Getting Started: Step 1
Now that you have decided to become a mentor for teachers in your program, it's time to begin preparing to build the
mentoring relationship and negotiate expectations with teachers. Creating a supportive
mentoring climate depends on building and maintaining a relationship.
Key to relationship building is effective communication and trust.
"Negotiating," or creating a shared
understanding about assumptions, expectations, goals, and needs, including
a discussion of confidentiality, boundaries, and limits, provides a foundation
for building trust.
The following table provides suggestions for planning and
implementing initial conversations with protégées
to promote the
development of an effective mentoring relationship. You can also download
and print the table, Strategies & Considerations, in MS Word format.
Before beginning your plan, you must identify your prospective mentee or mentees.
- Review the suggestions in the table below
- Think about your program and the teachers with whom you work
- Think about class types and teacher locations
- Identify the number of teachers you can realistically begin to mentor
- Identify the teacher(s) who will be your first mente(es)
Strategies
and Considerations for Initial Conversations
Topic |
Strategies |
Consideration |
Call
or email your protégée(s)
to begin the conversation and to set up a
time to communicate again, or get together. |
Obtain
mentee' contact information, identify follow-up times you
will be available, plan what to say. |
Determine
method of initial communication and best time to initiate. |
Take
time to get to know each other. |
Share
information about your own background, professional experiences,
classes, and satisfactions. Ask the mentee(s) questions to elicit
similar information. |
Establish
rapport.
Exchange information.
Identify points of connection.
Learn about the teaching experiences and classes of mentee(s). |
Talk
about mentoring. |
“Have
you ever been
engaged in a mentoring
relationship before?
What did you learn?” |
Talk
about your own
mentors and experiences. |
Determine
the goals of the mentee(s).
|
“What
do you want to learn from this experience (broad goals)?” |
Determine
if the mentee
has clear goals and
objectives and find out what they are. |
Determine
the
needs and expectations of the mentee(s). |
“What
do you want out of the mentor/mentee
relationship?” |
Clarify
needs and
objectives. |
Define
the deliverables. |
"What
would success look like for you?” |
Ask
yourself if you have the expertise and skills to help meet the goals of the mentee(s). |
Share
your assumptions,
needs, expectations and
limitations, including the amount of time available for mentoring and best
times to contact you. |
Ask
for feedback. |
Clarify
what you are willing and able to contribute. |
Discuss
options and
opportunities. |
“How
would you like to go about achieving your goals?"
“What are your preferred
communication and learning styles?”
“What is the most useful
kind of assistance I can
provide?” |
Consider
and discuss
implications of the mentees’ styles and how they compare to yours. |