Clicking or Stuck Together? Hybrid Virtual and In-Person Youth Mentoring Program with a Critical Lens

• In Event: Poster Session 16
  In Poster Session: Mentoring Programs and Practices

Abstract

Near-peer mentoring shows promise in supporting positive academic, social-emotional, and career outcomes for both mentees and mentors because the age gaps are small enough to leverage common experiences but large enough to support differentiation of expertise. In-person or virtual mentoring models have been extensively studied, but hybrid models are under-researched. We present findings from three mentee-mentor dyads in a hybrid, near-peer mentoring program incorporated into a grades 7-12 out-of-school time program. During 14 weeks in spring 2017, each pair of eleventh-grade mentees and undergraduate mentors navigated extended time and space created by pilot-program structures, resulting in highly personalized communication dynamics and college and career explorations. We discuss implications for the design of hybrid mentoring programs, including our upcoming iterations.

Authors

• David W. Jackson, Boston College

• Chad Olle

• Shamsi Moussavi, Massachusetts Bay Community College

• Catherine Wong, Boston College

• Mary F. Fernandez