student mentoring: a case study
DESCRIPTION
This presentation deals with mentoring and caring for students in an academic institution. It prescribes different steps for introducing a mentoring programme in an educational institution and also shares a case study.TRANSCRIPT
STUDENT MENTORING
Anup K. Singh, Ph.D.
A Three Pronged Strategy for Student Success
Classroom Instruction
Mentoring
DevelopmentalActivities
Student Success
Defining Mentoring
Support, guidance and advice from a more experience individual to another less experienced individual with a view to ensure his/her success
Variety of Mentoring
Small group mentoring One-on-one mentoring Peer mentoring Informal mentoring Special group mentoring
Issues in Mentoring
Informal Formal
PsychologicalAcademic &Social
One-on-One Small Group
Long Term Short & Medium Term
Dimensions of Mentoring
Intellectual Academic matters Communication and writing skills Perspective building Feedback and constructive criticism
Psychological Self-confidence Encouragement Identity Trust Empathy and acceptance
Contd…
Social Social integration Mutual support Friendship Group identity Networking
Career SWOT analysis Information about industries and roles Goal setting and career planning Interview and related skills
Theoretical Model (Reflective Dialogue)
Proposed by Brockbank and McGill (2007) “Reflection … those intellectual and affective
activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new understandings and appreciation” (Boyd and Fales, 1983 Pg. 100)
Reflective dialogue “The material for dialogue … is often about the content
of work, the tasks and processes which form the work we do”
Reflective dialogue engages the learner’s realities and subjective experience, giving space for the learner to consider and reconsider…
Stages of Mentoring (David Clutterbuck, 1998)
Rapport building Direction setting Progress working Maturation Closing down
Stages of Learning (Goldberger et al, 1996)
Silence Not knowing
Received knowing knowledge outside oneself
Subjective knowing Knowledge is personal and private
Contd…
Procedural Knowing Techniques for acquiring, validating and
evaluating knowledge are developed Separated knowing (Reasoning against
another person) Connected knowing (Reasoning with another
person) Constructed knowing
Truth as contextual; knowledge as tentative; knower as the constructor of knowledge
Outcomes
Benefits to the mentee Academic success Individualised attention Academic support Greater employability Higher self-efficacy Networking/social capital Social integration
Benefits to the mentor
Satisfaction Long term relationship with students Development of skills Organisational citizenship
Benefits to the Institution
Student success Retention Long term relationship Immediate feedback from students Better grievance handling
Strategies
Philosophy of mentoring as a vital tool of student learning and development
Organisational leadership Design of a mentoring programme Development of mentoring policy Structuring of roles Responsibilities of the coordinator,
mentors and mentees Setting up processes
Processes
Forming mentee groups Planning mentee activities Initial training Monitoring of processes by the
programme office Evaluating mentor and mentees
Activities for Mentoring
Ice breaking Clarification of
expectations and roles Discussion on
academic topics/perspective building
Group discussion Careers and
roles/career guidance Paper writing Birthday celebration
Pizza party Support for
assignments/projects Personal counselling Discussion about
learning from co-curricular and extra-curricular activities
Industry visit Mock interview Problem solving Grievance handling
Evaluation
Information collection of feedback
Monitoring of meetings
Mentee evaluation
Mentor evaluation
Review and improvement of processes
Process evaluation
Outcome evaluation
Problems in Implementing Mentoring
Value of mentoring not properly defined / a lack of clarity of purpose
Cultural resistance Poor documentation Lack of training Lack of interest and expertise Problems in scheduling of meetings Lack of time on the part of mentors Extra load on students and instructors Intra-group conflicts Weak Programme Coordinator
Ideal Mentoring Programme
Sponsoring the programme
Development of philosophy, policy and processes
Coordinating the programme
Identification of resources and roadblocks
Preparation Selection Training
Process ownership
Post-training support
Monitoring and mid-process improvement
Measurement Review and
rejuvenation
Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida
Case Study
Precipitating Factors
Consultant’s report on branding Withdrawn students; lacking sense of
belonging; poor employability Faculty’s resolve to make a difference in
the life of a student Benchmarking
Sponsorship, Philosophy and Policy Director of the Institute as sponsor Philosophy of individualised attention
for student success in mass educational model
Developing a student for employment from day one
Social integration Mentor as the most important point of
care and support for a student
Nature of Mentoring (Eclectic) Formal and informal Individual and small group Diverse set of activities Focus on intellectual, psychological,
social and career aspects Faculty and industry mentors Supervision of SIP Process evaluation Recognition to faculty for mentoring
Contd…
Development of policy Review of literature Benchmarking with other business schools Formation of a policy committee Discussion in Faculty Council Finalisation of policy and notification to
faculty
Objectives of Mentoring
The specific objectives of the policy are: To help students adjust at the Institute. To facilitate academic and personal
development of students. To enhance employability skills of the
students. To establish a bridge between teaching and
students communities.
Implementation of Mentoring Programme
Appointment of Coordinator Elaboration of the processes Formation of Mentee groups Announcement of Mentor-Mentee Meetings Documentation of meetings Monitoring by the Coordinator Discussion about the mentoring programme
in Faculty Meetings Minor intervention by the sponsor from time
to time to ameliorate the process
Evaluation of Mentoring Programme
Counting of mentor-mentee meeting per mentor Evaluation of the mentor by the mentees Evaluation of the mentees by the mentees Open discussion about the mentoring
programme in Faculty Council Change in policy to boost mentoring programme Credit to faculty for mentoring load Mentoring supported by other developmental
activities
Sl. No. Learning Enhancers Frequency
1 Presentation 54
2 Guest Lecture 47
3 Case Analysis 27
4 Mentoring 26
5 Class Discussion and Experiential Pedagogy 24
6 Interaction with Faculty 21
7 Assignment 20
8 Quiz 16
9 Events 14
10 Environment 13
11 Study Group 12
12 Timings/Discipline 11
13 Stress Management 10
14 Liquid Class 9
15 Politics/Diplacy 8
16 Live Project 7
17 Miscellaneous 6
Table 1. Learning Enhances As Perceived by Students (N=166)
Sl. No. Learning Inhibitors Frequency
1 Business Cmunication through Liquid 63
2 Guest Lecture 30
3 Assignment 25
4 Study Group 20
5 Long Hectic Schedule 16
6 Mentoring 14
7 Hectic Exam Schedule 13
8 Rules and Norms 9
9 Clubs 7
10 Grading 5
11 Miscellaneous 32
Table 2. Learning Inhibitors As Perceived by Students (N=166)
Learning from Case Study
Learning is a psycho-social process in nature. An institution needs to promote learning using social engagement
Each learner needs individualised attention. Mentoring provides such attention
Mentoring is very important in the 1st Term. Then it progresses automatically
Industry mentor complements and supplements the faculty member in a significant manner
Some students and faculty do have their reservations about mentoring process. The benefits of mentoring far exceed its cost. Of course, it is advisable to improve its quality continuously