Nathan Dolenc

University of Virginia, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Nathan Dolenc is an education researcher whose work centers on informal STEM learning environments, with a particular focus on mentorship dynamics and student autonomy within competitive robotics teams. His research explores how out-of-school-time programs, especially high school robotics competitions, serve as powerful venues for developing engineering thinking and self-directed learning skills in young people. Dolenc's most cited work, "Hands Off: Mentoring a Student-Led Robotics Team" (2015, 12 citations), investigates how mentors who deliberately step back can shape team culture and empower students to take ownership of the engineering process. Complementing this, his earlier study on self-directed learning (2014) demonstrates that competitive robotics environments naturally encourage students to take initiative and follow through independently on complex challenges. His later examination of an apprenticeship mentoring model (2020) rounds out a nuanced body of work that critically interrogates the spectrum between under- and over-involvement by adult mentors. Together, Dolenc's research offers valuable insights for educators and program designers seeking to optimize mentor-student relationships in experiential STEM learning contexts.