Example of how to make induction and handbook relevant

Hello,

Since it would be impossible to make individual sources that are relevant to 21 different projects I think instead we should think about making templates of how to organise a group session, one to one session or a teaching assistant mentoring workshop. Or at least give a brief example of definition of what the session entails. I was thinking maybe in terms of the induction, was to give a slide on what each of these are also and again offer things to think about when organising each session. Just so they actually know what they are doing. Not only copuld the handbook include a page on each of the different types of mentoring but one of the slides could take a similar format to this:

Group Mentoring

What is it?

Group mentoring involves a group of individuals who engage in a mentoring relationship to achieve specific learning goals. There are many ways to approach group mentoring. Three of the most popular are facilitated group mentoring, peer-group mentoring and team mentoring.

Peer-group mentoring brings together peers with similar learning interests or needs. The group is self-directed and self-managed. It takes responsibility for crafting its own learning agenda and for managing the learning process so that each member's learning needs are met and everyone derives maximum benefit from each other's knowledge, expertise and experience.

Why do group mentoring?

Because group mentoring involves more than two individuals, it promotes diversity of thinking, practice and understanding. The diversity of perspectives that emerges from group mentoring interaction is a powerful motivator for employee development. Group mentoring supports individual accountability, establishes a more-connected workplace and provides a welcome alternative for those who learn better in group settings.

Things to think about when organising a session

Readiness for Group Mentoring

Readiness starts with clear articulation of the goals and purposes for the group mentoring concept. An organization must develop a standard of expectation and practice for mentoring groups. It must clarify roles, and the responsibilities of the individual participants and the group must be mutually understood.

1.    Align your group mentoring process so that it fits your organization’s culture.

2.    Establish ownership for mentoring groups in the organization.

3.    Get the right infrastructure in place to support the group mentoring process.

4.    Provide adequate budget and time.

5.    Articulate roles and responsibilities in group mentoring.

StAMP Handbook

What needs to be added?

-          A cover page (possibility)

-          Colour

-          New font? More professional

-          What staff can provide

-          Perhaps shorten the information down. Smaller handbook.

-          Information tailored for people working on iCity e.g. who are they targeting resources at?

-          Information about the blog/troubleshooting.

-          Staff partner details/information

-          How to promote your project and gain mentees

-          A simple blog guide

-     A list of all projects that are being ran this year in StAMP

What needs to be removed?

-          Possibly page 1 with Stuart’s quote.

-          Page 27

-          Do we really need the SMART and STAR techniques?

What needs to be changed?

-          The layout of the pages, make everything look neat and tidy

-          Combine some of the sections and shorten them. E.g. do’s and don’ts with planning a mentoring sessions.

-          include a clear list with responsibilities that every mentor needs to undertake

-          We need to make it relevant for all the different types of mentoring projects, some people say they did not use it because the tips were not to do with anything they did.

-          The frequently asked questions. Look at what questions mentors asked last year and include them instead of outdated/irrelevant questions.

-          The benefits page needs to be changed. Use bullet Points instead of paragraphs.

Possible inclusions:

-          Templates for different kinds of sessions

1.       Workshops

2.       Tutorials

3.       Induction

First possible questionnaire

1.       What faculty are you from?

Please circle the appropriate faculty

BIAD / PME / ELSS / BCBS / Health / TEE

2.       What are the goals/aims of your project?

 

3.       What are your personal goals/ambitions to achieve this year during the scheme?

 

4.       What are your main concerns /worries about the scheme this year?

 

 

5.       What are you looking forward to the most about being involved in StAMP?

 

6.       Do you think this project will enhance your University experience?

Please circle the appropriate answer

Yes                         No

7.       Do you think this project will influence your University grades?  

Please circle the appropriate answer

Yes                         No

8.       Were you involved in this scheme last year?

Please circle the appropriate answer

Yes                         No

If yes, why did you choose to participate again this year?

What we require from staff

Staff Slides in Induction Session.

What we require from staff:

-          Maintain regular contact with your student partner, arranging face to face meetings whenever your mentoring project needs to be developed.

-          To already have a plan and a sense of direction of what your mentor needs to be doing and to have already explained it to them.

-          Ensure that mentor payments (timesheets) are submitted as quickly as possible and not to be forgot about.

-          You are in a partnership with your mentor, so you must:

1.       Respect their views

2.       Take their views into consideration when commencing your project.

3.       Develop your mentoring project together

-          Ensure that you have identified a mentoring project that your mentor can benefit greatly from and also contribute to as well.

Idea – Perhaps do some sort of exercise in the training session to encourage them to begin the first stage of their project in a discussion. Then they can deliver their findings or plans to the group. Mentoring team can aid with their feedback and can also go round the room and help whilst they are in discussion?

Example of Exercise

1. The group decides who should be the primary contact person in relation to your project.

2. The group’s contact person immediately exchange contact information with the mentors involved in their project, arrange the first meeting with the mentor(s) as soon as possible

3. Start a project dairy for the group, tell each mentor to record today’s events as their first entry as practice for the blog.

4. Make a “team contract” for the project group: Go through your project criteria and establish the final result (the team contract). All group members have to sign the contract and a copy of the signed contract has to be handed in.

5. Before attending the first meeting with your staff or student partner, the group must prepare an agenda for the meeting. Some points to consider when preparing for the meeting:

a. What is it about the project that is especially appealing to you – what could be your focus working with the project?

b. How would you like to/prefer to collaborate with the staff/student partner and other relevant stakeholders or target groups?

i. Who do you need to interact with?

ii. Will you need to visit different internal departments, meet external partners, arrange interviews or focus groups with stakeholders or target groups?

6. As part of the first meeting with your staff/student partner you must present and discuss a plan for the collaboration. Your plan should include at least:

a.       A timeline providing an overview of “phases” or other milestones related to your project

b.      Details about the collaboration (activities and meetings) and a sketch for the rest of the project for the coming weeks.  

October 2012 StAMP Project: Mentoring Skills

Discussion Group Mentoring

Things to consider:

-          Identify ways for your mentor to answer any questions that students may enquire about in post lecture break out groups, and the method of delivering any feedback gained during this.

-          Ensure your student partner knows any core readings for your module, and is able to explain them in broader context for struggling students in the Reading Focus Group.

-          Make sure the mentor has sufficient knowledge of the assignments related to the course, and what is required in them in terms of module content for walk in group sessions.

-          To start to develop ideas for group sessions for mentees when holding a reverse lecture, so that each weekly topic can be engaged with to its maximum capacity.

-          Discuss timetables including dates and times, where you and your mentor can initiate meetings to develop the project or when to be available for any Online Group Forums.

Teaching Assistant Mentoring

Things to consider:

-          Have you narrowed down and identified areas of your course that you and your mentor need to focus on in terms of course development and lesson implementation?

-          Does your mentor have basic knowledge of your lecture content so that they are ready for any re-cap mentor sessions where this will be reviewed and explained.

-          Go over any activities you would like your student partner to aid you with, and make certain that they are able to demonstrate these activities to pupils and retrieve any materials that may be required for the session when Assistant mentoring.

-          Do you need to supply your students with key materials of the course in order for them to feedback about the curriculum development of a certain module, and arrange ways to better improve or create a new lesson plan?

Placement Mentoring

Things to consider:

-          Are there students on your course that you have identified that may require the use of a One to One Mentor?

-          Have you selected a particular class that your student partner can help in? Preferably a class that your student is comfortable and knowledgeable enough to be an academic tutor in.

-          Do you have the relevant resources so your student partner can focus on a particular skill and provide walk-in or one to one tutorials on that skill?

-          Were the mentors successful in the examination process when they did it? And is their knowledge of the exam and what is required in it sufficient to teach to others.

-          Do your mentors know what readings and theoretical frameworks are involved in exams? And can they explain them in depth to others?

-          Are there any exam techniques you can supply in exam revision sessions?

Induction Mentoring

Things to consider:

-          Do your mentors know properly about the services each of their faculty offers? E.g. student services, CAS, Student’s Union

-          Prepare a list of common questions that are asked to staff, so that mentors could get a brief picture of what may come up for preparation’s sake for University Mentoring.

-          Are there areas of your course induction that need to be improved? And if so, what measures do you need to take to fill in those gaps.

Workshop Mentoring

Things to consider:

-          Are your sessions catered for all types of people in your workshop e.g. does it enable less confident, capable students to have equal input to the sessions?

-          Have you identified parts in your course where sessions can hone practical skills for students on your course and created possible activities in order to showcase them?

-          Have you identified ways to correctly display techniques to other students in workshops and direct mentees when they perform them incorrectly?

Employability mentoring

Things to consider:

-          Have you identified the criteria to enhance employability? E.g. how to make a good C.V or Covering letter.

-          Organise workshops to go through each of these employability attributes and devise ways to create a portfolio of some kind.

-          Create a list of interview skills that can be taught in a workshop and acted out in some kind of scenario setting.

-          Offer work experience or internship opportunities to mentees so that a career path can be identified.

-          Create a timetable when the mentors will be available for appointments or walk in sessions.

Mentoring Website

Here is the link to this mentoring website I found. It has some pretty good ideas for training and best practices for mentoring. http://www.mentoringgroup.com/index.html#

My final thoughts

Hello everyone,

It is my last day in the office today at CELT at BCU and I'm very sad to be leaving. Unfortunately I can't make it to see Kirk and the team come from America because I will be living at home back in Leicester with my sister and my newly born Nephew. So I would just like to take the opportunity to apologise to Kirk and any of his company that has travelled over for not be able to attend the few days you are here. However, I do wish you a great stay and hope you enjoy your time in England and hopefully, I will see you soon whether its over in America or in England next academic year!! Hopefully you will be blogging any thoughts or ideas for the scheme that you come you come up with anyway.

I would also like to say that my time at CELT running the StAMP team alongside Luke and Melissa has been brilliant and I have taken a lot way from it. I want to thank Luke and Melissa a lot for helping me to develop as a person and a professional. It has been pretty dam sweet this year and I look forward to a couple of months time when I will be back for my third year at BCU and hopefully more time at CELT! I hope the StAMP scheme or some other form of mentoring scheme will be up and running by this time because I would definitely like to be a part of it again. Apart from that I don't really have much else to say besides have a good summer everyone!

My posts that I've left on the blog are all work and checklists that I have been conducting on my own, so if anyone needs them to refer to then they will just be on here.

Au revoir,
Jamie