Mentoring Emerging Motivation Scholars in a Predominantly Undergraduate Institution

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

Abstract

For the past 18 years I have mentored students as they learn to conduct motivation research in a predominantly undergraduate institution (PUI). Having also mentored students as a graduate student and postdoc in R1 contexts, I can speak to the unique opportunities and challenges that early career researchers (ECRs) may confront while transitioning to mentorship at a PUI.

I use Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a framework for mentoring, with the goals of supporting students’ basic needs and promoting their intrinsic motivation. While SDT applies to any discipline, it can be used more explicitly and with a greater sense of shared understanding when mentoring in the domain of motivation research. In my presentation for this workshop, I will describe mentoring practices that ECRs could use to support undergraduates’ basic psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness, as summarized below.

Competence. An essential aspect of mentoring is providing appropriate structure for amorphous, long-term projects. Undergraduates benefit by identifying weekly goals, working through written drafts together in a paragraph-by-paragraph fashion, and seeing successful examples from previous students. Moreover, mentoring can be pivotal for students in a PUI who are presented with certain professional development opportunities for the first time (e.g., conference submissions, graduate school applications). Undergraduates need to be made aware of fellowship opportunities (e.g., NSF GRFP) and mentors must teach effective grant-writing skills, provide examples, and supply ample feedback on drafts. The process helps to define students’ interests and sharpen their communication skills, regardless of funding success.

Autonomy. With fewer pressures to publish at a PUI, student interests can be supported even if they are outside of the mentor’s research program or otherwise unlikely publishable. The research process can be prioritized and students can truly take ownership, which serves as excellent preparation for graduate school. Mentors can also seek feedback from students about individual mentoring preferences (e.g., feedback frequency, subgoal size, accountability systems). Having explicit conversations about mentoring preferences not only supports autonomy but also is a means for improving mentoring skills.

Relatedness. Working in a PUI affords the development of close and long-lasting mentoring relationships with undergraduates, from their first inquiries into motivation research to their careers as motivation scholars. Meeting weekly with students both individually and as a lab group allows the mentor to provide motivational structure and methodological training while building a sense of belonging. Supporting students after graduation to present their work at conferences and develop their projects for publication is the next phase in these gratifying and often lifelong relationships.

There is a synergy between the content and process of mentoring emerging motivation scholars: One can implement practices that support students’ intrinsic motivation while at the same time studying those practices as part of a scholarly agenda. Seeing motivationally supportive practices in action provides a framework for students’ understanding and critical inquiry as they engage the motivation literature in a more sophisticated fashion. Perhaps most importantly, it deepens students’ understanding of the value of such practices, thus nurturing a lasting commitment to motivation research.

Author

• Jennifer Henderlong Corpus, Reed College