Peer to Peer Mentoring | Ever Active Schools

Wisdom in Practice:

Peer-to-Peer Mentorship

Mentorship is a crucial step in developing oneself as a teacher. Join us as a mentor or mentee for a facilitated, year-long teacher mentorship opportunity.

*Our mentorship program is filled for this round. Please check back for more opportunities at a later time.*

How Do I Know This is For Me?

This peer to peer (P2P) mentoring professional development opportunity is for pre-service, new career and veteran teachers alike.

Are you looking for relational resources to support you in daily challenges, or in supporting you in excelling in your role as a teacher or a health and well-being champion? This opportunity is for you. Mentors are paired with mentees through a career speed dating matching event. Following this, a goal setting meeting will be facilitated for pairs, after which mentees and mentors will select activities based on agreed upon goals, in their own individual styles and preferences. The program will take place over the course of a year and offer a midpoint pulse check and a wrap up celebration.

Recruitment
Mentorship Package Released
Networking & Matching
Mentor & Mentee Goal Setting
Pulse Check
Wrap Up Celebration

View the Spring 2021 Mentorship Package

The Goals of Peer-to-Peer Mentorship include:

Bridging the gap between the academic and professional practice world of teaching
Developing pre-service and early-to-mid career educators in the areas of personal well-being, comprehensive school health and physical & health education
Developing relationships between mentees and teacher champions that will enhance professional learning opportunities, and further career goals for both
Develop leadership and mentorship opportunities for teacher champions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Why should mentors participate?

Mentors can learn and obtain a variety of benefits from their mentoring relationship, such as: becoming a better leader; learning more about the teaching profession; achieving personal career gains; playing a part in shaping the teachers of tomorrow; gaining new perspectives and fresh ideas, including insights into younger generations; sharpening one’s emotional intelligence; and the satisfaction that comes with the opportunity to change someone’s world.

11 Reasons why you should be a Mentor. Art of Mentoring https://artofmentoring.net/11-reasons-why-you-should-be-a-mentor-2/

Q: Why should mentees participate?

There are many noted benefits of mentorship for mentees, such as career advancement and skill development. A mentor can help you set goals and identify skills needed to stay focused and on track to reach these goals. A mentor can also help you navigate various work and personal situations based on their own experiences in teaching and education. Additionally, working with a mentor can expand your network of contacts–both personal and professional. A strong network can introduce you to many resources and opportunities.

3 Reasons Why You Should Become a Mentor or Mentee, Bringing Women Together Vancouver. https://bwtvancouver.com/2020/08/13/3-reasons-become-mentor-mentee/

Q: What is the time commitment, including events, and frequency/duration of one-on-one meetings?

Participation in this mentorship opportunity requires about 1-2 hours of your time during the second half of March for some online coffee and connecting sessions with potential matches. This will look like coordinating meeting times via email, and participating in two to three 15-20min virtual conversations during times that work for pairs.

Following these semi-structured virtual "dates" mentees and mentors will select activities based on agreed upon goals, in their own individual styles and preferences. EAS will support pairs with a goal setting workbook.

Frequency and duration of meetings is set by the pair, but a recommended frequency is no more than twice a month and no less than once every two months. A recommended timeline for the formalized mentorship relationships is a year, taking us to our year end celebration. But ultimately the “separation” or “redefinition” of the relationship can happen at the discretion of the pair.

An example of stages through which mentoring relationships evolve includes:

Initiation: when mentors and mentees form expectations and get to know one another
Cultivation: when the relationship matures and mentors typically provide the greatest degree of psychosocial and career support
Separation: when mentees seek autonomy and more independence from mentors
Redefinition: when mentors and mentees transition into a different form of relationship characterized by more peer-like interactions or terminate the relationship

Kram KE. Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman; 1985a.

Q: What are the responsibilities of the mentor and mentee?

Mentor’s Responsibilities	Mentee’s Responsibilities
Initiation Stage
Have a clear understanding of your motivation for becoming a mentor	Have a clear understanding of your motivation for wanting to be mentored
Agree to mentor based on your realistic assessment of your skills and leadership experience	Select a mentor based on pre-established criteria relevant to your career goals
Have a clear understanding of your expectations for your mentee and the ensuing relationship, and clearly communicate them	Have a clear understanding of your expectations of your mentor and the ensuing relationships, and clearly communicate them
Be flexible! Be willing to alter your expectations and change your plans
Have a plan! Formal or informal, with milestones and defined outcomes. We can support this in the goal setting session.
Cultivation Stage
Try to adapt your feedback to your mentee’s learning style	Inform your mentor of your preferred learning style
Advise, don’t dictate. Admit what you don’t know, and refer to others	Actively listen and contribute to the conversations. Understand your mentor will not have all of the answers
Provide examples and resources	Access resources, do your homework
Don’t shy away from difficult conversations
Periodically evaluate progress and reassess the relationship
Be reliable
Separation/Re-definition
Be sensitive as to when the relationship has run its course
Celebrate successes
Remember to say thank you
Decide if/how you would like to stay in touch
Follow up on successes	Provide mentor with updates after formal relationship ends
Repeat the mentoring process with others	Give back to the profession and volunteer to mentor others

**Responsibilities pulled from Metros. S.E adapted to stages from Kram KE.

Metros. S.E. (2006) The Importance of mentors, Chapter5, retrieved online at https://www.educause.edu/research-and-publications/books/cultivating-careers-professional-development-campus-it/chapter-5-importance-mentors

Kram KE. Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life. Glenview, IL: Scott Foresman; 1985a.

Q: How much does it cost to participate?

Wisdom in Practice:

Peer-to-Peer Mentorship

How Do I Know This is For Me?

Recruitment

Mentorship Package Released

Networking & Matching

Mentor & Mentee Goal Setting

Pulse Check

Wrap Up Celebration

The Goals of Peer-to-Peer Mentorship include:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Mentor’s Responsibilities

Mentee’s Responsibilities

Initiation Stage

Cultivation Stage

Separation/Re-definition

**Responsibilities pulled from Metros. S.E adapted to stages from Kram KE.

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