoring relationship. It also tested the correlation of personality traits and the ability to develop relationships. From the findings and results emerged the primary benefits to the participants, challenges related to the structure, and recommendations for improvement. Insights gained from these two studies will be useful to those interested in beginning an undergraduate mentoring program and those investigating possible changes/additions to a current mentoring program. "The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own." - Benjamin Disraeli, British Prime Minister 1874-1880
Mentoring has been described as a relationship, both active and intentional between two individuals (mentor and mentee) centered on the needs of the mentee (Gardiner, Enomoto, & Grogan, 2000). Mentoring programs are designed to develop mentees in a variety of ways, such as improving academic success or aptitude, increasing retention, or developing leadership skills (Clawson, 1980; Garrison & Comer, 1984; Restine, 1993; Weiner, 1992), yet mentoring develops mentors, as well (Fletcher, 1998; Reich, 1995; Turner, 1995; Weiner, 1986). The purpose of this paper is to share the findings of two research studies of a specific college-age mentoring program within a major Midwestern university. Study One was a longitudinal qualitative study of the history and shared experiences of representative participants spanning 30 years of the program’s history. Study Two was a longitudinal mixed-methods study of the growth/nature of the mentoring relationship. It also tested the correlation of personality traits and the ability to develop relationships. In the last 30 years, much has been written about mentoring programs as the use of such programs has moved from military and business situations into education, particularly new teacher mentoring programs (Jacobi, 1991; Scott, 1992). Types of mentoring programs that have been developed and the process by which they were developed have been the topic of much of this material (Gibb & Welch, 1998; Koals, 2000; Leroux, 1990; Sipe, 2002; Terrell, Hassell, & Duggar, 1992; Tierney & Grossman, 2000). Other topics that have been researched are the processes and/or functions within mentoring relationships and the benefits of effective mentoring relationships. Minimal research has been conducted to ascertain the positive outcomes of mentoring on a sustained basis throughout the past few decades (Kartje, 1996). However, much of that research has focused on only half of the mentoring dyad, the mentee (Hunt & Michael, 1983; Kram, 1985; Mullen, 1994). Despite efforts to address this gap in the literature, research from the perspective of the mentor is still in its infancy (Allen, Poteet, Russell, & Dobbins, 1997; Aryee, Chay, & Chew, 1996; Olian, Carroll, &
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Giannantionio, 1993; Ragins & Cotton, 1993; Ragins & Scandura, 1994). The perspective of the mentor was a critical piece of both Study One and Study Two. The remainder of this paper is an abbreviated review of the pertinent literature followed by a description of the methodology, findings and results of each study in turn. The paper closes with a revelation of the limitations faced in each study and the application of the findings to practice. Literature Review Mentoring programs and relationships. Important factors for successful mentor programs are commitment, trust, and the willingness to invest time, energy, and self; a relationship is a two-way street, providing mutual enhancement, growth, and satisfaction to both groups (Krueger, Blackwell, & Knight, 1992). Morganthaler (1996) suggested five components necessary to be a successful mentor: the importance of respect, the energy of interest, the strength of support, the power of possibilities, and ongoing relationships. Harvey, Pauwels, & Zickmund, 2002, provided a theory of relationship mindedness and the five components of a well-minded relationship. The five components of a wellminded relationship are a desire to know about the partner, displaying acceptance and respect, the level of perceived reciprocity, and a planned, consistent time commitment. Another aspect of the theory is that partners take a special view toward the partner’s actions. Harvey et al. (2002) proposed that partners attribute positive actions by their partners toward themselves and negative actions by their partners to outside causes The mentoring relationship is a dynamic, evolving one that changes throughout time as a result of differing functions at various levels (Kram, 1983; Phillips-Jones, 1982; Zey, 1984). It is a reciprocal relationship that is mutually beneficial, where mentees develop higher levels of credibility, gain greater confidence, achieve greater awareness of strengths, and develop human resource skills (Barnett, 1990; Daresh & Playko, 1990; Reiche, 1986). The commitment of all participants toward sustaining relationships and growth is critical. Milstein, Bobroff, and Restine (1990) believed that mentoring must develop trust, examine common beliefs, determine roles, develop nurturing environments, and monitor progress to be successful at the core level and that the power of authentic mentoring relationships is paramount. Beyene, Anglin, Sanchez, and Ballou (2002) focused on college-aged mentees’ perception of mentoring and the extent to which the mentees valued the relational aspects of the mentoring process. The qualitative findings described friendship as an extremely critical component of the mentoring relationship. The participants also mentioned “communication, trust, knowledge, connection (care), nurturance, mutual interest, open-mindedness, respect, and patience” as keys to mentoring relationships (Beyene et al., 2002, p. 97). Interpersonal traits of mentors or mentees. Traits identified as being necessary for mentors to possess include: being interested, supportive, competent, sharing, and positive in attitudes toward students (Cronan-Hillix, Gensheimer, Cronan-Hillix, Davidson, 1986). Debate continues over whether or not mentoring skills are behavioral and can be taught, or whether mentoring behavior depends on unalterable personality characteristics (Alleman, Cochran, Doverspike, & Newman, 1984). This debate was pivotal to the research questions of Study Two. Methodology- Study One The purpose of this longitudinal, qualitative study was to describe one long-standing college leadership development mentoring program at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, explore the recalled experiences and perceived impacts of former Nebraska Human Resources Research Foundation/Nebraska Human Resources Institute (NHRRF/NHRI) mentors (counselors), and understand the perceived sustained influence on others and on participants’ own leadership development. The broad research question that framed the longitudinal study was, “What were the experiences of former NHRI collegiate counselors in the decade in which each actively participated in the NHRRF/NHRI program and projects?”
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This study was entirely qualitative and was composed of three unique phases: two phenomenological studies and a case study. The first study completed was the case study of the NHRRF/NHRI program. This case study reconstructed the history of NHRRF/NHRI and explored its structural programs and processes from the recalled experiences of four former counselors who represent each of the past three decades of the program’s existence. A variety of qualitative data, including audio-taped interviews and printed historical documents were used. Staff members, purposefully selected by virtue of their roles with NHRRF/NHRI) were also interviewed. The primary research questions being addressed in the interviews included: What were the experiences of the collegiate counselors encountered in the decade and project(s) in which each was affiliated at NHRI? What has been the impact of those experiences on the counselors? The phenomenological studies involved nine former NHRRF/NHRI counselors who were selected from a group of 25 former collegiate counselors identified by the present NHRI director as having been former recipients of Stuart and Hall Founders Leadership Awards. College students nominated for these annual awards were seniors who were leaders dedicated to the Foundation’s philosophy and continuously demonstrated a high degree of sensitivity and responsiveness to the needs of others. Each collegiate counselor attended the University of Nebraska – Lincoln between 1971 and 2001 and resided in the United States at the time of data collection. Participants were purposefully selected by the decade in which they participated in NHRRF/NHRI, gender, and availability for this study. Selections were made so participants would represent each of the decades of the program’s existence and so there would be approximate balance between genders. To complete all three studies, the counselors were interviewed via phone three times. All interviews for any given stage of data collection were conducted within a ten-day timeframe and analyzed within three days of the interview. Findings- Study One One purpose of the case study was to document the history of this mentoring program. Highlights of that history include the founding of the NHRRF at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln by Dr. William E. Hall and his graduate assistant, Donald O. Clifton. Dr. Hall was an early positive psychologist who wished to study the impact of positive individuals sharing themselves with other high-potential individuals. Dr. Clifton promoted the “dipper and bucket” esteem concept. In 1988, the NHRI was established as a mechanism for developing school-age students showing leadership abilities by connecting them with talented college students in order that a meaningful, mentoring relationship could develop. The underlying assumptions of the NHRI mission are fourfold: 1. The greatest resource is the human resource. 2. Establishing positive human relationships is the best way to develop this human resource. 3. Positive human relationships are maximized when one individual with considerable human relations capital invests in another individual. 4. Investment in human relationships nourishes positive leadership development. The findings from the first phenomenological study showed that “the consistency of the leadership mentoring program and experience throughout the years, the sustained impact of counselor (mentor) experiences and long-term effects, the “culture” established by NHRI, the continued use of NHRI language, and the recurrence of the outcome that all stated - the counselors ‘gained more than they gave’” were shared meanings. An additional phenomenological study that emerged from the first was to study part of the culture and language of NHRI referred to as the “Ripple Effect.” The Ripple Effect is defined as an investment of accumulated humanistic wealth in others through the building of relationships into infinity. The case study of representative counselors from three different decades revealed these past participants noted they continued to invest in others throughout their lifetime and encouraged those they mentored to do the same, therefore creating the “Ripple Effect.” Whether these counselors participated in the program in the 1970s or the 1990s, the ‘cultural language’ was constant and survives today. One participant gave examples: ‘Investing in others,’ ‘ripple effect,’ ‘positive approach,’ ‘strengths,’ ‘bulls-eye’…the real key was that you invest in others. That you invest in others and it is a ripple effect. And then they invest in other people because they feel better 587
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about themselves and then it just begins to ripple. So it’s a whole investment in others that helps others grow and develop. “I learned….” was stated over and over. The combined voices of the nine counselors resonated. “I learned to prioritize, to keep a commitment, to coach, to contribute, to be organized, to be a better communicator.” Another said that she learned about people and found out that she mattered. It moved these mentors outside of their ‘smaller worlds’ into the lives of a young person. It laid a foundation for their future relationships.
Methodology- Study Two As an extension of other mentoring projects facilitated by the NHRRF, the Donald O. Clifton Leadership Project for Future Teachers, known to the participants as the Clifton-NHRI Project was started in 2003. First year students, who expressed the intention to pursue education degrees, were paired with third year students, already accepted into Teacher’s College, in a mentoring relationship with the goal of developing each student’s potential and helping retain interest in the teaching profession. The initial group of 24 college-aged students, 12 first year and 12 third year, were selected to participate in the first 18 month mentoring program in the spring of 2003. The students were asked to meet weekly one-on-one and, as a group, participated in two retreats. The mentors met weekly as a group. At the group meetings, 11 topics were covered; personal strengths, communication using “hot buttons,” listening skills, selffulfilling prophecy, empathy, values, gratitude, goal-setting, synergistics, locus of control, and managing time, conflict and stress. These topics were selected to closely mirror the topics taught in the college course offered to other NHRI mentors/counselors. The correlational component of the concurrent, embedded, longitudinal correlational design was used to examine the extent to which demographic and personality factors predicted the ability of participants to build close, personal relationships or working alliance. For this study, working alliance was measured by a modified Working Alliance Inventory (WAI), developed by Horvath and Greenberg (1989). The demographic factors considered were birth order, number of siblings, and parental occupation as teachers. The personality factors were level of goal-setting ability, measured by the Dispositional Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1996), level of optimism, measured by the aliveness construct on the Self-Reflection Survey (SRS) (McEntarffer, 2003), level of interpersonal skills, measured using the Personal Attitude Scale (PAS) (McEntarffer, 2003), level of engagement, measured by attendance at meetings, and level of self-awareness of personality strengths and ability to relate well at the first meeting. Self-awareness of personality strengths was measured by the Strength-Finder Profile© (Buckingham & Clifton, 2001). Ability to relate well at the initial meeting was measured by the participant’s initial interview score. Results and Findings- Study Two The general group trajectory of the total WAI scores was upward-sloping. Additional evidence of positive growth was seen in the change in mean scores over time. The group’s mean total WAI score was 120 at Time 1. At Time 6, the group’s mean total WAI score was 147. The maximum possible score on the WAI is 180 points. Although the trajectory was primarily positive, the pattern was more horizontal after Time 3. This indicates that the participants perceived the relationships as attaining the maximum amount of growth possible or that the relationships had entered into a period of comfort or complacency that discouraged further upward movement. Another explanation was the withdrawal of some participants. Attrition from the Clifton-NHRI Project was dealt with in two ways, either a new mentor or mentee was recruited or the participants were re-assigned among the remaining participants. As a result, the trajectories of several participants reflect the combination of one or more relationships. This could also explain some of the more inconsistent trajectories. Two of these quantitative results were pursued through the second set of qualitative focus groups. The first result addressed by the participants was the large increase in total WAI scores from Time 1 to Time 2. When asked for their reactions to this result, both groups expressed the opinion that it was due to spending more time with each other, such as taking three hours for lunch, which caused the leap from 588
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strangers starting a mentoring program to blossoming friendships. The second result explored was the higher initial total WAI scores reported by the mentees over the mentors. Both groups expressed the opinion that this result was due to mentees’ newness to the Clifton-NHRI Project, newness to college-life, and general youthfulness. On the other hand, mentees change scores showed a negative trend two time periods before the mentors change scores showed negative numbers. One explanation for the mentors’ change scores remaining positive longer was the mentors reporting a more measured approach to the relationships. Another possible explanation is that, by the fourth time period, several participants were meeting with their second or third partner. Results from the longitudinal multilevel model for change revealed that an average level of interpersonal skills was a statistically significant predictor of initial level of total WAI score. The actual initial total WAI score was predicted to be 0.45 points lower, p < .10, for participants with below average level of interpersonal skills. Level of engagement was a statistically significant predictor of initial working alliance. Examining the results of the longitudinal multilevel model for change revealed that participants with above average attendance at the bi-monthly meetings displayed higher initial levels of working alliance than those with below average attendance. The predicted initial value for individuals with above average bi-monthly meeting attendance was 18.01 points higher than those with below average attendance, p < .05. The findings from the three sets of focus groups also revealed participants had grown in selfawareness, in their ability to see their own personal strengths and those in others, in becoming flexible in response to challenges, and in assimilating a new vocabulary related to leadership and relationshipbuilding skills. A model of the relationship building process is shown in Figure 1. Limitations Study One was limited in that it did not involve interviews with junior counselors (mentees) or members of their families. In addition, in-person interviews may have enhanced the quality of the interview data. A further limitation might be that the voices included in this study represent only award winners, who are considered “exceptional,” having been chosen from among all the counselors of any given year as the best leader in that cohort group. Different findings could emerge if a broader base of counselors could be interviewed; however, triangulation was conducted using non-award winners, and their reflections were very consistent with those of the selected participants. There were several limiting factors involved with Study Two. One limitation was the small, purposeful sample. It was difficult to obtain the necessary power to make inferences to the population. It was also possible that the selection process itself and the manner in which the participants were placed in mentoring mentor/mentee dyads biased the results. Another limitation was the process selected to handle missing data - multiple imputation. A basic assumption of multiple imputation is that facts observed can give information about facts not observed. If that assumption is wrong, then the inferences drawn from the analysis will be flawed. Application to Practice A discussion in mentoring program development is the level of pre-service training needed by mentors in particular. Educating mentors regarding Harvey et al. (2002) theory of relationship mindedness and the five components of a well-minded relationship could be helpful. These five components were present in the Clifton-NHRI Project context as supported by the sets of focus groups findings. The aspect of relationship mindedness theory in which partners take a special view toward the partner’s actions was also evident when the mentees talked about missing their mentors during the spring semester. The mentor’s absence was attributed to the requirement to complete student teaching not to anything about the mentee personally. This is evidence of attributing negative behaviors to outside causes. Understanding these components could help mentors appreciate the actions required to develop a positive personal relationship with the mentee. 589
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Pre-existing Personal Qualities 1. Level of engagement 2. Level of interpersonal skills
Clifton-NHRI Project Curriculum 1. Vocabulary a. hot buttons b. investing c. making a difference 2. Listening skills 3. Discovering personal strengths
CliftonNHRI Project Stage 1: Initial meeting Stage 2: Distinct units Stage 3: Friendship Stage 4: Maintaining, declining or ceasing
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Results: 1. Increased working alliance 2. New skills a. Accomodation being flexible b. Communication c. Adaptation to take on different roles d. Appreciation of consequences of making a commitment
Desire to invest in others – the “Ripple Effect”
Figure 1. Proposed model of the relationship building process. Other areas for consideration by mentoring programs are the recruiting and appointment processes. Based on the results and findings of this study, one recommendation to all administrators of mentoring programs involving adults and young adults is to consider adding some survey or interview question that can assess a candidate’s ability to prioritize and follow through with commitments. This could be a good indication of past levels of engagement. A further recommendation would be to have candidates, mentors and mentees, complete an interpersonal skills inventory, similar to the PAS. This would provide the administration of the program insight into the probability of a higher initial level of working alliance. Mentees with lower levels of interpersonal skills could be identified, assigned to a mentor with high levels of interpersonal skills, and a plan created to grow the mentee in that area. Even if a more traditional mentoring relationship is the desired goal, assisting the partners in developing a partnership/friendship relationship will increase the likelihood of a long-term relationship and acceptance of the mentor’s suggestions. A final recommendation is to plan a prolonged recreational event whenever new participants are brought into a mentoring program. This event could provide the prolonged exposure the participants mentioned as pivotal to moving the relationship forward. Conclusion New and existing mentoring programs can gain valuable insights from these studies. Study One revealed a strong program with components that positively impacted participants for decades after they left the program. Study Two identified a potential model for building mentoring relationships and suggestions for improving programs. Both studies shared a common finding - the “Ripple Effect”. The essence of the Ripple Effect is giving. For the ripples to flow, mentors must have an interest to share, the capacity to give, and the ability to invest their own human relations capital. They identify and communicate strengths and talents, influence others in a positive manner, interconnect through the
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learning and relationship process, all of which enable a mentee to grow positively and pursue his or her highest level of potentiality and growth. REFERENCES Allen, T. D., Poteet, M. L., & Burroughs, S. M. (1997). The mentor’s perspective: A qualitative inquiry and future research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 51, 80-89. Alleman, E., Cochran, J., Doverspike, J., & Newman, I. (1984, February). Enriching mentoring relationships, The Personnel and Guidance Journal, 329-333. Aryee, S., Chay, Y. W., & Chew, J. (1996). The motivation to mentor among managerial employees. Group & Organizational Management, 21, 261-277 Barnett, B. (1990, March). Mentoring programs for administrator preparation. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston, MA. Beyene, T., Anglin, M., Sanchez, W., & Ballou, M. (2002). Mentoring and relational mutuality: Protégés’ perspectives. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education and Development, 41(1), 87-102. Buckingham, M., & Clifton, D. O. (2001). Now, discover your strengths. New York: The Free Press. Clawson, J. (1980). Mentoring in managerial careers. In C. Derr (Ed.), Work, family and the career: New frontiers in theory and research, New York, NY: Praeger, (pp. 144-165). Cronan-Hillix, T., Gensheimer, L., Cronan-Hillix, W. A., William S., & Davidson, W. S. (1986). Student’s views of mentors in psychology graduate training. Teaching of Psychology, 13(3), 123-127. Daresh, J., & Playko, M. (1990, March). Preservice administrative mentoring: Reflections of the mentors. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston, MA. Fletcher, S. (1998). Attaining self-actualization through mentoring. European Journal of Teacher Education. 21(1,) 109-118. Gardiner, M. E., Enomoto, E., & Grogan, M. (2000). Coloring outside the lines: Mentoring women into school leadership. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Garrison, C., & Comer, K. (1984, November). Professional advancement: Is mentoring the key to success? Madison, WI: Conference-Wisconsin Planning Committee. Gibb, G. S., & Welch, M. (1998). The Utah Mentor Teacher Academy: Evaluation of a statewide mentor program. Teacher Education and Special Education, 21(1), 22-33. Harvey, J. H., Pauwels, B. G., & Zickmund, S. (2002). The role of minding in the enhancement of closeness. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 423-433). New York: Oxford University Press. Horvath, A. O., & Greenberg, L. S. (1989). Development and validation of the working alliance inventory. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 36(2), 223-233. Hunt, D. M., & Michael, C. (1983). Mentorship: A career training and development tool. Academy of Management Review, 8, 475-485. Jacobi, M. (1991). Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of Educational Research, 61, 502-532. Kartje, J. V. (1996). O mentor! My mentor! Peabody Journal of Education, 71(1), 114-125. Koals, M. B. (2000). Graduate/undergraduate mentoring partnerships in a reading clinic environment. Journal of Reading Education, 26(1), 9-13. Kram, K. E. (1983). Phases of mentor relationship. Academy of Management Journal, 26, 608-625. Kram, K. E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman. Krueger, J. A., Blackwell, B., & Knight, W. (1992, December). Mentor programs: An opportunity for mutual enhancement, growth. NASSP Bulletin, 55-62. Leroux, J. A. (1990). Learning in a new mode. Momentum, 21(2), 58-61. McEntarffer, R. (2003). Strengths-based mentoring in teacher education: A mixed methods study. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nebraska Human Resources Institute, http://www.nhri.org.
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Milstein, M., Bobroff, B., & Restine, N. (1990). Internship programs in educational administration: A guide to preparing educational leaders. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Morganthaler, S. K. (1996). My mentor: Motivation toward excellence. Peabody Journal of Education, 71(1), 7176. Mullen, E. (1994). Framing the mentoring relationship in an information exchange. Human Resource Management Review, 4, 257-281. Olian, J. D., Carroll, S. J., & Giannantonio, C.M., (1993). Mentor reactions to protégés: An experiment with managers. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 43, 266-278. Phillips-Jones, L. (1982). Mentors and protégés. New York, NY: Arbor House. Ragins, B. R., & Cotton, J. L. (1993). Gender and willingness to mentor in organizations. Journal of Management, 19, 97-111. Ragins, B. R., & Scandura, T. A. (1994). Gender differences in expected outcomes of mentoring relationships. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 957-971. Reich, M. (1995). The mentor connection. Issues in Mentoring. 136-143. (London, Routledge in association with The Open University). Reiche, M. (1986). The mentor connection. Personnel, 63(2), 50-56. Restine, L. N. (1993, March). Mentoring: Assisting and developing the new generation of leaders. People and Education. 1(1), 42-51. Scott, M. E. (1992, June). Designing effective mentoring programs: Historical perspectives and current issues, Journal of Humanistic Education and Development, 30, 167-177. Sipe, C. L. (2002). Mentoring programs for adolescents: A research summary. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31(16), 251-260. Snyder, C. R., Sympson, S. C., Ybasco, F. C., Borders, T. F., Babyak, M. A. & Higgins, R. L. (1996). Development and validation of the state hope scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(2), 321-335. Terrell, M. C., Hassell, R. K., & Duggar, M. (1992). Mentoring programs: A blueprint for personal growth and academic development. NASPA Journal, 29(3), 199-206. Tierney, J., & Grossman, J. B. (2000). What works in promoting positive youth development: Mentoring. In M. P. Kluger, G. Alexander, & P. A. Curtis (Eds.), What works in child welfare (pp. 323-328). Washington DC: Child Welfare League of America. Turner, M. (1995). The role of mentors and teacher tutors in school-based teacher education and induction. Issues in Mentoring (London, Routledge in association with The Open University). Weiner, D. A. (1986). The role of mentors in the growth and development of gifted children and adolescents. (Doctoral Dissertation, University of Georgia, 1985). Dissertation Abstracts International, 46, 2639A. Weiner, D. A. (1992, May/June). Mentors highlight the essence. Gifted Child Today, 15(3), 23-25. Zey, M. G. (1984). The mentoring connection. Holmwood, IL: Dow Jones-Irwin.
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Hardin, S. R., Geer, R., Marr, G., & Lott, L. University of North Carolina- Charlotte Exploration of a Strategy for Success ABSTRACT Mentors and coaches will discover new strategies to facilitate reflection and enhance decision-making with a methodology called Star Journey. Star Journey symbol method uses metaphors to attain clarity and aid in personal transformation during times of uncertainty. The method can be employed by the mentor to help the mentee achieve increased understanding of self, a sense of empowerment, and knowledge of internal tools for growth and adapting to change. This presentation demonstrates a strategy for mentors and coaches to utilize and engage in reflection for discovery of the archetypal nature of self. Star Journey is a system that can provide guidance in solving problems, setting goals, and enhancing relationships. The approach involves a map of consciousness – orderly, patterned and yet unlimited in its possibilities. This mapping also defines seven Levels of Living, a spectrum of types of conscious experience. Metaphors are utilized which are easily recognized by the human subconscious. These are symbolic in nature and facilitate the individual or group to reflect within to find the answer to a question. Tapping into symbols, into mankind’s timeless context for personal meaning, helps the mind build an understanding of oneself and others. The Star Journey method will be shared in a hands-on, interactive format that allows for experiential learning. Participants have the opportunity to engage through active dialogue and also to learn a guided process of using symbols that employs free association and creative visualization. Through sharing of story and reflection, participants will find new techniques for facing change and uncertainty. They will discover how personal perspectives shape perception of a situation. They will learn how to envision new approaches that can lead to improved outcomes and build self-assuredness. We will also discuss applications in various disciplines, including nursing and health care delivery and uses with different age groups, including working with teens.
Introduction One of the greatest goals of the mentoring process is for the mentee to learn how to manage, challenge and adapt to change on his or her own. Using a methodology called Star Journey, the mentor has a practical and effective tool for intervention, for dealing with the mentee’s immediate and sometimes critical needs. And in the process, the mentee is guided in learning how the Star Journey method can be employed on one’s own for sustaining growth, balance and confidence. Star Journey is a valuable mentoring strategy for long-term success. The Star Journey method will be presented in a hands-on interactive format. This allows for first-hand experience of this tool, in the same way it would be presented by a mentor to a mentee. Participants have the opportunity to engage through active dialogue and also to learn a step-by-step guided process. Through sharing of story, reflection and metaphor, participants find new techniques for facing change and uncertainty. They discover how personal perspectives shape perception of a situation and then learn how to envision new approaches that can lead to improved outcomes and increased confidence. This process can be employed for assessment and managing short-term critical needs, and also for long-term sustainability and achieving personal goals. A description of the method itself and a tour through its techniques and processes is presented in the next section. Star Journey Components The two main components of Star Journey are the set of ninety-six Symbol cards and the Circle Pattern chart, which shows how the symbols are organized and inter-relate into a whole. This whole can be considered as a map of consciousness, with individual symbols being metaphors for timeless aspects of the self.
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Some examples of the symbols are the Magician, which represents showing one’s adept side; the Rose, the challenge of wanting to be perfect; the Mud, outer conditions that are sticky or frustrating; and the Lamp, finding fulfillment through acquiring knowledge and wisdom. Purposes of the Method The Star Journey method for self-reflection is used for practical problem solving, decision making, and exploring the dynamics of relationships. It can help gain insight and clarity about any aspect of one’s life, such as job and career, economic challenges, work/life balance, family and love relationships, and in establishing and attaining goals. Unique Benefits • •
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Empowerment – Star Journey is empowering. The mentor guides the mentee through a process that clearly and simply demonstrates self direction and control in life. Levels of Living – A new way of defining types of life experience is presented. Seven “Levels of Living” group the various symbols into distinct categories. These Levels chart a spectrum of types personal experience, ranging from outer to inner aspects of life. Value of Metaphor – It is much easier for both mentor and mentee to objectify, articulate and discuss real life issues when doing so through metaphor. Tools for Change – The systematic Guided Process of using Star Journey leads the mentee to learn how to make constructive change and build a plan of action for integrating this into everyday living. Increased Self-Assuredness – Star Journey demonstrates the principle that there are no accidents in life. Also, its techniques of free association and creative visualization emphasize the power of 594
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the sub-conscious mind and inner knowing. First hand experiencing of synchronicity and intuition contributes to an enhanced and deeper sense of self. Using Star Journey and the “Goal Journey” Method Star Journey is best understood through firsthand experience of the tool, and it is best learned when one is led through the process by a skilled guide. This is the role the mentor or coach can hold in the process of mentoring another. The Goal Journey method involves using three randomly selected symbols in response to a mentee’s topic. The symbols represent three dynamics: the Goal, the Problem or issue keeping the individual from the Goal, and the person “Now.” Because the guided process is central to the full and effective use of the Symbols, it is presented in detail below, including an example of someone exploring a personal topic. The Six-step Guided Process With Star Journey, symbol interpretation involves using the mind in several different ways to unlock creativity, tap intuition and discover tools for creative and self-enhancing change. The key is to determine one’s own unique meaning. Below is the step-by-step process through which one builds an interpretation, learning what the symbols really mean for the individual. 1. First Impressions – Do you have any first impressions about the symbols representing your Goal, Problem, and You Now? If so, take note of these thoughts or feelings. (This step involves free association.) As an example, a professional man Frank is exploring the issue in his life of want to "really getting ahead in my job," and his symbols are these: GOAL: Crown PROBLEM: Chair YOU NOW: Stone In terms of First Impressions, Frank thought the Crown was being head of his department and not having to report to anyone but the boss. Frank's impression of the Chair was symbolizing the amount of study, paperwork, and just being in the office the job required. He thought the Stone could be the grindstone it often felt like. 2. Keywords – Consider the keywords for each symbol. How do these elaborate and tell the person more about each position of Goal, Problem, and You Now? (This step entails linear, rational analysis.) Frank saw that the keywords for Crown are Leadership and Guidance. He decided this meant the job can really lead somewhere. The Chair, when presented as a Problem, indicates Positioning, Organization, and Evaluation. This sense of structure or organization may hinder an otherwise free soul, and sometimes Frank felt lost in the shuffle – just another desk and chair. Finally, the You Now symbol of the Stone is the Approach of Firmness with keywords Steadfastness and Integrity. Frank thought about the value of standing his ground on certain issues, and acting with more integrity.
Level of Living – Take note of the “level” indicated for each symbol (see chart). Consider how awareness of these levels provides more information about the topic. (Definitions for new categories of conscious experience.) Frank saw that the Crown was Sign meaning a type of fulfillment. Indeed, he felt the goal involved reward, and
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now he realized in this case it also meant developing leadership. The Chair as a Problem symbol was revealed to be an inner Gift or quality. It occurred to him that his ability to work within the system, being like a cog in a wheel, could at times occupy his focus rather than making his actions stand out. The Stone was a Gate symbol, representing inner attitudes and approaches. Frank saw this as staying firm and true to his own goals.
4. Picture Story – Imagine a mental “Picture Story,” that is, a single scene that employs the three symbols and the individual. The mentor should ask “How do you see these things visually interacting and in relation to one another? What feelings do you associate with this picture?” (This is creative visualization, done in an intuitive manner.) The scene Frank imagined was this: a Chair firmly standing on a large Stone with the Crown idly placed atop the back of the chair. What might this mean? Frank thought that his job was serving as a foundation, the organization as a potential throne, and the crown was waiting to be worn by someone who would claim it.
5. Best Picture – Consciously create the best possible Picture Story in one’s mind with the same elements. The mentor should state, “Exercise your imagination and form a picture story that is the most positive and constructive that you can contemplate.” (The step is creative visualization, done in a conscious and deliberate fashion.) Frank's “Best Picture” was seeing the Stone and Chair uniting, so that the result was more of a throne. Frank also decided to put himself in the picture. He reached up, took the Crown and put it on his head. Symbolically, Frank figured out a way to get from where he was to where he wanted to be.
6. Plan of Action – Determine what can be done in the real situation to adopt the approach pictured using symbols. Consider the new steps that can be taken to improve matters. (This step is integrating the experience and developing a plan.) In Frank's case, he saw that his own firmness and integrity could be used to elevate him above organizational issues, and that this could be a way to show an extra measure of performance that would gain him a leadership position.
This process is used throughout the various “games of meaning” available with Star Journey. Additional Techniques Several other “games of meaning” and techniques can be utilized with Star Journey Symbols and Circle Pattern. The Personal Portrait and Relationship Linking are applications that can enhance personal understanding. The Personal Portrait is an application whereby a person selects symbols to describe his or her status, and then utilizes journaling about symbol meanings. The process can be repeated at a later time, and comparisons noted of selecting different symbols as the mentee changes and grows. The Relationship Linking method is an application that a mentor can introduce to partners and friends for the unique purpose of explore issues within relationships and connections. Formats for Star Journey The Star Journey Method can be accessed in a number of different formats to facilitate its use with mentors and mentees. These include: • Print – Symbol cards, Circle Pattern chart, Books • Web-tools – Online interactive versions of Symbols, Pattern and Books • iPhone – Portable use of Symbols • Virtual world – Interactive, 3D and multi-user version in Second Life
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Live Streaming – Cutting edge technology allows broadcast of workshops and sessions held in Second Life to anyone on the internet. Live chat interface.
Specific Applications in Mentoring •
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Health Care and Medicine o Enhances understanding of self in order to care for others. o Deconstructs experiences in patient care. o Develops strategies for self-care. Youth and Family issues o Engages youth in a context they find natural; i.e. video gaming and virtual reality. o Active imagination techniques create a way for families to safely share individual perspectives. o Engages the subconscious so that the individual/group can make decisions that are in alignment with their integrity; allows participants to support a decision rather than resent it. Mentoring in a Diverse Global Culture – virtual world Second Life o Permits remote mentoring and teaching on a worldwide scale. o Immersive, mutli-user environment greatly enhances the learning experience. o Mentees encounter both the similarities and differences between cultures.
Star Journey Educational Program • Online Mentoring Program – Star Journey Transition CoachingTM • Trainer Program in Mentoring (Certification) – Transition Coach TrainingTM • Lectures and Academic Courses • Conference Presentations • In-person and Online Workshops More information about the Star Journey method is on its website: www.star-journey.com About Second Life Second Life is a new dimension of the internet called virtual worlds. Here, one participates in real time by using an avatar likeness created for moving about in an online 3D and multi-user environment. Virtual worlds began in the early 2000s. Second Life (SL) is one of the largest, highest trafficked and most diverse in member interests. Its residents number 25 million and growing. Many universities have a presence in SL, including the 14 campuses of University of Texas, the campuses of the University of North Carolina, and many others. There are also many teaching centers created for groups in SL. Almost every interest has some sort of presence in SL. This includes social interaction of all kinds, shopping, dancing, musical performance, plus gaming, artwork, designing, building, and more. Star Journey island was established in SL in 2008, and it has a growing membership. It has earned a reputation as a place for peace and personal discovery. Workshop sessions teaching the use of Star Journey are held throughout the week, ranging from beginning to advanced levels. Sessions are free of charge and open to the public. Joining and using Second Life is free. For more information, see: www.secondlife.com REFERENCES Geer, R. H. (2008). Star Journey – A Cosmology of Self – Picturing the Personal Universe and How it Works. San Francisco, California: Cosmic Design Publishers. Geer, R. H. (1988). Star+Gate – A Tool for Intuition, New York, New York: Vintage Books /Random House ISBN 0-394-75721-1
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Geer, R. H. (1984). Star+Gate: Keys to the Kingdom – A Complete Guide. Orinda, California: StarGate Enterprises. ISBN 0-911167-03-X Jung, C. C., ed. (1964). Man and his Symbols, New York, New York: Doubleday/Windfall, ISBN 0-440-35185-9. Campbell, J. (2008). The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Novato, CA, New World Library, 2008, ISBN 978-1-5773153-3
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McGuinnes, T. & Higgins, J. Partners Mentoring Association Mentoring in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia ABSTRACT Tbilisi is the capital city of Georgia, located in Southeastern Europe, between the Black and Caspian Seas. Under Russian control for much of it’s existence, Georgia became independent in 2003, and is working hard to solidify it’s representative democracy. The workforce, particularly within government offices, consists of young, Western-educated, hard-working professionals. These young professionals are investigating modern methods of addressing Georgian social issues. One of the prevailing issues identified by the Georgian Department of Ministry was the need for juvenile justice reform. In general, juveniles in trouble with the law served adult sentences and were incarcerated with adults. Programs to prevent juvenile crime, rehabilitate offenders or reduce recidivism were virtually non existent until 2010, when the Ministry of Justice began instituting juvenile justice reform programs. The concept of establishing a mentoring program emerged as part of this new approach to working with juvenile offenders. After much research on structured mentoring models, the Georgian Dept. of Ministry invited representatives from the Partners Mentoring Association in Colorado to come to Georgia and establish the Partners model. In January, 2011, Joe Higgins, Director of Mesa County Youth Services (Grand Junction, CO), and Tina McGuinness, Director of Gunnison Country Partners (Gunnison, CO), traveled to Tbilisi. Joe and Tina worked with the United Nations Association of Georgia, other non-governmental entities and the Georgian Dept. of Ministry to assist in the implementation of Georgia’s first mentoring initiative: Chemi Uprosi Megobari (My Elder Friend). Our purpose in submitting this abstract is to present the processes, challenges, and successes resulting from our experiences in establishing a structured mentoring model in another part of the world.
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Majiros, C. Catholic University of America The Influence of Dichotomy between Self and Other on Social Structure for Mentoring Relationships ABSTRACT This paper suggests that future research is required to assess the efficacy of mentoring competency building programs and tools for the application of informal mentoring as it applies to the transfer of tacit knowledge in various workplace settings. The Fabric of Identity Leadership Tool for Enhancing Relationships (FILTER) thematically combines the concept of identity with an ecological systems approach in a series of three selfanalyzing activities: an ecomap, a decision-making field analysis, and a mentoring coat of arms. The goal is to improve individual self-awareness through the conceptualization of sameness and difference by identifying influential factors, such as beliefs, ethics, feelings, ideals, morals, norms, opinions, and values at play in personal and professional domains. The process is intended to reveal hidden bias and prejudice in order to enhance decision making skills and reveal intrinsic awareness when cultivating mutual respect and trust between mentor and mentee in relationships as it relates to the concepts of communication, generativity, legacy of knowledge transfer, and reciprocity.
John Donne is credited with saying, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.” In conjunction with Donne, Marx’s notion that man is a social creature are both tantamount in establishing the structural groundwork for further critique of human behavior and analysis of informal mentoring relationships. Specifically, as the concept of self is manifested in symbolic interaction (SI), exchange theory (EXT), and rational choice theory (RCT). Although the theories attempt to explain individual human behavior in general, this essay proposes that the dialectic between self and other as applied to social structure is necessary when analyzing these three concepts under the auspices of mentoring dynamics. Ultimately, the theoretical foundation of SI, EXT, and RCT highlights the interconnectedness between self, other, and systems dynamics for strengthening their relevance in analyzing issues and problems that may hinder mentoring relationships. In order to compare and contrast the relevance of SI, EXT, and RCT as it applies to the understanding of human behavior in social context, the assumption that each supports behavior based on a shared understanding of beliefs, ethics, feelings, ideals, morals, norms, opinions, and values is critical. Embedded within the dichotomy defined by the polarization of the self and the other exists a functional dialectic implicit of a systems perspective for explaining human behavior in the context of images, relationships, and networks. Upon further examination of SI, EXT, and RCT, similarities in how the self influences the environment and vice versa is apparent; however, the differences in decision-making power manifested in each resulting system is most important for analyzing mentoring behavior. Specifically, a demonstrated mindfulness of these theories contributes to a mentor’s mastery of the key elements, i.e. communication, generativity, legacy of knowledge transfer, and reciprocity, in forging effective mentoring relationships. In support, Dewey and Bentley (1949) concluded that “human experience can be understood only in terms of the ongoing transactions between person…and his or her environment” (as cited in Forte, 2004, p. 394). In the context of symbolic interaction, power rests within the individual and manifests through selfexpression. In exchange theory, power is shared unevenly between individuals and displayed through purposive, social interactions. In rational choice theory power resides with the collective that is implied in the creation of established networks (Farganis, 2011). See Figure 1, Ecological systems framework for the dichotomy between self and others (The fabric of identity), and Figure 2, The ethical decision-making process for mentoring behavior, for a summary of the ecological systems model for decision-making across the SI, EXT, and RCT frameworks. In all three theories to varying degrees, decision-making is the vehicle informing mentoring behavior.
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FIGURE : Ecological Systems Framework for the Dichotomy between Self and Others (The Fabric of Identity)
Source: This model is a combined adaptation of decision-making processes and considerations. By combining Mattison’s, The Person in the Process concept, and Strom-Gottfried’s, Six Questions Model, within the context of an ecological systems framework, the self is able to identify beliefs, ethics, meanings, morals, norms, and values that influence decision-making ability and ultimately, behavior in each of the domains. Note: Domains can be easily adapted to a workplace application by re-labeling the concentric spheres to reflect mentoring relationships, work office/division, and organization/company.
FIGURE 2: The Ethical Decision-Making Process for Mentoring Behavior
Source: Adaptation and interpretation from the work of Mattison, Strom-Gottfried, and Dewey & Bentley. For example, the lines represent the thought process used in each theoretical framework for making decisions based on attraction and repulsion of beliefs, ethics, meanings, morals, norms, and values that influence behavior within each ecological domain. The patterned lines represent the thought process associated with symbolizing the four key elements in effective mentoring relationships: communication, generativity, legacy of knowledge transfer, and reciprocity. These concepts also form the four quadrants for the mentoring coat of arms exercise. See Figure 3, My/our mentoring coat of arms.
FIGURE 3: My/Our Mentoring Coat of Arms
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Source: History behind the coat of arms, “With the advent of archeology, discoveries were unearthed that showed groups decorating and making their pottery in unique ways from any other group. Historians and archeologists have argued that these pottery shards are in fact the first documented coats of arms. By the time of the rise of nations it was a general custom to adopt some symbol by which they could be distinguished from another. This custom reached its fullest development by the Middle Ages. The carrying of personal armorial insignia on shields and banners began widespread in feudal times. During the Crusades, these marks and colors were worn outside their coat of mail on their surcoat and hence the expression coat of arms.” (Origins of Coat of Arms, retrieved from http://www.historicalnames.com/origins.htm)
Within the theoretical framework for symbolic interaction, the concept of self begins to emerge with the creation of internal images that evolve into symbols, which leads to the development of meaning expressed through behavior. Consequently, purposeful behavior based on meanings and symbols allow the individual to influence his or her environment. Conversely, the environment (i.e. interactions with other individuals) equally contributes to shaping new images and meanings within the individual thereby reinforcing behavior (O’Brien, 2006). Interestingly, the making of meaning in symbols is an ongoing process equally shaped by both change and interpretation from the individual and external forces from the environment. The same can be said about the processes for establishing a mentoring relationship between two individuals. At first, the individual begins with a pre-existing structure of images (Hillman, 1996), similar to Blumer’s concept of root images (Farganis, 2011) and through Mead’s “step by step” interactions (Farganis, p.301) “meaning develops through the expression of contradiction, disparity, language, and learning” (Forte, 2004, p.391, p.395). As meanings are solidified in symbols, the notion of dichotomy contributes to the use metaphors, labels, and stigma. In fact, meaning can be strengthened through the use of “spatial metaphors” (Zerubavel, 1991, p.20) or images represented as mental models within a “symbolic system” (Cassirer, 1948, p.85) defining reality. Although the significance for symbolic interaction is attached to individual behavior, paradoxically speaking, the theory falls short in explaining group behavior. In reality, it’s very likely that no two individuals assign the same a-priori meaning to an image, suggesting that meaning-making around symbols in a group greater than one person is a collaborative process. Therefore, it appears that there is enough evidence to suggest that this theory requires an ethical component or an “ethical equality” (Harris, 1997, p. 410) that assists in creating agreed upon meanings to ensure continued human interaction (Rambo, 1999). Best illustrated by Goffman, SI is using the self to inform the behavior of others by expressing expectations and moral obligations for equal treatment (Goffman, 1959).
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Although SI is not grounded in group ethics, the theory established a solid foundation in how human beings make meaning and most important, exposed the need for using a philosophical ought to when analyzing the behavior of human interaction within a social exchange theoretical framework. Exchange theory (EXT), according to Homans and Blau, moves beyond the meaning for consensus of images and deploys the self to create expectations, obligations, and reciprocity with the other through relationships. In his Social Behavior as Exchange, Homans (1958) frames exchange theory with mathematical variables while emphasizing a social structure based on face to face interactions, net rewards (benefit vs. cost), propositions or rules, and rationality (Farganis, 2011). For Homans, human behavior is reduced to assessing cost and benefit by rational individuals who can calculate the consequences of action before taking them (Farganis; Homans, 1985). Ultimately, marked behavior change is correlated to maximizing profits through relationships – the closer to maximum reward the less likely behavior change will be observed. This concept further frames the what’s-in-it-for-me dilemma when explaining why individuals engage in traditional mentoring relationships. Building on the work of Homans, Blau focused on the structural application of EXT by studying the impact on large groups or organizations. Blau developed a “macrostructural theory” (Homans, 1985, p.396) helping to explain the importance of proximate position as the primary means of sanction while the use of norms and values were seen as mediating forces contributing to exchange principles when face to face interaction was not an option (Farganis, 2011). For Blau, individual incentive for the self to increase the number of social interactions within given vicinity (large organization), where norms and values served as a reinforcer, was the key to understanding human behavior in terms of EXT (Blau, 1955; Blau & Meyer, 1971). This concept was further developed by Cook’s (1992) work in exchange networks where an individual made rational decisions to engage in workplace interactions for career and professional benefit (Cook & Whitmeyer, 1992). After further analysis, the interaction between self, other, and society within an exchange framework results in the strengthening of approval and prestige as significant rewards. In a more contemporary light, the concept has been framed in the form of leadermember exchange addressing the behavioral dynamics between supervisor and employee for examining the value assigned to emotional support, transformational incentive, transactional incentive, and relationship disparities (Scandura & Schriesheim, 1994; Sparrowe & Liden, 1997). Once again, the case can be made that there is a need for the establishment of an ethical framework to manage social entitlements and obligations within mentoring relationships. Moving beyond EXT, RCT establishes itself as a premier platform where outcomes can maximize profit (reward – cost) within multiple relationships or networks (the collective) through membership rather than exchange. The decision-making model previously discussed (see Figures 1 and 2) best articulates the inner-workings of RCT using a social capital lens. Simply, the individual must choose which avenues will produce the most reward. In Farganis (2011), Coleman is credited with developing the concept of social capital. In opposition to SI and EXT, RCT and social capital take more of a contemporary approach for explaining the use of self in terms of human behavior. While applying the context of social capital to RCT, the idea of self is altered as it assumes the identity of the collective. The collective norm becomes a powerful body of selves that acts to reward all in allegiance while minimizing the dichotomy of self and other. For Coleman, rational choice is a function of social bonding requiring significant levels of trust by individuals (Farganis, 2011). To this end, trust building relies on a future oriented reciprocal relationship reinforced by economics, ethics, expectations, and obligations to the collective (Farganis, 2011; Pickard, 2005; Yair, 2007). Conformity in the here and now is defined by short-term social acceptance and long-term network benefits (Cook & Whitmeyer, 1992; Farganis; Yair). Conversely, allegiance to the collective establishes a paradox in that rational choice of the individual is significantly influenced by external forces of the environment/system in accordance with the betterment of the group (Lovett, 2006; Yair). Ultimately, interests, resources, and rewards are determined by “macro-level institutional factors” (Rambo, 1999, p.319) and controlled by the individuals holding power in the collective (Blau & Meyer, 1971; Lovett, 2006).
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In summary, SI, EXT, and SCT incorporate varying degrees of ethical decision-making competency for explaining social human behavior. Each of these theories, whether from an individual or group perspective, relies on trust to facilitate interpersonal skill through interaction. Due to the reliance on trust and the need for ethical interactions, the classical theories discussed in this essay are relevant to mentoring relationships. Social work is in the business of facilitating and fostering meaningful relationships (Graybeal, 2007). As outlined in the NASW Code of Ethics, Social workers understand that relationships between and among people are an important vehicle for change. Social workers engage people as partners in the helping process. Social workers seek to strengthen relationships among people in a purposeful effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the wellbeing of individuals, families, social groups, organizations, and communities. (NASW, Code of Ethics) In addition to the relevance for informing social work practice, SI, EXT, and RCT can further knowledge in mentoring relationship dynamics. For example, understanding symbolic interaction can help better frame the public vs. private concept when establishing a mentoring agreement. In terms of exchange theory, an increased insight into the dynamics of group work, leadership development, mentoring relationships, and supervisory roles is most beneficial. Equally important, this theory will improve understanding of economic structures and workplace ethics in helping to resolve conflict and tension within the mentoring circle. Rational choice theory will emphasize the inherent danger for a misguided power differential in formal mentoring programs in large organizations. Ultimately, a firm grasp of these theoretical concepts will allow mentor and mentee the opportunity to develop an effective and rewarding mentoring relationship while recognizing individual differences. REFERENCES Blau, P. M. (1955). The dynamics of bureaucracy: A study of interpersonal relations in two government agencies. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press. Blau, P. M., & Meyer, M. W. (1971). Bureaucracy in modern society (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Random House Inc. Cassirer, E. (1944). A Clue to the nature of man: The symbol. In J. O’Brien (4th ed.), The production of reality: Essays and readings on social interaction (pp. 84-86). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. Cook, K. S., & Whitmeyer, J. M. (1992). Two approaches to social structure: Exchange theory and network analysis. Annual Review of Sociology,18, 109-127. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2083448 Farganis, J. (2011). Readings in social theory (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Forte, J. A. (2004). Symbolic interactionism and social work: A forgotten legacy, part 1. Families in Society, 85(3), 391-400. Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self. In Social interaction in everyday life (pp.95-100), Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Graybeal, C. T. (2007). Evidence for the art of social work. Families in Society, 88(4), 513-523. Harris, S. R. (1997). Status inequality and close relationships: An integrative typology of bond-saving strategies. In J. O’Brien (4th ed.), The production of reality: Essays and readings on social interaction (pp. 410-424). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. Hillman, J. (1996). The soul’s code: In search of character and calling. New York, NY: Random House Inc. Homans, G. C. (1985). Untitled. Theory and Society, 14(3), p. 395-399. Lovett, F. (2006). Rational choice theory and explanation. Rationality and society, 18(2), 237-272. doi: 10.1177/1043463106060155 Mattison, J. (2000). Ethical decision making: the person in the process. Social Work, 45(3), 201-212. NASW, Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://www.naswdc.org/pubs/code/default.asp O’Brien, J. (2006). The production of reality: Essays and readings on social interaction. (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. Pickard, J. G. (2005). What’s in it for me? rational choice theory and religion. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work, 24(4), 39-54. doi: 10.1300/J3377v24n04_04
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Rambo, E. H. (1999). Symbolic interests and meaningful purposes: Conceiving rational choice as cultural theory. Rationality and Society, 11(3), 317-342. doi: 10.1177/104346399011003003 Scandura, T. A., & Schriesheim, C. A. (1994). Leader-member exchange and supervisor career mentoring as complementary constructs in leadership research. The Academy of Management Journal, 37(6), 1588-1602. Sparrowe, R. T., & Liden, R. C. (1997). Process and structure in leader-member exchange. The Academy of Management Review, 22(2), 522-552. Strom-Gottfried, K. (2007). Straight talk about professional ethics (pp.23-60). Chicago, IL: Lyceum Press. Yair, G. (2007). Existential uncertainty and the will to conform: The expressive basis of Coleman’s rational choice paradigm. Sociology, 41(4), 681-698. doi: 10.1177/0038038507078923 Zerubavel, E. (1991). Islands of meaning. In J. O’Brien (4th ed.), The production of reality: Essays and readings on social interaction (pp. 12-28). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.
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Frazzini, R. & Fink, A. University of Minnesota Transformational Mentoring in University of Minnesota Leadership Programs ABSTRACT Programs for transformational mentoring at the University of Minnesota strive to incorporate Sharon Daloz Parks’ three important concepts: “(1) becoming critically aware of one’s own composing of reality, (2) selfconsciously participating in an ongoing dialogue toward truth, and (3) cultivating a capacity to respond—to act—in ways that are satisfying and just” (Parks, 2000, p. 6). Results of a pilot study on the effectiveness of achieving Parks’ goals in a mentoring program designed for developing leadership and personal growth show promising development of the three concepts. By examining two years of student evaluations and mentor feedback, the study examines the process of transformational development resulting from leadership program mentoring. The co-curricular program LeaderQuest has been in operation for twenty-nine years with a structure that includes a formal mentorship pairing of a student with an older adult, a peer mentoring relationship with another student participant and weekly seminars on leadership concepts. Participants are drawn from across all undergraduate departments while the mentors are from faculty, staff and community, representing a variety of professions for interdisciplinary interaction. A mentor coordinator, aided by a team of experienced mentors, creates mentor pairings based on application and interview information from students and potential mentors. Training is based on experience level, and the mentor coordinator maintains communication during the program. This pilot study and presentation is a precursor to a larger study identifying specific practices for mentor training. Data is available from programs that serve a broad spectrum of specific interests and groups, and range in purpose from career development to personal growth.
Introduction Opportunities for study, thought and interaction in a challenging environment are key to the development of critical thinking and self-awareness in young college aged adults. Supported by Sharon Daloz Parks, these important levels of maturity are achieved by providing “…situations [that] present us with both the challenge and the resources…” to accomplish this development (Parks, 2000, p. 40). LeaderQuest provides the context for this challenge in the form of seminars, large and small group discussion and peer and community mentoring for a wide diversity of career and cultural interests. The three concepts of Parks represent a transition in themselves, moving from self-awareness, then realizing the confidence to “participate in a dialogue” with the new awareness, and finally pro-actively “responding” or acting as a result of the dialogue. Mentors and students often recognize these changes, but finding data to support them can be challenging. Our data, while anecdotal, shows development in these three areas, and gives us a basis to further improve training for mentors, as well as define new paths for the LeaderQuest program. Mentoring Opportunities at the University of Minnesota These opportunities include career-based programs at each of the colleges, leadership programs through Student Affairs, and many formal and casual programs offered in the large student club and athletics structure at the university. While the purposes of each program are as diverse and numerous as the number of programs available, programs centering on career are prevalent. Transformational versus Informational Mentoring These two concepts are valuable on a university campus, and offer specific results to a broad spectrum of students at different points in their development.
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Career Directed Programs (Informational Mentoring) Career directed programs outnumber other types of formal mentoring on the University of Minnesota campus. They are typically oriented toward the student’s future careers in a specific discipline, with mentor relationships based on common career interests. Mentoring curriculum is focused primarily on discussing career opportunities, networking and coaching to students, and is deemed “Informational” mentoring. While some of these mentoring relationships may suggest personal development, the mentor usually does not take responsibility for actualizing this development, and the student does not enter with expectations that personal development will occur (and any personal development is more likely incidental than intentional). While we agree that informational mentoring is useful on college campuses, we believe that these programs too frequently serve as the only mentoring opportunities available to students and eclipse the need for mentoring programs focused on personal development. From the university’s “Mentor Connection” organization, the remarks below indicate successful experiences in the career-centered program: “I have a better understanding of what is expected of me in the workplace.” “She really gave me an honest understanding of what kind of jobs are out there and what I’d be getting myself into.” “I have a better understanding of how my degree can relate to a job field after college.”
Programs Directed Toward Personal Development In contrast, transformational mentoring is focused on the personal growth and development of those mentored exclusive of career. This type of growth can be viewed through numerous frameworks, including the Social Change Model of Leadership Development (Astin and Astin, 1996), self-authorship student development theory (Baxter Magolda, 2004), or frameworks of ethical and moral development (Perry, 1998). We have chosen to analyze the LeaderQuest mentor program through the lens of Sharon Daloz Parks, who writes that mentoring should assist students in “(1) becoming critically aware of one’s own composing of reality, (2) self-consciously participating in an ongoing dialogue toward truth, and (3) cultivating a capacity to respond—to act—in ways that are satisfying and just” (Parks, 2000, p. 6). Termed “transformational,” a successful mentoring experience broadens and matures the student as a person. Distinct from informational mentoring, it is not focused on the transmission of advice, rather it is focused on providing students with opportunities to change, to grow, to transform themselves and their relationships with others. LeaderQuest as an Engine for Personal Development LeaderQuest is focused not only on individual mentoring for development, but includes large and small group discussions, retreats, peer and group mentoring, and community projects. Created in 1982, the LeaderQuest program provided a specific forum for students who held defined leadership positions on campus. From Greek system officers, student government members, and diverse student clubs, LeaderQuest provided an active workshop for problem solutions needed by these young leaders. The program supported up to fifty students with an equal complement of mentors, and touched on pertinent leadership issues presented by outside speakers then reinforced in workshop seminars one evening a week for three hours. The present program focuses on personal development and evolving awareness of self, examining the core leadership elements of ethics, problem solving, goal setting and development of a process for critically thinking about a personal life direction. Weekly seminars provide a forum for exploration of these core elements, and are developed around large and small group discussions of the topic for the evening. Interdisciplinary mentors attempt to take these discussion elements to a more personal level in one-on-one conversations. Established by the mentor/student pair, specific goals for the mentoring activity provide a framework for the three-month activity, and in many instances, the mentor and student continue to meet following conclusion of the formal program.
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The development of leadership in LeaderQuest program participants is based on the Social Change Model of Leadership Development created by Astin and Astin (1996). At the core of this model are several key beliefs: leadership is concerned with social change, leadership is collaborative, leadership is a process rather than a position, and leadership should be based in values (p. 10). The LeaderQuest program embodies these ideals in its curriculum and mentoring process. In addition to encouraging students to create social change, emphasis is placed on students achieving a knowledge of self that includes an understanding of their values, strengths, and interests. Following the model, LeaderQuest asks students to consider leadership from the perspective of themselves (as individuals), groups, and broader society (p. 19), while the mentoring relationship serves to reinforce progress toward this goal. Structure of Peer Mentoring Within LeaderQuest Peer mentoring succeeds within the LeaderQuest structure as a dyad or triad of students who meet regularly throughout the program. Each dyad meets once a week, and the topics for discussion are open to whatever experiences are pertinent at the time. Three students form the triads, and these are rotated each week to provide new opinions and reflections for each participant. With more than 90% of students from 2006 data saying it is an essential part of LeaderQuest, its combination with large group discussion and community mentoring offers a powerful transformational resource. Selection, Training and Matching of Community Mentors For a program as solidly in place as LeaderQuest, a pool of mentors exist that have shown themselves to be excited, caring and curious about each of the students with which they are paired. Finding new mentors is a process of referral from known friends, acquaintances and active mentors. The primary characteristics we look for are a diversity of interests, a professional career and curiosity and caring about students. Each has a profile that is compared to an accepted LeaderQuest student profile with the basic notion of matching common interests whether they are hobbies, sports or work directions. A committee consisting of the program director, the mentor coordinator, the student coordinator and one to two other active mentors then defines the match. Based on responses and feedback from past programs, need for training in certain areas is evident, and probably the single-most difficult area for a new mentor is where to start a conversation dealing with these personal issues, and how one keeps it going. Training emphasis is on the examination of goals, and why a student has selected a certain path. The training units, broadly stated, consist of these topics: 1. Review the role of mentors for personal development. 2. Define and understand the difference between mentoring and advising. 3. Outline mentor expectations to enhance personal development such as: • Comparing strengths between you and the student. • Establishing one or two specific goals for the mentoring relationship. • Reviewing ways to approach the achievement of those goals. 4. Mentor feedback in the form of a group meeting partway through the program to evaluate successes, failures and new directions if necessary. 5. Ending the mentoring relationship Fourteen of the 19 students in the 2006 survey listed the mentor relationship as extremely valuable, three as valuable and two as somewhat valuable. Evaluation of Mentoring Survey Data Taking the original premises from Parks, we have attempted to draw some relationships to these concepts from our limited data set. Central to the core effort is the development of self-awareness and critical thinking, which is the first of Parks’ concepts. The Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL Study, 2006), conducted in 2005 has direct reference to changes in self-awareness with influences of
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mentoring, leadership positions, work and other campus involvement. There is no clear way to isolate the effects of the mentoring component from other influences, so we see self-awareness grow as a result of a series of involvements, with mentoring as one component. Two examples of MSL data from the University of Minnesota, one of self-awareness as a function of having a mentor, and that of having leadership positions are shown below. The change from “never met” to “many times” is statistically significant. Self Awareness as a Function of Short Term Leadership Positions
4.4
4.5
4.3 4.2 Never Met Once Several Many
4 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6
St ud en t
ity O
th er
m m un Co
oy er Em pl
St ud en t
Fa cu lty
3.5
Impact on a Scale from 1=None to 5=Significant
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Af fa irs
Impact on a Scale of 1== No Impact and 5= Significant Impact
Mentoring as a Component of Self Awareness
4.3 4.2 4.1 4 3.9 3.8 3.7 3.6
Mentor Type and Meeting Frequency
Never
One Time
Several Times
Many times
Frequency of Leadership Positions
It is apparent that students who are involved with campus life in many ways are more likely to seek out a mentor, and that the more experience they have with other life situations, the greater the likelihood of an increased self-awareness. Also interesting is that impact is statistically insensitive to mentor type. We then explored LeaderQuest surveys conducted at the conclusion of years 2005 and 2006 where students were asked to evaluate the program. The question asked (except where noted) was “Describe the relationship with your mentor (or student).” While anecdotal, they provide some insight for the overall impact of the program, and some specific views on the mentoring component itself. We consider the comments in the context of the three concepts of Parks listed above using a sequential process. First, one achieves “awareness” then gains the confidence to “participate in a dialogue” with that awareness, and finally pro-actively “responds” or acts as a result of the dialogue. 1. “Becoming crticially aware of one’s own composing of reality” As a statement of self-awareness, we can consider this to represent an increased consciousness and acceptance of our values, strengths and weaknesses. Feedback from LeaderQuest students reflecting this growing awareness can be summarized in these examples: “I learned about my self identity and the habits I have that need to be improved on. My mentor emphasized the importance of knowing myself and how journaling is the most effective way to do that. He shared with me his own personal stories and what I could learn from his experiences.” “Very supportive and made me learn so much about myself. I really appreciated meeting with him and I appreciate how well he got to know the person that I am.” “The relationship I had with my mentor was life-altering. My mentor took the time to really get to know me and know how I think. His interest in mentoring was to get to know me and to assist me in finding my values and sense of self.” “My mentor was always able to give useful insight into areas of my life that I hadn't been able to see before. More importantly, he instilled a confidence in me that I have never had before. He was willing to listen to the problems I was having with my leadership skills and help me diagnose them.”
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Without too much of a stretch, the elements of developing self-consciousness can be seen in each of these and the vast majority of the other responses we found. What is also evident is the nature of the questions that were being asked by the mentors that we will speak of later.
2. “Self-consciously participating in an ongoing dialogue toward truth” Growing from self-awareness, this second element of Park’s three concepts is intimately tied to a maturing self-confidence that recognizes and supports the “dialogue.” Again looking to LeaderQuest data with the same question: “I admired his ability to consistently engage in conversations and show genuine interest in the topics I shared.” “Over time I've become more open with my mentor, he’s been a great listener and really helps me to process how I feel about my future, leadership, and just societal issues in general.” “That I don't need to know what I want to do in 5-10 years, but I need to explore the possibilities in each option and be an active learner.” “I learned about the contrast between business and technical work, and more about the field of electrical engineering. My mentor also expanded my views on various problems in the world, the country, and the workplace.”
And to the question “What was the most important thing you learned from LQ?”: “The value of honesty. I never realized before that you could become close to people instantly by just telling the truth about yourself. Not surface truths, but deeper truths that have meaning to you. It changes a relationship from strangers to trusted friends.” As an another example of what students were looking for in their mentoring experience, this relationship was not something the student deemed a success: “Jeff and I had a friendship relationship. It never really developed into a learning dynamic. He and I were both extremely busy and therefore, only met a few times not giving us a chance to truly discuss places for improvement. It left me somewhat, unsatisfied on a self improvement level.” The comment also points to MSL data on the effectiveness of meeting frequency. 3. “Cultivating a capacity to respond- to act- in ways that are satisfying and just” Parks’ third point is taken as the ability to take the newfound self-confidence and act with it. To the question “what is the most important thing you learned from LeaderQuest?” we have these responses: “How I can actually change things. How to observe things and think about how I can change them.” “You are beautiful, you do have the power, and you do make a difference in people’s lives.” “To be humble, to be passionate about something, to work hard for what you are passionate for.” “That one can learn sooo much from a single interaction with a person they never knew before and it is a matter of effective communication and knowing the right questions to ask that enable a person to find the 'hidden treasures' within someone else.” “LQ has also empowered me to realize my own power as an individual and the impact that I have on my community. I definitely see that I have a strong personality. However, with power comes responsibility and I need to be aware of what/how I use my power and where I choose to put my time because this defines who I am and what I will become.”
The program also has a community project experience that puts each student with a group, usually in an area of the surrounding community that has special needs. In any case, it is an experience that stretches almost all the students beyond their comfort zone, and is an ideal way to apply the newly realized self-confidence. Evaluation
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This study has provided an example of a sustained transformational mentoring opportunity for undergraduate students. We have distinguished between informational and transformational mentoring opportunities utilizing evaluation data from the LeaderQuest program examined through the lens of Sharon Daloz Park’s three concepts. “Transformational Mentoring” was the goal, and it is clear that it occurred in conversations between mentor and student. The above survey comments on mentoring all reflect change in the student’s thinking, outlook and their existing process of evaluating and reacting to life. Different than career or informational mentoring, these comments show change that follows what has been defined as stages of development by Robert Kegan (Kegan, 1982) and Laurent Daloz (Daloz, 1999) among others, and initially proposed by Jean Piaget (Piaget, 1973). It is also encapsulated in Parks’ three concepts. This kind of transformation is a goal of the leadership mentoring process, even if it is limited to a new awareness of concepts not previously considered. Mentor/student conversations are key to the program’s concept of development process, and the meaningfulness with which conversations develop is formed by a growing trust between the mentoring pair. From the LeaderQuest experience, these conversations develop from common interests that are emphasized in the matching process, and survey responses indicated challenging questions resulting in part from the match. As Stephen Brookfield has suggested, “Challenge is central to helping people think critically,” (Brookfield, p. 90) and a significant emphasis for mentors in the program is to pose challenging questions. Brookfield goes on to say that “…the right to challenge someone must be earned,” (91) and that is based upon the trust inherent in the developing mentoring relationship. A great majority of the students embarking in the program are coming from dualistic concepts of an authoritarian right or wrong and are working toward more refined attitudes of contextualism. It is the mentor’s responsibility to softly question these areas, or in the words of Laurent Daloz, “compartments,” and “…offer…simply a little light in the right places and lots of support.” (Daloz, p. 83) The mentor’s personality is key in this effort, and our evolving training tries to augment the mentor’s innate skills. Recommendations It is our goal that this study serves as an impetus for further research on transformational mentoring in college settings. Our plan is to use this preliminary study to do a series of surveys with past mentors and students with specific questions relating to the present concepts of transformational mentoring. We also intend to compare the outcomes of students participating in these programs against those of nonparticipants. In this manner, we can develop a broader and deeper base of research defining the impact of transformational mentoring to the personal development of undergraduate students. We have suggested that there may be a common set of practices for training transformational mentors including the need for interdisciplinarity. We believe that there is an opportunity to develop a rich and specific set of shared training practices for mentors, and that the development of such practices is essential to the proliferation of these important mentoring opportunities on college campuses. Part of our intended research would be the development of a shared set of successful practices in training transformational mentors. Because of the variety and depth of mentor programs on campus, we believe we have the resources at the University of Minnesota to accomplish these tasks.
REFERENCES Astin, H., & Astin, A. (1996). A Social Change Model of Leadership Development: Guidebook. Los Angeles: University of California Education Research Institute. Baxter Magolda, M., & King, P. (2004). Learning Partnerships: Theory and Models of Practice to Educate for SelfAuthorship. Sterling: Stylus Publishing. Brookfield, S. (1987). Developing Critical Thinkers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc. Daloz, L. (1999). Mentor: Guiding the Journey of Adult Learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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Kegan, R. (1982). The Evolving Self: Problem and Process in Human Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (2009). Mentor Connection Student Survey Results. University of Minnesota, Alumni Association. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. Parks, S. D. (2000). Big Questions, Worthy Dreams: Mentoring Young Adults in Their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Perry, J. W. (1999). Forms of Ethical and Intellectual Development in the College Years. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Piaget, J., & Inhelder, B. (1973). Memory and Intelligence. London: Routledge. University of Maryland. (2006). Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership: University of Minnesota Final Report. ACPA Educational Leadership Foundation & NASPA Foundation. Maryland: The National Clearinghouse for Leadership Programs. University of Minnesota LeaderQuest Program. (2005-2006). Program Evaluation . Minneapolis, MN, USA.
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Aquino, V. University of New Mexico Mentoring at UNM: An Exploratory Study ABSTRACT The University of New Mexico (UNM) Mentoring Institute began a multi-stage census project this past September to 1) inventory all existing mentoring programs within the UNM Main Campus community, 2) understand program organization, target populations, processes and needs, and 3) personalize training and consulting services to these programs in order to implement effective and sustainable mentoring practices. The primary purpose of the census project is to understand how mentoring currently works within UNM; however, a significant challenge apparent from our pilot survey conducted in 2008 is that within a university setting, mentoring is an inherent dimension in the daily lives of numerous individuals. Thus, this exploratory census consciously created a distinction between mentoring as an aspect of a paid position and mentoring as a voluntary relationship between a mentor and a mentee/protégé. Further, the census categorized the respondents by faculty, staff and student organizations/services with tailored questionnaires to gather data on programs administered by each sample subset. This paper will present the methodology and results of the initial census questionnaire, as well as how these preliminary data will inform the research design of forthcoming surveys in the project.
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Ferguson, S. K. University of Texas Interdisciplinary Opportunities with Community Outreach: Faculty Mentoring Engineering Students ABSTRACT In a qualitative case study, the author explored the mentoring narratives of six engineering faculty members and their undergraduate student mentees at a large, public research university. Examples explored in this session provide interdisciplinary opportunities for mentoring and outreach to transcend the often-compartmentalized disciplinary boundaries within a university. Faculty mentors described how classroom discussions on real world engineering problems led students to approach them, wanting to make a difference in the community. These interactions developed into mentoring relationships, as students and faculty members worked together to address compelling community challenges. One faculty mentor, Brian, discussed engineering outreach opportunities at the university that worked to bridge the gap between disciplines. In one program, engineering students went to low-performing local high schools and worked with physics, chemistry, and math classes on a computer program that simulated site contamination. As Brian explained, engineering is more than technical analysis, calculations, or models, its all about people. Dorothy, another engineering faculty mentor participating in the study, touched upon similar issues. Over the last several years, she feels there has been an increased interest from undergraduate students in wanting to see how engineering directly impacts people’s lives by pursuing research and volunteer opportunities in the community. This shift in student motivation affects outreach and recruitment techniques for increasing the number of underrepresented students in their programs, they emphasize how your work can really make a contribution to society. Mentorship, for the purposes of this paper, is an undergraduate student-faculty reciprocal developmental relationship in a higher education setting. Faculty mentors purposefully mentored undergraduate students and perceived real interdisciplinary opportunities from the mentoring relationships, including community outreach and research assistance.
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Eldredge, J. University of New Mexico Faculty Mentoring Required for Medical Student Research: Observations and Lessons Learned ABSTRACT The UNM School of Medicine has offered the option for medical students to conduct original research projects since the 1970s. Beginning in 1993 the medical school required all matriculating medical students to complete a major re- search paper by graduation. Approximately 12% of all graduating students have had these research projects published in the peer reviewed medical literature. METHODS: Case studies. The presenter will describe the diversity of subjects and types of re- search methods employed by different students based on direct individual experiences as reported in this series of case studies. Medical students research project subjects ranged from Anesthesiology to Public Policy. The projects included both qualitative and quantitative research methods. RESULTS: Agreeing to serve as a faculty mentor normally involves a greater commitment of time to teach medical students the details of research than the authors experiences with mentoring either faculty colleagues or non- medical students. Agreements should be codified in a formal written learning contract early in the preliminary discussions. Even with these guidelines in place mentors need to be flexible (Clutterbuck, 2009) to remain open to new approaches. Although this form of mentoring defies many traditional models, there are some important similarities. The lessons learned will be related to Johnson (2007) and Ragins & Kram (2007). CONCLUSION: Working with medical students on their required research projects has proven to be a valued experience for this faculty member. Faculty members assuming this type of mentoring role need to recognize, however, the time commitment and other dimensions that most likely will contrast with mentoring faculty colleagues or other kinds of non-medical students.
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Yates, D. D. California State University Mentoring: A Typology ABSTRACT There are numerous of definitions for mentoring ranging from a wise advisor to a support person, to one that provides guidance, or who offers advice on career, education and life. According to the Mentoring Institute, University of New Mexico “mentoring is something that can vary by settings, objectives, members of mentoring relationships cultural norms and many other factors.” To this end, mentoring has been broken into a typology: (working definitions) • Contrived –students /faculty assigned to work together either because of alphabet, common interests within the discipline, or a referral • Inadvertent –students outside the academic discipline gravitate toward a person because of rapport developed during an encounter in class, a meeting or event; or strangers meeting, having a discussion, with one having the “been there, done that experience” and can share germane advice • Professional/relational where professionals connect during any number of events/venues and develop a “relational rapport” based on the event, the context of the encounter and the resources shared. Thoughts on mentoring in an “elevator speech” activity, the introduction of the mentoring typology along with a work in progress graphic of the typology will be discussed. Along with a questionnaire exploring mentoring, and what can be changed to improve mentoring experiences. “Does mentoring have a time limit” will guide this discussion. Participants will potentially take away a different perspective on mentoring; and how they mentor based on the above typology. As mentoring can be an opportunity to help cultivate abstract “out of the box thinking” and explore options!
Mentoring is a term that has a range of definitions depending on the persons involved and the situation. Therefore when it comes to mentoring, there are various views as to who and what that person is. When various (online) dictionaries where checked, there were a breadth of words used to describe a mentor. The words range from wise advisor, to support person, to one who provides guidance to one that offers advice on career, education life. Other words that define a mentor include: advisor/adviser, counselor, guide, guru, supporter, teacher, or tutor. To that end, definitions of a mentor (noun) include experienced adviser and supporter somebody, usually older and more experienced, who advises and guides a younger, less experienced person; trainer a senior or experienced person in a company or organization who gives guidance and training to a junior colleague; also there is to be a mentor to somebody - to act as a mentor to somebody, especially a junior colleague. The question to consider is whether the words and definitions accurately represent what is thought of when one thinks of mentoring or are in a mentoring relationship? Upon reflecting on the words and definitions of mentoring how and when it happens the following typology has been developed: (working definitions) • Contrived –students /faculty are assigned to work with one another either because of alphabet, common interests within the discipline, or because of a referral; • Inadvertent –students outside the academic discipline gravitate toward a person because of rapport developed during an encounter either in class, a meeting or event or other environments; Or Strangers meeting, having a discussion, with one having the “been there, done that experience” and can share germane advice; • Professional/relational where professionals connect during any number of events/venues and develop a “relational rapport” based on the event, the context of the encounter and the resources shared.
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The following will further explicate the above definitions and offer food for thought regarding how you mentor or are mentored. The information contained here in is experiential. As this is a work in progress and as thoughts were gathered there are potentially two types of contrived mentoring, academic and referral. First there is the contrived academic relationship sometimes employed by academic departments as students enter academic majors and/or programs. This is where the mentoring match takes place by alphabet, common interests or specialty areas in the discipline. These matches sometimes work, can be a win-win relationship for student and faculty if the personalities “click” and the relationship develops. However, these types of matches are not ideal. If there is no “click” there may be a degree of frustration more so on the part of the student versus the faculty/staff involved. The student frustration may be because the faculty may have a set of expectations that conflict with the needs of the student, there may be some gender and/or cultural concerns, personality conflicts and/or gender identity role issues among other conflicts. Gender identity roles are something that the academic environment has no control over and should not influence how students are mentored/advised. An example: a female single parent student wanting to go to law school went to her mentor for advice, the advice given was that parenting should be the priority and focus, not law school. This was a comment made to a student of color by a male mentor. The student took the advice and the life long dream of law school became a distant memory. This type of relationship may cause students to self advise, peer advise or change majors/degree options as a result of the mentoring match not being a win-win for student and faculty. However, if students are engaged in a mentoring program there may be a degree of flexibility as there may be more available faculty to mentor students. If initial matches do not work in a mentoring program there may be an option for change, thus reducing the chances of dashing the life long dream of a student. The referral contrived mentoring is based on a referral. This is a situation where an inadvertent mentee (now professional) makes a referral. The referral may be for information/advice, direction and may range from a phone call to something more long term. This type of contrived mentoring can be short lived. An example: a former student now a professional might refer someone to a mentor to gather information, advice or directions. Once the contact has been made and the information obtained the referee may move on. The “may move on” is because at times the person referred may come back for additional information or support. This kind of mentoring is one that can move from the contrived referred (service a purpose and move on) to one of the professional/relational. The move to the professional/relational is generally after the student has moved on, is established in their field and will periodically stay in contact. Inadvertent mentoring can serve many purposes, it is one that can provide support, offer supportive information “being there as a listening ear or eye (e-mail), offer words of encouragement when the “mentee” has the urge to give up. This type of mentoring can be found in a classroom setting where students might represent a cross section of the campus’ student population. Due to the rapport and the dynamics encountered a student may select a faculty member as a mentor regardless of the academic discipline because they offer words of encouragement, seem to be knowledgeable about a particular topic or the energy “clicks”. At this point, there are options that the mentor might exercise, they can mentor the student and provide the support and advice needed or the inadvertent mentor might not be willing to assume the role of “inadvertent mentor” based on the encounter with the person, attitude displayed, goals and/or objectives the potential mentee might have and may refer the student to someone else. An example of an inadvertent mentoring situation is, when a student that has been in a face-to-face class with the faculty member (regardless of the time lapse) requests a letter of recommendation for a scholarship, position, or internship, the student seeks out the mentor for that letter. Depending on the “mentor” and the requirements/time line for the letter, either party may self-select not to continue with the inadvertent mentor/mentee relationship especially if the student is unwilling to meet the faculty requirements for a letter (interview/access to needed paperwork to write an appropriate letter) or the time line has been such that there is no longer a connection to the student or, there is a lack of follow up and follow through on the part of the student requesting the letter.
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The inadvertent mentoring of on line students can be challenging. Especially when an online student selects a faculty member as a reference without prior consent of the faculty member and presumes the online faculty member will willingly honor the reference request. Needless to say this is problematic, as there may not have been face-to-face contact with the student, the student may misrepresent the types, kind and amount of information needed from the faculty member for the letter. Ultimately, this can lead to a negative experience for both the student and faculty member as there is no connection other than via the computer. The “or” part of the inadvertent mentor relationship, strangers meet, have a discussion, with one having the “been there, done that experience”, can share germane advice is one where time, distance and technology may play a part. It may be important in these cases for the “mentor” to be the “aggressor” regarding contact as the “mentee” may be engaged in various activities that may preclude constant interaction. Therefore, it may be incumbent on the mentor to maintain a line of communication via the various modes of technology to periodically check in to make sure that whatever instigated the relationship is still in progress and on track. It may also be important to give long distance pats on the back as appropriate. An example: During a trip a year ago encountered a women enrolled in an on line doctoral program. Were both at hotel computers and struck up a conversation. At the conclusion of the conversation contact information was exchanged. As it turned out, the woman was in contact with the mentor as there was a major degree of frustration with a professor and an assignment. The woman shared the frustration and was advised to forward the assignment in question to the mentor for feedback. At this point there were two options 1) take a red pen to the paper (English was not the first language) or 2) offer helpful advice. Option two was selected, based on the feedback the person was appreciative of the advice given and to date has successfully completed the first years of the program and congratulations extended. While distance and time zones may not be the best way to mentor, technology makes it workable.
Professional/Relational Generally mentoring is something thought of as an activity between faculty and students. However, the University of New Mexico Institute is more inclusive and includes the retention of faculty and staff. This is imperative as it develops a since of the community on a campus and beyond which is hopefully the bottom line of mentoring relationships. The University of New Mexico vision on mentoring is “…encouraging the matriculation and graduation of students as well as the retention of faculty, staff…” Inclusion of staff is important as they are often times the first line of defense when new students and faculty enter an academic department or program. Professional/relational mentoring may depend on the environment in which the relationship develops. New faculty may be reluctant to engage in mentoring relationships with other “seasoned” faculty, due to prior experience or suspicion of personal/professional agendas, fear of retribution at a later point, academic pressure from the department, college, or university regarding professional development and the “publish or perish” mind set. Or there may be avoidance behavior, where a new faculty member may have been warned about getting involved in various activities regarding the reputation of the activity or personnel involved (politics). Although this may not have been intended behavior, it does happen and can be construed as a “pitfall” of faculty-to-faculty mentoring relationships regardless of how often or under which circumstances an “olive branch” may be extended. In such situations, there is some skepticism of accepting a faculty mentor because of distrust or perceived ulterior motive of the person extending the branch. Another example of professional/relational mentoring is, where professionals connect during any number of events/venues and develop a “relational rapport” based on the event, the context of the encounter and the resources shared. This may include community events, various types of programs offered by resources in the community, like the Chamber of Commerce, local health center, hospital to name a few. Again, these types of relationship might be sustained regardless of time and distance and these are not contrived based on academic majors but on the need to serve and connect to the community. 618
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As one mentors professionals (faculty/staff) it is important for the mentor to encourage the faculty member being mentored to stay motivated by finding a passion and/or interest inside of and outside the discipline, within and across the disciplines and do appropriate networking in areas closely aligned to teaching, the professional discipline/interests and their passions. In addition to the typology of mentoring the environment in which the mentoring relationship takes place became a question. One may ask whether the environment in which the mentoring relationship begins needs to remain the same to be effective? Or does the relationship transcend environment/geography/time. As the environment of the mentoring relationship is examined, thought should be given to what the primary purpose of mentoring is and whether mentoring is useful? To those in contrived relationships it may be a useful tool, to those in inadvertent relationships it may been seen as “you are willing to do something for me, what do you want in return? Or in professional/relational mentoring it may be viewed as unwanted, based on previous experience versus being seen as an “olive branch” and a genuine offer to help. In addition to the environment in which mentoring takes place, other areas that may need closer review, include whether there are specific skills/characteristics a mentor should have? This list will be subjective, as the list will vary with each person based on their previous experience and their ability to enumerate what they are looking for in a mentor especially in a contrived setting. Other questions for consideration might include the objectives of mentoring particularly in a contrived relationship? Is the objective academic, exposure to the community for future job placement or a relationship to prepare young/junior professionals? • Is mentoring always a positive experience regardless of the typology? • Is communication, a necessity in mentoring or something that is needed when there is a concern? • Is mentoring a tool to address personal/academic challenges? Or will this vary based on the level of rapport established in either the contrived or inadvertent relationship? • Does mentoring require a number of contact hours/supervision to be effective? Supervision/contact hours may be necessary if there is a prescribed mentoring program that the mentor and mentee are part of, to support and enhance the development of the relationship and to meet specific guidelines. • Does mentoring have a time line or is it something that continues regardless of time lines and/or distance? Once the mentoring relationship moves to the professional/relational a time line may seem arbitrary, as there may be contact long after the contrived/inadvertent relationship has ended. • Does distance matter? The various modes of technology distance do not seem to impact mentoring after initial meeting and rapport established regardless of distance. • Is same gender mentoring relationships more effective than mixed gender? In a contrived relationship this may not matter as common ground can be established because of the academic environment. Culture and age may impact this relationship however, as there may be a need for a comfort level within the contrived relationship. An OWL (older wiser leaner) may not feel comfortable with someone their junior in age when it comes to mentoring/advice as they may seek someone that has experience, “connections” and resources to share. In summary, mentoring is something that can be contrived, inadvertent and professional/relational. As you mentor or are mentored understand that the mentoring experience may take on all three elements at once (the student may be a professional when they enter an academic program and then the contrived and/or inadvertent relationship develops) or it may be something that happens over a varied time span and environments. Often in academic settings the mentoring is more contrived and/or inadvertent, however as students graduate or move on, the relationship can move into a professional/relational type of mentoring. This might be an ideal, as it will reflect the investment made in the mentoring relationship.
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Table 1. Summary of mentoring typology
As you review Table 1, some things to ponder as one engages in or considers a mentoring relationship regardless whether it is contrived/inadvertent, in academic/job environments or in a professional/relational mentoring environment are: Is mentoring old fashion networking or a professional’s way to development resources and/or rapport for the future? • Is there a role for technology in mentoring? Is it an effective way to mentor? • Reflect on who have been some of your mentors? Reflect on the relationship, what was the good, bad and ugly of that relationship? How and in what type of environment did the mentoring occur? Did or does the environment impact the relationship? Do you mentor as you were mentored? To conclusion, what is contained within this mentoring typology is suggesting that, sincerity, frankness and options offered, are key to mentoring relationships. Ability to accept divergent points of view, acknowledge where people are in their life cycles, and to offer appropriate “yeah…but” counter points to cause abstract, “out of the box and non- traditional thinking are key elements in good mentoring relationships. We never know where mentees/mentors will come from; never know the impact you have had past, present, future, as mentoring may be from afar i.e. reputation “talking the walk”, zest for life/resourcefulness, community involvement (inadvertent mentor). The mentoring relationships should be such that regardless of absence, time and environment the mentee can contact the mentor and ask for assistance for self or other as appropriate. •
REFERENCE Mentoring Institute | The University of New Mexico (online information)
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Lunsford, L. G. University of Arizona Development of the Arizona Mentoring Inventory Abstract Mentoring is related to college success and persistence. However, there is minimal guidance for young adults on how to establish developmental relationships. This study seeks to develop a tool to provide such guidance. The goal of the Arizona Mentoring Inventory (AMI) is to provide feedback to young adults about the kinds of mentoring relationships that may most benefit them as well suggestions on avoiding dysfunctional tendencies in mentoring relationships. Preliminary data on the reliability and validity of the AMI will be presented, along with recommendations for its use. Theoretical advances in mentoring suggest that the traditional notion of a mentor as a single, intense one-on-one relationship needs to be expanded to include a network of supportive relationships, which are called developmental networks. These networks vary by their density (number of individuals), and intensity (depth of the relationship). Research in college student development suggests that young adults are establishing their professional identity, which might influence their mentoring needs. Personality and attachment styles have also been linked to the formation and development of mentoring relationships. Learning goal orientation has been found to mediate protégé-mentor relationships. The study integrates findings on mentoring networks, professional identity development, personality, and attachment. The AMI includes related to: Career Commitment (8 items), Goal Orientation (16 items), Core Self Evaluation (12 items), Ten Item Personality Inventory (10 items), Attachment (36 items), and the College Student Mentoring Scale (25 items).
Introduction Mentoring has been identified as an important tool for college success and persistence (Crisp & Cruz, 2009). In turn, Universities have created a plethora of mentoring programs (Mentoring Institute, nd) to serve all kinds of students including women, under-represented students (MentorNet, nd), and honors students (Lunsford, 2011). It is now well established that there are different kinds of mentoring support (Kram, 1985) and even different kinds of mentoring networks. However, little is known on how students might best connect with mentors. Furthermore, dysfunctional relationships are rarely mentioned. This study fills a gap in the research and practice literature by developing a research-based assessment to help young adults tailor these important developmental relationships to their needs. The paper reviews the theoretical and psychological constructs used to develop the inventory, along with a brief description of the inventory, sample and analysis plan. Theory The study draws upon perspectives from developmental networks and psychosocial development. The developmental network perspective suggests that more than one person may provide the two mentoring functions, psychosocial and career support. Furthermore, a person’s career identity needs may drive the formation and establishment of mentoring relationships. Erikson’s psychosocial development theory provides a useful framework to understand the development of career identity. Early mentoring researchers studied adult development and found that mentors could play an important role during this formative period. Types of Mentoring Support and Mentoring Networks The mentoring literature has been plagued with definitional problems and vague constructs, which may be responsible for the small effect sizes reported. Despite these problems, there is converging evidence for two types of mentoring functions: psychosocial and career support. Psychosocial support involves counseling, friendship and role modeling while career support involves sponsorship, coaching, and protection (Kram, 1985). 621
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Researchers suggest that the specific behaviors involved in psychosocial and career support may vary by population. The study builds on the College Student Mentoring Scale, which identifies four constructs related to these two functions (Crisp, 2009). Role modeling is separated from psychosocial support to yield a role modeling construct and a psychosocial/emotional support construct. Career support is construed as two constructs: degree and career support, and academic knowledge. This measure will be used to assess the kinds of mentoring behaviors students might receive or hope to receive. Theoretical developments suggest that the traditional notion of a mentor as a single, intense one-onone relationship needs to be expanded to include a network of supportive relationships also called developmental networks (Higgins & Kram, 2001). Development networks include individuals who provide psychosocial and career support and are different from friend or family networks. These networks may vary by their density, number of individuals, and intensity, depth of the relationship. This work suggests that may benefit from different kinds of developmental networks. Psychological Constructs Career Commitment College attendance fosters a sense of commitment to a major and hopefully to a profession. Mentoring programs in college often revolve around professional development opportunities. Career commitment is an integral aspect in developing a sense of identity, one of the important psychosocial tasks of older adolescents and young adults (Luyckx, Goossens, & Soenens, 2006). Identity development involves making sense of the self through interactions with others (Erikson, 1968, Chickering & Reisser, 1993). There are multiple theories to explain identity development, however they all measure commitment to a particular set of beliefs (Torres, Jones & Renn, 2009). Career planning and professional development are important needs that may drive the development of a mentoring network. Mentored individuals experienced greater career success if they reported more career motivation (Day & Allen, 2004). Lower career commitment has been associated with having more people in a developmental network (Dobrow & Higgins, 2005). This body of research suggests that individuals with greater career certainty may have fewer developers and desire more career mentoring while individuals with lesser career certainty may have more developers and desire more psychosocial mentoring. Goal Orientation The literature on how individuals set and achieve goals suggests that individuals can be characterized by their focus on performance goals, e.g. earning an A grade, or learning goals, learning the material. Furthermore, individuals with mastery goals have been found to receive more mentoring (Welsh & Wanberg, 2009). Researchers have found that protégés experience significantly more psychosocial and career support from mentors when they and their mentors have high learning goals (Godshalk & Sosik, 2003). This work suggests that individuals with a higher learning goal orientation may receive more mentoring. Personality Is there a ‘mentoring personality’ that makes a person both more likely to seek a mentor and more likely to be perceived as desirable to be mentored (Lunsford, 2011)? Researchers have begun to investigate the relationship of personality factors (Bozionelos & Bozionelos, 2010) to mentoring. Extraversion and conscientiousness, two of the Big Five personality traits, and the Core SelfEvaluation Scale (CSES) have been linked to mentoring (Dougherty et al, 2009) and career success (Judge, 2009). The CSES measures self-esteem, self-efficacy, neuroticism and locus of control (Judge, Bono, & Thoresen, 2003). This research suggests that individuals with high CSES scores may have a tendency to have more diverse developmental networks while individuals with low CSES scores may have a tendency to develop less diverse, but strong relationships, e.g. the traditional mentor. In addition, 622
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extraverts may have more diverse networks with introverts may have a tendency to develop less diverse, but strong network ties (traditional mentor). Attachment Recent research has examined how one’s internal model for managing relationships might affect a mentoring relationship (Gormley, 2008). There are three styles that characterize how most people interact in close relationships: secure, anxious, and avoidant. Individuals with a secure attachment style handle stressful interactions well, are flexible in their approach to others and solicit feedback. The two insecure attachment styles, anxious and avoidant, characterize about half of the population. Individuals with an anxious attachment style can be perceived as wanting more contact or advice that the mentor may wish to provide; may not be able to use well advice provided; may behavior in a hostile manner; and may not be receptive to feedback. Individuals who have an avoidant attachment style may avoid close relationships altogether and appear to be disinterested or neglectful. Individuals with secure attachments may be more likely to have good relationships while individuals with insecure attachment styles may be at risk for dysfunctional mentoring relationships. This work suggests individuals with a secure-attachment style will seek and form deeper mentoring relationships than individuals with insecure attachment styles. Individuals with an anxious attachment style may be at greater risk for dysfunctional relationships while individuals with an avoidant attachment style may not be interested in mentoring relationships. Summary This study attempts to integrate the findings on mentoring networks, career identity needs and psychological constructs such as goal orientation, personality, and attachment. The aim of the AMI will be to provide feedback to students about the kinds of mentoring relationships that may most benefit them, based on their needs and psychological tendencies, in addition to providing suggestions on avoiding dysfunctional tendencies in mentoring relationships. The AMI will therefore advance the literature by developing a theoretically based inventory to provide reliable and valid information about student needs relative to mentoring relationships. Method Sample Two samples will be used for this study. The first sample will be 150 participants from an introductory psychology subject pool, for which the students receive course credit, at a southwestern university. The second sample will be drawn from a pool of recent alumni, who participated in a facultystudent mentoring program at a university in the south. Procedure The participants will be provided a link to the online survey, either through the subject pool web site or through an email. Each participant will indicate consent to take part in the survey before moving on to the six sections of questions. The participants in Sample 1 will be asked to re-take the survey two weeks later to assess test-retest reliability. These participants must also attend an in-person debriefing session. Sample 2 participants will be given a website to access survey results. Both samples will be able to request that the study results be shared. Instrument
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The length of the survey is of concern. Thus, wherever possible the shortest inventory was selected to measure the relevant constructs. Mentoring. College Student Mentoring Scale (25 items) measures four types of mentor behaviors (Crisp, 2009). The Cronbach alphas are sufficient: Psychological and Emotional (α = .912), Degree and Career (α = .903), Academic Subject Knowledge (α = .883), and Existence of a Role Model (α = .845). Goal Orientation. Goal orientation will be assessed with a 16 item measure consistent alphas between .7 and .8 (Button et al, 1996). Career Commitment. Career commitment will be assessed with career planning (4 items) and career identity (4 items). Career Certainty: This study will use the four-item measure of career certainty developed by Dobrow & Higgins (2005). Personality. There are two measures. The Core Self Evaluation Scale has 12 items with Cronbach alphas ranging from .70 to .87 (Judge et al, 2003). The Ten Item Personality Inventory measures the Big Five personality traits with good validity and test-retest reliability (Rammstedt & John, 2007). Attachment. The Experiences in Close Relationships-revised 36 item scale will be used to measure anxious and avoidant attachment. It has Cronbach alpha of .9 and higher for the two scales (Fraley, Brennan, & Waller, 2000). Analysis Plan This study seeks to establish the reliability and validity of the AMI. The AMI will be administered to two samples, an undergraduate psychology pool sample and a sample of recent alumni who participated in a mentoring program. Reliability and Validity Test-retest reliability and internal consistency will be analyzed on the psychology pool sample. Convergent and divergent validity will be analyzed through computing correlations of the scales on the AMI. The Satisfaction with Life Scale should not be correlated with any of the measures. Predictive validity will be analyzed using the results from the alumni sample. Next Step The first step in inventory development is to establish its reliability and validity, which is currently underway for the AMI. The next step will be to refine the results the AMI provides to participants. Feedback will be provided to participants to assess its readability and helpfulness in providing information about how to establish mentoring relationships. Ideally, specific suggestions, which reflect the ‘local’ conditions of the institution or organization, will be part of this process. The final step will be to make the AMI widely available through the Internet and to organizations and institutions that work with young adults. REFERENCES Bozionelos, N., & Bozionelos, G. (2010). Mentoring received by protégés: its relation to personality and mental ability in the anglo-saxon organizational environment. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(4), 509-529. Button, S. B., Mathieu, J. E., & Zajac, D.M. (1996). Goal orientation in organizational research: A conceptual and empirical foundation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 67, 26-48. Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). Education and identity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Crisp, G. (2009). Conceptualization and initial validity of the college mentoring scale (CSMS). Journal of College Student Development, 50(2): 177-194. Crisp, G. & Cruz, I. (2009). Mentoring college students: A critical review of the literature between 1990 and 2007.
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Research in Higher Education, 50(5): 525-545. Day, R., & Allen, T. A. (2003). The relationship between career motivation and self-efficacy with protégé career success. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 64, (72-91). Dougherty, T. W., Cheung, Y. H., and Florea, L. (2007). The role of personality in employee developmental networks. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 23(6), 653-669. DOI 10.1108/02683940810894738. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. Fraley, R. C., Brennan, K. A., & Waller, N. G. (2000). An item response theory analysis of self-report measures of adult attachment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78(2), 350-365. Godshalk, V. M., & Sosik, J. J. (2003). Aiming for career success: The role of learning goal orientation in mentoring relationships. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 417-437. Gormley, B. (2008). An application of attachment theory: Mentoring relationship dynamics and ethical concerns. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnerships in Learning,16 (1), 45-62. Higgins, M. C. & Kram, K. E. (2001). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. The Academy of Management Review, 26(2): 264-288. Judge, T. A.(2009). Core self-evaluatinos and work success. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18 (1), 58-62. Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., & Thoresen, C. (2003). The Core Self-Evaluation Scale: Development of a measure. Personnel Psychology, 56, 303-331. Kram, K. E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company. Luyckx, K., Goosens, L., & Soenens, B. (2006). A developmental contextual perspective on identity construction in emerging adulthood: Change dynamics in commitment formation and commitment evaluation. Developmental Psychology, 42(2): 366-380. Mentoring Institute (n.d.). Inventory. Retrieved from http://mentor.unm.edu/information/ inventory.html. MentorNet (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mentornet.net. Rammstedt, B. & John, O. P. (2007). Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory in English and German. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 203-212. Torres, V., Jones, S. R., & Renn, K. A. (1009). Identity development theories in student affairs: Origins, current status, and new approaches. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 577-596. Welsh, E. T., & Wanberg, C. R.(2009). Launching the post- college career: A study of mentoring antecedents. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 74, 257-263.
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Kemner, K. University of Nevada With their Head in the Clouds ABSTRACT This paper assesses the methods and outcomes of three schools of architecture, the Universities of Nevada Las Vegas, Kentucky, and Cincinnati working collaboratively to develop pedagogy that leverages the potential of the emergent social and information sphere of the new student of architecture. In the process, this effort revealed unexpected avenues for intellectual support and communications effectively enhancing not only student to student, but also faculty to faculty peer mentorship.
The collaborative effort focused on expanding the potential of the Design Studio, a project based learning environment that is at the core of architectural education. Historically, the design studio is hierarchically structured with one faculty member instructing twelve to twenty students and is highly time intensive with students often in-studio for significant amounts of time. The intimacy that students develop with one another in this setting leads one to believe that, conceptually, the design studio is an ideal setting for peer mentorship. On closer examination, however, we can see that nature of architectural education in studio courses often subverts peer mentorship from flourishing. The instruction of architectural design, as with other disciplines founded on aesthetics, is based on methods of critique. Unlike disciplines that are founded on constant or absolute knowledge, mathematics for example, aesthetic critique is founded on an informed perspective and in the design studio this perspective is centered on the individual instructor. Consequently, a kind of cult of personality can develop between the instructor and the students who, in a phrase often overheard in schools of architecture, “are trying to figure out what the instructor wants”. The result of this is that within schools of architecture there is a tendency for individual design studios to be self-centered, intellectually hermetic and isolated from one another. From the perspective of the student the studio would seem to be an ideal setting for the development of peer mentorship. Given the size of individual studios, the amount of time students spend together working on similar goals, and the intimacy of the setting it would be hard to imagine an environment that would be more supportive of broad based peer mentorship. However, these are the very factors that peer mentorship is often stunted over the course of a semester. The design studio is an inherently stressful environment. Studio projects purposefully lack defined solutions. Studio success is measured instead by the students’ ability to formulate a well reasoned series of ideas rendered in architectural form. Additionally, in-studio critique highlights disparity between the work of the students within the studio leading to an environment that is competitively charged. Given the importance of the instructor as the arbiter of what is good and bad in this dynamic we can begin to see how the effort to gain the instructors approval over one’s peers can lead to studio environments counterproductive to free and clear peer support. The Collaborative Studio In the fall of 2009, the faculty from the schools of architecture at the universities of Kentucky and Nevada Las Vegas began planning a collaborative studio investigation that centered on the University of Kentucky’s houseboat industry repurposing to the manufacture of affordable housing. Keenly aware that the potential for this effort to become competitive and unproductive existed and may actually be enhanced magnified across multiple campuses, the faculty stressed the need to develop an approach that would be foremost a complimentary experience. In planning for this investigation it was determined by the faculty that the approach that would best lead to a complimentary environment would be for both schools to investigate the same overarching issue, in this case manufactured affordable housing, in a manner appropriate to the individual school. This resulted in a “coming at it from opposite ends” structure with 626
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the University of Kentucky, given its relationship with the house boat industry, developing the house as a product and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, in a context of a unique cultural component in the upwardly ambitious Hispanic population, developing a demographic basis for house design. Structurally, it was intended that information would be shared along three axis. First, three web based conferences using Cisco Systems Webex conferencing tools would meet three times during the course of the semester. Second, each studio would launch a website to track the progress of each universities effort as well as afford the download of information and last, studio twitter based blogs would facilitate the formulation of pre and post web conference topics and questions for discussion as well as an out of class dialogue with the complimentary investigation. Overall, this effort is considered a qualified success with many of the expectations of the planning effort being unmet while other opportunities arose that exceeded expectations. Assessing the 2010 Studio Unmet Expectations The formal avenues for collaboration, the studio websites and the twitter blog were, given the intention that these would facilitate student interaction, were completely ineffective in their intended purpose. One website was not maintained during semester while the other website although continuously maintained was rarely visited or used to download available documentation. The Twitter blog while active throughout the semester was almost entirely based on the posts of one professor. In post semester analysis it was determined that the success of the website as a method for facilitating an active discourse between the participating studios was compromised by the technical process of maintaining the website itself. While the studio that did maintain an active website was able to keep it current with the progress of the studio, the uploaded content recapitulated information available through other avenues such as web conferences. It should also be stated that this studio had a participant who worked professionally as a web designer, greatly facilitating the site’s maintenance. The lack of participation with Twitter blog, on the other hand, was harder to assess. More than half of the students in the Las Vegas studio were active participants on Twitter prior to the start of the studio. All of the Las Vegas studio participants signed on to follow the blog during the course of the semester. An unknown number, if any, of the University of Kentucky participants followed the blog. Ultimately, it was determined that Twitter was perceived as an outlet to support outwardly directed statements without the expectation of outside commentary or to follow similar statements from issued by others. None of the students expressed that they used Twitter to support two way discourse. Expectations Met and Unanticipated Outcomes The web conference structure proved to be the most effective means for facilitating relationship between the two studios. Despite recurring technical issues related to the use of VOIP over dial up audio the transfer of intellectual ideas through the web conference not only informed, but altered the course of studio investigation on each campus Most notably, the social demographic investigations of the UNLV based studio revealed key aspects of life associated with the low income population that questioned many of the base assumptions of the students at the University of Kentucky. As opposed to being presented as a critique of the work done by the Kentucky students, the web conference structure as well as the complimentary phasing of the UNLV studio investigation supported the presentation of this material in a nonthreatening manner that informed the Kentucky outcomes. Conversely, the University of Kentucky studio investigations centering on the development of the affordable house as a manufactured product became the basis of departure for the UNLV students, extending the work of the Kentucky students forward in solutions that were appropriate to both the climate and prevailing demographic conditions of the southwestern United States. The freedom in which these ideas were not only shared, but incorporated by the respective studios would be remarkable in a setting where the studios were part of one academic institution rather than two. 627
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Post semester assessment revealed that students had been cognizant of key factors related to the web conferences that led students to perceive presented material as being freely available for consideration in their own projects as well as the students at the partner institution as peers rather than in studio competitors. First, the two universities had clearly divergent approaches to presentation structure and choice of format, one mostly built on prepared presentations that focused content and the second more adhoc and spur of the moment. Second, the environmental differences between allowed students to see the ideas behind the work, not that they were competing with the work. The impact on faculty to faculty communications was unanticipated. During the planning process for the complimentary studios the emphasis had been on facilitating improvements to the student experience. Little discussion had been held regarding the relationship between faculty and of the faculty intended to participate in the collaborative studio several were not involved in the planning process. What became apparent, however, over the course of the semester was that the individual faculty members leading the studios were increasingly engaged in an ongoing positive discourse. Making this relationship all the more remarkable was that the two principal studio faculty had never met in person. As this discourse evolved it began to incorporate secondary avenues of communication to the web conference most notably email, but also through a shared acquaintance rather than directly contact one another. The impact of the collaborative studio on the involved faculty was identified by a third party observer in an end of semester assessment hosted by the University of Kentucky as the most provocative aspect of the joint effort. The relationship had been highly collegial with faculty sharing not only information, but offering insight and suggestions for the improvement of course content and delivery in a manner more open than typically seen in faculty relationships within a single institution. The ultimate outcome of this assessment was that there were enough perceived benefits to repeat the effort the following year with the inclusion of a third institution the University of Cincinnati. Assessing the 2011 Studio Following 2010 studio assessment it was determined in planning that alternative methods would be utilized to facilitate student interaction. These included the use of Dropbox file storage and sharing and the creation of a Facebook group to use the students, preferences for communications through social media. Web conferences using Cisco’s Webex program would again form the basis for direct sharing of studio progression based on the previous year’s success. An additional step to be added to the collaborative effort was a visit by the UNLV students and faculty to the partner campuses at the beginning of the semester. This last was recommended by the students who felt a lack of connection to their counterparts. A significant alteration to the previous year’s format was the inclusion of a third campus, the University of Cincinnati DAAP graduate students of architecture. Thematically, the focus of the studio was the development of project that centered on an educational facility emphasizing the development of a single classroom with a bias towards offsite manufactured solutions. Unmet Expectations The single largest unmet expectation centered on the participation of the Cincinnati students in collaboration with the other campuses. The lack of engagement was evidenced in several ways: first, every student that participated was invited to share the Dropbox file storage, no student from UC accepted their invitation, second, the UC students in their entirety failed to join the Facebook group. Simply stated, the students from the University of Cincinnati consciously chose to not avail themselves of any open avenues for unmonitored file or information sharing. The University of Cincinnati students did participate in formal web conferences, however, chose to have the conference presented by their instructor rather than individually. While it has not been clearly determined why the participation of the Cincinnati students was contrary to that of other participants in this effort, several likely factors have been identified. First, the Cincinnati
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program, at that time, was based on a quarter rather than semester system and was out of phase with the studios in Kentucky and Nevada. Second, the Cincinnati studio had determined early in their investigation that they were not interested in focusing on the classroom or offsite fabrication and therefore were not pursuing similar objectives. Third, the Cincinnati program includes a well established internship program that rotates students off campus every third quarter. This creates in students a strong professional perspective of their education. In this case, nearly half of the Cincinnati students had experience in forms with extensive school experience and many were openly skeptical that there was anything new to learn from the experience. Ultimately, it was determined that it was most likely that the campus cultural differences were of a magnitude that it made it difficult for effective participation. This assessment also allowed for the observation that while Lexington and Las Vegas a culturally at opposite ends of the spectrum the campus culture and program emphasis of these two schools were much more closely aligned than was understood the year before. Expectations Met and Unanticipated Outcomes As with the previous year’s effort the web conference format was one of the most successful aspects of the collaboration. As opposed to the 2010 studio effort, the scheduling of web conferences was less planned in advanced and instead conducted in an as needed basis when either faculty or students felt that there was sufficient material or issues for discussion. This resulted in web conferences that involved all students and faculty from all campuses, students and faculty from two campuses, faculty only, and faculty with students from one campus. As opposed to the 2010 effort a generally impromptu method of presentation was adopted by all the campuses, greatly improving the spontaneity of web conference discussion. Facebook proved to be a significant improvement over the Twitter blog incorporated in 2010. While much of the conversation flow still emanated from one faculty member, student participation was significantly increased and responsive to either information presented through Facebook or from calls for information needed. Essentially, the Facebook Group extended the teaching period of the studio beyond set hours and allowed students from multiple campuses to be directly engaged in the collaborative discourse. The use of Dropbox, an internet based file sharing service proved to be the most significant change in the in the structure of the collaborative studio from the previous year. Unlike the studio website structure used in 2010 that required time and effort to keep current and to share progress files, Dropbox enables immediate access to files for all who have permission to view the shared drive utilizing an interface that replicates the normal procedures for saving files to a computer’s hard drive. As intended, the Dropbox was to be used by each university to store all documentation generated in the course of investigation, including research, readings, case studies, and student progress. As stated earlier, the Cincinnati students did not participate in sharing files, however the remainder were active participants including the University of Cincinnati faculty. The Dropbox established unforeseen patterns for the transfer of knowledge among the studio participants. First, faculty generally served as the builders of a shared studio database composed of information intended to be directed to the students, information to be shared with other faculty engaged in the project, and lastly peripheral readings discovered during studio preparation that were not central to the pedagogic structure of the studio, but considered interesting enough to be made available. Student contributions to the Dropbox at first consisted of individual progress documentation, however, as the semester continued student contribution to the shared drive began to include items that mirrored the faculty contributions of interesting items not central to the studio objective. Consequently, the Dropbox over the course of the semester evolved from simply a shared drive to a kind of conversation in absentia, where students and faculty would leave items to be shared, but not directly discussed with one another. The participants in the collaboration would be notified of contributions to the shared drive through pop up screen notifications, or if a contributor felt something was especially noteworthy, via the Facebook group. 629
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Conclusions The traditional model of student peer mentorship in Schools of Architecture follows two relatively straightforward patterns: between students enrolled in the same studio, and between students of advanced standing and students beginning their architectural education. Both models are dependant on students maintaining the same schedule as each other. While this helps to build the closeness between students that one finds in architectural education it also works counter to the nature of individual students to work better or be more efficient at different times of the day or settings. The image of student peer mentorship that began to emerge during the conduct of these two studios was less based on physical proximity and more based on connections through digital communications to share information. Where the physically present model requires students to maintain a shared schedule, the digital model allow for students to maintain their own schedule to be personally effective. The digital model, as well, allowed for students to remain engaged in the collaborative studio in instances when they would normally have been completely removed from the studio environment. For example, several students in the UNLV studio missed time during the course of the semester as a result of illness, but remained actively engaged in their absence as a result of the various digital points of connection. The effectiveness and structure of this emerging peer mentorship appears to be largely defined by the student’s incorporation of information technologies in their lives. That relationship is, to some degree, defined by those who are classified as Digital Natives (born after 1988) or Digital Immigrants (born prior to 1988) as defined by Marc Prensky1. In the studios covered in this assessment the students participants are roughly divided between 2/3rd Digital Natives and 1/3rd Digital Immigrants. A breakdown of the technologies possessed by the architecture students that participated in the collaborative studio is itself revealing of the participants: • In all schools the participating student owns at least one computer, most likely a laptop. • Mac was the preferred operating system by the UNLV and UK students, PC was slightly favored by the UC students. • In the 2011 collaborative studio 90% of UK and UNLV students owned 3G or faster smart phones with a minimum of 16gb of memory. The UC students more closely matched society with approximately 50% of the students owning smart phones. • UNLV students were biased towards the iPhone with more than 60% owning a version of the Apple product. UC and UK reversed this in favor of Android model phones. • All UK and UNLV students had the Facebook app on their phones. This figure is not known about the UC students. • The smart phone students maintained data packages with their phone provider to remain continuously connected to the internet. We can speculate from observed patterns that the students that fully engaged the collaborative studio are essentially provincial globalists; existing in a social media sphere of their own relevance, a boundless world of social commerce existing simultaneously in many places rather than one. This media sphere is individually constructed through the selection of media portals, entertainment or social, the student ___________ Prensky, Marc (October 2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants from On The Horizon(MCB University Press, Vol 9 No. 5 October 2001)
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chooses to follow. This control of media implies that the media sphere the student, or any individual for that matter, inhabits is also self-reinforcing having been constructed of content that was actively sought and fitting criteria that the student is already receptive to while excluding avenues for the novel or unanticipated. Geography and time lose relevance in this environment as these media portals themselves are without local specificity and accessible anywhere. Further, social media such as Facebook reinforce this as one follows the real time goings on of friends and acquaintances regardless of place and time of day. Importantly this social media sphere is portable anywhere, carried in one’s pocket, vibrating and beeping coded tones that signify updates, messages, and posts.
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This world view allows these students to view the Dropbox not as a file storage system available to others, but as an extension of their social sphere. Sharing information here is no different than sharing posts on social sites such as Facebook accelerating the willingness to contribute to the intellectual dialogue supported by the Dropbox. By viewing the Dropbox as a social, rather than academic, site students in the collaborative studio exhibited little inclination of ownership of acquired or created information permitting a free and open exchange of ideas. This attitude is at the foundation of the premise that the students exhibited an emerging model of peer mentorship. The perception of the Dropbox as a social media site in the context of the Digital Native’s construction their own social sphere may be the cause behind a second unusual phenomena observed during the conduct of the collaborative studio. Students at the UNLV and UK campuses through the Dropbox accessed content uploaded by faculty from all three campuses to be in effect ghost taught by that instructor, essentially multiplying the number of instructors contributing to their education and studio projects. For peer mentorship among faculty, the web conference format proved a remarkably effective tool for facilitating peer mentorship. As opposed to the traditional model of faculty mentorship in Schools of Architecture where the internalizing nature of the studio is structured to frustrate peer to peer discourse, the web conference provided an opportunity for out of context discourse by faculty engaged in similar endeavors. As opposed to academic conferences, which provide outlets for discourse after the completion of the studio, this allowed for ideas to be shared in the moment of teaching thus affecting the arc of the studio discourse. The Dropbox and Facebook were significantly less dynamic for the faculty involved in the collaborative studio than for the students. Reflecting on the age of the faculty involved in this project and their status as Digital Immigrants rather than Natives, we can speculate that this reveals an intellectual divide separating those who hold a traditional conception of digital information and those who view digital information as part of social media. As conceived, the collaborative studio effort was intended to expand the intellectual capital of the Universities of Kentucky and Nevada Las Vegas through parallel investigations made possible by advancements in internet technologies. What this effort revealed over the course of the past two years is that these same technologies are fostering new avenues for peer mentorship that circumvent many of the factors of the traditional architecture studio based education that limit the possibilities of both faculty and student peer to peer mentoring. The success of this effort has inspired the faculty at the University of Nevada Las Vegas to incorporate both Dropbox and Facebook Groups in courses taught wholly in the school rather than across multiple campuses in the hope that the positive aspects previously described in this paper can be replicated. REFERENCE: Prensky, Marc (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants from On The Horizon (MCB University Press, Vol 9 No. 5 October 2001)
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Brenner, H. Michigan State University Confronting the (In)Equality of Women in Law through Mentoring in Legal Education ABSTRACT Today, women remain significantly under-represented in positions of power and leadership in the legal profession. Scholars and practitioners have engaged in extensive research and scholarship, and hosted various meetings and conferences, to explore the systemic reasons for this problem and offer solutions that will result in parity for female lawyers. Common themes emerge from this research. Most experts agree that mentoring is a critical component of women’s success in law; mentors help women get promoted, earn higher salaries, find greater job satisfaction, and can help address both explicit and implicit gender bias. Their assessment, while on point, tends to focus on women who are already practicing law. Indeed, most research on the (in)equalities of women in the legal profession ignores altogether the site where it all begins: law school. Traditionally, legal education in the United States has focused on preparing students substantively to engage in the practice of law. This paper argues that law schools should also actively educate law students on the key roles that mentors play, both in their lives as students and later as lawyers. Law schools should also encourage and help facilitate, through their faculty/staff/alumni, more formal, systematic mentoring of students. While the student focus is perhaps most critical, legal education should also strive to be emblematic of the profession, by implementing effective mentoring programs for its faculty as well. As a mechanism of illustration, this paper explores how a feminist pedagogical approach can achieve a number of these related mentoring goals by intertwining law, womens studies and feminism both in and outside of the law school classroom.
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Edson, P. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Faculty Mentoring of GLBT Students: An Anthropological Perspective ABSTRACT Several ideas from anthropology–observation-participation, network analysis, and enculturation–can contribute to the mentoring of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) students. Assuming anthropology to be an empirical science that addresses both everyday questions and broad, overarching ones; that mentoring is a caring way for a faculty member to encourage students to make their own judgments about these questions; and that observation-participation is the method developed by anthropologists for gaining insight into a culture from the perspective of the person living within that culture, this paper (1) characterizes mentoring as a kind of observation-participation, (2) considers the campus GLBT social environment from the perspectives both of the recognized campus clubs and of the student’s social network, and (3) provides a brief overview of the enculturation of GLBT people that separates them from the larger society and that has changed drastically in the last decade. The paper is based on the writer’s experience with GLBT students. A very brief bibliographic notice is appended to inform both students and mentors about GLBT orientations as a part of the ordinary variability of the human species and about the world-wide distribution of GLBT orientations.
Some years ago, I found myself visiting at my northern California alma mater animatedly talking with friends whom I had not seen since we graduated forty years previously. Although the three of us didn’t know it, two college students were listening to our conversation. Having absorbed much of what we had to say, the two walked up and asked, “How did you get to the point where you could talk so readily about such interesting and complex topics?” The three of us replied by telling them about our educations, and I suggested that they would benefit from taking an anthropology course. “We tried that,” they answered, “and dropped the course because it was so boring!” My own college experience was that anthropology was extremely liberating. I thought of anthropology as a kind of empirical philosophy that resolved not only the questions that were absorbing me as a young person, but also the Big Questions (Brinton 10) that have always interested all people at all times and places. I still regard anthropology this way so I want to organize my thoughts about mentoring American college-age gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) students in our culture around four key anthropological concepts. I want to begin by providing five common-sense characteristics of what I mean by “mentoring.” Mentoring • provides the student with some insight into whatever issue (s)he wants to raise, • helps him/her to process some of the logical possibilities flowing from the situation (s)he is presenting and to consider some of his/her apparent choices for action, • encourages him/her to reach his/her own decisions, • keeps his/her confidence in matters that (s)he regards as sensitive, and • does all of this caringly . The four concepts that have been developed by professional anthropologists over more than a century and that will organize my ideas about mentoring are: observation-participation, network analysis, enculturation, and, finally, a combination of bioanthropology and ethnography. The first section of this paper presents the concept of observation-participation. Observationparticipation is an anthropological field method that was developed to provide information about a culture from the point of view of the participant him/herself. College, with its students, advisees, student assistants, research assistants (e.g., Benton), and faculty members, is inherently a setting in which everybody is observing and participating to some extent in each other’s lives. I suppose that all learning– including learning at the university level–has been an observation-participation setting for as long as there have been universities, and when applied to mentoring, observing and participating are not limited specifically to GLBT students, but to all students. Ordinary office-hour/coffee-hour mentoring can occur when a student simply has a desire to “hang out” with a faculty member whom (s)he admires, “hanging out” often occurring on college and university campuses. Taking classes, e-mailing and texting the professor, and “hanging out” can create an 633
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atmosphere of trust. And if that atmosphere has been created, some students will want to consult with their professors about a very wide spectrum of what are truly existential problems ranging from those Big, Big Questions about the Universe and Life and the Meaning of the Student’s Place in it to the day-to-day, nuts-and-bolts problems that college-age students at the beginnings of independent living want to have more information about. Irrespective of whether the students are dealing with enormous, profound questions or pragmatic, quotidian ones, the issues that students bring to the faculty member are of incandescent importance to them. They desire not the professor’s answers, but explanations, the insights of a person who they think has given some consideration to whatever question is nagging at them, but who possesses a bit more distance on the question than they themselves have. They certainly want to take advantage of the professor’s ideas, but they also desire to work out solutions that make sense to them. Mentoring in this sense can be a one-time event, or it can continue all the way through the student’s campus career. Here’s an example of the kind of mentoring I’m thinking of: On September 12th, 2001, I discovered a former student at my office door. His aunt worked at the Twin Towers, and nobody in the family had been able to get in touch with her via cell phone since the two airliners had been flown into the towers some twenty hours previously. The student was acutely frustrated at not being able to contact his aunt. He had also adopted pacifism as a part of his personal viewpoint. His aunt’s disappearance in the 9-11 chaos had forced him to confront within himself an as yet unacknowledged rage and the possibility of an unrestrained violence directed toward those who were responsible for the all-consuming frustration within him. He needed to talk because he was being torn up by the internal conflict over his family’s not being able to contact his aunt, his proudly held philosophical pacifism, and the existence of the possibility of vehemence within him of which he had previously been unaware. The whole experience had been an fervid existential challenge for him. Faculty mentoring of college students doesn’t usually involve as much intensity as the example I have given here. The methodology of observation-participation usually consists of no more than thoughtful listening and remembering, and it is often quite unnecessary for the mentor to back up the listening and remembering with a fusillade of words. Although it involves thoughtful listening, observationparticipation is an extremely dynamic mental activity. The observing-participating mentor draws insights indiscriminately from his/her academic discipline (in my case anthropology), from the mentor’s personal experience, and from cultural symbol systems, from either the fine arts (for example, a short story or novel) or the popular arts (a video or a television series). When in the field, a cultural anthropologist may be sitting at a table working with an individual. But the anthropologist also gets out into the community. Similarly, the mentoring can take place in the faculty member’s office, but it can also be over coffee, brunch, lunch, “linner,” or dinner. Some students will introduce their parents to the mentor, maybe in the mentor’s office, but also in the parents’ home. Other contexts for observation-participation mentoring can be as original as the mentor and student can think of: museums, arts centers, shopping malls, street festivals, concerts, movies, historical sites, automobile drives/trips, public parks/gardens, the student’s home “stomping grounds,” ethnic festivals, heritage sites, zoos, markets, or other public events and places. These sites not only give the student a chance to get away from campus, but they also provide an enrichment of his/her education. A context that perhaps I should have mentioned first is one associated with the student’s professional growth. This can be in a less formal setting, such as talking with an advanced undergraduate music major about his experiences playing outside of a university musical organization. Or it may be in a more formal setting, such as at a professional conference. To this point in the presentation, I have treated mentoring as mostly a one-on-one activity. But observation-participation is not exclusively one-on-one. Students and faculty are doing their observing and participating in a social setting. So we need to look at the campus social environment that the students, and particularly GLBT students inhabit. Most college campuses have recognized clubs for GLBT students and their allies. Having a GSA or a PRIDE organization on campus bolsters the university’s reputation for inclusiveness, and beginning as
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early as the application process, some GLBT students want to find out whether the campus they are interested in has a GLBT organization. Because GLBT students, faculty, staff, and administrators constitute a hidden minority on campus, the students’ clubs and the events that the students organize can be a venue in which an institution’s employees can become known as GLBT and reduce the hidden barriers that separate all the GLBE members of the campus community. Turning away from the campus for a moment, it should be noted that local and national institutions and organizations (beginning after the Second World War with the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis) function to provide the opportunity for comfortable social activities sheltered from the dictates of the larger society; to create a supportive setting in which the authentic personalities of the members can be expressed; sometimes to provide vocational opportunities; and if not invariably to furnish the community with physical protection, at least to supply a political voice against an antipathetic dominant society. Campus clubs can provide leaders who, after graduation, can go on to help the local, state-wide, and national organizations. Because the benefits of the GLBT club are considerable, the university casts a benign eye on them, and because these campus organizations inevitably spark, burgeon, and subside, university employees sometimes extend gargantuan efforts to keep them going. I do not think that GLBT students regard them in the same way as the university does. The students can create their own social networks. And here’s where the network analysis comes in. Many people have seen sociograms, circles representing individuals connected by lines of varying thicknesses representing the frequency of interactions among the individuals. These sociograms are concise maps of social networks. Several strategies can be used by the students to manages their identities, roles, and social networks. • Some GLBT students are simply not very far along in acknowledging their sexual orientation, and these students shy away from the formal groups. If they develop GLBT networks at all, those networks will be small, tight-knit ones, and this kind of GLBT student blends in with the other students around him/her– although other GLBT students may make guesses about the sexual orientation of these apparent “loners.” Nevertheless, even in this day and age, a few GLBT students can go through all of their university experiences virtually isolated from other GLBT students. • Other GLBT students begin to locate each other as early as college orientation week and soon socialize together in their own developing social networks. Within this totality of GLBT networks, the most basic division is into gay men and lesbians, with bisexual and transgender persons generally socializing with members of their biological gender. But after these two subdivisions have been identified, there is no analyzing the nettings and knottings of larger and smaller networks bound by friendship and acquaintanceship. • Still other GLBT students are attracted to clubs, but not the recognized GLBT clubs. These students have two options. Campuses frequently have one or more clubs–perhaps a specific fraternity or a specific specialinterest club–that attract GLBT students, and some students are attracted to these clubs that are simultaneously GLBT and not GLBT. The other option is for the GLBT student to make use of one or more of the pre-existing clubs simply to build up his/her personal social network. • Finally, individual GLBT students also share interests with specific GLBT faculty and staff members, and little circles of GLBT students and GLBT-friendly students can form around individual faculty or staff members. The faculty member’s role within this complex of formal organizations and networks will vary. (S)he can be one of the club advisors and may attend club events. If (s)he is not a club advisor, (s)he is likely to be the center of one of the little knots of students who often “hang out” in his/her office. As the center of his/her own mentoring group (s)he will learn of the existence of the networks circling around other faculty mentors and of the purely student-centered networks and the GLBT students in them. The main idea that I’d like to have you take away from this analysis of networks in the context of college social groups is notwithstanding all the advantages of the recognized campus GLBT groups, the largest number of GLBT students are not to be found in them, but in a combination of their own networks and whatever interest areas that attract them, and that (in addition to their studies) it is these groups that receive the bulk of their social and emotional attention. From the student’s point of view the recognized GLBT club (right along, incidentally, with the faculty mentor) is simply one of the “interest areas” that the student chooses to invest his/her time in.
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“Enculturation” is the anthropological term for the process through which a person learns a group’s way of life. The word is the equivalent of the sociological term “socialization.” Back in the middle of the twentieth century, more frequently than might now be imagined, a gay or lesbian person might think of him/herself as the only person in the world who was, or ever had been, attracted to a member of the same sex. At that time, there was no enculturative process whatsoever for GLBT people. The GLBT person was isolated and left to his/her own devices to figure out who (s)he was and how to live his/her life pretty much on his/her own. By the early ‘80s, however, psychiatrists, psychologists, and clinical social workers understood that “Core gender and sex-role identities are well-formed by the age of 3. . . . During these early years, the child learns about the ethical values of the family and society and incorporates external rules into a personal structure. . . .” (Gonsiorek 32). “the child lives in a world where heterosexuality is taken for granted” (26) “[GLBT people are] shaped by a heterosexual socialization process. . . .” (61) “. . lesbians and gay men are [also] generally deprived of positive gay role models in their natural development. . . . In this way, most. . . children learn that homosexuality is wrong. . . . A major crisis is created for the individual, the family, and ultimately for society. . . . Minimally, the child feels ‘different,’ alienated, and alone. . . .” (32-33). “Along with the feeling of being alone, the reality of difference and alienation even in the family of origin constitutes the pain of early gay experience, unparalleled in the family experiences of members of other oppressed groups” (23). “Every time a homosexual [is] denied the validity of his feelings or restrains himself from expressing, he does a small hurt to himself. He turns his energies inward and suppresses his own vitality. The effect may be scarcely noticeable: joy may be a little less keen, happiness slightly subdued; he may simply feel a little run down, a little less tall. Over the years, these tiny denials have a cumulative effect” (33). “Recognizing the need for external validation, individuals risk disclosure to others in hopes that they will not be rejected. . . . If [the confidants’ reaction is] positive, the reaction can start to counteract some of the old perceived negative feelings” (34).
This was a fair account of the enculturative process during the second half of the twentieth century. The family and the school were the institutional setting for GLBT enculturation. • Young heterosexuals became interested in the opposite sex in middle and high school, and dances and other opposite-sex activities were organized for them. • GLB students might not learn about and be more open about their sexual identities until college, between the ages of 19 and 23, perhaps four years after their heterosexual peers (Lehoczky 2005). • Transgenders wouldn’t likely come to grips with their sexual orientation until after their college experience had concluded. All of these beliefs were simply guesses, serious social research on gay teenagers not having begun until in the 1990's. The picture of GLBT enculturation in the twenty-first century has changed with bewildering rapidity. An enculturative process has suddenly emerged, and it has been the media that has changed it. In the late twentieth century, gay characters began to appear in television series. The flagship series was Queer as Folk, which first appeared in the United States in 2001. For some young GLBT people, Queer as Folk became a key experience in their enculturation. And beyond television, the Internet has brought directly into the home images of sexual activities that were nearly beyond the imagining of GLBT people living back in the post-Second World War years. Without much awareness on the part of earlier generations, the media have produced a Brave New Enculturative Experience, if not a Brave New Culture. Figures vary depending on the study and the locality, but in the twenty-first-century 4- and 5-year-olds are realizing that they are gender-atypical. A third to half of GLB students now come out between 14 and 16. Young people becoming aware that they are transexual as early as 5. Some parents are beginning to become more understanding (Lehoczhy 2005). Older faculty mentors are a little startled to receive from some of their students bits of information about current sexual mores that register on the Richter scale. The mentor continues to have things to talk about with the students, but the students now have unexampled access to more information than ever before. Anthropology is distinctive among the social sciences for its bioanthropological component. GLBT students may appreciate mentors’ recommending studies to them about both the biological foundations of same-sex attraction and the literature on the world-wide distribution of homosexuality. 636
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Born Gay, by Wilson and Rahman, is a helpful, readable summary of the important body of research on the biological foundations of GLBT orientation. The ethnographic literature on GLBT people is widely scattered and spotty. One chapter of Ford and Beach’s cross-cultural and cross species study of sexual behavior found that sixty-four per cent of the societies studied “condone or even encourage homosexuality for at least some members of the population” (125, 130). Serena Nanda’s Gender Diversity provides seven accounts of widely differing ways of constructing sexual identity. REFERENCES Benton, Thomas H. (pseud.). “Tireless Research Assistants.” Chronicle of Higher Education. Nov 26 (2004): Section C. Brinton, Crane. The Shaping of the Modern Mind. (New York: Mentor, 1953) Cameron, Judy L. “Effects of Sex Hormones on Brain Development.” In Charles A. Nelson and Monica Luciana (eds.), Handbook of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. (Cambridge: M.I.T. Press, 2008). Pp. 59-78. Ford, Clellan S. and Frank A. Beach. Patterns of Sexual Behavior. (Westport: Greenwood, 1951). Gonsiorek, John C. (ed.). A Guide to Psychotherapy with Gay and Lesbian Clients. (New York: Harrington Park, 1982). Hamer, DH, S Hu, VI Magnuson, N Hu, and AMI Pattatucci. “A Linkage between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation.” Science (1993): 261:321-27. Jones, Doug. “Comments.” Current Anthropology. 41 (2000): 400-401. Lehoczky, E. “Young, gay, and OK.” The Advocate. Issue 931 (2005): 25, 29, 31. Nanda, Serena. Gender Diversity. (Prospect Heights: Waveland, 2000). Williams, Walter L. “Comments.” Current Anthropology. 41 (2000): 403-5. Wilson, Glenn, and Qazi Rahman. Born Gay. (London: Peter Owen, 2005, Gender Diversity. (Prospect Heights: Waveland, 2000). Williams, Walter L. “Comments.” Current Anthropology. 41 (2000): 403-5. Wilson, Glenn, and Qazi Rahman. Born Gay. (London: Peter Owen, 2005).
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Hasan, J. Eastern Washington University Mentoring Models & Guidelines for the Aspiring University Professor ABSTRACT Seneca in De otio observed: ” In brief, this is what we can expect of a man; that he be useful to other men; to many of them if he can; to a few if he can but a little; and if he can but still less, to those nearest him; and if he cannot to others, to himself.” University professor is a many-dimensional personality: teacher, scholar, academician and apostle of learning; Professor Robert L. Coard, in 1959, observed: ”The word ’professor’ bears a strong resemblance to an onion since it consists of many layers around a center. The center of ”professor” still yields respectable, often formal, uses when the word is employed in official faculty meetings, college catalogues, and job contracts.” Professor as a teacher will be the main focus of the session–inspired by an incisive article by the Hoover Institution Fellow Martin Anderson, ” What ! Me Teach? I’m a Professor ” (The Wall Street Journal,09-08-1992).Teaching Styles of influence, the many connections that fuse student and teacher to each other, abound in the educational literature. The session will instigate lively discussion on the typology: The Teacher as ”Shaman”; The Teacher as ”Priest”, and The Teacher as ”Mystic Healer” tentatively developed by Professor Joseph Adelson and published in The American Scholar, Volume 30, No.3 (Summer, 1961). Some tips will be presented about the terrible moral responsibility to decide and teach–a craft that requires continuous honing and sharpening for life time; the presenter of the session has been continuously teaching for well over four decades, with indescribable psychic rewards. To quote Khalil Gibran, ” If he [ the teacher] is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.” Happy teaching–Profess or Perish.
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Olivero, O. A. Office of Training and Education & National Cancer Institute Mentoring in Biosciences: The Case for Interdisciplinary Mentoring ABSTRACT Biomedical research has changed in recent years so that the “silo” scientist, working in semi-isolation, often has been replaced by consortia of scientists in interdisciplinary collaborations. Scientists in these consortia typically have been trained by solo scientists and have received limited, if any, classical mentoring. To train the next generation of scientists in collaborative research a new type of mentoring may prove beneficial. Future training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to participate in research performed by consortia, should include mentoring by several individuals spanning the fields represented by the membership of these consortia. It is our objective to institute a program that will facilitate such interdisciplinary mentoring. In a pilot project we seek to train members of several diverse scientific organizations participating in an existing coalition to provide a new approach to interdisciplinary mentoring. We propose two phases of training and organization. The first phase consists of the connecting with or creating robust mentoring programs in the individual societies. The second phase will involve the creation of a clearing house to identify those schooled mentors who are available to participate in interdisciplinary mentoring. The clearing house will provide distance learning opportunities for the selected mentors that will emphasize participation in training on collaborative mentoring. The clearing house will attempt to tailor the selection of mentors for each participating trainee to complement their principal mentor and provide them with insights about these other disciplines and way of thinking.
The Science of Team Science The processes by which scientific teams organize, communicate, and conduct research is known as the Science of Team Science. This discipline promotes team-based research through empirical examination of the interactions, processes and elements involved in building successful teams. Increasing attention is placed on the understanding of such interactions and the promotion and support of teams that would achieve scientific discoveries not attainable by either individual or simply additive efforts. The understanding of the difference between additive efforts and synergy constitutes a critical element of the Team Science. Supporting those concepts shows beneficial and essential for the success of the team as such, measured by positive relationships and the success of the project, measured by the final contribution. Team work, however is a relatively modern approach to scientific research as it opposes to independent and individual research, a modality well established in Academia. Scientist’s ability to participate in successful team collaboration can be stimulated by internal needs, or external imposition. Strategies to facilitate such participation could be developed to warrant the genuine engagement and critical collaboration of every member. There are different strategies to be utilized from short-term, project-specific approaches to longerterm modalities designed to cultivate an enduring transdisciplinary (TD) orientation over the course of an individual's career development. Ideally an intended outcome of cross-disciplinary education should start earlier at the level of undergraduate. Some pilot initiatives offer a programmatic framework and reflective space for established team researchers to review their practice, as well as a group learning environment where they can exchange concepts, methods and experience. Currently there is an informative suite of online team science learning modules that empowers visitors to experience team science concepts and methods. Team Science applied to the Biomedical Sciences There is an increasing realization that “team science” is needed to tackle and conquer the health problems that are plaguing our society. The perception of individuals making discovery rather than teams is an anachronism. It is clear for the public as stakeholders that scientific progress in areas of medicine is 639
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the effort of teams. It is still hard, however, to remove the persistent concept of silo or feuds established long time ago in Academia. Teams are the future of science as discovery is an interlaced network of complex concepts. Since scientific reality was defined and understood as an intricate web of reactions, processes and pathways it becomes clear that the insight of those would not be achieved by independent researchers, but rather by real teams with a combined background and tools to engage in resolution of such fancy problematic. As an example, solving the obesity epidemic most likely requires the integrated interactions of researchers who study lipid metabolism, genetics, and cell growth; endocrinologists; pediatricians; internists; surgeons; exercise physiologists; nutritionists; behavioral researchers; psychologists; and economists—to name just a few types of specialists. Academic research institutions are not purposefully arranged to cause such diverse teams to coalesce. Collaboration is common; true coordinated teamwork is rare. Effective problem-focused organization across disciplines or departments is far from the norm; training and mentoring with the expectation that the trainee will have a successful career in such a team environment is virtually nonexistent. Most often, in academics or industry, the lone inventor/innovator or the multifunded “independent” laboratory head is seen as the pinnacle of success. We are wrong to persist in this single ideal if the goal is to translate scientific discovery into improvements in human health. Successful multidisciplinary research teams require transformational leadership that is capable of developing a shared vision within the team and sustaining the team over time; infrastructure that is of value to all team members; facile communication based on collaborative education and respect that allows constructive disagreement; and finally, the recognition that the dynamic structure of a team, in and of itself, requires work to sustain. Transformational leadership describes leaders who are motivators, moderators, and mentors and who have the ability to connect disparate groups. The importance of the mentoring role of the initial team leader cannot be understated. It should be assumed, during the connective thinking process, that all members may eventually take a role as leader of the group at some time as new projects are developed with shifting focus. Leadership dedicated to mentoring would facilitate the progression of entry level scientists that are expected to work as a consortium and collaborate productively to move in future leadership positions of their own. Based on this concept the team will be a dynamic structure that will produce the best trainees as well as the best team scientists. Transitioning to team science is a culture change that requires intensive commitment. Organizations need to identify their transformational leaders and foster multidisciplinary team development with their help. The Scientific Liaison Coalition The Scientific Liaison Coalition (SLC) was born after an initiative of the Society of Toxicology with the following overarching goals: • •
Strengthening partnerships among scientific- and health-based organizations to increase awareness of the impact of toxicology and related subjects on human health, and Functioning as a means to enhance cooperation among societies as equals with the goal of accomplishing tasks benefiting human health and disease prevention through joint and several shared activities.
The SLC is at the present time integrated by more than 15 different scientific organizations and has at least one representative from each. It has met face to face three times and continues to pioneer collaborative efforts.
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The Interdisciplinary Mentoring Pilot Initiative As mentioned before, the importance of the mentoring role of the initial team leader cannot be understated. It should be assumed, during the connective thinking process, that all members may eventually take a role as leader of the group at some time as new projects are developed with shifting focus. A transformational leader has the ability to sacrifice self-interests, control dominant individuals, ensure that all members are acknowledged, and guarantee that projects and resources match the interests and priorities of the team. In this pilot initiative, with the SLC as a setting, the focus of the process will be centered on mentoring. In lieu of having a leader that focus on mentoring, as proposed, this pilot effort seeks to generate a mentoring culture able to change the way mentoring has been seen until now. Based on silo settings, mentoring has been traditionally considered a vertical relationship that created silo thinkers, and independent researchers individuals. This approach trends to generate open minded mentors that in turn will be the engine behind the success of the team scientists involved in team groups. The SLC will serve as a model in which two phases of experimental training will take place: • •
Phase One-Creation of robust Mentoring Programs in the participant organizations Phase two-Training of selected Mentors (I-Mentors) chosen from their respective societies.
The outcome will be to have robust trained I-Mentors with the ability to return to their mentoring programs and train the members of those, generating additional I-Mentors and eventually I-Mentees. The existence of I-Mentors is critical to the development of the collaborative units that are central to the Interdisciplinary Science. Having a mentor with the ability to understand the core of the concept of IScience will determine the overall wellbeing of the team and the generation of ideas in a frame of freedom, respect and trust. Development (Figures 1- 5) Phase One-Creation of Robust Mentoring Programs in the participating organizations. This phase will encompass the support of the creation or enhancement of pre-existing mentoring systems in each organization. The concept is to develop strong programs able to generate I-Mentors and IMentees on the second phase. Each society would assign a representative that would receive training on how to set up a successful mentoring program. The diverse nature of this SLC will be a perfect setting for discussions and learning experiences provided by the participants. On the other hand given the interdisciplinary nature of the coalition and the common team (human health) around which the participants gravitate; mentoring will be one of the unifiers. Phase Two-Training of selected Mentors (I-Mentors) provided by the respective societies. Phase Two constitutes the core of the proposal. Training I-Mentors is a novel activity that encompasses numerous steps and aspects. The training will seek to produce a solid I-Mentor that • • • • • • •
Will understand the concept of Interdisciplinary Science Will exercise self-reflection Will learn to be open minded Will exercise respect and trust Will be able to put himself on a side Will look for common ground Will be able to see the whole picture 641
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Will be generous Will be a potential leader if circumstances demand it
Since these competencies and not acquired overnight and require a process, it is expected that the participants receiving training, participate in periodic refreshing sessions that will bring the concepts discussed during the training back to their minds. Training based on an initial deep self-reflection is proposed. It will be then followed up by an intense set of exercises seeking tolerance and adaptability. Since Interdisciplinary Science gravitates around collaboration and diversity of background and opinion, tolerance is paramount. Similarly the search of common ground is a desirable skill to develop and master. I-Mentors should be capable of distancing themselves from the problem and adopt a common ground search that will facilitate connections, and processes of discovery. Although the diverse nature of the team should persist, I-Mentors have to remember that the success of a group is achieved by all the parts of the team as one. Traditional mentorship focused on the individuals, their development and career progress as well as their personal wellbeing. I-Mentors should metamorphose that concept without losing sight of their objective: the group. Hence, if traditional mentoring called for individual success, I-Mentoring calls for group success. Traditional mentoring took place, generally, from a supervisor closely related to the discipline of the mentee. I-Mentors on the other hand, could provide trans-disciplinary mentoring, by focusing on the success of the team and including the mentee as one part of the team. The establishment of the mentor-mentee relationship used to be sometimes imposed by educational structure and the academic program requirements or obligations. IMentors should be available to all the individuals in the team, regarding of their hierarchy or position, being consistent with the idea that the discipline is not as important as the message conveyed by the IMentor. It is desirable that I –Mentors focus on the outcome of the team. Peer mentoring become even more relevant in the setting of the interdisciplinary mentoring. IMentors should crosstalk and generate vibrant ideas, challenged by others on a frame of respect or trust. IMentors would be those able to analyze, think and revise ideas without feeling challenged or scared about their personal success or funding. Conclusion The outcome of this proposal should provide the basis to generate teams committed to solve complex problems, with a multi disciplinary approach, where the focus of the group is the team effort rather than the independent approaches. Members of these teams should be leaded by I-Mentors trained specifically for this purpose and selected from the team participating organizations. A true collaboration should be palpable not only when the members involved are able to reach consensus but when the team reaches the stage of thinking as one. REFERENCES Disis, M. a. (2010, March 10). The Road We Must Take: Multidisciplinary Team Science. Sci Transl Med , Vo Disis, M. a. (2010, March 10). The Road We Must Take: Multidisciplinary Team Science. Sci Transl Med, Vol. 2, Issue 22, p. 22. Gottfredson M, S. S. (2008). The new leader's guide to diagnosing the business. Harv Bus Rev , 135. l. 2, Issue 22, p. 22. Gottfredson M, S. S. (2008). The new leader's guide to diagnosing the business. Harv Bus Rev , 135.
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Egues, A. L. New York City College of Technology Experiences of Mentoring Influences The Personal and Professional Growth of Hispanic RNs ABSTRACT The literature supports that mentoring facilitates both personal and professional growth as a registered nurse (RN) advances in practice. The growth and retention of Hispanic RNs, including those with advanced academic preparation, remains critically small in comparison to the burgeoning growth and health disparities of the Hispanic population. This researcher’s previous findings have shown that Hispanic RNs experience an average amount of mentoring activities, and significantly different amounts of mentoring according to their level of nursing practice. Hispanic RNs experience significantly less mentoring activities key to advancement that focus on learning about friendship, politics, support, and trust; support systems that include a low use of men- tors and professors, but a high use of family and friends; and, few Hispanic mentors. The implications of those findings, in terms of cultural, personal, and professional perspectives needed to be further explored. The specific aims of this research study were to: (1) explore how Hispanic RNs experience mentoring, personal and professional growth, (2) examine what methods and practices Hispanic RNs use to advance personally and professionally, (3) assess the role that academic, personal, and workplace arenas play in influencing Hispanic RN mentoring, personal and professional growth and (4) address Hispanic RNs access and barriers to mentoring, personal and professional growth, and attitudes towards nursing. Focus group methodology was used with adult, Hispanic RNs from organizations throughout New York City and its boroughs. Among the thematic findings were that Hispanic RNs: (1) face educational, practice, and socioeconomic barriers as students and as nurses, (2) face little support to advance personally and professionally, (3) see mentoring as a risky undertaking and (4) depend on self for personal and professional growth. The many implications for nursing education, research and practice at local, national and global levels will be.
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Barnish, M. E. University of Illinois Induction and Mentoring New Teachers: Standards to Ensure Program Success ABSTRACT In a time when teachers and their work are being challenged, inducting and mentoring new teachers cannot be more important. To develop professionalism, to emphasize exemplary instruction, and to ensure student success, new teachers must receive assistance as they continue learning the art, science, and craft of teaching. Illinois has established a unique approach to induction and mentoring by working with all major educational stakeholders in the state including, teachers unions, principals association, state board of education, institutes of higher education, and others. This paper introduces the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) standards for induction and mentoring new teachers, including the history of standards development and the collaborative process used in their authorship. A corresponding continuum that allows new teacher programs to self-assess and plan for continuous improvement is also discussed. Through the use of these documents, administrators and program coordinators in Illinois work with new teachers to develop the skills and knowledge that can more quickly move them to the expertise of the veteran teachers. Those working with induction and mentoring in Illinois have learned the necessity of informing educators and others about the importance of these activities and programs. The paper examines some preeminent advocacy techniques used for this purpose. Topics often included in new teacher induction and mentoring, such as analyzing student work and collaborative professional conversations, will also be discussed. Emphasis is placed on the complexity and importance of outstanding induction and mentoring program in developing excellent teachers and impacting student achievement.
Induction and Mentoring New Teachers In light of recent challenges to education in general and teachers in particular, it is appropriate to consider the professional development and support given to new teachers. It is no longer acceptable for new teachers to take a number of years to move to the levels of expertise, knowledge, and skill exhibited by veteran teachers. Parents, administrators, children, legislators, and community members expect and deserve well-trained, competent teachers who will assist all students obtain optimal achievement. Disparities in teacher preparation programs do not always allow for consistency of content, knowledge, or skill development. Indeed, even if teacher education was more similar nationally, teaching situations, schools, and communities are not. Therefore, the new teacher needs assistance with pedagogy and with learning about local culture and expectations. Induction of new teachers is not new to education. However, the “buddy mentor” who provides information about school policies and procedures has been replaced by an instructional mentor who works closely with the new teacher on all aspects of the educational system within the context of a comprehensive induction program. (Illinois Induction Policy Team, 2008). “In order to improve teacher retention and student outcomes, and provide a cost-savings to schools, induction programs should have the following elements: multi-year (2-to-3) program, rigorous mentor selection and training, grade-level and subject-area pairing of mentors and novices, sufficient time for mentors to meet with and observe new teachers, and formative assessments that assist beginning teachers to advance along a continuum of professional growth.” (From Here to Excellence, 2007). While it is easy to document the benefits both new teachers and mentors find in induction programs, it is often difficult to link induction and mentoring with student achievement. Certainly, a positive correlation between induction and grades/test scores could change perspectives on induction and mentoring programs from peripheral or desirable to necessary and required. Unfortunately, a universal, direct relationship is impossible in light of the numerous variables associated with academic success (e.g., socioeconomic status, parent involvement, health, nutrition, instructional materials). However, many school systems and induction programs are aware of the necessity to articulate impact data that at least suggests a connection between induction and the acceleration of new teacher growth and skill development. While scant, such data are available. For example, “A federally-funded randomized 644
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controlled trial found that beginning teachers who received two years of comprehensive induction support produced greater student learning gains – the equivalent of a student moving from the 50th to the 58th percentile in math achievement and from the 50th to 54th percentile in reading – compared to colleagues served by prevailing induction programs.” Source: Support New Teacher Mentoring and Induction Glazerman, S., E. Isenberg, et. al. (2010) Referring to the research of Sanders, Rivers, Pipho, Gordon, Kane, and Staiger, authors Moir, Barlin, Gless, and Miles (2009) provide further evidence for the importance of induction that develops excellent teachers by stating that “Over the past decade, a clear consensus has emerged that teacher quality is the most important school-related factor in student outcomes. It dwarfs every other school-related variable with regard to academic performance. . . Poor and minority students who have an effective teacher four years in a row can achieve at the same levels as their more affluent white peers, thus potentially eliminating the student achievement gap.” This data substantiates the necessity for new teachers to gain expertise and skill very quickly. Students cannot afford a new teacher who does not progress to the level of experienced teacher within a very short period of time. Induction and mentor are critical in accelerating this process. The Illinois New Teacher Collaborative Understanding the importance and challenges of establishing and supporting accountable induction and mentoring programs, Illinois educators adopted a unique, collaborative approach. In 2004 representatives from Illinois educational agencies (Illinois Principals Association, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois State Board of Education, Regional Offices of Education, the University of Illinois, and other institutions of higher education) met "to discuss the importance of supporting teachers who are new to the profession. At this working session, everyone agreed that hiring new teachers and retaining them are two of the most expensive investments a school administrator can make; however, there was no single organization in Illinois dedicated to organizing and sharing resources for new teachers and those who work with them. The group agreed to form the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative (INTC)." (Clift, Wilkins, Kohmstedt, 2008). “Since it's inception, INTC has provided statewide leadership to create common resources for Illinois educators.” (Clift, Wilkins, Kohmstedt, 2008). This leadership includes an annual conference for all interested in induction and mentoring of new teachers and is attended by new teachers, mentors, program coordinators, administrators, and higher education professionals. As with many conferences, this one includes topical breakout sessions, keynote speakers, and exhibits. It also contains distinctive teamwork sessions that allow participants to examine their own programs, set goals, and create action plans. Regional workshops for new teachers are also held annually and provide resources and information related to the needs of those new to the profession. “In 2006, the Illinois General Assembly allocated two million dollars for state-funded induction programs across Illinois. INTC became the administrative home for the first ten state-funded programs.” (Clift, Wilkins, Kohmstedt, 2008). Coordinators were added to INTC staff to conduct site visits to all programs, to obtain research data and anecdotal information about each program, and to establish communication and networking among program coordinators. The coordinators created regional professional learning and network groups (PLaN) that have met biannually and have created extensive opportunities for professional development and technical assistance. INTC staff immediately recognized the necessity of collecting and analyzing data from all statefunded programs. Extensive surveys have been administered biannually, interviews have been conducted, and anecdotes recorded by the coordinators. Information has been compiled into various types of research reports, the most recent of which are four data briefs issued in one year with a culminating summary report. The reports compared and contrasted findings from all programs and resulted in recommendations to the State Board of Education. In subsequent years, funds were increased and the number of supported programs grew to more than sixty in 2009. Since then, in spite of the growth and success of many of these programs, fiscal problems 645
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have caused the state legislature to decrease program funding until the most recent legislative session in 2011 declined to fund any induction initiatives (including the planned principal induction initiative). Regardless of this dire situation, the Illinois State Board of Education has recognized the importance of maintaining induction programs and has challenged INTC to maintain this important work. In response, INTC continues to host the annual conference, the regional workshops, and contacts with individual programs throughout the state. To enable the participation of many more programs, INTC has pursued a number of online initiatives, providing resources contributed by induction programs throughout the state, research data reports composed by INTC, and archives from INTC conferences and workshops. Recently, internet-based professional development has been offered through online discussion groups, sharing of program information, and book chats. Both INTC staff members and participants view the online initiatives as viable means to keep induction program coordinators in close contact and to learn from one another without the costs of travel and being away from school. At this time, INTC is in the process of redefining itself with the assistance of the Illinois State Board of Education, the INTC Partnership Board, and the INTC Executive Board. The goal is to maintain support for all induction and mentoring programs in the state, to be in close communication with these programs, and to provide professional development and technical assistance through various face-to-face and electronic means. Illinois State Standards for Induction and Mentoring As statewide, grant-funded induction programs progressed in content, skill development, and professionalism, educational stakeholders, including INTC recognized the need for some commonalities and accepted precepts. “Illinois Induction Program Standards have been developed by a diverse stakeholder group that has broadly reviewed the research on induction and induction programs as well as their implementation. Illinois Induction Program Standards are offered to facilitate and support the development, implementation, and continual improvement of induction programs that in turn achieve the goals for induction programs.” (2010). In December 2008 the Illinois Certification Board approved the following nine standards: Standard 1: Induction Program Leadership, Administration, and Support The induction program has an administrative structure with specified leaders who plan, implement, evaluate, and refine the program through data analysis, program evaluation, and stakeholder communication linked to relevant standards. Standard 2: Program Goals and Design Local program design is focused on beginning teacher development, support, retention, and improved student learning. The goals are guided by current induction research, effective practices, Illinois Induction Program Standards, the district/school improvement plan and local concerns/context. Standard 3: Resources Program leadership allocates and monitors sufficient resources to met all goals and deliver program components to all participants. Standard 4: Site Administrator Roles and Responsibilities Site administrators lead efforts to create a positive climate for the delivery of all essential program components. Site administrators and program leadership collaborate to ensure that they are well prepared to assume their responsibilities for supporting beginning teachers in the induction program.
Standard 5: Mentor Selection and Assignment Mentors are recruited, selected and assigned using a comprehensive strategy that includes a clearly articulated, open process and specific criteria that are developed by and communicated to all stakeholder groups. 646
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Standard 6: Mentor Professional Development Mentor professional development provides a formal orientation and foundational mentor training before they begin their work with beginning teachers and should continue over the course of the mentor’s work with beginning teachers. Mentors have time, supported by the program, to engage in this mentor learning community and are consistently supported in their efforts to assist beginning teachers in their development, with a focus on student learning. Standard 7: Development of Beginning Teacher Practice Beginning teachers have regularly scheduled time, provided during the two year program, to participate in ongoing professional development that is focused on their professional growth to support student learning. Standard 8: Formative Assessment Beginning teachers and mentors participate in formative assessment experiences, collaboratively collecting and analyzing measures of teaching progress, including appropriate documentation, mentor observations and student work, to improve classroom practices and increase student achievement. Standard 9: Program Evaluation Programs operate a comprehensive, ongoing system of program development and evaluation that involves all program participants and other stakeholders. (ISBE, 2010) While the standards served to define major components of quality induction programs, educators determined that local coordinators and administrators could benefit from articulation of specific criteria within each standard. Again, a group of statewide stakeholders (Illinois Principals Association, Regional Offices of Education, Illinois State Board of Education, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois Education Research Council, training providers, Illinois New Teacher Collaborative, and higher education) met from March through October, 2009 to write the Illinois Induction Program Continuum. The Continuum was designed to “provide a common language to describe and discuss program development and ongoing improvement;” assist with program design, implementation, and evaluation; help with goal setting, needs identification, and required resources. The work group stated, “From the outset, our goal has been to craft a useful document that will prompt both thinking and action around the professional needs of new teachers in the state. Our aim is for this document to be used as a formative assessment tool as opposed to a summative assessment tool. In that regard, this document may be used effectively to promote program development through an ongoing cycle of continuous improvement.” (ISBE, 2010). The Continuum follows a continuous improvement cycle consisting of reflection, self-assessment, goalsetting, action steps, data collection and analysis. Between three and six criteria were articulated for each of the nine standards. Four levels of implementation (establishing, applying, integrating, systematizing) were identified for each criterion. The document is a continuum rather than a rubric since it is understood that an individual program might fluctuate in implementation level depending upon new initiatives, new personnel, or change in emphasis. The authors of the Continuum cautioned that it is desirable to focus on two or three standards in a given school year. (The entire Continuum can be viewed at intc@illinois.edu). Creating a Quality Induction and Mentoring Program With induction and mentoring standards and a corresponding continuum, Illinois educators have the basis for program tenets. However, each locale must develop an individualized program based on the needs of the new teachers, the district/school expectations, and the school and community culture. Fortunately, induction/mentoring training providers (notably the New Teacher Center in California and Induction for the 21st Century Educator in Illinois) present comprehensive mentor training and suggestions for new teacher orientation. Also, the State Board of Education has established criteria and requirements for programs desiring state approval which allows new teacher participants to move from “initial” to “standard” certification 647
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without further professional development. According to the ISBE website (isbe.net), “New teachers who participate in an approved induction and mentoring program will receive: • • • • • • • •
•
formal mentoring from an experienced teacher; three observations with prior preparation; a response from the mentor with feedback, suggestions, and techniques for each observation; opportunities for contact so that the new teachers have professional and social support in the school environment; orientation to the school improvement and professional development plans that apply; help in understanding their employer’s expectations regarding the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards and the relevant content-area standards; at least one opportunity each semester to observe experienced teachers and discuss aspects of teaching practice with these teachers or to participate in workshops, conferences or similar events or trainings to increase the teacher’s skills relative to the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards or their area of certification or assignment; a review from the mentor with written feedback on at least one of their written reflections on their teaching practice for each quarter of a school year.”
Within the context of the state requirements, a number of relevant topics are noteworthy as specific mentor trainings and new teacher workshops are conducted locally. As stated above, approved induction and mentoring programs use the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards and the corresponding continuum. These standards express the complexity and comprehensiveness of the profession, while articulating specific behaviors and knowledge new teachers can use to self-assess and to develop individual professional development plans. The continuum is available online and is intended as a confidential document used by new teachers and mentors to record growth and examine desired progress. New Teachers self-select their levels of development within each standard, record evidence of progress, and have a comparison for the next self-assessment session. Achinstein and Athanases (2009) state the need for specific knowledge in the mentor’s repertoire for use with their new teacher protégés. These include: knowledge of student assessment; knowledge of subject matter and corresponding standards; knowledge and skill regarding formative assessment of beginning teachers. They further explain the importance of collaborative conversations between mentor and protégé, perhaps using the New Teacher Center “Collaborative Assessment Log” as the basis for professional discussions, with an emphasis on student learning. Analysis of student work is another critical component of student assessment as it goes far beyond traditional grades to a revelation of what students truly know and are able to do. From the data collected within the classroom, the new teacher can determine best instructional practices and can modify teaching strategies based on student need. Further, these data can assist in the design of appropriate differentiated instruction. Outside the domain of student achievement, yet significant to the success of an induction and mentoring program are the issues of trust and confidentiality. Indeed, for mentors to be as effective as possible, they must assure their protégés that they will keep discussions confidential and that their relationship has nothing to do with supervisory evaluation or retention. This means that administrators also must honor the candid discussions between mentor and new teacher without questioning new teacher progress. This matter of confidentiality often brings questions from both administrator and mentors who are concerned about obtaining the information they need about new teachers, providing support for new teachers, and assuring that all new teachers can have candid, useful, nonthreatening conversations. Besides maintaining confidentiality, administrators play significant roles in quality induction and mentoring programs. They must often deal with the conundrum of managing the induction program, keeping records, and assessing program effectiveness while allowing mentors and new teachers to function somewhat autonomously in the context of confidentiality. However, overt program support displayed by administrators is necessary for those in the school system to recognize the advantages and 648
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importance of induction. Wang, Odell, and Clift (2010) believe “District superintendents and other district administrators must function as collaborative partners – seeking, incorporating, supporting, and respecting new teachers and mentors. This is essential in building a foundation for educators to analyze, engage in purposeful discussion, and exchange ideas as well as opinions.” Ellen Moir, Director of the New Teacher Center, adds, “Regardless the structures or model, effective, high-quality induction requires the active participation of the principal.” (2009). Induction as a Systemic Practice A successful, comprehensive induction program involves many educators who accept the responsibility of helping colleagues grow and of enhancing student achievement. Wang, Odell, and Clift (2010) support this view: “It is not the total responsibility of any one person or group in the education field to act as the only contact with the community. The collective we must continue to maintain close connection with the community. All of us are accountable for keeping everyone informed of progress in meeting the needs of the students, the community, and society.” The New Teacher Center adds information gleaned from more than two decades of working with induction programs. Ellen Moir believes induction programs should: have statewide commitment; support new teacher development; increase effectiveness of new teachers; use formative assessment tools; collect impact data; encourage teacher leadership; encourage learning communities; support principal involvement; acknowledge the importance of culture and teaching conditions; utilize online communities; ensure the consistency of policy with practice; and foster accountability. (2009). Indeed, the task of creating quality induction programs for all new teachers is an arduous one and one that is necessary for all teachers and all students. REFERENCES Achinstein, B., Athanases, S. (ed.), (2006). Mentors in the Making: Developing New Leaders for New Teachers. Teachers College Press, Columbia University: New York, NY. Clift, R., Wilkins, E., Kohmstedt, J. (2008). "Illinois New Teacher Collaborative," Building Leadership. Illinois Principals Association. Illinois Induction Policy Team, “High Quality Induction and Mentoring Practices” (2008). Glazerman, S., E. Isenberg, et. al. “Impacts of Comprehensive Teacher Induction.” NCEE 2010-4028. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, 2010. From Here to Excellence: An Education Policy Forum. “Making the Case for Teacher Induction – How HighQuality Support for New Educators can Strengthen Teacher Quality in Illinois. Illinois New Teacher Collaborative: Champaign, IL. Illinois Induction Program Continuum. (2010). Illinois State Board of Education: Springfield, IL. Moir, E., Barlin, D., Gless, J., Miles, J. (2009) New Teacher Mentoring: Hopes and Promise for Improving Teacher Effectiveness. Harvard Education Press: Cambridge, MA. Moir, E. “The Vital Role of the Principal in Teacher Induction.” Reflections Volume 11, Number 1. Winter, 2009. New Teacher Center, Santa Cruz, CA. Moir, E., “Accelerating Teacher Effectiveness: Lessons Learned from Two Decades of New Teacher Induction. Phi Delta Kappan, Volume 91, Number 2, October, 2009, pp. 14-21. Wang, J., Odell, S., Clift, R. (ed.). (2010). Past, Present, and Future Research on Teacher Induction. Rowan and Littlefield Publishers: Lanham, MD
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Goetsch, R. Be a Mentor, Inc. Taking Mentoring to Scale in a Community or Region ABSTRACT Creating a master plan for mentoring in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area that increases the estimated 2,000 mentoring relationships in two counties to 15,000 over five years. A host of partners are first assembled that include public sector department heads, school superintendents, city mayors and managers, and political leaders. A major funder convenes the partners and other prospective funders to accept the master plan and commit to five years of incremental funding. The plan implementation has five key elements: 1) Mentor Recruitment Campaign; 2) Applicant Clearinghouse; 3) Network of Youth Program Provider organizations; 4) Funding; and 5) Shared Data Collection & Evaluation. In addition to county, city, and school districts committing to the mentoring master plan, a large number provider organization must opt in. It is estimated that approximately 60 agencies are responsible for around 2,000 mentor-mentee matches, and it will require that two hundred agencies be involved in the mentoring of 15,000 youth. At the core of this plan is a Volunteer Management System (VMS). The central database system must be ”Cradle to adulthood”. It begins with a unified voice to business, faith community, college fraternities/ sororities/ alumnae, and the community at large, for the recruitment of mentor applicants; a central clearinghouse for background clearances integrated with the recruitment process; an electronic distribution of cleared ready-to-serve mentors to two hundred provider organizations; and project tracking that collects, compares, and evaluates data and outcomes. The purpose of this presentation is to communicate to the audience the step-by-step challenges and successes in creating this plan as a broad-based coalition.
Fifty to sixty agencies in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area are responsible for providing mentors to approximately two thousand youth. As a rule these agencies do a really good job in matching caring adults with kids who need some extra attention. And due to their efforts many youths who may have had lives of crime and violence and constantly in trouble with the Justice System, become successful productive citizens. In considering the youth in high needs categories such as those chronically absent from school, foster youth, those re-entering the community from Juvenile Justice, children and youth in high poverty neighborhoods, and children and youth with incarcerated parents (an at-risk or high needs youth is probably in more than one of these categories) it is estimated that fifteen to twenty thousand youths need a caring adult relationship. So the problem(s) at hand is that if fifty to sixty agencies are providing mentors to two thousand children and youth and the need is for fifteen to twenty thousand, do we ask the existing mentoring agencies to serve eight to ten times as many youth as currently being served, do we build capacity among another hundred or so agencies to provide mentoring to children and youth, from where will all these new volunteers come, and how will this be financed. In an attempt to address these issues a master plan for mentoring in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, that increases the estimated 2,000 mentoring relationships in two counties to 15,000 over five years is being created. A host of partners are first assembled that include public sector department heads, school superintendents, city mayors and managers, and political leaders. A major funder convenes the partners and other prospective funders to accept the master plan and commit to five years of incremental funding. The plan implementation has five key elements: 1) Establish a Network of Youth Program Providers; 2) A centrally managed, regional database system for mentoring; 3) Create and Maintain Applicant Clearinghouse; 4) Recruit mentors over five years; 5) Create a funding stream to expand mentoring over 5 years; and 6) Appoint a management organization or team. At the core of this plan is a Volunteer Management System (VMS). The central database system must be "Cradle to adulthood". It begins with a unified voice to business, faith community, college
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fraternities/ sororities/ alumnae, and the community at large, for the recruitment of mentor applicants; a central clearinghouse for background clearances integrated with the recruitment process; an electronic distribution of cleared ready-to-serve mentors to two hundred provider organizations; and project tracking that collects, compares, and evaluates data and outcomes. The purpose of this presentation is to communicate to the audience the step-by-step challenges and successes in creating this plan as a broad-based coalition. With an eye to the two county mentoring effort two beginning points have been established. One is the City Oakland where Honorable Mayor Quan has set a goal to match two thousand of the most at-risk Oakland youth with mentors. The other is the City of Richmond where, after a 15 year old girl was gang raped in a high school parking lot, there is a movement to create a city-wide mentoring program. The following pages describe the draft business plan for the city of Oakland. Where some details are still being discussed as modifications, the major tenets have been accepted. Mayor Quan’s Mentoring Initiative for the City of Oakland I
Establish a Network of Youth Program Providers A
50 youth service provider agencies sign MOUs to participate in centrally managed system to match high needs youth with mentors 1. Invite provider organizations to a series of meetings regarding the Mentor Oakland Partnership 2. Create Request For Proposals (RFP) describing the proposal criteria and opportunity to join Mentor Oakland with a stipulated proposal due date B Orientation to Mentor Oakland provided for Partner Agencies 1. Design and schedule orientation to Mentor Oakland for staff of Partner Agencies C Partner agencies select from the central database of cleared mentors those appropriate for their specific projects and the youth they serve. 1. With log in ID and password access electronic file of applicants who applied for specific mentoring organizations 2. If mentor applicant not selected by a specific mentoring agency, mentor is re-assigned to another agency D Partner agencies provide specialized training for newly selected mentors that is appropriate to youth targeted by agency 1. A Calendar and curricula established and accepted for on-going mentor support and training 2. Post training dates and locations on central database 3. Mentor applicants sign up online for providers training E Process established by each mentoring agency to monitor mentor-mentee matches and track mentee progress 1. Schedule applicant interviews online 2. Select youth and match with mentor 3. Batch email communication with all or some of providers mentors and mentees 4. View mentor’s log of time spent with youth and activity comments 5. View mentor’s quarterly report on youth’s progress F Mentoring Service Providers understand and agree to four (4) key issues for overall success of youth being served 1. All children and youth served are motivated and inspired to graduate from high school 2. All children and youth served will attend school 95% or more 3. Older youth will be assisted in obtaining meaningful internships and/or paying jobs 4. All youth being served will have access to, and use, the health services they need. 651
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G Mentoring Service Providers have access to positive youth development principles and best/effective practices of mentoring 1. A network of mentoring professionals created to provide direct support to mentoring service providers 2. Create an online library of mentoring resource materials 3. Create an online library of positive youth development materials 4. Conduct periodic symposiums for mentoring service providers for continuing education of best practices II A centrally managed, regional database system for mentoring A A computer software system integrated with a database with Internet access for multiple agencies to participate in centrally managed mentor recruitment, background clearance and screening of applicants, training schedule management, project tracking, and data sharing and evaluation 1. Develop core system integrated with a database with Internet access enabling multiple agencies to participate in centrally managed mentor recruitment, background clearance, selection of screened applicants, training schedule management, project tracking, data sharing and evaluation 2. Steering Committee reviews existing system, conducts needs analysis, and reports gap requirements for additional software development 3. Create design specifications for gap requirements, develop cost estimate, and prototype for presentation and approval of committee 4. Allocate funding and develop gap requirements B Adoption of a central management system by Mentor Oakland Partnership 1. Approve recommendation from Steering Committee for core system 2. Approve recommendation from Steering Committee for system enhancements with gap requirements C Collect, track and share mentor demographics 1. Report mentors by ethnicity & gender 2. Compare mentor demographics to mentee demographics 3. Report by specific provider, compare to other providers, and report in aggregate D Collect, track and share youth demographics 1. Report mentors by ethnicity & gender 2. Compare mentor demographics to mentee demographics 3. Report by specific provider, compare to other providers, and report in aggregate E Collect, track and share program outcomes 1. Report on mentor’s quarterly progress report on mentee progress 2. Report to Partners, funders and potential funders by specific provider, compare to other providers, and report in aggregate III Create and Maintain Applicant Clearinghouse A All mentor recruitment pathways lead to an online application 1. Postings on Craigslist & VolunteerMatch 2. Electronic newsletters 3. Web pages of churches, employers and organizations B A multi-Level clearance process created that reflects individual project requirements 1. Each new applicant receives welcome packet with instructions for background clearance 2. Clearance requirements for applicants are specific to the project for which applicant is applying
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3. Process established to record specific requirements as they are completed by applicant C All mentor applicants to attend Basic Training as part of clearance process 1. Create Curriculum that includes cultural sensitivity, commitment and effective practices of mentoring 2. Create centrally maintained schedule of training dates and locations 3. Create process for mentor applicants to sign up online for training date and location of choice 4. Explore effectiveness of optional on-line training for mentors and mentees D Cleared ready-to-serve mentors are distributed to program partners 1. Authorized staff of specific provider organizations log into central database for access to cleared applicants IV Recruit a total of 2,000 Mentors over five years A Public & Private Sector Employers recruit mentors among employees 1. Agreement with City of Oakland to launch campaign for employee recruitment 2. Obtain target list of private sector employers from partners 3. Convene group meetings of Employer representatives regarding the broad based mentor partnership and agreement for employee recruitment campaigns B Labor Unions recruit mentors among members 1. Obtain agreement with Central Labor Council(s) to recruit mentors among all Unions 2. Establish plan to launch recruitment campaigns with key unions 3. Leverage corporate partnerships to access unions 4. Leverage union partnerships to access corporations C Faith Community: Churches in Oakland recruit congregants to be mentors 1. Agreement with Faith Advisory Council (Healthy Oakland) 2. Establish Plan to launch recruitment plans with churches in Oakland D Sororities – Fraternities – Alumnae recruit fellow alumnae and brothers and sisters to become mentors 1. Support agreement with CSU East Bay 2. Negotiate support agreement with UC Berkeley 3. Survey partners and central database of mentors and prospective mentors for key Fraternity and Sorority contacts 4. Establish plan to recruit mentors among Fraternities and Sororities E Obtain support of business and workforce associations and Boards 1. Agreement with Oakland Chambers of Commerce 2. Agreement with Workforce Investment Board 3. Agreement with East Bay EDA 4. Agreement with Contra Costa Economic Development 5. Agreement with Contra Costa Partners F Recruited mentor applicants are Linked to the central database clearinghouse 1. Create individual web pages for employers and organizations describing the mentoring opportunity for their employees and members 2. Provide link on web pages to appropriate and/or desired list of mentoring projects – that lead to an online application G. A comprehensive 5-year public relations and marketing plan to increase public awareness as measured by increased numbers of: 1. website visitors 2. Applicants 3. speaking engagements
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4. individual donations 5. requests for program information 6. partnership inquiries • All public and private sector partners post link to Mentor Oakland on their web sites • Arrange for schedule of Public Service Announcements on radio and TV • Create a continuous feed to newspapers regarding the progress of Oakland Mentoring • Create Facebook and Twitter presence and keep them updated with partnership news and youth outcomes • Actively solicit speaking engagements V
Create funding stream to expand mentoring in Oakland to 2,000 over 5 years
A Local & regional foundations provide funding 1. Convene meeting of potential funders regarding the five year plan to scale mentoring with cost estimations 2. Obtain funding agreements for incremental annual costs B Submit funding proposals for local, state, & fed Grants 1. Identify grant writing sources 2. Identify grants specific to mentoring and apply on behalf of the broad-based partnership 3. Identify grants for youth services and development where mentoring can be a component and apply on behalf of the broad-based partnership C Annual fundraising gala held 1. Identify and obtain agreement for fundraising persons 2. Public systems and private sector partners hold an annual gala D Public system partners provide funding 1. Identify youth outcomes similar to those achieved by mentoring 2. Allocate some of the youth services dollars targeted to similar outcomes to the Mentor Oakland Partnership VI Management A Establish a lead partner 1. Convene potential funders 2. Accept funds on behalf of partnership 3. Contract mentor partner agencies 4. Create a steering committee to set policy and provide oversight
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Brandt, S. B. New York City College of Technology Mentoring in a Live Performance Environment ABSTRACT No show is produced by one individual: teamwork is essential in a fast paced environment where all participants are focused on the common goal of opening night. Some productions are effortless while others are a minefield. A production team can be defined as a group of specialists from a variety of technical disciplines working towards a unified objective. To become a productive member of a team; technologists must learn skills that enable them to function collaboratively. My goal is to guide the specialist to use new skills that will help them integrate with other disciplines. The skills include finding the common elements, creating and maintaining communication, and developing collaboration strategies. First find elements that all the production teams share. Then define and locate the milestones’ and deadlines that are critical to the production process on a timeline. Create a transparent communication system. Lastly remember all the disciplines share the common and collaborative goal of opening night. In the live production environment specialists must learn to work together as a team to be successful. A production team is assembled with the common goal of opening the show on time. Each discipline must share space and time with other specialties. By learning what each team has in common, sharing information and learning to collaborate across all the disciplines, the team can work in harmony, thus keeping the drama on stage.
Universal Studios Universal Studios creates 20 minutes stunt shows from movies they have produced. One such epic was” Water World”. In the late ninety’s while working as a Stage Manager at Universal Studios Hollywood I observed the collaborative nature of live performance in action. The show Water World contained about 100 effects that combined pyrotechnics, motion control, audio, mechanical and actor activated sequences. The storyline of the stunt show follows the main character the mariner; he leaves the safety of the shore and returns to a city floating on the water. Every work shift I had the opportunity to sit in the center of the set in the main atoll and call cues. I was able to monitor the stunt people and observe how they shifted gears when things did not go as planned. It was almost impossible to have a perfect show. Between the wind and a very complex maintenance schedule, alternate sequences were the order of the day. The stunt people communicated between each other and the crew to avoid hazards and continue the performance. The number one goal was a safe performance, a happy audience and a show that never ground to a halt. Each effect usually had three components such as flame, pyro and a motion effect. Failure of one component could not prevent the others from occurring; thus the show continued without the audience being aware of the missing component. The entire team, cast and crew worked seamlessly to put on a good show. Creating a Live Production No show is produced by one individual: teamwork is essential in a fast paced environment where all participants are focused on the common goal of opening night. Some productions are effortless, while others are a minefield. To start, an organization forms a production team. A production team can be defined as a group of specialists from a variety of technical disciplines working towards a unified objective. To become a productive member of a team the artisans must learn skills that enable them to function collaboratively. Mentoring a team of technical specialists can be challenging. All productions are created in an organized domain. The producer hires a director. They agree on a concept for the production. Next they hire a team of designers. This team creates design concepts in their specialties to support the production concept. Then a support system of specialists and technologists are hired to convert the design concept into reality on stage. A Production Manager is also hired to manage
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the design and production teams. The work environment is collaborative and creative. A production team is composed of independent experts who must unite to achieve the goal of opening night. At Citytech my job is to mentor this process for students who have not yet been immersed in this demanding environment. As a mentor, the goal is to guide the specialists and technologists to develop new skills that will help them integrate with other disciplines. The skills include defining common elements, creating and maintaining communication, and developing collaborative strategies. Unlike other trades, workers in the live performance environment work in a team composed of “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose”1. Berkeley Repertory Theatre Historically people enter the entertainment industry at entry level positions and work their way up through ranks. My first professional job was as a scenic intern at a regional theatre. I volunteered to do the working drawings for a second season production “ A Hardtimes” an adaptation of Charles Dickens novel. This was an extra show being produced at a venue off- site from the regular season. A new designer was hired to design the scenery. My job was to measure the new venue and create drawings to accurately depict the new venue and the scenery to be installed. I spent all my free time after work and weekends drafting the scenic elements of the production. I would then bring in the drawings and show them to my mentor to evaluate and critique. He gave notes directly on each plate. I would then take the plate home and make the appropriate changes. The drawings were eventually completed and carpenters were hired to build the show. The evening before the build started my mentor got injured and retired from the job. I was informed that morning, I was now in charge. The Assistant Technical Director took it upon himself to become my mentor. He guided me through the politics of production meetings, introduced me to the business side of materials planning and purchasing, and helped keep my head clear by keeping the work environment fun and interesting. His support was critical to the enormous changes going on in our department. What does all this have to do with mentoring across disciplines? Due to my personnel experience I believe that mentoring is critical for employees to transition into upwardly mobile positions. When I was hired at Berkeley Repertory Theatre my job was Scenic Intern. By my third month on the job I was Technical Director. I began the job with a knowledge and understanding of how to work and function in a scene shop. I was a specialist in my discipline. When I became Technical Director I had to learn how to communicate with all the other departments; each had their own vocabulary and terminology of their specialized discipline. I learned that each department had common issues; each wants to keep their budget intact, meet their deadlines and see their contribution on stage opening night. Each department manager had to continually collaborate with the other managers to be successful. That position was pivotal for my career in the entertainment industry. The job and its special circumstances provided me with an opportunity to expand beyond my position and work across disciplines. I became competent at communication skills, best practices, time management and gained confidence in my abilities. Now that I am the mentor it is my goal that the mentees also learn these skills. Shared Vision In a live performance environment expectations of individual ambition have to take a back seat to the production needs. Technologists must subsume their own artistic vision to the production objectives. They must trust their co-team members and respect their ability to achieve. In a performance production environment it is assumed that the participants will enjoy teamwork, friendship and good group spirit. 2 The mentee must be able to learn to trust their teammates and their ability to contribute to the common goal.
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Advising Every production design follows a pattern of concept, planning, fabricating, installation, technical rehearsal and dress rehearsal, culminating with opening night. Regardless of technical specialty all team members must follow the same timeline. In order to manage the process it is important for mentee managers to set goals including a timeline and outcomes. At the first mentor/mentee meeting, have them create a list of priorities. These should include the milestones and deadlines that are shared across disciplines. It is up to each individual how they will achieve the goals associated with the deadlines. Encouraging cooperation and collaboration leads success. Tools: Mentee training plan for production execution Schedule Schedule a series of one on one meeting’s with the mentees. Each of these meetings must have a defined topic. It is fine for the mentee to bring up problems they are having but it is imperative that each meeting have a topic with a positive outcome. These meetings are an opportunity to build the mentee’s confidence and give them achievable goals that they define themselves. Each mentee creates their own objectives written in their own words. These goals must clearly state what they wish to accomplish. Creating their own priorities gives the individual a sense of ownership of their project. A schedule also gives the mentoring process a beginning, middle and end. Pro cedural system of documentation and communication It is crucial for the mentee to work with the managing production team to create and utilize a transparent communication system. These communication tools can include email, texting, sharing a wiki page, face to face meetings. Creating a transparent process can take time at the beginning of the project but will save time as the production process is set in motion.3 When the entire team is knowledgeable at identifying possible obstacles, a solution can be recognized, then solving and the problem can be implemented. This also creates an environment of collective learning.4 All members of the team discover by information sharing and communicating that they will arrive at the finish line together. The system they created should also include a transparent communication trail. This allows for documentation of comments and decisions. A team with effective communications can accomplish any achievable goal. At the end of the project production teams have a post mortem meeting to discuss the process, obstacles and ways to improve the next time. Collaboration Skills Participation on a production team is pivotal in a technologist’s career. Every production is a community of artisans working towards a common goal. The team members are interdependent on each other’s contributions. It is imperative that the mentee understand the defined objectives for their specialty as well as production objectives. Because the mentee is a participant in the management team; their specialty goals must fit and work with the production goals. By maintaining continuity between production objectives and team goals the mentee will help create a stable working environment and build personal confidence in the project. Learning to listen creates a good communication climate and builds stability and confidence within the team. Everyone needs to develop active listening skills that include the ability to hear accurately the idea being proposed, understand the idea5, and then evaluate what was spoken. We listen to understand We listen to enjoy We listen to learn.6
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The process to improve listening skills includes; First: allow the entire question to be spoken before responding. Second: repeat the question back to clarify accurately. Third: take the time to evaluate what was heard. The mentee should practice these skills with their team and at production meetings. After mastering active listening skills it is time to develop decision making skills. Dr. Martin Luther Kings’ mentor Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays often repeated an unknown sage when President of Morehouse College in the 1950’s.7 I have just one minute Only sixty seconds in it Forced upon me—can’t refuse it Didn’t seek it didn’t choose it Buts it’s up to me to use it I must suffer if I lose it Give account if I abuse it Just a tiny little minute But eternity is in it8
The poem is a wonderful example of the trials and tribulations of making a decision. What happens to the individual who is working on a production and its crunch time? Decisions must be made to keep the process moving forward. The question becomes how to handle the moment between the posed question and the needed answer. One solution is to give every non trivial decision a thoughtful minute of contemplation, then respond with the full responsibility and authority all decisions deserve. In a team environment no decision is small. It is the technique ones uses to answer that demonstrates the quality of the individual and the respect for their team. To me the most enjoyable part of being on a production team is the ability to quickly identify common challenges and work as a group to solve them. Live performance is filled with common challenges. For example, a scenic element could include sound and lighting inside its design structure. All team members will quickly identify their parts of the project. The team will collaborate on how their elements will occupy the same space. Which element gets what square footage? What order should all the elements get installed? And when will they test and evaluate the unit so that the best outcome can be achieved? These types of challenges foster a good learning environment. These discoveries also cultivate opportunities for members of the team to teach a bit of their specialty to the other team members. When working in a team environment it is important for the mentee to be able to advocate their own ideas. The best ideas are not always what are put into practice. Usually it is the idea presented with the most skill and confidence that will be accepted by the group. To prepare for a presentation, the mentee should research the idea and prepare content. The mentee should practice by presenting the idea to the mentor. Taking the time to be prepared will create an environment of confidence for the mentee, so during the final presentation they will be able to effectively engage the production team. After all members of the production team have presented their ideas it is time to practice the art of compromise. Part of being a team member is the ability to settle differences of opinion and make concessions. The mentee should be aware that by acquiescing on one decision for the good of the project, they have not given up their voice or contributions to the final product. In a live performance environment safety for the performer and crew must take a front seat to any creative endeavor. Compromise can also require boundaries. These rules should be set early in the process. The technique can foster team respect and understanding of the other specialties. The boundaries can include time limits, budgets and safety constraints. Conflict Resolution What happens when the production team is in disagreement? Conflict of ideas is healthy and can actually help build a better team and achieve success if the group is working together as team.9 But what if the conflict is not about a design issue? What if it turns out the teams’ problems are due to lack of trust 658
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within the team? How do these situations emerge and how can the team fix them while still completing goals and targets? To guide the mentee through a minefield of conflict, the mentor must always practice good listening skills to help the mentee define the issue and determine how to fix the problems and keep the production moving forward. Conflict is usually the result of lack of trust. Team members have to be willing to be honest about their strengths and weaknesses to the team. Honesty about oneself opens the team to honesty about the work and the goals they are trying to achieve. Team members also need to be honest about mistakes and modifications. If everyone is honest the process can move forward, the mentee needs to do an evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses and how best they can contribute to the team. This is a great topic for a mentee/mentor meeting early in the process. The mentee needs to know their skills in order to be a strong team player. All members of the team need to participate in this process. Another issue is often fear of conflict. Some individuals would rather say nothing than to contradict a co-worker even if it is for the good of the show. Production teams do not have the luxury of time to come to a consensus for every decision they make. Instead they need to put voice to all the possible solutions, have a lively debate and pick a solution that will work to get the job done within the boundaries of the timeline. The mentee will need to be confident and voice their opinions at production meetings. It is important for one be thoughtful about their words. But to remain silent throughout the process will isolate the mentee from the team and create a fracture that will hurt the production and their career. A bad idea is only the idea that remains unspoken. A clue to early team problems can be repetitive production meetings with certain decisions being glossed over and ignored. The group needs to define each task and set goals and deadlines. This moves the issue out of conflict and on to resolution. This will lower stress and allow greater productivity. Some team members need verbal permission to go forward with their work. They need reassurance that their participation and contributions are valuable. Be sure the mentee is participating in the analysis and leaves the meeting with goals and objectives that are understood. Another destructive conflict is lack of commitment.10 Each management team member needs to make the production team their first priority, not the specialist team that they lead. It is counterproductive for a specialist manager to go back to their team and complain about a decision. It creates a negative work environment. All decisions made by the production team affect each department and how they go about fulfilling their goals. The mentee must commit to and support the decisions made at the production meetings and communicate this to their specialty team. Once all members of the production team agree on a solution, all managers must support the decision back down the chain of command. A combination of poor listening and communicating skills can be damaging to the team. All members of the production team need to hold each other accountable for decisions, deadlines and responsibilities. Conflict can arise if an individual gives lip service to an idea but does no action to follow-up with their portion of the work. If a member of the team is being counterproductive everyone suffers. It is important to speak up and not let the elephant at the meeting destroy the process all are working on. Most conflicts cannot be fixed in one meeting. To restore the team to a collaborative environment team members need to be willing use some of their meeting time to work on team building skills. The team should begin the process by fostering trust and communication. As a team they will need to continue working on those skills throughout the process. All need to be observant and communicate when they see negative conflict rising from the mist in an educational environment. The mentee will have their mentor to help them throughout the process. In live production, the shared deadlines and goals at the beginning of the process help teams to avoid conflict and work on their common goals. Production professionals are aware of the short time frame and the inflexibility of opening night. This leads team members to be generous of spirit and resources. Loyalties to each other and the production develop through team work and interaction. No one on the team can get their responsibilities done without the collaboration of others. They must work in solidarity. Working in a live performance environment is invigorating, but the experience can be overwhelming for mentees. Having a good mentor to guide them through the process can help create a safe and supportive
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environment. Teaching the mentee how to work in a collaborative environment where team decisions are critical to the success of the project is key to their development. Every production meeting reveals new challenges and opportunities for innovative ideas. By being a member of a production team the mentee learns to provide leadership and stability for the artisans and technologists they represent. By the end of the production the mentee will gain confidence and be ready for the next production, and in the end become a valuable member of the professional community.
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Thomas, C. University of New Mexico Beyond Socrates: Mature Mentoring Community PROBLEM What is an ontologically mature vision for mentoring and its participants?
For many who look to philosophy for guidance about mentoring, the ultimate mentor is Plato’s Socrates, such that ‘Socratic education’ and ‘Socratic method’ often name mentor-guided, dialectical education or practice. In Socratic mentoring, an experienced practitioner directs a learner to overcome ignorant understandings so as to be ‘in the know’ and act truly within a given community. I shall argue and explain that for philosopher Martin Heidegger, Socratic mentoring is but a way-station along the way to a more mature vision for mentoring community and its learning. Heidegger appropriates Socratic mentoring and its tutorial relationships on the way to his vision of mentoring as reciprocal learning and thinking community. Heidegger views Socratic mentoring as a relationship of authoritative sway: a mentoring expert lays hold and turns or transforms a novice toward true understanding and practice. In his “Dialogue on Language,” Heidegger presents instead a reciprocal vision for mentoring and mentoring community. His dialogue depicts a questioning conversation between two people initially appearing to be mentor and learner. As both strive to be ‘in the know’ about language and its essential practice, their pedagogical relation becomes distinctly reciprocal, and their roles as mentor and learner become indistinguishable. What emerges between them is mentoring community: a mutual, reciprocal learning and disclosing of things essential to human being and activity. A principle of Heidegger’s mentoring community is that when the relation between mentor and learner is genuine, the authority of the know-itall or supervisor has no place. A mature mentor is genuinely “far less assured of his ground than those who learn are of theirs.” A mature mentor is capable of being mentored and opened to new disclosures and practices. In Heidegger's vision of mature mentoring community, a mentor does not transform or attune a novice, as is true of Socratic mentoring. Instead, mentoring and learning are mutual and reciprocal: those in the community transform and attune one another toward disclosure of essential truth and its practice. Leading Questions • • • •
Is Socratic mentoring an exemplary source or paradigm for mentors, mentoring, and mentoring relationships? What is ontological mentoring? What is the meaning of mentoring in our technological age? Can mentoring contribute to our transcending, or gaining release from, the defining limits of our technological age?
REFERENCES Heidegger, Martin. (1998). Phenomenology and theology (J.G. Hart & J. C. Maraldo, Trans.). In Pathmarks (pp. 3962) (W. McNeill, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1927). Heidegger, Martin. (1998). Plato’s doctrine of truth (T. Sheehan, Trans.). In Pathmarks (pp. 155-182) (W. McNeill, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1940). Heidegger, Martin. (1998). What is metaphysics? (D. F. Krell, Trans.). In Pathmarks (pp. 82-96) (W. McNeill, Ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Original work published 1927). Heidegger, Martin. (1966). Memorial address. In Discourse on Thinking (J. M. Anderson & E. H. Freund, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row. (Original work presented 1955). Heidegger, Martin. (1967). What is called thinking? (J. G. Gray, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row. (Original work published 1952).
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Heidegger, Martin. (1971). A dialogue on language: between a japanese and an inquirer. In On the way to language (P.D. Hertz, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row. (Original work published 1959). Heidegger, Martin. (1977). The Question Concerning Technology. (W. Lovitt, Trans.). New York: Harper & Row. (Original work published 1949). Thomson, Iain D. (2005) Heidegger on ontotheology: technology and the politics of education. New York: Cambridge University Press.
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Kaloostian, P., Steuven, J., Sklar, D. Doering, A. & Kalishman, S. University of New Mexico A Resident-Led Institutional Patient Safety Improvement Process ABSTRACT Residents have unique perspectives on patient safety. Most quality and safety initiatives attempt to address goals developed by outside agencies or institutional leadership. We developed an institutional quality and safety improvement process based upon resident concerns and evaluated success. Methods: Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. We developed a Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) process improvement model based upon resident concerns about patient safety that involved survey development and administration, analysis and use of results to prioritize action plans, implementation of plans, resurvey of residents three years later and convening of resident, faculty and nursing work groups to reprioritize safety issues and modify work plans. Residents were asked to rate 23 potential safety concerns on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being not a concern and 5 being a very significant concern. The same survey was used in 2007 and 2010. Results: Areas of concern showed significant improvement (see Figures). The mean level of concern went from 2.87 to 2.19 (P¡.01). Adequacy of patient flow and nursing staff showed dramatic improvement while access to ambulatory care did not change. Medical Student patient safety concerns are similar to resident concerns, and are not statistically different to residents concerns in almost all areas except the following: fatigue, inappropriateness of discharge, and seasonal workload variation. Discussion: A resident survey can identify areas for institutional prioritization, action plans and work teams. Resurvey after implementation of action plans allows for evaluation of perceived efficacy of the implementation. Joining of the hospital quality and safety personnel with Graduate Medical Education leadership can create an effective partnership for resident engagement in quality and safety initiatives and provide experiential education for residents who can apply didactic material from quality improvement to actual institutional quality concerns. Residents and medical students should both be included in quality improvement studies.
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Mooney, S. P. St. Cloud State University Mentoring of Real Estate Majors by Alumni at St. Cloud State University ABSTRACT The mentor program for Real Estate majors was implemented in 1993. Fall of 2011 will see the nineteenth annual Mentor Banquet, which kicks off the mentoring program for the year. At the banquet each real estate major is paired up with an alumni from the real estate program. The event is primarily a networking evening, but the attendees also have dinner and student scholarships are awarded. In the paper the author will describe the annual event, the level of participation, and the results of a survey of participants assessing the success of the program
Program Inception Mentoring of business students by industry professionals can yield substantial benefits and as a result mentoring programs are becoming more prevalent in business schools. Schlee, in her 2000 paper in the Journal of Management Education, reported that 43% of AACSB business schools had some type of mentoring program. Survey results indicated 49% of those mentoring programs targeted undergraduate students. The idea for the Real Estate Mentor Program at St. Cloud State University (SCSU) came about as a result of a trip to Australia in 1993 during which I visited a number of universities. These included the University of Western Sydney, the Melbourne University of Technology, and the University of South Australia in Adelaide. It was at the third school, the University of South Australia that I discovered the mentor program that they were conducting in their real estate program. They were using outside professionals to mentor their real estate students. This seems to be a similar process that is used by Gritcsch and Paterson at the University of New Jersey. In their Proceeding of the Academy of Educational Leadership article in 2006 they describe their process of matching student and industry mentor through the use of a mentoring committee. The program in Adelaide started off very well but participation from professionals started to wane as time went on. It was difficult to get the practitioners to come back year after year due to the time commitment. I took this information home and tried to come up with a model that would work at SCSU. At SCSU we are very fortunate to have a very active undergraduate real estate alumni organization. We have maintained contact with the graduates since the program’s beginning in 1980 and have a database of employers, phone numbers, and email addresses. It was my thought that the alumni from the real estate program may have a greater sense of commitment to a mentor program at their alma mater and we may be able to conduct a successful mentor program without the drop off in participation that the University of South Australia had experienced from their professional mentors. Schlee indicates that most college programs, 72%, make use of alumni for their mentoring programs. How it Works The fall Mentor Banquet is the annual kickoff of the real estate mentor program. In preparing for the banquet I first solicit students, who are either real estate majors or real estate minors, to participate in the mentor program. It is not difficult in that I can offer the students a free meal with table cloths and nice silverware, something that they are not used to on a daily basis at a state university. I then request volunteers from our real estate alumni with only a few provisos; they attend the Mentor Banquet, they allow a student to job shadow them for one day per semester, and they take the student’s calls for advice on resume construction and interviewing techniques. I then also request that they, or their company, sponsor a table so that the students may attend at no cost. I am considering putting more structure into the
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relationship as a result of a survey of alumni. Currently the mentors and students are first exposed to each other at the banquet. I may try and warm up that first meeting through the exchange of information, possibly through an exchange of resumes prior to the banquet. The students and mentors are matched based on the particular segment of the real estate market that they are most interested in. Real estate majors indicate their area of emphasis (appraisal, finance, investments, property management, construction, etc.) when they apply for the major. The alumni of course are already working in different segments of the real estate industry. The students with the appraisal emphasis are paired up mentors in the appraisal business, etc. The First Mentor Banquet- 1994 The first mentor banquet, which really is the cornerstone of the entire mentor program, was held on September 20, 1994. There were 27 students who participated that first year and there were 23 mentors who took part. The result was that a few mentors had to work with multiple students. We were able to draw eight table sponsors at $125 per table, so the night was a break even from a financial standpoint. That year we were able to award a limited number of student scholarships totaling about $4,000. Last Year’s Mentor Banquet- 2010 The 18th annual banquet, held September 16th, 2010, had 15 students participate and 19 mentors so this time we had a few students with multiple mentors. This was our lowest level of participation in the 18 years of the banquet and it was simply due to the decline in the real estate market and real estate industry. Enrollments in the Real Estate major are cyclical. When the market is active we have a large number of majors and when the market struggles so do our numbers. In 2004, when the real estate was at its most active level in the last twenty years, we had our largest banquet with 50 students and 37 mentors. Our scholarships last year totaled an annual high of $14,800 which came from 9 different donors. They were awarded to 12 different students. Mentor Banquets 1-18 Over the first 18 banquets there were a total of 532 students who attended, while there were 503 mentors who participated. There were a number of students who attended more that one banquet and there were a number of mentors who participated multiple times. There were 407 different students who attended the banquets for an average of 1.3 times per student and 174 mentors at an average of 2.9 banquets per mentor. That last statistic tells me that the mentors view the program positively and want to participate and give back to the real estate program at SCSU. Of the 174 alums who took part in the banquets, 96 of them had also participated in the mentor program as students. This is also very positive information, in that students feel strongly enough about the program that they want to give something back once they graduate. Survey of Mentors Electronic surveys were sent to the 252 graduates of the real estate program that email addresses are available for. This was not designed to be a scientific survey, but simply one to quickly gather some information about the program. Responses were received from 46 alumni, which is a response rate of 18.3%. However, it represents responses from 26.3% of the 174 alums who had served as mentors over the first 18 years of the program. There is an obvious sample bias in the respondents, in that 89% of those who responded had attended a mentor banquet as a student. Those most closely associated with the mentor program were indeed more likely to respond to the survey. That is not viewed as being a bad thing. That in itself conveys information that those students, who are all grads of the program, have taken ownership in the mentor program. Also, 69% of the respondents had participated in a mentor banquet as a mentor.
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There are a couple of telling results of the survey that convey the benefits of participating in the real estate mentor program at SCSU. First of all, 33% of the respondents had obtained their first job out of college as a result of contacts made at the mentor banquet. Obviously, due to our sample bias, that does not mean that 33% of all students attending the banquet will get a job just from attending, but it does say that there are students who will get jobs by participating in the mentor program. On the mentor side of the equation, 27% of respondents’ companies had hired someone as a result of contacts made at the mentor banquet. If nothing else, this serves as justification for companies to sponsor tables at the mentor banquet and not view it as a dead investment. Best Things and Worst Things About the Mentor Program Those receiving the survey were asked to comment on their perceived best things about the mentor program as well as the worst things about the program. Samples of their responses are listed below. Best Things “The banquet is where the value is … It’s great exposure for the students and potential employees. You cannot replicate that kind of audience at a job interview.” “It’s a great way to meet people in the real estate industry. These contacts can help you find internships that are great resume builders.” “I would say discussing their role in the industry and uncovering what these professionals do on a daily basis. The opportunity to speak with them personally is invaluable and usually leads to an invite to their office and potentially a(an) job/internship, like mine did.” “As a student, just being forced to think on your feet and interact with professionals is a great learning experience and a way to recognize and work on any real or perceived shortcomings you may have, whether face to face communications wise or with your resume. As a mentor, the chance to provide some insight or input to someone that may not appear to have a clear goal in mind or may not be the most confident in their abilities is a very rewarding feeling.” “As a student, connecting with alumni we wouldn’t otherwise have direct access to on a one-on-one basis. As a mentor, the satisfaction of helping students out by giving our time back in reflection of when we were walking in their shoes.”
Worst Things “As a mentor, I have been frustrated by the lack of follow through by the students after the event…” “As a student, buying a suit and shining my shoes. As a mentor, getting to the banquet on time.” “Terrible excuse, but making time.” “Can’t imagine there is a downside to the program.” “The only downside is when students and mentors don’t meet up after the banquet for whatever reason.” “Almost all aspects of the banquet are positive for graduates and students, however the only downside for myself and other graduates may be the location. Making it to St. Cloud (about 1 hour from Minneapolis, where most graduates work) can be a challenge. However, that said, the banquet is really about the students and the location should favor the students.” “Sometimes the mentors talk to each other more than to the students. Also, as a person who is somewhat reserved and shy, it was hard for me to put myself out there in talking to the mentors. Hindsight is always 20/20, had I known the benefits of such contacts transitioning into a real estate career may have been a whole lot easier.”
The Best Things from the Author’s Standpoint The program has assisted in the generation of scholarship dollars. Alumni and their companies have been willing to make $500 and $1,000 scholarships available to students and I use the timing of the 666
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banquet as encouragement for them to make the contribution in the fall. The program has also presented another opportunity to stay connected to the alumni, who do so much for the real estate program and its students. The obvious benefits are the networking and career opportunities that the program presents for the students. Finally, seeing the responses from alums that they actually feel the mentor program has been successful, is a totally rewarding outcome. Changes Going Forward Two changes are currently being considered in the program during the coming year. One idea came from a mentor’s comment in the survey. “…maybe there is a better way to prepare both parties prior to engaging at the mentor banquet. It may be a good idea to give the students a resume of their mentor and an idea of questions to ask their mentor. On the flip side, having the mentor know a bit about their student and their career goals/hopes prior to the meeting could help the mentor better prepare as well. Then it might seem like a “warm” relationship as opposed to a “cold” introduction.”
An exchange of resumes prior to the mentor banquet may have a positive impact of the relationship. This could facilitate the bonding between mentor and student prior to the mentor banquet taking place. The potential downside to the exchange could be either a student or a mentor deciding that this match is not to my liking and they decide to not attend the banquet. Hopefully that would not happen. The second change is more in the marketing of the mentor banquet and more specifically the marketing of the real estate major. Mark Hoffman, in his article titled “RIMS Chapters Work to Boost Interest Among Students” in the publication Business Insurance, discusses the use of podcasts to describe the mentoring program to students. I expect to put these into use not only in regards to the mentoring program, but also to describe the entire real estate major so that students can see the positive aspects of the major and real estate industry as a whole. This will present a different slant on the real estate industry than what is typically seen in the media on a daily basis. REFERENCES Gritsch, Martin, Paterson, William (2006) Experiences with a Mentoring Program for Undergraduate Business Students, Proceedings of the Academy of Educational Leadership, Vol. 11, Number 1, p.21-24. Hoffman, Mark A., (2010) RIMS Chapters Work to Boost Interest Among Students, Business Insurance, Vol. 44, Iss. 34, p. 4. Schlee, Regina P., (2000) Mentoring and the Professional Development of Business Students, Journal of Management Education, June 2000, p. 322-327.
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Unowsky, C. & Burack, O. Jewish Home Lifecare Mentors and At-Risk Youth: A Mechanism for Achieving Academic and Career Goals ABSTRACT This paper will describe a workforce initiative for at risk high-school students interested in pursuing healthcare careers and specifically how multiple mentorship relationships help students achieve academic and career goals. The Geriatric Career Development (GCD) program is set within a long-term-care facility and is in its 6th year of implementation, with 200 current students & 3 classes of graduates (132 alumni). Students enter the program in 10th grade and remain through high school graduation. Program goals include: (1) high school graduation, (2) college entry, (3) certification, and (4) increased knowledge of geriatric/healthcare career opportunities. Mentorship programs and relationships are integrated throughout the GCD program. As part of the formal GCD curriculum youth interact with three types of mentors: (1) elder nursing home residents, (2) iMentorshealthcare professionals or students who exchange weekly e-mails with youth, and (2) staff members who provide guidance during internships. Additionally, GCD staff and program partners (e.g. tutors, counselors) take on informal mentorship roles. These mentorship relationships provide students with academic, career, and personal support, practical information about college, career guidance, and networking connections. As compared to their community cohort GCD alumni are completing high school, entering college and pursuing careers. Of the 57 GCD students in the 2011 senior class, 56 graduated high school and of those 100% have been accepted to college. 93% of program alumni are enrolled in college and/ or working. Despite the program successes however challenges to the mentorship recruitment and retention is challenging.
Introduction At-risk high school students often lack meaningful relationships with individuals who could serve as positive role models in their everyday lives. Moreover, adults willing to give of themselves and mentor this population are in short supply. According to the National Mentoring Partnership (2011), there may be as many as 15 million youth in need of mentorship services. This presentation will describe a workforce development initiative conducted at Jewish Home Lifecare (JHL) for at risk high-school students interested in pursuing healthcare careers and specifically how multiple mentorship relationships are used to help these students achieve academic and career goals. Background and History of GCD Program Founded in 1848, Jewish Home Lifecare (JHL) is one of the oldest and largest nonprofit geriatric health and rehabilitation institutions in the country, serving nearly 10,000 elders annually with campuses in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Westchester, New York. JHL’s continuum of services includes research centers for aging, programs and internships for those entering geriatric healthcare professions, adult day care programs, and community services (Pailet, 2009). Additionally, for the past 30 years JHL leadership has been committed to neighborhood youth with intergenerational youth programs within the nursing home setting. More recently, work force development has become a critical strategic issue for JHL, as New York City faces an acute shortage of healthcare workers particularly in the field of aging (Martiniano, Moore, & McGinnis, 2005). This need is projected to increase dramatically over the next decade (Institute of Medicine, 2007). As a result of these converging factors JHL launched the Geriatric Career Development Program (GCD) in 2006 designed to prepare at risk New York City high school students for careers in geriatric healthcare fields. The GCD program is intended to meet the needs of a variety of audiences, including at risk high school students, healthcare employers, and isolated seniors residing in long-term care facilities who, as all individuals, have the need for meaningful roles and relationships.
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Overview of Challenges for At-Risk Youth The population from which the GCD program draws its participants are high school students from Northern Manhattan and South and Central Bronx. The communities have high rates of poverty and some of the highest crime rates in NYC. Forty percent of Bronx residents and 46% of Northern Manhattan residents do not have high school degrees (NYC Children’s Services, 2007). The vast majority of residents within these communities have low paying and menial jobs. Violence and gang related activity is on the rise in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx and teenage pregnancy rates of 12-15% in these communities are also a major risk factor for academic failure and drop out (Citizens Committee for Children, 2007). The high school graduation rates from the schools these students attend are considerably lower than the New York City average of 52% (NYS Report Cards, 2010). Many parents of these youth are immigrants who do not speak English and while they may hold high aspirations for their children, they often lack the tools and knowledge to support them academically and socially. Guidance counselors and leadership at underperforming schools similarly do not have sufficient resources to prepare students to enter the work force. The Role of Mentors Previous studies have found that mentorship programs can positively impact youth outcomes. In particular, youth from disadvantaged backgrounds have been found to benefit from these types of relationships (Spencer, 2007). Dubois and Silverthorn (2005) found significantly better outcomes within the domains of education and work (high-school completion, college attendance, employment), mental health, problem behavior (gang membership, fighting risk taking) and health, although the magnitude of these effects were small. There is also modest evidence that youth in mentoring relationships may experience a slight improvement in grades (Grossman & Tierney, 1998) and consistent evidence that these youth have better school attendance, higher perceived scholastic competence, and better attitudes towards school. Similar to the GCD program (as described below) effective mentoring initiatives are often one component of a comprehensive intervention which may also include life skills training, academic tutoring, financial support, and community service (Jekeliek & Moore, 2002). Rhode & Dubois (2008) identified the following evidence-based best practices for effective youth mentoring programs including (1) frequent contact between mentors and mentees, (2) long term relationships (minimum of one year), (3) regular participation in structured activities, (4) youth centered style in which the young person’s interests are emphasized, (5) training and on-going supervision of mentors, and (6) services to supplement mentoring. These evidence-based best practices have been incorporated in the GCD curriculum as well as the philosophy of the relationship building between GCD staff and youth. The Geriatric Career Development Initiative GCD Student Participants Students in the GCD Program are selected from partner high schools. These partner high schools have formal partnership agreements with JHL, and have been selected based on a combination of geographic location, the presence of healthcare affiliation programs within the school and their status as a “school in need of improvement”. All GCD partner schools receive Title 1 funding based on student family income levels and schools in need of improvement based on the New York State Department of Education rating system. These are schools that fail to make “adequate yearly progress (AYP)”. The GCD Program partners with these schools based on funding grant requirements of working with youth-atrisk; this is a population where additional supports are needed and funders generally believe that their funding provides a significant impact that this population of students would otherwise not have access to outside of the GCD Program. GCD recruits students for its 3-year program during the spring of 9th grade. GCD contacts a professional partner at each school. This person can be the Assistant Principal, Guidance Counselor, Internship Coordinator or Librarian depending on each school’s table of responsibility. The 669
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GCD Program schedules a meeting at the school to present the program to the 9th grade students (a sub-set interested in health care or the entire grade depending on the school). After the information session, students indicate their interest in the program by writing a personal essay, completing in-take paperwork and by participating in a group interview at the nursing home. Students are selected for the program based on their interest and motivation level and their ability to make a 3-year commitment and adhere to the program schedule. GCD Student Demographics As reflective of the communities they live in GCD students come from a diverse background. Forty nine percent are Hispanic, 49% black, 6% Asian, and 1% white. Forty five percent of students speak a language other than English in the home including Twi, Albanian, Catonese, Hindi, Bengali, Creole, Patois, Yoruba, Arabic, and French. Ninety four percent of students reported living with their mother or step-mother and approximately 50% live with their father or step-father. Over 7 students live without either parent in the household. Overview of GCD The GCD program has recently begun its 6th year since implementation, with 200 current students and 3 classes of graduates (132 alumni). Students enter the program at the beginning of 10th grade and remain through high school graduation. The program is year round with students attending 8-10 hours per week after school and on weekends as well as through the summer and vacation weeks. GCD program goals include (1) high school graduation, (2) college entry, (3) certification as a certified nursing assistant or pharmacy technician, and (4) increased knowledge of geriatric and healthcare career opportunities. To achieve these goals the program has a highly structured curriculum within which students receive health care training including rotating department internships, department lectures, health awareness workshops, permanent unit assignments, visits to other health care facilities, clinical skills training in taking vital signs, helping to feed elder residents, and transporting elders, and certification as a certified nursing assistant or pharmacy technician. In addition to healthcare education and training the curriculum includes intensive academic support (tutoring and NYS Regents’ preparation), social service counseling, college preparation (college counseling, SAT and ACT preparation, college campus trips), and career training (career counseling, mock and real interview experience). Parents/Guardians are integrated into the GCD program and attend a GCD orientation when their child begins the program and attend multiple workshops throughout the three year program (e.g. college awareness and financial aid, child development and sexuality, family communication, financial literacy, GCD program information, and healthy lifestyles and nutrition). Additionally, they are kept up to date about their child’s progress, involved in academic interventions, and encouraged to contact GCD staff with any questions or concerns. To promote regular participation, and reward positive participation (e.g. turning in all documentation, outstanding attendance, etc.) students can receive up to $429 in stipends during the school year ($143 three times a year). Mentorship within GCD Mentorship is both a critical component and tool which is woven throughout the GCD program. As part of the formal GCD curriculum youth interact with three types of mentors: (1) elder nursing home residents, (2) iMentors – healthcare professionals or students pursuing healthcare careers who exchange weekly e-mails with the students, and (3) staff members who provide guidance during internships. Additionally, (4) GCD staff and program partners (e.g. tutors, social work counselors) take on informal mentorship roles in building critical relationships with students. These relationships provide students with personal, academic, and career support, practical information about interpersonal and life skills, college, career guidance, and networking connections.
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(1) Elder Mentors Elder mentors are nursing home residents who live in the Bronx or Manhattan JHL nursing homes and receive long-term-care services. On average, these individuals are 85 years old, female and living with more than one chronic illness. Most of these individuals have some form of dementia, from slight to end-stage, are wheelchair bound, need assistance with dining, transferring, dressing and toileting, and they grew up/lived in the Bronx or Manhattan. Many of these elders, especially in the Bronx are bilingual Spanish/English speakers. The GCD students spend the first month of the program in orientation focusing on an introduction to the nursing home environment and are trained in basic nursing skills: taking heights and weights, blood pressure, and temperature, bed making skills and how to assist with dining. After they pass this training period, they spend about 2-hours a week on the resident floors where the long term care elders live, assisting with care and activities alongside and under the supervision of JHL nurses and social workers. After approximately 2-months on the units, the students learn about the Elder Mentor program component. They are asked to choose an elder who lives on their floor to be their mentor. Once an elder is chosen, GCD staff confirm with the elder that s/he would like to participate and once this confirmation takes place, the student and the elder begin meeting weekly for the duration of the GCD program. Elder mentors can have up to a maximum of four mentees and meet with either one or two mentees at a time. If a student does not choose his/her own mentor the GCD staff will suggest a pairing. The aim is for the mentor-mentee pairing to last throughout the three-year program, however new mentor matches are sometimes necessary due to variety of reasons such as a mismatch of personality or the decline, hospitalization, or death of a resident (this will be discussed in more detail below). Each week the student and elder complete weekly assignments together (e.g. family tree building, collage about the mentor’s life and times, health awareness based on the elder’s experience, generational “current events”, and US history). Additionally, the pairs attend social activities such as wheel chair dances and monthly parties. Students can also visit with their mentor while on their floor assignments. This time is often spent in conversation, playing games, or relaxing in the garden. The goals of the elder mentorship component is (1) to facilitate relationships building between the student and elder, (2) to provide students’ with a supportive individual who can talk about experiences gained, life skills, and world knowledge, (3) to enhance students’ interpersonal skills including communication, patience, and empathy, and (4) to provide the elder with the generative activity of sharing with, helping, teaching, and supporting community youth. (2) iMentors The iMentor program matches GCD 11th graders with professional or graduate students in healthcare careers. These mentors are recruited through word of mouth, internal JHL staff networks and advertising on various websites and list serves (e.g. Craigslist and Volunteer.org) that target healthcare professionals looking for volunteer opportunities. GCD staff post recruitment messages on the iMentor facebook page, reach out to past mentors, email contacts at other health care organizations, graduate schools of medicine, nursing and social work, as well as reach out to graduate students currently interning at JHL. Additionally, Jewish Home encourages its own staff to participate. The GCD Program recruits approximately 60 iMentors annually. Since matches are made male to male and female to female, more women than men are recruited. Additionally, mentors are sought who come from ethnic and racial backgrounds similar to our students. Perspective mentors attend informational sessions for a detailed description of the program and must make an 8 month commitment to the program. All mentors must be 21 years of age or older, undergo a background screening, and complete an online application. Recruiting takes place in multiple locations Each week the iMentor-mentee pairs exchange curriculum based e-mails which contain writing prompts covering four life areas: personal, college, career, and community awareness. Examples of writing prompts range from how to ask for a college recommendation letter, to mentors/mentees discussing the neighborhood they grew up in. iMentor-mentee pairs are also required to attend at least one 671
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monthly GCD hosted event during the year (e.g. games night, museum trip, Empire State Building trip, Broadway show, picnic, mentor social, and mentor appreciation dinner). The goals of the iMentor program are 1) to ensure that youth have positive, supportive and professional adults available to them to support their successful and positive academic, career and personal development 2) to facilitate the opportunity for career networking with current or future professionals 3) to provide the opportunity for students to interact with individuals who have gone or are going through the steps toward completing academic/clinical training and entering a professional career, and 4) improve important writing skills and the ability to express themselves. (3) Departmental Mentors During their junior and senior years of the program GCD students rotate through six-week departmental internships (e.g. nursing, social work, therapeutic recreation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, finance, human resources, and research). While attending the rotation, students have a departmental mentor who provides an overview of the department, instructs the student in specific tasks, allows the student to shadow him/or her during the internship, and discusses with the student the academic and career track necessary for the particular field. The departmental mentors are all JHL employees from wide ranging professions throughout the nursing home who volunteer to mentor the GCD interns. The goals of the departmental mentorship program are to 1) provide students with a greater understanding of the responsibilities and duties related to different healthcare careers, 2) provide students with professional contacts who can give career and academic specific support, and 3) provide examples of appropriate professional conduct within the workplace. (4) Informal Mentors GCD staff and program partners such as tutors and social work counselors act as informal mentors to GCD youth. These staff members are with the youth through the entirety of the program and build strong supportive trusting relationships with them while at the same time modeling responsible professional behaviors. Staff and program partners provide encouragement, academic, career and life-skills support helping students overcome challenges as they meet their goals. Process and Outcome Measures To ensure youth meet with their mentors, process measures are tracked. This includes completed assignments with elders, attendance at all elder mentor parties and activities, e-mail exchanges with iMentors, participation in iMentor activities, and attendance at internships. GCD staff members also conduct quarterly iMentor check-ins, to provide support and maintain program retention of iMentors as well as monitoring elder participation to ensure that the resident is still able to take part in the program. New matches are introduced when needed. GCD program outcome measures include knowledge about health care careers, knowledge about the elderly, program retention, certification as a certified nursing assistant or pharmacy technician, high school graduation, college acceptance, and employment. Student satisfaction and evaluations of the program are also collected. Selected Results Seventy five students reported learning about new careers as a result of the GCD program and over the course of the program students have listed learning about more than 30 new health care related careers including speech pathology, radiology, admissions, geriatric nursing, licensed nurse practitioners, and occupational therapists. Of the 57 seniors in the class of 2011, 56 (98%) graduated high school, of those 100% were accepted to college.
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Among our alumni, 45 have received certification as CNAs, 17 as pharmacy technicians, and one as an EMT. Ninety three percent of alumni are enrolled in college and/and or working, with 45 currently employed within health care including 26 students who were recently offered positions with CVS pharmacy and are awaiting store placement. Twelve alumni are employed at JHL and three are working at other nursing homes. For the 2010/2011 academic year the GCD program retention rate was 87% for sophomores, 77% for juniors, and 98% for seniors. The three year retention rate for GCD is 67%. Qualitative Results Eighty nine percent of students reported that they learned skills in the GCD program that will help them outside of JHL. These included better communication and socialization skills, how to care for elders and others, control of attitude, and time management. When asked “what did you like most about the program” students spoke of their mentors, the role models, and opportunity it provides. (e.g. “iMentor, elder mentor, tutoring, great women that are around” and “I liked the whole program. . . how it’s run and opportunities students have . . offers we get from GCD should really be appreciated.”) Program Challenges Mentorship is sustained with a number of distinct mentor cohorts in the GCD program. The observed challenges amongst the cohorts are both similar and unique. iMentors are challenging to recruit and because of their professional work schedule, they often worry about or cannot maintain the weekly email and in-person meeting schedule. These adult mentors are busy and cannot always make a regular commitment. Elder mentors have the time to commit. Their challenge is often related to health status changes, such as cognitive decline, illness or death. This can be traumatic for the students. Staff mentors overseeing internships and floor assignments can have challenges regarding working with a younger intern. JHL staff are accustomed to working with adults and elders, and typically prefer to do so. Maintaining patience and dealing with a less mature individual can be difficult. Overall, the three mentor cohorts face a similar challenge which is the feeling that they are not “wise enough” to act as a mentor. They lack the self efficacy to believe that they can make a difference or impart knowledge to a younger generation. In reality, once in the mentor role, the iMentors, elder mentors and staff mentors typically interface and build strong, remarkable, close and long-lasting relationships with the GCD students. One area for further study and discussion is the challenge of helping individuals to feel comfortable taking on the role of a mentor, and supporting them as they do so. A final challenge in mentorship to consider is the students and their ability to “open up” to their mentor. Students have a range of responses to mentorship; some are very open and communicative, while others remain distant or seemingly so. The student’s response to mentorship can drive mentors to want to do more or to feel discouraged. This is another area that requires setting expectations and letting mentors know that not all positive mentoring relationships look or feel alike. It is quite possible for a student to have a life changing experience with a mentor, but to be unable to voice his or her feelings about it. Students who cannot express their emotions often make mentors feel less adequate in their role, leading to lower retention of those mentors. This is an area where GCD program staff must monitor and explain individual student responses. In Summary The mentorship experience within the GCD program provides at-risk youth with extensive interpersonal interactions. Through the mentorship experiences students gain communication skills both written and verbal, appropriate work conduct, the opportunity for networking, commitment to others, information about a great variety of possible career pursuits, and how to pursue their career and academic 673
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goals. As compared to their community cohort, GCD students are more likely to graduate high school and pursue college. They achieve certification which allows them to work and earn often necessary income while attending college. However, despite program successes challenges remain particularly in the recruitment and retention of mentors. Future research is needed to examine effective ways to recruit mentors as well as help potential mentors recognize the valuable impact they are capable of having on others. REFERENCES Dubois, DL & Silverthorn, N, (2005). Natural mentoring relationships and adolescent health: Evidence from a national study. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 518-24. Grossman, J. B., & Tierney, J. P. (1998). Does mentoring work? An impact study of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Evaluation Review, 22, 402–425. Jekelielek, S., Moore, K.A., & Hair, E.C. (2002). Mentoring programs and youth development: A synthesis. Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. Child Trends. Washington D.C. Martiniano R, Moore J, & McGinnis S. (2005). The health care workforce in New York State, 2004: Trends in the supply and demand for health workers. Rensselaer, NY: Center for Health Workforce Studies, School of Public Health, SUNY Albany. May 2005. National Mentoring Partnership (2011). www.mentoring.org/about_mentor/mission. New York State Report Cards (2010). www.nystart.gov/publicweb/Home.do?year=2010. New York State School and District Report Cards for School Year 2009-2010 New York City Administration for Children’s Services. (2007). NYC 2007 Community Snapshots. Manhattan Community District 12. Pailet, J. (2009) The Jewish Home and Hospital Health Professional Youth Mentoring Program Proposal. Rhodes J.E. & Dubois L.B., (2008). Mentoring Relationships and Programs and Youth. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 254-258. Spencer, R (2007). It’s not what I expected. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22, 331-354.
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Werst, A., Meyer, J. & Roehl, S. University of Texas Statewide Mentoring in Texas: The Beginning Teacher Induction and Mentoring Program ABSTRACT With over one-third of all public school teachers having more than 20 years of experience getting ready to leave the profession due to retirement (National Education Association, 2003) as well as studies showing that over 40% of new teachers leaving the profession within five years (Brill & McCartney, 2008; Ingersoll, 2003), school districts must be able to not only recruit new teachers but, more importantly, be able to retain those teachers in order to stem the teacher attrition rate. With funding from the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Regional Collaboratives (TRC) at the University of Texas at Austin has implemented the Beginning Teacher Induction and Mentoring (BTIM) program for science and mathematics since September 2009. The program is designed to increase retention of beginning science and mathematics teachers by assigning a qualified mentor teacher to each classroom teacher who has less than two years of teaching experience. TRC has developed and supported comprehensive induction for science and mathematics classroom teachers. This is a combination of mentoring; professional development that addresses the process, content, and context necessary for the success of the beginning science and mathematics teacher; and formative assessments for beginning science and mathematics teachers. Induction includes high-quality mentoring, collaborative planning that focuses on strategies that improve student achievement, ongoing professional development tailored for the beginning science and mathematics teacher, and learning communities. The proposed 45-minute session will consist of a panel including BTIM Project Directors and Program Manager. The discussion will focus on the successes, challenges, and strategies to guide future structure and direction of the program at the state and local levels.
The Beginning Teacher and Induction Mentoring (BTIM) program at the Texas Regional Collaboratives (TRC) supports early career math and science teachers to increase their retention and effectiveness. Since the program began in the fall of 2009, the TRC has provided 831 new science and mathematics teachers across 476 school campuses throughout the State of Texas with mentoring support from 436 veteran teachers. Currently the program encompasses 23 projects across the state, and is funded through a $5 million grant to the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for STEM Education in the College of Education from the Texas Education Agency (TEA). Each project serves a minimum of 20 mentees. The 2011-2012 school year has recruited 872 beginning teachers to be supported by 506 mentors throughout the state of Texas. The program is designed to increase retention of beginning science and mathematics teachers by assigning a qualified mentor teacher to each classroom teacher who has less than two years of teaching experience in STEM instruction. TRC has developed and supported comprehensive induction for science and mathematics classroom teachers. This is a combination of mentoring; professional development that addresses the process, content, and context necessary for the success of the beginning science and mathematics teacher; and formative assessments for beginning science and mathematics teachers. Induction includes high-quality mentoring, collaborative planning that focuses on strategies that improve student achievement, ongoing professional development tailored for the beginning science and mathematics teacher, and learning communities. A beginning science and mathematics teacher induction program may include, but is not limited to, the following components: • A structured induction component, based upon research in: · Teacher induction · Beginning teacher development
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· Quality professional development • Quality mentoring that includes: · A qualified mentor that meets all of the criteria · Common planning time for structured collaboration to develop strategies and support necessary for student achievement · Release time for classroom observations for both mentor and beginning teacher · Formative assessments conducted by the trained mentor to assess the new teacher’s practice and help the beginning teacher plan improvement in order to achieve professional standards • Continuous support and ongoing professional development tailored to the needs of beginning teachers • Training for administrators to support induction and mentoring that includes: · Practices for successful selection and matching of mentors · Essential components for beginning teacher development • Learning communities • Additional assistance for beginning teachers with non-traditional preparation • Training to work with English-language learners • Realistic workload for the beginning teacher • Structure of teacher schedules to provide common planning time and frequent face-to-face interaction among mentors and beginning teachers • Other topics deemed appropriate to achieve program objectives Need for induction and mentoring programs for new teachers With over one-third of all public school teachers having more than 20 years of experience preparing to leave the profession due to retirement (National Education Association, 2003) as well as studies showing that over 40% of new teachers leaving the profession within five years (Brill & McCartney, 2008; Ingersoll, 2003), school districts must be able to not only recruit new teachers but, more importantly, be able to retain those teachers in order to stem the teacher attrition rate. TRC BTIM mentor training is based on a research-based protocol that incorporates three key aspects of an effective mentoring program: instructional-related support, procedural assistance, and emotional encouragement. This support is grounded in an effective observation and feedback system that allows formative feedback through a non-evaluative relationship between mentor and mentee. BTIM funds are used to support mentor stipends and training but are also used to cover substitute costs for both mentors and mentees to allow for multiple classroom observations. According to a new teacher involved in the Texas A&M System BTIM project, “Having to observe my mentor, be observed, and even be video observed was all very helpful. Getting to watch myself on video actually came in useful to see some things that I could work on.” Role of the Mentor Mentor teachers who are employed as full-time classroom teachers can mentor up to three beginning teachers annually. TRC projects may elect to use funds to employ other instructional personnel or retired educators that meet the qualifications herein to be assigned as a mentor teacher. Full-time instructional personnel (other than full-time classroom teachers) and/or retired educators may mentor as many as 20 beginning teachers. Mentor teachers are compensated $2,500 annually. Projects receive approximately $5,000 per beginning teacher to implement their mentoring program. Additional expenses include personnel, materials, and facilities for mentor training; mileage for mentor teachers that travel to their mentees; and scheduled release time for the mentor-mentee pair to meet and observe the other’s classroom.
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A mentor teacher must complete the following duties: • Participate in beginning teacher orientation • Meet weekly face-to-face (online forums and/or phone conferences do not qualify as weekly meetings) with the beginning teacher • Maintain documentation of mentor/beginning teacher activities • Attend regularly scheduled mentor support meetings • Conduct observations and assessments of the beginning teacher • Complete all requirements of the TRC’s beginning teacher induction and mentoring program Training Models Mentors must also be provided research-based mentor training. Mentoring Texas and TXBESS are the two training models being utilized by BTIM Projects. Mentoring Texas is a research-based foundational training, based on the mentor-training model of The New Teacher Center in California that focuses on the knowledge, skills, and understandings that are critical for those who work with beginning teachers. The heart of good mentoring is to respond to each new teacher’s developmental and contextual needs and to promote the ongoing examination of classroom practice. Key concepts included in this training are: creating a vision of quality teaching, defining mentoring roles, identifying new teachers’ needs, understanding the attitudinal phases of new teacher development, building an effective mentoring relationship, differentiating support, developing the language and behavior of support, and assessing the beginning teacher’s level of practice. The Texas Beginning Educator Support System (TxBESS), an initiative of the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC), is designed to provide systematic support for beginning teachers in their first and second years on the job. TxBESS is part of a coherent, standards-based system that begins with the state student standards and continues through pre-service preparation, induction, and in-service professional development. Performance Measures, Data Collection, and Evaluation Each TRC BTIM Project has agreed to collect data and report on the following mandatory performance measures for each BTIM grantee: 1. The total number of beginning teachers who actually participated in the beginning teacher induction and mentoring program. 2. The total number of mentor teachers who actually participated in the beginning teacher induction and mentoring program. 3. The total number of beginning teachers who completed the beginning teacher induction and mentoring program. 4. The total number of beginning teachers who completed the induction and mentoring program and were retained at the campus or district after the first and second year of teaching. 5. Provide list of mentors linked with mentees. 6. The total number of administrators who received training to support mentors and beginning teachers. 7. Funds expended by each TRC Project awarded a grant that includes funds expended for each district. BTIM Projects are required to document the minimum weekly face-to-face meetings via Mentor Logs that are initialed by the mentee and signed by the mentor. Topics range from disciplinary issues to creating lesson plans to formal observation of each other’s classes.
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TRC has also developed a database that projects enter all relevant information on the mentees, mentors, and administrators that participate in training. Educator and classroom demographic data are collected along with training received and performance measures. Overall, 84.2% of new teachers served through the TRC BTIM program were scheduled to return to their campuses in the 2011-12 school year as of May 2011. Unfortunately, the highly publicized budget shortfall for Texas public education that resulted in cuts to thousands of teaching positions across the state often led to elimination of new teacher positions first. When budget cuts were taken into account, principals reported that an additional 57 teachers would have been offered a contract for 2011-12 if funding had been available, resulting in a retention rate of 95%. A follow up survey has been sent to projects to inquire on the status of the teachers that were initially not contracted by the end of the last grant cycle (April 2011) to discern if they were hired prior to the start of the school year. Feedback The response to the BTIM program has been extremely positive from all stakeholders including mentees, mentors, and school district administrators. For example, Lonnetta Walker, a Galveston County project teacher who was mentored by master teacher Dr. Terry Tally of UT Medical Branch stated that, “if it wasn’t for the program, I would have probably decided to teach another subject…I have learned so much my 5th graders did remarkably well on the 2010 science test.” While the TRC BTIM program provided support to teachers to improve the most typical needs for all beginning teachers such as procedures, classroom management, and time management, TRC BTIM mentors went beyond these general needs with specific support provided for teaching mathematics and science more effectively. That additional instructional support was noted by many mentees as a big success of the program as compared to what their school district was able to offer. As one mentee from the Texas A&M Corpus Christi project noted, “I feel that the mentor program provided by (my school) was a good support system for learning how the school worked, but Mrs. Roehl’s mentoring helped me understand how to break down science concepts for enhanced student learning.” Other new teachers commented that while they saw their campus assigned mentor very little, the requirement that TRC mentors visit with their mentees in face-toface meetings at least once a week ensured that they had the support they needed. Mentors in the TRC BTIM program can be practicing classroom teachers, instructional coaches, or retired master teachers. TRC mentors have found that they themselves are benefiting as much from the program as their mentees. One mentor from the Our Lady of the Lake University project in San Antonio stated, “As the mentor, I reflect daily on my own teaching in order to provide specific experiences/examples to share with my mentees. Through my own reflections, I have learned new things about my own teaching that I have never noticed before.” Administrators also saw the benefit of the TRC BTIM program. Stan Simonson, Principal of St. Mary’s Academy Charter School in Beeville, Texas, commented on the work of mentor Nancy Cavallin, “Ms. Cavallin’s work with our new 1st and 2nd year teachers has given them the confidence that usually doesn’t surface until after their 3rd year in the classroom.” Effective induction and mentoring programs like TRC BTIM can help ameliorate the attrition rate for teachers and most importantly, improve their effectiveness. This is especially true for beginning science and mathematics teachers, where effective teacher shortages are most acute. With continued support from the TEA, the TRC BTIM program will make a difference for hundreds of new teachers as they embark on a lifelong career motivating students in mathematics and science and providing them with the knowledge and skills they need to pursue careers in high need STEM fields. Next Steps In addition to maintaining effective components of the BTIM Program, TRC will investigate the merits of utilizing practicing classroom teachers as mentors compared to retired teachers as mentors. Using evidence from mentees based on an exit survey, we will compare:
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confidence to continue in the teaching profession, classroom observations experience feedback, level of trust, overall mentor effectiveness (time well-spent, problem resolution, emotional support, accessibility), and perceived impact on classroom management and instructional practice. One of the challenges faced in the first two years of the program is the statutory restriction in purchasing materials for beginning teachers. TRC and several BTIM Projects are actively pursuing corporate sponsorship to supply mentees with a new teacher starter kit that includes classroom items such as pens, pencils, markers, paper, card stock, files, rulers, and post-its. • •
REFERENCES National Education Association (2003). Status of the American Public School Teacher 2000-2001. Washington, D.C.: Author. Brill, Sam and McCartney, Abby (2008). Stop the Revolving Door: Increasing Teacher Retention, Politics & Policy, 36, 5: pp. 750-774. Ingersoll, Richard M. and Smith, Thomas M. (2003). The Wrong Solution to the Teacher Shortage, Education Leadership; May 2003: 60, 8: pp. 30-33.
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Bruner, N. R. & Helitzer, D. University of New Mexico Undergraduate Pipeline Network Summer Research Experience ABSTRACT Mentoring is a key component that influences students’ choices and ability to succeed in research. The Undergraduate Pipeline Network (UPN) uses this fact to incorporate mentoring into the structure of its program. Mentoring is conducted by faculty mentors and a peer mentors throughout the completion of a research project. Skills that are not learned during the research experience are taught in a seminar series. The social aspect of community is encouraged through cohort-building activities. Research mentoring, seminars and cohort-building activities all work together to increase students’ interest in, awareness of and ability to conduct research. As a result, the UPN program has seen more students include plans to conduct research in their long-term career goals.
Introduction The Undergraduate Pipeline Network summer research experience cultivates students' interest in research while helping them build the skills needed to apply for and succeed in post-baccalaureate education. UPN provides the opportunity for students to engage in one of three types of research – basic science/laboratory, clinical/translational, and community-based – for 40 hours per week over an eightweek period. The program has a special interest in increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in research. The UPN program was originally developed in 2009. The first year the program hosted two students and only consisted of research-mentoring. However with over 130 applications during the first year, the demand justified an increase in funding and students admitted to the program. So in 2010, the program grew to include 16 students. With the increase in cohort size, a didactic component focusing on skillsbuilding not taught during the mentoring experience was added. The following year 30 students were admitted to the program. Cohort-building activities were added to increase the cohesiveness of the group. This bonding began students’ scientific network system. The experiential portion of the UPN program is where students spend a majority of their time working with their mentors to design and conduct a pragmatic research project. Each student has a peer mentor and a faculty mentor to create a mentoring triad. Each mentor provides different aspects of support to the student. But, a key element of support provided by both mentors is the professional socialization. Mentors help socialize students to the values and norms of the scientific community. Thus creating a sense of belonging and bonding students to the community in the hope students choose research as a career. In this triad, students also gain a level of comfort in performing scientific activities taught by mentors who share their interest in a specific area of research. An increase in comfort with the community and the skills needed to succeed will hopefully increase students’ interest in research as a career. Seminars offer students a didactic approach to learning skills necessary for admission and success in professional or graduate school. Topics covered in the seminar series include how to write a letter of intent, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, GRE/MCAT hints and tips, a discussion of their career options, etiquette, interviewing skills, maximizing their graduate school/medical school application and presentation skills. Students combine these skills with their research project to present a poster at the end of the summer during a poster session. With students working in different labs, their opportunity to interact with each other is limited. Cohort-building activities offer students the opportunity to build a network of associates who are their educational peers and offer an additional connection to the scientific community. Teamwork building activities like a ropes course and white water rafting were planned at the beginning of the program to expedite bonding in the limited timeframe of UPN. Then other activities like bowling, playing games, 680
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sightseeing and barbequing will present them with more bonding opportunities in a more relaxed setting for the remainder of the program. During the final bonding experience, they traveled to the top of Sandia Mountain on a tram ride for a day of hiking that concluded with dinner. These activities provided memorable experiences that built group cohesiveness and led to further scientific socialization though community development. Background of Study Effective undergraduate research is defined as, “an inquiry or investigation conducted by an undergraduate that makes an original intellectual or creative contribution to the discipline” (NSF, 2003b, p. 9). Alexander (2000) pointed out that an essential aspect is the meaningfulness of the research conducted. Each project should be tailored to the type of research conducted. But there are certain characteristics described by the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Professional Training that should be universal across projects such as: • • • • • • • •
Having a clearly communicated purpose and expected outcomes, Having well-defined objectives and methods, Being significant in possibilities (not a collection of small projects), Having a reasonable chance of producing a poster in the available time, Requiring contact with the literature, Avoiding repetitive work, Requiring use of advanced concepts, and Requiring a variety of techniques and instruments (not just library/literature work) (Wenzel 2003).
Research activities are guided by a mentoring endeavor. These mentoring activities can provide both career and psychological support. Career building aspects can include functions such as funding, training, sheltering, developing skills, and building students’ professional network (Kram, 1985). For students to think beyond their current level, adults or more skilled peers need to collaborate with them to provide guidance toward more capabilities and higher-order problem solving skills (Hunter et al., 2006). From a psychosocial side, mentors act as a friend, role model and counselor (Kram, 1985). This helps socialize students into the scientific community, which is a key part of a research experience (Alexander, 2000). Farmer claims mentors teach student how to think and act according to their field (1992). A community of practice teaches the skills students need to “negotiate the undefined spaces of learning” because neither mentor nor student truly understands where the learning will take them according to Green (2005). As a result, the psychosocial aspects of mentoring introduce students to a community they belong to and reinforce the career-building aspects. Some students even reported that mentoring was more important than conducting research in regards to their attending graduate school (Ishiyama, 2001). As a result, those involved in a research experience report it being more valuable than coursework (Ward, 2005). Campbell (2004), Cole (1995), Seymour (2003) and Ward (2005) all noticed that familiarity with the research process led to an increase in ability, confidence, interest and awareness. This increase resulted in more students choosing a STEM career path (Russell, 2007) and staying in the field of research (Chaplin, 1998). Research experiences also influenced student’s career goals (Ferrari, 1996). Bauer (2003) and Ishiyama (2001) both support this fact by reporting that more research-experienced students attend graduate school. Of these students, the ones who participate in a more rigorous research experience are more likely to earn an advanced degree (Nnadozie, 2001). Context of Study The study focused on increasing the number of students who choose research as a career by improving their ability to conduct research, their awareness of the various types of research and their 681
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interest in research. Their ability to conduct research was improved through their research experience and seminars that focused on research skills. Awareness was addressed through their involvement in a research area and exposure to other research areas during seminars. By providing various experiences with their mentors during research and peers during cohort-building activities, students were better socialized to the research culture and may become more interested in research. The 30 participants were administered a pre-test and post-test via an online survey to determine their improvement in these key areas. Their faculty and peer mentors were also administered an online, post-program survey to determine the effects of the program on the student in these key areas. Each part of the mentoring triad was also invited to participate in a focus group. Preliminary Findings Response rates for the student pre-survey was 53%, student post-survey was 50% and the mentor post-survey was 20%. Due to the small sample size, the analysis involved descriptive statistics to help reveal trends in the data. Most questions asking about interest in specific research activities showed a slight increase over the course of the program. Items such as reading a research journal article (50% to 58%), discussing a research article (69% to 75%), conducting community based research (56% to 66%), collecting data (88% to 92%), analyzing data (88% to 92%), writing research results summaries (69% to 83%), discussing research findings (88% to 92%), presenting research findings (75% to 83%) and leading a research team (69% to 75%) showed an increase from the pre-survey to the post-survey in the percentage of respondents who were interested or very interested. Students’ ability was measured by the change in their level of comfort in performing a specific research activity. An increase was seen between the pre-survey and post-survey in the percentage of respondents who were either comfortable or completely comfortable to participate in generating collaborative research ideas (53% to 83%), consult senior researchers for ideas (47% to 92%), propose their research idea orally to an advisor or group (27% to 75%), ensure data collection is accurate and reliable (73% to 92%), attend to all relevant details of data collection (80% to 83%), use statistical methods to analyze data (27% to 50%), describe research results in text form (53% to 66%), describe research results in graphic form (60% to 66%), design visual presentations (60% to 92%), orally present their research results to their peers (53% to 83%), orally present their research results to senior researchers (13% to 75%), and rating their overall level of comfort with completing an independent research project (20% to 66%). Awareness of research opportunities was measured using the mentor survey. In this section, 11 out of 12 mentors responded that students had a significant improvement in their awareness of the mentor’s area of science. Mentors also responded that 83% of students had a sufficient to significant improvement in understanding the process in transforming basic science to clinical science to improved healthcare. In the pre-survey, 32% of responses showed students wanted to conducted research in either an industry or university setting as part of their long term goals. After the program, the post-survey showed 45% of the responses where to conduct research in either an industry or university setting. The overall satisfaction with the program showed that 91% of mentors and 92% of students were either satisfied or very satisfied. Discussion The program showed an increase in interest of most research activities, in ability to conduct research activities and in awareness related to research. The most change occurred in students’ abilities. So other activities than those conducted must affect students’ interest and awareness and should be investigated. At the same time, we saw a trend of more students post-program considering research as part of their long term goals. Other aspects that affect students’ long-term career goals besides those studied should be explored. Limitations noted in the study include not measuring awareness from a student’s perspective, which left the data incomplete. Plus the terminology used in mentor survey should be aligned to the student
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survey to ensure an easier comparison between the two datasets. Also while the response rate for the student survey was above average, more students and mentors should be encouraged to complete the survey so other statistical analysis can be conducted with the data. Another limitation is the lack of a control group. Despite the limitations, the data provided some interesting trends to help with program development. Future analysis will include determining the effects of demographics on these trends. In particular, students’ race, year in school and prior research experience could affect the trends seen in the larger group if isolated. For example, this program aims to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in research. So the affect this program has on underrepresented minorities is of particular interest to funders. Also by examining prior research experience, we can determine if the program has an effect of attracting new students to research, reinforcing an interest in research for experienced students or neither depending on how each group’s long-term career goals changed between the pre- and post-survey. REFERENCES Alexander B., Foertsch J., Daffinrud S., & Tapia R. (2000). The “Spend a Summer with a Scientist” (SaS) program at Rice University: A study of program outcomes and essential elements 1991-1997. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 20(3), 127-133. Campbell A. & Skoog G. (2004). Preparing undergraduate women for science careers. Journal of College Science Teaching , 33(5), 24-26. Chaplin S., Manske J., & Cruise J. (1998). Introducing freshmen to investigative research: A course for biology majors at Minnesota’s University of St. Thomas. Journal of College Science Teaching , 27(5), 347-350. “Characteristics of Undergraduate Research,” Committee on Professional Training Newsletter, Spring 2002. Cole, F. (1995). Implementation and evaluation of undergraduate research practicum. Journal of Professional Nursing, 11(3),154-160. Farmer, J. A., Buckmaster, A., & LeGrand, B. (1992). Cognitive apprenticeship: Implications for continuing professional development. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 55, 41- 49. Ferrari J. & Jason L. (1996). Integrating research and community service: Incorporating research skills into service learning experiences. College Student Journal , 30(4),444-451. Green, P. (2005). Space of influence: A framework for analysis of an individual’s contribution within communities of practice. Higher Education Research and Development, 24(4), 293-307. Hunter, A. B., Laursen, S. L., & Seymour E. (2006) Becoming a Scientist: The Role of Undergraduate Research in Students’ Cognitive, Personal, and Professional Development Ishiyama, J. (2001). Undergraduate research and the success of first generation, low income college students. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly, 22, 36-41. Kram, K. E. (1985). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman. National Science Foundation. (2003b, August 2-4). Enhancing research in the Chemical sciences at predominantly undergraduate institutions. Report from the Undergraduate Research Summit. Lewiston, ME: Bates College. Nnadozie E., Ishimaya J., & Chon N. (2001). Undergraduate research internships and graduate school success. Journal of College Student Development , 42(2), 145-156. Russell S.H., Hancock M.P., McCullough J. (2007). Benefits of undergraduate research experiences. Science , 316, 548-549. Seymour, E., Hunter, A., Laursen S., DeAntoni, T., (2003). Establishing the benefits of research experiences for undergraduates: First findings from a three-year study. Science Education, 88, 493-534.
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Ward C., Bauer K., & Bennet J. (2005). Content analysis of undergraduate student research evaluations. http://www.udel.edu/RAIRE /Content.pdf Accessed January 14, 2005. Wenzel, T. (2003). Definitions of undergraduate research. Retrieved May 09, 2011, from http://www.bates.edu/Prebuilt/chem-definition.pdf
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Anderson, C. & Myers, S. Texas Tech University Development of a Master Mentor Teacher Program ABSTRACT Numerous induction and mentoring programs have been developed and implemented to address the needs and concerns of new teachers in an effort to increase retention. Although successful programs provide noteworthy models for replication, it is also important to address new teacher needs at the local level. As faculty members in a teacher preparation program, we wanted to expand the current mentoring activities within our institution. This article outlines our model of mentoring for the Academy for Teacher Induction Support and Assistance (ATISA). Implications for practice include extending partnerships and collaboration among entities that support new teachers to develop synergistic and multiple mentoring resources. Successful induction initiatives increases collaborative efforts and better utilizes shared resources between school districts and teacher preparation programs, encouraging individualized approaches to sustained assistance.
Retaining new teachers continues to challenge school districts nationwide. National statistics report that those entering the teaching profession leave at alarming rates (Ingersoll, 2001). It is not uncommon for teachers to leave after just one year in the classroom, and others often leave within their first five years (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Ingersoll. 2002; Odell & Huling, 2000). Reports from the Texas Education Agency (2004) indicate that new teachers in Texas frequently leave immediately after entering the profession. Of beginning teachers, nineteen percent leave after their first year. By the time new teachers reach their fifth year of teaching, nearly half of the 10,381 Texas new teachers were no longer in the classroom (TEA, 2004). While there are many different reasons new teachers leave, the literature is replete with themes of concerns and issues of those initial years of teaching (Halford, 1999; Moir, 1999). Surveys and interviews of new teachers indicate several recurrent themes: lack of support, lack of supplies, a large number of preparations, and managing extracurricular teaching duties. These issues can overwhelm beginning teachers and impact the effectiveness of induction initiatives. A variety of attempts have been made to address this dilemma. School districts, regional professional development centers, and universities have developed programs to support new teachers (FeimanNemser, Schwille, Carver, & Yusko, 1999; Odell & Huling, 2000). The importance and value of providing mentoring support has been acknowledged as a key component to guiding new teachers as they become socialized into the profession (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Cole & Knowles, 2000; Tickle, 2000). These support systems take on many forms and designs. Some districts provide mentors within the school or school system that provide support and feedback concerning teaching practices and classroom skills. Other programs offer a series of workshops that assist new teachers in instructional delivery. Some workshops focus on helping new teachers with classroom management strategies and other day-to-day teaching concerns (Heidkamp & Shapiro, 1999; Tickle, 2000). Although many programs include mentoring as an element, the focus of a majority of teacher induction activities centers on examining teaching practices and curriculum design. Simply participating in an induction program does not insure retention, although reports indicate that these initiatives do increase the time new teachers may stay in the field (Darling-Hammond, 1997). Addressing Local Induction Needs As university faculty, we wanted to expand available support provided to new teachers exiting the College’s teacher preparation programs. Although school administrators in areas surrounding the university indicate that districts offer induction programs, individual principals disclose more could be done in mentoring new teachers (field notes, 2003). This is particularly evident in school settings considered to be highly diverse in nature, where teacher turnover is reported at a higher rate. We felt it 685
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was critical to actively partner with school districts to provide mentoring support for beginning teachers, particularly in schools identified as high-need. In an effort to address these concerns, we decided to design and implement an induction initiative housed within our college of education. This initiative was given the title of the Academy for Teacher Induction Support and Assistance (ATISA). The purpose was to create a central resource area to coordinate induction and mentoring efforts. ATISA’s ultimate goal is to provide extended mentoring support for new teachers and to assist local area school districts in meeting the challenge of retaining high quality teachers. As we explored our ideas on the type of induction and mentoring support ATISA would offer, it was necessary to organize the goals and objectives of the program around a central concept. Our premise was that new teachers within the local vicinity might require support specific to the context of rural areas and high-need school settings. We contacted one of the secondary schools in our school district to inquire about the possibility of a partnership. While the literature related to mentorship and induction is too vast to present for the purposes and scope of this article, we selected examples of relevant literature related to the supporting of new teachers that assisted us in forming our framework our design of ATISA. The next section of this article provides a brief overview of some of the pertinent literature concerning induction and mentoring, followed by a description of our model for new teacher support and the services provided by ATISA. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of how our model informs the future direction for mentoring new teachers within the context of our College. Perspectives on Induction and Mentoring Studies indicate that the experiences of the first few years in a teacher’s career determine if a novice will stay in the profession or leave the field (Adleman, 1991; Martin & Robbins, 1999). Examination of the concerns of new teachers reveals that they often report to being overwhelmed with the task of integrating pedagogy with the daily responsibilities of classroom life New teachers’ concerns can be placed into the categories of self, pedagogy, students, curriculum, program, system, and community (Boreen & Niday, 2000). Over the past three decades, numerous strategies have been instituted to address teacher shortages and retention (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Feiman-Nemser, et al., 1999; Fidler & Haselkorn, 1999). Since the mid-eighties, formalized induction programs have been implemented, resulting in an estimation that over half of newly hired public school teachers participate in an induction program during the first year of teaching (Feiman-Nemser et al., 1999). These programs are typically designed with two foci; to provide additional technical training for new teachers and to provide training coupled with performance evaluation. Based on induction research, programs have evolved to include a combination of improving new teachers’ professional skills and mentoring support. One of the primary means of providing this type of support for novices is the development of mentoring programs. Many of the teacher induction efforts instituted nationally and internationally focus on strategies that include various types of mentoring as well as resources (Feiman-Nemser et al., 1999). Induction and Mentoring The induction process has been characterized as a formal and systematic program for the socialization and support of new teachers that can last from one to five years (Steffy, Wolfe, Pasch, & Enz, 1999). Support for new teachers in the form of formalized induction programs often include the terms mentoring and support. Although these terms are often used interchangeably, it is important to clarify our definition as we designed ATISA. One widely held view of induction support describes mentoring as short-term assistance with the technical aspects of teaching. Another view thinks of mentoring as a long-term intervention of sustained support. If an induction program has as its mission a more sustained vision of
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support, then the interaction between the participants may need to be more flexible and individualized. For the purpose of this article, we define induction and mentoring as activities that sustain efforts of individual support for the professional development and personal career growth of new teachers. Examination of existing mentoring programs indicates that they can be successful in providing new teachers with the support they require during the first critical years of teaching, improving teacher retention (Feiman-Nemser et al., 1999). Characteristics of successful programs focus on the new teacher as a learner, providing a developmental approach to their induction (Moskowitz & Stephens, 1997). Additionally, successful programs provide highly individualized support geared to the new teacher’s changing needs (Fidler & Haskelkorn, 1999; Huling-Austin, 1992). This individualized support occurs through the systematic selection, training, and promotion of veteran teachers as mentors (Feiman-Nemser et al., 1999). The positive effects of mentoring new teachers are evidenced by data collected from those who remain in teaching after their first few years. The support they receive during this critical portion of their careers can help sustain them as they move into later stages of their career cycle (Steffy, Wolfe, Pasch, & Enz, 1999). Although providing technical teaching support is important to these new teachers, it may be just as important to provide personal support combined with support for reflective practice. Developing a balanced approach focuses on sustaining mentoring relationships rather than simply helping new teachers survive those first few years (Rogers & Babinski, 2002; Tickle, 2000). Mentoring efforts can have a substantial impact on school districts both financially and on student learning. The cost to districts to replace teachers who leave within the first few years is substantial. Furthermore, schools that are considered to be high-need report the greatest number of uncertified teachers, creating a revolving door situation (National). Administrators, veteran teachers, and other school personnel, while perhaps desiring to assist new teachers, have concerns of their own. Partnering with universities can provide new teachers support and expertise in teaching practice, as well as dialogue among all those involved in teaching. Building meaningful partnerships between new teachers, school districts, and university supervisors can also build knowledge through self-reflection and examination of teaching practice. ATISA: Design, Mission and Objectives As the Academy designers, we wanted to develop a central location for dissemination of resources to support beginning K-12 teachers. Creating a clearinghouse for services allowed faculty to begin the process of implementing a systemic approach to cultivate teachers from preservice training throughout their transition into teaching careers. The intent is to create a central resource area and a specific location to coordinate induction efforts and is designed to establish partnerships with school districts as well as provide a recognized presence within the College’s teacher preparation program. The mission of ATISA is to improve the teaching and learning of all students by meeting the needs of new teachers. Our primary objective is to initiate and improve mentoring and other support systems for novice teachers, beginning during the preservice teaching period of teacher preparation. Support includes assistance in enhancing teaching practice in core academic subjects as well as in professional growth through reflective practice outlined in table 1. The guiding purposes and mission of the Academy include the following services: PRESERVICE • • •
Creating facilitative teaching/learning environments Teachers understand and learn in unique ways at differing levels and rates. Teachers model a comprehensive approach to the development of teaching practices.
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INDUCTION • • •
Reconceptualizing teacher roles Teachers perceive themselves as problem solvers who continually inquire about their teaching and their students’ learning. Teachers engage in reflective practice, enabling themselves to improve practice and enhance professional development
INSERVICE • • •
Implementing effective professional development strategies Teachers facilitate change in knowledge and behavior based on long-term sustained experiences in which they practice and apply new strategies. Teachers establish collaborative networks and systems of support to assist in development efforts.
ATISA Services Table 1 Academy Components & Characteristics Components & Characteristics Professional Pedagogy and Practice
Targeted Needs New teachers should possess competencies in content delivery and understand student learning
Content Knowledge
Subject and/or teaching field competencies: • Math/science • Language Literacy • English • Social studies • Health/PE • Business Applications • Special Education • ESL Provide individualized services for specific audiences, on-site or at other specified settings
Field-based Programs
Nontraditional Instructional Delivery
Support on an as-needed basis, dialogue between new teachers and mentors
Delivery Academy faculty and experienced mentors provide assistance with the development of expertise in the following content areas: • K-12 Teaching strategies • Motivation of students • Classroom management • Diversity • Instructional technology • Assessment/evaluation Resources to support appropriate content areas Faculty expert support
Mentoring by in-service or retired teachers Critical friend dialogue and support in small groups or individually On-line instruction Seminars
Support includes addressing personal and professional needs as indicated by new teachers
Electronic correspondence
ATISA Model for New Teacher Development The model for delivery of ATISA services was based on the work of others in the field of induction, where new teachers are considered as active learners and the teaching profession traverses through a series of areas of concerns as well as career stages (Feiman-Nemser, et al, 1999; Steffy, et al, 1999; Moir,
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1999). These frameworks describe new teachers’ experiences and growth on a continuum, as they progress from beginner to master or expert teacher. Our model also includes areas that have been reported in the literature, as well as to us personally, as areas of concern when teachers first enter the classroom (Field Notes, 2002; Halford, 1999; Martin & Robbins, 1999; Moir, 1999). Guiding our development of the Academy is the model depicted in figure 1. The model illustrates the interplay of services provided from the three stages of teachers’ phases of their careers, preservice through inservice. These areas of services are indicated in each corner of the triangle, labeled professional, personal, and inquiry. It is our belief that these three components of development for new teachers should be equally balanced around the center of the model—labeled new teacher. Professional Support Professional support related to teaching practice is necessary as new teachers struggle with implementing pedagogical theories into practice. At the beginning of their first year new teachers describe issues in general terms such as “working with diverse students” and “dealing with parents”. As the school year progresses, however, these issues become more specific as in “dealing with Carol’s learning problems”, or “communicating with Jacob’s parents”. This support is typically offered through seminars and workshops delivered through local professional development centers or Education Service Centers (ESC). While these types of support are beneficial, there are times when more of a “just in time” approach is needed to assist teachers with more immediate concerns. Figure 1 ATISA Mentoring Model
For new teachers, there are resources connecting them with specific information they request regarding teaching ideas or organizational needs. University faculty and instructional leaders in the community agree to participate in the website’s “Ask the Expert” forum, where new teachers can ask specific questions or request support in specific teaching areas. ATISA also assists in arranging explicit support in areas requested by a particular group of teachers when needed. The objective of the professional support component of the model is to allow participants to guide and inform the professional development process so that it addresses the context of individual settings.
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Personal Support Although personal support is widely reported to be a significant factor in retaining new teachers, it often does not receive the same level of focus in many induction models (Danin & Bacon, 1999; Tickle, 2000). Personal support can be in the form of mentoring through informal relationships. While a new teacher may have an assigned mentor, they may also find support through others, either within their building or through other venues. It is possible that personal support may not be emphasized in formalized induction programs, due to the perception that this type of support is more difficult to determine and to address. However, to focus only on technical skills and to ignore or provide limited personal support does not consider all aspects of the “whole teacher” and his or development of a professional identity. Providing opportunities for new teachers to grow personally and develop internal resources increases the likelihood that they will remain in the profession, with increased perceptions of satisfaction (Bennets, 2002; Hurst & Reding, 1999; Odell & Huling, 2000). Inquiry The final component of the model is titled inquiry. As reflective practitioners, it is necessary teachers possess skills to assist them as they critically examine their practice through self-assessment, either through action research or other methods of reflection on practice (Cole & Knowles, 2000). The ability to connect professional activities and personal goals and growth with inquiry concerning practice provides new teachers a balanced view of their profession and where they fit into the professional arena. A balanced approach to teacher induction moves the focus from addressing concerns from a deficit model to a model of support and growth throughout their professional careers (Tickle, 2000). As ATISA co-directors, our interest is in gaining additional knowledge about how teacher preparation programs and school districts can best provide for the needs of new teachers. Through inquiry and self-study of both our practice and that of new teachers, we can collaborate to examine the best fit for services. Collegial coaching is one way the inquiry component can be realized through ATISA. Teacher study groups, action research, and other individual areas of professional development inquiries are avenues where new teachers can work along side with interested university faculty in exploring specific areas of interest concerning student learning. At the center of the model is the new teacher. The primary goal and focus of ATISA is to combine each of the model components for a balanced approach to mentorship. Providing each of these areas allows for enhancement of skills of new teachers as well as increases the likelihood of retaining high quality professionals. Implications for Practice An induction program that includes flexibility of content and delivery is the cornerstone of the ATISA model. Since many of our schools are located in rural areas, many teachers are required to teach multiple subjects and maintain numerous extra-curricular duties out of necessity. A program that can coordinate resources over a wide geographical area and for a wide range of specific needs can better serve unique locations. This model for induction provides new teachers with an opportunity to develop skills to help them remain successful in their area of strengths. The mission of ATISA is to help provide resources for teachers to strengthen and share their teaching practice, it also supports new teachers as they use internal resources they already possess. While there are many common themes and characteristics of successful induction programs, new teachers also have many context-specific issues that need to be addressed. Providing a venue to coordinate services on an as-needed basis helps to bridge that contextual gap. Many issues are common to new teachers, such as teaching diverse populations and balancing professional duties with personal concerns. New teachers come to the classroom with their own set of strengths and abilities that provide them with the momentum to persist in the profession. Rather than 690
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approaching induction from a deficit model, one that addresses specific issues in context allows for greater flexibility and encouragement. Supporting new teachers in developing and enhancing their competencies creates a setting for growth beyond the induction years. Further examination of successful induction initiatives can assist in improving collaborative efforts and better utilizing shared resources. Increased dialogue between certifying agencies and local schools will encourage more successful individualized approaches to sustained assistance. School districts already face many challenges in delivering sustained induction programs. Although many new teachers have received traditional teacher education training, an increasing number have chosen to enter teaching through alternative certification routes. Of those candidates, many have opted to take an internship, and forgo student teaching. Current legislative efforts are encouraging an even more rapid entry into teaching through allowing eligible candidates who pass state tests to begin teaching without the benefit of any formal training in pedagogy. School administrators will have an even greater responsibility to provide intensive training to help these new teachers. Conclusion New teachers, who have an inordinate rate of attrition and are assigned to the most disadvantaged students in schools with the least resources, comprise a large majority of the teaching force. They are often overwhelmed by the large number of responsibilities they must assume in the day-to-day reality of the school day that have little to do with teaching their subject content. Induction efforts have long been considered a critical component for the successful retention of new teachers in the field. Although shown to be valuable, induction programs that include sustained feedback in collaborative environments remain a rare experience for many new teachers. The ATISA model is a mentoring framework designed to meet the induction needs of new teachers through expanding partnerships with local school districts. Emphasis is placed on building a network of mentoring resources that incorporate demographic indicators for the 21st century, match institutional and societal compositions, make professional development a primary issue in education, and embrace a global framework for local and regional concerns. Creating a continuum of services, housed within ATISA, provides ongoing support to assist new teachers meet the demands of increasingly diverse classrooms. REFERENCES Aldeman, N.E. (1991). Preservice training and continuing professional development of teachers. Washington, DC: Policy Studies Associates. Bennets, C. (2002). Traditional mentor relationships, intimacy, and emotional Intelligence Qualitative Studies in Education, 15(2), 155-170. Boreen, J. & Niday, D. (2000). Breaking through the isolation: Mentoring beginning teachers. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 44(2), 152-163. Chubbuck, S. M., Clift, R. T., Allard, J., Quinian, J. (2001). Playing it safe as a novice teacher: Implications for programs for new teachers. Journal of Teacher Education, 25(5), 365-376. Cole, A.L. & Knowles, J.G. (2000). Researching teaching: Exploring teacher development through reflexive inquiry. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Danin, R. & Bacon, M. A. (1999). What teachers like (and don’t like) about mandated induction programs. In M. Scherer (Ed.), A better beginning: Supporting and mentoring new teachers. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Feiman-Nemser, S., Schwille, S., Carver, C., & Yusko, B. (1999). A conceptual review of literature on new teacher induction. National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching. College Park, MD: University of Maryland. Fidler, E. & Haselkorn, D. (1999). Learning the roles: Urban teacher induction practices in the United States. Belmont, MA: Recruiting New Teachers, Inc. Halford, J.M. (1999). Easing the way for new teachers. In M. Scherer (Ed.) A better beginning: Supporting and mentoring new teachers. Association for Supervision and Development, Alexandria, VA.
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Hardy, L. (1999). Why teachers leave [Electronic version]. American School Board Journal, 186(6), 12-17. Retrieved January 15, 2004, from http://www.asbj.com/199906/0699coverstory.html Heidkamp, A. and J. Shapiro (1999). The elements of a supportive induction program. In M. Scherer (Ed.), A better beginning: Supporting and mentoring new teachers. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Ingersoll, R. (2001). Teacher turnover, teacher shortages, and the organization of schools. Seattle: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy.
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Miller, K. F. & Harris, C. D. United States Geological Survey Technology Enabled Mentoring: Maximum Use of Resources for Succession Planning ABSTRACT A well-developed mentoring program can ensure that an organization maintains its quality and effectiveness even with large numbers of employees retiring. In organizations with a successful mentoring program, succession planning is achieved when one employee goes out the door, and another qualified and capable employee steps through that door. The evolution of the United States Geological Survey, USGS, Mentoring Program involved more than a change of focus. It also included a change in methods, a new way of looking at mentoring and the introduction of new technology. The USGS Mentoring program began with a bold vision and we have continued that vision as we started looking at mentoring "outside of the box." The USGS Mentoring Program meets the needs of scientists, support staff and employees from every discipline within the USGS. Our partnerships encompass traditional mentoring partnerships consisting of one to one mentoring as well as mentoring circles consisting of one to many. Many partnerships are not co-located and budget constraints have made it necessary to incorporate many new technologies and resources. The USGS mentoring program is used as a model for many other agencies within the public and private sector.
A critical issue for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) is the successful transfer of knowledge and skill as older workers prepare to leave the workforce and newer employees join the organization. Succession planning for a scientific organization, such as the USGS, is one of the key components of the strategic management of human capital. A hallmark of the USGS is its excellence in science, and it is the resource bank of skills and knowledge contained within the current workforce of the USGS that makes our science excellent. To address the succession challenge, the USGS established a Mentoring Program as a training resource for growth and development and makes this program available to every USGS employee. The USGS Mentoring Program focuses on “intentional mentoring,” the deliberate transfer of knowledge and skills from one person to another. The program facilitates knowledge and skills transfer from more experienced employees to those who are less experienced. This ensures that critical knowledge and experience is not lost. “Intentional mentoring,” focuses on transferring skills, meets the scientific and technical needs of employees and contributes to successful succession planning. Mentoring offers a costeffective means to gain knowledge and skills that are inherently needed to maintain science excellence. We invest in the future of our organization by encouraging and fostering a mentoring atmosphere. With improved technical skills, increased job effectiveness and resulting satisfaction, our employees are not only more invested and engaged, they are also able to work smarter, benefiting from the experience of their mentor. The USGS Mentoring Program is a tool that provides cost-effective training and development to all participants, encouraging professional and personal growth. The program fosters a developmental partnership in which two people invest time, know-how and effort to enhance growth; to increase knowledge and skills; to accelerate acculturation; to increase engagement and to pave the way for succession planning. The mentoring partnership involves coaching, networking, sponsoring and career counseling. It is an effective form of training with a personal side that provides unique benefits to both mentoring partners. The USGS Mentoring program gives participants the gift of growing, supporting informed risk-taking so that participants can reach their potential and often exceed their expectations. Participants not only build skills, but confidence and leadership as well. Participants leave this program prepared for the opportunity to lead well, manage wisely and keep the USGS on the forefront of excellent science. The USGS Mentoring Program is composed of a variety of components. We have the One-Year Guided, the Self-Directed component, the “Just In Time Mentoring” component and the Supervisory
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Mentoring component as well as “Mentoring Days.” The variety of components offer flexibility and allow participation in mentoring to the degree that time and interest allows. The One-Year Guided Formal Mentoring Program is a structured approach to mentoring, intended to guide the mentoring pairs through one-year partnerships. It offers employees two opportunities, termed “rollouts,” per fiscal year, one in the Fall and one in the Spring, to register for a mentor. The Program is open to all USGS employees – those with less than five years of experience with USGS are eligible to become protégés; those with more than five years of experience with USGS are eligible to become mentors. Participants in the One-Year Guided Formal Mentoring Program participate in a two-day shadowing event, formal mentoring training, and have opportunities to attend monthly mentoring exchanges. Mentoring exchanges are one-hour cyber seminars on topics pertinent to mentoring or to the USGS in general. Wherever possible, partnerships are paired within proximity to each other; however, long distance mentoring is accomplished, especially when the needs of the protégé are unique, with limited availability of mentors to match those needs. The Self-Directed component of the USGS Mentoring Program is a less-structured approach to mentoring. The Self-Directed component is open to all USGS employees with the necessary supervisory approval. The partnership is managed and maintained solely by the participants. Participation in the SelfDirected Mentoring Program begins by attending a three-hour “Self-Directed” cyber seminar in which participants can learn how to start a mentoring partnership. These cyber seminars provide training that supports protégés in finding a mentor, focuses on mentoring skills and provides techniques for developing successful mentoring partnerships. The “Just In Time Mentoring” component of the USGS Mentoring Program allows potential protégés to find a mentor as a resource on a specific topic or issue for a shorter duration of time. Oftentimes, these partnerships are instrumental in transferring knowledge where time is critical. Generally these partnerships are viable anywhere from a few days to six months. The Supervisory Mentoring component of the USGS Mentoring Program pairs proven, successful and experienced supervisory mentors with new or less experienced supervisors. These partnerships can be one to one or may involve mentoring circles consisting of one mentor to many protégés. The “Mentoring Days” component of the USGS Mentoring Program involves one –day events that celebrate mentoring. Oftentimes, “speed mentoring” is used where experienced mentors sit at tables and potential protégés move from table to table at fixed intervals asking questions and getting information from the mentors. Successful partnerships are celebrated and mentoring education is delivered. The USGS Mentoring Program began as an initiative outlined in the Human Resources Strategic Plan in response to results from an Employee Assessment Survey. The Mentoring Program, in its beginning, was focused on recruiting new employees, retaining new hires, and aiding in acculturation into the USGS. Through time and in response to change, the Program has evolved not only to focus on those goals, but also to emphasize the transfer of knowledge, especially with regards to succession planning. The evolution of the USGS Mentoring Program involved more than a change of focus. It also included a change in methods, a new way of looking at mentoring and the introduction of new technology. The Program began with a bold vision looking at mentoring outside of the box. Traditionally, mentoring partnerships were one on one; followed rigid roles; consisted of older mentors mentoring younger protégés; and were long term partnerships with face-to-face meetings. Over the past two years, the Program adopted a more contemporary approach that includes mentoring circles that recognize one protégé can benefit from more than one mentor and likewise that a mentor can mentor multiple protégés with the same or similar goals. The contemporary partnerships exhibit more flexible roles demonstrating the talent and knowledge brought to the partnership by the protégé. Age is not a determining factor in USGS Mentoring partnerships and in many cases the mentor and protégé are not colocated. This new way of thinking about mentoring formed the basis for a whole new approach.
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In the beginning, partnerships were formed using a general set of criteria and serving a few pairs in a small geographic area. With time, the USGS Mentoring Program evolved to service the entire USGS, encompassing the whole United States. As the training needs of the USGS changed, so did the Mentoring Program. Originally, the program matched employees with 3 or fewer years of service using a simple application process. The program has evolved to include all interested employees with 5 years of service or less applying as protégés. In today’s program, potential protégés are given training in determining their objectives and setting their desired goals for the partnership. The application process is now more detailed, placing a greater emphasis on the goals and objectives of the protégé. Part of the pairing process now consists of seeking specific mentors who possess the skills and knowledge necessary to help the protégés meet their goals and objectives. In addition to focusing on well-suited matches, the USGS Mentoring Program focuses on making the mentoring program efficient and effective. The USGS is a scientific agency on the cutting edge of science, and keeping up with the needs of the employees of the USGS, means keeping up with technology. As budgets have shrunk and the need for training has expanded, new and innovative techniques were introduced to the program. To reduce the time it took to build a strong and meaningful partnership and to ensure the mentoring process had a successful start, shadowing events were introduced in the program, where the protégé goes to the duty station of the mentor, paid for by centralized funding. In addition, the USGS Mentoring Program began using cyber seminars for introductory training to cut down on training costs and to reduce the amount of time the mentoring process took participants away from their work. Also, monthly cyber mentoring exchanges were introduced to provide a wide variety of training with minimal cost and maximum benefit. As the mentoring pool expanded and the number of participants increased, it was recognized that within the pool of participants there was a wealth of knowledge. It was also apparent that the Program included participants from across regions, across science disciplines, and from all different grade levels. Using computer technology, additional monthly cyber seminars were offered and hosted by participants “sharing their science.” The integration of technology into the program has also enabled the Mentoring Program to offer online personality assessments for the enhancements of the partnerships and to take advantage of online surveys to be deployed prior to the beginning of a partnership, midway through a partnership and at the end of the partnership. These online surveys provide immediate feedback from the participants that give insight into the effectiveness of the Program and information concerning modifications that need to be made to make mentoring the training tool of choice for growth and development both professionally and personally. The ultimate benefit of being on the cutting edge of technology is that it has enabled the USGS Mentoring Program to utilize online technology enabled learning to deliver additional training to participants on their own time and at their own pace. This method of training has opened the door for many individuals to participate in the USGS Mentoring Program who otherwise would be prohibited due to strict work schedules and shifting workloads. The USGS Mentoring Program started with a bold vision and keeps moving forward, utilizing the newest and best technology; continuing to receive the support of the executive leaders with a vast number serving as mentors; diligently incorporating input from the employees; and consistently modifying the program to meet the challenges and needs of the participants. The training provided by the Program has had a positive impact on the mission of the USGS to serve the nation by providing reliable, scientific information. The USGS Mentoring Program has been so successful with its approach that multiple agencies, institutions of higher learning and businesses from the private sector have inquired of our business model. In fact, just this year, the USGS Mentoring Program was named a “Best Practice” by the Department of Interior. From its conception to its current implementation, the USGS Mentoring Program is an effective training tool for growth and development and remains a vital part of succession planning.
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From the Participants: “The mentoring program has opened up many opportunities for me to network with scientists I otherwise may not have had the chance to work with. I think my experiences with the program have drastically impacted my research, and quite possibly the course of my career--for the better of course. I've met a lot of really fantastic people, and had the chance to go on some really exciting adventures. Overall, the Mentoring Program has been an amazing asset,” (USGS Protégé). “So far, I'm the winner in this relationship. Seems that despite the chaos of the multiple reorganizations I'm having to work through, I have a critical mission to see through to completion and that's providing a different focus to my work life, and it’s becoming a positive force in all I do these days. I think if the organization wants to revitalize a tired (or getting tired) employee, it should pair that person with protégé. What a difference it'll make. And the things I've learned...” (USGS Senior Level Mentor)
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Johnson, C. University of New Mexico The Art and Science of Mentoring Across Disciplines ABSTRACT Medical histories, as well as cases in other disciplines such as law and business, consist of parallel simultaneous events, similar to the harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic flow of a piece of music. To engender interest and even excitement in trainees in these various disciplines, and to teach analytical skills, cases will be developed using an electronic clipboard which challenge the learner to make appropriate connections both vertically and horizontally to solve the unknown case.
As a child many years ago, I remember my grandfather, a veterinarian in rural Nebraska, remarking that medicine is as much art as science. Back then that statement had a ring of truth, and I have subsequently spent decades contemplating that bit of wisdom. I have also come to understand that practicing good medicine is a dynamic equilibrium involving rigorous thought as well as appreciation of matters of the heart. Ten years after hearing my grandfather’s statement I spent a summer in Fontainebleau, France studying piano, harmony, solfege, and composition with the famous pedagogue, Nadia Boulanger—a pupil of Gabriel Faure and teacher of many musicians and composers, including Aaron Copland and Walter Piston. I struggled with the mechanics of her seemingly impossible exercises in solfege – to sightread full orchestra scores at the piano, and then to dissect out the parts--trying to sing the bass, play the melody in the left hand, and one of the inner voices with the right hand – or various permutations of such exercises. I questioned the relevance and purpose of such mental and physical gyrations and wondered how they might enable me or those far more skilled to create music or to interpret the great masterworks. But early on in this process I found that doing those exercises, with even a small modicum of success, greatly improved hearing and appreciation of the contrapuntal and harmonic design and subtleties of the music at hand. It was as if a light went on and things previously hidden became clear for the first time. Seeking such moments of insight then became far more compelling and was a strong encouragement to work even harder. A few months prior to the summer in Fontainebleau, in a college literature class in American poetry we examined many of the works of Robert Frost as well as those of several other poets. Consider Robert Frost’s essay, “The Figure a Poem Makes” with three seminal statements: “Scholars get theirs (knowledge) with conscientious thoroughness along projected lines of logic. .”; “ . . . (poets) let what will stick to them like burrs where they walk in the fields .”; and “It begins in delight . . . and ends in a clarification of life--not necessarily a great clarification . . .but in a momentary stay against confusion.” Could the moments of insight described by Frost be similar to those clarifications experienced while laboring away at solfege exercises? Eight years after Fontainebleaut, as a third-year medical student on the internal medicine service at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, I was “the doctor” for an extraordinarily complex and sick young woman with systemic lupus erythematosus. Multiple medical and social issues stormily transpired over the entire six-week rotation during which our team cared for her. Were these simultaneous events – this contrapuntal tapestry – in a way similar to the orchestra and piano scores over which I had labored a few years prior? And were the few but conspicuous small bits of insight into the course of her illness like those Robert Frost had described -- and which I had also experienced doing Mlle. Boulanger’s solfege exercises? I believed then that such synthesis of knowledge was a special combination of both science and art – an intellectual exercise akin to what Hermann Hesse had described in The Glass Bead Game. Similar moments occurred during the rotation while attending internal medicine grand rounds every week—I was on the edge of my seat as the clues, discussion, and final denouement of that week’s mystery case were revealed.
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Last year, late one evening after a full day in clinic and many phonecalls, I went to the inpatient ward at UNM Children’s Hospital to see one of my patients who had been admitted a few hours before with fever and a new rash. Reviewing her newly-obtained laboratory data with the third-year student--literally at the stroke of midnight—revealed unexpected trends in particular tests, although still in the normal range, but suggestive of a newly evolving illness which carried with it a 50% mortality risk. The salient lab values somehow fit together at that moment in time to suggest strongly this diagnosis. After treatment was started, I relaxed for a moment and was reminded of poet laureate William Stafford’s poem about writing poetry: "In the winter, in the dark hours, when others / were asleep, I found these words and put them / together by their appetites and respect for / each other. In stillness, they jostled. They traded / meanings while pretending to have only one." The laboratory values had “jostled” and settled in just the right way to save the child’s life. Examination of a musical score reveals the flow of multiple simultaneous events – harmony, melody, and rhythm interacting over time with changing emphases, and with multiple identities possible for each note, depending upon both harmonic and contrapuntal contexts. Music, poetry, medicine – and other disciplines – demand an ultimate concentration to integrate over time both vertical and horizontal components and to identify and appreciate important events as they pass by. A note, a word, a symptom, a lab value – each can have multiple and changing identities in this tapestry. A former pediatric mentor once told me, “It’s how you connect the dots in the middle of the night, the educated hunch. . . “ To be successful, one must have total engagement in this process in whatever discipline, as a reviewer described the Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini during one of his concerts: “His engagement with every particle of the music kept the audience on the edge of their seats.” During the lecture, a slide of Pollini at the piano as well as slides of Schubert and Beethoven composing will be shown; in addition, a slide of the painting “The Doctor” [at the bedside of a sick child] by Luke Fildes and a dust-bowl-era photo of a physician at a child’s bedside will also be provided – each an example of full engagement in the situation at hand. The mentoring tool which I am developing for rheumatology – and which will be applicable to other areas of medicine as well as across other disciplines – consists of archiving multiple components of a given case and storing these on an electronic clipboard [ClipMate; www.Thornsoft.com]. Examples of such components would be clinical and microscopic images, lab values, bits of medical history, lists of differential diagnoses, etc. Many more items than needed are used in preparation to cover as completely as possible most aspects of the case which might be brought up for discussion. The mentor leads the learner[s] through the case development, incorporating items from the clipboard as the discussion proceeds and displaying these sequentially in a Word or Powerpoint document projected in the lecture room. Obvious or difficult connections between the case components are determined by the mentor, depending on the level of the learners and how much they are to be challenged. The mentor may choose to lead the learners down a straightforward, circuitous, or even erroneous path. The learners attempt to “connect the dots” – the case components – and determine the proper diagnosis. Multiple endings are possible, as in the children’s book series, Choose Your Own Adventure. Near the end of the case, the various “suspects” – or possible diseases – are “lined up” [listed] and in Agatha Christie fashion, the real “villain” is ultimately identified. Cases may be simple, containing the parts of a basic curriculum, or more sophisticated and challenging. Also embedded in each case are the following: SMART learning objectives [specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, targeted]; the three T’s [Tell them what you’re going to tell them; tell them; and tell them what you’ve told them.], and “signposts” summarizing what’s happened so far and leading to the next part of the discussion. Diagnoses may be disguised, such as a malignancy presenting as an infectious or rheumatologic disease. Similar conundrums in music are presented every Wednesday morning on American Public Media’s “Piano Puzzler;” a familiar melody such as a Broadway show tune is set within a classical piece. Recently Richard Rodgers’s “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” was embedded in Brahms Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118, No. 2.
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The delicate balance between challenging and supporting the learners in a given session will be at the discretion of each mentor—whether to be “The sage on the stage” or “The guide at your side,” or more likely a combination of both. And more important than the facts learned are the deductive thought processes acquired—whether from one lecture or many. Each interactive session can hold the excitement of a new, eagerly anticipated adventure. ClipMate [not Mac-compatible so far] will run on a PC or PC laptop, and using “GoToMyPC” an iPad will display the PC desktop, allowing the mentor to roam about the lecture hall and pick items for projection displayed in ClipMate [which must be embedded in Word or Powerpoint] on the PC desktop. As the lecture progresses, the selected items will be displayed in a more relational format using 2D or 3D concept-mapping software, instead of simply in sequence one after the other. In collaboration with other campus departments, similar curricula and cases will be developed for law and business. My mechanic is even interested in this tool to teach auto mechanics! Three brief cases – medical, legal or business, and one in auto mechanics will be presented. After attending this session, each participant should be able to: 1. Describe the musical score-medical history tapestry analogy 2. Describe how Concept Mapping is a useful presentation tool 3. Describe how this teaching and mentoring method may be useful in other academic disciplines 4. Critique using the iPad versus standing at the podium with the PC 5. Discuss some relationships between medicine and art The presentation will conclude with a performance of the Adagio [2nd movement] from Schubert Sonata in C minor, Op. Post. REFERENCES Dubois, Theodore; Traité d'harmonie théorique et pratique, ?1921 Frost, Robert; “The Figure a Poem Makes”, 1939 Gawande, Atul; Complications – A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science, 2002 Hesse, Hermann; The Glass Bead Game, 1943 Hindemith, Paul; Elementary Training for Musicians, 1946 Montgomery, Kathryn; How Doctors Think, 2005 “The Concept Mapping Homepage” -- http://users.edte.utwente.nl/lanzing/cm_home.htm
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Keynote Address Clutterbuck, D. European Council of Mentoring and Coaching Mentoring: Advanced Skills Development Workshop ABSTRACT This workshop is aimed at experienced mentors, who want to add a range of different approaches and techniques to their practice; and at program managers, who need to help mentors overcome setbacks. The structure of the workshop is very simple: participants are invited to share their experiences to create a menu of issues and topics, where they would value different or more effective ways to help. We will then explore practical tools and techniques to address those issues. Along the way, we will almost certainly look at the structure of effective mentoring conversations and how to prepare for and reflect on each conversation, as a means of learning and continuous improvement. There will be lots of opportunities to practice new approaches!
________ This document’s original content, design, layout and images are ©2011 University of New Mexico, all rights reserved. All papers contained herein are the intellectual property of the authors; The Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico is grateful for reproduction rights for these papers in order to present them to you in these proceedings. Authors are responsible for reprint permissions, as they apply, in their content. No part of this document may be reproduced for other than fair educational use without express written permission of the copyright holder(s) of the content you wish to copy or reuse.
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Conference At a Glance Wednesday, October 26 Registration Main floor lobby (outside ballrooms)
8:00 - 10:45 am
3:00 – 3: 45 pm Concurrent Presentations
4:00 – 4:45 pm Round Tables
Dr. Laura Lunsford & Dr. Mary Irwin, University of Arizona
Keynote Address – Ballroom C Dr. David Clutterbuck, European Council of Mentoring and Coaching Emerging Themes in Mentoring
12:00 PM
2:00 – 2:45 pm Concurrent Presentations
Dr. Michael Shenkman, The Arch of Leadership Dr. Chaouki Abdallah, Dr. Eliseo Torres & Dr. Tim Gutierrez, University of New Mexico
11:15 – 12:00 am Keynote
1:00 – 1:45 pm Concurrent Presentations
Mentoring Best Practices in Academic Settings Pre-Conference Workshop Santa Ana A&B
Welcoming Session – Ballroom C
11:00 – 11:15 am Plenary
ROOM
Creating Effective Mentoring Programs Pre-Conference Workshop Acoma A&B
Lunch – Ballroom B ACOMA A
ACOMA B
SANTA ANA A
SANTA ANA B
FIESTA A
FIESTA B
ISLETA
SANDIA
LUMINARIA
ALUMNI
Concha, A.
Shenkman, M. H.
Sheets, C. & Sevim, V.
Mynbaev, D. K.
McGuinness, T. & Bernholtz, J.
Mercaitis, P. A.
Yglesias, C.
Heil, M. & Fornaro, R.
Vallejo Calvery, S.
Thomson, I. D.
University of New Mexico
Arch of Leadership
University of North Carolina & Virginia Commonwealth University
New York City College of Technology
Partners Mentoring Association
University of Massachusetts
University of Maryland
North Carolina State University
Seattle Pacific University
University of New Mexico
University Honors Program, Teaching for Undergrads
Mentoring the Diversity of Creative Aspirations
Developing Mentoring Models for Pre-service K-6 Elementary Teacher Education
Mentoring in Engineering Field: Benefits and Challenges
Volunteer Recruitment
Virtual Mentoring and Telesupervision
Mentoring the Imagination
Mentoring in a Computer Science Capstone Course
Mentor Self-efficacy and Program Support as Components of Successful Mentoring Programs
Thinking the Pedagogical Truth Event after Heidegger
Roybal, K. M.
Spearman, H. & Hinshaw, B.
Vasquez, I. & Gonzalez Cardenas, E.
Albright, K. & Carraher, E.
Damron, B. I. & Woods, P. J.
Newcomb, P. & Raudonis, B. M.
Rodgers, J. R., Slaughter, G. & Connor, L. M.
Fortune, M. F. & Raphael, K.
Ewert, D. & Vellenga, H. E.
Ransaw, T. S. & Henson, R.
University of New Mexico
University of Wisconsin
University of New Mexico
Virginia Tech & University of Utah
University of New Mexico
University of Texas
Baylor College of Medicine
California State University & Maven Method Life Coach
Indiana University
University of Nevada
Academic Coaching in the University Setting
Multicultural Mentoring: Creating Professional Connections
Mentoring as a Labor of Mutual Love and Support: Enhancing Student and Faculty Academic Success
Digital Mentors: Peer Learning in Design Education
Cultivating the Next Generation of Nurse Scientists
Systematizing the Cultivation of Nurse Scientists at the Undergraduate Level
The Constructive Analysis of Problems and Solutions: Opening Mentoring Space for Graduate Students
Crossing Boundaries between Business and Academia: Developing Strategies for Personal Discovery that Affects the Mentoring Relationship
Mentoring in Language Teaching Organizations: Supporting Reflective Practitioners
Can Mentorship Be an Effective Tool in Dismantling the School-To-PrisonPipeline?
Clapp, E.P.
Miller, G.J
O'Regan, K.
Washington, S. & Bennett, C.
Egues, A. L.
Williams, B. L.
Searby, L.
Barnish, M. E.
Moss, K. L. & Tollefson, K.
Palmore, K.
Harvard University
University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin
Albany State University
New York City College of Technology
Eastern Connecticut State University
University of Alabama
University of Illinois
California State University
University of California
Omni-Directional Mentorship: Redefining Mentorship as a Reciprocal Process of Teaching and Learning
Impact of Cultural and Emotional Intelligence on Mentor & Protégé Behaviors in Diverse Mentor Team
A Look at the Barriers of and the Reasons for Success in Formal Mentoring Relationships
A Study of Mentoring Partnership Perceptions of Interpersonal and Personal Skills for Effective HE
Quality of Mentoring and Advancement of Practice: The Experience of Hispanic Nurses
Mentoring, Recruitment, & Diversity
It Takes Two to Tango: Helping Your Protégé Prepare for the Mentoring Dance
Induction and Mentoring New Teachers – Standards to Ensure Program Success
Mentoring Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Ally (LGBTQA) Students
Mentoring First Generation Graduate Students
Adams, R., Greene, W. & Kim, Y.
Bresee, S.
Donnelly, L.
Flores-Duenas, L. & Anaya, M.
Gruesbeck, S. C., Thorson-Barnett, S., Fillippino, T., McMurtry Z. & Biscoe, J. D.
Horton, S. L.
Smith, M. L.
Thomas, C.
Weir, J.
Worthy, M. T.
Southern Oregon University
University of Maryland
Arizona State University
University of New Mexico
Northwestern State University of Louisiana & Arkansas State University
Mitchell College
Victoria Cool Aid Society
University of New Mexico
Canadian Youth Business Foundation
University of New Mexico
Mentoring New Teachers
Complex Negotiation of K-12 English as a Second Language Mentoring Relationships
Win-Win-Win: Benefits to Students, Community and Organizations of Mentored Internships in Arts
Transformational CoMentoring of Two Latinas: Social & Ethnic Identity as a Form of Empowerment
Faculty-Student Mentoring Programs in Higher Education
Midlife Mentoring: A Key Relationship from Both Sides
The Mentoring Project, Let the Dialogue Begin: Offering a Unique Perspective in Mentoring
How Can a Book Be a Mentor?
Driving Entrepreneurial Success through Mentorship
Wisdom as a Tool for Social Change
Thursday, October 27 ROOM
ACOMA A Kingsley, K.
8:00 – 8:45 am Concurrent Presentations
9:00 – 9:45 am Concurrent Presentations
10:00 – 10:45 am Concurrent Presentations
ACOMA B Schipani, C. A., Dworkin, T. M., Kwolek-Folland, A., Hinesly, M. & Maurer, V.
SANTA ANA A
SANTA ANA B
FIESTA A
FIESTA B
ISLETA
SANDIA
LUMINARIA
McWilliams, A. E.
Moore, K.
Oliver, A., Osa, J. O. & Walker, T.
Fricke, S. N.
Portner, H.
Manning, R. D.
Black, T.
University of New Mexico
University of Michigan
Wake Forest University
Daytona State College
Virginia State University
University of New Mexico
Western New England University
University of New Mexico
University of Southern Queensland Mentoring Early Career Researchers within a Cross-Disciplinary Community Research Project
Fostering Academic Integrity in the Digital Age: Copyright and Fair Use of Educational Multimedia
Mentoring and the Law: A Remedy Whose Time Has Arrived?
Models of Higher Education Mentoring and the Development of an Interdisciplinary Mentoring Culture
Making it Real
Mentoring and other Professional Support for Faculty in a College of Education
Dodging the Mines: Teaching Native American Arts and Culture to Natives and Non-Natives
TIP, an Online Mentoring Process
A Legitimacy to Lead: Establishing Effective Mentoring Relationships in PE-NP Classes
Golden, J.
Willbur, J. L.
Carmeli, A.
Rucker, K. J. & Williams, J.
Larroque, C. M.
Osa, J. O. & Oliver, A.
Abernethy, N. F. & Nagasawa, P.
Keith, T. B. T.
Stern, M. S. & Brierley, A.
Texas Woman's University
Leadership Mentoring Institute
Perach Tutoring & Mentoring Project
The University of Georgia
University of New Mexico
Virginia State University
University of Washington
University of New Mexico
Stanford University
Odds in Your Favor: Using the Enneagram to Assist with Partner Relationships
The Five Elements of Effective Executive Leadership and How to Identify and Develop Them
Students' Involvement in the Community
Cultivating Champions: Helping Undergraduates Be All that They Can Be!
Mentoring across Disciplines; across the Globe
Developing and Implementing a Mentoring Program: Experiences of Two College of Education Faculty
Mentorship Networks to Support Multidisciplinary Science
Effective Strategies for Mentoring Programs and Issues of Special Interest Regarding Efficacy
Stanford Alumni Mentoring: Creating a Culture of Mentorship
Shkolnik, E. L., JangCondell, H., Shahar, A. & Surcel, A.
Connor, L.M., Slaughter, G. R. & Rodgers, J.
Lihono, M. A., Koo, J., Balogu, D. & Buckner, E.
Brown, C., Sanft, M., Moulton, B., Lambert, L. & Quinn, M.
Chandler, G. E., Zucker, D., Barton-Burke, M. & Jacelon, C.
Reddick, R.J., Bukoski, B. E., Jimenez, J., Smith, S. & Valdez, P.
Marcos, T., Vouga, B., Foland, R. & Witmer, M.
Raskin, M. & Ellison, M.
Rivera, M. A.
Carnegie Institution & Lowell Observatory
Baylor College of Medicine
University of Arkansas
Utah Valley University
University of Massachusetts
University of Texas
Azusa Pacific University
George Mason University
University of New Mexico
GPS Groups: A Peerproblem-solving Approach to Mentorship
Mentoring UR Postbaccalaureate Students for a PhD in Biomedical Sciences
Mentoring Minority for a Career as Federal Food Inspectors at UAPB: Opportunities and Challenges
Success through Math Mentoring (SUMM)
Mutual Mentoring for Faculty Retention, Scholarship & Advancement
Learning Across Generations & Disciplinary Boundaries: The Secret Mentoring Lives of Black Faculty
Educational Leadership and Licensure: How Mentoring Builds Capacity, Well-Being, and Hope
Mentoring Experiences of Social Work Faculty Who Perform Administrative and Faculty Roles
The Mentor as Advocate
SANDIA
LUMINARIA
Plenary Session – Ballroom A
11:00 – 11:45 am Plenary
Dr. Joseph Pascarelli, International Mentoring Association
12:00 PM
Lunch – Ballroom B
1:00 – 1:45 pm Plenary
Dr. Scott N. Taylor, University of New Mexico
Deepening the Quality of Mentoring: The Un-Discussable
Plenary Session – Ballroom A The Importance of Caring in Mentoring Relationships: Defining and Exploring an Old Concept as a New Construct
ROOM
2:00 – 2:45 pm Concurrent Presentations
3:00 – 3:45 pm Concurrent Presentations
ACOMA A
ACOMA B
SANTA ANA A
SANTA ANA B
FIESTA A
FIESTA B
ISLETA
Rivera-Mills, S.
Erdman, J.
Ayalon, A.
Oregon State University
University of Wisconsin
Central Connecticut State University
Hartigan, B.F.
Findley, D. E.
Smith, J. L.
Maybee, R.G.
Ruzgyte, E.
Ayodele, Y.
Saint Joseph College
Portland Community College
University of Texas
Barry University
Texas Wesleyan University
Zion Power Ministries
Establishing a Culture of Mentoring
In Transition: From Mentoring One Student a Year to Fellowship Recipient -- "Inclusive Excellence"
Teacher as a Mentor: School-Wide Models for Creating Caring Schools for Minority and At-Risk Students
Mentoring New Teachers: Connecticut's Model that Works
A Better Life Through Mentoring: Experiences of Community College CTE Faculty Who Dare to Share
A Model of Undergraduate Peer Mentoring: The Texas Interdisciplinary Plan (TIP) Mentor Academy
Learning Outcomes Centered Adjunct Faculty Mentorship
Career in Counseling: Mentoring Future Therapists
Abrams, E. S. & Weaver, A. L.
Lindberg, D., Rivera, D., Li, J. & Mosemann, D.
Heileman, G., Knotts, D. & Compeau R.
Muniz, E.J. & ServiereMunoz, L.
Ryan, R. C. & Dietrich J. K.
Bruno, D., McManus, S. & Verhasselt, A.
Ellison, M., Moore, W., Fogel, S. & Johnson, A.
Nkembe, E., Rucker, J. & Navarro, M.
Osano, L.
University of California
Pennsylvania State University
University of New Mexico
University of North Texas
University of Oklahoma
University of Wisconsin
Union College & George Mason University
University of Georgia
Illuminate Africa Initiative
Challenges and Rewards of Mentoring Graduate Students
Porous Borders: Mentoring Where Real Problems Meet
Challenges of Offering Cross-Institutional Online Engineering Courses
Measuring Needs of Undergraduate Students: A Look into a Multidimensional Concept
Mentoring Faculty Using a Positive Annual Evaluation Process
The Effects of Mentoring Relationships on the Explanatory Style and Depressive Features of Children
The Status of Faculty Mentoring in Baccalaureate Social Work Faculty Mentoring: An Exploratory Study
Mentoring in MANRRS
Mentorship and Role Modeling as the Most Powerful Tool in a Learning Institution
Four Cardinal Ways of Effective Mentoring
Thursday, October 27 ROOM
4:00 – 4:45 pm Concurrent Presentations
ACOMA A
ACOMA B
SANTA ANA A
SANTA ANA B
FIESTA A
FIESTA B
ISLETA
SANDIA
LUMINARIA
Cook, C.
Poorman, J. A.
Miltenberger, A. & Lemke, K.
Hillard, J. R.
Collier, M.
Meyerer, S.
Otters, R.
Turner, T. E.
Knight, S.M.
Capiche
Appalachian State University
Adams State College
Michigan State University
University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
University of Arkansas
Jacksonville State University
University of Arizona
The Mentoring Helix: A New Family Support for Latino Students
Workplace Mobbing: Mentoring for Recognition, Prevention and Harm Reduction
Literacy Mentoring Club
Mentoring in the Art and Science of Grant Writing
Social Work Mentoring: We Need One Another
Successful Faculty Mentoring of At-Risk Secondary Students
Meaningful Mentoring to Make Internships Relevant
Leveraging the Science of Happiness in the Workplace
A Small Business’s Investment in Mentoring: A Case Study
Poster Session- Ballroom C
5:00 PM Posters & Social Hour
Baxley, S. M. & Bond, M. L., University of Texas, Mentoring Partnerships
Palmer, E. L., University of Texas, Mentoring Haiti Nursing Research
Carroll, D. L., Massachusetts General Hospital, The Experience of Mentoring Clinical Nurses in the Performance of Nursing Research
Pastore, D. L. & Brown L., Ohio State University, An Examination of the Mentoring Functions between Sport Management Faculty Mentors and Mentees
Ferguson, A. & Hughes, D., University of Arkansas, A Natural Fit or Culture Shock: Mentoring a Social Work Student in a University Legal Clinic
Pembridge, J. J. & Paretti, M.C., Virginia Tech University, Prominent Mentoring Functions Seen in Engineering Capstone Courses
Howard, J. T., Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Developing and Implementing Group Mentoring to Improve Formal Mentor Programs
Raney, E. C. & Bowman, B. J., Midwestern University, Implementing a Mentoring Strategy for Leadership Development in a Pharmacy Student Organization
Kline-Gabel, K., James Madison University, Amistad: A Mentoring Program Connecting College Students with Local Latino Youth
Sandridge, S. A., Newman, C. W. & Lesner, S. A., Cleveland Clinic & University of Akron, Precepting/Mentoring Students in Healthcare Settings: Clinical Experiences as Teaching Opportunities
Konstantinov, K., University of New Mexico, Rheu-Mythology: Mixing Disciplines In Anticipating A Convergence Slimmer, L., University of Illinois, A Teaching Mentorship Program to Facilitate Excellence in Teaching and Learning Mirowsky-Garcia, K., White, V. A., Stewart, D.M. & Nolte, K. B, University of New Mexico, Using a Continuing Quality Improvement (CQI) Program as a Tool for Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Noll, K. R. & Bywater, B. J., Valdosta State University, The Effect of an Initial Contact on the Mentoring Relationship
Troxel, S., Arkansas State University, Mentoring and Alliances Among Nursing Faculty Wilson, B. E. & Beeley, P., University of New Mexico, Finding and Nurturing Academic Passions: A Guide for Clinician Educator Mentors & Protégés
O'Regan, K., University of Wisconsin, A Look at the Barriers of and the Reasons for Success in Formal Mentoring Relationships Zlateva, M., Boston University, Acculturation Aspects of Tutor Preparation for Work with International Students
Friday, October 28 ROOM
8:00 – 8:45 am Concurrent Presentations
9:00 – 9:45 am Concurrent Presentations
ACOMA A
ACOMA B
SANTA ANA A
SANTA ANA B
FIESTA A
FIESTA B
ISLETA
SANDIA
LUMINARIA
Levy, S. J.
Bustos Flores, B., Claeys, L., Mata, E. & Rodriguez, M. E.
Ghosh-Dastidar, U. & Liou-Mark, J.
Mousseau, T.
Smith D. L. & Douglas, A.G.
Stout, K., Opsal, C., Pohl, A. & Bragg, D.
Varecka, L. & Yslas Velez, W.
Teruya S., & Friedman, T.
Soules, A., Nielsen, S. & White, N.
University of Miami
University of Texas
New York City College of Technology
University of New Mexico
Texas A & M University
University of Minnesota & University of Illinois
University of Arizona
Charles Drew University
California State University
Creating a Model for Preparing Culturally Efficacious Induction Mentors
Bridging Pathways through Mentoring for Underrepresented Students in STEM
Designing a Peer Mentoring Program: Elements of Influence on Learning Outcomes
Characteristics of Effective Student Peer Mentoring for Undergraduate Students
It Takes More than Listening: Mentoring in the Community College Setting
The Math Center as a Mentoring Center
Learning Models for Biomedical Research Faculty in a Translational Research Environment
Collaborative Mentoring: Creating a Support Team for Students
Yount, A. R.
Zemanek, B. & Mizell, K.
Kittelson, P. & Kelly, B.
Montroy, M.
Harrison, A. & Moerer, T.
Hardin, S. R., Geer, R., Marr, G. & Lott, L.
McGuinness, T. & Higgins, J.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Educator Support Center
Gustavus Adolphus College
Collins, J. M., Hall, A. L. & O'Rourke, C. H. University of Wisconsin & Central New Mexico Community College
Moonchaser, Ltd.
Azusa Pacific University & The Image Business
University of North Carolina
Partners Mentoring Association
Convergence of Self with Group Equals Dynamic Organizations
Using Rapport and Paraphrasing to Mentor Educators in Public Education
Cyber-Aristotle: Towards a Poetics for interactive Screenwriting
Riding the "Ripple Effect": Corroborating Research of the Benefits of a Mentoring Program
Exploration of a Strategy for Success
Mentoring in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia
Metrics for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Success: A Study on Firm Performance in the South Florida Region Thorson-Barnett, S. & Fillippino, T. M. Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Arkansas State University Help! I Have to Mentor Students Too!
10:00 – 10:45 am Concurrent Presentations
Majiros, C. Catholic University of America The Influence of Dichotomy between Self and Other on Social Structure for Mentoring Relationships
Frazzini, R. & Fink, A.
Aquino, V.
A Peer Mentor Program Enhances Confidence, Leadership and Interdisciplinary Learning in STEM Ferguson, S. K.
Eldredge, J.
Yates, D. D.
Lunsford, L. G.
Kemner, K.
Brenner, H.
University of Minnesota
University of New Mexico
University of Texas
University of New Mexico
California State University
University of Arizona
University of Nevada
Michigan State University
Transformational Mentoring in University of Minnesota Leadership Programs
Mentoring at UNM: An Exploratory Study
Interdisciplinary Opportunities with Community Outreach: Faculty Mentoring Engineering Students
Faculty Mentoring for Required Medical Student Research: Observations & Lessons Learned
Mentoring: A Typology
Development of the Arizona Mentoring Inventory
With their Head in the Clouds
Confronting the (In)Equality of Women in Law through Mentoring in Legal Education
Setting and Achieving Financial Goals: Insights from the Emerging Field of Financial Coaching
Friday, October 28 ROOM
11:00 – 11:45 am Concurrent Presentations
ACOMA A
ACOMA B
SANTA ANA A
SANTA ANA B
FIESTA A
FIESTA B
ISLETA
SANDIA
Edson, P.
Hasan, J.
Egues, A. L.
Barnish, M. E.
Goetsch, R.
Brandt, S. B.
Thomas, C.
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Eastern Washington University
Olivero, O. A. Center for Cancer Training, National Cancer Institute, NIH
New York City College of Technology
University of Illinois
Be a Mentor, Inc.
New York City College of Technology
University of New Mexico
Faculty Mentoring of GLBT Students: An Anthropological Perspective
Mentoring Models & Guidelines for the Aspiring University Professor
Mentoring in Biosciences: The Case for Interdisciplinary Mentoring
Experiences of Mentoring Influences: The Personal and Professional Growth of Hispanic RNs
Induction and Mentoring New Teachers: Standards to Ensure Program Success
Taking Mentoring to Scale in a Community or Region
Mentoring in a Live Performance Environment
Beyond Socrates: Mature Mentoring Community
Kaloostian, P., Steuven, J., Sklar, D., Doering, A. & Kalishman, S.
Mooney, S. P.
Unowsky, C. & Burack, O.
Werst, A., Meyer, J. & Roehl, S.
Bruner, N. R. & Helitzer, D.
Anderson, C. & Myers, S.
Miller, K.F. & Harris, C. D.
University of New Mexico
St. Cloud State University
Jewish Home Lifecare
University of Texas
University of New Mexico
Texas Tech University
Mentoring of Real Estate Majors by Alumni at St. Cloud State University
Mentors and At-Risk Youth: A Mechanism for Achieving Academic and Career Goals
Statewide Mentoring in Texas: The Beginning Teacher Induction and Mentoring Program
Undergraduate Pipeline Network Summer Research Experience
Development of a Master Mentor Teacher Program
12:00 PM
1:00 – 1:45 pm Concurrent Presentations
2:00 – 3:45 pm Keynote 3:45 – 4:00 pm Plenary
Lunch – Ballroom B
A Resident-Led Institutional Patient Safety Improvement Process
Keynote Address – Ballroom B Dr. David Clutterbuck, European Council of Mentoring and Coaching Mentoring: Advanced Skills Development Workshop Closing Session – Ballroom B Dr. Eliseo Torres & Dr. 7LP *XWLHUUH], University of New Mexico CONFERENCE ADJOURNS HAVE A SAFE TRIP BACK HOME!
United States Geological Survey Technology Enabled Mentoring: Maximum Use of Resources for Succession Planning
Ballroom A Johnson, C. University of New Mexico The Art and Science of Mentoring Across Disciplines