Using Student Experiences to improve Student Experiences: Increasing the Quality of Mentoring Through Perspective-Taking

USES (Using Student Experiences to improve Student experiences) is a sub-project of iAAMCS, a BPC-alliance that focuses on evaluating the impact of interventions on Black CS graduate students' success. The goal of USES is to impact advisor perspective-taking by sharing the realities of being underrepresented in a graduate program. The project has designed a self-paced, online learning module that frames stereotype threat and unconscious bias through real personal stories from previous graduate students. The accounts provide mentors with African American graduate students' perspectives and authentic experiences they have faced. Strategies for combating unconscious bias and stereotype threat are illustrated as methods for improving students' experiences and interactions. The module is part of a joint study between Pollinate and The University of Alabama to explore the impact of professional development based on these vignettes. The hypothesis is that sharing these stories improves the use and efficacy of perspective-taking and ultimately improves mentor-mentee relationships and graduate student success. The stories are embedded in a bias-reduction strategies module.