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