Mentoring Model in Educational Process

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The relationship between the learner and the teacher is one of the most essential factors affecting the outcome of education and in the modern learning environment, the development of a cordial and effective relation between the two is often highlighted. Mentoring is an essential type of the relation between the two and it may be well comprehended as one to one relationship between two individuals based simply on the needs and aspirations of one, i.e. the mentee and the abilities and resources of the other, i.e. the mentor. In other words, mentoring is the planned intervention of selected adults from local business and community organizations in the practice of working with young people who may fail to realize their full potential. It is significant to consider that “effective mentoring is central to professional preparation.” (John Furlong, School Mentors and University Tutors: Lessons from the English Experiment, Volume 39, Number 1, Winter 2000, Theory into Practice, College of Education, The Ohio State University)

That is to say, a mentor supports and helps motivate a less experienced person to reach his/her true potential and therefore mentors are usually more experienced than the learner and provide support, encouragement and guidance. Thus, mentoring will best be comprehended as the process by which a mentee can gain help and advice from a mentor who may be a specialist in the field of work the mentee wants to enter and it is a process of working together to achieve agreed goals through smart targets. “Mentoring is a term generally used to describe a relationship between a less experienced individual, called a mentee or protégé, and a more experienced individual known as a mentor.” (Definition of Mentoring, Becky Wai-Packard). One fundamental concern of this paper has been to explicate the philosophy of mentoring model, focusing on the benefits of using mentoring model, and finding why it is a matter of great importance as well as to attempt a literature review based on scholar research on how mentoring model can be applied in learning.

In attempting a definition of the term mentor, one comes to realize that it “typically contain phrases like: “a seasoned executive”, “a trusted and experienced guide”, and “a more powerful executive.” These phrases suggest that a powerful being in the organization somehow makes a career happen. This image may perpetuate a belief that an all-powerful person can make or break careers, making the road to success happen.” (Multiple Mentor Model: A Conceptual Framework, Larry D. Burlew, Journal of Career Development, Vol. 17(3), Spring 1991, © 1991 Human Sciences Press, Inc) It is essential in a discussion of the philosophy of mentoring model to comprehend the dimensions of the models and a mentoring model that blends human development with the dimensions of mentoring can essentially provide an example for the various types of models. It is also significant to realize that a “mentoring relationship has the potential to be widely used throughout an individual’s lifespan. Including mentoring relationships into one’s life can assist with transition management in and out of various life scenarios.” (Abstract, The mentoring model theory: dimensions in mentoring protocols). Thus, the mentoring model provides the opportunity to get into the minutest relationship between the mentee and the mentor, thereby enabling the most sophisticated results in favor of the mentee.

It is an obvious fact that possessing a mentor has positive effects on every one’s career progression. When the concept of mentor is comprehended as “anyone who provides guidance, support, knowledge, and opportunities for whatever period the mentor and protege deem this help to be necessary,” an essential realization is that of “the need for several mentors or phases of mentoring. The conceptual framework for addressing this mentoring process is called the multiple mentor model. The model is based on the premise that mentoring is not a single event in the life of a worker but rather several events with different levels of mentoring.” (Burlew, L. (1991). Multiple mentor model: A conceptual framework. Journal of Career Development, 17(3), 213-221.) Among several levels of mentoring, the training mentor comes first who “guides the worker as he or she masters the job and acclimates to the new work environment, supports the worker until he or she feels capable of on-the-job responsibilities and comfortable within the organization, and suggests opportunities for the worker to make himself or herself more valuable to the organization” followed by the education mentor who “has a broader role involving foresight and an understanding of how one progresses in an occupation” (Burlew, L. (1991).

Multiple mentor model: A conceptual framework. Journal of Career Development, 17(3), 213-221.) Such a mentor concentrates on the future of the mentee and assists the worker in planning for the future or in making decisions about educational activities or in making contacts with successful professionals, developing the necessary qualifications to succeed in the career. “The third type, the development mentor, is involved in helping the worker to become a well-rounded individual. Some ways a mentor at this stage helps a worker to grow include enabling the individual to assess his or her strengths and weaknesses, develop a plan of action in order to make positive change, gain insight into future directions of the organization so he or she will be prepared for change, try creative talents in areas not previously explored, and network with many types of people for exposure to new ideas and styles of behavior.” (Burlew, L. (1991). Multiple mentor model: A conceptual framework. Journal of Career Development, 17(3), 213-221.) Therefore, these various types of mentor model provide the teacher trainee with maximum choices for the best selection to make.

The various types of mentoring models provide the educators with potential selection of the best model which suits their teaching environment as well as the style of mentoring. What is essential is the best choice of the model of mentoring. It is, therefore, important to consider a peer mentoring teacher education initiative which significantly aims at developing pre-service teachers’ capacities to participate successfully, both during their initial teacher education and throughout their teaching careers, in the learning communities. “Peer mentoring utilizes the latest conceptualization of mentoring, that of co-mentoring by Bona et al. or that proposed by Hargreaves and Fullan, where all teachers give and receive support. Such a conceptualization challenges the traditional assumption that the mentor knows best and is consistent with the latest approaches to teacher professional development, where teachers are encouraged to participate in learning communities.”

Conspicuously, a peer mentoring teacher education initiative includes various essential elements that need to be especially born in mind when attempting the model. (Rosie Le Cornu, Peer mentoring: engaging pre-service teachers in mentoring one another, Vol. 13, No. 3, December 2005, Mentoring and Tutoring, pp. 355–366, © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd) It is therefore clear that in the modern learning environment in which the importance for initial teacher education in preparing teachers of the future to participate effectively in learning communities is widely recognized, peer mentoring is an effective strategy. It is “a strategy for pre-service teachers to become directly involved in each other’s learning by being mentors for each other… The ultimate aim of peer mentoring is that pre-service teachers will have the confidence and willingness to participate actively in professional learning communities in the future. This participation will be based on the notions of social justice and reciprocity, whereby they will have a commitment to examining the consequences of their professional practices in catering for the needs of all students and they will also have the capacities to enable their colleagues to be able to do this.” (Rosie Le Cornu, 2005)

Teacher training and education programs in the present era has wider implications as only an appropriate knowledge and training in the philosophy and goals of the teacher preparation program, in the basic principles and practices of effective mentoring and supervision, and in a framework of effective teaching practice, can effectively meet the need for cooperating or mentor teachers. This factor points to the necessity of an efficient mentoring model that consistently touches every significant areas of effective mentoring. There is no generic model for a specific mentoring, but it is obvious that in an elementary science mentoring models that facilitate the understanding of science content, exploring elementary science pedagogical content knowledge through modeling, and off-site professional development workshops become effective.

Researches on the effect of a mentoring model for elementary science professional development “reveal that (a) one-to-one mentoring has short-term implications for implementing constructivist science teaching practices; (b) successful mentoring models include facilitating the understanding of science content, exploring elementary science pedagogical content knowledge through modeling, and off-site professional development workshops; and (c) understanding and working from the predispositions of the teachers is an essential component of effective professional development.” (The Effect of a Mentoring Model for Elementary Science Professional Development, Janice Koch and Ken Appleton Journal of Science Teacher Education (2007) 18:209–231)

It is necessary to understand that the development of practical mentoring models can best fulfill the need for a potential mentoring model. “Few models exist that provide consistency and focus to the development of mentoring programs in preservice teacher education. Of the literature that does exist, most articles focus on mentoring during the induction year(s) of the beginning teacher… However, little attention has been given in the literature to effective mentoring models for preservice teacher education programs… The kind of mentoring that preservice teachers receive is, at best, marginally effective.” (Carmen R. Giebelhaus and Connie L. Bowman, Teaching Mentors: Is It Worth the Effort? March/April 2002 [Vol. 95(No. 4)] The Journal of Educational Research, pp 246-7) In this situation, more focus needs to be provided on the model that effectively meets the requirements of an valuable mentoring model. Thus, in ultimate conclusion to the discussion of the several types of mentoring models, it is necessary that the most effective mentoring model is identified and developed for the purpose of future practices. Obviously, it becomes clear that mentoring model provides an effective means for a more cordial and positive relation between the teacher and the taught in a learning process which in turn improves the quality of education.

Bibliography

The Effect of a Mentoring Model for Elementary Science Professional Development, Janice Koch and Ken Appleton Journal of Science Teacher Education (2007) 18:209–231.

John Furlong, School Mentors and University Tutors: Lessons from the English Experiment, Volume 39, Number 1, 2000, Theory into Practice, College of Education, The Ohio State University.

Abstract, The mentoring model theory: dimensions in mentoring protocols. Web.

Burlew, L. (1991). Multiple mentor model: A conceptual framework. Journal of Career Development, 17(3), 213-221.

Carmen R. Giebelhaus and Connie L. Bowman, Teaching Mentors: Is It Worth the Effort? 2002 [Vol. 95(No. 4)] The Journal of Educational Research, pp 246-7.

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Mentoring Model in Educational Process

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