Tag: program

mentor, mentoring, Research

Research Study: Exploring Mentoring Experiences

Laura Pasquini

Mentoring is often a relationship between a less experienced individual, called a mentee or protégé, and a more experienced individual known as a mentor. Traditionally, mentoring is viewed as a face-to-face, long-term relationship and interactions between a supervisory adult and a novice student that fosters the mentee’s professional, academic, or personal development (Donaldson, Ensher, & Grant-Vallone, 2000). The typical examples of mentoring focus on a senior and junior configuration; however there are growing experiences and models that vary in mentoring experiences. Different structures of mentoring (e.g. formal, peer, group, network, and informal mentoring) support career goals, while other mentoring opportunities help contribute to a particular field or discipline.

mentoring

About the Research Study

A number of our professional organizations offer mentoring opportunities and structured mentoring programs as a form of learning and development. For this research study, our team would like to learn more about MENTORING EXPERIENCES; specifically, how these experiences impact the participants (i.e. mentors,protégé, and program coordinators) with regards to their personal and professional development. We are in the early days of learning the how mentoring has impacted individueals and what mentoring means for professionals.

mentor_words

We seek to explore mentoring through the shared narrative of mentoring experiences to answer the following research questions:

  • What influence does mentoring have on personal, professional, academic, and career development?
  • How does mentoring impact contributions to a professional association and/or learning organizations?
  • How does mentoring contribute to a professional field or industry?

Support our Mentoring Research!

Phase 1: Survey http://bit.ly/ExploringMentoring

This survey asks both open- and close-ended questions, and it will take 15-20 minutes to complete. Respondents will be asked about personal perspectives on mentoring based on their own experiences and demographic information:

If you have had more than one formal mentoring role and/or formal mentoring experience – please feel free to submit another survey response. This survey will remain open for several weeks if you decide to complete this survey or if you wish to pass this along to other colleagues who can share their mentoring experience.

Phase 2: Research Interviews

 http://bit.ly/MentoringInterviews 

We want to learn more about mentoring programs and its impact on personal and professional development, to its influence on the field/discipline, and to understand how mentoring supports professional associations who create these programs.The interview is expected to take 45-60 minutes and no sensitive questions will be asked during it. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary and optional.If you are willing to talk with a researcher via phone or Skype about your experiences, please click on this link to complete the informed consent form: http://bit.ly/MentoringInterviews

Thanks to the members of the Exploring Mentoring Research Team who are supporting to this study:

  • Mariya Gavrilova Aguilar, University of North Texas
  • Laura Lambeth, Oregon State University
  • Sara Ackerson, Washington State University Vancouver
  • Ed Cabellon, Bridgewater State University

With thanks for support and development also from:

  • Craig McGill, Florida International University
  • Erin Justyna, Texas Tech University
  • Brandan Lowden, Pikes Peak Community College

For further questions or inquiries about this study, please contact Dr. Laura Pasquini (Laura.Pasquini@unt.edu), as we would be more than happy to follow up with questions, additional support, recruitment, and/or collaboration.

Reference:

Donaldson, S. I., Ensher, E. A., & Grant-Vallone, E. J. (2000). Longitudinal examination of mentoring relationships on organizational commitment and citizenship behavior. Journal of Career Development, 26, 233-249.

ACPA, ACPAdigital, Conference

#ACPA16 CFP: Genius Labs and Pecha Kucha Powered By @ACPA

Laura Pasquini

August brings us to a time of back-to-school fun, but it also means the deadline for the 2016 ACPA Convention (#ACPA16) program proposals is coming fast! There are plenty of program categories to choose from for your #ACPA16 proposal; however, on behalf of the Technology Programs Team, let me highlight two NEW additions to the CFP this year and how you can successfully submit your proposal(s) for Genius Labs and Pecha Kucha Powered By ACPA.

Genius Labs

The convention’s Genius Labs are 20-minute skill-building workshops highlighting a number of practical activities (primarily focused on technology, but not limited to) for participants to learn about, experiment with, and implement immediately.

InfoCourt

Genius Labs topics are up to you! We hope to provide a variety of engaging content areas with the intent of having meaningful instruction for all skill levels, offering attendees effective (and often free) new resources, and building confidence and competence in technical tools to help you work at your institution. Want to learn how to develop your proposal or ask about a potential Genius Labs topic, be sure to connect with Erica Thompson (by email or @EricaKThompson).

listofacpa16genlabs

Pecha Kucha Powered By ACPA

Pecha Kucha is an innovative presentation format during which the speaker’s 20 slides auto-advance every 20 seconds. It is the art of concise presentations. This event is guaranteed to challenge conventional presentation styles, while inspiring colleagues in 6 minutes and 40 seconds!

pecha-kucha-02Your Pecha Kucha Powered By ACPA talk can highlight issues from the field of higher education, student development, our professional competencies, and/or your own personal experiences. Want to see a few examples from past ACPA Conventions? Browse the Pecha Kucha Talks from previous years:

For more information about the origins of Pecha Kucha visit the official website, and for questions about your Pecha Kucha Powered By ACPA proposal please reach out to Laura Pasquini (by email or @laurapasquini).

For both the Genius Labs and Pecha Kucha Powered by ACPA talk proposals, we recommend sharing and showing your work. For Pecha Kucha Powered by ACPA program proposals, we want you to “audition” so we can “see” you in action to understand more about your potential talk. This proposal can include either a presentation lecture capture or screencast to showcase your talk or ideas. Here are a few free screencasting options to consider:

To help us select your Genius Labs demonstration, our team would love to see your examples, ideas, experiences, applicable resources, and concepts you will be share for either presentation. This might include the following item(s) for your Genius Labs program proposal submission: creating a screencast, posting a YouTube video, including a Google Doc tip sheet, linking to slide deck from SlideShare, or sharing a Dropbox file.

If you have a demonstration, handout, or “how to” presentation you want to share for the Genius Labs we would love to see examples of these in your proposal as well. For the Pecha Kucha program proposal sessions, we encourage you to submit a “rough draft” of your talk via a video or screencast shared on YouTube. This will video clip will give us a better idea of your content, presentation style, and we can offer suggestions/ideas if your proposal is selected for Montreal! All #ACPA16 program proposal submissions are due September 4, 2015. Have fun and good luck!

Submit your 2016 ACPA Convention program proposal today!

#phdchat, Reflections

So You’re Thinking About a PhD…

Laura Pasquini

In talking to my exploring major students on campus and other professionals in the field — I often share about my Ph.D. experience and talk about what it means to be a doctoral researcher.  Often I am asked about my Ph.D. program, my line of research, and how “I like it.” I often say I’m too close to it to really give advice, but I’m happy to talk about my experience and answer questions as I can or refer to others.

phd
Last fall at the #nacada13 conference in Salt Lake City, UT, I was part of a doctoral researcher panel on this topic: How To Hack Your Ph.D.: Being a Doctoral Student & Academic Advisor and a few #HackPhD Notes on Storify

It was a full house. Not surprised. There has been a growing interest among colleagues interested in pursuing a Ph.D. I am often asked about my Ph.D. research, progress, and if others should get into the same program or even start a Ph.D. To be honest, I am not sure I have the answers to these questions. I am too near the subject right now…

I’ve read a great number of books on the topic of graduate work, Ph.D. survival, writing, publishing, research, and more – but really, it was for my own inquiry and nerdy interest.  Like any good academic/career counselor, I usually ask those interested in a Ph.D. about their own motivations and rationale for the interest in doctoral research.

So you’re thinking about a Ph.D.? I have 10 questions AND prompts for you! I am not sure it will help — but I thought I might as well put these “you wanna pursue a Ph.D.” questions out there others who are considering the Ph.D. track. Take these questions with you as you ponder your Ph.D. goals, research potential graduate programs, apply to potential programs, and, even, start your first semester of your doctorate program:

  • What career goals do you have? List both your short-term and long-term goals in a statement. Write them out, read, and reflect.
  • How does your current work experience (resume/CV) relate to your career goals and interest in a Ph.D. program? Reflect on your relevant experience.
  • How your master’s degree or other educational credentials relate to and support your career goals? Describe your academic experience and background.
  • If you were going to seek out letters of recommendation for your Ph.D. program, who would write your letters of recommendation? Why? What might they say about you? List at least three individuals who would be your academic reference, and consider what they might say about your application to a scholarly program.
  • Do you have any scholarly or peer-reviewed writing samples? If so, please consider how they might be submitted and reviewed by a potential Ph.D. program. If not, what articles or journals interest you in your area. Research!
  • What is your research interest? Often you will have to complete a “Statement of Research Interest” so explain the areas or topics you want to study. If applicable, also consider for research:
      • Any specific theories or models of interest?
      • What seminal work in the field have you read?
      • What will you use to guide your research focus? Authors? Disciplines?
      • What is your preferred research methodology?
      • What is your research methods “worldview”?
  • What will you contribute to the doctoral research and your Ph.D. program? Explain the unique knowledge and skills you will bring into a doctoral program as a potential student
  • What will you contribute to the doctoral research and your Ph.D. program? Explain the unique knowledge and skills you will bring into a doctoral program as a potential student.
  • Where do you want to study? This question is for both geographic location and specific discipline home (e.g. education, sociology, economics, etc.).
  • How will your basic needs be met? Financial, emotional, and social support. It is important to think about your budget, personal relationships, professional objectives, and more when plotting for doctoral work. This will be a few years of your life — so be sure this how you want to spend it. Have this discussion with family, partners, and friends in advance. Be informed about scholarships and funding costs.
  • When is the right time? I doubt this ever has a great answer – but you need to determine this for you after answering the above questions. Decide if the Ph.D. route is right for you, and then if the timing is right or can be right. You can always make it work if you want it. [p.s. Did I say you should WANT to do a Ph.D.? That’s the only way to finish.]
Bonus Question: Who will mentor you through your Ph.D. progress? Faculty advisors at your campus will be great, but who else will you consider as part of your doctoral experience. Peers? Colleagues? Researchers in the field? Scholars, you admire/read?Doctoral candidates and early career researchers? Build your Ph.D. learning network NOW.