For Mentors

Overview

The mentoring section is primarily directed towards mentors themselves. This section defines mentoring, explains how mentoring is similar and different to other similar "teaching roles", identifies the participants involved in mentoring and suggests possible roles for each participant, provides references to resources and tools to assist mentors in their roles, explores benefits, troubleshooting and diversity issues for mentors, and mentor effectiveness.

These topics correspond with how this website is organized and can be located on the website navigation bar.

What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is an advisory role in which an experienced, highly regarded, collegial person guides another individual in the development and examination of their own ideas, learning, and personal and professional development. The relationship is dynamic and reciprocal. One reason for mentoring is to help the mentee increase his or her personal effectiveness and productivity. (Shea, 1994) p 56

A mentor is someone who guides another individual (a mentee) in the development and examination of their own ideas, learning, and personal and professional development. Within such a relationship the mentor assists with career development and may guide the mentee through organizational, social and political networks.

Similar terms for mentor may include, but are not limited to: advisor, advocate, ally, benefactor, buddy, coach, counselor, guide, networker, patron, preceptor, resource facilitator, role model, sponsor, teacher.

Mentoring can be structured or unstructured:

• mentoring program

  • mentor/mentee pairs are assigned to one another, usually for a specified amount of time (structured, formal, facilitated), or

  • mentoring is organized and supported although the mentor/mentee pairs self-select (semi-structured).

• classical mentoring occurs when two parties are drawn together naturally by their personal characteristics, attributes and common values (also referred to as unstructured, informal).
  
  Similar terms for mentoring may include, but are not limited to: buddy system, career development relationships, coaching, learning relationships, orienting, peer or co-mentoring, precepting, role modeling, scaffolding, sponsorship, true mentoring.

How Mentors Can Apply Principles of Adult Learning
A mentor challenges the learner to consider or reconsider their mental constructs or ways of doing. The learner self organizes his/her own behaviour and makes changes on what is valued. This kind of learning is the way to autonomous continual learning. Teachers like mentors are learner focused and select activities to promote learning. (Malderez & Bodoczky, 1999 pp.10-11) Mentors should appreciate:

• Learning is evolutionary and has plateaus and periods of acceleration

• Participation enhances learning
  

• Repetition strengthens learning
  

• Reinforcement enhances learning
  

• Variety in learning activities increases interest
  

• Readiness to learn enhances retention
  

• Immediate use of information and skills enhances retention of learning
  

(Lantz, 2000)