Aera online mentorings

Faculty and Student Experiences with Online Mentoring

Swapna Kumar & Catherine Coe AERA 2015

4/19/15 Swapna Kumar

Ed.D. Program Context 4/19/15 Swapna Kumar

Dissertation •  Problem of practice

•  Five chapters

•  Rigor

•  Advances practice, initiates change and impacts educational environment

Ed.D. Program Context

•  Professionals in K-12 (traditional/virtual), post-secondary, corporate, and other educational settings.

•  Geographically dispersed

•  Cohort model – Peer Support

•  Inquiry groups


Online Mentoring

•  Online Mentoring

•  Medical Education •  Business

•  Mentoring relationships between student and graduate advisor

(Lee, 2008; Maher, Ford, & Thompson, 2004)

•  Educational development, professional development and psychosocial development (Hayes & Koro-Ljungberg, 2011)


Methodology

•  17 graduates from two cohorts (10 + 7)

•  Four faculty who mentored those students

•  Semi-structured interviews •  30-45 minutes, online or in-person •  Member checking


Methodology

Questions

•  Mentoring experience – What was it like? How did it work? •  Strategies used by the mentor that were useful? •  Challenges faced? Addressed? •  Strategies used by the student that worked or

didn’t work? •  Suggestions for mentoring next cohort?


•  Inductive coding process •  Faculty data and student data coded separately

•  Two researchers: Independently coded, then discussed

•  Third researcher

•  Triangulation

Methodology 4/19/15 Swapna Kumar

Results

•  Mentoring strategies that helped students

•  Challenges faced by students

•  Strategies used by students termed essential


Results

Strategies used by mentors that helped students •  Choice of communication channels

•  Timely feedback and timelines

•  Types of feedback = specific / candid feedback


Results

Strategies used by mentors that helped students

•  Structure

•  Small group mentoring

•  Structured peer interaction


Results

Challenges faced by students

•  Time management, work-life balance, motivation to continue writing

•  Research implementation

•  Handling / acting on feedback


Results

Challenges faced by mentors

•  Workload – multiple mentees

•  Giving feedback online

•  PhD vs. EdD dissertations


Results

Strategies used by students that were valuable

•  Establish consistent communication with mentor

•  Ask questions and find communication channel

•  Establish deadlines

•  Establish peer group


Discussion / Implications

•  Clear communication, honest feedback -> perceptions of ideal mentor (Rose, 2003)

•  Mentor Competences: Multiple modes of communication in mentoring, managerial competence. Social or Online developmental competence.

•  Students prefer faculty to initiate structure (Johnson, Lee, & Green, 2000)


Discussion / Implications

Implications for online programs

•  Dissertation guiding principles

•  On-campus resources (Library, IRB, EDT)

•  Writing practice and feedback

•  Structuring Peer support – students do not self-organize

•  Documentation


References

•  Bierema, L.L. & Merrian, S.B. (2002). E-mentoring: Using computer mediated communication to enhance the mentoring process. Innovative Higher Education, 26(3), 211-227.

•  Burnett, P.C. (1999). The supervision of doctoral dissertations using a collaborative cohort model. Counselor Education and Supervision, 39(1), 46-52.

•  Ives, G. & Rowley, G. (2005). Supervisor selection or allocation and continuity of supervision: Ph.D. students progress and outcomes. Studies in Higher Education, 30, 535-555.

•  Johnson, L., Lee, A., & Green, B. (2000). The Ph.D. and the Autonomous Self: Gender, rationality, and postgraduate pedagogy. Studies in Higher Education, 25(2), 135-147.

•  Kumar, S., Johnson, M. L., & Hardemon, T. (2013). Dissertations at a Distance: Students’ perceptions of Online Mentoring in a Doctoral Program. Journal of Distance Education, 27(1).

•  Lee, A. (2008). How are doctoral students supervised? Concepts of doctoral research supervision. Studies in Higher Education, 33(3), 267-281.

•  Lyons, W., Scroggins, D., & Rule, P.B. (1990). The mentor in graduate education. Studies in Higher Education, 15(3), 277-285.

•  Rose, G.L. (2003). Enhancement of mentor selection using the ideal mentor scale. Research in Higher Education, 44(4), 473-494.

•  Schichtel, M. (2010). Core-competence skills in e-mentoring for medical educators: A conceptual exploration. Medical Teacher, 32(7), e248-e262.

•  Warner, M. & Witzel, M. (2004). Managing in virtual organizations. London: Thomson Learning.
