Fall 2008 Offering
Mentor Training Seminar
Dates: Thursdays from 11am-12pm, starting the week of September 29th
Instructors:Robert Beattie, Change IGERT and and Janet Branchaw, Center for Biology Education
Location: To be announced
Course Description:
- Improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your mentoring
- Help provide your mentees with a better research experience
- Improve your mentees' research productivity
- Reduce your frustration in mentoring
The success of undergraduate or graduate research experiences depend largely on a positive relationship between the student and the research mentor. Therefore, it is vital that current and future faculty be effective mentors. The mentor training seminar, originally developed by The Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching, is a seminar focused on helping participants become more effective research mentors. Seminar discussions focus on different mentoring styles and strategies for developing confidence, independence, creativity, and communication skills in your mentees. Rather than adding to the time you will spend mentoring, this seminar is designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your mentoring.
The mentor training seminar consists of 8 weekly one hour sessions in which participants address issues in mentoring through facilitated discussions led by faculty or staff using a format based on collaboration and collective problem solving. Participants will read articles and case studies, write biographies of their mentees, compare their goals with those of their mentees, explore time management strategies, and write mentoring philosophies. This is a terrific opportunity for new mentors to get off on the right foot, and for experienced mentors to share their wisdom.
If you are a graduate student (or a post-doc, who can enroll as a special student), please let us know if you would like to take the seminar as a 1-credit course. Priority will be given to those participants who are actively engaged in mentoring an undergraduate or graduate student.
CLICK HERE to begin the registration process.
To view a PDF version of the Fall 2007 syllabus, click here.
