Role of the Technical Mentor in TechXplore
Technical mentors play a critical role in assisting TechXplore® student teams. The technical mentor participates as a member of the team and helps the students determine a focus for their research; understand technology, how it functions, and what electronics or scientific principles are involved; and locates information sources and/or other online resources for the project as appropriate.
The mentor guides and supports the students in the development of ideas and evaluates the team’s proposed solution to ensure it is fundamentally correct. Through shared experiences of his/her work and contributions to the technology, the technical mentor also assists in raising students’ awareness of technology careers. The mentor is also a judge at the end of competition for projects other than the ones he/she has guided.
Timeline and Commitment
Technical Mentors…
- Participate in one 30-minute training session (via webinar) to become acquainted with the program and the role of the mentor.
- Provide feedback via 1 pre- and 1 post-program evaluation.
- Assist team in developing a 3-4 line focus statement for the project, which forms the basis for the students’ research. A project focus statement is a brief description that outlines the problem and resources that the team will utilize in determining a solution.
- Collaborate with the team to refine the project focus.
- Guide the team to complete the stages of the Project based on the project guidelines found in the facilitator guide.
- Interact with student teams at least once a week via email. Project timelines will generally last 12 weeks.
- Review the team’s website or Powerpoint Project to ensure accuracy of technical focus.
- Judge up to 3 projects based on the scoring rubric provided by NSTEP at the end of the competition.
Click on become a mentor below to register for the upcoming 2007-2008 TechXplore Competition. Returning mentors, follow this link.
Quote: “Participating as a technical mentor in NSTEP’s online education program allowed me to share information, through my career experiences, that students will need when facing the future marketplace.”
-Phil Thornton, Computer Associates Technical Mentor
