Teaching and Mentoring
Fellows' Career Development
Teaching and Mentoring
Fellows' Career Development
NIEHS and NIH offers trainees various courses and plentiful opportunities to develop teaching and mentoring skills. The goal is to help trainees understand the roles and responsibilities of faculty members in an academic environment, and to prepare trainees for teaching careers in higher education and/or mentoring younger scientists in their future labs. Explore examples of training and experiential opportunities below.
Mentoring Certificate Program
The NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education is excited to offer a 7-week Mentoring Certificate Program (MCP) for NIH Postdocs and Graduate Students. The course will offer knowledge and skills you need to be an effective and supportive mentor to NIH IRP postbacs and summer interns.
Course Description:
The MCP is a 7-week long course comprised of asynchronous modules in an online learning management system (LMS) and virtual live sessions with facilitated discussions. You will learn key strategies such as effective communication, setting expectations, delivering feedback, developing essential resilience skills, and establishing psychologically safe learning environments. You should expect to dedicate ~2 hours per week to the asynchronous modules and another ~1 hour spent on synchronous activities/discussions. To earn the certificate, you will need to attend a minimum of 6 virtual sessions.
Program topics include:
- Leadership & Culture Change
- Assisting with Trainee Onboarding and Check-ins
- Understanding Identities and Psychological Safety
- Resilience and Defeating Negative Self-Talk
- Communication Styles and Strategies
- Conflict Modes and Giving Feedback
- Resources and Letters of Recommendation
For more information on the program, please contact Dr. Ulli Klenke or Austin Chiles.
Scientists Teaching Science Online Pedagogy Course
A 9-week online course offered by NIH OITE
Research Mentor Training Course
Are you interested in learning how to become a more effective mentor? Do you wonder how to effectively set expectations of your mentee, and how to best communicate with them? Do you want to learn how to give more meaningful, effective feedback?
If you answered ‘YES’ to any of these questions, please join us in every spring for an informal, highly interactive & discussion-based course developed by OITE.
This mentoring course is designed for postbacs, graduate students, postdocs, and staff scientists/staff clinicians who are training summer interns OR who just want to learn how to become a better mentor for the future. It will use a highly interactive format to cover mentoring issues “just in time,” as they are likely to emerge. This class will also count for 3 hours of RCR credit regarding discussion of ethical research practices.
Some of the topics include:
Developing a mentoring philosophy
- Effectively establishing mentor-mentee expectations
- Developing strategies for helping mentees build independence, confidence, creativity, and communication skills
- Developing a research environment that fosters scientific integrity and ethical conduct
- Improving cultural competency in mentoring
Examples of Teaching Opportunities at NIEHS
- Teach the Summer Internship Program Workshop Series
- Teach the Summer Internship Program Journal Club Series
- Teach the Research Mentor Training Course
- Teach Responsible Conduct of Research Courses
