Collaboration and Near-Peer Mentoring as a Platform for Sustainable Science Education Outreach

Pluth, Michael D.; Boettcher, Shannon W.; Nazin, George V.; Greenaway, Ann L.; Hartle, Matthew D.

doi:10.1021/ed500377m

Cited by 42 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Another popular and effective approach to STEM mentoring is to utilize same‐age or near‐age peer mentors 110–112 . Peer mentors are in a unique position as credible messengers to share their recent experiences with their mentees in pursuing a STEM interest or educational pathway 113 .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing effective STEM mentoring relationships through mentor training

Stelter

Kupersmidt

Stump

2020

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) mentoring programs typically have the goals of generating interest and excitement in STEM topics and careers and supporting STEM career achievement persistence. These outcomes are fostered through positive and trusting relationships with mentors. Mentors in STEM programs often have extensive subject matter expertise in a STEM content area, but they may lack the knowledge, attitudes, and skills that are important for establishing an effective mentoring relationship with a young person. The purpose of this review is to describe (1) a set of topics recommended for inclusion in STEM mentor training, based on a literature review, and (2) the current state of implementation of these recommended training topics among STEM mentoring programs in the United States. We have identified four major topic areas to include in the training of STEM mentors: (1) knowledge and attitudes regarding disparities in STEM career achievement, (2) mentor roles that promote STEM outcomes, (3) behaviors to promote mentees’ positive attitudes about STEM, and (4) program‐specific topics. Training for mentors should prepare them with the knowledge they need to support their mentee being successful in a STEM education or career while fostering the skills they need to establish an effective mentoring relationship.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing effective STEM mentoring relationships through mentor training

Stelter

Kupersmidt

Stump

2020

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The near-peer mentoring approach showed a promising impact with 88% of students giving positive feedback on the credibility of the mentors. This approach has been identified as guiding students to a visible education pathway as well as envisioning themselves as future scientists (Pluth et al, 2015). The smaller gender gap between the students and mentors could break the wall and allow a safe space for students to interact and learn science without being labelled or judged.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

STEM Outreach via Science Forensic Module: The Impact of the Near-peer Mentoring Approach

Azman

Maniyam

Ibrahim

et al. 2019

Southeast Asian Math. Educ. J.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

STEM education emphasizes the integrated study of science passing the boundaries of traditionally labelled disciplines while demonstrating its application in real life. Science forensic is an eye-catching subject for students, which implements the knowledge of biology, physics, and chemistry. The purpose of this study was to identify students’ interest towards STEM through science forensic module and the impact of the near-peer mentoring approach in the module for STEM outreach. This pilot study was conducted for the students of Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Integrasi (SBPI) Gombak with 36 participants. By using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS), the analysis revealed that 94.5% of students found the module interesting and 77% of participants agreeing that the module increased their interest to pursue their future study in the STEM-field. Focusing on demographics, this module received more positive responses from females and pure science stream students as compared to males and Islamic science stream, respectively. This result is consistent with the higher number of female students and pure science stream students in STEM-field study at university level. The near-peer mentoring approach showed a promising impact with 88% of students giving positive feedback on the credibility of mentors. The science forensic modules consisted of 8 main stations with the Fingerprinting station being the most popular (94.5%) and DNA profiling being the least popular (77.8%). One possible explanation of this is that the level of understanding for DNA profiling is harder with larger amounts of knowledge needed to be learned in a short period of time. Overall, the outcomes of this study suggest that exposing secondary school students to science forensic has a positive impact on their level of interest towards STEM education.

show abstract

“…Studies in science education outreach have shown that mentorship is particularly effective when it occurs between a mentor who has recently passed through the stage of training where the mentee currently resides, as it allows mentees to see themselves in the position of the mentor. 11 Our program presents a unique opportunity to facilitate this relationship between medical students and high school students as they approach their post-secondary schooling. Based on these observations and findings, we hope to grow a codified mentorship component within the program for future years by creating mentor-mentee groups/pairings and organizing mentorship events, such as open office hours and medical student panels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Novel Methodology for Recruitment of High School Students to Health Professions

Gaspich

Buzzelli

Flanagan

et al. 2020

JRMC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Medical schools are creating programs to introduce careers in healthcare to students at earlier stages in their education. At the Penn State College of Medicine University Park Regional Campus, we have created and implemented a novel improvisational, case-based, small-group learning curriculum for high school students to introduce integrative thinking in basic and clinical sciences and to cultivate an early interest in health professions careers. The program also includes elements of health systems science and humanities. A multidisciplinary team of educators with both secondary and post-secondary pedagogical expertise worked together to develop a longitudinal case-based curriculum suitable for high school students. This curriculum was administered to a group of 40 students in grades 9-12. At the start of each session, students were challenged to explore personal biases, reflect upon ethical dilemmas, and to step outside their comfort zones with “centering exercises.” Through these activities, we strived to challenge the learners’ preconceptions about their colleagues, medicine, and their role within it. Students were then presented with a case as a large group. At critical junctures in the cases, students worked in small groups of 8-10 with 1-2 medical student facilitators to discuss questions and solve clinical dilemmas associated with the case. Early feedback from students and faculty advisors has been overwhelmingly positive. The authors have no conflicts of interest.

show abstract

Collaboration and Near-Peer Mentoring as a Platform for Sustainable Science Education Outreach

Cited by 42 publications

References 22 publications

Establishing effective STEM mentoring relationships through mentor training

Establishing effective STEM mentoring relationships through mentor training

STEM Outreach via Science Forensic Module: The Impact of the Near-peer Mentoring Approach

Novel Methodology for Recruitment of High School Students to Health Professions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About