Experiences Of Graduate Student Mentors Mentoring Graduate Student Instructors

This paper describes the graduate student mentor (GSM) program at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. The GSM program is an innovative way to enhance the quality of the instruction provided by the graduate students in their paid instructional roles. Graduate students who teach, called graduate student instructors (GSIs), go through an orientation at the beginning of their first semester of instruction. The GSM program complements the orientation and training that the GSI receives by providing mentoring and support throughout each semester that the GSI teaches. This paper will elaborate on the details of the GSM program at the University of Michigan College of Engineering from a mentor’s point of view and will provide some examples of typical GSM/GSI interactions. In addition survey data from GSIs will be presented to characterize the overall effectiveness of the GSM program.