I-Corps L: A Commercial Approach to Distribute Fused Research-Mentoring Modules

Kansas State University, Manhattan KS

Investigators

Abstract

Through the NSF Innovation Corps for Learning Program, (I-Corps L), this project will develop ways to achieve more widespread use of effective methods for helping undergraduate students and faculty gain greater benefits from undergraduate research experiences. Collaborating with faculty on research can be transformative experiences for undergraduate students. Research participation can increase students' confidence and enthusiasm leading to improved academic performance and stronger career focus. Working with faculty on research also helps students create credentials for future research and professional opportunities. Some work also indicates that, for undergraduates, the personal connections with faculty and graduate students are more important than the actual research content. The quality of faculty mentoring has a significant influence on the benefits of research participation for the student. However few faculty are able to develop optimally effective mentoring practices on their own. This project will use a set of effective practices about mentoring and have been developed to help undergraduate students and the faculty with whom they will collaborate. Topics address issues of recruiting, training, and communication. The program is a series of units, for use by both the mentor and mentee, that explain core topics and help build the type effective mentor-mentee relationship essential to achieving the greatest benefit to the student for undergraduate research. This I-Corps for Learning project will develop approaches to enable this mentor-mentee training program to be easily implemented across a wide spectrum of undergraduate institutions across the United States. Relationships that undergraduate students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics cultivate with a research mentor have the potential to be among the most formative and influential relationships of their lives. It is known that a students' educational and career persistence is empowered by confidence and critical thinking skills gained during hands-on experiences. Research mentors are a key to bolstering a mentee's confidence and developing that mentee's critical thinking skills. Immersive formal research programs, such as the NSF's Research Experience for Undergraduates, are high-quality learning experiences that combine research and career development activities in group settings. Universities may also have their own formal research programs that also facilitate hands-on lab experience. The mentoring experience (faculty member/undergraduate student, graduate student/undergraduate student) can vary widely in quality and there is a concern that research mentees often do not receive the quality of holistic mentoring that is possible. This can be attributed to mentors not having access to, or knowledge of, educational materials and a lack of time for mentors to develop and assess their own program. By increasing the widespread implementation of effective mentoring practices, this project will help to improve the effectiveness of student-faculty research collaborations throughout STEM education.