Mentor Training for Faculty

Faculty who wish to earn a Badge of Completion must complete Workshop One, Workshop Two, and Workshop Three. The digital badge can be added to the trained mentor’s personal website or in an email signature. Upon completion of the required training, faculty can request a Badge of Completion by contacting Mo Childers ([email protected]).

Faculty members may take the workshops without earning the badge of completion, but we encourage faculty to complete the full program.

Workshop One

(Two hours)

Introduction to Mentorship Training

Mentors will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Learn about other mentors in the group to begin building a learning community
2. Reflect on group dynamics and ways to make the group functional

Maintaining Effective Communication

Mentors will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Provide constructive feedback
2. Communicate effectively across diverse dimensions including various backgrounds, disciplines, generations, ethnicities, positions of power, etc.
3. Identify different communication styles
4. Engage in active listening
5. Use multiple strategies for improving communication (in person, at a distance, across multiple mentors, and within proper personal boundaries)

Workshop Two

(Two hours)

Aligning Expectations

Mentors will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Effectively establish mutual expectations for the mentoring relationship
2. Clearly communicate expectations for the mentoring relationship
3. Align mentee and mentor expectations
4. Consider how personal and professional differences may influence expectations, including differences across disciplines when working in multidisciplinary teams

Reflecting on Student Experiences and Establishing a Practice of Inclusion

Mentors will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Differentiate the meaning of the words, diversity, equity, and inclusion and belonging
2. Consider how individual backgrounds and experiences shape mentor–mentee interactions
3. Recognize and discuss the impact that individual, systemic, and cultural biases, prejudices, and norms have on mentees
4. Begin recognizing and responding to exclusionary situations, cultures, and systems to foster belonging

Workshop Three

(Two hours)

Promoting Mentee Research Self-Efficacy

Mentors will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Define and articulate what self-efficacy is and its four sources
2. Identify signs of self-efficacy in relation to research related tasks
3. Articulate their role in fostering mentees’ research self-efficacy
4. Practice strategies for building mentees’ research self-efficacy

Fostering Independence

Mentors will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Define independence, its core elements, and how those elements change over the course of a mentoring relationship
2. Employ various strategies to build their mentee confidence, establish trust, and foster independence
3. Identify the benefits and challenges of fostering independence, including the sometimes conflicting goals of fostering independence and achieving grant-funded research objectives