THE IMPACTS AND “BEST PRACTICES” OF UNDERGRADUATE – GRADUATE STUDENT MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIENCES
Description
Undergraduate research has been identified as an educational practice in the U.S. that directly addresses issues with science education at both the undergraduate and graduate school levels. With the growth of undergraduate research in the U.S., over the past two decades, faculty are more often... Show moreUndergraduate research has been identified as an educational practice in the U.S. that directly addresses issues with science education at both the undergraduate and graduate school levels. With the growth of undergraduate research in the U.S., over the past two decades, faculty are more often assigning graduate students to mentor undergraduate students than providing the one-on-one mentoring themselves. A critical gap that exists in the literature is how the mentoring relationships in undergraduate research influence the academic and career outcomes of both the undergraduate and graduate students. The two main research questions that framed this study were: (1) What, if any, changes occur in the academic and career paths of undergraduate and graduate students who participate in undergraduate research experiences? and (2) Are there variables that constitute “best practices” in the mentoring relationships in undergraduate research experiences and, if so, what are they?. The context of this study was the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and the 113 undergraduate researchers and 31 graduate student mentors who participated from 2006 – 2014. In addition, there was a purposeful sample of six pairs selected to develop case studies and illustrate the complexities of the undergraduate – graduate student mentoring relationships. Data collection occurred in two phases: the first phase collected pre- and post-program data from the undergraduate researchers during the delivery of the 10-week REU program; and, the second phase collected follow-up data from both the undergraduate researchers and graduate student mentors during the 2014 – 2015 academic year. Surveys and semi-structured interviews were administered to ask the undergraduate researchers and graduate student mentors about their academic and career paths and mentoring relationship experiences and views. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, content analysis method, and constant comparative method. The key findings on the undergraduate researchers’ academic and career paths were their actual earned graduate degree types (Ph.D. 20%, M.D. 20%, M.S. 48%, other 12%) and fields (STEM 57%, medical 35%, and other 8%). In addition, the career fields (STEM 68%, medical 26%, and 6% other) and sectors (industry 43%, healthcare 30%, academia 17%, and other 10%) that the undergraduate researchers were pursuing or working in. This is the first known study to examine the career paths of graduate student mentors of REU programs and it found that they were all pursuing or working in STEM fields and, specifically, in the career sectors of academia (50%), industry (40%), and government (10%). More than 75% of both the undergraduate researchers and graduate student mentors paired together reported that their mentoring relationships in undergraduate research had a somewhat to extremely influential impact on their academic and career paths. To gain insight into how they influenced one another and to identify the “bestundergraduate researchers and graduate student mentors about their academic and career paths and mentoring relationship experiences and views. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, content analysis method, and constant comparative method. The key findings on the undergraduate researchers’ academic and career paths were their actual earned graduate degree types (Ph.D. 20%, M.D. 20%, M.S. 48%, other 12%) and fields (STEM 57%, medical 35%, and other 8%). In addition, the career fields (STEM 68%, medical 26%, and 6% other) and sectors (industry 43%, healthcare 30%, academia 17%, and other 10%) that the undergraduate researchers were pursuing or working in. This is the first known study to examine the career paths of graduate student mentors of REU programs and it found that they were all pursuing or working in STEM fields and, specifically, in the career sectors of academia (50%), industry (40%), and government (10%). More than 75% of both the undergraduate researchers and graduate student mentors paired together reported that their mentoring relationships in undergraduate research had a somewhat to extremely influential impact on their academic and career paths. To gain insight into how they influenced one another and to identify the “best practices” of mentoring, the results on the mentoring experiences and views were triangulated which included a systematic compare and contrast of the six case studies. A set of “best practices” were developed for both the undergraduate researchers and graduate student mentors and they focused on the positive and challenging experiences they can expect in a mentoring relationship related to learning and teaching about research; relationship dynamics and roles; and, planning, practicing, and preparing for the future. The findings on the academic and career paths and “best practices” have the potential to maximize and improve undergraduate research experiences for bothpractices” of mentoring, the results on the mentoring experiences and views were triangulated which included a systematic compare and contrast of the six case studies. A set of “best practices” were developed for both the undergraduate researchers and graduate student mentors and they focused on the positive and challenging experiences they can expect in a mentoring relationship related to learning and teaching about research; relationship dynamics and roles; and, planning, practicing, and preparing for the future. The findings on the academic and career paths and “best practices” have the potential to maximize and improve undergraduate research experiences for bothpractices” of mentoring, the results on the mentoring experiences and views were triangulated which included a systematic compare and contrast of the six case studies. A set of “best practices” were developed for both the undergraduate researchers and graduate student mentors and they focused on the positive and challenging experiences they can expect in a mentoring relationship related to learning and teaching about research; relationship dynamics and roles; and, planning, practicing, and preparing for the future. The findings on the academic and career paths and “best practices” have the potential to maximize and improve undergraduate research experiences for both undergraduate and graduate students. More policymakers, research universities, and faculty may be willing to invest, both financially and operationally, in undergraduate research knowing that it benefits not only undergraduate students but graduate students’ academic and career paths. The “best practices” have the potential to make an impact once they are incorporated into mentor training programs that are delivered in conjunction with undergraduate research programs. Future studies recommended are longer duration longitudinal studies as well as comparative studies of undergraduate research program with and without mentor training programs. In addition, the future studies need to include larger and more diverse samples to increase the generalizability of the findings. Ultimately, by improving the mentoring relationships in undergraduate research it has the potential to improve both undergraduate and graduate education and produce more highly qualified scientists and engineers for the U.S. workforce.
Ph.D. in Science Education Show less
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