WIP: Exploring the viability of a Bi-directional Skill-Based Mentoring Program on Communication Skills for Graduate Students in Education and Computer Science Students

Due to the increasing interest in integrating data into various instructional decisions, data science skills have become important to promote in Ed.D. students. Meanwhile, there is a similar increase in interest in improving communication skills among engineering students. The needs of these two communities open room for an exchange of skills and mentoring opportunities. Bi-directional, two-way mentoring emphasizes the reciprocal exchange of knowledge, skills, and experiences between mentors and mentees, transcending traditional hierarchical relationships. While these two communities could benefit from each other by helping their counterpart acquire or improve their respective skills, two elements must exist for bi-directional mentoring to be effective: commitment and recognition of each other's value. Therefore, in this research-to-practice WIP article, the researchers explore computer science students' perceptions of the importance of communication skills and the value they see in mentors helping them gain these skills. Mainly, we address the following research questions: RQ1: To what extent do computer science student value communication skills in their academic and future professional pursuits? RQ2: To what extent do computer science students value mentoring to learn and develop communication skills? RQ3: Is there a difference in the value that computer science students pose in learning and developing communication skills with and without mentoring? To answer these questions, we distributed a survey in two different classes at two different institutions in a southeastern region of the US in Spring 2024. In this WIP paper, the researchers present the results of the computer science students' values related to participating in a bi-directional mentoring program to learn communication skills. Overall, students value communication skills and know their critical role in their future. This is shown by high-scale scores obtained in mentoring for communications skills.