Proposal Title
A mentoring community in STEM: Fostering STEM identity within universities
Session Type
Presentation
Room
Somerville House, room 3317
Start Date
14-7-2023 10:30 AM
End Date
14-7-2023 10:50 AM
Keywords
mentorship, STEM identity, sense of belonging, women, underrepresented groups
Primary Threads
Teaching and Learning Science
Abstract
Mentorship in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines has been shown to improve student persistence, academic performance, and STEM identity (Damkaci et al., 2017; Hernandez et al., 2017), especially for underrepresented groups (Chelberg & Bosman, 2019; Estrada et al., 2018). The current study used a mixed methods approach of surveys (n=182) and interviews (n=30) to explore the lived experience and perspectives of undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and scholars, in three STEM faculties in Canada. Findings related to connections between the mentorship experiences, STEM identity, belonging, community, and career aspirations of these individuals will be explored in this session. This research was approved by our institutional research ethics board.
Given the research on the value of mentorship, it was surprising that only one quarter of all participants indicated having a current mentor in STEM. For those participants without a current mentor, 75% expressed interest in having a mentor. Mentoring experiences were found to be more common for white participants than racialized participants, with undergraduate students indicating a desire for more mentoring opportunities and community building in their academic careers.
New mentoring initiatives in STEM will also be highlighted, with ensuing engagement in discussion of mentoring barriers and possibilities in participants’ own regions of influence in STEM.
Chelberg, K. L., & Bosman, L. B. (2019). The Role of Faculty Mentoring in Improving Retention and Completion Rates for Historically Underrepresented STEM Students. International Journal of Higher Education, 8(2), 39-48.
Damkaci, F., Braun, T. F., & Gublo, K. (2017). Peer Mentor Program for the General Chemistry Laboratory Designed to Improve Undergraduate STEM Retention. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(12), 1873–1880.
Estrada M., Hernandez P.R., & Schultz P.W. (2018). A Longitudinal Study of How Quality Mentorship and Research Experience Integrate Underrepresented Minorities into STEM Careers. CBE Life Sci Education, 17(1):ar9.
Hernandez P.R., Bloodhart B., Barnes R.T., Adams A.S., Clinton S.M., Pollack I., et al. (2017). Promoting professional identity, motivation, and persistence: Benefits of an informal mentoring program for female undergraduate students. PLoS ONE 12(11): e0187531.
Elements of Engagement
Delegates will be encouraged to reflect on their STEM mentorship experiences and discuss factors that place barriers in engaging in mentorship in STEM disciplines from both the mentor and mentee perspectives. A brainstorming session will call on delegates to consider practical ways to better implement mentorship in academic institutions from the undergraduate to faculty level.
A mentoring community in STEM: Fostering STEM identity within universities
Somerville House, room 3317
Mentorship in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines has been shown to improve student persistence, academic performance, and STEM identity (Damkaci et al., 2017; Hernandez et al., 2017), especially for underrepresented groups (Chelberg & Bosman, 2019; Estrada et al., 2018). The current study used a mixed methods approach of surveys (n=182) and interviews (n=30) to explore the lived experience and perspectives of undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and scholars, in three STEM faculties in Canada. Findings related to connections between the mentorship experiences, STEM identity, belonging, community, and career aspirations of these individuals will be explored in this session. This research was approved by our institutional research ethics board.
Given the research on the value of mentorship, it was surprising that only one quarter of all participants indicated having a current mentor in STEM. For those participants without a current mentor, 75% expressed interest in having a mentor. Mentoring experiences were found to be more common for white participants than racialized participants, with undergraduate students indicating a desire for more mentoring opportunities and community building in their academic careers.
New mentoring initiatives in STEM will also be highlighted, with ensuing engagement in discussion of mentoring barriers and possibilities in participants’ own regions of influence in STEM.
Chelberg, K. L., & Bosman, L. B. (2019). The Role of Faculty Mentoring in Improving Retention and Completion Rates for Historically Underrepresented STEM Students. International Journal of Higher Education, 8(2), 39-48.
Damkaci, F., Braun, T. F., & Gublo, K. (2017). Peer Mentor Program for the General Chemistry Laboratory Designed to Improve Undergraduate STEM Retention. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(12), 1873–1880.
Estrada M., Hernandez P.R., & Schultz P.W. (2018). A Longitudinal Study of How Quality Mentorship and Research Experience Integrate Underrepresented Minorities into STEM Careers. CBE Life Sci Education, 17(1):ar9.
Hernandez P.R., Bloodhart B., Barnes R.T., Adams A.S., Clinton S.M., Pollack I., et al. (2017). Promoting professional identity, motivation, and persistence: Benefits of an informal mentoring program for female undergraduate students. PLoS ONE 12(11): e0187531.