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Engineering Graduate Student Mentors
Click
to download the "Engineering GSM Application" in MS Word format.
Click
to download the "Engineering GSM Application" in pdf format.
Current list of Engineering GSMs (.pdf)
The Graduate Student Mentors (GSMs) at the College of Engineering are a group of experienced Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) who serve as consultants and teaching mentors to the rest of the GSI population in the College of Engineering. The Graduate Student Mentors at the College of Engineering are centrally organized through the Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Education, and are trained and supervised by staff from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT). Currently, there are ten GSMs, with each one being accountable for 20 to 30 Engineering GSIs. While centrally organized, the GSMs are responsible for Graduate Student Instructors in one, two or three departments; this arrangement allows GSMs to get to know one cadre of Graduate Student Instructors very well.
The GSM Program in the College of Engineering was founded on the belief that developing GSIs could benefit from the unique guidance, support, and experience that peer mentors provide. While all GSIs have access to mentoring from their advisors or other professors in their department, the peer mentor relationship provides a safe venue for exploration of teaching strategies and discussion of teaching initiatives and issues. GSMs in the College of Engineering are trained to mentor in a facilitative way, a model that appeals to their own sense of their role, and approaches the collegial style of supervision preferred by most GSIs. Additionally, the nature of the peer mentor-mentee interaction is such that it creates a reciprocity that benefits both individuals becoming a valuable learning experience for the GSMs themselves.
How to Apply
The activities that GSMs will conduct include but are not limited to:
- contacting assigned GSIs to remind them of your availability
- observing these GSIs and providing feedback to them
- collecting feedback from the GSIs’ students
- planning luncheon get-togethers for GSIs to meet and talk
- bi-weekly meetings
- consultations with individual GSIs on issues such as grading, enhancing communication with their supervising professor, time management in the classroom or lab, and more
GSMs are expected to attend training sessions, Engineering Graduate Student Orientations, and regular meetings conducted by the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT). GSMs regularly report the number of contacts with GSIs and the activities performed as an GSM.
The GSM position in the College of Engineering is a 10% appointment and the applicant is required to have other support of at least 25% as a GSI or GSRA. Proof of this primary appointment must be submitted prior to hire. This appointment does not carry any tuition waiver or benefits.
Click here to download an application or request one by e-mail writing to Tershia Pinder-Grover (tpinder@umich.edu, ph: 615-9263). Tershia can answer further questions you have about the position.
CRLT • University of Michigan • 1071 Palmer Commons • 100 Washtenaw Ave. • Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2218
Phone: (734) 764-0505 • Fax: (734) 647-3600 • Email: crlt@umich.edu
- Directions to CRLT -