ERIC Number: EJ1437915
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Aug
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1935-7877
EISSN: EISSN-1935-7885
A Tool for Clarifying Expectations in Undergraduate Research Experiences
Karen Leung; Laurence Clement; James Lewis; Naledi Saul
Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, v25 n2 2024
Articulating clear and achievable expectations is fundamental to both education and organizational management. In this article, we provide a simple intervention for clarifying expectations--and establishing that these expectations have been understood--which proved beneficial both to community college interns and to their internship mentors in biotech-related undergraduate research experiences. Internship mentors were asked to utilize a simple Expectation Clarity Tool to outline the expectations, success metrics, baseline assessments, and training strategy and support that would be foundational to their intern's project. These included expectations around conceptual, technical, performance, and professional skills and behaviors. Concurrently, but independently, community college interns were asked to complete the same type of exercise as a way of identifying gaps in their knowledge and understanding of their mentor's expectations and their internship project. The mentor's completed Expectation Clarity Tool was then shared with their intern. As a result of completing this relatively simple intervention, the majority of mentors reported that it increased their confidence as a mentor, taught them a new mentoring skill, changed how they will mentor trainees moving forward, and positively impacted their relationship with their trainee. On the intern side, the majority of interns reported that engaging in this intervention, both as an independent exercise and in obtaining their mentor's completed Expectation Clarity Tool, increased their confidence as an intern and positively impacted the success of their internship.
Descriptors: Undergraduate Study, Student Projects, Expectation, Community College Students, Internship Programs, Biotechnology, Mentors, Science Education, College Science, Technical Education, Concept Formation, Performance, Professionalism, Behavior Development, Self Esteem, Skill Development, Interpersonal Relationship, Work Experience Programs
American Society for Microbiology. 1752 N Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-737-3600; e-mail: journals@asmusa.org; Web site: https://journals.asm.org/journal/jmbe
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California (San Francisco)
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1801186; 1800998; 2055735; 2055309