When Fairness Feels Fragile: Rethinking Mentorship in Large Classes

Credit: iStock/skynesher
Credit: iStock/skynesher
A few semesters ago, I found myself caught in what I now call a fairness trap. Teaching qualitative research methods to over 150 undergraduates (equivalent to three sections), I tried to recreate the close mentoring I’d experienced during my doctoral training. I began meeting more often with a few promising groups, hoping their improved work would lift the whole class.

To continue reading, you must be a Teaching Professor Subscriber. Please log in or sign up for full access.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles

I have two loves: teaching and learning. Although I love them for different reasons, I’ve been passionate about...
For many, Richard Feynman (1918–1988), the Nobel Prize–winning physicist turned cultural icon, is the prototype of a creative...
Every semester, we conclude our courses with grades, reflections, and the quiet hope that, somehow, what we have...
Teaching in fast-moving fields with real cases presents three persistent problems. First, the news cycle moves more rapidly...
Can you work when you’re being watched? In the 1920s, workers at the Hawthorne Works plant in Cicero,...
Not that long ago, if you wanted to find a flight, you needed to call each airline and...
Here are some selected highlights from my long history of using educational technology:
  • When I started in academia,...
  • Create a free account, or log in.

    Gain access to limited free articles, news alerts, and select newsletters

    Login here

    Get unlimited access to The Teaching Professor

    Stay informed. Subscribe Now.

    WELCOME OFFER

    $19.00 $14.00/month

    for your first 6 months. Use coupon code TP6MO.

    $19.00 thereafter. Cancel anytime.

    Enjoy unlimited access to all of The Teaching Professor

    You only have  free article views remaining.

    WELCOME OFFER

    $19.00 $14.00/month

    for your first 6 months. Use coupon code TP6MO.

    $19.00 a month thereafter. Cancel anytime.