Faculty have a tremendous amount on their plates navigating the teaching, research, and service requirements of their positions. Increasingly, these demands also include requests for mentoring from graduate students who seek them out for their expertise, experiences, or characteristics. While most faculty have extensive training and resources to facilitate teaching and researching, they often do not have access to the same benefits when it comes to mentoring.
The modules included in this course provide an introduction to and an opportunity to reflect upon evidence based graduate student mentoring techniques from across numerous academic disciplines. The material was developed in large part by the Center for Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who generously allows us to adapt their curriculum. The goal of the course is to allow faculty to develop and articulate a mentoring philosophy and approach that will strengthen their mentoring of students.
The modules include information on and opportunities to practice: establishing and aligning expectations, maintaining effective communication, assessing understanding, fostering independence, challenges faced by mentors, addressing equity and inclusion, and the ethics of mentoring. The course is available through IU Expand (https://expand.iu.edu/)