Student-Centered Leadership

The Student-Centered Leadership program provides structured training for faculty, staff, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers across NewFoS institutions. Each year, SCL focuses on a core theme within leadership development, giving participants the opportunity to strengthen their professional practice and collaboration across research and academic contexts.

For 2025–2026, the theme is Mentoring Skills — preparing participants to guide, support, and develop students and peers more effectively in research and professional settings.

Program Focus (2025–2026: Mentoring Skills)

Strategies for building effective mentoring relationships.
Practicing communication for constructive feedback.
Approaches for setting expectations and supporting growth.
Applying mentoring practices in diverse academic and research contexts.

Who Can Participate

Graduate students
Postdoctoral researchers
All from NewFoS partner institutions.

Structure

A series of monthly interactive sessions across the academic year, paired with monthly working sessions for graduate students, post docs, and research scientists serving as mentors for the follow year's REM program.
Each session combines case studies, applied exercises, and opportunities to practice mentoring strategies.
Facilitated by NewFoS leadership and guests with contributions from partner institutions.

Outcomes

Greater confidence in mentoring and leadership roles.
Practical tools for supporting students and peers in labs, classrooms, and research groups.
Stronger cross-institution collaboration and professional networks.

2025-2026 Trainings

The following is subject to change as our program continues to develop.

This academic year our planned trainings will be:

November - Scaffolding: Backward Design for Research and Teaching
December - From Understanding to Impact: Framing Research Through the 5Ps
January - Feedback and Accountability (Title TBD)
February - Asset-Based Engagement
March - Ethics and Independence in Research (Title TBD)
April - Pedagogy in Practice:
May - Professionalization and Mentoring Philosophy (Title TBD)

Student Centered Leadership: Mentoring Skills Cohort, 2025–2026

Below is our 2025–2026 Student Centered Leadership: Mentoring Skills cohort, representing graduate researchers and postdoctoral scholars from New Frontiers of Sound partner institutions and UCF. These participants are developing practical mentoring skills that strengthen research teams, support undergraduate researchers, and contribute to productive, collaborative lab environments across the Center. The majority of these participants will serve as mentors for the 2026-2027 REM cohort.

The cohort meets monthly for guided training in mentoring strategies, communication, research planning, and effective student support. Their involvement helps build a strong and sustainable mentoring culture within NewFoS.

Upcoming Trainings

November - Scaffolding: Backward Design for Research and Teaching

Description:
Every strong research or instructional experience begins with clarity about what participants should understand and be able to do. This session introduces the Understanding by Design (UBD) framework, adapted for both STEM courses and research environments. Participants will begin by listing key knowledge and abilities they hope learners or team members develop, then work backward to identify how to scaffold toward them.

Why It Matters:
Backward design supports intentional planning across STEM contexts, from course syllabi and lab onboarding to structured research projects. When faculty and postdocs align learning outcomes, evidence, and experiences, they create clearer, more equitable, and more transparent paths to understanding.

Presenter: Sara Chavarria
Date: Thursday, November 20 or Monday, November 24
Time: 10:00 – 11:30 AM AZ | 12:00 – 1:30 PM ET or 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM AZ | 12:30 – 2:00 PM ET
Location: Zoom - if interested email gbatchelder@arizona.edu

Key Takeaways:

Define learning and performance goals for courses, labs, or research teams.
Write UBD-style understanding statements.
Align activities and assessments with those intended outcomes.

Tool:
Activity worksheet

December - From Understanding to Impact: Framing Research Through the 5Ps

Description:
If November explored how we help others reach understanding, December explores why that understanding matters. Wiggins and McTighe argue that a mature understanding involves transfer, applying knowledge meaningfully in new contexts. That movement toward relevance is where societal impact begins.

This session continues that concept using the 5Ps Framework: Place, People, Personal, Practice, and Profession, as a way to reflect on how research and teaching reach beyond the lab or classroom. Instead of treating Broader Impacts as a checkbox, participants will practice tracing authentic lines between their work and broader change.

Why It Matters:
Understanding and impact are deeply connected. When researchers articulate how their work influences communities, practices, and professions, they strengthen proposals, teaching statements, and lab culture while modeling purpose-driven scholarship.

Presenter: Sara Chavarria
Dates: Thursday, December 11 or Friday, December 12
Time: 10:00 – 11:30 AM AZ | 12:00 – 1:30 PM ET or 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM AZ | 3:00 – 4:30 PM ET
Location: Zoom Link

Key Takeaways:

Bridge the UBD idea of transfer with real-world impact.
Use the 5Ps Framework to examine how research or teaching connect to larger systems.
Draft a Societal Impact Statement or narrative for grants, curricula, or lab materials.
Identify practical ways to communicate impact within NewFoS and beyond.

Tool:
5Ps Reflection and Societal Impact Statement Template

Resources & Past Work

The Student-Centered Leadership program has been offered annually with a variety of themes. Past cycles have included projects, presentations, and activities designed to build leadership capacity across NewFoS.

Available Resources (coming soon)