Instructor Mentorship Handbook

Sponsored by:

The Centre for Teaching Excellence, Innovation, and Research

Reprinted: 11 January 2016

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Table of Contents

Welcome from the Dean .............................................................................................................. 4

Vision ................................................................................................................................................... 5

Mission ................................................................................................................................................ 5

Program Goals ................................................................................................................................... 5

What is mentoring?........................................................................................................................ 6

Program Committee ...................................................................................................................... 6

Responsibilities of the Program Lead: .............................................................................................. 7

Responsibilities of the Advisory Committee: .................................................................................. 7

Program Lead ..................................................................................................................................... 7

Advisory Committee ......................................................................................................................... 7

Benefits of formal mentorship program ............................................................................... 8

For beginning teachers ...................................................................................................................... 8

For mentors ........................................................................................................................................ 8

For administrator(s) ........................................................................................................................... 8

For students ........................................................................................................................................ 9

For the profession .............................................................................................................................. 9

Qualities of a good mentor.......................................................................................................... 9

Roles and Responsibilities ........................................................................................................10

Mentor............................................................................................................................................... 10

Protégé .............................................................................................................................................. 11

Administrator ................................................................................................................................... 12

Mentor Training and Support .................................................................................................13

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Mentor training ................................................................................................................................ 13

Confidentiality ................................................................................................................................. 13

Health and Safety ............................................................................................................................. 14

Mentorship period (6 months) ........................................................................................................ 14

Types of Meetings ............................................................................................................................ 14

Examples of mentor-protégé activities ........................................................................................... 15

Ending the Relationship .................................................................................................................. 17

Celebrations ...................................................................................................................................... 18

Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................19

Appendix A ......................................................................................................................................20

Instructor Mentorship Program Confidentiality Agreement ....................................................... 20

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Welcome from the Dean

The teacher mentorship program at Red River College is an important initiative in

supporting the professional development of instructors, both those who take on the role of

mentor, and those participating as protégés. This handbook has been developed to

provide important information to guide the mentorship process, and contribute to the

success of the relationship.

It is the goal of this initiative to make a positive and significant difference for all of the

individuals who participate. I would like to thank Dr. Sandra Sukhan for her leadership role

in this initiative, and to all those who have been involved as workshop leaders, mentors,

and protégés.

Best wishes as you engage further in this learning opportunity.

Neil Cooke, Dean – Centre for Teaching Excellence, Innovation & Research Red River College

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Vision

Working together as a community of educators to enhance

teaching and learning

Mission

The Instructor Mentorship Program supports teaching and learning for faculty at Red River

College through mentorship/protégé activities undertaken within the Centre for Teaching

Excellence, Innovation, and Research at Red River College.

Program Goals

To enhance the teaching performance of participating novice and experienced instructors

at Red River College in an environment of mutual trust and support

To provide an opportunity for novice instructors to analyze and reflect on their teaching and

learning with mentorship from experienced instructors

To support development of the knowledge, skills and attributes needed by novice

instructors to be successful in their teaching positions

To develop the knowledge and skills of effective mentoring for participating teacher-

mentors

To promote interdisciplinary collegiality through professional learning communities

To support administrators in their roles as academic leaders

To enrich the culture of Red River College and the teaching profession for novice and

experienced instructors

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What is mentoring?

There are as many definitions of mentoring as there are mentors; essentially mentoring in an

educational context is a way of sharing expertise, knowledge, skills and experience and best

practices with others in an environment of mutual trust in order to improve instruction and assist

with professional growth and development.

Mentoring is not an informal buddy system where it is hard to identify: who is obtaining support

from whom; the quality and quantity of support; who new teachers should ask for help when they

need it; whether teaching improves over time; how to measure growth over time and whether

mentors reflect or grow over time. It is not a counselling relationship nor is it a supervisory or

evaluative relationship between mentor and protégé. Portner (2008) distinguishes the role of

mentor and evaluator:

Mentoring is collegial; evaluating is hierarchical

Mentoring observations are ongoing; evaluating visits are set in policy

Mentoring develops self-reliance; evaluating judges performance

Mentoring keeps data confidential; evaluating files it and makes it available to appropriate

parties

Mentoring uses data to reflect; evaluating uses it to judge

In mentoring, value judgments are made by the teacher; in evaluation, they are made by

the supervisor

Program Committee

The RRC Instructor Mentorship program is sponsored by the Dean of the Centre for Teaching

Excellence, Innovation and Research (TEIR). The program is overseen by a Program Lead and an

Advisory Committee representing instructors, administrators, and support staff. The committee is

intended to provide advice on matters relating to instructor mentorship and will meet at least twice

per year. One-half the committee members shall constitute a quorum.

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Responsibilities of the Program Lead:

Serves as the first point of contact for mentors and protégés for matters pertaining to the

mentoring relationship

Prepares and circulates meeting agendas

Chair Advisory committee meetings

Performs communications functions as may be necessary from time to time

Represents the Mentorship Advisory Committee in its relationship with the general

membership

Keeps accurate records of all mentorship meetings

Responsibilities of the Advisory Committee:

Provide leadership on planning, implementation and evaluation of the Mentorship Program

Provide support for issues pertaining to the mentor/protégé relationship

For the 2015-16 school year, the Program Lead and Advisory Committee members are:

Program Lead Program Sponsor

Lorna Smith, Curriculum Consultant Sandra Sukhan, Manager

Program & Curriculum Development Program & Curriculum Development

D201 – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue D201 – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue

P: 204-632-2496 P: 204-632-3011

E: lsmith40@rrc.ca E: ssukhan@rrc.ca

Advisory Committee

Douglas A. Cameron, Instructor

Teacher Education

C313 – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue

P: 204-632-2304

E: dacameron@rrc.ca

Donna Wilson, Manager

Adult Learning Centre

F115 – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue

P: 204-632-3791

E: dowilson@rrc.ca

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Ronald Budowski, Instructor

Teacher Education

AB16 – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue

P: 204-632-2431

E: rbudowski@rrc.ca

Judy McGuirk, CAE Coordinator

Teacher Education

C320A – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue

P: 204-632-2434

E: jmcguirk@rrc.ca

Benefits of formal mentorship program

For beginning teachers

Beginning teachers need to observe effective teaching models

Access to the knowledge, experience and support of a mentor teacher

Enhanced personal and professional well-being because of reduced stress during the

transition

Increased job success, self-confidence and self-esteem

Reduced trial-and-error learning and accelerated professional growth

Support for successful induction into the teaching career

For mentors

Increased learning, renewal and teaching performance

Recognition as an excellent teacher conferred through status as a mentor

Refocus on instructional practices and the development of reflective skills

Opportunity to serve the profession

Gratitude of the protégé

Novice to expert mentor

For administrator(s)

A helping hand from the mentor with beginning teacher orientation and support

Better performance from both beginning and mentor teachers

Reduced teacher attrition and time required for beginning teacher recruitment,

development, supervision and problem solving

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For students

Teachers who focus on student needs rather than their own survival

Increased instructional continuity due to reduced annual teacher turnover

Better teachers, who are less authoritarian and dominating and more reflective and

disposed to continuous improvement

Teachers whose self-confidence leads them to use a wider range of instructional strategies

and activities

For the profession

Retention of the best, most creative teachers

Retention of experienced teachers who find a new challenge and opportunity for growth by

serving as mentors

Increased continuity of traditions and positive cultural norms for behaviour

Establishment of professional norms of openness to learning from others, new ideas and

instructional practices, continual improvement, collaboration, collegiality and

experimentation

Qualities of a good mentor

Rowley (1999) identifies six qualities of a good teacher-mentor:

1. The good mentor is committed to the role of mentoring. Mentor training is considered a

pre-requisite to successful mentoring and every experienced instructor shows their

commitment to their own professional growth as well as that of novice teachers by participating

in such a program. Training helps to clarify roles and responsibilities of mentors.

2. The good mentor is accepting of the beginning teacher. Mentors are most effective when

the mentoring relationship is built on empathy, non-judgment, and acceptance.

3. The good mentor is skilled at providing instructional support. Good mentors serve as

coaches, sharing expertise and providing feedback through conversations, observations, team

teaching, and lesson planning.

4. The good mentor is effective in different interpersonal contexts. Good teachers are able

to adjust their teaching to meet the needs of students; those skills would also help a good

teacher to become a good mentor when working with novice teachers who have different

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needs and communication styles.

5. The good mentor is a model of a continuous learner. A successful mentoring relationship

involves reciprocal learning between the mentor and the novice instructor who may be starting

their teaching career with fresh, new ideas on pedagogy. The mentor also continues to learn

by enrolling in other professional development courses, seminars, workshops and back-to-

industry work experiences.

6. The good mentor communicates hope and optimism. Mentors are able to share their

positive experiences as well as the challenges of teaching. They share their hopes and

frustrations within a relationship of trust.

Roles and Responsibilities

Mentor

RRC’s 2-day mentor training workshop addresses many aspects of the mentor/protégé

relationship. Here are some additional points to keep in mind:

Your main role as a mentor is to be a role model, to present information as clearly as

possible, to listen without judgement, and to offer suggestions based on your experiences.

Your protégé may be a bit unsure about the relationship but this will likely disappear as you

build your relationship.

Once you’ve made initial contact with your protégé (assisted by Program Coordinator), you

will want to decide how you will communicate (emails, phone, text, face-to-face) and often

you will “meet” each other.

Spend some time finding out about your protégé’s interests and experiences.

Look for opportunities that will empower protégés.

Help your protégé to set realistic and measureable goals for the mentorship period.

You role as a mentor is not to assess or evaluate your protégé. Your role is to share your

expertise; as such, some situations may be beyond your experience or expertise so know

your limitations.

If you encounter any situation that you are unsure about, contact the Program Coordinator

who will be able to assist you.

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Protégé

A key partner in the mentor/protégé relationship is the protégé without which, there would be

no partnership. The protégé comes to teaching with many rich and wonderful life experiences

but may be new only to teaching. To make the partnership successful, the protégé has a key

role to play. The following are some recommendations (Canadian Association of Exploration

Geophysicists, n.d.) to make that partnership successful:

1. Allow your mentor to take the lead in the relationship, at least initially. Listen and respect

the opportunities, limitations and format of the relationship he or she is able to provide for

you. Always act with courtesy and respect towards your mentor.

2. Use active listening skills during discussions with your mentor. Be careful not to interrupt,

unless you need to clarify a point and you see no other opportunity or pause. Take notes

when appropriate, ask good questions and have a purpose for your questions.

3. Prepare the goals and objectives you have for your career. Be prepared to ask for specific

guidance and advice on your goals, plans and strategic ideas. The more specific you can

be, the easier it will be for your mentor to help you.

4. Take the initiative to ask for feedback. Feedback, although difficult to hear at times, is

critical to your personal and professional growth and development. Demonstrate that you

are open to hear new ideas and suggestions to bring out your best and overcome any blind

spots.

5. Tell your mentor how you prefer to get feedback (for example, direct, with humour,

softened). Don’t get defensive. Thank your mentor for taking the risk to be honest with you.

Honest feedback gives you an opportunity to improve yourself and help you to move

towards fulfilling your potential.

6. Always be considerate and respect your mentor’s time as you do your own. Be thorough,

but succinct in your explanations, experiences and comments. Watch for clues that you

may be going on too long. It is polite to ask directly if you are talking too long.

7. Return phone calls promptly and be on time with commitments or meetings. If your mentor

offers a specific time frame of availability, respect his/her wishes by following through. Only

extend the time of your contact if your mentor initiates or insists to extend or complete a

task or discussion.

8. Seriously consider all advice or suggestions you receive. Arguing why the mentor’s advice

would not work can be construed as rude and close-minded. Demonstrate that you have

followed advice or commitments for action at every opportunity, even if you have modified

your plan. Pointing out that you used your mentor’s help and sharing outcomes is

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important.

9. Express your appreciation for every form of assistance you get. Provide positive feedback,

thanks as well as positive comments to him/her in front of others.

10. Make only positive or neutral comments about your mentor to others. If you disagree with

your mentor’s values, behaviours, or attitudes, discuss it with him/her directly. Respect

your mentor’s confidence and trust.

11. Assume the mentoring connection will be strictly professional. This does not mean you

cannot be yourself, or you cannot be friendly. Let your mentor take the lead in establishing

a more friendship based connection. Do not intrude into your mentor’s personal life or

expect to be close friends. If you have a cross-gender connection, any romantic

involvement is inappropriate. Ensure your mentoring connection does not give the

appearance of favouritism or inappropriate/romantic.

12. Prepare yourself to move beyond your mentoring connection, once it has served its

purpose. Be sure to end on a positive note.

Administrator

Administrators are one of the key stakeholder groups in a mentor/protégé relationship. Without

this critical support, mentors will soon burn themselves out from over commitment, overwork and

non-support. Rowley (1999) identifies some strategies for providing administrative support for

mentorship:

1. RRC’s mentors are providing mentorship outside of their normal workload, it is important

to reward commitment. Some ways to do that may include release time from normal

duties, additional professional development/growth opportunities or an announcement in

Staff News. It is also recognition of the value and significance of the mentor/protégé

partnership and the mentor’s contributions to supporting a professional learning

community.

2. Promoting and supporting participation in a mentorship program is a way of: engaging

prospective mentors to reflect on their first years of teaching; encouraging mentors to think

about the qualities of an effective helper; and helping more experienced instructors to

understand the problems of beginning teachers.

3. Administrators need to provide mentors and protégés with time and opportunity to

participate in a mentorship program. Offering this support is an indication of the value of

both teaching and learning.

4. Support for mentoring could be a way for mentors to self-reflect and gain insight into their

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path to other leadership opportunities.

5. If administrators value mentoring highly and take it seriously, mentoring will attract caring

and committed teachers who recognize the complex and challenging nature of classroom

teaching.

Mentor Training and Support

Mentor training

Mentor training is an important aspect of the mentorship experience. Some of the goals of the

mentor training are:

To provide information about expectations and responsibilities

To provide resources that will assist with the mentor and protégé during and after the

mentorship experience

To provide mentors with opportunities for continued professional growth

All mentors in the RRC Instructor mentorship program are expected to complete a two-day mentor

training workshop. The workshop covers such topics as roles and responsibilities of mentors,

building a relationship with your protégé, self-reflection/needs analysis, meeting types and

management mentorship models and planning your first meeting. Upon successful completion of

the workshop, mentors are given a Certificate of Participation. Mentors will then be matched and

paired with protégés based on mentor expertise and the needs of the protégé.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality and trust between mentor and protégé is of the utmost importance. Each mentor is

required to sign a Confidentiality Agreement (see Appendix A) during the mentor training

workshop. However, it is advisable that ground rules should be established between the mentor

and protégé at the beginning of the mentoring relationship regarding what can and cannot be

shared, in what circumstances information can be shared and who the information can be shared

with. Since mentorship is not evaluative, information about a protégé’s performance should not be

shared with his/her supervisor or other administrators. There are some circumstances where

college policies or provincial legislation may require a mentor to report situations that might pose a

danger to the mentor, protégé or student(s).

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Health and Safety

The health, safety, and well-being of mentors and protégés is very important. Seek advice from

program staff when in doubt about the appropriateness of an event or activity.

Mentorship period (6 months)

The one-to-one mentorship period between mentor and protégé will be for a period of 6 months at

which time the relationship can be renewed with the same mentor or switched with a different

mentor depending on the needs and desires of the partners. Partners should plan or schedule

about four hours each month for meetings and/or activities. Those could include formal or informal

meetings, phone calls, classroom observations, and attending teaching related conferences,

seminars or workshops.

Types of Meetings

The following list of ideas for meetings between mentors and protégés was generated by

participants in RRC’s Instructor Mentorship Program Pilot Workshop.

Introductory / Get to Know Meeting

Names

Backgrounds

Coffee

Goal Setting Meeting

Set an agenda

Brainstorm a meeting

Issues / needs assessment

Feedback Meeting

Reflection

360°

What next?

Progress Meeting

Weekly check-in (formal or informal)

Relationship building

Check-In

Grab a coffee

How are things going?

Just dialogue

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Listen actively

Crisis Resolution

Identify trigger (background)

Q & A

Players

Options for resolution

Formal / Planning (with agenda)

Plan agenda

Set goals

Time, venue, dates, action plan

Hallway (i.e., impromptu)

Pass-by, informal

Active listening

“Gripe & Whine” Sessions

Listening

Non-judgmental

Don’t feed! (negativity)

“Relax” (wine)

Closure & Celebration

Get gifts from our Protégé / mentor

Dinner (who pays – Dutch treat?)

Feedback

Celebrate the completion of the program

Reflection

Good (what worked)

Bad (do over)

Examples of mentor-protégé activities

Below is a list of activities that have been adapted from the Iowa State University Center for

Excellence in Learning and Teaching.

Teaching

Mentor talks about the grading process and criteria and shows examples of assessment

tools

Protégé attends the mentor’s classes (or vice versa) followed by structured discussion of

what occurred

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Protégé teaches a unit or works with small groups in the mentor’s class (if protégé shares

subject matter expertise with mentor)

Mentor provides advice and feedback to protégé on developing teaching documents, such

as a syllabus, course policy sheet, assignment sheets, handouts, tests, ordering textbooks,

etc.

Mentor arranges a practice lecture for protégé

Protégé assists mentor with tutoring

Mentor and protégé attend teaching related seminars together

Mentor and protégé explore technology issues related to teaching

Mentor and protégé co-teach if they share subject matter expertise

Research

Protégé and mentor work on a grant together

Mentor provides an article for the protégé to read and then discuss

Mentor and protégé discuss the process of setting up research projects

Protégé assists mentor with research-writing

Protégé completes teaching-related research, assisted by mentor

Protégé assists mentor in locating new texts in the field

Mentor and protégé explore technology issues related to researching

Mentor assists protégé in preparing a presentation or presentation proposal for upcoming

conferences in the field

Other

Mentor and protégé discuss the unique concerns of faculty of colour, international faculty,

and/or women faculty in the field

Mentor and protégé discuss current student concerns

Protégé job shadows mentor for a day

Mentor and protégé have lunch together

Mentor provides feedback about protégé’s professional growth plan or portfolio (vita, cover

letter, research agenda, philosophy of teaching)

Protégé attends meetings (e.g. departmental committees) with mentor

Protégé participates in college activities with mentor

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Ending the Relationship

There is much research on the appropriate length of a mentor/protégé relationship. Some can last

for as short as a few months to several months or years.

Here are some tips to end your mentoring relationship on a positive note:

Be clear about why you want to end the relationship. If you've achieved your goals -

celebrate! Let you mentor know how they have helped you, and show your appreciation.

If you're ending the relationship for other reasons, let your mentor know what the reason is.

Perhaps the relationship is not moving you forward and you'd like to spend time engaging

in other professional development activities. Other reasons can be:

o Loss of interest: The mentor and/or protégé may lose interest in participating in the

program.

o Unfulfilled expectations: If the protégé and/or mentor have expectations for the

relationship that are not met, they are likely to feel dissatisfied and may end the

relationship.

o Difficulty connecting: Mentors and protégés may not be able to establish a close

relationship. For instance, one or both may not have the skills to communicate

effectively with the other person. It is also possible that mentors may not

understand their protégé’s cultural background, making it hard for the two to bond.

o Lack of support: The mentor and/or protégé may not have the support they need

from mentoring program staff or from the protégé’s family to continue the

relationship.

o Behaviour issues: The mentor or protégé may violate a program policy or refuse to

cooperate with program staff.

o Changing life circumstances: The mentor or protégé may move, experience a

personal crisis, or find that their schedule is too full to continue meeting.

Regardless of the reason why you'd like to end the relationship, it's important to give your

mentor clear feedback about what they might do differently and what they did well.

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Celebrations

Mentors and protégés should acknowledge and celebrate what they have accomplished in their

time together. The program may host a closing celebration for mentors and protégés, or mentor-

protégé pairs can plan a celebration of their own.

Program staff can train and support both mentors and protégés in remaining committed to the

relationship over time. Managing mentors’ and protégés’ expectations for the relationship,

supporting mentors and protégés during their time together, and reiterating program policies

regularly can help to limit premature relationship closure. Preparing mentors and protégés for

closure well in advance can help to make it a constructive experience for all.

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Bibliography

Alberta Teachers’ Association (n.d). Mentoring Beginning Teachers Program Handbook.

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) (1999). Supporting New

Teachers. pp 20-22, Volume 56, Number 8. May.

Canadian Association of Exploration Geophysicists. Mentee Roles and Responsibilities. Retrieved

October 27, 2014 @ http://cseg.ca/assets/files/students/Mentee-Roles-and-

Responsibilities.pdf

Iowa State University Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. Information for Potential

Participants. Retrieved October 27, 2014 @ http://www.celt.iastate.edu/grad-students-

postdocs/preparing-future-faculty/mentoring-participant/#activities

Portner, H. (2008). Mentoring New Teachers. Corwin Press, California.

University of Washington (2014). Career Development – Mentee Guide: Managing a Successful

Mentoring Relationship. Retrieved October 27, 2014 @

http://www.washington.edu/admin/hr/roles/ee/careerdev/mentoring/manage-

relationship.html

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Appendix A

Instructor Mentorship Program Confidentiality Agreement

Principles and Guidelines

Effective mentoring relationships typically involve disclosure and sharing of critical incidents. As

such, the development of trust through commitment to confidentiality is an essential component of

Red River College’s Instructor Mentoring Program. Following are principles and guidelines that

apply to one-on-one mentoring relationships:

1. The overarching purpose of the program is to foster career advancement in the areas of

teaching and learning, not evaluation. Mentors are asked to use their best judgment in

distinguishing between roles and communications that are intended for the constructive

development of the protégé, as opposed to those that might result in evaluation of the protégé.

2. All conversations between mentor and protégé are to be kept confidential unless both parties

agree otherwise for a specific topic of discussion. A caveat would be situations involving sexual

harassment, discrimination, or other activity that violates law or policy; confidentiality cannot be

guaranteed in these circumstances.

3. Red River College does not disseminate the names of participants, except to the relevant

department heads. Each mentoring pair should discuss the extent to which they may talk with

others about their mutual participation in the program.

Agreement

Mentors meet regularly with protégés to discuss effective mentoring and share experiences. In

order to make these conversations helpful while maintaining confidentiality, mentors must agree to

the following:

1. Mentors can reveal the identities of their protégés to other mentors, with the understanding

that information about protégés is to be kept confidential within the program.

2. Mentors should not discuss their own protégés with others outside the mentoring program,

including department heads, without the permission of their protégé.

3. Mentors should not discuss other protégés with individuals outside the mentoring program.

I agree to the above three conditions:

Name: ______________________ Signature: ___________________

Date: ______________

Adapted for Red River College from Worchester Polytechnic Institute

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