2019 Annual Conference

Colleges and Universities

Roundtable (45 minutes)

If “we teach as we were taught,” then do we “mentor as we were mentored”? This presentation discusses research related to STEM faculty’s perceptions of mentoring and being mentored. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1741820.

This presentation will be helpful for those working in faculty development or those who have an interest in mentoring in general. In addition, adult educators interested in how definitions (i.e., of “mentoring”) shape our teaching and learning practice may find this presentation useful.

Attendees will explore implicit and explicit definitions of mentoring.
Attendees will investigate the impact of implicit definitions of mentoring upon the mentoring relationship.
Attendees will consider the connection between academic discipline and the practice of mentoring.

When done well, a mentoring relationship can foster facilitate significant personal and professional growth in a way that few other relationships can do. For adult educators, steeped in the understanding of nonformal learning and cognizant of the benefits of informal learning, mentoring is a natural fit. For professionals in other academic disciplines, however, the idea of “mentoring” may conjure up different concepts (e.g., “mentoring in research”). This presentation explores the impact of one’s own experience and definition of mentoring upon the way one develops as a mentor. Participants include STEM faculty, working with undergraduate recipients of scholarships designed to increase STEM career opportunities for rural, low-income, academically talented students pursuing math or computer science degrees. This research is supported by NSF grant 1741820.

The presentation will begin by discussing definitions of mentoring, including those shared by audience members. The presenter will then describe the overall grant, the research project, and the research participants. Findings from the research will allow audience members to explore how faculty members develop their definitions of mentoring. In addition, strategies for helping STEM faculty expand their concept of “mentoring” will be explored together.