Research Report Plan
Research Report Plan
Name:___________________________Student Number:____________________Class:__________
Scenario:___________________________________________________________________________
| Plan submitted on | |||
| Completed (Yes/No) | |||
| Teacher’s initials |
Resources
1. Poor, C. and Brown, S., 2013. Increasing retention of women in engineering at WSU: A model for a women’s mentoring program. College Student Journal, 47(3), pp.421-428.
2. Lin, Y.N., 2014. Perspectives on peer-mentoring from Taiwanese science and engineering master’s students. Education, 135(1), pp.79-92.
3. Holland, J.M., Major, D.A. and Orvis, K.A., 2012. Understanding how peer mentoring and capitalization link STEM students to their majors. The Career Development Quarterly, 60(4), pp.343-354.
Complete the following using brief notes & key words. Please ensure these notes can be understood by your teachers.
Introduction
- Background information & outline of the problem/situation
Introduction of a mentorship program for the masters engineering students is aimed at supporting the students as they seek to clarity in their future careers, personal and academic plans. There are various mentorship program types that would be implemented but most of them face challenges in terms of sustainability since they mostly adopt a big brother/sister framework, whereby, knowledge is transferred from experienced students to the mentees. The proposed peer-to-peer mentorship program will help resolve such issues by creating a two-way double mentorship program that is fulfilling for both the mentors and mentees.
- The aim of this report is …
The report will address the common challenges of mentorship programs from the perspectives of mentors and mentees. At the same time, the report seeks to define the structure of a working mentorship program in efforts to increase retention levels in number of engineering students enrolling especially, female students.
Findings
| Main Point 1 The perspectives of masters engineering students on mentorship programs (both mentors and mentees) | Supporting info/data/reference used Lin, Y.N., 2014. Perspectives on peer-mentoring from Taiwanese science and engineering master’s students. Education, 135(1), pp.79-92. |
| Main Point 2 Evaluating the various designs of mentor programs and how peer mentoring connects to engineering field (STEM) | Supporting info/data/reference used Holland, J.M., Major, D.A. and Orvis, K.A., 2012. Understanding how peer mentoring and capitalization link STEM students to their majors. The Career Development Quarterly, 60(4), pp.343-354. |
| Main Point 3 Using mentorship programs as a tool to improve retention rates among engineering students in masters programs. | Supporting info/data/reference used Poor, C. and Brown, S., 2013. Increasing retention of women in engineering at WSU: A model for a women’s mentoring program. College Student Journal, 47(3), pp.421-428. |
Ideas for Conclusion (drawn ONLY from Findings)
Most of the previously designed mentor programs faced challenges as they were not satisfying for both the mentor and mentee especially if a single party felt it was not engaging or beneficial for them. Mentorship programs should be designed to help provide guidance to mentees while also ensuring the mentors grow from the experience in terms of experiences, skills and networking opportunities.
Ideas for Recommendations (drawn ONLY from Conclusion & Findings)
The mentorship programs should be specifically designed to meet the requirements of the specific students and their respective academic qualification levels. A better designed mentorship program should aim at improving student retention rates through creating strong career connection with their areas of study to create connection between the mentorship program and the student outcomes. This can be solely achieved by taking into consideration the needs and expectations of students, both the mentors and mentees.
