Recent scholarship emphasizes the essential role of mentoring to support student engagement in undergraduate research (UR) and global learning and highlights the potential of blending these high-impact practices (HIPs) for enhanced learning and relationship-building (Allocco et al. 2022; Whitehead et al. 2024). In a new AAC&U publication on Mentored Undergraduate Research in Global Contexts (MUR-GC), Dawn Michele Whitehead, Susan Buck Sutton, Mary F. Price, Kate Patch, Kris Acheson, and I explore the interrelationships between UR, global learning, and mentoring. MUR-GC encompasses UR (inclusive of scholarship and creative activity) conducted abroad, as well as projects involving intercultural, indigenous, and descendant communities within a student’s home community/country. Our work underscores the importance of bringing various stakeholders (e.g., faculty and staff, community partners, and education abroad professionals, among others) together to create inclusive learning environments that amplify the benefits of MUR-GC for students, mentors, and communities (Whitehead et al. 2024).

Mentoring is challenging work well beyond sharing a cup of coffee (though we really do like coffee meetings!), characterized by reciprocity, mutuality, and evolution over time (Vandermaas-Peeler et al. 2022; Vandermaas-Peeler and Moore 2022). Erck (2024) recently synthesized the essence of successful mentoring relationships, encouraging mentors to 1) go deep, pushing beyond surface-level conversations; 2) be vulnerable and take time, equalizing status in the relationship (as explored by Thurman 2024); and 3) understand that you may be part of a constellation of relationships, not all of which are mentoring (Peeples et al. 2024).

Although mentoring is often conceptualized as a relationship between a faculty/expert and a student/learner, there are multiple frameworks, including the constellation model, that move away from hierarchical structures and towards holistic approaches (Higgins and Thomas 2001; Thurman and Vandermaas-Peeler 2023; Walkington et al. 2022). The constellation model captures the complex realities of developmental relationships by acknowledging that learners are often supported by multiple individuals offering different functions or types of assistance, as evidenced by a growing body of scholarship in higher education (Cruz et al. 2022; Cruz et al. 2023; Felten and Lambert 2020; Vandermaas-Peeler and Moore 2023; Vandermaas-Peeler et al. 2023).

In a 2020-22 institutional self-study on “Mentoring for Learner Success,” we interviewed over 100 students, faculty, and staff to determine how they define mentoring and if and how constellation models are enacted in practice on our campus. When asked to describe what mentoring entails, students’ and faculty and staff mentors’ responses are typically inclusive of these components: guiding while also encouraging autonomy and agency; offering insight, expertise, and advice; and providing feedback. Relational elements of mentoring are seen as critical, including mutual respect and effective communication. The majority of students in our study agreed that they do have constellations inclusive of mentoring and meaningful relationships. The following quote from a student illustrates the widespread appeal of a constellation model in support of many facets of emerging identities. After describing an academic mentor, a religious and spiritual mentor, and a cultural and linguistic mentor “to talk about my Latinx identity or when I want to express myself in Spanish,” the student noted:

We’re all just such multifaceted … beings that expecting one person to be the end-all-be-all for you  … it’s just unrealistic. And … if you find yourself having just like one mentor then you would miss out, I think on so much that you could get with having this whole constellation.

How can high-quality mentoring in a constellation model support students during global learning experiences? One benefit of the mentoring constellation model for MUR-GC is that it encompasses peers, faculty, staff, and community members, in addition to a primary research mentor. In the case of study away (inclusive of domestic and international programs), students are living and studying in an environment with social and cultural norms that may differ significantly from their experiences and expectations. The mentoring relationships offer opportunities for mentoring beyond the research projects themselves to include personal and cultural support for navigating daily interactions in the host community. In two forthcoming blogs, we explore the potential of a mentoring constellation model for study abroad from the perspectives of students and mentors.

References

Allocco, Amy L., Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Eric Hall, Caroline Ketcham, Mussa Idris, Jennifer A. Hamel, and David J. Marshall. 2022. “Undergraduate research in the global context: Models and practices for high-quality mentoring.” Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning 30, no. 1: 106-123.

Cruz, Laura, Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Amy L. Allocco, and Kate Patch. 2022. “Mentoring Undergraduate Research in Global Contexts: Insights from a National Study.” Journal on Excellence in College Teaching 33, no. 4: 21–36.

Cruz, Laura, Maureen Vandermaas‐Peeler, Eric E. Hall, Amy L. Allocco, Kate Patch, Jennifer Hamel, and Jacqueline McLaughlin. 2023. “Mentoring undergraduate research in global contexts (MUR‐GC): An integrated model.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning 2023, no. 175: 29-39.

Erck, Ryan W. 2024. “Mentoring Relationships That Go ‘Beneath the Surface.’” Center for Engaged Learning (blog), Elon University. January 16, 2024. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/mentoring-relationships-that-go-beneath-the-surface.

Felten, Peter, and Leo M. Lambert. 2020. Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Higgins, Monica C., and David A. Thomas. 2001. “Constellations and Careers: Toward Understanding the Effects of Multiple Developmental Relationships.” Journal of Organizational Behavior 22, no. 3: 223–47.

Peeples, Tim, Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, and Jessie L. Moore. 2024. “Defining Mentoring and/as Mentoring Relationships.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog), Elon University. June 18, 2024. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/defining-mentoring-and-as-mentoring-relationships/.

Thurman, Sabrina. 2024. “Cultivating Vulnerability in Mentoring Relationships.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog), Elon University. April 30, 2024. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/cultivating-vulnerability-in-mentoring-relationships/

Thurman, Sabrina L., and Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler. “Adaptive Undergraduate Research Mentoring in a Constellation Model.” PURM: Perspectives on Undergraduate Research & Mentoring 11, no. 1 (2023). https://eloncdn.blob.core.windows.net/eu3/sites/923/2023/03/T2201.pdf.

Vandermaas-Peeler, Maureen, Cynthia Fair, and Caroline Ketcham. 2022. “Mentoring for Learner Success: Mentoring is not (just) having a cup of coffee, part 1.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog), Elon University, August 8, 2022. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/mentoring-for-learner-success-mentoring-is-not-just-having-a-cup-of-coffee-part-1/

Vandermaas-Peeler, Maureen, Jessie L. Moore, and Amy Allocco. 2023. “A Constellation Model for Mentoring Undergraduates during COVID-19.” Teaching & Learning Inquiry 11. https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/TLI/article/view/75405/56577

Vandermaas-Peeler, Maureen, and Jessie L. Moore. 2022. “Mentoring for Learner Success: Defining Mentoring Relationships.” Center for Engaged Learning (blog), Elon University. April 6, 2022. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/mentoring-for-learner-success-defining-mentoring-relationships.

Vandermaas-Peeler, Maureen, and Jessie L. Moore. 2023. “Exploring Mentors’ Perceptions of the Benefits and Challenges of Mentoring in a Constellation Model.” International Journal for Academic Development, DOI: 10.1080/1360144X.2023.2279306

Walkington, Helen, Eric E. Hall, and Caroline J. Ketcham. 2022. “Mentoring in Undergraduate Research: The Teacher’s Role.” Essay. In The Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate Research, edited by Harald A. Mieg et al., 133–48. Cambridge University Press.

Whitehead, Dawn M., Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Susan B. Sutton, Mary F. Price, Kate Patch and Kris Acheson. 2024. Mentored Undergraduate Research in Global Contexts. Integrating High-impact Practices for Student Success. American Association of Colleges and Universities. https://www.aacu.org/publication/mentored-undergraduate-research-in-global-contexts-integrated-high-impact-practices-for-student-success

About the Authors

Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler is a Professor of Psychology and founding Director of Elon’s Center for Research on Global Engagement at Elon University.

Jessie L. Moore is Director of the Center for Engaged Learning and Professor of English: Professional Writing & Rhetoric at Elon University.

Tim Peeples is currently Senior Associate Provost Emeritus, and Professor of Humanities at Elon University. He also holds the position of Senior Scholar in the Center for Engaged Learning.

Learn more about the authors and the Mentoring Matters project.

How to Cite this Post

Vandermaas-Peeler, Maureen, Jessie L. Moore, and Tim Peeples. 2024, September 17. “Mentoring Constellations in Global Contexts.” In Mentoring Matters: Supporting Students’ Development of Mentoring Constellations in Higher Education. Elon University Center for Engaged Learning. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/mentoring-constellations-in-global-contexts/.