Transitioning From Mentee to Mentor: Perspectives From an Earlyish Career Researcher

• In Event: Better Mentors: A Workshop for Early Career Motivation Scholars

Abstract

In two years as a postdoctoral fellow and five years as an assistant professor of educational psychology, I have mentored students at all post-secondary levels. In my presentation, I will draw from these experiences to discuss challenges that ECRs may confront as new mentors and strategies for overcoming them. I will also discuss the importance of theory when training students to conduct motivation research.

A challenge in the shift from graduate student to supervising students was transitioning away from the graduate-student identity. Taking on the responsibility of shaping an individual’s career can be daunting and feelings of imposterism may surface. My strategies for navigating such challenges were to remind myself that (1) I do not have to know everything, (2) I do have a great deal of experience to offer, and (3) like anything else, learning to be a mentor is a developmental process. Another challenge is effectively mentoring students at different levels (e.g., undergraduate vs. graduate). My approach to this challenge is to discuss goals with each student and to find the space where the working relationship is mutually beneficial. For example, by working with you on your research, an undergraduate student may gain experience to meet her goal of admission to graduate school. A third challenge is balancing mentoring with other job responsibilities. To do so, I try to provide learning opportunities for my students that also help me accomplish other responsibilities. For example, involving students in my own research while encouraging them to take ownership of part of that research provides valuable training for students and, simultaneously, pushes my own work forward. My students have also worked as TAs in my courses, which allows me to work with them to shape their teaching skills while simultaneously getting help with my courses. As these examples illustrate, the goal is to create synergies between the students’ goals and the responsibilities I have as an assistant professor.

In my presentation, I will also discuss my students’ views about which practices have been helpful to them. A few highlights are holding regular lab meetings, which facilitate building community and staying on top of projects. Also, fostering a mastery context supports the relationship between mentor and mentees. Finally, building an eclectic team in which students learn from each other (fostering co-mentoring) has been beneficial and helps to manage workloads.

Finally, I will discuss strategies for advising students in motivation research specifically, particularly the importance of assuring students have a firm grasp on theory. It is difficult to succeed in motivation-based research without a firm grasp of the overlap and points of divergence across the various theoretical models. Therefore, I provide recommended readings to students including seminal theoretical readings and readings related to particular projects. We also frequently discuss theoretical rationales for various decisions on projects and I push students to make theoretically based decisions in their own work. In this way, we work together as a team to collectively advance our understanding of motivation theory and to also push motivation theory forward.

Author

• Tony Perez, Old Dominion University