Learning to mentor AND get the mentoring you need

Semester: Spring

Year offered: 2025

Registration & Deadline

Course description

The goal of this nanocourse is to introduce early-career scientists to skills for mentoring and mentoring up (getting the mentorship you need). You will develop skills for engaging in productive, culturally responsive, research mentoring relationships -- relationships that optimize the success of both mentors and mentees. The content will be relevant to participants’ current mentoring roles (e.g. mentoring undergrads, research assistants/post-baccalaureate trainees, or grad students) as well as future mentoring or management roles.

Participants will practice mentoring and mentoring up skills through case scenarios and facilitated discussions to solve mentoring dilemmas and share successful mentorship strategies. Participants will also practice using concrete tools to foster productive mentor-mentee relationships. The nanocourse will use materials from the evidence-based Entering Mentoring and Mentoring Up curricula designed by the Center for Improving Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Course objectives

Participants in this nanocourse will be able to:

Describe the key competencies of effective mentorship
Describe the key competencies of “mentoring up”
Communicate and provide constructive feedback effectively across diverse dimensions including communication style, background, and position of power
Assess their mentee’s understanding of core concepts and processes and apply multiple strategies to enhance mentee understanding
Describe and apply tools for aligning expectations with their own mentors or mentees
Define what “independence” means for mentees at various stages and discuss how to foster mentees’ independence
Define self-efficacy and apply strategies to increase mentees’ self-efficacy
Discuss the impact that individual, systemic, and cultural biases, prejudices, and norms have on trainees and practice discussing equity and inclusion with mentees
Identify steps to fostering wellbeing and practice having conversations with mentees about their wellbeing and mental health.

Session dates, times, and location

Monday, February 24

Time 9 AM – 5 PM

Room location Countway Room 403

Milestone credit

If you want to receive Milestone credit, students must attend the entire nanocourse session and submit the final assignment.

Final assignment: Students will complete a mentor-mentee expectations document with either a mentee or a mentor. They will then write a one-page reflection about the content and process of discussing the expectations document. This reflection will be submitted as the final assignment. A template for the expectations document and guidelines for the reflection will be provided during the nanocourse.

More information about Milestone Credit can be found here.

Course Team

Dr. Deepali Ravel

Director of Education, Harvard Graduate Program in Bacteriology and Infectious Diseases Consortium, deepali_ravel@hms.harvard.edu

Dr. Taralyn Tan

Assistant Dean for Educational Innovation and Scholarship

taralyn_tan@hms.harvard.edu

Enrollment limit

This nanocourse will be capped at 25 participants and is open to all Harvard-affiliated students, postdocs, and other early career scientists. Priority will be given to people who are currently mentoring a trainee or anticipate serving as a mentor in the next year, however others are welcome to sign up.