Share Paper: The Virtual Apprentice: Harnessing the Power of Technology to Create a National Network of College and Career Ready Leaders
Abstract: Research affirms that mentoring enhances learning and personal growth. In C.A.M.P. Osprey at the University of North Florida, college students served as leadership mentors to K-12 students. To overcome geographic and financial barriers faced by high-poverty urban and rural partner schools, the program harnessed virtual mentoring through videoconferencing technology to connect K-12 students with their collegiate mentors. Cognitive apprenticeship and self-determination theory provided the theoretical frameworks for the design of the mentoring program. The mentored students demonstrated substantial improvements in academic achievement and attendance during their mentoring semester, with the virtually mentored students gaining as much or more than their ...