OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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Participating in Beaver Connect gives you the opportunity to build and practice many different skills. Below you’ll find tips and links to resources to further your development of four primary skills used in our program: listening, culturally responsive mentorship, building rapport, & group facilitation. This section is meant to complement the skills you may already have and can be accessed on an as needed basis.
Active Listening is an important skill set to develop in order to be an effective mentor. We've found that active listening is perhaps the most essential tool needed by mentors in this program, and simultaneously, the easiest to overlook. Active listening has been broadly studied and there are many resources and lists available on the top skills required to cultivate this skill set.
Here is a list of 6 from PositivePsychology.com:
Nonverbal involvement
Pay attention to the speaker, not your own thoughts
Practice Non-Judgment
Tolerate silence
Paraphrase
Ask questions
To learn more about this we recommend peer mentors complete the Peer Educator Training Unit 1: Foundational Elements for Working Together available through the Academic Success Center.
Beaver Connect is committed to honoring EOP's mission to serve students who have traditionally been denied access to higher education. We recommend that all mentors develop the ability to work with students with diverse backgrounds and identities.
As The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM (2021) suggests, “Studies have found that mentors who were culturally responsive—who had attitudes, behaviors, and practices that enable them to work with mentees with different cultural backgrounds (Sanchez et al., 2014)—and who understood power dynamics and oppression had success in fulfilling the needs of underrepresented students (Felder and Barker, 2013; O'Meara et al., 2013). Culturally responsive mentorship can validate students’ various identities and help them navigate invalidating experiences encountered while simultaneously reinforcing their self-efficacy in their field (Byars-Winston et al., 2010).”
As a first step to developing culturally responsive mentoring skills, we recommend reviewing this recorded training session with Jeff Kenney, from Winter 2021: Balancing advocacy and empowerment: Culturally competent mentorship. Further resources to develop your cultural competency are available through the Office of Institutional Diversity, such as the Social Justice Education Initiative for faculty and Social Justice Retreats for students.
Building a relationship with students is an important and necessary first step in building a supportive environment to provide mentorship. We encourage you to get to know students as individuals and find ways to connect and relate on a personal level. Although you may see your role as offering wisdom, advice, or guidance, remember that in order for students to be receptive to that information, you first must build a foundation. Be honest, open, and vulnerable. Be friendly.
Be considerate of students’ multiple roles, responsibilities, and social identities
Keep in contact with students - short emails, phone calls or text messages can make a big difference
Don’t take it personally when a student doesn’t take your advice
Listen more than you speak
Set and maintain healthy boundaries
Practice empathy & don’t make assumptions about who students are or what they need
Don’t expect students to come to you early on or feel comfortable asking for help or opening up right away
Encourage students and focus on strengths – let them know that you believe in them!
Share your successes and your failures
Don’t forget to enjoy the process and have a sense of humor!
For more on building healthy relationships, check out these brochures with Strategies for Co-Mentors & for Strategies for Peer Mentors created by Matthew Tradewell and Kayleen Eng!
Group facilitation may be a new skill that you are developing, but one that you will use far into your career! Good facilitation strategies start with clear objectives, reasonable expectations, and timely meeting schedules. your weekly guides and the mentoring agreement are great tools to assist you in building this skill. Here are some phrases and suggestions to help guide you.
Setting expectations and objectives:
Managing time during meetings:
In addition to these strategies, pay attention to these two other topics as you are learning more about your team:
Learning how your group engages with one another will happen over time. As you learn your group's communication styles, consider assigning specific roles to high verbal communicators. For example, ask them to take notes and create a “debrief document” after the meeting.
Groups tend to match energy levels. If you are engaged and open, your group members will likely meet your energy. Ice-breaker questions can also help warm everyone up, or re-energize the group if things slow down. Check out this resource for some example Ice Breaker Questions.
Ohlin, B. (2021, May 6). Active Listening: The Art of Empathetic Conversation. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/active-listening/
National Academy of Sciences (2019). Mentorship Defined. The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM Online Guide V1.0. https://www.nap.edu/resource/25568/interactive/mentorship-defined.html
Eng, K. (2019). Relationship building strategies for peer mentors [Masters thesis supplemental brochure]. College Student Services Administration, Oregon State University.
Tradewell, M. (2019). Relationship building strategies for co-mentors [Masters thesis supplemental brochure]. College Student Services Administration, Oregon State University.