Mentoring Students PSU University Days 2017 -2018 From the Front Lines

MENTORING . . . “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) Who was your favorite teacher? Name Personality traits What actions stand out

PATHWAYS The work of a mentor in higher education is not confined to one particular set of questions or goals. Mentors ADVISE students on making appropriate academic choices and building effective relationships with peers. Mentors COUNSEL students on developing goals and action plans toward achieving careers, and serve as sounding boards during good times and bad. Mentors COACH students on transitioning effectively into college, learning how to be successful there, and then transitioning into the “real world.” What are the unique characteristics of each mentoring mechanism? Advising Counseling Coaching

MENTORS DO. . . Ask thought provoking questions Practice active listening Provide objective feedback and guidance Model effective behaviors Active listening What is this? How do we get better at this?

MENTEES are asked to. . . Articulate the problem/issue/situation Identify goals and concrete action steps Work through goals and actions Reflect on key learning moments

BECOMING BETTER MENTORS Recognize the ways we already mentor students Visibly welcome students Learn to focus on a few key questions Recognize: Advising Overseeing a TA or student worker Working on a project Managing an event team Visibly Welcome: Body language Listening Inclusive Language Focus on Key Questions: What is your goal? Where are you right now in relation to your goal? What is the first step you can take to moving toward your goal? How To Become Better Mentors: The first step is to recognize all the ways that they are already mentoring, if only in office hours and between classes. If they are running a lab, have students helping with a research project or even have an undergraduate supplemental instructor for a class, they are mentoring every day. Once faculty members recognize that reality, they become more open to the idea of improving as a mentor. Faculty members can also raise their mentoring game by visibly welcoming and encouraging students. Even when they have bad news to deliver, showing students through words and body language that they are listening to them makes a difference. People are much more able to accept your questions and advice when they feel positively about your relationship, so any effort that can be made toward that will make the message more likely to be heard and heeded. Professors will also find that they are more effective as mentors and better able to help students begin to solve their own problems if they can focus on a few key questions with students: What is your goal? Where are you right now in relation to the goal? What first step can you take to get there? On occasion, faculty members will need to step in with advocacy or direct help, but those cases are rare. Most of what students need from the faculty is someone to listen to them, without interrupting, and to ask questions to focus on what they can do next to reach their goals.

Most of what students need from the faculty is someone to listen to them, without interrupting, and to ask questions to focus on what they can do next to reach their goals.

RESOURCES RESOURCES   Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Johnson, B. W. (2007). On being a mentor: A guide for higher education faculty. New York, NY:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Knipplemeyer, Sheri and Torroco, Richard. “”Mentoring as a Developmental Tool for Higher Education. McWilliams, Allison E, and Lauren R Beam. “Advising, Counseling, Coaching, Mentoring: Models of Developmental Relationships in Higher Education.” Penn State: The Mentor, An Academic Advision Journal, The Pennsylvania State University, 28 June 2013, dus.psu.edu/mentor/2013/06/advising-counseling-coaching-mentoring/. Accessed 23 Aug. 2017. Olwell, Russell. “Moving Beyond 2 Percent”. Inside Higher Ed. 24 January 2017. https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2017/01/24/why-mentoring-students-so-low-faculty-agenda-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-essay . Accessed 25 January 2017

RELATED MATERIALS National Survey of Student Engagement: The College Student Report Survey mechanism used to measure the level of student participation at universities and colleges in Canada and the United States as it relates to learning and engagement. http://nsse.indiana.edu/pdf/survey_instruments/2016/NSSE_2016-US_English.pdf   Mentoring as a Developmental Tool for Higher Ed Considers mentoring amongst faculty relationships. Focuses on success of new faculty through mentoring relationships with tenured colleagues  http://research.utah.edu/_documents/mentoring/Knippelmeyer2007.pdf Ten Steps to Better Student Engagement Project-learning teaching strategies can also improve your everyday classroom experience. https://www.edutopia.org/project-learning-teaching-strategies Diversity At Work: HR Toolkit Inclusive language guidelines Hrcouncil.ca 7 Easy Steps for Inclusive Guidelines for reference in PDF format. https://case.edu.lgbt/media/caseedu/lgbt/documents/resources-for-allies/communications.pdf

WHAT I READ THIS SUMMER Teaching With Your Mouth Shut Author: Peter Elbow ISBN: 0-86709-469-9   An Autobiography: Push Comes to Shove Author: Twyla Tharp ISBN: 0-553-37264-5 The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams and God Author: David Linden ISBN: 978-0-674-03058-9 Habits of the Mind: Ten Exercises to Renew Your Thinking Author: Dr. Archibald Hart ISBN: 0-8499-1219-9 Thinking Body, Dancing Mind: Tao Sports for Extraordinary Performance in Athletics, Business and Life Author Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch ISBN: 0-553-37378-1