Mentoring with intent, even when you aren’t a student's research advisor

Abstract

The roles of mentoring and advising are closely related, but not necessarily equivalent, and the distinction between the two is often blurred. It is most often expected that a student’s research advisor will also be their primary mentor. The research literature exploring how graduate students learn (especially the theory of “Community/Landscapes of Practice”) suggests that most learning happens outside of the classroom, that students need a network of mentors, and that a student’s research advisor should not play all of the mentoring roles for that student. I was quite surprised to receive the 2016 ASA Student Council Mentor Award, because in my current role as a teaching professor at Penn State, I do not advise many graduate students earning their M.S. or Ph.D. who do their research under my direct supervision. However, I do play an active role as a mentor, guiding the academic and professional development of many students in our program. I played a similar role to a large number of undergraduate students at my previous institution. In this talk, I will discuss several ways that faculty can mentor to students who are not their own research advisees.The roles of mentoring and advising are closely related, but not necessarily equivalent, and the distinction between the two is often blurred. It is most often expected that a student’s research advisor will also be their primary mentor. The research literature exploring how graduate students learn (especially the theory of “Community/Landscapes of Practice”) suggests that most learning happens outside of the classroom, that students need a network of mentors, and that a student’s research advisor should not play all of the mentoring roles for that student. I was quite surprised to receive the 2016 ASA Student Council Mentor Award, because in my current role as a teaching professor at Penn State, I do not advise many graduate students earning their M.S. or Ph.D. who do their research under my direct supervision. However, I do play an active role as a mentor, guiding the academic and professional development of many students in our program. I played a similar role to a large number of undergraduate student...