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Training and follow-up support for mentors are essential to developing and sustaining mentoring relationships. This chapter describes some of the ways in which organizations have designed training and follow-up support for mentors:
Orientation or preservice training processes
Mentor training curricula
Ongoing support for mentors.
There are many options to consider in each category. Agencies need to identify the options that work best for them.
Training and support for mentors are powerful when they -
Take Stock!
What are the different ways in which our agency can provide mentor training?
Orientation or Preservice Training Processes
The way orientation or preservice training for mentors is carried out varies from organization to organization. There appears to be no set length of time for orientation training. Some organizations offer a weekend retreat or a weeklong seminar. Others spread out the training over several weeks, with mentors attending classes for several hours each week. The duration of the training depends on staff schedules, the time and resources that organizations have available, and the person who does the training. The following are some points for agencies to consider as they design mentor training programs.
Timing of mentor training. Organizations often provide mentor training after mentors are identified and selected. The California Early Childhood Mentoring Program, however, offers a mentor training course before teachers volunteer or are selected as mentors. The rationale for the timing of the course is to help teachers gain a clearer understanding of what mentoring involves before they decide whether they want to become mentors.
Affiliations with local colleges. In some cases, organizations affiliated with local colleges give mentors course credits for participating in the training program or tuition vouchers for participating in the mentoring program. Some organizations give scholarships to mentors to defray the cost of tuition and books.
Source of mentor training. Sometimes orientation training is provided by outside consultants or local colleges; in other cases, organizations develop in-house mentor training experts and employ a "train-the-trainers" model. In such a model, one or more staff persons are trained initially and they, in turn, train other staff. The advantage of such a system is that it builds in-house capability for providing ongoing support, coaching, and periodic training for mentors.
Audiences for mentor training. In many cases, organizations train mentors as a group separate from protégés. In some cases, protégés are invited after the initial training sessions. Training mentors and protégés together offers another opportunity for participants to work with their partners and also serves as a way of "kicking off" the mentoring process and ensuring that all participants receive the same information about the mentoring program.
Mentor training strategies. Mentor training generally includes individual, small-group, and large-group learning activities. What is important is that the training promotes reflective practices.
In one variation of the train-the-trainers model, the program selects an initial group of three or four individuals to be trainers and to serve as mentors to the mentors. A "mentor expert" initially trains the group. After the training, the "mentor expert" provides feedback on the training processes used in the training and helps the group develop a training design for working with other mentors.
Mentor training activities may include
Take Stock!
On what topics will our mentor training focus?
Mentors need to master a whole set of topics and skills to make them effective in their roles. The chart on page 41, Common Mentor Training Areas, provides an overview of these topics and skills.
Training topics focus on enhancing mentors' skills in working with adults - understanding how adults learn and the stages of adult and teacher development - and their ability to communicate and problem-solve with their protégés. Training also focuses on different strategies for mentoring and for promoting reflective practice.
Organizations implementing mentoring use several mentoring curricula. One frequently used curriculum is The Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum: A Handbook for Mentors published by the Center for the Child Care Work Force. Like many other mentor training curricula, this handbook focuses on knowledge and skills in such areas as adult development and learning styles, communication and interpersonal skills, observation and coaching strategies, and diverse populations. Most curricula include multiple training sessions and use a variety of individual, small-, and large-group learning activities.
Appendix F describes potential curricula for agencies to consider or to use as resources in setting up mentor training programs.
Take Stock!
What kind of ongoing support can our agency provide for mentors?
Ongoing support for mentors is particularly important because the mentoring process and relationship evolve over time. Mentors may need help in shifting focus when their protégés feel more confident in their practices and require different kinds of support. Mentors need assistance in figuring out how to form working relationships with protégés as protégés grow and change. In addition, mentor-protégé pairs can encounter interpersonal difficulties that require additional assistance.
Like orientation, ongoing mentor support also varies. Support can be either formal or informal.
Formal Support
Formal support for mentors can occur in a variety of ways. Consider some of these:
Meetings. Agencies can schedule times for mentors to meet with specific individuals, such as the person responsible for the mentoring program or the trainer who provided the orientation training. Meetings may be weekly, biweekly, or monthly, depending on the availability of the teacher and the commitments of the mentors. These meetings, lasting a few hours, provide opportunities to discuss such matters as strategies for mentoring, progress of individual protégés, difficulties encountered in the mentoring process, mentoring resources, or other issues identified by the mentors. They offer an opportunity for mentors to network and learn new skills. Agencies may want to regularly schedule meetings for mentors in conjunction with annual retreats or other teacher events.
Internet chat rooms. Sometimes mentors' schedules or geographic locations make it difficult to meet with other mentors or with the individuals responsible for coordinating the mentoring. As a supplement to face-to-face contact, chat rooms enable mentors to connect with their colleagues and to discuss issues that concern them. They also are a way to share new resources. The person responsible for coordinating the mentoring may want to monitor the chat room to address issues that arise.
Mentor newsletters. Newsletters are a great way of sharing ideas and finding out about new resources. They can focus on different topics, reinforce what participants learned in mentor training programs, and offer helpful strategies for dealing with difficult mentoring relationships. Newsletters can be disseminated in hard copy or electronically.
Pairing experienced and new mentors. As mentoring expands, agencies can pair more experienced mentors with new mentors. This system helps new mentors become acclimated to their role and gives them the support and strategies they need to become more effective mentors. Depending on the size of the agency and the program structure, the experienced mentor may be on site or a phone call away.
Informal Support
Other forms of support are less formal. For example, mentors may meet on their own at a mutually agreeable time to share concerns, work through problems, and provide encouragement and recognition. The frequency with which they meet depends on their own program schedules. Experienced mentors also can informally team-up with new mentors, and the teams can meet informally as a support group. Individuals responsible for the mentoring program also can provide ongoing, informal support. Meeting informally is easiest when mentors and coordinators are at the same site.
Communication between mentors and the individuals responsible for the mentoring program may be oral, in the form of personal meetings or telephone conversations, or written, in the form of dialogue journals or e-mail messages. The way in which mentors communicate depends on the learning style of both the mentor and the protégé. The sidebar on this page gives an example of how mentor dialogue journals can be used as a means of communication.
The chart on pages 45 and 46 provides an overview of the ways selected organizations provide training and ongoing support. The content of the mentor training is similar in the programs cited.
Mentors and mentor coordinators can communicate using confidential dialogue journals. In their journal, mentors reflect on their experiences as mentors and on their changing relationships with protégés. In a dialogue journal, mentors' entries are written on one side of the page; coordinators' nonjudgemental comments on the other side. Journals can be submitted to the coordinator on an agreed-upon schedule. Dialogue journals can be used between mentors and protégés as well.
Putting It All Together: Mentor Training and Follow-up Support
For mentoring programs to be effective, it is important to invest in mentor training. Effective mentors possess a core set of knowledge and skills that include a knowledge of adult learners and communication and problem-solving skills. Several curricula are available to support training. Like any good training, mentor training is not a one-time event. Mentors, like protégés, need ongoing support to hone their skills. Support can take the form of mentor seminars or institutes; the pairing of new and experienced mentors; and interactions between mentors and mentor coordinators in person, electronically, or through written communications.
| Program | Source and Duration of Mentor Training | Content of Mentor Training | Follow-up Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Horizons Training Center, Macon Program for Progress (NC) | Training is conducted by the Center's Training Director and Master Teacher, both of whom participated in national training on the Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum (Bellm, Whitebook, & Hnatiuk, 1997). Training occurs over three days, with mentors spending three to four hours each day in training. | Topics include adult development and learning styles; reflective practices; diversity; the change process; and a focus on such skills as observation and conferencing, communication, modeling, and self-assessments. | Ongoing and informal support is provided. The Training Director serves as a "mentor to the mentors," providing feedback on the mentors' performance and addressing concerns that mentors may raise. Observation windows within each classroom of the training facility allow the Training Director to observe the mentor unobtrusively at any time. |
| City of Denver Head Start (CO) | Mentors participate in a 40-hour mentor training workshop. | Topics include foundation and knowledge of mentoring (adult learning patterns, teacher stages of development, learning styles, reflective practice, respecting diversity); how to establish a professionally supportive relationship (roles and responsibilities of mentoring, mentoring strategies); working through difficulties to establish effective communication (active listening, problem solving process); impact of mentoring on the early childhood profession; and the rewards of mentoring. | Mentors participate in a three-hour training session quarterly and in monthly meetings. |
| Associated Day Care Services, Greater Boston Early Childhood Mentoring Program (MA) | Training is provided through a weeklong seminar at Wheelock College for which mentors receive two college credits. The Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum is used. | Topics include five core areas of knowledge: adult development, reflection in education, respecting diversity, the change process, and leadership and advocacy. Skill areas include communication, modeling, observation, coaching and reflective conferencing, giving and receiving feedback, conflict resolution, self-assessment, and avoiding burnout. | Mentors participate in monthly three-hour seminars for each of the seven months the mentoring relationship exists. They receive two college credits and release time. Protégés participate in four of these seminars. Associated Day Care Services also provides a resource room for mentors, with training videos and books that mentors can use. |
| California Early Childhood Mentoring Program | Before being selected as a mentor, candidates must take a college course called "The Mentor Teacher." Depending on the number of hours of the class, candidates receive two or three credits. | Topics include supervisory skills and training in using an objective quality assessment tool. | Mentors meet for two hours each month over a 10-month period with the program coordinator. (This person may be the college mentoring coordinator, the regional mentoring coordinator, or the teacher of the protégé's class.) Additionally, mentors annually complete six hours of professional development that they have designed. They have the option of attending a two-day annual mentor institute. Mentors receive a base stipend of $500 a year for participating in mentor meetings and professional development activities. |
| Northwest Arkansas Family Child Care Association, Homes Uniquely Giving Support (H.U.G.S.) | Training is provided through a six-week course (two hours a week) through the University of Arkansas School of Human and Environmental Science. Mentors receive continuing education credits. The Early Childhood Mentoring Curriculum is used. | Topics include adult development, learning styles, reflective practice, anti-bias, process of change, and skills for effective mentoring. | Mentors meet one Saturday each month with the mentor coordinator and the trainer from the University of Arkansas School of Human and Environmental Science. Protégés are included in the sessions that focus on accreditation. Time is set aside for mentors to network with one another and to gain individual assistance from the trainer or the mentor coordinator. The mentor coordinator also prepares lunch for the group. |
| State of Wisconsin, Department of Work-force Development, Child Care Careers Project | Mentors attend a two-credit mentor seminar at their local technical college. The course may be offered as a weeklong intensive course or as an ongoing course with weekly meetings. | Topics include adult development, anti-bias curriculum, communication skills, the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, conferencing skills, and reflective practice. | --- |
| Putting the Pro in Protégé Contents | Chapter V: Mentoring Content and Strategies |
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