Mentoring Models for Modern Times

							    Mentoring Models for
    Modern Times
                    Nicola Simmons
                    Brock University &
                    Humber Institute
                    May, 2005




1
    Icebreaker

     Write down some alternative
     words for ‘mentor’

     1 word per Post-It note




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    CFHSS National
    Recommendations

     The Academy as Community: A Manual of
     Best Practices for Meeting the Needs of New
     Scholars

     All new faculty members should be mentored

     Mentoring overcomes isolation and “feelings of
     alienation, uneasiness, and frustration” (p. 2).


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    CFHSS National
    Recommendations

     “New faculty, by virtue of their inexperience,
     need not only the guidance, advice, and
     support of specific middle-ranked and senior
     faculty, but also a strong welcome” (p. 3).
     “Deans should. . .where possible, choose
     mentors of the same sex.” (p. 9)
     Six of seven recommended models outline
     advise to Deans that begins with “Assign” (pp. 26-
     27).
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    However…

    Traditional hierarchical models may not meet the
    needs of faculty in this millennium
    (Eby, 2000; Kochan & Trimble, 2000; Mullen, 2000)

    “The old model of mentoring, where experts who
    are certain about their craft can pass on its
    principles to eager novices, no longer applies”
    (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2000, p. 52).

    “If it’s going to be directed by the institution, then
    I don’t think it’s going to be 100% successful.”
    (Participant)

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    Alternative Mentoring Models

     E-mentoring (www.MentorNet.net)
     Faculty learning communities
     Co-mentoring (peer mentoring)
     Choice of mentor
     Interdisciplinary mentoring
     Multiple mentors (all ages, experience levels)
     Collaborative research as mentoring

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    What’s working?

     Personal choice of mentor/s
     A variety of mentors
     Explicit discussion of mentoring relationship
     expectations
     E-mentoring (sometimes as part of F2F)
     Being able to talk to someone who’s also had
     problems

7
    What’s working?

    “I was among one of the few who got to choose
    . . . .The ones that were assigned were not as
    profitable as the ones in which the person got
    to choose.” (Participant)
    “That’s why I chose my mentor, because it was
    totally in a different field, in a different area . . .
    it just allows me a little bit of variety in
    approaches.” (Participant)

8
    What’s working?

    “I’m not on tenure stream, so I can go in and ask
    questions and not worry about whether it’s going
    to inpinge on my tenure . . . . Outside the faculty
    is more if you’re on tenure track.” (Participant)
    In one instance, I was able to email back, “I
    understand why you feel this way, and I’m glad
    you shared it with me. Perhaps we should talk
    more before you email the Dean?”

9
     What’s working?

     “It’s been helpful in the prodding, in the ‘don’t
     forget what your goals were, you had this thing
     in mind – do you still have that in mind? Are you
     reaching that? It’s helped keep me present in
     the exercise.” (Participant)
     “Setting up really good expectations at the
     beginning is really important, as to what is the
     goal that you want to achieve out of this.”
     (Participant)

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     CFHSS National
     Recommendations

     Some formality is recommended, as while
     informal agreements may “prevent new faculty
     members from requesting as many meetings as
     they might like.” (p. 10)
     Persons should become mentors only when the
     offer to become a mentor “is enthusiastically
     received.” (p. 10)
     Mentor choice should take “into account
     similarities of intellectual interests, age, cultural
     backgrounds, domestic situations, etc.” (p. 9)
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     Please sign the email list

      To receive copies of the PPT and summary of
      the session

      Please also feel free to contact me at
      Nicola@lara.on.ca

      Please let me know if you
      would like a copy of the paper

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     References
      Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences’
           Task Force on New Scholars (2004). The academy as
           community: A manual of best practices for meeting the needs
           of new scholars. Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Federation for
           the Humanities and Social Sciences.
      Eby, L. T. (1997). Alternative forms of mentoring in changing
           organizational environments: A conceptual extension of the
           mentoring literature. Journal of Vocational Behaviour, 51(1),
           125-144.
      Hargreaves, A., & Fullen, M. (2000). Mentoring in the new
           millennium. Theory Into Practice, 39(1), 50-57.


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     References
      Kochan, F.K., & Trimble, S.B. (2000). From mentoring to co-
          mentoring: Establishing collaborative relationships. Theory
          Into Practice, 39(1), 20-28.
      Mullen, C. (2000). Constructing co-mentoring partnerships:
           Walkways we must travel. Theory Into Practice, 39(1), 4-11.




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     Additional Bibliography

      Elliot, A., & Woloshyn, V. (1997). Some female professors’
            experiences of collaboration: Mapping the collaborative
            process through rough terrain. Alberta Journal of Educational
            Research, 43(1), 23-36.
      Harnish, D., & Wild, L.A. (1994). Mentoring strategies for faculty
           development. Studies in Higher Education, 19(2), 191-201.
      Jipson, J., & Paley, N. (2000). Because no one gets there alone:
           Collaboration as co-mentoring. Theory Into Practice, 39(1),
           36-42.




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