Best Practices in Systemic STEM Mentoring

There is no known limit to the degree to which a student or individual can attain proficiency or expertise in any given discipline of study or in other endeavors. The determining factor for knowledge and skill acquisition is the exposure to adequate materials or topics, in the proper sequence, and the degree to which that student learns and practices the knowledge and skill content. This assertion is an expression of the power law of human performance of cognitive science and of its extension, the law of human performance. In fact the opening chapters of this book, Best Practices in Systematic STEM Mentoring, reveal that the hierarchical structure of knowledge as taught within education systems has led countless individuals to self-defeating or self-limiting beliefs by confusing the lack of a needed background with a lack of intrinsic, intellectual capabilities. This book is written for parents, guardians, teachers, faculty, mentors, and research supervisors. It demystifies knowledge and skill acquisition of youth from kindergarten to graduate or professional school and beyond. A crucial point throughout this book is that there is no substitute for access to the needed resources and to appropriate practice in preparing future scientists and engineers.This is also a collective record that elaborates on the Ten-Stand Systemic Mentoring Model of the Timbuktu Academy and for the Louis Stokes Louisiana Alliance for Minority Participation (LS-LAMP). While these strands are designed for the holistic mentoring of undergraduate students, they are readily adaptable to the mentoring of all students and, even, young professionals.Following this explanation, the authors present how eleven post-secondary campuses throughout Louisiana adapt and implement the Ten-Strand Systemic Mentoring Model. The resulting best practices therein provide the reader with a road map for mentoring students into post-graduate programs. The convergent diversity of standard and innovative approaches at these campuses has ensured the success of LS-LAMP and thus attaining the objectives of the National Science Foundation.These best practices in systematic STEM mentoring prove that all students and mentees possess limitless intellectual abilities. Consequently, all parents, teachers, faculty, and supervisors should maintain high expectations while all mentees should be self-driven for superior learning.