Design, implementation, and evaluation of a multi-disciplinary professional development program for research mentors

Undergraduate 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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Mentoring & tutoring 2018-08, Vol.26 (4), p.377-399
Main Authors: Brace, Jennifer L., Baiduc, Rachael R., Drane, Denise L., Flores, Luke C., Beitel, Greg J., Lo, Stanley M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College Freshmen
Design
Faculty Development
Graduate Students
Mentors
Outcomes of Education
postdoctoral scholars
Professional development
Program Evaluation
Program Implementation
Program Improvement
Research mentoring
Self Efficacy
STEM Education
Student Research
undergraduate research
Undergraduate Students
Workshops
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Summary:Undergraduate 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.
ISSN:1361-1267
1469-9745
DOI:10.1080/13611267.2018.1530101