Evaluation of Mentor Interview

My evaluation of the interview:

After hearing our first student perspective on the scheme I think overall the project has no doubt had a positive impact. The student was shocked how diverse a mentor role could be and that added to their enjoyment. Their relationship with their staff partner has improved, already having a good relationship aided in setting task that the mentor was passionate about, showing conversation and discussion about what needs to be done helps a great deal. A website has been created as party of their mentoring and SAP Project, trying to create resources and inducting them into their first year at University.

The Mentor also stated that they used the mentoring handbook we created, to assess active listening skills and the types of learning methods they could use when running revision sessions. In these he set lesson objectives and targets, already demonstrating planning skills. The mentor also recognise a few benefits, as part of the PME faculty the student needed experience such as the website he was creating to put on a CV. Alongside this he enjoyed being in the middle of not quite being a staff member but being an approachable knowledgeable student, which aided in his other benefit of gaining teaching and leadership skills.

The mentor was also very determined to finish the website, clearly indicating a passion to get the job done and showing his own initiative. The student commented on their communication as a core skill they were developing, gaining a better understanding of the student bodies they are teaching. Learning to empathise and judge the how best to approach the best method of mentoring for each individual.

Some problems the mentor encountered were nervous mentees unable to muster up the courage to approach him. Which were usually the struggling students and ideally the ones we would like to come forward, so the mentor aimed for hoping that students will recognise him before he even met them? After attaining the mentees, the mentor identified revision sessions as vital part of preparation for students, since the courses do not offer a lot of time set part for this. To plan these sessions the mentor structured them as targets to achieve on a weekly basis, a similar format to what the lecturers at the university use.

The mentor identified to blog as something that is key and needs to be regularly done. The StAMP handbook was again mentioned alongside moodle as a useful academic resource. The library was also used as well as the internet teaching resources such as PowerPoint in order to help plan their sessions and run them in an appropriate format. The mentor was proud mostly of giving something back to the University community and helping them, gaining satisfaction of the probability of helping someone to achieve a higher grade.

In terms of improvements starting the scheme earlier in the year was the only improvement though off the top of the mentors head. This was because of integrating freshers and improving the student experience from the start. The mentor identified the scheme as something he would definitely recommend, because it was a great attribute to have on your CV. Gaining practical experience while also evaluating them and gaining teaching experience through the blog. As a result, the student claimed it was on another level working alongside staff and students, enjoying his life in the community a lot more.