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Instructor Mentorship Handbook
Sponsored by:
The Centre for Teaching Excellence, Innovation, and Research
Reprinted: 11 January 2016
1/22
2/22
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
5/22
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: [email protected] E: [email protected]
Advisory Committee
Douglas A. Cameron, Instructor
Teacher Education
C313 – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue
P: 204-632-2304
Donna Wilson, Manager
Adult Learning Centre
F115 – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue
P: 204-632-3791
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Ronald Budowski, Instructor
Teacher Education
AB16 – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue
P: 204-632-2431
Judy McGuirk, CAE Coordinator
Teacher Education
C320A – 2055 Notre Dame Avenue
P: 204-632-2434
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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