An effective workshop on "How to be an Effective Mentor for Underrepresented STEM Trainees"

Abstract

Despite an increase in programming to promote persons excluded by their ethnicity or race (PEER) scholars, minorities remain underrepresented in many STEM programs. The academic pipeline is largely leaky for underrepresented minority (URM) scholars due to a lack of effective mentorship. Many URM students experience microaggressions and discrimination from their mentors due to a lack of quality mentorship training. In this workshop, we provide a framework to show trainees what effective mentoring looks like. Mentees, especially URM trainees, can flourish in effective mentoring environments where they feel welcomed and can comfortably develop new ideas without feeling threatened by external factors. Effective mentoring environments provide motivational support, empathy, cultural competency, and training. This workshop explains facets of effective mentoring to students, as well as highlights to URM trainees why mentors can serve as valuable resources.

Keywords: STEM; cultural competence; culturally supportive; diversity; higher education; mentorship; professional development.

Figure 1.

Flowchart of workshop presented to participants.

Figure 2.

Results from pre- and postworkshop evaluations. These pre- and postworkshop questions were also used to evaluate mentees’ knowledge regarding mentee–mentor relationships. (A) The initial expectations for informativeness of the workshop, followed by the reported enjoyment of the workshop. (B) How much the workshop improved communication skills. (C) How much the workshop improved networking skills. (D) How much the workshop improved understanding of support teams and assistive roles.