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