Importance of Learning Mentoring - Assignment Example

Learning Mentoring Introduction Most of the time, people need the support and guidance of others to change certain aspects of their life. The presence and constant guidance of another person plays a vital role in the way an individual overcomes certain difficulties he encounters in life. Such difficulties vary. Some people face certain issues in their workplace and need the guidance of their supervisor or colleague in order for them to properly address such issues. There are those that face personal problems ranging from substance abuse to depression and need the help of counselors for them to recover from such situations. In as much as adults benefit from the support and guidance of peers, friends, and supervisors, children too benefit greatly from having another person around to guide them in as they face their issues and difficulties. Children value the guidance of an adult because they look up to adults as their role models. Most of the time, children follow the footsteps of adults as they grow up. Therefore, it is vital for children to have an adult around that will guide them in their journey towards growth and development. Most people can easily identify one person who has had great influence on how they have lived their lives. The relationship that they form with this particular individual contributed greatly to how the manage their affairs. Some may find such a person in his workplace while there are those who may find such a person in school. However, in both cases, this influential person is considered a mentor. Moreover, the relationship that has been formed between the two parties may be considered as mentoring. Basically, all the scenarios described above are examples of the mentoring process. Mentoring is defined as: ...A partnership between two people built upon trust. It is a process in which the mentor offers ongoing support and developmental opportunities to the mentee. Addressing issues and blockages identified by the mentee, the mentor offers guidance, counselling and support in the form of pragmatic and objective assistance. Both share a common purpose of developing a strong two-way learning relationship (Clutterbuck, 2001). Mentoring, as shown above, can be used in several ways. Some employees have mentors that help them uplift their professional careers. Some people with problems have mentors that help them overcome their issues. Also, there is a specific type of mentoring that applies in the realm of education and learning. This is called learning mentoring. In this paper, the process of learning mentoring as well as mentoring in general will be critically analyzed. More importantly, a particular mentoring programme will be assessed and analyzed. This will be done in order to determine whether mentoring was suitable to the given situation. Also, the discussion od the said mentoring programme will help explain how the mentoring process works and how beneficial it is in a given situation. As the mentoring process is discussed, the author's experience in the menotring programme will be used to supplement the discussion. Background of the Study Learning mentoring was used to help a key stage two child (mentee). The said child has specific education needs (SEN). Particularly, she has the learning disability known as dyslexia. Also, it must be noted that the said child is the niece of the author (mentor). Dyslexia is one of the most common causes of learning difficulties. It is estimated to affect approximately 10% of the population. Unfortunately pupils struggling with disabilities such as dyslexia are labelled negatively, and teachers may not recognise it resulting in low self-esteem. The mentoring programme was undertaken over an eight-month period. The mentor and the mentee met at the former's home. This was to ensure that an environment free from distraction, away from other adult/child interaction, and motivating was given to the mentee. There was no particular schedule followed for the programme since the mentee was often at the mentor's house due to their family ties. However, in order for the mentee to concentrate more on the activities, the mentor allocated a specific area in her household where the mentoring activity was to take place. The aim of the mentor in conducting the mentoring programme was to motivate the child, praise and encourage her and to implement strategies to aid her learning. Also, through the mentoring programme, the mentor aimed to help the mentee improve certain behavioural problems that may be associated with the identified learning disability. The results and analysis of the mentoring programme will be discussed in the succeeding sections. The Mentoring Process A Background on Mentoring Mentoring is not a modern phenomenon. In fact, the process traces it roots to Ancient Greece. In Homer's story, Mentor was the man to whom Odysseus entrusted his household when he was going on his journey. Mentor was described as a "wise and trusted counselor" who also served as the guardian and teacher of Odysseus' son, Telemachus (National Academy of Sciences et al, 1997). In modern times, as it has been mentioned previously, mentoring has been used in different areas of practice. However, mentoring in all areas serve the same purpose. Mentoring is aimed at the improvement of the individual through the constant guidance, attention, and support of his mentor. In the school setting, there are a number of pupils that are supported by Learning Mentors. These students are commonly those with behaviour problems or persistent absenteeism. They may be characterzied as demotivated or lacking in self-esteem. Likewise they may have fallen behind with their work or find communication difficult (Hayward, 2001). In the mentoring programme undertaken, the mentee was observed to have difficulty in reading as a result of her learning disability. This has led her to experience difficulty in maintaining her interest in the subject and becomes disruptive. The mentoring programme, as previously mentioned aimed to correct such problems and help the mentee improve her ability to read as well as to improve her behaviour. Effective Mentoring The success of mentoring relies heavily on the relationship that is formed between the mentor and the mentee. Communication between the two parties is the key. Generally speaking, an effective mentoring relationship is characterized by mutual respect, trust, understanding, and empathy. Achieving effective mentoring does not rely on a particular or specific process. In fact, "mentoring styles and activities are as varied as human relationships" (NAS et al, 1997). Furthermore, one student may differ from another with regards to the amounts and kinds of attention, advice, information, and encouragement that he needs. There are some that will feel comfortable approaching their mentors while there are those that will be shy, intimidated, or reluctant to seek help. In the learning mentoring process, it is important to keep in mind that students have different learning styles. It is important to identify which style of learning is most appropriate for a student in order to be successful in improving his performance. In the programme conducted, the mentor considered the four preferred learning styles as proposed by Honey and Mumford (1983). The said authors named these styles as follows Activists - they feel more comfortable learning through experience. They prefer to learn by doing, rather than being told how it is done. Reflectors - they feel more comfortable learning through listening, reading and observing. Theorists - they feel more comfortable learning by relating what they observe to a theory which makes sense to them. Pragmatists - they feel more comfortable learning through actively experimenting with the approach they have learnt. They are less interested in analysis or theories. The mentor attempted to accommodate the said learning styles to be able to determine which style was best suited for the mentee. Various activities were utilized to help identify the preferred learning style of the mentee. This was a vital step in the process because certain activities may not be effective in helping the mentee if these did not suit her preferred learning style. The use of ill-fitted activities could have led to the failure of the mentoring programme and may have hindered the progress of the mentee. The mentoring relationship As previously mentioned, the relationship between the mentor and the mentee greatly affects the success of the process. It is important for the parties involved to form strong ties in order to reach a higher level of understanding and communication between the two. It is vital for the mentee to feel comfortable and at ease with the mentor. If the mentee is not comfortable with the mentor, he may limit the mentor's involvement in his affairs thereby hindering the capability of the mentor to help him in his situation. In the mentoring programme undertaken, it was greatly beneficial that the mentor and mentee had a strong bond prior to the start of the programme. Since the two were related, there was no difficulty in making the mentee feel at ease with the mentor. This strong relationship allowed for a more open communication between the two parties. Moreover, the mentee was very respectful and obedient to the mentor oweing to the fact that the latter was an older member of the family. However, forming a strong relationship with the mentee may not always be as easy as in the case mentioned. As such, the mentor must ensure that he demonstrates certain qualities and skills that will help strengthen his relationship with his mentee. The University of Nottingham highlighted three key skill that the mentor must possess. These are: * Listening when the mentee needs support in solving a problem or developing a plan. * Providing motivation. * Facilitating the process of reflection on how to make improvements. Active listening is vital to the whole mentoring process. Not only does active listening to gain a deeper understanding of the mentee's situation, it also makes the mentee feel that the mentor is truly sincere in helping him. Through active listening, the mentee is thrust to the center of the process where he will feel that he can openly discuss his issues with someone that is willing to help. Another factor that is integral to the success of the mentoring process is communication. However, communication does not simply mean verbal communication. In fact, according to unit 4, dfes pack, verbal communication is not always the most effective way of getting a message across thus creates an environment of understanding. In most cases, getting the message across relies more on non-verbal communication such as gestures and facial expressions. Since the mentee in the case was a child, non-verbal communication became even more significant. Most of the time, children understand better when words are accompanied by certain actions. Also, children are able to express themselves better when they use actions while they speak. This was made evident in the case presented particularly in the activity wherein the prescribed book was to be discussed. When asked certain questions, the mentee usually used certain gestures to explain herself better. As such, maintaining eye contact became more essential to the process. The mentor observed that when eye contact was not established, the mentor failed to fully understand what the mentee was trying to say through actions. Likewise, it was observed that the mentee began to feel as if the mentor did not want to hear what she had to say. This then led to a loss of interest in participating in the activity on the part of the mentee. However, when the mentor maintained eye contact with the mentee, it was observed that the mentee was more eager in expressing herself and was more active in participating in the activity. In any mentoring process, the mentoring relationship must be handled with great care. Much attention and focus must be given on establishing strong ties with the mentee. The success of the process greatly depends on the establishment and preservation of a strong relationship between the mentor and the mentee. It is vital for the mentee to view his mentor as a role model, someone he could look up to. However, at the same time, he must also see his mentor as someone he can talk to when he wants to express himself openly to someone. In that way, the mentoring relationship must be established in such a way that it creates respect for both mentor and mentee and at the same time, develops a relationship that borders on friendship. This is the most conducive mentoring relationship that would greatly help ensure the success of the mentoring process. Advantages of the Mentoring Mentoring is advantageous for both the mentee and the mentor. Through mentoring, the mentee will be given a source of support and guidance as well as another avenue through which he can improve himself. Also, mentoring allows the mentee to have a critical friend with whom he can explore and address his weaknesses and share his achievements. On the part of the mentor, mentoring gives him to a way of developing personal and professional skills further. Furthermore, mentoring helps the mentor increase his confidence and self-esteem since he knows that he can help another person improve himself. In the case presented, the mentoring process was very helpful in strengthening the existing bond between the mentor and mentee. With the increase in the time spent together, the mentor and her niece (mentee) were drawn closer to each other. Furthermore, the mentee was able to see that she did not need to look further than her own family if she needed help in any difficulty she was facing. She was able to feel more loved and cared for by virtue of the mentoring process. Bibliography Clutterbuck, D, 2001, Everyone needs a mentor, 3rd edition, page 4-5. Hayward, A, 2001, Good practice guidelines for learning mentors, DFES, [online], 9 April 2006, available at: http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/learningmentors/sfp/goodpracticeguide/. Honey, P & Mumford, A (1983), Using your Learning Styles, Peter Honey publications, Maidenhead. National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, (1997), Adviser, teacher, role model, friend: On being a mentor to students in science and engineering, [online], 10 April 2006, available at: http://newton.nap.edu/html/mentor/index.html. Read More