Mentoring Philosophy: A Self-Reflective Tool for
Effective Teaching
Strong mentorship has been demonstrated to
enhance students’ learning in a variety of contexts. The mentoring effect has
been shown to be particularly impactful on students from groups
underrepresented in many of today’s top careers. Strong mentorship requires
commitment and intentionality on the part of the mentor, and a mentoring
philosophy can serve as the foundation for effective mentoring and teaching and
learning. A mentoring philosophy is an introspective statement that explains
and justifies the way you approach personal and professional relationships with
students as you guide the students through development into a professional. It
informs everything from how you advise a student of what course to take to how
you engage them in the classroom. It can also inform the strategies and methods
to improve your teaching and enhance your students’ learning.
This discussion
is designed to:
1. introduce the idea and value of a mentoring philosophy,
2. link the creation and use of a mentoring philosophy to effective teaching, and
3. provide participants the opportunity and support to begin crafting their own
mentoring philosophy.
About the Presenter:
 |
Tiera S. Coston, Educational Improvement Specialist in the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development at the Xavier University of Louisiana, oversees the Preparing Mentors and Advisors at Xavier (P-MAX) Mentor Training, Entering Research at Xavier University of Louisiana (ER XULA) Mentee Training and Mentee-to-Mentor (M2M) Programs. She has served in higher education for more than 15 years, and her work focuses on the improvement of undergraduate STEM education and the use of mentoring to enhance student success. She is a National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Certified Facilitator who has conducted more than 100 workshops on a variety of mentoring- and teaching and learning-themed topics. |
Recording of Keynote Presentation: