Mentoring and Advising Students in an S-STEM Project: Strengths Training from a Social Justice Perspective in Engineering & Computer Science as Context – Initial Implementation

This work-in-progress paper/poster describes the development and initial implementation of a new approach to mentoring and advising students that we call "strengths training from a social justice perspective in engineering and computer science as context." This approach to mentoring and advising is part of a larger California-based Multi-Institutional S-STEM project called "Engineering Neighbors: Gaining Access, Growing Engineers" (ENGAGE, NSF DUE 1834128, 1834154). ENGAGE is designed to increase the number of low-income, academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who begin their engineering education at two Hispanic-Serving California Community Colleges; transfer to a highly-selective, predominantly white public institution; and then are retained in and graduate with a B.S. degree in engineering, and enter the STEM workforce or graduate program. The broader project also seeks to transform our institutions and the relationships between them to prioritize transfer student success via the utilization of the Essential Transfer Practices framework created by the Community College Research Center at Teachers College and the Aspen Institute [1]. The identified Essential Transfer Practices are designed to strengthen the implementation of practices that 1) make transfer student success a priority; 2) create clear programmatic pathways with aligned high-quality instruction; and 3) provide tailored transfer student advising to create sustainable change. As part of describing the development and initial implementation of this new model of mentoring and advising, this work-in-progress paper/poster shares information about student and faculty workshops and ongoing grant-related activities and support systems for mentors and mentees. Preliminary results related to student experiences and outcomes utilizing the "strengths training from a social justice perspective in engineering and computer science as context" framework during COVID-19 are included. The approach to ongoing research focused on the intersections of strengths, social identity, context, and social networks as related to this model of mentoring and advising is introduced.