Physics 009 Projects Gallery
Here are some resources for mentors...
* Please make sure to cite your sources if you want to share any of the projects, and duplicate forms instead of directly editing the linked ones!
Guidelines and list of resources!
Guidelines for mentors
Want a quick overview of some tried and tested best practices? Look no further than this STELLAR guideline sheet!
Elise Koskelo, Ana Mae Shickich, Paul McKinley, & Callie Morken, Spring 2020
Resources for supporting mental and academic well being
A handy 2-page resource list for mentors and students to refer to when in need of some support.
Jasmin Joshi, Fall 2020
STEM Identity Vision Board
A guide to be used as a practical resource to empower individuals to manifest belonging and inspire others to expand and disrupt their definitions of who is a "STEM person."
Camilla Guo & Chae Park, Spring 2021
Field Guide for Mentor Session Q&A
Your mentees don't know what to do next...frankly, you don't know what to do next...what now? This handy guide breaks down common mentor session situations and how to navigate them!
Sean Smith, Spring 2021
Mentor session self-help flowchart
Do your students seem confused about what to do during mentoring sessions? Print out this helpful flowchart for the classroom!
Martha Castro & Tanya Shah, Fall 2020
Guide for First-Time Mentors
A quick helpful guide for first time mentors!
Vera Berger & Adeena Liang, Spring 2021
How to encourage students using growth mindset language
Here are some examples of language that mentors can use to promote a growth mindset in students!
Yaru Luo, Spring 2021
Mentoring for a
Memorization-Heavy Class
Memorization-Heavy Class
Mentoring a memorization heavy class? Check out this short guide for a few ideas that you can use to help students master the material!
Christine Cannon, Fall 2021
Imposter Syndrome:
Awareness for Mentors
Awareness for Mentors
A flyer to raise awareness for imposter syndrome/phenomenon that could help mentors and students.
Aidan Garton, Kaito Robson, Eric Wang, Fall 2021
Feedback from
Mentors for Faculty
Mentors for Faculty
This form allows mentors to tell professors what they think can be done better, both in terms of communication, as well as teaching. Mentors can use this form to raise concerns they have about topics students are struggling with.
Lukas Karapin-Springorum, James Woo, Fall 2021
The 3-Step Guide for Lab TAs
A brief guide outlining the ins and outs of being a Lab TA!
Larry Yu, Fall 2021
Facilitating a Vunerable Environment
Vulnerability can be a confusing, scary topic. Our goal is to demystify obstacles to genuine vulnerability by recommending specific, tangible actions. Mentors can implement to improve community-building in and out of the classroom. We chose to communicate these ideas with posters because they are quick and easy to read. Their strategic placement in department lounges and on bulletin boards in all academic disciplines (not just STEM) will increase accessibility to the important information.
We attempted to keep the poster light-on-text, but recognize that its word count and the number of topics addressed may hinder some people from reading it to completion or accessing the additional article linked via QR code. This resource can also be accessed by Mentees; they, too, have an important role in creating classroom environments and can benefit from our resource.
Ethan Fong & Niketa Kou, Spring 2022
Physics 70 Scavenger Hunt
One of the problems we talked about as mentors is that we don’t get to know our mentees until they need us. So halfway through a semester, the night before a midterm a dozen people show up that you don’t know all of a sudden needing your help and you know nothing about them and don’t have time to connect. I brainstormed some ideas of how solve this, but I think a fun way would be to have a scavenger hunt for intro classes the first week of classes that force newbies to get to know the department.
Maddie Jones, Spring 2021
Stereotype Threat and Imposter Syndrome
The purpose of the project is to explain and contrast the concepts of imposter syndrome and stereotype threat through presenting a virtual fun conversation between two mentors. The conversation also brings up the concrete strategies mentors could implement to tackle with these issues. The entire project is presented in several pages of fake ’chat history’. A potential pitfall could be that as the conversation needs to look informal and concise due to its form, the reader might need a little more context beforehand to understand what the conversation is about. The target audience is therefore relatively more experienced mentors, people who have a basic idea of the two concepts or people who have taken this class.
Xuehuai He, Spring 2021
A Mentor's Guide to Using Inclusive Language in STEM
Abby Tiller & Kaito Robson, Fall 2022
Tips for Mentors & Mentees in the Research Lab
Hannah Caris, Fall 2022
Pomona College Mentorship Agreement Form
Inspired by the RHS Roommate Agreement, this leads a discussion between professors and mentors on the mentorship expectations, like if a mentor should check answers, how mentor sessions should be organized and ran, how often communication can happen, etc. This is meant to be discussed in the beginning of the semester between the professor and class mentors.
Nelia Perry, Fall 2022
Guidelines for First-time Mentors in STEM Fields
Sara Colando & Noah Benjamin, Fall 2022
Enhancing Student Learning and Retention in Mentor Sessions
Sathya Siddapureddy & Ayame Bluebell, Fall 2022
PhysAstro Department Yearly Timeline
The physics department has lots of traditions and yearly expectations depending on your class year. Here's an infographic that nicely shows them!
Haakon, Spring 2023
PhysAstro Tracks in the Department
Infographic that advertises all the possible tracks in the physics department that aren't just general physics, astrophysics, or astronomy. (Did you know we had an education track?!)
Isabelle Winnick, Spring 2023
PhysAstro Course Sequences
Infographic that makes the possible course sequences easier to walk through and read during department fairs!
Isabelle Winnick, Spring 2023
Helping Neurodivergent Students Succeed in Mentor Sessions
Incluvity-motivated teaching strategies!
Stefanie Howard, Spring 2023
What is an REU?
Tag Curwen and Amelia Zhao, Spring 2023
A Field Guide to the Molecular Biology Major
This document is intended to serve as a resource for incoming students in the Molecular Biology department. It includes: A summary of general graduation requirements, Major-specific requirements, An example 4-year plan for classes. Tips on when to apply for summer programs / join a research lab.
Zach von Behren, Spring 2023
Form templates for your convenience :)
Let's take a look at how we've done....
Results gathered and presented by our lovely researchers.
Survey results on online mentor sessions (Math Dept. edition)
Take a look at the feedback we gathered from Math students in Fall 2020 regarding online mentor sessions.
Chris Meng, Fall 2020
Physics 70 survey (executive summary)
A summary of a detailed report on why students leave the physics major after the introductory course.
Jake Hauser & Isaac Cui, 2019
"The Brilliance Trap" in Pomona Physics Students: Survey Results
We conducted a short survey of Pomona physics students to determine their ideas on whether talent was required to be a physicist. We found that, while most students surveyed agreed that brilliance was not required to be a physicist, some still reported letting their beliefs of their own brilliance affect the classes they took.
Kylie Thompson, Marckie Zeender, Fall 2021
Other resources we gathered...
Supporting LGBT+ Physicists: A Best Practices Guide for Departments
Submitted by Zoë Haggard, Fall 2020