04/05/2021
By Shanna Thompson

Consider joining us in discussing different topics related to program evaluation.
The Brown Bag will be held virtually on April 9, 2021 from noon to 1 p.m. Please email us at cpe@uml.edu for the Zoom link.

This month's presentation will be provided by Hsien-Yuan (Mark) Hsu and Yanfen Li.

Designing and Piloting the Entering Research Mentoring Program for Graduate Students

The Entering Research (ER) curriculum has been recognized as a well-studied and extensive approach to mentee education. ER was developed to optimize the student apprentice-style research learning experience by providing just-in-time support. The second edition of ER is a collection of customizable active-learning activities, resources, and assessment and evaluation tools for use in undergraduate and graduate research training programs and courses. Individual activities of ER can be integrated into existing research training program workshops and courses, or new workshops and courses can be created.

The Entering Research Mentoring Program (ERMP) is a new mentorship program for first- and second-year graduate students created by adopting several mentoring training activities from the existing ER curriculum. Using the ERMP, first-year graduate students will receive three activities (aligning mentor & trainee expectations, the power of social persuasion, and barriers to effective communication) to establish an open line of communication with their mentor for effective mentorship, while second-year graduate students will receive three activities (steps to researcher independence, networking, and professional development plans) to strengthen their professional identity and develop a plan to guide career and professional development.

In this CPE Brown Bag meeting, the research team will briefly review the design of the ERMP and a pilot study. In addition, the research team will discuss designing a training program for faculty advisors, especially for junior faculty as they are managing the pressure of tenure and promotion on top of other faculty responsibilities.

The mission of the Center for Program Evaluation (CPE) is to conduct research on program evaluation methods as well as to offer evaluation planning, consulting, training and services for the university, regional and global community. CPE offers program evaluation services that support the university’s missions of research, teaching, and service to the community and industry for both faculty and students.