Design,implementation, and evaluation of a multi-disciplinary professional development program for research mentors |
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| Authors: | Jennifer L Brace Rachael R Baiduc Denise L Drane Luke C Flores Greg J Beitel |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA;2. Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA;3. Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA;4. Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACTUndergraduate research experience has been shown to enhance student learning and improve persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Researchers studying undergraduate research experiences have largely focused on student outcomes and have seldom investigated the outcomes of graduate and postdoctoral mentors. Here, we report a non-credit, year-long mentor professional development program designed for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and research staff in STEM. Mentors attended a series of six interactive and discussion-based workshops and mentored first-year undergraduate students in independent summer research projects. We report evaluation findings for three mentor cohorts using a combination of qualitative analysis of mentoring philosophies and quantitative assessment of pre- and post-surveys about mentoring objectives and skills. Results indicate that mentors gained self-efficacy in some objectives and skills. However, many other objectives and skills remained unchanged. We explore possible explanations for the lack of more broad-scale gains across survey items and present ideas for program improvement. |
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| Keywords: | Research mentoring professional development undergraduate research STEM education graduate students postdoctoral scholars |
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