Resumen de Applying the cognitive apprenticeship theory to examine graduate and postdoctoral researchers’ mentoring practices in undergraduate research settings
Graduate and postdoctoral researchers regularly mentor undergraduate research (UR) students, yet the literatureexamining the mentoring practices of these researchers in UR settings is scarce. This study explored the mentoringpractices of 17 experienced and highly valued graduate and postdoctoral researchers by conducting semi-structuredinterviews and analyzing the responses using cognitive apprenticeship (CA) theory. The mentoring practices used duringdifferent UR periods (i.e., teaching a literature review process, teaching technical content, training in lab skills orexperimental techniques, assisting with data analysis, assisting in creating presentation slides or a poster, and assisting inwriting a final report) were identified and classified according to CA principles. The study findings can assist graduate andpostdoctoral researchers who are mentoring UR students and can contribute to the development of training programs onmentoring UR students.
