Participant book

Mentor development
course
Building trust

www.teachingenglish.org.uk
 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
Workshop 2: Building trust Coursebook

1 Mentoring programmes: Mandatory or optional

1.1 Advantages and challenges

 
What do you understand by mandatory mentoring and optional mentoring?
Make notes in the box below.

Is mentoring mandatory or optional where you work?

Do you think it should be mandatory?

Your trainer will assign you one approach to discuss, mandatory or optional.
Discuss the advantages and challenges of your assigned approach.
Complete the following table with your ideas, examples are given.
Consider the advantages and challenges of mentoring for beginning and experienced teachers.
Base your ideas on your own experience and knowledge of your working contexts.

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 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
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Mentoring Approach Advantages Challenges

Mentoring is viewed positively by the Beginning teachers may prefer to be

organisation and demonstrates left alone ‘to get on with their jobs.
commitment to supporting the CPD
of teaching staff.

Mandatory Programmes

When mentoring is optional there is

less likelihood of formal evaluations.
This may be conducive to developing
a positive mentoring relationship in
which the mentee feels able to seek
support in situations where they are
experience problems without risk of
being judged.

Optional programmes

Now exchange ideas with the other group to complete the table.

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 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
Workshop 2: Building trust Coursebook

1.2 Mentoring and motivation

 
Discuss:
What factors do mentors need to take into consideration to motivate their mentees to engage with a
mentoring programme?
Use the box below to note your ideas.

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 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
Workshop 2: Building trust Coursebook

2 Getting to know your mentees

In this section you’ll explore what you know about your mentees and what you need to know, to help you to
build a mentoring relationship.
Look at the suggestions for areas to discuss with mentees at the first meeting in the spidergram below.
Discuss:
–– Why are these areas important?
–– How can knowledge of these areas help you to lay the foundations for constructive mentoring
relationships?
–– What other areas would it be useful to have information on? Use the blank circles for your ideas. Relate
this to your own contexts.

Expectations of
mentoring

Teaching
experience

Self
assessment -
areas to develop

Things I need to
know about my
mentees
Availability for
meetings

Interests

Concerns

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 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
Workshop 2: Building trust Coursebook

3 Sources of information

 
This section focuses on potential sources mentors can explore for gathering information on their mentees.
In addition to directly asking mentees for information, there may be other sources of information which you
can access to help build a picture of your mentees.
Work in groups.
–– Brainstorm how you can learn more about your mentees.
–– Write your ideas into the box, examples are given.

Initial meeting
Personal files

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 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
Workshop 2: Building trust Coursebook

4 Building the relationship: mentoring meetings

4.1 Preparation for the initial meeting

Good preparation for the initial meeting will help to set the foundation for the processes and procedures
involved in the mentoring programme as well as to engage the mentee from the outset.
Work individually:
–– Note down ideas for the kinds of preparations you need to make before the first mentoring meeting.
–– Use the box provided.
–– Relate your ideas to your working contexts.

Add your notes here

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 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
Workshop 2: Building trust Coursebook

4.2 The initial meeting

   
Work in groups.
Read the agenda. Discuss:
–– Are the items appropriate?
–– Is there anything you would add or delete?
–– Would this agenda work in your context? If not how would you adapt it?

Agenda
Mentee: Andreas Date: 5 April
Mentor: Lena Time: 14:00 – 15:00

1. Explain the role of the mentor.

2. Talk about confidentiality and data protection.
3. Ask Andreas to say what he expects from a mentoring programme.
4. Discuss CPD – clarify what it is and how mentoring can help.
5. Ask Andreas to talk about his background and experience.
6. Discuss Andreas’ strengths.
7. Clarify his needs: refer to equality, diversity and inclusivity; developmental needs
(suggest doing the self-assessment questionnaire).
8. Ask Andreas if he has any issues, concerns, problems he would like to talk about.
9. Ask Andreas if he would like to have guidance and feedback on his use of English.
10. Agree on priorities for development.
11. Discuss an action plan, including timeframe and resources available.
12. Set a date for next meeting.

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 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
Workshop 2: Building trust Coursebook

4.3 Language

 
Language – the way it is used during meetings as well as the words used – is a critical factor in building
successful relationships.
What language will you use when you meet with mentees – English or mother tongue?
Why?

4.4. Questioning techniques

 
Questions are a useful way of structuring discussions. There are different types of questions.
Look at the questioning techniques in the table below, not all the information has been filled in.
Give an example of when you would use the different question types, together with an example question,
then identify possible disadvantages for each type.

Question type When to use it Possible disadvantages

When a short, focused response is required.
To get a quick decision or definite answer.
Closed questions:
To check understanding. These types of questions can
These require a one or
For example: hamper the development of
two-word answer; or yes or
“Shall we begin with some feedback on your conversation/discussion.
no.
lesson plan?”
“So, you’re happy with the action plan, right?“

Open questions:
These require longer
answers.

Probing questions: Too many probing questions

These are for when can seem like an
something is not clear. interrogation.

These start with a broad general focus,

Funnel questions:
To gather information and
help mentor and mentee
come to a decision.
often with open questions and then
gradually narrow down to be more specific,
often finishing with closed questions (Note,
they can also be funnelled the other way,
beginning with specific and moving to the
general)
“What problems are you experiencing…?”
“Can you tell me more about …?”
“How often does this happen?”

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 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
Workshop 2: Building trust Coursebook

4.5. Asking the right questions

 
Discuss the short dialogues below. They are extracts from initial meetings.
–– What effect do the questions have?
–– How do you think the mentees feel?
–– What changes would you make to these questions? Why?

Dialogue 1
Mentor: What do you want to change about your teaching?
Mentee: Nothing really.
Mentor: Well how do you think your learners feel?
Mentee: Ok, I think.

Dialogue 2
Mentor: Do you want to meet me every week? Is Friday ok
for you?
Mentee: Er….
Mentor: Good, let’s say Fridays at 4 p.m.
Mentee: Well….

Dialogue 3
Mentee: I want to improve my grammar teaching.
Mentor: Do you use traditional techniques?
Mentee: No, I use a range of techniques.
Mentor: Do you just explain the grammar on the board?”
Mentee: No!
Mentor: Are your learners bored?
Mentee: I don’t think so, Some of them maybe.

Dialogue 4
Mentee: I don’t know how to improve learner motivation.
Mentor: What have you tried so far?
Mentee: Everything.
Mentor: What else do you think you could try?
Mentee: I don’t know.
Mentor: Who can help you?
Mentee: I want you to help me. Can’t you just tell me what
to do?

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 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
Workshop 2: Building trust Coursebook

5 Mentoring-in-action: Agenda for initial meeting

This section is in two parts. In the first part your group designs an agenda for an initial meeting.
In the second part your group presents their agendas to the whole group for comment and feedback.

5.1 Part 1: Design an Agenda

 
Your trainer will assign you one of the scenarios below.
Prepare an agenda for an initial meeting.
Include one or two questions which you will ask the mentee.
Ensure you reflect learning from this workshop. For example:
–– Teaching context
–– Mentoring approach – optional or mandatory
–– Evaluative/developmental
–– Experienced teachers
–– Beginning teachers

I work in a university and though

Mentoring is optional in my mentoring is mandatory, it is not
school. I‘ve decided to take up evaluative. At the start of the new
the option as I would like advice academic year next month I will have a
and ideas on improving my new mentor. I didn’t get on well with my
lessons. I’m open to observation, last one, so I’m rather skeptical about the
though only if it is really whole idea of mentoring.
necessary.

Compulsory mentoring has just been

I have just begun teaching in a school
where mentoring is mandatory. It is a
very formal system where the mentor
carries out formal assessment of
performance and writes reports. I often
have anxiety issues, so I’m really
worried about this.
introduced in my school. I have many
years’ experience so I can’t really see
the point in being mentored. To add
insult to injury the mentor is younger and
less experienced than I am!

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 TeachingEnglish Mentor Development Course
Workshop 2: Building trust Coursebook

5.2 Part 2: Presentations

 
Rehearse your presentations. Begin by describing your scenario.
Make notes on each others’ presentations. Consider:
–– Is the agenda appropriate for the given scenario?
–– Is there anything which could be improved?
–– What was good about the agenda?
–– Is there anything you have learned from someone else’s agenda?
Remember feedback should be constructive and sensitive!

6 Reflection

   
Reflect on what you did in this workshop, and in Workshop 1. What progress have you made? Complete the
boxes with your ideas.

I feel more confident about …

I want to know more about …

Work with a partner.

Can you help each other with the things you wrote in the second box? If not, ask your trainer.

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