Peer Mentoring for All: Investigating the Feasibility of a Curricular-Embedded Peer Mentoring Structure

摘要

The benefits of peer mentoring in undergraduate STEM courses are well documented, and the literature suggests even more significant benefits to the mentors, compared to the mentees. The School of Engineering at the University of Kansas has developed a peer-mentoring model called the Undergraduate Teaching Fellows Program, based on the Learning Assistant model. Students who participate as mentors in this program reported an improved understanding of course content, more confidence in their academic and leadership abilities, and that they were more prepared to go into the workplace after their experience as a peer mentor in this program. However, in this program, consistent with most peer mentoring programs, only the best students are selected for mentor roles. Thus, only the most academically-successful students gain the benefits of such an experience instead of all students.