Mentoring

Your participation will be the basis of our exploratory research mentoring students in our online programs and I am very grateful for your willingness to serve our students!

Thank you Thank you for agreeing to be a mentor to one of our graduate

students!

Dr. Scott E. Hamm, Abilene Christian University

this slideshow will serve as an overview to our process.

You will make it happen

mentoring

what do you “see” in your mind’s eye when you think of mentoring?

Here’s what other’s see…

This is what clip art sees

Here’s what a google image

search of mentoring

sees

Here is my wife and daughter, that’s what I

see

a definition

The logical, right-brained side of me feels it’s time to interject a smart sounding, comprehensive definition here…

OK, better yet. Why don’t you take a moment and construct your

definition? That work?

i bet you have come up with a great definition! As you can imagine, there are some pretty complex, academic definitions that make me feel smart just saying them. However, I usually “do” the definition that is simple, makes sense and somehow connects with something I’ve done before.

Here’s my definition:

Being available for friendship,

knowledge, and guidance.

Traditionally, one of the primary roles of a mentor has been as a socializing agent, helping the less experienced be knowledgeable in, and become a successful part of the system within which the protégé seeks to exist (Kram,1985; Levinson and others, 1978).

functions of mentors

This came from a journal article and

it stuck with me, it resonated with

me and captures the essence of

what I am asking from you

The concept of mentoring is well accepted in most facets of education andbusiness as a vehicle for experienced persons to guide, prepare, and assistnovices both personally and professionally. Mentoring is many times seenas a formal process, where mentors and protégés are paired together withnorms of interaction, duties, and responsibilities in order for the mentorshipto be considered “effective” and “successful” (Hansman, 2000). Othersspeak of a system of informal mentoring, where mentors and protégésmeet and bond through their commonalities (Caffarella, 1993). Fassingerand Hensler-McGinnis (2005) offer a third alternative, facilitated mentoring,which combines the organizational structure of formal mentoring withthe naturalness of free selection and the attraction of informal mentoring.No matter what the format is, these definitions of mentoring assume thatmentoring consists of a one-on-one relationship that lasts over an extendedperiod of time, where the mentor and protégé journey together throughphases of entry to exit (Cohen, 1995; Daloz, 1986; Kram, 1985; Zachary,2000).

here is some more scholarly material on mentoring. read if you like or proceed to the next slide!

so how will this “happen?”

Job DescriptionPosition Online Mentor

Responsibilities Provide wisdom, guidance, conversation, challenge and friendship to your mentee.

Time Commitment 6 weeks

Daily Think, pray, etc. about your mentee and resources, ideas, challenges, etc. you can provide.Weekly Participate in one email exchange with your

mentee. It may go back-and-forth daily, but at least one email to get the ball rolling.

Optional Phone conversations can replace or be added to your weekly email. However, let the process dictate if and when that is the direction you and/or the mentee want to go.

SO, WHAT DO WE “TALK” ABOUT?Here are some questions to help you to get to know each other

•What are your goals and dreams? How can I help?•What do you do in your spare time?•Who is your hero?•What books have influenced you?•What makes you laugh?•What are the 5 best things about you?•What superpower would you take, if you could?•Who was the best teacher you ever had?•Like cold weather or warm weather?•Favorite movie star(s)?•The nicest thing a friend has ever done for you?•If could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?•What are three things you remember about Kindergarten?

What are you working on this week in your course?What is the course about?Why are you working on a Master’s Degree?Where do you want to go from here?How is the course challenging you?

Some more questions

Some questions to go deeper

1. What is it that you really want to be and do?2. What are you doing really well that is helping you get there?3. What are you not doing well that is preventing you from getting there?4. What will you do differently tomorrow to meet those challenges?5. How can I help / where do you need the most help

something to consider…

Your mentee is busy and has a lot of work to do in class. Don’t assume

that because of their busy schedule (and yours) that they don’t have time

for a mentoring relationship. They have requested it and will benefit tremendously from your support.

Now what?

I will introduce you to your mentee by email. Then, release you to start

the mentoring relationship.

I will provide a weekly email with tips and ideas. This will also give you an

opportunity to ask questions and give me an update on how things are

going.