We take the approach of moving the students from a dependent role at the start of the REU activities to a highly independent role at the finish.  Much of this development comes through working with the student's mentor as his or her research progresses. This development progresses as the mentor coaches the student to think more and more deeply about the ecological questions they are asking and how to answer them. 

In addition to helping move REU students towards a more independent role, mentors provide scientific and educational guidance. The goal of the mentoring process is to help the REU students achieve their potential. This requires that the mentor assume different roles depending on the needs of the REU participant. These roles may include: teacher, guide, coach, advisor, role model, or referral agent. It is important to note that while we place significant emphasis on the mentor, this relationship will only be successful if the REU student is willing to take responsibility for his or her growth. Although we do not have a set policy, we encourage mentors and REU participants to meet frequently, and to spend time together in the field as well as the lab. In our experience these meetings usually occur most frequently during the question generation and experimental design phases. 

These informal mentor-student meetings are held in addition to the weekly meetings of all the REU students. Each week the REU coordinator, the REU students, and several of the scientists gather to discuss issues relevant to the three primary objectives mentioned above. These topics have included: "What is science?", "What is ecology?", scientific ethics, women and minorities in science, pursuing graduate degrees in ecology, and career opportunities in ecology. The goal of these meeting is to discuss the relevant topics necessary for a comprehensive understanding of the discipline of ecology. In addition, we find that these meetings help to foster better communication and interaction among the REU participants.