WEEK 4 (Class discussion) Part I

For our class session on Thursday Jan 29th, we discussed about our meetings with your mentees. Every one provided an update of the project.

During the discussion in class, almost everybody shared their concerns about working on the project. Some people mentioned about commitment, time and work done.

Some other people shared their previous experiences working with senior faculty. There were suggestions and insights about what is better to do to resolve issues.

One suggestion was not to use email when it is necessary to go over certain important aspects.It is better to have a conversation face to face to clarify ideas and issues.

Dr. Nadolny pointed out that some faculty give some ideas about how old they are to work with certain things and they hide their worries.

Zina mentioned that sometimes people need motivation to do things. Pinar also mentioned that they need to feel supported. It is important to listen to them and try to connect them to technology.
Yi mentions that some faculty work little by little and end up getting into technology. Some faculty panic when they do not know what to do, therefore it is important to be patient and give them support.

What do we need to prepare before every meeting?
A list of activities to work on
Go over what have been discussed (assignments?)
Investigate the technology to be used
Talk about some personal questions to break the ice
Be caring
summarize the meeting and write a to-do list for next week
write the notes and see how they react if we send the notes to them
use the word "we" rather than "you"

Technical difficulties?
try to solve it if possible
discuss about it later
acknowledge that difficulty and try to find someone that can help
call IT services
act normal when problems happen
think aloud the problem
look for solutions on internet
call for support
have a list of contacts who may be more experienced


I am a bit concerned about these recommendations because I feel like I need to resolve those problem since I am the mentor. I know I do not have to know everything but I do not feel comfortable that way. I need to work on this a lot because it is a matter of personal responsibility.