Approach to Mentoring Graduate Students

mentoring graduate students
When it comes to providing research mentoring to graduate students, I describe my approach as collaborative, developmental, and individualized. What follows is a brief description of what this looks like in application.

My approach is collaborative in that I believe that the research process is most effective when a lab model is utilized. Graduate students receive support around their thesis and dissertation research while also providing support and assistance to others in the lab. Students who are making progress on their thesis/dissertation work often have the opportunity to participate in collaborative team projects.

My mentoring approach is developmental in that I recognize that every graduate student enters the program with a unique background, comfort level, and skill set around research. Some have already had considerable research experience working in a variety of faculty labs; others have not. Thus, it is important that research training goals take students' previous research experiences into account and build on student strengths.

Finally, my approach is individualized around students' career goals. For example, a doctoral student hoping to pursue an academic career will need a different set of experiences than a master's student aiming to pursue licensure as a professional counselor. Thus, an important part of mentoring involves recognizing that each student will have somewhat different needs.

At the Anger and Traffic Psychology Lab, we utilize a lab model where I meet regularly with all students throughout the Fall and Spring academic semesters. These lab meetings allow students to be involved in idea development, strategizing research design, planning statistical analyses, troubleshooting problems, and dissemination. Senior graduate students are expected to take on a peer mentoring role to assist more junior graduate students, and some graduate students (especially those seeking academic careers) will be encouraged to train and mentor undergraduate research assistants.

Student success is a top priority and is critical to lab productivity. I strive to set clear expectations and challenge students to develop their research competencies and critical thinking skills. Similarly, I challenge myself to provide meaningful support and timely feedback. The guiding principle is that we work better when we work together and support one another.