1. Developing Principled Leaders, One Student At A Time:
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
Developing Principled Leaders,
One Student At A Time:
Applying Ignatian Pedagogy to
Faculty/Staff--Student Mentoring
Anne Reilly, PhD
Focus on Teaching & Learning January 2017

2. Session Learning Objectives
1. Discuss various faculty/staff & student mentoring opportunities
Best practices, challenges
Formal Loyola & AJCU opportunities
2. Consider how mentoring may adapt Ignatian pedagogy to support student development
Both personal & professional growth
3. Offer suggestions for reflection & self-assessment for faculty/staff mentors as well as student protégés
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

3. Benefits of Mentoring Faculty/Staff Mentors may…
Provide professional support
Teach new skills, offer guidance, act as role models
Encourage personal development
Help students discern values & priorities, offer support & counsel
Building a meaningful mentor relationship may be one of most transformative experiences of a student’s university career (Lechuga, 2011)
Mentors themselves may find it a transformative experience
Mentoring may have a positive impact on student persistence (retention and graduation rates) & achievement (GPA)
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

4. Mentoring Opportunities in Jesuit Universities
Informal Mentoring
Examples: new student deciding on a major; senior seeking guidance about graduate school
Formal Mentoring*
Examples: independent study for course credit; paid research assistant
Sponsored Faculty Mentor Programs
Examples: TRIO, university research fellowships
Many directly incorporate Jesuit values of service & social justice in their missions
*primary focus here
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

5. Examples Of Formal Faculty/Staff Mentor Programs at AJCU Schools
LeMoyne College
Part of a Curriculum: Chemistry
Loyola Marymount University
General Research Opportunities: UROP Program
Loyola University Chicago
Grants for Student Support Services: TRIO/ACE
Saint Louis University
Integrated Advising & Mentoring: Academic Advisors, Faculty Mentors
Xavier University
Special Student Project: Sustainability Case Study Teams
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

6. Overview of Federal TRIO Programs
- Include 7 educational opportunity outreach programs, funded by U.S. Dept. of Education since 1965
- Designed to support eligible students from disadvantaged backgrounds
Student Support Services (SSS) Program
Basic requirements & academic development toward successful degree completion
Over 1,000 institutions received SSS awards in 2013
AJCU: Boston College, Creighton, Fairfield, Loyola Chicago, Marquette, Saint Louis, St. Peter’s, Detroit-Mercy, Xavier
Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program
Prepares UG’s with strong potential for graduate studies (PhDs)
152 institutions received McNair Scholars grants in 2013
AJCU: Boston College, Loyola Chicago, Loyola Marymount, Marquette
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

7. The Ignatian Pedagogy Paradigm
Three basic steps:
Experience  Reflection  Action in a context, with post-learning evaluation
Mentors who apply the IPP framework towards student development may help guide a student’s growth as a principled leader
Encouraging students’ self-assessment is important, as is providing opportunities for reflection & assessment
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

8. Aligning Faculty/Staff--Student Mentoring with IPP
Example: Student research assistant working on project with faculty member establish a mentoring relationship (Context)
Faculty member asks her protégé to search for resources about a collaborative research project, provide summary of key prior studies, collect data: Experience
Mentor & student meet to review student’s findings & assess for their own research project, then Reflection: consider context, meaning, importance; e.g., Why this topic? Potential outcomes?
Mentor & mentee jointly develop next steps for their collaborative research. Action: work plan, individual tasks, more reflection?
As the project unfolds, the 3-stage IPP may be used again & again as mentor & protégé work through their assigned tasks, reflect on their findings, & act accordingly: Evaluation
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

9. Reflection & Self-Assessment in Mentoring
Sample Questions for the Student Protégé
What are my personal goals for this mentor opportunity?
Meeting basic program requirements? Pursuing career goals?
Why this mentor? (v. traditional academic advisor?)
What are my strengths & weaknesses? What do I enjoy?
Honest reflection here will influence mentoring relationship & personal/ leadership development
Sample Questions for the Faculty/Staff Mentor
What are my personal reasons for mentoring?
Unique as the faculty mentor: Assistance with a research project? Desire to work closely with an individual? Reach out to certain students?
What guidance can I offer to provide a good learning opportunity for a protégé, and a good fit for her interests?
Support for personal as well as professional development
Clerical assistance not a reason to seek a mentee.
(Some questions adapted from Baker and Griffin, 2010)
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

10. Nuts & Bolts: Using a Work Plan/ Learning Agreement/ Mentor Contract
Brief description of project, timeline, & schedule:
How many hours? How often will mentor & mentee meet?
Outline of tasks; how will responsibilities will be divided?
Is the protégé expected to work on her own or together?
Description of skills mentor will teach protégé; e.g.:
Ethical research methods, collecting and analyzing data, IRB process
Professional behaviors expected of the mentee, including:
Regular communication, importance of meeting deadlines
Clearly understood expectations about outcomes, feedback & assessment.
How (in person? via ?) will mentee report progress?
How will mentor review mentee’s work, & with what assessment criteria? Designated time for reflection?
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

11. Integrating IPP with Mentoring Best Practices
Self-assessment for both mentor & mentee
Why are we engaged in this relationship?
A learning agreement/work plan to guide the experience
Documents expectations, schedule, outcomes
Mutual respect between mentor & protégé
Understand each other’s work style & expectations
Providing a safe space for reflection
Beneath surface to deeper meaning & personal values
Planning for evaluation & assessment
Exactly how and when the mentee’s progress will be measured
Maintaining a professional relationship & setting boundaries
Neither surrogate parents nor drinking buddies
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

12. Challenges in Mentoring
Mentoring is time-intensive, involving ‘invisible & often unrewarded work’ (Rockquemore, 2016)
Project may fall to bottom of priority list
Students may have trouble prioritizing their responsibilities
An unstructured, independent project may lose their attention
N.B.: Mentees frequently cancel meetings
Busy faculty mentors
Balancing the mentoring commitment with other responsibilities
Mentor/protégé matches may fail
overcommitted student or professor; widely-different work styles
Underutilizing a protégé
Drifting away from personal developmental aspect
Mentor treating mentee as clerical help
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
QUINLAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

13. Thank you!
Questions? Comments?
Sharing Experiences?