Mentorship in College Women in Science

A professor at a college for women recently was named a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. Her innovations in mentoring college women in science are the focus of this case study. Using data collected from faculty interviews, classroom observations, student feedback sheets, focus groups, and a student survey, the author analyzed three of the award recipient's classroom-based strategies for their effectiveness in mentoring women: heterogeneous cooperative groups, discussions of career pathways in science, and science internships. The author presents evidence that these three strategies contributed to a positive learning environment and may have worked to encourage the women to stay in science.