Faculty
Responses to Open-ended Questions[13]
Question
3
What
were your goals and expectations for the student mentoring
program?
CODES
AND FREQUENCIES[14]:
A:
Mentor Benefits
1.
Job-related: training in how to mentor (2)
2. Research training (1)
B:
Faculty Benefits
1.
Develop course and lab materials (1)
2. Assist professor's research (1)
C:
Student Benefits
1.Receive
mentor's advice regarding independent student research (2)
RESPONSES:
Faculty
#1: To expose the AIRE student to advanced research
techniques such that he could be a mentor in my upper level
course. A1
Faculty
#2: To develop a new organic chemistry lab experiment.
B1
Faculty
#3: To give the student research experience during the
summer in preparation for the student to mentor other students
in an upcoming upper level course. A1
Faculty
#4: To assist with faculty summer research and to help
the student conduct research. A2, B2
Faculty
#5: To give the student mentor to have an opportunity
to work with other students in upper level courses. C1
Faculty
#6: To have an additional person to help students receive
more one-on-one advice/help during independent research
projects. C1
Question
7
Do
you think last summer's research experience prepared your
student(s) for their jobs as mentors this past year? If
so, in what ways?
CODES
AND FREQUENCIES:
Last
summer's research experience taught mentors:
A:
How to operate advanced equipment (1)
B:
Improved equipment operation (2)
C:
How to locate resources (books, journals) (1)
D:
How to explain concepts/procedures to students (4)
RESPONSES:
Faculty
#1: Yes, in teaching the mentor laboratory techniques,
but not in preparing the mentor to interact with students
in the upper level course he was mentoring for. A
Faculty
#2: Yes, the mentor learned how to operate research
instrumentation and how to find resources in both the chemistry
building and in the library. B, C
Faculty
#3: To some extent the research was vital, but having
taken the course in the past is also vital; the summer research
was important in that it helped the mentor see how to explain
things to students in the course. D
Faculty
#4: Yes, the mentor got a lot of experience with my
research methods, goals, and expectations which she was
then able to translate to my students. D
Faculty
#5: Yes, the mentor learned to use the equipment in
a variety of ways that made him more effective in communicating
techniques (to my students). B, D
Faculty
#6: Yes, by giving them more practical experience with
some procedures and the confidence to help the course students
work through some issues. D
Question
8
What
do you think might make the summer experience more effective
for mentors in the future?
CODES
AND FREQUENCIES:
A:
Selecting mentors with good communication skills (with students)
(1)
B:
Assigning different mentors to each lab (1)
C:
Formalizing mentor's duties (1)
D:
Other (1)
E:
N/A (2)
RESPONSES:
Faculty
#1: Choosing a mentor with people skills. A
Faculty
#2: N/A E
Faculty
#3: Not enough mentors for all of my labs. B
Faculty
#4: A more formal process to outline the mentor’s
duties with regard to mentoring the class. C
Faculty
#5: To reorganize the structure of Junior Lab so that
students have more opportunities to study their own projects.
D
Faculty
#6: N/A E
Question
9
How
do mentors differ from teaching assistants, if they do?
CODES
AND FREQUENCIES:
A:
Mentors are student-focused (i.e., assist independent student
research), rather than professor-focused (3)
B:
Staff more advanced labs (1)
C:
Differ from T.A's in title only (1)
D:
Other (1)
RESPONSES:
Faculty
#1: No difference other than they are staffing a more
advanced laboratory. B
Faculty
#2: The student was simply not hired as a teaching assistant.
C
Faculty
#3: Not much difference. The mentor has a more specific
task of helping students with the independent research component
of the course - the emphasis is more on enriching the research
thinking of the enrolled students. A
Faculty
#4: Teaching assistants lighten the professor’s
workload by grading papers. The mentor's primary duty was
to interact with the students. A
Faculty
#5: T.A.'s are only used in instructional labs. The
mentors must be flexible in accommodating interests of the
students in their own projects and in operating the instruments.
A
Faculty
#6: No experience with T.A's in the lab. D
Question
10
Are
you aware of any students becoming mentors on their own,
outside of the official program?
CODES
AND FREQUENCIES:
A:
Yes, by exchanging ideas or getting advice on research projects
(2)
B:
N/A (4)
RESPONSES:
Faculty
#1: N/A B
Faculty
#2: Juniors and seniors act as research mentors for
each other from time to time. A
Faculty
#3: I am certain that students talk amongst themselves
about their independent research to get ideas from each
other or advice. A
Faculty
#4: N/A B
Faculty
#5: N/A B
Faculty
#6: N/A B
Question
13
Did
your student mentor(s) spend any time on mentoring tasks
not connected with the labs?
CODES
AND FREQUENCIES:
A:
Yes (2)
B:
No (2)
C:
Other (2)
RESPONSES:
Faculty
#1: No. B
Faculty
#2: Yes. A
Faculty
#3: No. B
Faculty
#4: Not directly, but as the lecture and lab portion
of the course are integrated, the mentors might have helped
students with questions that pertained to lecture. C
Faculty
#5: Thesis work. A
Faculty
#6: Don't know. C
Question
15
Has
the NSF-AIRE mentoring program influenced your teaching
load? If it has, please explain:
CODES
AND FREQUENCIES:
A:
Labs ran more smoothly (1)
B:
Improved quality of professor-student interaction (e.g.,
worked out preliminary research questions) (2)
C:
Reduced risks to expensive equipment (1)
D:
N/A (2)
RESPONSES:
Faculty
#1: N/A
Faculty
#2: N/A
Faculty
#3: Yes, in one of my labs it has made things less hectic.
A
Faculty
#4: Yes, the mentor helped with many of the smaller
preliminary questions about conducting research. As a result
they had better formulated ideas and questions which helped
me to better utilize my time. B
Faculty
#5: Greater comfort in allowing juniors access to expensive
equipment. C
Faculty
#6: Allowed greater utilization of time with students.
B
Question
16
How
has the NSF-AIRE mentoring program modified your usual teaching
practices, if it has?
CODES
AND FREQUENCIES:
A:
Better use of professor's time with students (1)
B:
Less supervision by professor of students (e.g., working
with expensive equipment) (1)
C:
No change (2)
D:
N/A (2)
RESPONSES:
Faculty
#1: No change C
Faculty
#2: N/A D
Faculty
#3: No change C
Faculty
#4: Greater utilization of time with students; higher
level of discussion with students because the mentor has
answered preliminary questions. A
Faculty
#5: Greater comfort in allowing juniors access to expensive
equipment. B
Faculty
#6: N/A D
Question
18
If
the NSF-AIRE program had a moderate or substantial contribution
to the growth and development of your mentor, describe the
changes you have observed.
CODES
AND FREQUENCIES:
MENTORS:
A:
Learned difference between study vs. practice of physical
science (1)
B:
Gained confidence in research abilities and use of equipment
(2)
C:
Gained self-knowledge (1)
D:
Other (1)
E:
N/A (2)
RESPONSES:
Faculty
#1: N/A E
Faculty
#2: The mentor learned the difference between the practice
of chemistry and the study of chemistry, learned about the
things that faculty consider when conducting research or
developing new instructional materials, and the mentors
learned about their affinity for laboratory work. A,
C
Faculty
#3: N/A E
Faculty
#4: Gave mentor greater confidence in research abilities.
B
Faculty
#5: Confidence and competence in using equipment; developing
ease in explaining technical ideas. B
Faculty
#6: Helped solidify concepts. D
Question
20
What
do you think might make the mentoring program during the
academic year more effective in the future?
CODES
AND FREQUENCIES:
A:
Select mentors for both research and social/teaching skills
(1)
B:
Expand mentor’s role to include organizing labs, working
in both lower and upper division courses (2)
C:
Assign a different mentor to each lab (1)
D:
Formalize mentor/professor arrangements (1)
E:
Other (2)
RESPONSES:
Faculty
#1: The personality of the mentor (i.e., whether he/she
is a people person...) A
Faculty
#2: Making better use of the mentor during the school
year, but a formal role for the mentor should not be required.
E
Faculty
#3: Having one mentor for each lab rather than one mentor
for all three labs. C
Faculty
#4: More formal arrangements between mentor and myself
about duties, etc. and also having had the student take
my course. D, E
Faculty
#5: Incorporate materials for students throughout the
curriculum, not just the upper-division. B
Faculty
#6: Letting mentors have more responsibilities organizing
the labs. B
