![]() Other models incorporate graduate student mentors working with undergraduate researchers. In an apprenticeship model of undergraduate research, for instance, one faculty member may work with multiple undergraduates at different stages in their careers. Although we often associate mentored experiences in undergraduate education with a “one faculty mentor to one student protégée” model, mentoring models can include a range of possibilities. Despite considerable research on the benefits of mentored experiences for students, however, little attention has been afforded to other, critical aspects of mentoring relationships, such as the complexities of faculty mentors’ participation, the relationship of mentoring to teaching, scholarship and advising roles, and the nature of the mentoring process itself.Īcademic mentoring models and the nature of the mentoring relationships may vary widely across social and cultural contexts. These outcomes range from instrumental gains such as the development of professional skills to social benefits such as increased self-confidence. An emphasis on mentoring is consistent with recent meta-analyses showing that across institutional contexts, developmental stages and types of mentoring, mentoring matters, though the nature of the favorable outcomes varies across contexts (Eby et al., 2008 Webber et al., 2013). It was an underlying theme in many of the conference presentations, and one that resonates with the ongoing work of participants in the CEL Research Seminar on Mentoring Undergraduate Research. The term “mentored experiences” is frequently mentioned in the context of undergraduate teaching and learning, particularly in discussions of ways to facilitate student learning in high-impact practices. Are there additive effects of participation in multiple experiences in local and global contexts? Does participation in one experience lead to enhanced learning in another experience? Is there a common denominator that enhances learning across contexts? These are some of the many questions for which we do not yet have answers, but the Center for Engaged Learning is exploring through research seminars and other initiatives. At Elon University, for example, students are now required to have two “experiential learning” units in order to graduate the vast majority of our students have studied abroad and completed an internship. With increasing frequency, students are advised to take advantage of these opportunities in the course of their undergraduate education. Inevitably the discussion centered on providing and assessing high-impact practices such as undergraduate research, internships, service learning and study abroad (Kuh, 2008). Janet Bennett, Executive Director of the Intercultural Communication Institute and keynote speaker at the recent Workshop on Intercultural Skills Enhancement and conference ( WISE), noted, “Global competency demands local competency local competence is now global.” She and many other scholars advocate for educational practices that facilitate the intersection of these contexts ( Bennett & Salonen, 2007).Īs I participated in the conference seminars and workshops, I was struck by the urgency and passion with which speakers from diverse occupational and cultural contexts challenged the audience to devise ways to augment and integrate students’ educational experiences in order to prepare them for a global world. ![]() It is our collective hope that the students will embrace opportunities to apply and extend what they learned at our institutions to solve problems in local and global communities. Regardless of their post-graduation aims, our students will be asked to apply their knowledge and skills to novel problems and situations in diverse social and cultural contexts. In the recent AAC&U symposium entitled, America’s Global Future: Are College Students Prepared?, presenters and participants grappled with such difficult questions as “What do our students need from their college studies to contribute and thrive in a 21st-century economy?” and “How do we ensure that the choices we make for our institutions are guided by a single societal priority: the need to provide the most empowering forms of education to all college students whatever their background, whatever their majors, and whatever their career priorities?” The overarching theme of this conference revolved around how we can prepare students for “an era of global interdependence.”Īs teachers and mentors of undergraduate students, it is our mission to guide their development as future professionals and global citizens.
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