Frequent and high-quality interactions with faculty in and outside of the classroom have a positive impact on student learning (McKinsey, 2013)
Three Types of Mentoring
McKinsey’s (2013) three types of mentoring based on students’ stages of progress in their college experience:
1. Mentoring in: helping newcomers get oriented and “learn the ropes”
2. Mentoring through: helping students acquire and apply more advanced skills, gain confidence, and begin to achieve autonomy in their work
3. Mentoring Onward: looking ahead to life after college, considering alternatives for jobs, careers, graduate school
Faculty Mentorship
Check out this resource guide for mentoring faculty: Best Practices for Mentors and Mentees in Academic Settings
Best Mentorship Practices (Mentoring Students)
These best mentorship practices are built mostly on Cramer & Prentice-Dunn (2007) Caring for the Whole Person: Guidelines for Advancing Undergraduate Mentorship. No one person may be able to intensely use every practice.
- Be available—Set clear office hours and encourage students to attend. Build in a required office hour visit for individuals or pairs of students.
- Be knowledgeable—Know the different issues students may face in the classroom/college and what resources are available to them.
- Be educated about diversity and inclusion—Be aware of the barriers that students may face as a result of their identities and experiences.
- Be empathetic—Practice active listening and communicate understanding.
- Be personable—Show that you are human in class, use humor, let your personality come through in your teaching.
- Be encouraging—support students throughout your class and reach out to those struggling.
- Be helpful—Provide students with early, regular, and meaningful feedback about course assignments.
- Be passionate—Show your students enthusiasm about your discipline and spark interest and curiosity in their learning.
- Be strategic—build your course and syllabus in a way that lets mentorship be easy
- Be invested—announce opportunities for professional development, growth, or other learning that go beyond your classroom.
- Celebrate the student—Celebrate your students accomplishments, even if it is about something from outside of your class.
This additional resource has a self-assessment: Nature’s Guide for Mentors — What makes a good mentor?