TY - JOUR
T1 - Lessons learned from a chemical engineering REU
T2 - 125th ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition
AU - Tise, Joseph C.
AU - Hochstedt, Kirsten Susan
AU - Zappe, Sarah E.
AU - Gomez, Esther W.
AU - Kumar, Manish
N1 - Funding Information:
The study took place at a large mid-Atlantic research university. The REU program, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), was in its fourth year of existence in the Chemical Engineering department. Briefly, the REU program sought to offer hands-on research experiences to a diverse group of undergraduate students with research projects focused on topics at the interface of biology and materials including biomimetics, bioinspiration, bioderivation, and biosourcing. More specifically, the program had five main objectives: 1) Enhance the diversity of students involved in interdisciplinary research; 2) Provide an overview of career opportunities and prepare students for future careers; 3) Provide a solid grounding in a wide range of analytical skills that will serve as a set of transferable laboratory and/or simulation research skills to participating students; 4) Teach collaborative skills and enhance student writing and presentation skills; and 5) Evaluate the effect of collaborative research on undergraduate student outcomes and on mentors. The current study aims to address objective five.
Funding Information:
The authors would like to acknowledge the National Science Foundation, which funded this study under EEC # 1659497. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© American Society for Engineering Education, 2018.
PY - 2018/6/23
Y1 - 2018/6/23
N2 - Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs have been shown to promote positive outcomes such as increased interest in graduate school and STEM careers for their participants. Research has also shown how graduate students benefit from mentoring undergraduate researchers-namely they receive instrumental research support, improve teaching skills, and develop socioemotionally. Less research, however, has investigated the ways in which graduate students mentor undergraduate REU participants, and how the mentoring role may impact the graduate students. To address this gap in the literature, the current study examines the way in which graduate students mentor, and the impact of the mentor role on graduate students participating in a chemical engineering REU program. The research questions were explored using a mixed-methods approach. REU students and mentors were asked to complete pre- and post-surveys, as well as participate in a brief interview at the end of the REU experience. Mentor pre- and post-surveys included measures of their interest in serving as a mentor, their previous experience as an REU student or mentor, their mentorship style, their confidence in their ability to mentor others, and their beliefs about the value of mentoring others. Interview questions further explored the approaches that mentors used as well as the perceived impact on the graduate student of the mentor role. Overall, the results indicate that training of graduate student mentors in mentorship approaches may help them to more effectively work with REU students. Findings, suggestions for future research, and implications are discussed.
AB - Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) programs have been shown to promote positive outcomes such as increased interest in graduate school and STEM careers for their participants. Research has also shown how graduate students benefit from mentoring undergraduate researchers-namely they receive instrumental research support, improve teaching skills, and develop socioemotionally. Less research, however, has investigated the ways in which graduate students mentor undergraduate REU participants, and how the mentoring role may impact the graduate students. To address this gap in the literature, the current study examines the way in which graduate students mentor, and the impact of the mentor role on graduate students participating in a chemical engineering REU program. The research questions were explored using a mixed-methods approach. REU students and mentors were asked to complete pre- and post-surveys, as well as participate in a brief interview at the end of the REU experience. Mentor pre- and post-surveys included measures of their interest in serving as a mentor, their previous experience as an REU student or mentor, their mentorship style, their confidence in their ability to mentor others, and their beliefs about the value of mentoring others. Interview questions further explored the approaches that mentors used as well as the perceived impact on the graduate student of the mentor role. Overall, the results indicate that training of graduate student mentors in mentorship approaches may help them to more effectively work with REU students. Findings, suggestions for future research, and implications are discussed.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85051230558&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85051230558&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Conference article
AN - SCOPUS:85051230558
VL - 2018-June
JO - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
JF - ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Conference Proceedings
SN - 2153-5965
Y2 - 23 June 2018 through 27 December 2018
ER -