Caltech Mentors | Co-Mentors | JPL
Mentors | Mentoring Tips
MURF introduces students to research, and students come to the experience
with a wide range of previous experience, knowledge, and talent. MURF students
possess significant intellectual capacity but may lack the judgment or maturity
that comes from life, academic, or professional experiences. If this is their
first research opportunity, they may lack confidence. Others will have confidence
but little experience and they may make inappropriate decisions about the research,
procedures, or methods. Some students will come with experience or with natural
talent for doing research, will exhibit maturity, and will function at the
level of a graduate student. MURFers tend to approach this experience with
a passion for science or engineering, great enthusiasm, and high expectations
for the work they will do.
Importance and Value of Mentoring
- MURF should be a high quality educational experience for students.
- Students draw from classroom knowledge to tackle new problems or questions.
- They begin to understand the processes of scientific or engineering research.
- Students become intellectual partners with mentors.
- Students gain insight into the kinds of careers they want to pursue and
whether they want to attend graduate school.
- Mentors gain personal satisfaction in training the next generation.
- Mentors and co-mentors give back what they gained from their own mentors.
- They welcome students into the community of scholars and researchers.
- Mentors teach skills, methods, and techniques.
- Mentors provide advice, encouragement, and wisdom to the students.
- Mentors coach students to develop new ways to approach problems.
- They encourage students to think about and reflect on their research.
- Mentors pass on the nature and culture of science/engineering to the next
generation.
- They pass on scientific ethics.
- Mentors help students develop strong oral and written communication skills.
Click here for more details on the MURF Mentor’s or Co-Mentor’s roles.
Expectations
Mentors, Co-Mentors, and students come to the MURF experience
with their respective sets of expectations about each other and about the
project on which they will collaborate over the summer. Mentors and co-mentors
have the responsibility to manage student expectations and to communicate
their own expectations about how they will interact with the student. Mentors/co-mentors
should define the roles and relationships within the research group for the
student.
Students often commence the undergraduate research experience
with high hopes for quickly and successfully attaining the research goals
outlined in their proposals. If the progress slows for any reason, they may
become discouraged because they lack experience and perspective to know that “research is
where anything can happen and usually does.” Mentors/co-mentors should
encourage students through the periods of slow progress.
Some students hesitate to ask questions when they need
explanations or don’t
understand something. Mentors and co-mentors should strive to create
an environment that welcomes inquiry and questions.
The MURF program expects that students will become colleagues in the research
partnership. They should join the life of the laboratory as full members and
be welcomed into the research community. MURF fellows should attend laboratory
or group meetings, present their projects just as other members do, and participate
in the intellectual and social exchange.
MURF is not just a summer job. MURF students are expected
to work on their projects as others in the laboratory work on their own research.
MURF students receive their payments in two equal installments during the
summer; they do not complete time sheets. Therefore, they may be in
lab the same hours as other group members; they are not necessarily bound
to an 8 to 5 schedule unless that is the norm in the laboratory. The
program expects students to devote full effort to their MURF projects and
strongly discourages students from holding outside jobs, taking classes,
etc. As with any opportunity, students will get out their MURF experience
what they put into it.
MURF is an educational program. Projects should be developed to allow
the student to take intellectual ownership. The benchmark of a good MURF project
is the potential for publication in the refereed literature.
MURF students are not graduate students. Some MURFers are as capable
as grad students, all have the potential for graduate work, but most have not
yet developed the skills or abilities. Mentors should seek students who have
the initiative, drive, and enthusiasm to tackle the project and who can rise
to the challenge offered. Mentors must expect to work closely with their students
until the students can function more independently.
Mentors must accommodate to the student’s level
of knowledge, skill, and ability. Mentors/co-mentors should assess
the student’s level
of preparation and ability. If the mentor assumes that the student has greater
knowledge or experience, he/she may not provide sufficient support. Students
often become overwhelmed when they do not receive the support they need,
and they are reluctant to ask for assistance. Progress on the project may
become slow, and students may become discouraged. Mentors should take steps
to build a student’s self confidence, encourage them to ask for the
help they need, and invite them into the research community.
On the other hand, if mentors/co-mentors expect too little of a student, the
student has no challenge and may become bored or disillusioned with the project.
Mentors and co-mentors need to find ways to stimulate and interest the student.
Mentoring takes time. Mentors and co-mentors must communicate clearly
with the student. They should clearly articulate the expectations for the outcomes
of the project. Time budgets should include the time to teach techniques and
methods. It takes time for students to learn their way around the laboratory,
meet their summer colleagues, and become familiar with the life of the lab.
Investment of time at the beginning of the project will usually pay off as
the summer progresses.
Many new mentors and co-mentors have commented that they were surprised by
how much time it takes to mentor an undergraduate student, especially in the
first two or three weeks of the MURF period. Co-mentors have advised their
colleagues to plan not to work on their own projects initially and to devote
full time to training the MURF student in the skills and techniques he/she
will use through the summer. The early time investment pays off later when
the MURF students become more independent more quickly.
MURF enrichment activities. The MURF program provides
many activities throughout the summer to enhance and balance the students’ research endeavors.
These include weekly research seminars, professional development workshops,
social and cultural events, and some field trips. Participation in these activities
is completely voluntary! Students are encouraged, but not required, to attend.
However, students gain breadth and perspective to their research experience
through participation in these special activities. Students, mentors, and co-mentors
should agree on the hours the student will work and whether leaving at a particular
time to attend MURF activities will impact the student’s work or the
work of others.
Letters of recommendation. One of a mentor’s/co-mentor’s
most important jobs is writing letters of recommendation for their students.
Graduate and professional schools and future employers depend upon the accurate
description of a student’s skills—laboratory, communication, teamwork.
The mentor’s opinions and comments will be very important to the student’s
future.
Mentors interact with the whole student. Students come to their research
projects with all their other experiences and relationships. If a student is
not performing well, seems disengaged from the project, or appears to have other
things on his/her mind, the mentor may inquire whether things are going OK. Some
students will respond to the invitation to talk, others will not. If a mentor
is concerned, he/she should contact the Student-Faculty Programs Office or the
Counseling Center at Caltech (626.395.8331).
