Reverse Mentoring – Final Report
2016to2017 Pairingyouthwithpeoplewhoneedtoupgradetheirdigitalskills
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ReverseMentoring–FinalReport P A I R I N G Y O U T H W I T H P E O P L E W H O N E E D T O U P G R A D E T H E I R D I G I T A L S K I L L S
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 2
Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 4
Curriculum Development ....................................................................................................................... 5
Recruitment Process ............................................................................................................................... 7
Participant Criteria ................................................................................................................................. 8 MentorCriteria...........................................................................................................................................................................................9 MenteeCriteria........................................................................................................................................................................................10
Mentor Training ................................................................................................................................... 11
Pairing ................................................................................................................................................. 11
Support through process ..................................................................................................................... 12
Change to Model – High School .......................................................................................................... 13
Challenges & Learnings ...................................................................................................................... 16
Next Steps ........................................................................................................................................... 18
APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................................... 19 RecruitmentMaterials..........................................................................................................................................................................19 TechTeachCurriculum........................................................................................................................................................................19 MentoringAgreement...........................................................................................................................................................................19
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
LiteracyLinkNiagarawouldliketothanktheOntarioTrilliumFoundationforfundingtheReverse
MentoringProject.
Theprojectcouldnothavebeensuccessfulwithoutsupportfromtheadvisorycommittee.
Membersincluded
• AlanCherwinski,AlphaPlus
• DeberaFlynn,QUILLNetwork
• RachelCrane,NEXTNiagara
• StephanieHarper,NEXTNiagara
• DougNoyes,LiteracyLinkEasternOntario
• SarahStocker,ContactNorth
• GrahamSchaefer,EmploymentHelpCentre,NiagaraWest
LiteracyLinkNiagaraisgratefultotheprojectpartnerswhosupportedthecreation,deliveryand
evaluationofthepilotproject.Thesepartnersincluded
• NEXTNiagara
• LakeshoreHighSchool
• NiagaraRegionalHousing
• PortColbornePublicLibrary
Fouroutstandingadultliteracypractitionerseditedthecurriculum.Theircommentsand
suggestionswereparamounttothedeliveryofthetrainingmaterials.Thesepractitionerswere
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• JacklynCatterick,DistrictSchoolBoardofNiagara
• TinaDeluca,NiagaraCatholicDistrictSchoolBoard
• SaraGill,AdultBasicEducationAssociation
• NormandSavoie,L’ABCCommunautaire
LiteracyLinkNiagaraprojectstaffincluded
• ChristineEaton,ProjectCoordinator
• KarenSchmidt,ProjectSupport
• AshleyHoath-Murray,ProjectManagementandCurriculumDevelopment
• GayDouglas,ProjectManagement
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OVERVIEW
LiteracyLinkNiagarareceivedSeedFundingfromOntarioTrilliumFoundationtorunaReverse
MentoringpilotprojectfromMay2016toJune2017.Thepurposeofthepilotwastocreateand
testasystemwhereyouthundertheageof29werementoringpeoplewhowantedtoimprove
theirdigitalliteracyskills.
MentorswererecruitedthroughBrockUniversity,youthfocusedcommunityprograms,
employmentservicesandalocalhighschool.Mentorswereprovidedwithtoolsandtraining.
Thoseundertheageof18werealsoprovidedwithsupervisionduringmentor/menteemeetings.
Menteesdeterminedwhattheywantedtolearn.Theycouldchoosefromalistofmodules.
Modulesincluded
§ SocialMedia
§ InternetBrowsing
§ Tablet/SmartphoneUseandApplications
§ MicrosoftWordBasic
§ MicrosoftExcelBasic
§ GoogleDocs
Mentorsandmenteeswerematchedbasedonmenteeinterests,mentorskillsandlocation.The
expectationwasthatpairswouldcomplete10-12hourstogether,averagingonehourperweek.
Pairsthatcompletedwereeachgivena$50giftcard.Menteesreceivedacerti&icateofcompletion.
Mentorsreceivedaletterofreference.
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CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
LiteracyLinkNiagaraspoketoliteracypractitionersandadministratorstodeterminewhatareas
tofocusthecurriculum.Thecurriculumwascreatedinawaythatwouldappealtomanydifferent
menteeswithdifferentgoalpathsfromemployment,educationandindependence.
At$irst,themodulesweregoingincludeSocialMedia,InternetBrowsing,Tablet/SmartphoneUse,
MicrosoftWordBasicandMicrosoftExcelBasic.LiteracyLinkNiagaraplannedtodevelop
modulesforthe-irstthreeandutilizeafreewebsitecalledGCFLearnFreefortheMicrosoftpieces.
Thiswebsiteallowsuserstochoosewhichversionoftheprogramstheyhaveaccessto.IfLLN
weretodevelopsimilarcurriculum,theywouldhavehadtolimitittoafewversionsbecauseof
time.
Whendiscussingplanswiththeadvisorygroup,amemberfeltstronglythatGoogleDocsshouldbe
included.ThisfreeplatformissimilartotheMicrosoftprograms,butauserdoesn’thaveto
purchaseitandcanaccessitonmanydifferentdevices.Forthisreason,LLNincludeditinthe
curriculum.
Thecurriculumiswritteninawaythatiseasyforamentortouseandadapt.Itiswritteninplain
languageandlikeanaturalconversation.Thisallowsamentortoreadpiecesalouddirectlyfrom
itiftheychooseto.
Lessonsgivethementortheopportunitytointroduceanewtopictothementee.Discussion
questionsareincludedtocreateadialoguethatmakestheinformationrelevanttothementee.
Activitiesareincludedattheendofeverylessontohelpreinforceandpracticewhathasbeen
learned.
Thecurriculumendedupbeingmuchlongerandin-depththanoriginallyplanned.Thestylecan
bereplicatedwithmorematerial/topicsinthefuture.Itiswritteninawaythattriestoreducethe
speedoftheinformationbecomingobsolete.Insteadofusinglinks,itasksusersto“Google”
speci&ictermstoreceivethemostup-to-dateinformation.
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Fouradultliteracypractitionerseditedthecurriculum.Thefeedbackwasextremelypositive.The
curriculumisalsousefultoliteracypractitionerswhoworkwithadultlearnerstoupgradedigital
literacyskills.
TheSocialMediamodulewastranslatedintoFrench.ItcanbefoundinAPPENDIXB.
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RECRUITMENT PROCESS
Materialsweredistributedtoadultliteracyagencies,employmentserviceagenciesandother
communityserviceagenciesatLeadersinAdultLearningBreakfast.Materialswereemailed
throughtheNiagaraEmploymentNetworkdatabase.TheywerepostedonBrockStudent
Services,NiagaraCollegeVolunteerBoardandNEXTNiagarasocialmediaoutlets.
Mentorsshowedinterestbycompletingasurveymonkey.Interestwasfolloweduptodetermineif
theywereagood,itfortheprogramandsetatrainingtime.
Menteescalledtoregisterandcompletedaquick-screentodeterminewhathelptheycouldbene3it
from.Stafffollowedupwiththemtosetameetingwithamentorwhenamatchwasfound.
MaterialscanbefoundintheAPPENDIXA.
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PARTICIPANT CRITERIA
Belowisthementorandmenteecriterionforparticipants.
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MentorCriteria
ToparticipateintheReverseMentoringproject,Mentorsneededto
• bebetween18and29
• becon'identintheirskillsintwoormoreofthefollowingareas
o Socialmedia(Facebook,twitter,Instagram)
o MicrosoftWordbasic
o MicrosoftExcelbasic
o InternetandWebbrowsing
o Tablet/Smartphoneuseandapplications
o GoogleDocs
• bewillingtomeetone-on-onetomentoraclienttoupgradetheirdigitalliteracyfora
minimumof6meetings
Theprojecttriedtotargetmentorswho
• couldspeak'luentfrench
• identi&iedasindigenous
• wereunemployedorunderemployed
Mentor›apersonwhogivesalessexperiencedpersonhelpandadviceovera
periodoftime
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MenteeCriteria
ToparticipateintheReverseMentoringproject,Menteesneededto
• beunemployedorunderemployed(20hoursperweekorless)
• fallintolevel1or2intheOntarioAdultLiteracyCurriculumFrameworkforDigital
Technology–identi&iedthroughself-assessmentchecklist
• needassistanceintwoormoreofthefollowingareas
o Socialmedia(Facebook,twitter,Instagram)
o MicrosoftWordbasic
o MicrosoftExcelbasic
o InternetandWebbrowsing
o Tablet/Smartphoneuseandapplications
o GoogleDocs
• bewillingtomeetone-on-onewithamentortoupgradetheirdigitalliteracyfora
minimumof6meetings
Theprojecttriedtotargetmenteeswhoidenti/iedas
• Francophone
• Aboriginal
• Newcomer
• Personwithadisability
• Singleparent
Mentee›someonewhoisgivensupportandadviceaboutbyamentor(amore
experiencedpersonwhohelpsthem)
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MENTOR TRAINING
Originally,LiteracyLinkNiagaraplannedtohold2hourtrainingsessionsformentors.Itwas
discoveredearlyonthatthiswasnotthe1irstchoiceforyouth.Youthpreferred1lexible,informal
meetings.Theydidn’twanttowatchaPowerPointpresentation,participatedinicebreakersor
learnthehistoryoftheproject.Theywantedthebarebonesofwhatwasexpectedofthemand
tangibletipsandtrickstomentoring.
Meetingsweremovedtoinformallocations–cafes,restaurants,andlibraries–inaneffortto
increasethementorshowrate.Stafffollowedashortlistofthingsmentorsneedtoknowandleft
therestuptothementortodirectthemeetings.Staffstayeduntilalltheirquestionswere
answeredandtheyfeltcon+identmovingforwardintothepairingphase.
Themainpurposeofthetrainingwastosharethecurriculumandhowtouseit.Mentorswere
askedtofollowthecurriculum,butaddinadditionalinformationiftheythoughtthatitmighthelp
thementeemeettheirlearninggoals.ThecurriculumcanbefoundinAPPENDIXB.
PAIRING
Staffmetwithmentorsandmenteesinapublicsettingtointroducethemtoeachotherandreview
theprojectguidelines.TheywereaskedtocompleteaMentoringAgreementthathelpedoutline
theboundariesoftherelationship.ThiscanbefoundinAPPENDIXC.
9pairssuccessfullycompletedtheprogram.Another4mentorsweretrained,butwereunableto
bematchedbecauseofthedistanceawayfromavailablementees.10menteeswereunabletobe
matchedbecauseofthesamelocationissue.Inthefuture,theprogramwouldconcentrateon
speci&icneighbourhoodsormunicipalitiestoensurethisissuedidnotarise.
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SUPPORT THROUGH PROCESS
LiteracyLinkNiagarastaffofferedsupporttobothmentorsandmenteesduringtheprocess.They
checkedinregularlythroughphoneandemail.Mentorswereaskedtocompleteasurveymonkey
aftereachmeeting.Menteeswerecalledaftereverythreemeetingstoseehowtheyfelttheir
learningwasprogressing.
Menteeswerethedriversoftheirlearning.Theydecidedwhattheywantedtolearnwithinthe
perimetersofthecurriculum.Ifthecurriculumdidn’tmeettheirgoals,itwasmodi#ied.Pieces
thatwereirrelevanttotheirgoalswereexcluded.Mentorsweregiventheopportunitytoshare
othertipsandtricksoutsidethecurriculumthattheyfeltwouldbehelpful.Staffwereavailableto
provideguidanceandsupportwithmodi3ications.
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CHANGE TO MODEL – HIGH SCHOOL
Oneofthebiggestlearningsthroughouttheprojectwasaroundthestructureoftheprogram.At
!irst,attractingHighSchoolstudentswasidenti!iedasamorecomplicatedprocess.Formentors
overtheageof18andnotaf/iliatedwithaHighSchool,theassumptionwasmadethattheycould
meetwiththeirmenteeinapublicspaceontheirowntime.WithHighSchoolstudents,
supervisionwasmorecomplicated.Forthisreason,the6irstmodelleantmoretouniversity
students.
At$irst,over30BrockUniversitystudentsregisteredfortheprogram.WhenLLNstaffbegan
followinguptobooktraining,thenumbersofinterestedmenteesdwindledquickly.Manywould
registerfortraining,butnotshowup.Thetrainingmodelwasadaptedtobemoreinformalwith
somesuccess,butstillthehoursspentattemptingtorecruitandmatchweremuchhigherthan
expected.
InlateFall2016,LiteracyLinkNiagarahadachangeofstaff.Anewprojectcoordinatorbrought
newenergyandideastotheproject.Withherconnectionsandenthusiasm,shewasgametopilot
anewmodelthatinvolvedHighSchoolstudents.
ShemetwithMr.Gifford,thePrincipalofLakeshoreCatholicHighSchool,togiveanoverviewof
theprojectanddiscussthepossibilityofworkingtogether.SheexplainedtheMentee/Mentorroles
andeligibilitycriteria,andthestudentbene2itsofgainingvaluablementoringexperience,
connectingwithmembersofthelocalcommunityandearningcommunityinvolvementhours.
Questionswereraisedaroundthelogisticsoftheproject,howtheMenteerecruitmentwas
facilitatedandwhethercriminalbackgroundcheckswereconductedtoensurethesafetyofthe
studentsworkingwithadultsovertheageof30.AsLLNdoesnotconductbackgroundcheckson
Mentees,theHighSchoolwasunabletohosttheprojectonsite.Tocircumventthispotential
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obstacleandmovetheprojectforward,theprojectcoordinatorcontactedthePortColborne
Librarytobegindiscussionsaroundhostingtheproject.
TheHeadLibrarianwasthrilledattheideaofpartneringwithLLNtoofferwhattheyconsidereda
much-neededprogramwithinthecommunity.Safetyconcernswerealsoraisedregardingthe
pairingofunderagestudentswithadults.Aquicksolutiontothisproblemwastobeonsite
supervisingforthedurationofthesessionseachtimethepairsmet.TheLibraryquicklyagreedto
reservingcomputersystemsandmeetingspacesforourMentor/Menteepairsatapredetermined
weeklydateandtime.Recruitment2lyerswerealsopostedforinterestedcommunitymembers
whoaccessthelibrary.
TherecruitmentofbothMenteesandMentorsthenbegan.Mr.Giffordpresentedtheprojecttohis
DepartmentHeadsandtheGuidancedepartmentwhobothreceivedreferralprotocoltoensure
interestedstudentwereabletogetstartedasMentors.Attemptsweremadetopartnerwiththe
localFriendsOver55CommunityCentreyetduetopriorcommitments,theywerenotableto
assistwiththerecruitment.Theydidhoweverpostrecruitment5lyersaroundtheCentreand
expressedinterestinworkingtogetherintheFallshouldtheprojectcontinue.Recruitmentthen
beganthroughwordofmouthinthecommunityandsecuredMenteestopairwithinterested
studentMentors.Menteesincludedretiredprofessionals,businessownersandparttimeworkers,
allrequestingtolearndifferentmoduleswithinthecurriculum.
AgroupfacilitatedMentortrainingsession,coveringanoverviewoftheprojectandcurriculum,
tookplaceattheLibrarytheweekpriortothesessionsstarting.Onetoonemeetings,where
MentorswerepairedwiththeirrespectiveMentees,werescheduled.Theintroductorymeeting
includedatouroftheLibrarymeetingspace,areviewofthemodulesofinterestandthe
completionoftheMentoringAgreement.
Sessionsbeganthefollowingweek.MentorstailoredtheteachingtomeettheMenteesidenti7ied
areasofinterestspeci-ictoavailablemodules.Havingonsitesupervisionallowedforobservation
oftheteachingandlearning.Inaddition,itprovidedopportunitytocheckinwiththepairsand
giveobservationalfeedbackimmediatelyafterwards.Thisprocesskeptthestudentsengagedand
motivatedprovidedtheMenteeswithanopportunitytosharerealtimethoughtsand/orconcerns
andsatis(iedthepotentialsafetyconcern.
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CommunicationremainedconsistentwiththeHeadLibrarianandonsitesupportstaffduringthe
weeklysessions.Feedbackreceivedwaspositiveandthecontinuationofthepartnershipinthe
futureiswellsupported.
FacultystaffatafollowupmeetingofferedsuggestionsonhowLLNcouldstrengthenthe
partnershipwithLakeshoreCatholicHighSchoolmovingforward.Timingofwhenproject
informationwassharedwiththeteachingandguidancestaffwasnoted.Toensureallstaffreceive
accurateandinclusiveinformation,itwasrecommendedtoscheduleabriefpresentationattheir
!irststaffmeetinglateAugustandagainatthebeginningofthesecondterm.
Asforrecruitment,itwasmentionedthatmoststudentsareeagertoearntheircommunity
involvementhoursbeginninglateSeptember.Grade12studentsinparticularneedtocomplete
thisrequirementfortheirOSSDandwouldbeabletoaddtheirparticipationintheprojecttotheir
scholarshipapplicationsthatgooutmid-January.
Thesuccessofthispilotedhighschoolmodelcanbehighlyattributedtotheco-operationand
accommodationoftheLibrarystaffandfacultystaffwhoseevalueinthisprojectandthecontinual
lifelonglearningthatitfosters.BothLakeshoreCatholicHighSchoolandthePortColbornePublic
Libraryhavecommittedtoanongoingpartnershipandlookforwardtoassistinginthegrowthand
deliveryofthisprojectinthefuture.
Asthemodelhasnowbeenestablishedandsuccessfullypiloted,LLNwillpursuefuturefundingto
speci&icallygrowthisprogramandreplicatethismodelinothermunicipalities.NiagaraWest
alreadyhasmenteeswaitingtobematchediftheprogramreceivesfuturefunding.
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CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS
Thisprojectwasajourneyinunderstandingthegenerationaldifferencesbetweenmillennialsand
otheradults.Belowisachartofourchallengesandlearningsoverthecourseoftheproject.
Challenges Learnings
Recruitmentofmentorsand
menteesinthesamelocations
At$irst,therecruitmentcallsweretoobroad.Mentorsand
Menteeswerewaitingtobematched,butwerenotinthesame
municipalities.Inthefuture,LLNwillfocusonspeci7ic
recruitmentcampaignsbytargetingareaswithpreparedyouth
mentorsthroughlocalHighSchools.
Mentortrainingstyles Youthdonotwanttositthroughlong,formaltrainingsessions.
Informalsessionswheretheycanasktheirownquestionsand
engagewiththetoolsaremoreappreciated.Coffeeorfood
offeringsincreaseretainment.
Supervisionofyouthunder18
whilevolunteering
Bothrecruitmentandretentionofmenteesandmentors
increasedwhensessionswereheldinthesamepublicspace
withanLLNstaffmembereveryweek.Thisnegatedconcern
oversafetyissues.Partneringwithalibraryorotherpublic
agencyalsoallowsmenteestoaccessadditionalcommunity
supportsifneeded.
Staffchanges–Communication
issueswithadvisoryand
partners
Havingastaffchangeduringahighlyinvolvedprojectwas
dif$icult.Whiletheprojectbene,itedwithaninjectionofideas
inthesecondphase,communicationbetweenLLNandthe
advisorycommitteeproveddif0icult.Inthefuture,LLNwill
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ensurethisisaprioritywithscheduledupdatesaspartofthe
projectplan.
Ambitiousprojectoutcomes WhileLLNconsidersthisprojecttohavepositivelearningsand
overallsuccess,theywouldnothaveidenti.iedsomanyproject
activitiesinashorttime.Thecurriculumalonetookmuch
longerthanexpected.Movingforward,LLNwillmakeproject
timelinesandoutcomesmorerealistictoavoidstaffburnout.
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NEXT STEPS
Theprojectreportandcurriculumwillbesharedwith16adultliteracynetworksthatcanpasson
theinformationtoover240adultliteracyagenciesinOntario.LiteracyLinkNiagarawillpostthe
projectreportandcurriculumontheirwebsite.Theyarecommittedtoupdatingthematerialfor
thenext36monthswhenchangestotechnologyoccur.
LiteracyLinkNiagaraiscommittedtorunningasmallcohortof6-8studentsthroughonehigh
schoolforthe2017-18year.LakeshoreHighSchoolinPortColborne,withthesupportofthe
publiclibrary,iswillingandreadytoparticipate.
WithallLiteracyLinkNiagarahaslearned,theyfeelreadytorolloutthishighschoolmodelto
additionalschools.Theywillbelookingforadditionalfundingtosupporttheongoinggrowthof
thisuniqueandneededprogram.
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APPENDIX
RecruitmentMaterials
TechTeachCurriculum
MentoringAgreement
Top Related