Development of an Enhanced Peer Mentoring Program: Partnering With Novice Teaching Assistants in a Teaching Community of Practice

Authors

  • E. Corrie Pieterson The Ohio State University Author
  • Judith S. Ridgway The Ohio State University Author

Keywords:

peer mentoring, teaching professional development, backward design, program assessment

Abstract

The authors present an example of a social constructivist framework and a backward design approach to enhance an underutilized peer mentoring program for teaching assistants. Following a needs assessment for quality improvement, the authors designed a mentoring workshop and revised guide-lines: Mentoring pairs now use a four-step process to frame their efforts around synergistic objectives. Although program redesign was successful, as evidenced by increased participa-tion, further improvements are informed by ongoing mentor feedback. The authors describe strategies and recommendations for developing or enhancing peer mentoring programs, and they provide materials that other departments can adapt to address context-specific needs.

Published

2024-04-25