Path of inquiry: What books did you read and how did it relate to the research mentoring experience?
The book I read was entitled, On being a scientist: A guide to responsible conduct in research (National Academy of Sciences, 2009). This was a very interesting book and I believe applies to our research mentoring experience as we are in a helping, guiding position with other students regarding research. Knowing the ethical practices and professional standards is important as we are modeling and or informing others what a research experience and all that entails looks like. We are showing them process and resources around the discovery of information, how to tell if data is credible, what is “peer reviewed”, citations and doing them properly and avoiding plagiarism in their writing by following citation and writing standards. This book is geared towards students and those who are venturing for the first time into research. It was helpful for me to learn about ethics, and the case studies and discussion questions the book provides I think would be a great add on to this class.
Mentee update: Last night at 12:42 am I received an email from one of my mentees with her historical essay attached asking me to review it. I emailed her back to see when she needed it. I then sent a text to my third mentee to ask if she needed me to review anything for her. I had the opportunity to review all 3 papers once, earlier in the quarter, then I think last week or the week before one of my mentees asked me to look at her paper again so now I have reviewed papers for 2 out of 3 a second time; my 3rd mentee seems like she is doing fine since the first paper review. Honestly, part of texting my 3rd mentee was just to get an idea during a busy week, one more paper – a long 12-14 pager due at the end of the week, 3 more classes this week and one final next, I wanted to be able to anticipate any extra demands on my time so I could be resourced enough to get everything done. I have to confess this as my earlier texts and emails were a plea to engage in their process and get some real mentoring work done. I don’t anticipate there will be any more needs before the end of the quarter. I am thankful I was able to have hands on experiences and with the class discussions and blogs; I feel like I gained even more throughout the quarter through our collective dialogues.
Final thoughts: Such a great class! I learned so much and loved being in collaboration with all of you. My first “real” service learning (Lib 397) was very rewarding thanks to our community of learners. I enjoyed meeting you all, learning from everyone, the readings, the processes and sharing stories. Good luck on the rest of your quarter and have an awesome year. I hope to see you again sometime in the new year around campus.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Assignment for Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010
I have continually read through everyone's blogs as I continue to learn from all of you. From your blog postings I find that I am encouraged, inspired, have new insight, and feel a sense of commonality and belonging in our purpose, dialogues and some of our experiences as mentors. For today's assignment I have chosen these two quotes to comment on. Though there was so much to choose from! I have responded to many of you in your blogs, there are many things that stand out from everyone that I have commented on. I love being in the same learning community as you and appreciate all of your sharing in these blog posts. Thanks for helping me grow!
“Initially all the mentees were simply going to hand me their paper so that I could read it, but I felt that they would learn more and get better insight if they shared their papers with each other”. Kristina Butler
Kristina has certainly modeled for us what the mentor/mentee relationship can be. I truly respect and admire the way she is continually trying new methods to ensure her mentees get the most out of their learning experience. She has also created a community amongst herself and her mentees where they are peer reviewing for one another. Love this!
“So they have really taught me the value and difficulty in a engaging in a collaborative learning process-which has taken on a prominent meaning in my life. It has really come to light the importance in collaboratively learning-to work together, to communicate and listen, this process illustrates that perfectly, from within the classroom to the relationship with my mentees”. Inga Christopherson
I really like how Inga puts this and I feel the same way. It has been a journey and I too realize more the value and meaning of engaging in community and how important communication and expectations are in a mentor/mentee relationship. This has been a valuable experience and I know what I will do differently the next time, largely learning from all of you.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Christina
“Initially all the mentees were simply going to hand me their paper so that I could read it, but I felt that they would learn more and get better insight if they shared their papers with each other”. Kristina Butler
Kristina has certainly modeled for us what the mentor/mentee relationship can be. I truly respect and admire the way she is continually trying new methods to ensure her mentees get the most out of their learning experience. She has also created a community amongst herself and her mentees where they are peer reviewing for one another. Love this!
“So they have really taught me the value and difficulty in a engaging in a collaborative learning process-which has taken on a prominent meaning in my life. It has really come to light the importance in collaboratively learning-to work together, to communicate and listen, this process illustrates that perfectly, from within the classroom to the relationship with my mentees”. Inga Christopherson
I really like how Inga puts this and I feel the same way. It has been a journey and I too realize more the value and meaning of engaging in community and how important communication and expectations are in a mentor/mentee relationship. This has been a valuable experience and I know what I will do differently the next time, largely learning from all of you.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Christina
Monday, November 22, 2010
Mentee update & Encouragement from Reading to You
Mentee Update - A request to look at another paper - Yay!
In contacting my mentees this week, one responded with a request that I look at her final paper. This mentee has been the consistent one of the three that has continued to respond to my outreach and work with me a few times. She has been a blessing because if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have had much of a mentor hands on experience; though I feel through our class discussions and shared experiences I've had a growing, reflective and evaluative process as a mentor. The other two mentees have been great, I have enjoyed any contact with them but it has seemed more of a struggle and I definitely will model Kristina Butler's approach next time I'm in this situation. So my mentee sent me her final paper and said she wanted an "A". I went to the Dance Syllabus and there was actually "Criteria for an A" listed in the syllabus. I copied and pasted that along with the instructions for the paper and inserted it at the top. The paper seemed like it lacked the "critical analysis" piece for the "A". I saw some great themes and commonalities in the paper that my mentee could reflect on and write about for the analytical piece if she chose too. I commented on her paper, bolded the areas that had information related to possible themes for analysis and emailed it back and texted her. I ended up calling her and we talked for a bit. It was fun bouncing off ideas back and forth. I asked her if she wanted me to review her paper again after her additions and she said yes. So I will get a final glimpse of her paper today, I hope, as it is due tomorrow.
An Encouragement for You and and Idea for Future Class:
So in my reading for my book report; the way it relates to mentorship is that as mentors we are working with potentially beginning researchers. The book talks about the importance of mentorship and modeling for beginning researchers. The portion I wanted to pass on to you is it states that beginning researchers "have a responsibility to seek out and work with their mentors". Of course it spoke about the mentors as the ones who reach out to mentees being primary, but this portion of the book caught my attention. It's expected that mentors and mentees exhibit "professional behavior";this expectation that mentees reach out to mentors I think should be one of the expectations included in the guidelines of expectations for the next class. If the responsibility to connect was on both shoulders, I think we would see more connecting and accountability in the mentor/mentee process overall. What do you think? So be encouraged mentors! Those who haven't had the best of luck; perhaps including shared responsibility between both parties will add to the success of this class in the future! Thanks and have the best day! Christina
In contacting my mentees this week, one responded with a request that I look at her final paper. This mentee has been the consistent one of the three that has continued to respond to my outreach and work with me a few times. She has been a blessing because if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have had much of a mentor hands on experience; though I feel through our class discussions and shared experiences I've had a growing, reflective and evaluative process as a mentor. The other two mentees have been great, I have enjoyed any contact with them but it has seemed more of a struggle and I definitely will model Kristina Butler's approach next time I'm in this situation. So my mentee sent me her final paper and said she wanted an "A". I went to the Dance Syllabus and there was actually "Criteria for an A" listed in the syllabus. I copied and pasted that along with the instructions for the paper and inserted it at the top. The paper seemed like it lacked the "critical analysis" piece for the "A". I saw some great themes and commonalities in the paper that my mentee could reflect on and write about for the analytical piece if she chose too. I commented on her paper, bolded the areas that had information related to possible themes for analysis and emailed it back and texted her. I ended up calling her and we talked for a bit. It was fun bouncing off ideas back and forth. I asked her if she wanted me to review her paper again after her additions and she said yes. So I will get a final glimpse of her paper today, I hope, as it is due tomorrow.
An Encouragement for You and and Idea for Future Class:
So in my reading for my book report; the way it relates to mentorship is that as mentors we are working with potentially beginning researchers. The book talks about the importance of mentorship and modeling for beginning researchers. The portion I wanted to pass on to you is it states that beginning researchers "have a responsibility to seek out and work with their mentors". Of course it spoke about the mentors as the ones who reach out to mentees being primary, but this portion of the book caught my attention. It's expected that mentors and mentees exhibit "professional behavior";this expectation that mentees reach out to mentors I think should be one of the expectations included in the guidelines of expectations for the next class. If the responsibility to connect was on both shoulders, I think we would see more connecting and accountability in the mentor/mentee process overall. What do you think? So be encouraged mentors! Those who haven't had the best of luck; perhaps including shared responsibility between both parties will add to the success of this class in the future! Thanks and have the best day! Christina
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Path of Inquiry November 16th, 2010
Path of inquiry: What are some effective research and collaboration tools that you have been using? Why are they effective?
The Google Docs collaboration tool is a great way to share information when working with others on an assignment, project and is a super great way to share power point slides. I like this tool because often email gets bogged down and email boxes can get full especially when sharing power point presentations. Another downfall to emailing PowerPoint presentations back and forth is which version is the most updated version? Yikes! Has this ever happened to you?! With Google Docs it’s a one stop shop with editing happening in the same virtual spot, so no worries about which and who has the latest version!
Zotero I need to get better equipped on. I’m especially interested in the ability to highlight online articles and make comments. I love how the citations are done and the documents are stored. This is a tool I would like to become well versed in.
Assignment: Experiment with a research or collaboration tool you have not used before and write about it in your journal.
I thought this was a fun assignment and discovered the Director of Open Access Journals. This is easy to use and they ensure these are credible by using a “quality control system to guarantee the content”. This is a directory of journals that are free and you can search by topic or by journal. Most of their journals you can search by article as well. I am utilizing this directory to assist with the extra credit portion of the web assignment as well as for some research I’m doing in HSP 402 for a paper. You should check it out!
So how did I find the DOAJ research tool? I first found the “Global Foresight” website that has a whole list of research and collaboration tools! I’m including this link too! Have the best day!
http://www.globalforesight.org/page/Research+and+Collaboration+Tools+and+Databases – Link to Global Foresight website
http://www.doaj.org/ - Link to Directory of Open Access Journals
Mentee Update: My mentees have not seemed to need me since I looked at each of their papers, was it two weeks ago? My plan is to keep reaching out and I think I’m even going to give each of them a phone call over the weekend for fun. If they don’t answer I will leave a voice mail stating that I hope their quarter is going well and reminding them they can call, text or email me if they need assistance.
I think Kristina in our class really had the right idea from the beginning. She set the tone with her mentees of expectations. From both articles we read this week, I felt they were very informative and mirrored a lot of what we have talked about in class in our own struggles and progress and lack of progress with our mentees. I liked the expectations suggested from (Hodges, B., 2009) in the Paediatric Nursing (I know this spelling looks weird like it should be Pediatric - but that is how it’s spelled on the article) journal article we read about having and using “learning contracts, formulation of ground rules…and discussion of expectations of the mentor and mentee at the outset”. I feel that for the next class these tips should be incorporated. This class, our class, totally rocked the suggestion of providing students with support, information and awareness on library systems and methods of research. The other article (Hodges, A.M. et. al, 2008) was very helpful and validating in our experiences this year. I also found it quite affirming and encouraging that this type of investment in university students is effective beyond recruiting students and provides “support and retaining of new students”.
Book Report – It has become apparent through this course that in mentoring university students effectively, we need to have the tools and resources to help them including: increased skills regarding research tools, finding articles effectively and reviewing and commenting on papers. I’m finding it fascinating to learn more about methods and ethics in research and know it will help me in my future educational endeavors and any opportunities I may have to help others in their academic pursuits.
Beautiful snowy day – enjoy and stay safe everyone!
The Google Docs collaboration tool is a great way to share information when working with others on an assignment, project and is a super great way to share power point slides. I like this tool because often email gets bogged down and email boxes can get full especially when sharing power point presentations. Another downfall to emailing PowerPoint presentations back and forth is which version is the most updated version? Yikes! Has this ever happened to you?! With Google Docs it’s a one stop shop with editing happening in the same virtual spot, so no worries about which and who has the latest version!
Zotero I need to get better equipped on. I’m especially interested in the ability to highlight online articles and make comments. I love how the citations are done and the documents are stored. This is a tool I would like to become well versed in.
Assignment: Experiment with a research or collaboration tool you have not used before and write about it in your journal.
I thought this was a fun assignment and discovered the Director of Open Access Journals. This is easy to use and they ensure these are credible by using a “quality control system to guarantee the content”. This is a directory of journals that are free and you can search by topic or by journal. Most of their journals you can search by article as well. I am utilizing this directory to assist with the extra credit portion of the web assignment as well as for some research I’m doing in HSP 402 for a paper. You should check it out!
So how did I find the DOAJ research tool? I first found the “Global Foresight” website that has a whole list of research and collaboration tools! I’m including this link too! Have the best day!
http://www.globalforesight.org/page/Research+and+Collaboration+Tools+and+Databases – Link to Global Foresight website
http://www.doaj.org/ - Link to Directory of Open Access Journals
Mentee Update: My mentees have not seemed to need me since I looked at each of their papers, was it two weeks ago? My plan is to keep reaching out and I think I’m even going to give each of them a phone call over the weekend for fun. If they don’t answer I will leave a voice mail stating that I hope their quarter is going well and reminding them they can call, text or email me if they need assistance.
I think Kristina in our class really had the right idea from the beginning. She set the tone with her mentees of expectations. From both articles we read this week, I felt they were very informative and mirrored a lot of what we have talked about in class in our own struggles and progress and lack of progress with our mentees. I liked the expectations suggested from (Hodges, B., 2009) in the Paediatric Nursing (I know this spelling looks weird like it should be Pediatric - but that is how it’s spelled on the article) journal article we read about having and using “learning contracts, formulation of ground rules…and discussion of expectations of the mentor and mentee at the outset”. I feel that for the next class these tips should be incorporated. This class, our class, totally rocked the suggestion of providing students with support, information and awareness on library systems and methods of research. The other article (Hodges, A.M. et. al, 2008) was very helpful and validating in our experiences this year. I also found it quite affirming and encouraging that this type of investment in university students is effective beyond recruiting students and provides “support and retaining of new students”.
Book Report – It has become apparent through this course that in mentoring university students effectively, we need to have the tools and resources to help them including: increased skills regarding research tools, finding articles effectively and reviewing and commenting on papers. I’m finding it fascinating to learn more about methods and ethics in research and know it will help me in my future educational endeavors and any opportunities I may have to help others in their academic pursuits.
Beautiful snowy day – enjoy and stay safe everyone!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Path of Inquiry/November 9th and Assignment
Path of inquiry: Review the class survey-- what should we focus on for the rest of this class? What methods are we using to assess mentee relationships and how effective are they?
From reading others' blogs and the class survey results, I think we should focus on two aspects the rest of class. We have dialogued about both but perhaps formalizing some of what we have spoken about to complement the survey results would be helpful to Gabe for the end of the quarter reflection and recommendations for the course.
Survey Results: It looks like this course has been great for the students; the readings, the activities have all been helpful. Whether the readings and coursework could or should be more challenging is a mix; however from the results it looks like students enjoyed the class, found it beneficial and are pleased with the course. The real work appears to be the mentee/mentor relationship. Perhaps if we formalize our suggestions, like offering to freshman, combine the course with a lab with one credit that is required, provide more class points for the mentees from and not to be given until the end of the quarter with some kind of assessment, etc. would be timely to provide. We could all write our suggestions either on a discussion board or in class together and put it all together in a more formal useful document for Gabe.
Classmates/Mentors: Everyone has had such varied experiences. Perhaps some way validating each person by listening to what they have done, their outreach and consistency, and lack of results or results, we could come together as a community especially for the “lack of results” colleagues and go around and say in a genuine fashion what we appreciated or liked about their efforts. We could also ask each person what they would do differently next time and what they have learned. We could have someone record this feedback for the class and put it together for Gabe. This may be helpful for mentors in the future.
It might be interesting, in addition, to ask each mentor what they have learned from their reading for their paper in relation to being a mentor. This might be an empowering way to show growth and development as mentors whether we all had hands on experiences or not. We could add this information to the feedback from above.
What methods are we using to assess mentee relationships and how effective are they?
So far we have used classroom dialogue and a survey; that has been helpful and effective but I think we need to take it a step further and hear from the mentees by providing some type of survey or assessment tool, with a way for them to comment giving us feedback for future programs.
Mentee update: All my mentees have been quiet this week. I haven’t heard from any of them though I know it’s early. I’m wondering since I edited and commented on all their papers if I will hear from them again….oh I wonder, I wonder, I wonder….is that a song? Oh my goodness, I do hope to hear from them and will continue to reach out through the end of the quarter.
Book for Paper: My topic of interest was the scholarly research choice. I picked a book entitled, On being a Scientist: A guide to responsible conduct in research as my book of choice. This book talks about ethics and trust as a foundation and discusses what researchers come across personally and professionally in their research….excited to finish and have loved the topic. Have an awesome day! Christina
From reading others' blogs and the class survey results, I think we should focus on two aspects the rest of class. We have dialogued about both but perhaps formalizing some of what we have spoken about to complement the survey results would be helpful to Gabe for the end of the quarter reflection and recommendations for the course.
Survey Results: It looks like this course has been great for the students; the readings, the activities have all been helpful. Whether the readings and coursework could or should be more challenging is a mix; however from the results it looks like students enjoyed the class, found it beneficial and are pleased with the course. The real work appears to be the mentee/mentor relationship. Perhaps if we formalize our suggestions, like offering to freshman, combine the course with a lab with one credit that is required, provide more class points for the mentees from and not to be given until the end of the quarter with some kind of assessment, etc. would be timely to provide. We could all write our suggestions either on a discussion board or in class together and put it all together in a more formal useful document for Gabe.
Classmates/Mentors: Everyone has had such varied experiences. Perhaps some way validating each person by listening to what they have done, their outreach and consistency, and lack of results or results, we could come together as a community especially for the “lack of results” colleagues and go around and say in a genuine fashion what we appreciated or liked about their efforts. We could also ask each person what they would do differently next time and what they have learned. We could have someone record this feedback for the class and put it together for Gabe. This may be helpful for mentors in the future.
It might be interesting, in addition, to ask each mentor what they have learned from their reading for their paper in relation to being a mentor. This might be an empowering way to show growth and development as mentors whether we all had hands on experiences or not. We could add this information to the feedback from above.
What methods are we using to assess mentee relationships and how effective are they?
So far we have used classroom dialogue and a survey; that has been helpful and effective but I think we need to take it a step further and hear from the mentees by providing some type of survey or assessment tool, with a way for them to comment giving us feedback for future programs.
Mentee update: All my mentees have been quiet this week. I haven’t heard from any of them though I know it’s early. I’m wondering since I edited and commented on all their papers if I will hear from them again….oh I wonder, I wonder, I wonder….is that a song? Oh my goodness, I do hope to hear from them and will continue to reach out through the end of the quarter.
Book for Paper: My topic of interest was the scholarly research choice. I picked a book entitled, On being a Scientist: A guide to responsible conduct in research as my book of choice. This book talks about ethics and trust as a foundation and discusses what researchers come across personally and professionally in their research….excited to finish and have loved the topic. Have an awesome day! Christina
Friday, November 5, 2010
Path of Inquiry/November 4th and Assignment:
Path of inquiry November 4th: When you step back for a moment to look at the whole what does academic research look like? What are you learning from your mentees? What does it mean to you now to engage in a collaborative learning process?
Academic Research Process: It seems to me from what we have learned this quarter the academic research process has steps. I’m incorporating into my thinking both what I have learned individually in the classroom and what we have discussed and learned from our classroom dialogue.
• Get familiar with your university/college library and what it has to offer. We did this by touring the library ourselves and giving tours to our mentees. We have continued this search and discovery of our WWU library through our guest speakers, on line activities and discoveries.
• Know the syllabus and what the instructor wants. Looking at the specific assignment for the research paper, we can get an idea of what the assignment looks like, how long it is expected to be, topic, and depth and extensiveness of research.
• Choose a topic (mentees and mentors) of interest related to what the instructor has asked for.
• Take time to free write what you are interested in learning about the topic you have chosen. In the free write look for questions you want to have answered about your topic. Approximately three questions for the mentees seemed appropriate for their paper and we were told to come up with one question for our book selection.
• From identified questions the search can begin for information!
• Identify databases that may be helpful to find information for your topic. Choose one to start with and have at least one back up in case you are having trouble finding what you want.
• Use key words, narrow and or broaden dependent upon whether you are using the internet like Google Scholar or the library databases.
• Make sure the websites and information are credible that you are going to use.
• At any time during the process collaboration is encouraged, asking professor for clarification, discussing with mentors/mentees, discussing in class or smaller groups within the class. Library Reference Desk is always helpful or WWU the “ask us! Online”.
Learning from Mentees: Oh my goodness, well I feel like I have learned patience, diligence, and to keep going back to brainstorming about different ways to connect, communicate and try to figure out where they are in their process. I have learned about myself and have had to challenge myself to step up more to be creative in contacts, to be patient, and to not give up. I have learned that it may be hard for my mentees to ask for help when possibly they haven’t responded to my invitations earlier in the quarter. So I received help with this from Gabe with the idea of asking about their other classes and then restating my offer and availability to help them. That worked! I think to keep communicating and being familiar with their syllabus is a key component as well.
Collaborative Learning Process: I didn’t realize prior to this class all that is available to us in resources and community of help at WWU with research. I have found the most valuable piece to be you, our class. The class dialogue we have engaged in collectively and discussions on everything including figuring out our own topic for our book selection and getting feedback from one another to be invaluable and so fun. I have loved the engagement we have had as a learning community and the next time I have the opportunity to work with students in a mentor/mentee role and /or do research, I will be looking for a community, if it’s not already provided, of peers and others (faculty, library staff, etc) who would be willing to dialogue and explore challenges and opportunities in the process.
Assignment: Develop a strategy to assess your progress with your mentees and discuss ways in which you might improve your collaboration in your journal.
I think what I first would do, is review our syllabus for the research class, and identify the student learning outcomes that apply to the mentor/mentee process. I identified the following from our syllabus that I think might apply:
• Utilize strategies for developing research questions
• Identify resources and support services to aid in the research process
• Know which research tools to use and how to use them, such as article databases and the library catalog
• Know when and who to turn to when you have research questions and what to expect from them
• Understand how to keep the research process organized
• Employ writing revision strategies
• Establish professional academic relationships with fellow students that help advance scholarly inquiry
• Foster positive learning environments
• Facilitate productive discussions and use questioning techniques
• Utilize critical thinking skills related to research and writing through interaction with mentees
From this list, I think I can develop learning activities that occurred related to the outcomes above, for example:
Learning Outcome: Utilize strategies for developing research questions
Learning Activities:
1. Sent link to the Writing Center to my mentees right after we heard the presentation. I also explained in the email, the suggestion we were given about identifying questions first prior to beginning our research for our topic.
2. Met with one mentee at the library, part of our meeting was identifying questions for her dance topic and a history topic for another class. (We did this by having her write like we did when the Writing Center came to our classroom. It was fun doing this with a mentee!)
Learning Outcome: Identify resources and support services to aid in the research process
Learning Activity: Library tour with mentees.
Learning Outcome: Know which research tools to use and how to use them, such as article databases and the library catalog
Learning Activity: Met with one of my mentees and helped her find articles and books for each of her topics, this was done utilizing the WWU library search and then finding the books in the reference section of the library.
I would continue to look at the outcomes in this way and identify the learning activities associated with each one as applicable. The next step I would take is to develop a survey, much like Gabe did, for my mentees to see how well they felt the outcomes were met by their experiences. I would also include comment boxes as well as a question asking for their feedback on what would have made the experience better for them, as well as ideas for a more successful mentor/mentee program in the future.
Mentee Update:
Last weekend I had emailed and texted all my mentees like I have been doing. This time in my email, I copied and pasted the portion of their syllabus that had to do with their assignments and due dates and offered again my assistance. I included instructions to them to please text me if they wanted me to look at their papers, so I would no to go to my email right away. I knew the papers were only 2 – 3 pages in length from the syllabus. So I let them know that I would have their papers back by early the next morning. I received one request with a paper on Sunday! I was so excited! My first real mentee paper! Woo hoo! I read through the paper for clarity, and basic grammar and punctuation. I used track changes they could accept or reject. I put a paragraph at the end of the paper first giving them feedback on what I loved about the paper. I then reminded them to check to see what was expected of citations. I offered the Writing Center as a place to have their citations checked if they weren’t sure about them as well as MS Word’s “references” tab on the ribbon that helps to format citations. I cautioned that MS Word may not be as up to date on the citation style they were using so to double check them and if in doubt go to the Writing Center. I also mentioned a thank you for sharing either in my return email. I texted when I finished the paper review and promptly sent back the paper in the email. I also made sure I said in my return email that my revisions were suggestions only. I received two more papers from my other mentees! Woo hoo! I believe in “Promise good, deliver great”, so I ensured that all papers were reviewed and returned prior to 7:00 am Tuesday morning (only because I work) and can’t do this on my work time. I loved reading about their topics. I liked that the papers were only 2-3 pages. It took me no more than an hour and a half for each, but that is because I like to read through a paper several times, looking for something different each time, I then do something else and go back to the paper to see if I see anything different, and then send it back. I was GREATLY encouraged and infused with EXCITEMENT that I had a FULL mentee experience – aside from the library tour, this was my first one this quarter! A big yay! for my week, that is for sure! In sharing my excitement, I understand some have had success all the way with one mentee or more so you understand the yippee in me. I also understand that not all of you have had this kind of break through and I’m believing you will, and that even if you don’t see your efforts rewarded tangibly right now, I like what Troy said in class, that sometime in the future, your deposit in your mentees will be remembered, and it will have an effect. For example, any of our mentees could be mentors some day. If they didn’t respond to us this quarter, they will get it pretty soon what it’s like to try to connect with other students in a meaningful, academic way and the challenges that can be there. Maybe they will use our strategies as mentors to try to reach their mentees. Have an awesome week! Love our learning community! Christina
Academic Research Process: It seems to me from what we have learned this quarter the academic research process has steps. I’m incorporating into my thinking both what I have learned individually in the classroom and what we have discussed and learned from our classroom dialogue.
• Get familiar with your university/college library and what it has to offer. We did this by touring the library ourselves and giving tours to our mentees. We have continued this search and discovery of our WWU library through our guest speakers, on line activities and discoveries.
• Know the syllabus and what the instructor wants. Looking at the specific assignment for the research paper, we can get an idea of what the assignment looks like, how long it is expected to be, topic, and depth and extensiveness of research.
• Choose a topic (mentees and mentors) of interest related to what the instructor has asked for.
• Take time to free write what you are interested in learning about the topic you have chosen. In the free write look for questions you want to have answered about your topic. Approximately three questions for the mentees seemed appropriate for their paper and we were told to come up with one question for our book selection.
• From identified questions the search can begin for information!
• Identify databases that may be helpful to find information for your topic. Choose one to start with and have at least one back up in case you are having trouble finding what you want.
• Use key words, narrow and or broaden dependent upon whether you are using the internet like Google Scholar or the library databases.
• Make sure the websites and information are credible that you are going to use.
• At any time during the process collaboration is encouraged, asking professor for clarification, discussing with mentors/mentees, discussing in class or smaller groups within the class. Library Reference Desk is always helpful or WWU the “ask us! Online”.
Learning from Mentees: Oh my goodness, well I feel like I have learned patience, diligence, and to keep going back to brainstorming about different ways to connect, communicate and try to figure out where they are in their process. I have learned about myself and have had to challenge myself to step up more to be creative in contacts, to be patient, and to not give up. I have learned that it may be hard for my mentees to ask for help when possibly they haven’t responded to my invitations earlier in the quarter. So I received help with this from Gabe with the idea of asking about their other classes and then restating my offer and availability to help them. That worked! I think to keep communicating and being familiar with their syllabus is a key component as well.
Collaborative Learning Process: I didn’t realize prior to this class all that is available to us in resources and community of help at WWU with research. I have found the most valuable piece to be you, our class. The class dialogue we have engaged in collectively and discussions on everything including figuring out our own topic for our book selection and getting feedback from one another to be invaluable and so fun. I have loved the engagement we have had as a learning community and the next time I have the opportunity to work with students in a mentor/mentee role and /or do research, I will be looking for a community, if it’s not already provided, of peers and others (faculty, library staff, etc) who would be willing to dialogue and explore challenges and opportunities in the process.
Assignment: Develop a strategy to assess your progress with your mentees and discuss ways in which you might improve your collaboration in your journal.
I think what I first would do, is review our syllabus for the research class, and identify the student learning outcomes that apply to the mentor/mentee process. I identified the following from our syllabus that I think might apply:
• Utilize strategies for developing research questions
• Identify resources and support services to aid in the research process
• Know which research tools to use and how to use them, such as article databases and the library catalog
• Know when and who to turn to when you have research questions and what to expect from them
• Understand how to keep the research process organized
• Employ writing revision strategies
• Establish professional academic relationships with fellow students that help advance scholarly inquiry
• Foster positive learning environments
• Facilitate productive discussions and use questioning techniques
• Utilize critical thinking skills related to research and writing through interaction with mentees
From this list, I think I can develop learning activities that occurred related to the outcomes above, for example:
Learning Outcome: Utilize strategies for developing research questions
Learning Activities:
1. Sent link to the Writing Center to my mentees right after we heard the presentation. I also explained in the email, the suggestion we were given about identifying questions first prior to beginning our research for our topic.
2. Met with one mentee at the library, part of our meeting was identifying questions for her dance topic and a history topic for another class. (We did this by having her write like we did when the Writing Center came to our classroom. It was fun doing this with a mentee!)
Learning Outcome: Identify resources and support services to aid in the research process
Learning Activity: Library tour with mentees.
Learning Outcome: Know which research tools to use and how to use them, such as article databases and the library catalog
Learning Activity: Met with one of my mentees and helped her find articles and books for each of her topics, this was done utilizing the WWU library search and then finding the books in the reference section of the library.
I would continue to look at the outcomes in this way and identify the learning activities associated with each one as applicable. The next step I would take is to develop a survey, much like Gabe did, for my mentees to see how well they felt the outcomes were met by their experiences. I would also include comment boxes as well as a question asking for their feedback on what would have made the experience better for them, as well as ideas for a more successful mentor/mentee program in the future.
Mentee Update:
Last weekend I had emailed and texted all my mentees like I have been doing. This time in my email, I copied and pasted the portion of their syllabus that had to do with their assignments and due dates and offered again my assistance. I included instructions to them to please text me if they wanted me to look at their papers, so I would no to go to my email right away. I knew the papers were only 2 – 3 pages in length from the syllabus. So I let them know that I would have their papers back by early the next morning. I received one request with a paper on Sunday! I was so excited! My first real mentee paper! Woo hoo! I read through the paper for clarity, and basic grammar and punctuation. I used track changes they could accept or reject. I put a paragraph at the end of the paper first giving them feedback on what I loved about the paper. I then reminded them to check to see what was expected of citations. I offered the Writing Center as a place to have their citations checked if they weren’t sure about them as well as MS Word’s “references” tab on the ribbon that helps to format citations. I cautioned that MS Word may not be as up to date on the citation style they were using so to double check them and if in doubt go to the Writing Center. I also mentioned a thank you for sharing either in my return email. I texted when I finished the paper review and promptly sent back the paper in the email. I also made sure I said in my return email that my revisions were suggestions only. I received two more papers from my other mentees! Woo hoo! I believe in “Promise good, deliver great”, so I ensured that all papers were reviewed and returned prior to 7:00 am Tuesday morning (only because I work) and can’t do this on my work time. I loved reading about their topics. I liked that the papers were only 2-3 pages. It took me no more than an hour and a half for each, but that is because I like to read through a paper several times, looking for something different each time, I then do something else and go back to the paper to see if I see anything different, and then send it back. I was GREATLY encouraged and infused with EXCITEMENT that I had a FULL mentee experience – aside from the library tour, this was my first one this quarter! A big yay! for my week, that is for sure! In sharing my excitement, I understand some have had success all the way with one mentee or more so you understand the yippee in me. I also understand that not all of you have had this kind of break through and I’m believing you will, and that even if you don’t see your efforts rewarded tangibly right now, I like what Troy said in class, that sometime in the future, your deposit in your mentees will be remembered, and it will have an effect. For example, any of our mentees could be mentors some day. If they didn’t respond to us this quarter, they will get it pretty soon what it’s like to try to connect with other students in a meaningful, academic way and the challenges that can be there. Maybe they will use our strategies as mentors to try to reach their mentees. Have an awesome week! Love our learning community! Christina
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Path of Inquiry/October 28th, 2010
Path of inquiry: What are some free Internet resources that we might use in the research process? What are some techniques to critically analyzing Internet resources? How are they different from the databases we used last week?
From what we learned in class, a few internet resources that would be free and good for research are “Google scholar”, “Google docs”, “zotero”, “Wikipedia”, as well as on line libraries. From Paul Piper we learned strategies and questions to ask ourselves when looking at internet sites to see if they are credible. For example, who is the author of the site, does the site look current, what is the message of the site, are there biases within the site, etc. I found it very helpful to look at site examples and discuss them in class. I know that next time I see an internet site I will be more discerning as to its credibility. The difference between the free online sites and the library databases is that we know for certain when utilizing library databases they are credible, trustworthy and there has been previous research and evidence based writings. We know our library is selective and ensures the resources they have available physically and online are credible and trustworthy.
MENTEE UPDATE – NEWSFLASH! Woo hoo!
Okay, so for REAL, one of my mentees got a hold of me and asked if I would help her pick out articles for two papers in two classes! I met her last Wednesday night at the library at 8pm. I had asked her ahead of time what her papers were on. When we met, I took her through the exercise the Writing Center had us do on each of her topics. I asked her to pick 3 questions she was interested in finding information about. We then identified articles, and two references books that would be helpful for her. I was beaming when I left the library! I had a real mentor glow! It’s very fun and rewarding to actually have that hand on experience with a mentee. Thanks to Gabe for the idea of asking about other classes. I hope she sends me her draft this weekend. I have a little skip to my step and a little ditty in my head and I hope to be able to experience anything similar with my other two mentees before the quarter is over.
I really missed seeing you all and being in community with you in class last Thursday. I had a memorial for a best friend’s husband, who passed away unexpectedly the week before in Auburn, WA. The memorial was good but very, very sad because he was only 63 and much loved. For me when people I know and love are going through hard times, I feel kind of helpless and I’m glad right now I have school, it helps me to have meaningful work to do, towards a goal, it is a positive distraction where I can see results from my efforts. It’s nice to fill my head with other things and then I feel more present for my friend when she calls or I call her.
Have a safe and fun weekend. I don’t know who my new group is in class…but I’m excited about Tuesday and getting back to our class work. I like our class! Christina
From what we learned in class, a few internet resources that would be free and good for research are “Google scholar”, “Google docs”, “zotero”, “Wikipedia”, as well as on line libraries. From Paul Piper we learned strategies and questions to ask ourselves when looking at internet sites to see if they are credible. For example, who is the author of the site, does the site look current, what is the message of the site, are there biases within the site, etc. I found it very helpful to look at site examples and discuss them in class. I know that next time I see an internet site I will be more discerning as to its credibility. The difference between the free online sites and the library databases is that we know for certain when utilizing library databases they are credible, trustworthy and there has been previous research and evidence based writings. We know our library is selective and ensures the resources they have available physically and online are credible and trustworthy.
MENTEE UPDATE – NEWSFLASH! Woo hoo!
Okay, so for REAL, one of my mentees got a hold of me and asked if I would help her pick out articles for two papers in two classes! I met her last Wednesday night at the library at 8pm. I had asked her ahead of time what her papers were on. When we met, I took her through the exercise the Writing Center had us do on each of her topics. I asked her to pick 3 questions she was interested in finding information about. We then identified articles, and two references books that would be helpful for her. I was beaming when I left the library! I had a real mentor glow! It’s very fun and rewarding to actually have that hand on experience with a mentee. Thanks to Gabe for the idea of asking about other classes. I hope she sends me her draft this weekend. I have a little skip to my step and a little ditty in my head and I hope to be able to experience anything similar with my other two mentees before the quarter is over.
I really missed seeing you all and being in community with you in class last Thursday. I had a memorial for a best friend’s husband, who passed away unexpectedly the week before in Auburn, WA. The memorial was good but very, very sad because he was only 63 and much loved. For me when people I know and love are going through hard times, I feel kind of helpless and I’m glad right now I have school, it helps me to have meaningful work to do, towards a goal, it is a positive distraction where I can see results from my efforts. It’s nice to fill my head with other things and then I feel more present for my friend when she calls or I call her.
Have a safe and fun weekend. I don’t know who my new group is in class…but I’m excited about Tuesday and getting back to our class work. I like our class! Christina
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