Posts

How to “Do” Critical Mentoring: Making your Program More Culturally Relevant

by Torie Weiston, Ph.D. Weighty events taking place all over our nation have prompted the mentoring world to begin looking closely at how to make our work more relevant for communities of color. Many are looking for ways to address gaps in mentoring practice. Many realize that existing practice often lacks the critical foundation required […]

Lessons learned from a cultural humility training program for adult mentors.

Anderson, A. J., Riordan, A., Smith, L., Hillard, B., & Sánchez, B. (2022). Cultural humility training for mentors: Lessons learned and implications for youth programs. Journal of Youth Development, 17(3), 21–38. https://doi.org/10.5195/jyd.2022.1186 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Research-to-practice partnerships (RPP) are a way for researchers and mentoring practitioners to approach problems within the youth […]

[Webinar] Urban Institute – Youth Apprenticeship Mentor Training Session 2

Date: Mar 31, 2022 01:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada) Please join Urban on Thursday, March 31st, at 1 PM EST for its second interactive Mentor Training session geared toward equipping mentors of youth apprentices with knowledge and best practices drawn from research. In addition to hearing from experts about best practices, the […]

New study shows that pandemic and online mentoring lowered mentors’ expectations

Mader, M., Stoeger, H., Veas, A., & Ziegler, A. (2021). How Mentors Think About the Attainability of Mentoring Goals: The Impact of Mentoring Type and Mentoring Context on the Anticipated Regulatory Network and Regulatory Resources of Potential Mentors for School Mentoring Programs. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 4842.  https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.737014 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest: Because mentors’ expectations […]

New study highlights the five mentoring competencies (5MCs) in mentor training

Spiekermann, L., Lawrence, E., Lyons, M., & Deutsch, N. (2021). A qualitative analysis of the utility of a competency framework for mentor training. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2021.1986793 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest: Despite the prevalence of formal mentoring programs, many mentors have trouble establishing and maintaining close and long-lasting relationships with their […]

How does social justice and race equity training impact volunteer mentors’ cognitive and affective outcomes?

Anderson, A. J. & Sánchez, B. (2021). A Pilot Evaluation of a Social Justice and Race Equity Training for Volunteer Mentors. American Journal of Community Psychology. Summarized by Ariel Ervin https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12541 Notes of Interest:  Although race, ethnicity, and culture are important subjects for mentors to get trained on, the literature on this subject is limited. This […]

Ways mentor training and program support can predict premature mentorship terminations

McQuillin, S. D., & Lyons, M. D. (2021). A National Study of Mentoring Program Characteristics and Premature Match Closure: The Role of Program Training and Ongoing Support. Prevention Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01200-9 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Although mentoring is a common and effective way to advocate for positive youth development, mentorships that end prematurely can be […]

How mentor training can lead to more effective STEM mentoring relationships

Summarized by Ariel Ervin Stelter, R. L., Kupersmidt, J. B., & Stump, K. N. (2020). Establishing effective STEM mentoring relationships through mentor training. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14470 Notes of Interest:  Although many mentors in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) mentoring programs are well-informed about the subject of STEM, […]

Five strategies for making stronger connections, backed by research

by Jean Rhodes Care for some direct, research-based ideas for connecting with others?  I’d recommend a book that distills the essential findings of many studies.  Friend and Foe, by Business Professors Adam Galinsky and Maurice Schweitzer or Columbia and University of Pennsylvania, respectively. Compiled by Eric Barker, the authors provide evidence-based strategies for handling the everyday relationship tensions and difficulties. Some […]

Mentoring outside city limits: New Rural Mentoring Toolkit produced by MANY

There is one universal truth for all youth, anywhere—and that is that any young person can benefit from a mentoring relationship. Whether your community is urban, ex-urban, suburban, or rural, the youth in your schools and neighborhoods could use a strong, positive role model. Likewise, each type of community comes with its own strengths and […]