Mentor Curricula and Training: Entering Mentoring

The curricula, called Entering Mentoring, is for mentors of research trainees. It was originally developed for mentors across science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) disciplines at different career stages, working with undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty.

Our mentor training materials are designed for those who wish to implement process-based, professional development workshops for research mentors. You may choose one of our complete, pre-assembled curriculum packages or build your own customized curriculum to meet your needs.

The Entering Mentoring curricula series addresses the new NIGMS guidelines regarding the preparation of mentors involved in training grants.

Themes and Concepts

The following themes are included in our mentor training curricula:

  • Aligning Expectations
  • Articulating Your Mentoring Philosophy and Plan
  • Assessing Understanding
  • Cultivating Ethical Behavior
  • Enhancing Work-Life Integration
  • Fostering Independence
  • Fostering Wellbeing
  • Maintaining Effective Communication
  • Promoting Mentee Research Self-Efficacy
  • Promoting Professional Development
  • Reflecting on Diversity & Establishing a Practice of Inclusion

Mentor Training

Research mentor training is an evidence-based, interactive approach designed to help mentors develop skills for engaging in productive, culturally responsive, research mentoring relationships—relationships that optimize the success of both mentors and mentees.

Objective

Entering Mentoring Book CoverThe goal of our mentor training is to accelerate the process of becoming an effective research mentor by providing mentors with an intellectual framework, an opportunity to experiment with various methods, and a forum in which to solve mentoring dilemmas with the help of their peers. By the end of the training, mentors will have articulated their personal style and philosophy of mentoring and have a toolbox of strategies they can use when faced with difficult mentoring situations.

Research mentor training—based upon the book Entering Mentoringhas been tested and shown to be effective in increasing mentoring knowledge, skills, and behavior. Furthermore, culturally responsive interactions between mentors and mentees can help historically underrepresented mentees successfully progress in their research careers, becoming effective mentors, scientific leaders, and research team members of the future.

Audience

Research mentor training is for the research mentors of undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, or junior faculty working with trainees across disciplines.

Implementation

We offer customized research mentor training workshops led by CIMER Principal Facilitators. Workshops ranging from a few hours to a full day or two are available for the mentors of undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, or junior faculty working with trainees across disciplines.

Request mentor training at your institution or organization

Entering Mentoring Facilitator Training is also available for those interested in learning how to implement a custom Entering Mentoring training curriculum at their own institution or organization.

All curricula are based upon the published curriculum, Entering Mentoring.

COMPLETE MENTOR CURRICULA

Complete curricula are organized by discipline

  View on the CIMER Portal

CUSTOM MENTOR CURRICULA

Build your own research training curriculum materials

 View on the CIMER Portal

Copyright information

CIMER mentor/mentee training curricula (“CIMER Curricula”) are based upon the curriculum in the publication Entering Mentoring (Pfund, Branchaw, and Handelsman, 2014) and Entering Research (Branchaw, Butz, & Smith, 2019) and are used/adapted with permission from W.H. Freeman/Macmillan Learning.

Copyrights for the CIMER Curricula are managed by CIMER and the Wisconsin Center for Education Research on behalf of each work’s respective author[s]. The user of the CIMER Curricula shall have and is hereby granted a limited license to copy and distribute the CIMER Curricula for personal and educational in-service uses only. Any use of the CIMER Curricula shall maintain the provided attribution[s]. Any use of the CIMER Curricula beyond this limited license requires express written permission from CIMER.