AN EXAMINATION OF MENTORING FUNCTIONS IN THE CAPSTONE COURSE

Throughout the literature detailing projects in engineering capstone courses, researchers frequently refer to the faculty role as that of a mentor. As such studies make clear, the role of mentoring in capstone projects is critical to support students in the progression of the course. Yet the concept itself remains relatively ill-defined in the engineering education literature, making it more challenging for researchers and educators alike to identify patterns and best practices across contexts. Using a framework developed by Kram to characterize a variety of mentoring functions, this paper describes the key functions and roles associated with mentoring in the capstone course as well as a factors that can influence these mentoring environments. The results provide the engineering education community with a more complete understanding of the nature of design teaching in a way that can be used not only for professional development of current design faculty, but also in the training of new design educators.