I’m often asked how long a new teacher should have a mentor. My first answer is forever as in my ideal world we would all be engaged in ongoing mentoring relationships at every age, stage and phase of our career. The mentoring stances of consultant, collaborator and coach suggest a second answer is possible too. Perhaps as mentors our ultimate goal is to mentor ourselves out of a job by fostering the independence of the person we are supporting.
While the 3Cs described below provide a practical frame, I would submit there is a fourth C that is an essential underpinning for any mentoring relationship. Caring.
The 3Cs as a Framework | A Conversation Map for Mediating Thinking
The 3Cs as a Framework
In their book Mentoring Matters: A Practical Guide to Learning-Focused Relationships Laura Lipton and Bruce Wellman describe a practical framework for mentors to consider. The chart below provides an at a glance guide to the 3Cs adapted with permission from their work.
While these 3Cs are helpful as a frame, effective mentors demonstrate flexibility of stance and role based on the needs of the people they support. Mentoring relationships that flourish are reciprocal – all parties learn and grow!
Consultant
Offering Support and Providing Resources
Characteristics
- Mentor shares key information about logistics, school or work site culture, policies and practices
- Beyond simple advice, a consultant provides the “why,” “what,” and “how” of their thinking
Cues
- Credible voice / Use of pronoun “I” / Phrases like “it’s important to”…. “keep in mind that”
Cautions
- We tend to default to this stance
- Overuse can build dependency on the mentor
Collaborator
Creating Challenge and Encouraging Growth
Characteristics
- Mentor and colleague co-develop strategies and approaches
- 50/50 pattern of interaction and idea production
Cues
- Confident, approachable voice / Use of pronoun “we” / Phrases like “let’s think about”…. “how might we”
Cautions
- Mentors need to ensure collaboration is authentic and they don’t take over
Coach
Facilitating Professional Vision
Characteristics
- Mentor supports internal idea production through inquiry and paraphrase
- Ultimate aim is to develop colleague’s internal resources for self-coaching and independence
Cues
- Approachable voice, attending fully / Use of pronoun “you”
- Questions like “what might be some ways to?”.... “given all that you know, what options are you considering?”
Cautions
- Stance can cause frustration if colleague lacks internal resources for idea generation
Overview of the 3Cs Video (2 min 5 sec)
Monthly Ideas for Mentors - I've recently updated this guide which I created a number of years ago for the ministry of education in Ontario. It's an attempt to walk a mentor through their year with guiding thoughts and key prompts to explore in the consulting, collaborating and coaching stances.
A Conversation Map for Mediating Thinking
Many mentors may find themselves engaged in the three types of conversations described below:
- Anticipating a new project, assignment or unit of study (Planning)
- Looking back upon a meeting, event or any completed task (Reflecting)
- Addressing a specific challenge or concern that is top of mind (Problem Solving)
Example of a Conversation Map
Learning focused conversations represent authentic opportunities for mentors to continue to listen and by doing so foster the relational trust that is so important for successful mentoring relationships.
The conversation map below is intended to be a starting point for thinking. An attribute of skilled mentors is they demonstrate flexibility of stance and role based on the needs of the person they are working with.
(1) Elegant Paraphrase
So even though the rest of your class is coming along well you’re feeling frustrated because there’s one student you just don’t feel is connecting with anybody.
As the beginning teacher begins the conversation, the mentor models the elements of listening thereby encouraging the person to continue speaking. When the person is “finished” explaining their issue in one sentence the mentor summarizes the gist of what they have heard.
An elegant paraphrase can reflect heart (how the person is feeling) or content (the big issue or challenge). In the illustrative example above, the mentor has summarized both feeling and content. Usually the speaker responds with an emphatic yeah and/or elaborates on the concern or issue in greater detail.
(2) Explore Options
Given all that you know about building inclusion in your classroom, what are some of the options you are considering as you try to help build connections between your new student and the rest of the class?
Instead of offering advice or autobiography, the mentor assists the beginning teacher in accessing their thinking about the choices they have. Key to this step is a “positive pre-supposition” that the speaker has already given the issue thought and has internal strategies and resources they can bring to bear.
Note that the example question is forward looking. At this point the speaker will often provide a synopsis of a number of things they are considering. The role of the mentor is to continue to listen without offering any counsel. Once a number of options have been surfaced, consider proceeding to step # 3.
(3) Plan Next Steps
Wow, you’ve obviously given this a lot of thought. As you go back to your classroom, what will be the first step you take in your effort to help this student find an entry point into your class community?
The mentor’s goal here is to have the beginning teacher consider all the options they have shared and articulate a specific next step or strategy that they will apply to the issue, problem or challenge.
Once the beginning teacher has articulated the practical idea(s) they are going to walk away with from this conversation and attempt to implement in their context, consider proceeding to step # 4.
(4) Self-Evaluation
So, you’re going to start by having the student work more in groups with others - how will you know if this strategy is working?
When next steps have been established, the mentor assists the speaker in developing some “measures” that will let them know about whether 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.
Additional Resources
The videos below are part of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Mentor Training series and used here with permission from ETFO.
- Coaching Conversation with a New Teacher (3 min 37 sec)
- Value of Coaching Conversations – A Reflection (28 sec)
- Overview of the Conversation Map (1 min 41 sec)
Intellectual Humility
"Intellectual humility is the recognition that what you believe to be true may be wrong” (Mark Leary - What Does Intellectual Humility Look Like?)
Over the years I have become more than a bit leery of certainty. In fact the more I learn about the complexity of teaching and learning the less certain I've become.
When someone says "this is the way" I always hope they will add "that works for me...in my context...in my school...with my students." As mentors listening with uncertainty and being intellectually humble are powerful gifts we can give those we support (and learn from).
Listening with Uncertainty
- Listening with an open mind and an open heart
- Acknowledging that our beliefs (however valid and solid they may feel to us) could be fallible
- Demonstrating sincere interest in what another person says in order to be better informed about our own ideas and beliefs
- Recognizing and valuing divergent opinions
- Seeing listening as an opportunity for personal and professional growth
Developing our Intellectual Humility
Recognizing our own Biases
- The moment we can identify that our perspective and set of principles aren't necessarily inherently right or universally held by all people, the more willing we can be to entertain other perspectives
Listening to Learn
- It can be easy to get upset and double down on personal opinions when someone offends our sensibilities
- These moments represent opportunities to focus on listening instead of trying to "win over" the person.
Related Resources for Mentors
Ideas to Consider When Coaching
Setting Aside
Often we “listen to speak” when engaged in conversation. In other words, we begin to quickly construct answers or advice in our heads rather than truly listening.
Setting aside our personal need to connect (via autobiography) or offer immediate judgement (via advice) enables authentic listening to occur.
Attending Fully
A real barrier to listening can be actually being present in the moment when someone is speaking.
Attending fully involves physically unplugging from our personal electronic devices and also letting go of our “mental e-mail” in order to fully focus on the person who is speaking to us.
Pausing and Paraphrasing
Both pausing and paraphrasing can be effective tools for acknowledging what the speaker is saying and allowing the person to clarify their thoughts.
An elegant paraphrase is a single sentence that expresses the gist of what you’ve heard and understood as a listener. It can focus on feeling or content or both.
Using Questions to Mediate Thinking
Open ended mediational questions connect the person to their strengths, inner resources, and available supports.
They can assist in exploring options and in the development of practical next steps for the speaker.
Flexibility of Stance and Role
Not every conversation is a coaching conversation.
While these ideas to consider may be helpful as a framework for thinking, effective mentors demonstrate flexibility of stance and role based on the needs of the person they are working with.
Additional Resources
- Complex Conversations - also known as Critical, Crucial, Challenging, Difficult, Hard, Problem Resolving or Tough conversations
- Working with Resistance - Do we want to simply minimize resistance or consider how we might harness the energy resistance creates?
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Reflections | Connections | Intersections
- How could the stances of consulting, collaborating and coaching align with your approach to mentoring?
- Thinking about the “4th C” of caring, how could this shine through in your mentoring role?
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Mentoring Resources
Mentoring Webs | Trust | Learning Focused Conversations