Encouraging Development

Undergraduates don't always foresee the personal and professional benefits of research participation. Mentors may need to guide students to this end. Here are a few ways to do this:

Encourage independence. Tell a student when they do something right. Show them how to correct errors when they do something wrong. Tell them stories of errors you have made. This builds confidence and trust, and students will be more likely to seek independence and responsibility (potentially their own project!).

Encourage presenting. Get students used to presenting. Start with lab meetings. Then move to OUR's undergraduate research festivals. Ideally, students will present at a local, regional, or national conference before graduation. Check OUR Events for more opportunities.

Encourage career exploration. Many students learn about new career paths through research. Maybe they will go on to a PhD and continue research. Maybe they will go in a different direction entirely. Giving students opportunities to talk to others in their field and with YOU about potential careers will help them decide what to do after graduation and beyond.

Encourage conferences. Conferences of any type are impactful experiences for undergraduates, even if they don't know these are options. Take your student with you to conferences where they can network with other researchers, graduate students, and professionals. Presentation at a conference is a bonus!

Encourage award applications. Imposter syndrome is real. Encourage your student to apply for awards, even when they believe they are not qualified. Undergraduates frequently underestimate themselves. Award applications, and learning how to talk about their accomplishments, help them realize just how amazing they are.

Encourage involvement. Let undergraduates see every moving part of the work. Grant applications, writing (and re-writing) papers, developing experiments, testing new materials, looking up and trying out new methods. Keep students' minds actively engaged by letting them in on these processes.

Five effective mentoring strategies from the Council on Undergraduate Research are:

Your ability to use these strategies will vary depending on things like the size of your group, oversight of your team, ability of your student, and your own personal style of mentorship.  Think back to your own experience as an undergraduate researcher—remember how uncertain you felt initially, afraid to ask questions and certain that everyone knew more.  Use that knowledge and experience to foster your mentee’s development.

Educating new researchers

Preparing your students to be good researchers is about education.  While it is a very different style of education than classroom teaching, thinking through what you want your students to learn and creating good learning opportunities makes the experience more beneficial to you and your students.  A classic framework for structuring an educational experience is the Community of Inquiry.