The Impact of Undergraduate Mentorship on Student Satisfaction and Engagement, Teamwork Performance, and Team Dysfunction in a Software Engineering Group Project

Mentorship schemes in software engineering education usually involve professional software engineers guiding and advising teams of undergraduate students working collaboratively to develop a software system. With or without mentorship, teams run the risk of experiencing team dysfunction: a situation where lack of engagement, internal conflicts, and/or poor team management lead to different assessment outcomes for individual team members and overall frustration and dissatisfaction within the team. The paper describes a mentorship scheme devised as part of a 33 week software engineering group project course, where the mentors were undergraduate students who had recently completed the course successfully and possessed at least a year’s experience as professional software engineers. We measure and discuss the impact the scheme had on: (1) student satisfaction and engagement, (2) team performance, and (3) team dysfunction

Wooster Magazine: Fall 2020

This fall 2020 issue of Wooster magazine acts as the President’s Annual Report showcasing how undeterred by challenges of pandemic, College of Wooster faculty and staff came together to ensure innovative learning experiences and a strong engaging community endured for students. In addition to the annual financial summary and giving report, the magazine features stories that reflect on the 2019-20 academic year including new learning opportunities for students and innovative academic experiences that open students’ eyes to new perspectives. Featured student stories included Dhwani Parsana ’21 who completed research for her Independent Study with Laura Sirot, associate professor of biology, and APEX Fellows Alexandra Manopoulou ’22, Hasan Malik ’22, and Laura Haley ’21. The renovation of upper-class residence halls and shared community spaces dedicated to the Black Student Association, the LGBTQIA+ community are also included. Through a story on her mentoring relationship with Professor Jennifer Ison, Miyauna Incarnato ’21 shares her excitement for biology research. Faculty from multiple disciplines discuss two virtual courses created for incoming Wooster students. Also read about new tenure track faculty Álvaro Corral, assistant professor of political science and Carlo Moreno, assistant professor of environmental studies. Finally hear from Jennifer Faust, assistant professor of chemistry, about an advanced mass spectrometer that added to the research and learning opportunities for students and faculty, and from alumni of the Class of 2020 about where they are now. In addition to alumni achievements and awards, the Tartan Ties section shares perspectives from alumni about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their them, their work, and their industries.https://openworks.wooster.edu/wooalumnimag_2011-present/1038/thumbnail.jp

ATE Impacts 2018-2019

The ATE Impacts book, published every two years by Internet Scout Research, showcases all of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Centers and selected nominated projects. The NSF ATE program focuses on the education of highly-qualified science and engineering technicians for advanced technology fields. Through the program's grant process, the NSF promotes the improvement of STEM education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels, and in the workforce. The 2018-2019 ATE Impacts book marks the 25th anniversary of the NSF ATE program and offers an in-depth overview of the work done by the ATE community. This book includes a timeline of important achievements and events, a foreword by the program director, additional ATE program history, and information about ATE program Centers and a number of projects.Â

Bridgewater Magazine, Volume 30, Number 1, Spring 2020

Hear from four undergraduate research students and faculty members from BSU\u27s Undergraduate Research Program. International students speak to local residents, a music instructor performs on Grammy-winning recording, a professor’s documentary shines a light on little-known WWII story, and aviation science program seeks to diversify industry. Also featured, Bears grappling with Pandemic, a message from President, plus Bridgewater and alumni news.https://vc.bridgew.edu/br_mag/1079/thumbnail.jp

Early career engineers’ perspective on leadership competency development in undergraduate education

The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to investigate the perceptions of early career engineers regarding leadership competency development within the undergraduate engineering curricula. Participants were selected using purposeful, convenience, and snowball sampling. Study participants represented the early career engineering population, those five years or less removed from graduating with their engineering degrees. Perspectives on leadership competency development within the undergraduate engineering curricula were gathered through semi-structured interviews. Study participants (N=20), through their lived experiences, described expectations of leadership competency from their employers and their ability to meet these expectations. Their ability related to preparedness resulting from their undergraduate engineering programs. Interview transcripts generated thematic analysis utilized in organizing, interpreting, and analyzing information. Findings showed challenges for early career engineers in meeting the expectations of their employers regarding leadership competency. Engineers related these challenges to a lack of effective leadership competency training encountered within the undergraduate engineering curricula. Early career engineers made recommendations for educators and administrations on how to increase the effectiveness of leadership competency development. Future studies include researching the disconnect between the level of competence of engineering graduates and early career engineers related to inaccurate leadership assessment

Examining the Impacts of Virtual Mentoring On College Students\u27 Leadership Efficacy a Quantitative Study of C.A.M.P Osprey

Mentoring involves a collaborative and reciprocal sharing of knowledge for professional development. In leadership, a mentor is an individual who currently serves as a leader while guiding someone who aspires to be a leader in the future. This study evaluated how virtual mentoring compares to face-to-face mentoring on the development of leadership self-efficacy for college students. This study undertook a comparative analysis of face-to-face mentoring sessions and virtual mentoring sessions to explore the research question and hypotheses. The mentoring process involved a dyadic relationship where personalities create a positive and effective learning experience. A comparative analysis permitted the study to determine what differences occur in leadership efficacy for college students participating in virtual versus face-face mentoring. Efficacy was assessed on the students’ leadership abilities based on their evaluation of leadership mentoring sessions. The study realized that online learning was superior to relaying critical leadership skills to the student than face-to-face learning. As an implication, face-to-face mentoring experiences are not always possible due to geographical and budgetary constraints, virtual mentoring eliminates those barriers while still supplying a community learning experience. Additionally, virtual meetings also allow for access to marginalized populations that may not typically be available. The study was limited by the small sample population