Resource Library

Mentor Mapping exercise for Research Mentors and their students. 

"A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will organize a virtual public workshop to examine the financial barriers – including educational debt burden – preventing Black people from entering or continuing education in science, engineering, and medicine (SEM). The workshop will also identify policies and practices that perpetuate those barriers and lay a foundation of knowledge for others to be better positioned to engage on these issues."

3 part workshop, 9 hours total. 

This DOE Laboratories of the Future (LOTF) workshop covered mentorship at the laboratories as a mechanism for creating successful environments and inclusive cultures across all career levels and types.

Melissa McDaniels, a CIMER co-investigator, was the first individual to be invited to participate in this workshop series in two separate academic years. 

Mentoring Up is an active learning approach designed for post-doctoral scholars and junior faculty to support development of the skills needed to successfully navigate the research training environment and proactively manage their mentoring relationships. The curricula integrate topics from Entering Research and Entering Mentoring to develop mentoring up skills. These curricula were originally developed for use with trainees across the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) disciplines.

Themes and Concepts

• Building Research Self-Efficacy
• Aligning Expectations
• Maintaining Effective Communication
• Addressing Equity and Inclusion
• Enhancing Work-Life Integration*
• Fostering Independence
• Promoting Professional Development

*Unique to Junior Faculty Curriculum

CIMER Project mentee training materials are designed for those who wish to implement process-based, professional development workshops, courses, or programs for undergraduate and graduate research trainees. The materials are designed to be used as part of a learning community, where trainees share and learn from one another.  Request mentee training at your institution or organization

Research mentor training is an evidence-based, interactive approach designed to help mentors develop skills for engaging in productive, culturally responsive, research mentoring relationships—relationships that optimize the success of both mentors and mentees. Request mentor training at your institution or organization

Research has shown that students struggle with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression at higher rates than the general population. While some stress and uncertainty is unavoidable in training, research mentors can have a direct impact on the well-being of members of their research group. By recognizing how usual norms and practices in the academy create environments that can undermine wellbeing, particularly for minoritized students, we can become more thoughtful about the impact of our own behavior in as mentors-- and begin to foster research and learning environments that support well-being. This workshop will also encourage discussion about how mentoring can positively and negatively impact mentees’ sense of autonomy, competence, personal growth, and belonging. Developing the skills to have open conversations about the often stigmatized topics of mental health well-being is key to this process.

This workshop presents data and research about the role of typical admissions criteria and practices in maintaining racial/ethnic inequalities in graduate education. Suitable for a wide variety of audiences, practical strategies for rethinking typical admissions criteria and processes are introduced, with a focus on equity-based holistic review and embedding attention to equity throughout the admissions and recruitment process. All aspects of this session are rooted in current research. Participants will learn how common admissions mindsets & practices tend to inhibit access for underrepresented groups, and they will be introduced to strategies to improve diversity & equity through holistic review processes.

These quarterly gatherings break down research studies and social theories that are relevant to equity in graduate education, with attention to practical implications.  

OVERVIEW & GOALS

• Preparing higher education change agents to facilitate interactive workshops on holistic graduate admissions.
• Faculty and administrators with an interest in improving graduate education in STEM, and without competing financial interests, are welcome to apply.
• Preference will be given to applicants who are faculty in the physical or social sciences and who have with demonstrated effort increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in doctoral education.

The Facilitator Workshop: Learn to Implement Mentor Training is a two-day workshop designed to increase the capacity for research mentor trainings offered at colleges and universities, research institutes, and organizations.

During this workshop, participants are introduced to the Entering Mentoring curricula, which addresses the following themes: aligning expectations, addressing equity and inclusion, articulating your mentoring philosophy and plan, assessing understanding, cultivating ethical behavior, enhancing work-life integration, fostering independence, maintaining effective communication, and promoting professional development. Workshop participants become familiar with the curricula, practice facilitating training components, and develop a plan for implementing the training at their institution or organization.