| Presentation Proposal - NACADA Annual Conference |
| Presentation Info and Handouts |
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Code=276
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Conference Year:
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2026
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Session #:
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(SP)
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Title:
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Belonging on The Boundary: Peer Mentoring in Graduate Mathematics Education |
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Lead Presenter:
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Jennie Burel |
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Date:
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October 06, 2026 Time: 10:30 am - 11:25 am |
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Room:
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207 AB - Conv Ctr |
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Abstract:
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Graduate students in mathematics frequently experience departmental membership as institutional proximity without genuine communal belonging, yet formal advising structures - both staff and faculty - rarely bridge this gap. This paper presents findings from a five-week phenomenological action research study examining how a peer mentoring workshop, designed around Akkerman and Bakker's (2011) boundary learning mechanisms and situated within Wenger's (2000) community of practice framework, transformed belonging experiences among nine graduate participants in a research-intensive mathematics department. Thematic analysis of reflective surveys, arts-based identity collages, and focus group discussions yielded two primary themes: Social Connections and Sharing and Receiving Experiences. Findings reveal that peer mentors' near-peer positionality transmitted tacit institutional knowledge that formal advising channels typically cannot provide, and that the intervention's cross-program design functioned as a deliberate enculturation mechanism complementing existing advising infrastructure. |
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Handouts
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Note: Handouts (if offered for this session) are accessible via the conference app. |
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