Mentoring faculty for leadership development: From IBM to academia: A model for knowledge transfer through mentoring

Abstract

Leaders understand that knowledge is power. They also know knowledge creates resilience, flexibility, and adaptability, and therefore provides a competitive edge for those using and applying that knowledge. This paper explores how engineering technology faculty and administrators at two-year colleges can gain, use, and share critical knowledge of what works, and does not work, in technician education. Faculty members who generate, apply, and contribute their knowledge of research-in- Action and effective practices give their students, their technical programs, and their colleges a strategic and competitive advantage. Knowledge shared with and by peers in the greater community of practitioners enables faculty to: 1) broaden their own knowledge base and improve their professional practice; 2) strengthen student outcomes across engineering technology courses and programs; and 3) develop more competitive grant proposals built on an existing body of knowledge. Further, knowledge acquisition and effective dissemination informs and supports the development of leadership skills, thereby enhancing individual faculty status and visibility at home institutions and in the broader community. This paper introduces and showcases the Compendium of Research on Technician Education - A new way relevant targeted research is being published and delivered to the doorstep of faculty leaders - At www.TeachingTechnicians.org. This comprehensive database resource, developed in part with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), includes promising and proven practices to assist two-year college faculty in keeping their teaching practice and students' learning rigorous, current, and relevant. The Compendium offers targeted research on a wide array of topics such as technology programs, technician education and workforce needs, student recruitment, and student outcomes. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2013.