[467] in magellan
Fwd: TP Msg. #224 THE ROLES AND PHASES OF MENTORSHIP
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Greg Anderson)
Fri May 26 06:53:20 2000
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Date: Fri, 26 May 2000 06:54:39 -0400
To: magellan@mit.edu
From: Greg Anderson <ganderso@MIT.EDU>
Interesting piece on mentorship; while it has the academy flavor, the
discussion of phases and maturation processs for mentoring has good points
for all of us.
Greg
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>Subject: TP Msg. #224 THE ROLES AND PHASES OF MENTORSHIP
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>Folks:
>
>The excerpt below looks at mentoring by faculty and gives some nice insights
>into the roles and phases of such relationships. It is taken from: Teaching
>Alone, Teaching Together: Transforming the Structure of Teams for Teaching,
>James L. Bess and Associates, Chapter Six: The Mentor Facilitating
>Out-of-Class Cognitive and Affective Growth by Michael W. Galbraith,
>Patricia Maslin-Ostrowski, pp 145-148. Copyright 2000 by Jossey-Bass,
>reprinted with permission.
>
>Regards,
>
>Rick Reis
>reis@stanford.edu
>UP NEXT: The Temporal Dimension of Gender Inequality in Academia
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> Tomorrow's Teaching and Learning
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> ---------- 1365 words -----------
>
> THE ROLES AND PHASES OF MENTORSHIP
>
>
>Michael W. Galbraith,
>Patricia Maslin-Ostrowski,
>
>ROLES OF MENTORSHIP
>
>Within the mentorship process, a mentor often assumes multiple roles
>to bring about the enhancement of the mentee's professional,
>personal, and psychological development. At different times, the
>mentor may be a role model, advocate, sponsor, adviser, guide,
>developer of skills and intellect, listener, host, coach, challenger,
>visionary, balancer, friend, sharer, facilitator, and resource
>provider. Along with these roles comes a responsibility to consider
>the psychological dimensions of the relationship, for example,
>accepting, confirming, counseling, and protecting. The role that best
>describes the mentor may be decided as a result of how well the
>mentor understands the total mentorship process. Clearly, the mentor
>role does not suit all people, including professors.
>
>PHASES OF MENTORSHIP
>
>There has been little investigation of mentoring phases or stages
>from a conceptual and theoretical perspective, except for the work of
>Kram (1985) and Cohen (1995a). Kram examined the phases of a mentor
>relationship from the perspective of psychological and organizational
>factors that influence career and psychological functions performed.
>She suggests that developmental relationships vary in length but
>generally proceed through four predictable, yet not entirely
>distinct, phases.
>
>THE INITIAL PHASE is the period in which the relationship is
>conceived and becomes important to both mentor and mentee. This phase
>may last for a time span of six months to one year. From the
>undergraduate perspective, this would occur during the freshman year.
>Given the apparently overwhelming challenge of college to most
>freshmen on entrance, one can imagine the mentor on the team finding
>himself or herself in great demand. Yet, all students, undergraduate
>and graduate level, learn best in a supportive environment, and
>having a designated mentor on the team will give students much easier
>access to faculty. The mentor team member would be willing, able and
>desirous of this kind of interaction with students, instead of
>faculty whose academic preparation and research makes them offer
>"limited office hours."
>
>THE SECOND PHASE, called the cultivation phase, lasts from two to
>five years. For the undergraduate, this then might take place during
>the sophmore and junior years, or even longer. During this phase, the
>positive expectations that emerged during the initiation phase are
>continually tested against reality. The mentor and mentee discover
>the real value of relating to each other and clarify the boundaries
>of their relationship.
>
>PHASE THREE, separation, is marked by significant changes in the
>relationship and might happen during or soon after a student's senior
>year. It is a time when the mentee experiences new independence and
>autonomy, as well as turmoil, anxiety, and feelings of loss. The
>separation phase lasts from six months to two years. Mentors on teams
>that are teaching college seniors or students at the end of their
>graduate course work will represent a new resource to students
>feeling the anxiety of departure from the comfort of their college or
>university years and seeing the uncertainty of their postgraduate
>experience.
>
>THE FINAL PHASE is redefinition. In this phase, the relationship
>takes on significantly different characteristics and becomes either a
>more pee-like friendship or one that is characterized by hostility
>and resentment. In general, during the redefinition phase, both the
>mentor and mentee recognize that a shift in developmental tasks has
>occurred and that the previous mentorship process is no longer needed
>or desired.
>
>Getting out of sync with the developmental phases of the mentoring
>relationship could result in a less-than-positive experience for both
>mentor and mentee. Although everyone will not experience the phases
>at the same rate, it is essential that they go through all of them,
>and in sequence.
>
>If one accepts the stage theory of mentoring, it is obvious that the
>time commitment required precludes this being accomplished in a
>single semester. Mentoring is not a short-term relationship. It does
>not fit the higher education model of taking a series of courses with
>different professors if the expectation is for all faculty to mentor
>all students. One course in one semester does not provide sufficient
>time to move through the total process.
>
>It is, however, reasonable to expect that if the mentor team members
>are given the responsibility for teaching entry-level required
>courses, then they may begin to establish a relationship with future
>mentees early in the students' academic careers. This would be
>accomplished, in part, through active listening and questioning that
>establishes a psychological climate of trust. This lays the
>foundation for a more engaging mentoring relationship. Without this
>kind of connection, the likelihood of a meaningful mentor-mentee
>experience is limited.
>
>Although mentoring relationships evolve over an extended period of
>time, Advising can be effective in the short-term because the
>emphasis is more on information than on relationship and nurturing.
>On the other hand, if the team members chosen to be mentors are given
>the companion assignment of department advisers, they would have a
>better chance of getting to know students both in and out of the
>classroom. This would allow them to cultivate relationships further
>and continue building a foundation of trust. Advising may be
>transformed into mentoring. An additional benefit to this team
>approach is that students would get some of their needs met through
>the department mentor - for example, advising, career planning, and
>even some counseling needs - rather than having to seek out help from
>strangers located across the community.
>
>CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
>
>Good mentoring is a distinctive and powerful process that enhances
>intellectual, professional, and personal development through a
>special relationship characterized by highly emotional and often
>passionate interactions between the mentor and mentee. Although we
>can assume that all professors in higher education engage in some
>level of instructional activity, it cannot be concluded that all are
>actively involved in mentoring, nor should they be. The complete
>mentor role does not fit all individuals: some faculty are less
>inclined toward developing close relationships with students and with
>nurturing the students' development. Not all faculty are capable of
>or willing to take on this role and if required to do so would be
>inadequate or "incomplete" mentors. That is why the faculty team
>concepts has the promise of improving the quality of education. If
>only faculty who are well matched to this role become the team
>mentors, students will be better served.
>
>Even if all professors are not mentors, understanding the role of the
>complete mentor can be a template for the good instructor. The
>essence of mentoring is grounded in the concept of one-on-one
>teaching. If one is engaged in mentoring, one is engaged in teaching.
>Thus, in addition to having the responsibility of mentoring students,
>the team mentor could also be asked to share his or her expertise
>regarding the mentor role with colleagues. The function of the
>effective mentor, which include building a relationship, providing
>information, being facilitative and challenging, serving as a role
>model, and co-constructing a vision, are not far removed from what
>good teachers do. If one also examines the role of a skillful
>instructor, it will become clear that there is high correlation
>between the two roles (Brookfield, 1990, 1995; Daloz, 1986).
>Regardless of the academic discipline or subject, the instructional
>process can be enhanced by understanding and incorporating aspects of
>the complete mentor role.
>
>Instructors as mentors, according to Daloz (1998), provide a balance
>of support and challenge such that our learners feel safe to move.
> From ancient times to contemporary life, mentors have challenged
>students to have a vision that places their journey in a larger
>context and invokes purpose in their lives. Mentoring is a special
>role that should only be assigned to professors who embrace it.
>Mentors support their students, challenge their students, and help
>their students construct a vision to further their educational
>journey. Complete mentors work in a truly responsive and interactive
>way with learners, which allows for a profound affirmation of both
>teaching and learning in the higher education environment. The
>faculty team model would permit the mentor-mentee relationship to
>flourish.
>
>REFERENCES
>
>Brookfield, S.D. (1990). The skillful teacher. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass
>
>Cohen, N. H. (1995a). Mentoring adult learners: A guide for educators and
>trainers. Malabar, FL: Kriger.
>
>Daloz, L.A. (1986) Effective teaching and mentoring. Ssan Francisco:
>Jossey-Bass
>
>Daloz, L.A. (1998) Mentorship. In M.W. Gallbraith (Ed).), Adult learning
>methods (2nd ed. Malabar, FL: Krieger
>
>Kram, K.E. (1985) Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in
>organizational life. Glenview, IL. Scott, Foresman.
>
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