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Do incentives work?
An experimental peer mentoring program in biology

Kathleen A. Nolan, Ph.D.
St. Francis College, Brooklyn, NY
knolan@stfranciscollege.edu

We tried an experimental program in peer mentoring in which any student who scored above an 80 on the first exam in the General Biology and Genetics courses would be assigned to tutor a group of 3 mentees. Twenty-five percent, or 16 out of a total of 65 students, were chosen for this task. Each course has one grade that is a combination of a lecture and a lab grade. The lecture grade comprises exams and participation, and the lab grade includes quizzes, practicals and reports. The mentees could be assisted in any aspect of the course. We gave them teaching lab space to do this—the lab benches were good places for them to spread out to do their work

Each person received a sheet of paper explaining the program and listing the name of the mentor and the mentees for their particular group. A student assistant organized this. The reward for each mentor was a $25 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble and a pizza luncheon for the mentors at the end. Before receiving the prizes (and pizza), each mentor was required to answer four questions placed on the board at the pizza party.

1. Approximately how many hours did you meet with your mentees?
2. What did you like about the program?
3. What did you dislike about the program?
4. What would you do to improve it?

We gave the participants ten minutes or so to answer the questions, and then each person orally shared their answers with the whole group.

The time spent mentoring ranged from 0 hours to around ten hours. Because of disparate schedules it was hard to set up study groups with all mentees, so some people were invariably left out. (Most of our students are commuters.) The mentees did not always seem motivated to seek out the mentors, and the mentors did not always seek out the mentees. Two groups (that admitted to it) never met. In one case the mentee was actually a good student who had had an off day on the day of the first exam, and he resented being assigned to a mentor---thus he didn’t meet with his group.

In most cases, the mentors said it was a good experience for them because it helped them study more. Some were surprised by this. Others received great satisfaction about showing the mentees how they studied, took notes, outlined the notes, or whatever strategies they used. They took pride when their mentees received higher grades. Some students genuinely improved whereas others did not. Overall, the peer mentors were positive about the experience, and they felt that we should repeat the program.

In reflection, funds should be allocated for a pizza party that would include the mentees so that we could get their feedback also. Honesty might be compromised somewhat, but a non-threatening atmosphere such as this should help to quell dishonesty. Usually if one person is honest about negatives, other students will come forth.

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