Editors’ notes (2023)

A critical component of higher education for students is strong mentoring relationships and examples of positive role modeling. Considered a relational process, effective mentoring requires that faculty and students develop mutual expectations of the relationship for it to be meaningful (Evans & Forbes, 2012). Due to the dynamic nature of higher education, these relationships may vary across programs, across institutions, and across the nation. This special issue will examine the role of mentoring within higher education today as well as share new and innovative strategies that are being used to support learners to be academically and professionally successful. In the first article, Addy et al. explore the role of inclusive mentorship. Inclusive mentorship embraces the diversity and various lived experiences of mentees to support their personal and professional development through a culturally responsive approach. In the article, “Supporting Mentees Through Inclusive Mentorship”, the authors describe the major principles of inclusive mentorship and how it can be supported. They propose an asset-based approach, focusing on the strengths of the mentee rather than deficits, and list key questions for mentors to reflect upon when applying this approach. The authors also describe three mentoring structures that support inclusive mentorship: (1) dyads, (2) triads or clusters, and (3) constellation approaches. Case examples are provided that demonstrate best practices in inclusive mentorship by showcasing how three of the authors incorporate it into their respective approaches to mentoring at different education levels. Institutional values and messages can support a relationship-rich culture around mentoring. In their article, “Igniting Mentoring Relationships with the FIRE2 Toolkit”, Moore and Miller describe the approach at their home institution, which includes a formal program requiring all students to complete at least one of the following experiences: global engagement, internships, leadership, service learning, and undergraduate research. The authors describe the institutional resources dedicated to ensuring quality faculty mentoring of these experiences, including faculty development initiatives. To further deepen the students’ experiences, the FIRE2 Toolkit was developed. The authors describe how this toolkit was integrated into both curricular and co-curricular spaces and share lessons learned from the implementation of this initiative. In the article “Mentoring Undergraduate Research in Global Contexts (MUR-GC): An Integrated Model”, Cruz et al. share their study findings from a nation-wide survey examining how higher education within the United States supports mentoring practices within undergraduate research in global contexts. A result of the United Nations General Assembly's challenge to higher education to act as a driver to prepare students with the skills and dispositions needed to handle complex global challenges, this study examines current mentoring practices as they relate to global education, specifically exploring mentoring relationships within undergraduate research. The findings of this study suggests that new mentoring approaches have emerged, transitioning away from conventional mentoring models to create new mentoring modalities designed to foster and support a generation of researchers prepared to solve complex global issues. Digital mentoring is an important and underutilized mechanism for mentors and mentees to connect in online, digital, or blended formats. Digital mentoring has been used across both synchronous and asynchronous learning contexts and increasingly over social media. The article “Trends in Digital Mentoring for Language Teachers: Promising Practices, Caveats, and Future Directions” by Semingson and Smith draws upon scaffolds of connectivism, networked knowledge, and a constructivist approach to learning. Mentoring in a digital era draws on frameworks that suggest that mentors and mentees are part of connected communities, especially digitally connected communities. Self-determination Theory (SDT) is a psychological theory that describes how motivation, learning, and well-being among students are promoted when they feel supported. Jackson and Stevens describe how this theory can be used as a framework for faculty student mentoring in classroom contexts, not only to support aspects of self-determination, but to encourage program persistence and attrition. Their article “Mentoring in the Classroom: Applying Self-Determination Theory to Extend Faculty Teaching Beyond the Content” explores how educators can incorporate elements of SDT into the classroom as a mechanism to mentor students while assisting them with internalizing professional values. In the article “Designing a Collaborative Faculty-Student Mentoring Model in a Large, Complex Science Curriculum Development Team Project”, Lukes et al. present a case study exploring how student mentoring relationships were supported and managed within a larger research project initiative. The authors employed multimodal strategies to support faculty and students to foster and promote connections through open dialogue and to enhance communications across research teams. In this article, the authors explore these strategies and lessons learned and share recommendations for others to consider when developing mentoring models within their own institutions. One strategy for effective mentorship is to structure it using a layered approach, meaning faculty mentor junior colleagues/course assistants, who then mentor undergraduate students. Mojab et al. in their article “Mentorship and Leadership for Doctor of Pharmacy Students in an International Undergraduate Program” describe this approach in the context of developing leadership qualities of course assistants who both receive mentorship as well as provide it to others. Mentees gained leadership experience by preparing content and guiding learning in an international summer program. Post-survey results concluded that mentorship of course assistants by faculty within a course facilitated development of leadership and communication skills of mentees. Related to cultural responsiveness and inclusive mentorship, Kelley, Watson, and Bindamnan apply the theory of community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) to inform mentoring practices in their article, “More than Meets the Eye: Community of Cultural Wealth as a Theory for Mentoring International Students”. The authors explain that international students experience language barriers, distance from their home culture, a lack of a sense of belonging, and social isolation. Community cultural wealth provides a way to improve mentoring practices for students dealing with these challenges. It pushes against deficit thinking, ascribing to an asset-based perspective and recognizing the unique strengths that each individual international student brings to the institution. The authors provide recommendations for mentoring practices that recognize assets that an international student brings to the mentor-mentee relationship. They highlight three forms of capital that can enhance the mentoring experience, aspirational, familial, and linguistic capital, and provide recommendations for mentors to utilize to fulfill the networking, instrumental, and psychosocial functions of a mentor. Hays and Amos, in their article “Nurturing Research Habits Through Modeling of Faculty Research: A Method of Student Mentorship”, describe an institutional mentoring approach they utilize that is rooted in role modeling/mentor behavior. In this case, the behavior focuses on conducting research, using the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) as an example. The authors describe an approach that encourages mentees to adopt an identity as a researcher by having them work alongside the mentor in conducting a research project. The authors apply Transformative Learning Theory (Mezirow, 1991) as a framework for professional identity development and outline 10 phases of transformative learning. They link these phases to key areas of role modeling as mentorship, then provide examples of how this might work in the context of a SoTL research project. Effective mentoring is developed and supported through formal training. Johnson, Arocho, and Tolman describe in their article, “Mentoring by Design: Examples of Effective Faculty Development Programs”, the development and implementation of a mentoring program that helps faculty and staff learn best practices for effective mentoring of undergraduate students in scholarly work. Programs at this institution promote meaningful practices specifically aimed at including diverse and underrepresented student populations in research experiences to support long-term student achievement. Channing R. Ford is Dean of the Graduate School at Jacksonville State University. Dr. Ford has over 15 years of experience in developing, implementing, and assessing health professions learning experiences. Her expertise extends to teaching and learning best practices, with her doctoral dissertation exploring the teaching and learning expectations of pharmacy faculty and students. Dr. Ford has authored multiple articles focused on curriculum development, implementation, and student-level outcomes and served as co-editor on multiple special issues of New Directions for Teaching and Learning focusing on health professions education and professional identity formation. Kimberly B. Garza is Associate Professor and Graduate Programs Officer for the Department of Health Outcomes Research and Policy in the Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy. Dr. Garza has more than a decade of experience in health professions and graduate education and over 11 years of experience in clinical pharmacy practice. She also serves as a Faculty Fellow of Auburn University's Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. Lindsey E. Moseley is Curricular Coordinator for the first professional year (P1) of the PharmD curriculum at the Auburn University Harrison College of Pharmacy. In this role, she oversees the implementation of the curriculum related to all first-year courses. She also serves a dual purpose in supporting faculty in aspects of their teaching, as well as first-year students in aspects of their formal learning experiences. Dr. Moseley has worked with several groups and published several articles on professional identity formation in health professions’ students.