Mentoring at Columbia University is a privilege.
All Columbia graduate students and postdocs belong here and should expect to be supported throughout their time at the University. Mentoring relationships are key to ensuring that they are able to achieve their goals while learning and conducting research at Columbia. Faculty play an important role in welcoming graduate students and postdocs into Columbia’s academic community and ensuring their success over time.
This initiative, hosted by the Office of the Provost in partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning, is intended to provide faculty with the support they need to be effective mentors of graduate students and postdocs. Through invited speakers, workshops, learning communities, consultations services, and on-demand resources, we hope to cultivate effective, efficient and inclusive mentoring practices to support the needs of faculty mentors as they work with their graduate students and postdocs mentees.
New Self-Paced Course: Building Effective Mentoring Relationships
Self-Paced Course: Building Effective Mentoring Relationships
Building Effective Mentoring Relationships is a new self-paced course in CourseWorks that offers a framework to create effective mentoring relationships that are focused on learning. This course, for faculty and research officer mentors of graduate students and postdocs at Columbia, is organized around four modules that should take 90-minutes to complete. The modules draw on the mentoring cycle from Fain and Zachary (The Mentor’s Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships, 2022) and include:
- Module 1: Preparing to Mentor
- Module 2: Co-Constructing a Mentoring Plan
- Module 3: Enabling Growth through Feedback
- Module 4: Reviewing Your Mentoring Relationship
Each module encourages you to reflect on your mentoring practices and plan for conversations with your mentees. Find tips at the end of each module and complete the downloadable worksheet to prepare for discussions with your mentees.
Questions about the course? Contact us at ctlfaculty@columbia.edu.
Upcoming Events
Entering Mentoring: Aligning Expectations
Friday, February 9, 2024
1:15 PM – 2:15 PM
Online
Do you wonder how your colleagues establish shared expectations with their mentees? Do you want strategies for keeping these expectations aligned, especially as they naturally change over time? Join fellow research mentors for a conversation on ways to communicate and reach consensus on expectations in your mentoring relationships, led by CTL facilitators trained by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER).
Having a shared understanding of expectations is critical to establishing effective mentor-mentee relationships. Through facilitated discussions and case studies, we will collectively surface strategies that you can integrate into your mentorship practice to maintain positive and productive mentor-mentee relationships.
In this session, research mentors will explore how to:
- Effectively establish and align mentee and mentor expectations for the mentoring relationship.
- Consider how personal and professional differences may influence expectations, including differences across disciplines when working in multidisciplinary teams.
Entering Mentoring: Maintaining Effective Communication
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Online
Do you want to enhance how you communicate in your mentoring relationships? Do you wonder how your colleagues maintain productive communication with their mentees? Join fellow research mentors for a conversation on ways to maintain effective communication, led by CTL facilitators trained by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER).
Effective communication is a key element of any relationship, and a mentoring relationship is no exception. Through facilitated discussions and case studies, we will collectively identify characteristics of effective communication, discuss how to communicate with mentees from diverse backgrounds, and explore practices for maintaining productive communication in your mentoring relationships.
In this session, research mentors will explore how to:
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Use multiple strategies to communicate effectively
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Engage in constructive conversations with mentees
Entering Mentoring: Assessing Understanding
Thursday, April 4, 2024
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Online
Are you searching for ways to assess how well your mentees are understanding the core concepts and processes of your discipline? Do you want to learn strategies to assess and address any lack of understanding your colleagues have used with mentees that have worked well? Join fellow research mentors for a conversation on ways to assess your mentee’s understanding of the discipline, especially of core research concepts, led by CTL facilitators trained by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER).
Determining whether our mentees understand the content and processes of our disciplines is not easy, yet doing so is critical for a productive mentoring relationship. Through facilitated discussions and case studies, we will collectively surface multiple strategies that you can use to identify potential causes for when mentees struggle with understanding and how to address them accordingly.
In this session, research mentors will explore how to:
- Assess their mentees’ understanding of core concepts and processes, including possible reasons for a lack of understanding.
- Use multiple strategies to enhance mentee understanding.
Past Events
The Office of the Provost and the Center for Teaching and Learning invited Columbia faculty to events on mentoring of graduate students and postdocs. Read more below and access resources from past events.
Entering Mentoring: Fostering Independence (for faculty and research officers in Science and Engineering)
Friday, November 10, 2023, 1:15 PM – 2:15 PM, Zoom
Are you searching for effective ways to foster independence in your research mentees? Are you trying to determine what an independent graduate student or postdoctoral mentee should know and can do at different stages of their academic careers? Join fellow research mentors for a conversation on what independence is or should be in research in Science and Engineering, led by CTL facilitators trained by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Research Experiences (CIMER).
An important goal in any mentoring relationship is helping the mentee become independent, yet clearly articulating what an independent mentee knows and can do and defining a path to independence can be challenging. Through facilitated discussions and a case study, we will collectively surface strategies that you can integrate into your mentorship practice to build mentee confidence, establish trust, and foster their independence.
In this session, research mentors will explore how to:
- Define independence, its core elements, and how those elements change over the course of a mentoring relationship.
- Employ various strategies to build their mentee confidence, establish trust, and foster independence.
Unable to join us for this discussion on mentoring? Schedule a consultation to discuss your mentoring question.
Making the Most of Mentorship (for Postdocs & Graduate Students)
Thursday, November 2, 2023, 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM, 212 Butler Library
Are you wondering how to get the most out of your mentoring relationship? Mentorship, both formal and informal, is an integral part of personal and professional development. While each mentor-mentee relationship is unique, some broadly-applicable principles and practices can help to foster trust, growth, and inclusivity in any context.
In this interactive workshop, participants will learn concrete strategies for identifying and addressing common mentorship challenges. An interdisciplinary panel of mentor-mentee pairs will share their tips and tricks for entering mentoring; participants will then move into informal conversation with these “model mentorship” pairs. The session will end by identifying on-campus resources and next steps for taking a mentorship relationship to the next level. Panelists will include Ruben Gonzalez, Professor of Chemistry; Helen Lu, Hudson Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Senior Vice Dean of Faculty Affairs and Advancement; Kristin Myers, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering; and selected mentees accompanying these mentors.
This session will offer pertinent guidance and models for current and future mentees and those planning to take on the role of academic mentor during their careers. Breakfast will be available to registered participants.
Entering Mentoring: Addressing Equity and Inclusion (for faculty and research officers in the Health Sciences)
Thursday, November 2, 2023, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM, Zoom
Are you looking for ways to create a diverse and equitable research group? Join fellow research mentors for a conversation on ways to cultivate an environment of inclusion among your research mentees, led by CTL facilitators trained by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Research Experiences (CIMER).
Research groups composed of people with diverse cultures and experiences tend to be more creative and innovative when every member of the research team feels they can share their unique perspectives. In this session you will examine how you can unlock the benefits of a culturally diverse research group using inclusive practices and examine the ways the policies, expectations, and behaviors in your lab can promote an inclusive culture. Through facilitated discussions and case studies, you will explore strategies you can use to engage in conversations about diversity with mentees and foster a sense of belonging.
In this session research mentors will:
- Examine the potential impact that assumptions, preconceptions, biases, and prejudices bring to the mentor-mentee relationship.
- Explore concrete strategies for recognizing, and addressing issues of equity and inclusion in order to foster a sense of belonging.
Unable to join us for this discussion on mentoring? Schedule a consultation to discuss your mentoring question.
Mentoring Monday Conversations (for faculty)
February 6, March 6, April 10, and May 1, 2023
Join the CTL and colleagues for monthly conversations to discuss your mentorship practices, brainstorm solutions to mentoring challenges, and explore what can be learned by reading excerpts from the book Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring: Lean Forward, Learn, Leverage (Fain and Zachary, 2020)!
Together we will reflect on our experiences with mentoring graduate students and postdocs, what we are taking away from the reading, and how we translate the ideas from the book into our contexts and our mentoring practices. These online conversations will be facilitated by the CTL, will include questions to guide the discussion and invite all participants to share, ask questions, and will form a community around mentorship of graduate students and postdocs at Columbia. Each month will explore a different theme.
- February 6: Assumptions and Expectations
- March 6: Mentoring and Mental Health
- April 10: Addressing Challenging Moments
- May 1: Building Trust and Giving Feedback
Making the Most of Mentorship (for postdocs and graduate students)
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Are you wondering how to get the most out of your mentoring relationship? Mentorship, both formal and informal, is an integral part of personal and professional development. While each mentor-mentee relationship is unique, some broadly-applicable principles and practices can help to foster trust, growth, and inclusivity in any context.
In this interactive workshop, participants will learn concrete strategies for identifying and addressing common mentorship challenges. An interdisciplinary group of mentor-mentee pairs will share their tips and tricks for entering mentoring; participants will then move into informal conversation with these “model mentorship” pairs. The session will end by identifying on-campus resources and next steps for taking a mentorship relationship to the next level. This session will offer pertinent guidance and models for current and future mentees and those planning to take on the role of academic mentor during their careers.
Everything is Fine!: Mentoring to Support Graduate Student Mental Health (for faculty)
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Through a dramatized series of conversations between graduate students and their advisors acted out by the CRLT Players from the University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT), Everything is Fine!: Mentoring to Support Graduate Student Mental Health explores the impact of structural and interpersonal issues on graduate student mentoring. To examine challenges related to mental health, depicted scenarios include candid peer-to-peer discussions of personal and academic challenges as well as more formal advisor-mentee meetings. This piece also takes into account the additional challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to graduate student mentoring. Audiences will engage with the performance by thinking through strategies to improve their relationships with their mentees via facilitated discussion. The session is suitable for faculty.
Keynote: Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring: Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment One Relationship at a Time
Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Most institutions today understand the benefits of having more diverse and inclusive learning environments. Yet, there is work to be done when it comes to mentoring. Delivered and facilitated by Lisa Fain, CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, this session will include an interactive, entertaining and practical keynote, from which you will learn how mentoring can help drive inclusion, why talking about difference in your mentoring relationships is essential, and how to create transformative mentoring relationships that have an impact for mentors and mentees. You will walk away with new insights and tips you can apply to improve your mentoring relationships right away. You will also have the opportunity to discuss these concepts with fellow participants and to identify concrete steps that you will take to make them come to life. There will be time for Q&A so please bring your questions.
To access the recording available on Panopto, please authenticate using your Columbia UNI and password.
Workshop: Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring: Inclusive Mentoring Skills
December 7, 2022
Learn how to create effective mentoring relationships by building trust and encourage safe, open and authentic conversations.
Bridging Differences provides a roadmap for keeping relationships on track and for creating safety and comfort around discussing, learning from, and leveraging difference. As a result, new mentors are more confident because they know what to expect and they have the tools and strategies they needed to guide them. Experienced mentors will gain new insights that allow them to recognize what was missing in past mentoring relationships and better understand why they went off course.
This interactive workshop will equip Columbia University faculty with the skills and knowledge to structure their mentoring relationships, create accountability and achieve measurable learning outcomes through mentoring.
To access the recording available on Panopto, please authenticate using your Columbia UNI and password.
Our Services
Consultations
The Center for Teaching and Learning is available to provide consultations for individual faculty who would like to discuss their mentoring practices, document their mentoring as teaching; and for departments that would like to discuss their mentoring plans to support the learning and growth of their graduate students and postdocs.
Entering Mentoring Workshops To Go (WTG) Series
The Entering Mentoring Workshops To Go (WTG) series is designed for mentors of graduate students and postdocs in research lab contexts. These workshops are based on the Entering Mentoring curriculum developed by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Research Experiences (CIMER), and each workshop is designed around one of CIMER’s evidence-based mentoring principles:
- Aligning Expectations
- Maintaining Effective Communication
- Assessing Understanding
- Fostering Independence
- Addressing Equity and Inclusion
During these workshops, our CIMER-trained facilitators engage faculty and research officers in discussions about key principles in mentoring. These workshops are designed to engage research mentors at any experience level by leveraging their collective experiences with mentoring and exploring mentoring strategies that work well in their disciplinary contexts.
Workshop durations available: 90 minutes (recommended) or 60 minutes. Columbia University department chairs and program directors can request these workshops for research mentors in their departments or schools by emailing CTLfaculty@columbia.edu.
Browse the descriptions below for more information on each of our Entering Mentoring workshops:
Entering Mentoring: Aligning Expectations
Having a shared understanding of expectations is critical to establishing effective mentor-mentee relationships. In this session, research mentors will explore ways to establish mutual expectations with their mentees, and to keep expectations aligned, especially as they naturally change over time. Through facilitated discussions and case studies, research mentors will collectively explore strategies that they can integrate into their mentorship practice to maintain positive and productive mentor-mentee relationships.
Entering Mentoring: Maintaining Effective Communication
Effective communication is a key element of any relationship, and a mentoring relationship is no exception. In this session, research mentors will identify different characteristics of effective communication, and discuss how to communicate with mentees from diverse backgrounds. Through facilitated discussions and case studies, research mentors will explore practices for maintaining productive communication in mentoring relationships.
Entering Mentoring: Assessing Understanding
Determining whether our mentees understand the content and processes of our disciplines is not easy, yet doing so is critical for a productive mentoring relationship. In this session, research mentors will explore ways to assess how well their mentees are understanding core research concepts and processes of their discipline. Through facilitated discussions and case studies, research mentors will collectively explore strategies to identify potential causes for when mentees struggle with understanding and how to address them accordingly.
Entering Mentoring: Fostering Independence
An important goal in any mentoring relationship is helping the mentee become independent, yet clearly articulating what an independent mentee knows and can do and defining a path to independence can be challenging. In this session, research mentors will explore what an independent graduate student or postdoctoral mentee should know and can do at different stages of their academic careers. Through facilitated discussions and a case study, research mentors will collectively surface strategies that they can integrate into their mentorship practice to build mentee confidence, establish trust, and foster their independence.
Entering Mentoring: Addressing Equity and Inclusion
Research groups composed of people with diverse cultures and experiences tend to be more creative and innovative when every member of the research team feels they can share their unique perspectives. In this session, research mentors will examine how they can unlock the benefits of a culturally diverse research group using inclusive practices. Research mentors will examine the ways the policies, expectations, and behaviors in their lab can promote an inclusive culture. Through facilitated discussions and case studies, research mentors will collectively explore strategies that they can use to engage in conversations about diversity with mentees and foster a sense of belonging.
Resources
Explore external resources on mentoring
Watch the webinar: Mentorship: Efficient and Effective Practices (Landry, 2022) from the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity. To access the recording, activate your Columbia sponsored membership.
Listen to The Science of Effective Mentoring in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) podcast series from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (and download the free PDF by the same title). The series highlights evidence-based mentorship practices and features personal mentorship stories of leaders in academia, business, and the media.
Check out the resources compiled on the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) website.