ERIC Number: EJ1136285
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Jul
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1931-4744
EISSN: N/A
Course-Embedded Mentoring for First-Year Students: Melding Academic Subject Support with Role Modeling, Psycho-Social Support, and Goal Setting
Henry, Jim; Bruland, Holly Huff; Sano-Franchini, Jennifer
International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, v5 n2 Article 16 Jul 2011
This article examines a mentoring initiative that embedded advanced students in first-year composition courses to mentor students to excel to the best of their abilities. Mentors attended all classes along with students and conducted many out-of-class individual conferences, documenting each of them using programimplemented work logs. Four hundred four first-year students provided end-of-term anonymous feedback on standardized forms, which were transcribed, digitized, and tabulated for analysis. Analysis showed that the mentoring was effective in providing the four constructs key to mentoring as identified by Nora and Crisp (2008): psychological/emotional support; support for setting goals and choosing a career path; academic subject knowledge support aimed at advancing a student's knowledge relevant to his or her chosen field; specification of a role model. Analysis also revealed a key construct not mentioned by Nora and Crisp: the mentee's predisposition. Recommendations for implementing embedded mentoring for first-year students in other contexts follow the Discussion.
Descriptors: Mentors, College Freshmen, Academic Support Services, Role Models, Goal Orientation, Advanced Students, College English, Freshman Composition, Social Support Groups, Program Effectiveness, Likert Scales, Student Surveys
Centers for Teaching & Technology at Georgia Southern University. IJ-SoTL, Georgia Southern University, Henderson Library 1301, Statesboro, GA 30460. e-mail: sotlij@georgiasouthern.edu; Web site: http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A