Mentoring for Mentors
As we seek to support new teachers via mentorship an important question is who mentors the mentors? In our shared work supporting NTIP we are increasingly engaged with school boards providing a continuum of support and foundational learning opportunities for mentors. Effective mentorship skills are highly transferable and include:
Reciprocal learning is a foundational component of all mentoring relationships. One of the most powerful outcomes of mentorship is it serves as a means for job embedded deprivatization of practice and fosters reflection, learning and growth of mentors themselves. In summary, mentoring is an act of learning.
Building a Mentoring Web
In their longitudinal research of the NTIP, Christine Frank & Associates found that high growth new teachers accessed 5 to 7 different mentorship supports. In other words, they built a mentoring web of personalized growth opportunities with the support of multiple mentors.
Each web is unique, constructed by the learner based on their authentic learning needs. The more strands in the web, the stronger and more resilient it is. One of the most helpful things mentors can do is help a new teacher build their web by fostering connections with colleagues, administrators and other mentors.
Roles & Relationships – Mentors
Mentoring relationships honour the strengths and attributes of both new and experienced educators. Multiple models of mentorship provide a web of personalized support for beginning teachers and directly align with the key goals of NTIP.
Regardless of the mentoring model, one of the most powerful things mentors can do is help their colleagues hold up a mirror to their practice and in this mirror see all their strengths and attributes, not just the flaws and challenges of what isn’t working. Through this deprivatization of practice, the quiet victories and moments of beauty that teaching provides can be surfaced, elevated and celebrated. This is authentic learner-driven collaborative professionalism.
The acrostic below outlines the fundamental aspects essential to any mentoring relationship. For the success of any relationship it is essential for all parties to have voluntarily chosen to engage in mentorship.
Mutual – Mentoring relationships that flourish are reciprocal – all parties learn and grow
Evolving – Mentors exhibit flexibility of stance and role based on the needs of the person they are supporting
Non-evaluative – Mentoring supports are not connected to evaluation or judgement of a colleague’s performance
Trusting – Relational trust is built through effective listening and fostered in an environment characterized by emotional safety and mutual respect
Open – Through powerful learning designs (e.g., observation and debriefing) teaching is deprivatized and the intentional sharing of knowledge and practice occurs
Real – Mentoring activities are personalized, based on each person’s authentic learning goals and connected to their real world
Supported – Conditions to foster effective mentoring relationships are supported at both the school and board level (e.g., joint release days, foundational learning for mentors)
How do Mentors and Colleagues Help?
In our longitudinal research we were particularly interested in what actions colleagues took that new teachers found most helpful in supporting their growth.
Below is a summary of our learning:
Consultant
- Ongoing formal and informal support
- Sharing resources
Collaborator
- Fostering collaboration with beginning teachers, mentors, colleagues (building a mentoring web)
Coach
- Classroom observation(s) and debriefing
- Ongoing feedback
Mentor Reflections – Learning from Mentoring
One of the most powerful potential outcomes of this “intentional sharing of knowledge and practice” is the learning of mentors themselves. Here are learning themes that NTIP Mentors have expressed as a result of their learning from and with beginning teachers:
Increases Reflection on Current Practice
- Mentoring has opened me up to the possibility of growth and to the potential new ideas…. this has helped me become more reflective about my own practice.
Fosters Inspirational Connections with Colleagues
- Mentoring has improved my relationships with other teachers (not just new teachers). I’ve become more aware of the value of colleagues, and more encouraged to share.
Impacts Teaching Practice and Learning of Students
- Learning about the importance of listening and coaching didn’t just help me support beginning teachers, it helped me become a better mentor for my students!
NTIP Resources
New Teachers | Mentors | Principals | Board Leaders
Induction Elements Manual | Induction Elements eBook | Mentoring eBook