The Merits of Training Mentors

Christine Pfund, Christine Maidl Pribbenow, Janet Branchaw, Sarah Miller Lauffer, Jo Handelsman

Good mentoring can be learned.
In research universities and colleges, mentoring is one of the most important skills for faculty because it affects both research productivity and the quality of training for under- graduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers. Moreover, the diversity of science is dependent on the quality of mentored research, because this experience is a key to attracting underrepresented groups to science (1-5). In the past, many faculty learned skills such as mentoring on the job. In recent years, various organizations have developed training programs to help prospective and new faculty learn skills such as grant writing, laboratory management, and classroom teaching, but mentoring has been largely absent. In response to this need, we developed and evaluated a mentor-training seminar. The seminar is intended to improve mentors' skills and to enhance the research experiences of undergraduate students.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at December 7, 2010 1:03 AM
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