Mentor Responses to Open-ended Questions[15]

Question 2

What were your goals or expectations for the mentoring program?

CODES AND FREQUENCIES:

A: Job-related goals

1. Assist students (3)

2. Work closely with professor (1)

B: Personal goals

1. Increase familiarity with course material (2)

RESPONSES:

Mentor #1: To work closely with professor and be available to students. A1, A2

Mentor #2: To be available to students with questions and assist with independent research. Personal goal of becoming more familiar with course material. A1, B1

Mentor #3: To be available to students and to gain research experience. A1, B1

Question 4

How effectively did your summer research experience (if any) prepare you to be a mentor this past year? Please describe its strengths and limitations.

CODES AND FREQUENCIES:

A: Positive - Able to help students (1)

B: Negative - Unprepared to help students (1)

C: N/A (1)

RESPONSES:

Mentor #1: Research was great, I had enough experience to be able to help students. A

Mentor #2: My summer research did not prepare me to be a mentor in the literal sense...and since the laboratory classes covered a wide range of skills and subtopics in microbiology that I had not examined since I took the course myself, I did not feel well prepared to teach others. B

Mentor #3: N/A C

Question 5

What instructions did you receive before beginning your job as a mentor in the fall or spring?

CODES AND FREQUENCIES:

A: Number of hours, including required lab attendance (1)

B: Gather lab materials (1)

C: Help students during lab (1)

D: Help students with their own research (1)

E: Defined as T.A. position (1)

F: N/A (1)

RESPONSES:

Mentor #1: I was told how many hours I would work over the semester. In addition, I worked out with my professor, that my work would be primarily to gather materials for his course. This was never actually described to me as a mentoring position. It was a 'T.A.' position. A, B, E

Mentor #2: To come to one lab per week, to aid in any way that I could during lab, once to show up for lecture to hand out exams when the professor couldn’t make it, to help students out with independent research. C, D

Mentor #3: N/A F

Question 11

Did you spend any time on mentoring tasks not connected with the labs?

CODES AND FREQUENCIES:

A: Helped (students) complete assignments. (1)

B: N/A (2)

RESPONSES:

Mentor #1: Helped students complete assignments. A

Mentor #2: N/A B

Mentor #3: N/A B

Question 12

Did your involvement in the mentoring program affect your performance as a student? If it did, please explain:

CODES AND FREQUENCIES:

A: Encouraged greater rigor in my studies. (1)

B: N/A (2)

RESPONSES:

Mentor #1: N/A B

Mentor #2: It encouraged me to be more rigorous in my studies. A

Mentor #3: N/A B

Question 14

Would you recommend working as a mentor to other interested students?

CODES AND FREQUENCIES:

Yes, if

A: Clearer description of duties (1)

B: Candidates were enthusiastic (1)

C: Candidates had social skills with respect to students (e.g., 'people skills') (1)

D: N/A (1)

RESPONSES:

Mentor #1: Excellent program...although it should be redesigned to give the mentor some better idea of what exactly they are supposed to be doing. A

Mentor #2: I would recommend mentoring to someone who is a 'people person' and can relate to students in a fun and positive way...Enthusiasm for sharing information is more important than knowing the information.. B, C

Mentor #3: N/A D

Question 15

Overall, how would you rate your experience in the mentoring program?

CODES AND FREQUENCIES:

A: Better if I had been more pro-active (1)

B: N/A (2)

RESPONSES:

Mentor #1: N/A B

Mentor #2: I wish I had taken a more pro-active role such as setting up specific times and places for people to get together to work and study. A

Mentor #3: N/A B

Assessment Introduction
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F