Mentorship is a catalyst capable of unleashing one's potential for discovery, curiosity, and participation in STEMM and subsequently improving the training environment in which that STEMM potential is fostered. Mentoring relationships provide developmental spaces in which students' STEMM skills are honed and pathways into STEMM fields can be discovered. Because mentorship can be so influential in shaping the future STEMM workforce, its occurrence should not be left to chance or idiosyncratic implementation. There is a gap between what we know about effective mentoring and how it is practiced in higher education. The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM studies mentoring programs and practices at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It explores the importance of mentorship, the science of mentoring relationships, mentorship of underrepresented students in STEMM, mentorship structures and behaviors, and institutional cultures that support mentorship. This report and its complementary interactive guide present insights on effective programs and practices that can be adopted and adapted by institutions, departments, and individual faculty members.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• COMMITTEE ON EFFECTIVE MENTORING IN STEMM
• BOARD ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE
• Preface
• Acknowledgment of Reviewers
• Summary
  • THE PROCESS OF EFFECTIVE MENTORSHIP
  • THE OUTCOMES AND IMPACTS OF EFFECTIVE MENTORSHIP
  • THE SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE MENTORSHIP
  • THE COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS
• 1. Introduction: Why Does Mentoring Matter?
  • BACKGROUND OF THE REPORT
  • ABOUT THE WORK
  • WHY IS MENTORSHIP IMPORTANT?
  • AIM OF THE REPORT
  • STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT
• 2. The Science of Mentoring Relationships: What Is Mentorship?
  • PERSPECTIVES ON MENTORSHIP
  • DEFINING THE CONCEPT OF MENTORSHIP
  • SIX THEORETICAL MODELS FOR MENTORSHIP
• 3. Mentoring Underrepresented Students in STEMM: Why Do Identities Matter?
  • THE IMPORTANCE OF IDENTITIES
  • WHAT IS IDENTITY?
  • DEVELOPMENT OF IDENTITY
  • TENSIONS WITH IDENTITY IN STEMM CONTEXTS
  • MENTORSHIP FOR UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS IN STEMM
  • UNDERREPRESENTED SEXUAL- AND GENDER-MINORITY STUDENTS IN STEMM
  • UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN STEMM
• 4. Mentorship Structures: What Forms Does Mentorship Take?
  • FORMAL VERSUS INFORMAL MENTORSHIP
  • MENTORSHIP DYADS
  • NON-DYADIC OR MULTIPLE-MENTOR MENTORSHIP
  • ONLINE OR E-MENTORSHIP
  • MENTORSHIP IN MEDICINE
  • INTERVENTION PROGRAMS THAT INCLUDE MENTORING EXPERIENCES
• 5. Mentorship Behaviors and Education: How Can Effective Mentorship Develop?
  • EFFECTIVE MENTORSHIP BEHAVIORS
  • MENTORSHIP TOOLS
  • NEGATIVE MENTORING EXPERIENCES
  • MENTORSHIP EDUCATION
• 6. Assessment and Evaluation: What Can Be Measured in Mentorship, and How?
  • CONSIDERATIONS IN ASSESSMENT OF MENTORSHIP
  • THEORETICAL APPROACH
  • MEASURES OF MENTORING RELATIONSHIP PROCESSES IN STEMM CONTEXTS
  • USING EXISTING MEASURES AND TAILORING ASSESSMENTS TO STEMM CONTEXTS
  • GAPS IN STEMM MENTORSHIP ASSESSMENT
  • MENTORSHIP OUTCOMES
  • NEW AND EMERGING APPROACHES TO ASSESSMENT AND MEASUREMENT OF MENTORSHIP
• 7. Individuals, Relationships, and Institutional Responsibility: How Can Institutional Culture Better Support Mentorship?
  • A CULTURE OF MENTORSHIP
  • CULTURE CHANGE TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE MENTORSHIP
  • FACILITATING CHANGE FOR MENTORSHIP
• 8. Findings and Recommendations
  • FINDING 1: Sociodemographic Diversity Provides Benefits to STEMM that May Be Underrealized
  • FINDING 2: Effective Mentorship Is Associated with Positive Mentee Outcomes
  • FINDING 3: Effective Mentorship Involves Intentionality
  • Finding 3.1: Theory can guide the development of effective mentorship practices
  • Finding 3.2: Effective mentorship involves building interpersonal trust
  • Finding 3.3: Effective mentorship evolves through different stages
  • Finding 3.4: Effective mentorship is personalized and responsive
  • Finding 3.5: Mentoring can occur in multiple configurations
  • FINDING 4: Identities Are Important for Inclusive and Effective Mentorship
  • Finding 4.1: Effective mentorship helps integrate identities
  • Finding 4.2: Effective mentorship involves crossing cultural boundaries if they exist
  • Finding 4.3: Shared beliefs, values, and interests can be more important than demographic identity matching for effective mentorship
  • FINDING 5: Effective Mentorship Is a Learned and Developed Skill
  • Finding 5.1: Mentorship education programs are effective
  • Finding 5.2: Mentoring tools can assist in effective mentorship
  • Finding 5.3: Mentorship is not always positive
  • FINDING 6: Mentorship Processes and Outcomes Can Be Measured
  • FINDING 7: Broadening Access to Effective Mentorship Is Contingent on Institutional Change
  • Finding 7.1: Changes in institutional rewards systems can enhance mentoring provision and quality
  • Finding 7.2: Mentors and mentees can influence institutional changes
  • Finding 7.3: Outside agents can spur institutional changes
  • THE RECOMMENDATIONS
• References
• Appendixes
  • A. Glossary
  • B. A Selection of STEMM Intervention Programs that Include Mentoring Experiences
  • C. Listening Sessions and Workshops Information
  • D. Committee and Staff Biographies

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25568.

Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25568

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019954507

Additional copies of this publication are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http://www.nap.edu.

Printed in the United States of America