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Not All Types of Mentors are Created Equal- A summary of the article

Troisi, J.D., Leder-Elder, S., Stiegler-Balfour, J.J., Flack, B.K. (2015).  Not all types of Mentors are Created Equal: Comparing the Effectiveness of Intra-departmental, Intra-University and Self Selected Mentors. The Journal of Faculty Development, 29(3), 17-22. ISSN 2153-1900 2153-1919  I wanted to read this article as I have received feedback from some mentors that they would have preferred to have a mentee that was a member of their department.  Most of the research discourages this practice, due to implications regarding the possibility of a mentor having supervisory responsibility over a mentee in the future. This could impact decisions regarding promotion and tenure.  At CCRI, this might occur as a result of departmental elections for a department chairperson.  The authors surveyed 122 early career professionals (ECP).  The results indicated that ECPs preferred self selected and intra-departmental mentors over intra-university mentors.  The authors supported the concept
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Resources about Mentoring

Article #1 http://www.oercommons.org/courses/communication-the-key-to-successful-mentoring/view Article #2 http://www.oercommons.org/courses/mentoring-matters/view Hello, We have completed the survey process to mentors last week and just sent out a different survey to the mentees this week. I will collate Mentee results at the end of next week.  Some of the feedback from mentors identifies that connections have been difficult. Mentors have indicated that they've reached out, but have had limited success in meeting and building relationships with their mentees. This linked article, Communication is the Key to Successful Mentoring, was written from the perspective of an educator in the K-12 environment. The article promotes taking an active role in communicating with potential mentors and mentors. Sometimes mentoring occurs due to physical proximity and other times it requires a more dedicated approach.  If you have not had success forming a partnership with your mentee, please
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Formal Mentoring Programs Part 2

Parise, M.R. & Forret, M.L. (2008) Formal Mentoring Programs: The relationship of program design and support to mentors perceptions of benefits and costs, Journal of Vocation Behavior , 72, 225-240. Part II But what are the costs of mentoring? These include a negative reflection on the mentor if the mentee does not perform as well as expected.  A mentor may be placed in the uncomfortable position of having to defend his/her own status if the mentee does not perform to expectations. If the partnership deteriorates, a dysfunctional relationship may occur. Mentors may perceive that an individual is not worth the time and effort that is necessary.   The time a mentor devotes to mentoring has opportunity costs. Scheduling issues and geographic distance may create additional hurdles from a time commitment perspective.  Lastly, mentors may be accused of nepotism if they are viewed as showing favoritism to their mentees. The article included research done on a mentoring program
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Formal Mentoring Programs - Benefits vs. Costs Part I

Parise, M.R. & Forret, M.L. (2008) Formal Mentoring Programs: The relationship of program design and support to mentors perceptions of benefits and costs, Journal of Vocation Behavior , 72, 225-240. The above article looks at four key aspects of mentoring programs. These include the extent to which mentor participation is voluntary, mentor input into the matching process with proteges, the perceived effectiveness of the training mentors receive, and the perceived level of management support of the program. Additionally, the article looks at the costs and benefits of mentoring programs. In this post, let’s look at the benefits of mentoring. My next post will address the costs of mentoring that the article identifies. Benefits of mentoring include personal satisfaction of mentors as proteges experience success.  Mentees can impact the job performance of mentors by providing a new perspectives and knowledge, such as skills relating to new technology.  Thirdly, proteges may be
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Mentoring the Mentor

I just read an article called Mentoring the Mentors in the College Student Journal. It identifies various practices used to set up a mentoring program between MD-PhD. students and undergraduates. The program identified that reflective practice for both mentors and mentees is essential. The mentors used a number of tools to promote active listening. This included an exercise called “Chalk Talk” which was done in silence, with all participants identifying the qualities of a good mentor. This activity helped them to recognize the similarities in their expectations. Group activities promoted active listening. Games such as “two truths and a lie” reinforced the skill.  Strategies included teaching the mentors to ask open-ended questions of their mentees, rather than simply providing an answer.  Mentors were also encouraged to bounce ideas off each other. The article identifies that mentoring is a learned skill and sound listening skills are essential for the process to be successful.      
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Mentoring 2.0

The article, Mentoring 2.0, found at www.training.org recommends that individuals participating in mentoring meet face to face regularly, but suggests leveraging technology if distance or time is an issue. During face-to-face meetings, cell phones should be silenced to respect each member’s time.  For communications that are not face to face, recommendations included the use of Google Hangouts, Skype, and message boards as appropriate avenues for communication.  Participation in webinars can improve the skills of both mentors and proteges.  Technology tools such as Google docs and Pinterest are suggested as a means to share ongoing ideas. Communication is meant to be a two way street, with both participants benefiting from the mentoring process.  Mentors may view this as an opportunity to learn new tools to enhance their productivity and technological expertise.  Please share your experiences using technology to support your mentoring experience. Thanks. Martha
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Mentoring in Higher Education

  There is plenty of research regarding mentoring in Higher Education. The Mentoring programs seem to fall into two camps; one for mid career faculty who need support to achieve full professor status, and the other for recently hired faculty members, who are new to the institution.  I focused on the latter, since that is the best "fit" for the CCRI Mentor program. One of the articles that I found helpful is "Mentoring in the Digital Age" by M. Weinstein which is linked below.  The article identifies that metrics which track a mentee's performance are important to have to measure progress. By developing objective clearly measurable goals, the metrics will be in place. We have tech tools available through the Blackboard Mentor Program shell. This is an avenue to use to reach out to other mentors. The site offer information sharing and promotes communication via the wiki.  You and your mentee may prefer other channels of communication such as texts, email, ca
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