We are approaching the time of year many mentors begin thinking about onboarding new undergraduate (and graduate) student mentees in their research programs. This exciting time marks the beginning of what will hopefully become a meaningful and productive relationship (if…

Making College “Worth It” – Season 2, Episode 1 Dawn Whitehead and Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, two of the co-editors of Mentored Undergraduate Research in Global Contexts: Integrated High-Impact Practices for Student Success, join our podcast to talk about the intersection of…

As I come to the close of my work as the Faculty Fellow for Internships in Elon’s College of Arts and Sciences, I am transitioning into a role in our Undergraduate Research Program. In part due to fortuitous timing in…

Recently, I co-facilitated an undergraduate workshop about intentionally building connections with supportive faculty, staff, and peer mentors. In alignment with principles from relational mentoring, we collectively acknowledged that embracing some personal vulnerability was crucial for building meaningful interpersonal connections (Johnson…

Since 2019, I’ve been working with my colleague Paul Miller to create an institutional toolkit for fostering both students’ self-reflection and their mentoring conversations with peers, staff, and faculty in order to deepen students’ educational experiences. Our institution, Elon University,…

Many universities offer countless student success resources and academic opportunities, but they may not be well-known to students. Certainly, efforts to raise student awareness and involvement in academic offerings exist, but research shows most universities do not advertise academic opportunities…

Making College “Worth It” – Season 1, Episode 6 In this episode, we visit with Helen Walkington, Professor of Higher Education at Oxford Brookes University, UK, and Eric Hall, professor of exercise science at Elon University, about the salient practices…

60-Second SoTL – Episode 45 This week’s episode shares an open-access article from New Directions in Teaching and Learning and examines how U.S.-based colleges and universities support mentoring of undergraduate research in global contexts: Cruz, Laura, Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Eric E. Hall, Amy L….

I grew up on a mountainside in rural Appalachia and spent nearly every day of my childhood playing outside. Being from a low-income family and surrounded by the natural world, I entertained myself by exploring plants, animals, soil, water, and…

60-Second SoTL – Episode 14 This week’s episode features an article from the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching and explores how faculty and staff support learning and development when they mentor undergraduate research in global contexts: Cruz, Laura, Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Amy L….