Berkeley - Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching by Aris Winger

2024-01-15 21:56:19 UTC

Getting enough of my adviser’s time, even after communicating my needs

2024-01-15 21:56:19 UTC

Being late to answering emails :| i'm so sorry, my current goal is to get better at timeliness in communication

2024-01-15 21:56:26 UTC

A lot of my undergraduate mentees have made it through most of their undergraduate education without a mentor — not only not knowing that it was possible, but also not even knowing what we’re supposed to talk about.

Encourage the participation of all students, especially the shy ones

2024-01-15 21:56:50 UTC

2024-01-15 21:57:07 UTC

Stressed undergrads try to get advisorship from me (a grad student) because they can't talk to other people, and I feel that I simply can't balance helping them with helping myself deal with the same academic loneliness they're experiencing

2024-01-15 21:57:08 UTC

Feeling supported by my advisor. Practicing vulnerability in asking questions, talking about my needs as an advisee.

2024-01-15 21:57:09 UTC

Knowing how to bring up the topic of expectations

2024-01-15 21:57:18 UTC

Always feel like I'm bugging my advisor, not having a sense of what my advisor thinks of me and if he thinks I'm capable, not being in regualr contact with advisor.

2024-01-15 21:57:24 UTC

hopefully, establishing a comfortable environment, creating excitement about new ideas

2024-01-15 21:57:37 UTC

It is hard to know what a student wants out of the meetings. Perhaps because it is hard for the students themselves to know? (DRP advising)

2024-01-15 21:57:53 UTC

My advisor is great when he’s in a good mood or had a nice coffee before, but with the huge caveat that that’s SO rare. He can be very thoughtful but also very spacey and uncommunicative, and I can’t ever tell what kind of day it is until it’s happening.

2024-01-15 21:58:14 UTC

Reaching out to Professors to start talking about math, unsure of what this process entails and afraid of rejection or getting a reputation as not being a bright student

2024-01-15 21:58:15 UTC

Imposter syndrome setting in deep enough that I can't be a confident mentor, because I'm afraid I wouldn't have anything useful to share.

2024-01-15 21:58:17 UTC

Choosing an advisor was difficult. I felt like I had to manage a lot of relationships and questions whether I made the right choice

2024-01-15 21:58:47 UTC

I've felt a sense of community and understanding. It's made me feel way more confident in the department.

2024-01-15 21:58:47 UTC

Learning how to make the most out of meetings / conferences / networking is such a challenge

2024-01-15 21:59:00 UTC

Getting students to collaborate with each other and not view math as a thing you're meant to do (or is even possible to do) alone

2024-01-15 21:59:04 UTC

Managing time for students, wanting to help but sometimes overstepping

2024-01-15 21:59:17 UTC

MORE CLARITY AND COMMUNICATION FROM ALL PARTIES

2024-01-15 21:59:31 UTC

Many undergrads come to my office for advice and mentoring because there are very few outlets for them to get any support elsewhere. I love providing this for them but I’m not getting any extra compensation and I’m missing out on time for my own studies.

I struggle with this because I feel like if I don’t make time for them no one will, but then where does the time come for my own stuff?

2024-01-15 21:59:32 UTC

Being spread too thin/having trouble being able to find enough bandwidth to connect with all of the students.

2024-01-15 21:59:44 UTC

Caring

2024-01-15 21:59:58 UTC

Choosing a project to work on with little idea of what makes a good project or what my advisor would be able to help me with.

2024-01-15 22:00:04 UTC

Creating a safe space for students has been successful thus far. I have struggled with time management and prioritizing my own work over teaching.

2024-01-15 22:00:09 UTC

Adjusting my teaching style to help as many students as possible, but also still accepting that some people will fall through the cracks.. and it’s not a moral reflection on me

2024-01-15 22:00:16 UTC

How to make my class a good experience and help heal the trauma that past math classes have caused my students.

Success: Some of my students have told me I effectively did this and that mine was the first math class they ever enjoyed.

Challenge: I don't have the time or energy to do everything I can to help my students. The institution relies on grad students caring because so often the professors don't.

2024-01-15 22:00:30 UTC

Just to balance this out, I have had wonderful experiences with professors and feel supported. I feel like several professors really care and put in a lot of attention DESPITE the fact that professors do not get externally rewarded/ encouraged for good advising.

2024-01-15 22:00:31 UTC

I structured my advisor meetings in two parts: 1) what I did that week and 2) what my questions were. This worked well. I often feared what my advisor thought of me though, if I was doing a good job. Even though they were extremely friendly. I didn’t know how to ask - can we assess my progress?

2024-01-15 22:00:51 UTC

having enough time to be a good teacher, given my other obligations

2024-01-15 22:01:11 UTC

I need people to response to their emails

2024-01-15 22:01:24 UTC

I struggle to check in often enough to empower the mentee. On the positive side, I am always open to extend a meeting considerably to help the mentee setting up and working out an idea. Maybe these two facets are connected?

2024-01-15 22:01:28 UTC

Most faculty I interact with think it’s my job to understand everything they say, yet put in very little effort to practice more effective pedagogy.

2024-01-15 22:01:35 UTC

not sure if my project suggestions are going to be good ones

2024-01-15 22:01:58 UTC

A thing that really works for me is seriously prepare what I am going to say / ask in my meeting with advisor ahead of time.

2024-01-15 22:02:02 UTC

Balancing mentoring responsibilities with research!

2024-01-15 22:02:21 UTC

How to engage students.

2024-01-15 22:03:05 UTC

Its been really challenging to try to not be perfect all the time, and let that hold me back from learning.

2024-01-15 22:03:53 UTC

Challenge: I love to dedicate a lot of time to my teaching and want to dedicate even more. However, I feel a ton of pressure to focus more on research so that I can get a job at the next stage.

2024-01-15 22:04:42 UTC

I want my advisor to take a more active mentorship role.

2024-01-15 22:04:48 UTC

Office hours are very unproductive. Typically, a handful of undergrads who are in the grad classes commandeer the whole session and do not allow others to pose any questions until all of theirs have been answered. Professors seem very incapable of handling this appropriately. I’ve had professors tell me that since I’m a grad student and my grades don’t matter, I don’t need to be there. (As if my understanding was irrelevant…)

2024-01-15 22:09:10 UTC

Challenge: balancing being supportive of a student and being their therapist.