One of the many complexities in our role as mentors is providing feedback that is respectful, non-evaluative, growth oriented and meaningful. The practical ideas in this section of the eBook are intended as tools for your mentoring toolkit that you may wish to adopt, adapt and personalize in your role.
While our context is mentoring colleagues, one of the most powerful connections that many educators make is that these same tools and approaches can be applied in an equally complex place – the classroom.
Scaling Questions as a Tool for Debriefing | Creating a Third Point
Appreciative Inquiry as a Tool for Reflection and Growth
Mentoring Challenges | Building Influence | Mentoring Resources
Scaling Questions as a Tool for Debriefing
Opportunities for individuals to reflect on practice and debrief with mentors can be powerful learning for both parties. One approach to debriefing conversations is scaling questions adapted from the solution-focused conversation work of Nancy McConkey.
Scaling Questions Conversation Map at a Glance
- On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst lesson you’ve experienced and 10 being the best, how was this lesson for you?
- Oh a <e.g., 6> – What were the positive things that made it a 6?
- How might you bump it up a notch to a 7? (specific ideas)
- Continue with Coaching stance or shift to Consultant or Collaborator based on needs
What is powerful about this tool is not only the variety of mentoring contexts within which it can be applied but also the underlying assumptions described below,
Attributes Based Approach
A purposeful seeking out of strengths is at the heart of this idea. Often, the person you are mentoring has given their challenges considerable thought prior to speaking with you.
Islands of Competence
By asking about the positive things you ensure the conversation begins with a success. Even a “1” is better than a “0!”
Ownership resides with the Mentee
Your impression is set aside as ultimately the person you are mentoring will be the one implementing the ideas in their own context (classroom, school, work site).
Flexibility of Stance & Role
As a skilled mentor you may choose to continue in the coaching stance or shift to consultant or collaborator, based on the needs of the person you are debriefing with.
At first, scaling questions may feel a bit like following a script but over time this tool can simply be embedded into a mentor’s repertoire of learning focused conversation strategies.
Don’t Like Numbers?
For some, applying a quantitative number to an experience may not feel comfortable. If that’s the case, the initial scaling question can be simply adapted as in the example below:
- Thinking about both the worst morning you’ve ever had and the best one; how was this morning for you?
- Oh…the morning was “fine” – Fine sounds better than so so…what made it fine?
- How might you bump it up to “very fine” (specific ideas)
- Continue with Coaching stance or shift to Consultant or Collaborator based on needs
Additional Resources
These videos are part of the Associate Teacher Partnership Project led by Lakehead University in collaboration with 7 local school districts to support the mentoring of Associate Teachers.
- Complexity of Teaching and Learning (1 min 56 sec)
- Scaling Questions as a Tool for Debriefing (2 min 43 sec)
This video is part of an OISE/TDSB project entitled Authentic Voices from the Field.
Associate Teaching as Learning - This glideshow is my attempt to summarize the strong connection between the foundational elements of mentorship and the role of associate teachers.
Creating a Third Point
As mentors we are often called upon to provide feedback. So how do we do this in a respectful and meaningful manner? Creating a third point can greatly assist as it helps shift the focus away from personal to external.
Thinking about our scaling questions example may be helpful:
- How did you do this morning? – personal
- From 1 to 10, how was the lesson? – external, third point
Collaboration vs. “Face-offs”
If you and your colleague are sitting down for any planning, reflecting or problem solving conversation, position the chairs at a 45 degree angle rather than directly facing each other. This is also a great set up for parent – teacher interviews where you can sit in this collaborative stance with student work on the table in front of you both as the third point.
Similarly, using hand gestures you can metaphorically place the problem or challenge in the physical space in front of you both during a learning focused conversation.
Observation vs. Impression
Often when we provide feedback without meaning to we imply judgement. Here is an example:
- The students were out of control – perception, implies personal judgement
- During the lesson four students left their seat – observation of behaviour, third point
Avoiding “You Should”
As mentors we are often called upon for input and advice and certainly based on individual needs this is an important component of the consultant stance. That said, if there are two words we strive to avoid using in mentoring conversations they are “you should." For example:
- You should make sure everyone is listening and paying attention before you begin the lesson – feels like a command
- Something that worked for me was using a signal to focus students before giving instructions – feels like an idea
Appreciative Inquiry as a Tool for Reflection and Growth
Appreciative Inquiry is an “attributes-based” approach that can be used to facilitate reflective conversations either during formal professional learning sessions or as part of the ongoing dialogue between mentors and colleagues.
At the core of Appreciative Inquiry is the belief that all participants come to mentoring relationships possessing many strengths and that by building on these assets, the answers to the issues and challenges they face can be collaboratively constructed.
This thinking is why we always begin with an examination of what is working well in current practice (themes of success). Many of these themes can then be applied as actual strategies to collaboratively address specific challenges and issues.
Appreciative Inquiry Conversation Map
Below you’ll find some practical ideas for structuring mentoring conversations.. The Appreciative Inquiry Commons is a great place to explore these concepts greater depth.
Before the Conversation: Power of Listening
At its core, listening shows we care. It is a powerful tool for establishing and building the relational trust essential for any mentoring relationship.
Reviewing the elements of listening sets the context for Appreciative Inquiry conversations and promotes an open, non-evaluative atmosphere conducive to meaningful sharing of thoughts and ideas.
Themes of Success: What’s already working well?
As you think about your commitment to making a difference for students, tell a story about the best experience you have had so far in your work this year?
- Without being humble, what skills, values, and attitudes do you bring to your work that contributes to your ability to support and mentor others?
Often in our practice we can focus on what is not working – creating time for paired conversations about what is working well can help bring to the fore the strengths and attributes of both new colleagues and mentors, as well as highlighting the successes they’ve experienced in the year.
Following this segment of the conversation, participants may note common threads or themes that ran through their stories of success. Some of these themes of success may provide useful strategies for the issues and challenges participants encounter.
Issues and Challenges: What’s not working so well?
What issues you are encountering? (i.e. What are the stones in your shoe?)
- Looking ahead, what are the “wishes” you have for your role?
Acknowledging the real world challenges both new and experienced colleagues encounter in their work brings authenticity to this process.
As the listener in the conversation, it is important for mentors to remember their role is non-evaluative and supportive.
Practical Ideas and Next Steps: Collaborative Strategy Harvest
What specific ideas, strategies, and resources are you considering to address the issue or concerns expressed?
- So What / Now What – share an individual action plan of possible next steps (next day | next week | next month)
When next steps have been established, the mentor assists the speaker in developing some measures that will let them know if the approach they’ve chosen is working.
The mentor encourages the beginning teacher to respond with specific indicators that they would like to see. At this point the mentor may choose to affirm what they have heard and bring the conversation to a close.
Mentor Voices
In my work across Ontario, through appreciative inquiry, mentors in a variety of roles have shared their most meaningful experiences. Here are their voices:
Mentoring Challenges
Relationships are messy, complex and need continued care. Below you'll see ideas from mentors to address common challenges as they seek to support their colleagues while continuing foster their own learning and growth.
Mitigating the Challenge of Time
- Creating and using an online space to connect and collaborate
- Using common blocks of time - based on individual preferences
- Engaging in a "minds on" conversation or email prior to meeting so time is focused
- Modelling self-acceptance - i.e. can't do everything
- Utilizing quick "on the fly" connections
- Using a template (online or old school on paper) where both parties can access asynchronously as a way of connecting in between or in advance of scheduled meeting
- Planning regular meetings - coordinating your calendars and using existing structures (e.g., lunch after an area principals meeting)
- Continuing to build and deepen relational trust… results in more meaningful sharing and time together being well used
Extending Thinking with Mediational Questions
- Paraphrasing to clarify understanding of both yourself and the speaker
- Using a tone of wonder in the questions you are asking
- Employing the coaching stance to elicit thinking
- Remembering the importance of authentic listening
Going Deeper with Meaningful Feedback
- Considering if the person you're speaking with has the tools to receive feedback.... readiness? How will the feedback be used - is it productive?
- Asking scaling questions as a tool
- Being open ourselves to ongoing feedback and learning
Facilitating Learning in Groups
- Putting students as the centre via the third point… supporting the well-being and learning of students are why we're all here
- Creating ways to build relationships with and within the group
- Building personal connections to learning topics
- More ideas in this glideshow
Working with Reluctant Colleagues
- Revisiting how might trust be built (or rebuilt)?
- Reflecting on what does no mean?....could mean I don't know how...I'm not ready....I don't feel involved.....surfacing what's behind the "no"
- Slowing down the pace of learning
Mentoring Case Stories
The "case stories" in this glideshow are intended as provocations for mentors to share practical ideas for supporting colleagues (and each other).
Building Influence
Below are some key ideas about how as mentors we can be mindful in our approach to “the complex dynamics of human interaction” that shape all of our relationships.
Self-Knowledge
Knowing how we respond internally and externally is the 50% of the equation we can influence in any human interaction. Just like with students, we can make conscious choices to inflate or deflate challenges we encounter in interacting with our colleagues.
Power of Listening
Simply being “present” and attending fully is an integral part of establishing the relational trust that is an essential component of any mentoring relationship.
Attributes Based Approach
By purposefully seeking out the strengths and attributes our colleagues possess we empower not only the people we are working with, but continue to engage in our own learning and growth. We have so much to learn from and with each other!
Well-Being
In a nutshell, by taking care of ourselves we have more to give to others. Sounds simplistic, but sometimes there are deep truths in simple ideas. Basic things like daily physical activity, reflection, nutrition, and laughter are powerful gifts we can give ourselves, those we mentor, and ultimately the students we serve.
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Reflections | Connections | Intersections
- Are there ways you might adopt or adapt scaling questions in your role?
- How might applying an appreciative inquiry approach impact the way you mentor, or lead, or teach (or all 3)?
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Mentoring Resources
Mentoring Webs | Trust | Learning Focused Conversations
Meaningful Feedback | Powerful Mentoring Designs