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Session Description

Ticketed event: $25.00 advanced registration and $35.00 on site registration
Workshop Time:
I very much prefer the 1:00-3:30 slot, but I can do the 9:30-12:00 slot if that's the only option.

Workshop Title:
Mentoring: Talent or Skill (or both)? Developing Skilled Mentors and Mentees in Engineering through Intentional Practice

Workshop Presenter(s):
Dr. May Mansy , Instructional Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida Director of Peer Learning and Mentoring
Dr. Roza Vaez Ghaemi, Instructional Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida

Collaboration:
Biomedical Engineering Division (BED) is primary sponsor and will cover the $150 application fee. Women in Engineering Division (WIED), Faculty Development Division (FDD), and Graduate Student Division (GSD) are co-sponsors.

Expected Audience:
Faculty, instructors, advisors, and program coordinators at all levels who design, facilitate, or assess mentoring initiatives. Graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and undergraduate students seeking to get the most out of their mentoring relationships. Anyone currently in a mentor or mentee role seeking structured, scalable frameworks, actionable tools, and reflection-based strategies. Whether you are building a formal program or looking to improve a one-on-one relationship, this session will provide practical value. The optimal size for this
workshop is a minimum of ~10 participants and a maximum of ~40.

Learning Objectives of Workshop:
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
1. Differentiate and apply foundational principles of mentorship using evidence-based frameworks.
2. Demonstrate effective communication and trust-building techniques that enhance mentor–mentee engagement.
3. Design structured agreements, SMART goals, and feedback strategies to sustain productive mentoring relationships.
4. Apply reflective and proactive approaches to navigate challenges and facilitate constructive closure.

Brief Description of Workshop:
Grounded in research and practice, this interactive professional development workshop helps participants intentionally cultivate mentoring skills that sustain effective, responsive mentoring relationships, echoing the National Academies’ conclusion that “mentorship is a skill that can be developed through intentional and reflective practice and cultural responsiveness.”[1]. Drawing on mentorship training developed at the University of Florida, the session integrates best practices to help participants strengthen their mentoring capacity.

Through guided reflection, small-group discussion, and scenario-based practice, trainees will be able to proactively manage the mentoring relationships, articulate the needs and build a supportive network; while faculty can hone the advisory skills, provide meaningful feedback and effectively support diverse career paths. Attendees will develop actionable techniques for building trust, setting expectations, and managing challenging conversations with confidence. The workshop includes take-home resources, such as mentoring agreement templates, check-in prompts, and conversation guides, that can be immediately adapted for use with students, peers, or interdisciplinary teams.

Participants will leave with a toolkit of actionable strategies and a deeper understanding of how intentional, structured mentorship can improve professional identity formation, inclusivity, and retention in engineering programs.

[1] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25568

Planned Schedule of Workshop (2.5 hours):
Time. Segment. Format. Outcome. [Table formatting converted to list for text box submission in NEMO.]
0:00 – 0:10 (10 min). Welcome & Overview. Ice-breaker poll + framing discussion. Establish participant goals, expectations, and introduce the four-module mentoring framework.
0:10 – 0:35 (25 min). Foundations of Mentorship + Activity 1. Mini-lecture (10 min) + Mentorship Mapping (15 min). Identify mentorship stages and functions; groups build a “Mentorship Map.”
0:35 – 0:45 (10 min). Share & Reflect. Whole-group debrief. Discuss key insights and common mentoring pathways.
0:45 – 1:10 (25 min). Effective Communication & Trust Building + Activity 2. Mini-lecture (10 min) + Paired practice (15 min). Practice the 3 Ps of communication and “8 Powerful Questions.”
1:10 – 1:20 (10 min). Share & Reflect. Whole-group debrief. Highlight trust-building language and listening strategies.
1:20 – 1:45 (25 min). Expectation, Goal-Setting & Feedback + Activity 3. Mini-lecture (10 min) + Design a mentoring agreement (15 min). Draft mentoring agreements or SMART goals using templates.
1:45 – 1:55 (10 min). Share & Reflect. Whole-group debrief. Discuss effective goal statements and feedback phrasing.
1:55 – 2:20 (25 min). Navigating Challenges & Close-Outs + Activity 4. Mini-lecture (10 min) + Mentoring Lab (15 min). Role-play difficult conversations and closure strategies.
2:20 – 2:30 (10 min). Final Remarks & Resources. Wrap-up and share training resources. Summarize key takeaways and share training digital resources.

Activity Details:
Icebreaker Poll
Experience Level, Mentor/Mentee Identity, Mentoring Confidence

Activity 1: Foundations of Mentorship – “Mentorship Mapping”
Group Activity (15 min): “Mentorship Map”
Participants form small groups of 3–4. Each participant draws a Mentorship Map on the mentorship map template provided by facilitators. Participants fill out the mentorship Map individually and then discuss the following prompts with the group.
1. “What roles (advisor, coach, supervisor) have you personally played/experienced, as mentor or mentee, and how intentional were those experiences? What made them feel intentional?”
2. “What structures at your institution support or hinder each stage of mentoring?”
3. Integrate with the group and summarize on Tabletop Easel Pad.
Share-Out: Each group names one common pattern and one gap they observed

Activity 2: Effective Communication & Trust Building – “The 3 Ps Practice”
Paired Practice (15 minutes)
Participants work in pairs, rotating roles (mentor ↔mentee).
Instructions:
1. Choose a scenario:
o “Describe a recent situation where you supported a student or colleague and weren’t sure what to say next.” OR
o “Share a mentoring challenge you’re currently navigating or anticipating.” OR
o Ask the facilitators for a mentoring challenge scenario
2. Round 1 (5 min): Partner A plays “mentor,” Partner B plays “mentee.” Mentor practices the 3 Ps
3. Round 2 (5 min): Switch roles (A ↔B).
4. Round 3 (3–4 min): Partners reflect together:
o Which of the 3 Ps felt natural? Which felt challenging?
o How did powerful questions shift the depth of the conversation?
o Jot one “go-to” powerful question you are likely to adopt on the Tabletop Easel Pad . .
Share-Out:
A few volunteers offer brief observations:
• What question type technique felt most impactful?
• As you practiced the 3 Ps, did anything surprise you about your usual communication style? Where did you find yourself needing to slow down or be more intentional?

Activity 3: Expectation, Goal-Setting & Feedback – “Designing a Mentoring Agreement”
Paired Hands-On Design Activity (15 minutes)
Work in the same pairs as before, and take turns acting as mentors using the provided templates (Mentoring agreement, Weekly Check-in, and SMART template).
Instructions:
1. Choose a scenario:
o A hypothetical mentee (facilitators will provide mentee profiles), OR
o A real mentee from a mentoring relationship they have or anticipate.
2. Create 3 core expectations for the mentoring partnership.
3. Draft 1 SMART goal for the mentoring partnership (mentor and mentee).
4. Outline a feedback process for the mentoring partnership (mentor and mentee).
Share-Out:
• Which expectation or boundary felt most important for you to name, and why?
• How did turning your idea into a SMART goal change its clarity or focus?

Activity 4: Navigating Challenges & Close-Outs – “Mentoring Lab”
Whole-Group Mentoring Lab (15 minutes)
Step 1: Introduce Scenario (30 seconds)
The facilitator presents a brief, relatable scenario, such as a disengaging mentee.
“Hey… sorry I missed again. I’ve been meaning to come, but things are just really overwhelming and I keep falling behind.”
Step 2: Facilitator #1 Plays the Mentee (1 minute)
The facilitator delivers 1–2 lines in character, modeling the mentee’s emotional tone and conversational cues.
Step 3: Mentor Responses (8–9 minutes)
Facilitator #2 prompts the participants: “If you were this mentee’s mentor, what is one sentence you might say next?”
Participants raise their hands and offer responses one at a time.
After each suggestion, facilitator #1 (still in character) responds as the mentee, allowing participants to observe how different mentor strategies shift the emotional dynamic and direction of the conversation.
Step 4: Short Debrief (2–3 minutes)
The facilitators pauses the role-play and asks the group one or two focused questions, such as:
• Which responses lowered defensiveness or built trust?
• Which mentor phrases helped clarify expectations or next steps?
• What language would help transition this relationship toward healthy closure?
[Time Permitting] Step 5: Closure Scenario (2 minutes)
The facilitator briefly models a closure-related prompt: “I think I’ve gotten what I needed from this mentoring relationship, but I wasn’t sure how to say it…”
Participants again offer one-sentence mentor responses that support reflection, celebration of progress, and graceful close-out.

Funding Source of Workshop Material (if applicable):
Not applicable

Speakers

1. Dr. May Mansy

   University of Florida

   Instructional Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida
   Director of Peer Learning and Mentoring

2. Miss Roza Vaez Ghaemi

   University of British Columbia, Vancouver

   Instructional Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida