Mentorship
I approach mentoring partnerships with the underlying belief that a mentor, above all else, is a facilitator, providing inclusive opportunities for students to explore something new by either communicating about or providing students with openings to independently investigate research questions that interest them. I encourage personally driven learning in a supportive and inclusive environment through collaboration, experiential learning, and self-assessment. I often rely on tiered mentorship in laboratory settings and strive to work with people from a wide variety of backgrounds to enrich learning opportunities for myself and my students. To achieve this, good communication is absolutely essential. Using effective, clear, and thoughtful communication is a critical component of ensuring that the goals of both mentor and mentee are achieving personal and professional goals. Ensuring that clear communication happens takes continued attentiveness to update and respond to the needs of the mentor and mentee.
One method that has become a core part of establishing my mentoring relationships is use of contracts (web-workshop “What matters in mentoring” (four 2-hr sessions) offered through the Center for the Improvement of Mentoring Experiences in Research (CIMER) at Univ. Wisconsin-Madison). When I start a new mentoring relationship, we discuss and fill out the contract together and then revisit it yearly to update the contract stipulations as needed. I have used the contracts to communicate and establish baseline expectations for myself and for the student. Some of the aspects stipulated include the type of feedback students prefer and frequency of meetings. In this way, I set the stage for the development of a collaborative relationship that values individual and shared research goals and vision of success while establishing a framework for reaffirming or revising our progress and set the timing and frequency of feedback. I believe this personalizes and customizes feedback that will best benefit this type of working and mentoring relationship.
One method that has become a core part of establishing my mentoring relationships is use of contracts (web-workshop “What matters in mentoring” (four 2-hr sessions) offered through the Center for the Improvement of Mentoring Experiences in Research (CIMER) at Univ. Wisconsin-Madison). When I start a new mentoring relationship, we discuss and fill out the contract together and then revisit it yearly to update the contract stipulations as needed. I have used the contracts to communicate and establish baseline expectations for myself and for the student. Some of the aspects stipulated include the type of feedback students prefer and frequency of meetings. In this way, I set the stage for the development of a collaborative relationship that values individual and shared research goals and vision of success while establishing a framework for reaffirming or revising our progress and set the timing and frequency of feedback. I believe this personalizes and customizes feedback that will best benefit this type of working and mentoring relationship.
| schram_mentoringphilosophy.pdf |
Previous mentee responsibilities and feedback:
Nic Aguiluz - Summer, Fall 2016
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Project – Sea urchin subsidies: Intertidal copepod growth potential
My primary responsibilities: - Assisted in design and development of independent research project - Provided feedback on written project proposals - Helped student with project troubleshooting Nic's description of his experience: My research project focuses on the implications of the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus as a facilitator of population growth in tide pool suspension feeders. I collect the feces of these urchins to feed to populations of Tigriopus californicus in comparison to algae based diets in order to assess growth of populations based on diet. Julie has been a massive help in all areas of my project. From design to troubleshooting and even animal care, Julie has proved herself as an invaluable resource to my first independent laboratory experiment. She is always approachable and willing to work with me and other lab members to ensure the success of our projects. I look forward to continuing my work with her and plan to remain in contact as colleagues throughout my career. |
Connor Stein - Spring, Summer, Fall 2015
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Project – Snail Dentistry: Antarctic snail and limpet radula analysis as part of climate change experimental analysis
My primary responsibilities: - Introduced basic image analysis techniques and principles - Provided relevant background information - Advised in use microscopes for sample analysis |
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Casey Philips - Spring 2013
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Project – Antarctic snail and limpet shell analysis of morphometrics as part of climate change experimental growth analysis – a laboratory project
My primary responsibilities: - Introduced basic image analysis techniques and principles - Provided relevant background information - Advised in productive scientific writing practices Casey's description of his experience: "In Julie Schram's lab I worked on examining differences in gastropod shell development in response to varying pCO2 treatments that simulated different levels of ocean acidification. Julie acted as my mentor for the lab and helped me to understand how to use the image analysis program we utilized and what exactly we were trying to accomplish there. She was always willing and able to answer any questions I might have about the lab work or any other topics. I enjoyed coming in every day because I knew I had pleasant and helpful lab mates to help me deal with any issues that might arise." |
