Lessons Learned From Challenging Mentoring Situations

Mentoring Roles •Weekly meeting with each student on caseload•Maintain field notes and records about interactions with students:• Summary of each weekly meeting• Ongoing log of miscellaneous support

provided• Notes about any concerns or questions to be

raised during future interactions with the student or with other Project STEPP staff

•Monitor students during study hall and offer assistance•Respond to students’ requests for help as needed

Stressed StudentsA student may feel stressed from a heavy workload or lack of time to complete an assignment. Midterms, finals, and registration week are times when stress levels are higher for most students.•Break down large assignments into manageable segments.•Help students prepare for tests by tutoring them or helping them study.

Over-Committed StudentsA student who is participating in more activities than is manageable. This could be a student with a large course load, or one who has a large number of extracurricular activities in addition to classwork.•Make detailed daily schedules to optimize effective time management.•Organize daily tasks by level of importance or urgency.

Students Who Struggle with Organization or MemoryA student who is disorganized with assignments or with class materials. Disorganization can stem from forgetfulness. A forgetful student may not remember meetings, classes, or assignments.•Help the student to make an organized notebook and planner and then show him/her how to use it effectively.•Use electronic devices, such as a phone, to set reminders for meetings, classes, and assignments.

Students with Low Self-ConfidenceA student with low self-confidence may have trouble believing that s/he can do well on an assignment, in a class, or in college in general. This can lead to over-dependence on support resources.•A way to help students with low self-confidence is to amply praise them when they do well on any assignment or task. This should include reinforcing students for non-academic accomplishments.•Introduce students who are overly dependent on a mentor’s support to other resources that can help them. Also gradually teach the students to work on independence so they can rely on themselves to complete assignments.

Project STEPP Mentoring Challenges and Tips for Addressing Each Situation:Themes from our 2012-2013 year as mentors to undergraduate students

Over-Confident StudentsStudents who are not open to learning other strategies to study for a class or to complete an assignment because they think their approaches are the best.•Keep providing advice as needed, along with the rationale for suggested strategies.•Help the student if his/her approach to studying or completing an assignment proves unsuccessful, but focus on how to improve and what strategies will work instead of conveying an “I told you so” approach.

Emotional StudentsA student who is currently experiencing strong emotions or has a more emotionally-driven personality in general.•Give emotional support when needed, and acknowledge the student’s feelings.•Talk through the situation with the student to better understand the problem and potentially help the student through it.

Students Who Struggle to Stay FocusedA student who has trouble focusing or staying on task to complete an assignment or study thoroughly. Students may also have trouble focusing because their minds wander to other educational or personal ideas, topics, or thoughts.•Sit with the students while they work to keep them on track.•Have the students sit or work with a notepad next to them to write down their extraneous thoughts. Then they can return to those thoughts at a time that doesn’t interfere with school work.

Students with Issues Beyond the Scope of MentoringA student with an issue that is beyond the help of a person in a mentoring role. The issue may need professional or specialized attention.•Know the resources on campus to refer the student to the correct place such as a professor, advisors, tutors, student health, or the counseling center.•Encourage students with medications to adhere to prescribed medical advice and routines.

Aisha PowellAisha graduated from East Carolina University in 2011 with a B.S. in Family and Community Services and a minor in Business Administration. She earned her M.S. in Child Development and Family Relations from ECU in 2013.

Elliot WickhamElliot graduated from East Carolina University in 2012 with a B.A. in History. He is currently pursuing his M.A. in Geography with an anticipated graduation date of 2014.

Project STEPP Mentors 2012-2013