Who are the people at your school or work site (or beyond) who bring you strength, energy, passion and hope?
They will be your true mentors.
Broker Mentoring
ROLE
- Mentor provides orientation to school or work site logistics and culture
- Mentor brokers involvement of colleagues as needs arise
CONSIDERATIONS
- Consultant type relationship, fewer opportunities for collaboration and coaching
- May be initial support until other mentoring relationships are established or ongoing throughout the year
One to One Mentor Matching
ROLE
- Mentor is site-based and is matched on an individual basis to a new colleague
- Mentor adopts consultant, collaboration and coaching stances based on the needs of the person they are working with
CONSIDERATIONS
- Mentoring relationships that flourish are reciprocal – both parties learn and grow
- Greater “ownership” occurs when the mentor has volunteered and the person being mentored has been involved in the choice of mentor
Group Mentoring
ROLE
- Mentor works with 2 or more individuals or one individual may have 2 or more mentors
- Model provide opportunities for collaboration between both new and experienced colleagues
CONSIDERATIONS
- This model provides flexibility if school or work site has large number of new staff (or mentors)
- This model is often embedded in a school or site wide “mentoring culture” where all staff are engaged in ongoing collaboration
Informal Mentoring
ROLE
- Individuals connect with a variety of colleagues as needs arise
- Mentor/mentee roles are fluid – often referred to as Peer Mentoring as in many cases the informal mentors are relatively new themselves
CONSIDERATIONS
- Spontaneous, informal nature of relationship lends itself to collaboration
- Relying on “accident, geography and friendship” may not work for all as new staff could feel isolated if not part of any mentoring relationships
Online Mentoring
ROLE
- Using online conferencing new staff can participate in discussion and sharing with both experienced and other beginning colleagues
CONSIDERATIONS
- Enables access to a variety of resources and perspectives outside the school or work site
- Not everyone may feel comfortable sharing issues and concerns in a “public” online forum
Communities of Practice
ROLE
- Educators with similar teaching assignments and/or professional interests form learning networks across a region or district
- These networks may meet face to face and/or online
CONSIDERATIONS
- Extends the mentoring web beyond school or work site
- While board level support of these learning networks can be very helpful, it is important that the learning agenda is not externally mandated