Mentoring: from research to realisation

1. Mentoring:
from research to
realisation
Teaching and learning conference 2013

2. Why research mentoring?
 Enhance teaching quality and therefore learner success –
aligns with the institution’s teaching & learning plan
 Build on leadership capabilities of staff
 Enhance communication and relationships across the
institution
 Create collaborative and collegial networks to support the
sharing of teaching best practice.

3. About the research project
• 6 step model of engagement
• Stage 1: Mentor/mentee selection
• Stage 2: Mentoring training
• Stage 3: Establish mentoring partnerships
• Stage 4: Establish communities of practice
• Stage 5: Evaluation
• Stage 6: Celebrate success

4. Mentoring programme V1
• Staff engaged after CAT
• Mentors and mentees trained together
• COP for mentors driven by mentors
• Campus diversity supported
• Need for co-ordinator identified

5. Realisation
MentoringprogrammeV2
• Changed our initial model re engaging earlier & at career
transition points
• Expected norm in their daily work
• Train, train, train (pool of mentors ready to go)
• Training mentors and mentees separately
• Training content changed to skills based practice

6. • COP for mentors more skills based
• Place value on co-ordinators role
• Celebrated campus diversity
• Rolling out mentoring programme for general staff

7. Comments from mentors & mentees
• “I feel more confident in assessment design and I am introducing more innovative
assessment tasks with my students”
• “ I have been learning ways to make learning more active, for example, independent
learning, student research projects and suiting different learning styles.”
• “Having someone different to talk to about what’s going on in my area is so helpful.”
• “Good to have someone outside my department or discipline. I could speak more
freely.”
• “Helped me to integrate into the organisation and help familiarise me with staff and
procedures.”
• “Not so over-whelmed by the whole situation now, as a new teacher.”
• “I applied for a new job and the mentor helped me with this. He encouraged me to go
further in my career and I feel that I can now.”