The Science of Mentorship

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
  • 5.0 (11)
  • EDUCATION
  • COMPLETE SERIES
The Science of Mentorship

Mentorship is essential to the development of anyone in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or medicine, but did you know mentorship is a set of skills that can be learned, practiced, and optimized? In this 10-part series from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, you’ll hear the personal mentorship stories of leaders in academia, business, and the media, in their own words. Learn how evidence-based mentorship practices can help you develop the skills to engage in the most effective STEMM mentoring relationships possible. If you are a mentor, a mentee, or have a role in mentorship, this podcast is for you.

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  1. EPISODE 1

    Finding a Mentor

    In this first episode of Season Two, host Bethany Brookshire takes us through the experiences of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students. These students share stories of what qualities they sought in a mentor, how they found their mentors, and how each mentor guided and supported them to identify and follow their passions.

    17 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    Setting Expectations and Boundaries

    New mentoring relationships can be intimidating. Mentees may not know what to expect of their mentors, or what the goal of the mentoring relationship is. For mentoring relationships to be mutually beneficial, both mentees and mentors must establish expectations and boundaries. This is a skill that can take some practice, but helps students reach their full potential in STEMM. In this episode, students share their stories of when they recognized the need for expectations and boundaries in their mentoring relationships, how they established them, and how they responded when their mentor didn’t respect the boundaries in place. For mentoring relationships to be mutually beneficial, both mentees and mentors must establish expectations and boundaries. This is a skill that can take some practice, but is necessary to help students reach their full potential in STEMM. In this episode, students share their stories of when they recognized the need for expectations and boundaries in their mentoring relationships, how they established them, and how they responded when their mentor didn’t respect the boundaries in place.

    18 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    The Impact of Effective Mentoring on Family

    For many students in STEMM, family life is a top priority. However, some students have found tension when it comes to balancing family life and their STEMM careers, from both faculty and colleagues. For mentoring relationships to be effective, mentors must acknowledge students as whole people with priorities, responsibilities, and important personal decisions that exist outside of STEMM. In this episode, we hear from students who have juggled raising children and new family milestones as they simultaneously researched and earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees. They share about the challenges of balancing family life and career, the moments they needed to ask for support, and how mentors can support students with families without the student suffering repercussions.

    11 min

  4. EPISODE 4

    Building Trust & Addressing Power

    Some students quickly trust their mentors. Others are hesitant to be vulnerable with them. And some students encounter barriers that disallow them to trust their mentors at all. Building trust may sometimes be easy, or it may be awkward, depending on the relationship. But there’s a reason why trust is critical to an effective mentoring relationship. In this episode, students share how they were able to build trust with certain mentors, how students navigated relationships where they were hesitant to fully trust their mentors, and how they responded in situations where trust was broken.

    22 min

  5. EPISODE 5

    Negative Mentoring Experiences一The Impact

    Mentees must rely on someone with more experience and power to support them through their STEMM career. Sometimes, conflict happens. And it can have a massive impact on both mentees and mentors. Negative mentoring experiences in STEMM happen, and they can leave students and professionals feeling stuck and confused. In this episode, students and postdocs share their stories of what circumstances led to negative encounters with their mentors, and how these experiences impacted their careers. Students share the factors that contributed to these negative experiences for them, including unchecked intentions, refusal to get to know students, and uncontrollable circumstances.

    23 min

  6. EPISODE 6

    Negative Mentoring Experiences一The Response

    After a negative mentoring experience, students are often left confused, unhappy, and unsure of how to move forward in their STEMM career. These experiences can be tricky to navigate and respond to. A negative mentoring relationship should never constitute the end of a student’s STEMM career. Students should feel safe to identify when a mentoring relationship isn’t effective and what they need instead. In this episode, students and postdocs share how they responded to negative experiences, how they were recovered, and what strategies may help prevent these experiences from happening in the first place.

    23 min

  7. EPISODE 7

    Acknowledging Identity in Mentorship

    Mentoring relationships are social relationships, so identity - the way you think about yourself, how you are viewed by the world, and the characteristics you use to define yourself - matters. People have multiple identities, such as their gender identification, sexual orientation, place of birth, race, ethnicity, profession, values, and even hobbies. Students’ identities can heavily influence their academic journeys in STEMM. Therefore, mentors must consider and acknowledge identity when supporting their students. In this episode, we hear stories from students and postdocs who all come from various backgrounds and who hold different identities. They share how their identity influenced their STEMM journey, how their mentoring relationship approached identity, and the impact made when their mentors fully considered their identity.

    28 min

  8. EPISODE 8

    Supporting Students Through Formal Mentoring Programs

    It’s easy to assume that most mentoring relationships are organically formed. But effective mentoring can take many forms, and relationships are often formed through formal mentorship programs.

    19 min

  9. EPISODE 9

    Mentoring in a Post-2020 World

    2020 changed everything一the way we live, communicate, and learn. The long-term physical isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic created big challenges for students and faculty, in both their personal and academic lives. Our lives transitioned to exist virtually, and effective mentorship in STEMM was heavily impacted. In this episode, students and postdocs share their stories of how their academic journeys were impacted by the pandemic, their perspectives on virtual and online mentoring, the power of social media, and the importance of creating niche communities in STEMM.

    22 min

  10. EPISODE 10

    The Mentee Becomes The Mentor

    Like the circle of life, there’s the circle of mentoring relationships. If the mentoring is effective, the roles of the mentee and mentor will change. Sometimes, mentees begin the cycle over again, this time acting as a mentor themselves.

    17 min

  11. EPISODE 11 BONUS

    Blooper Reel

    Enjoy these bloopers from Season 2.

    4 min
See All Season 2 (11)

Trailer

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11 Ratings

About

Mentorship is essential to the development of anyone in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or medicine, but did you know mentorship is a set of skills that can be learned, practiced, and optimized? In this 10-part series from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, you’ll hear the personal mentorship stories of leaders in academia, business, and the media, in their own words. Learn how evidence-based mentorship practices can help you develop the skills to engage in the most effective STEMM mentoring relationships possible. If you are a mentor, a mentee, or have a role in mentorship, this podcast is for you.

Information

  • Creator
    National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine
  • Episodes
    22
  • Seasons
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2021 The National Academy of Sciences
  • Show Website
    The Science of Mentorship

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