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Mentorship Program
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Lincoln Land Community College
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Fall 2008
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Mentoring College Instructors
Research and experience both point to the great need of mentors for new faculty at colleges and universities. Grubb, (1999), in his study “An Inside Look at Teaching in Community colleges” emphasizes the collective nature of teaching, the influence of peer networks, and the encouragement culture that exists in community colleges. According to this study which is based on observation of 257 instructors and 60 administrators at 32 community colleges across the country, there is a direct link between the quality of teaching and the mentorship that instructors receive in their first year of teaching.
Literature overwhelmingly points to the great positive returns which mentoring could bring to institutions; "by not mentoring, we are wasting talent. We educate, and train, but don't nurture" (Wright and Wright 1987, p. 207). Mentoring is useful and powerful in understanding and
advancing organizational culture, granting access to informal and formal information. Mentoring is a continuation of one's development as defined by life cycle and human development theorists in terms of life sequences or stages, personality development, and the concept and value of care. (Erikson 1963 and Levinson et al. 1978). Mentoring supports professional growth and renewal, and empowers faculty as individuals and colleagues (Boice 1992).
According to many experts like- Kram-1986- mentoring is developmental and continuous and may address a variety of faculty career needs over a period of time. Faculty can develop as leaders if they feel connected to the professional and institutional information.
Mentorship at Lincoln Land Community College
This package is put together in an effort to increase the chances of success for a new faculty member at Lincoln land Community College. Through a faculty mentoring program we hope to create a link between newly-appointed, tenure-track faculty and respected, tenured faculty and enhance the overall experience for mentored faculty. Specific objectives of the program are to:
- Improve the quality of education provided to students
- Accelerate the time required for new faculty to acclimate to the college
- Increase the level of productivity for new faculty
- Heighten the likelihood of retaining new faculty
- Facilitate the achievement of promotion and tenure for new faculty
These outcomes are consistent with literature which reports that mentored faculty experience higher levels of job satisfaction, better student evaluations, greater academic productivity, and greater chance of remaining at a particular university than non-mentored faculty. Furthermore, the benefits of mentoring are reciprocal with faculty mentors acknowledging considerable personal and professional satisfaction from involvement in such a program.
Responsibilities for the Dean, Mentor, and the Mentee
Deans
After the initial appointment of new faculty, it is the responsibility of the Deans to identify experienced faculty as the mentor for the new faculty at the Departments. Deans are highly encouraged to select a mentor who is able and willing to take on the mentorship responsibilities of a new colleague. Deans will also designate a budget of $100.00 per mentor and mentee pair, to pay for two lunches per semester and a total of four per academic year. Additionally, Deans will allocate a budget of $50.00 for the purchase of new books and/or resources which will be housed at CELT or the respective Department after the first year. The new resources will be selected by the mentor and the mentee to help improve the teaching of the new faculty.
Furthermore, Deans are responsible for advising new faculty on matters pertaining to academic reviews, and advancement. As the mentor may also be asked to provide informal advice, it is also the Deans’ responsibility to see that mentors have current information on LLCC’s academic personnel process.
Mentor
A mentor is a trusted and experienced faculty who has a direct interest in acclimating the new faculty member into the College culture as a whole. The mentor should contact the new faculty member in advance of his/her arrival at the University and then meet with the new faculty member on a regular basis over at least the first year of employment.
The mentor should:
- Help with networking—introduction to colleagues, identification of other valuable resources.
- Help to sort out priorities—budgeting time, balancing research, teaching, and service.
- Help new faculty understand policies and procedures that are relevant to the new faculty member’s work.
· Point out funding opportunities both within and outside of the College to the new faculty.
· Provide informal advice to the new faculty member on aspects of teaching, research and service
· Treat all interactions and discussions in confidence. There is no evaluation or assessment of the new faculty member on the part of the mentor, only supportive guidance and constructive feedback.
Benefits for the mentor:
· Satisfaction in assisting in the development of a colleague
· Possibility of collecting ideas for and feedback about the mentor’s own teaching / scholarship
· Becoming part of a network of colleagues who have passed through the program
· Help in retention of high quality teachers
· Enhancement of department quality
Possible Discussion Topics for the Mentor and Mentee
o How is the junior faculty member's department organized? (Divisions, Committees?)
o How are decisions made? What are the opportunities for junior faculty involvement?
o Is support staff available to junior faculty?
o What can be expected of support staff?
o What supplies and expenses are covered by your department? By your school?
o Are there other resources available to cover expenses related to teaching and research?
o What conferences should the junior faculty attend?
o How much travel is allowed/expected/supported? How do you choose between large conferences and smaller events?
o What research resources are available to you as a faculty member?
o What do you see as your research "niche" in your department, in your area of research?
o Should you give presentations within your department?
o Is collaborative work encouraged or discouraged in your department
o Should you form a research group
o How are you evaluated on teaching?
o What documentation related to teaching should you keep? Syllabi? Exams? Abstracts?
o What should you keep in files on your students? Remember that you may have to write reviews and recommendations for them.
o How can you get feedback on how you're doing at any point in your pre-tenure career?
Mentee
As a new faculty at Lincoln Land Community College, you will be contacted by your Dean or your mentor about the program. Here is a checklist of what you might what to discuss with your mentor:
- Both your mentor's and your personal teaching philosophy
- Possible teaching methods and techniques
- LLCC faculty support services (Professional Development, Library Services, Tutoring Labs, duplication on site)
- LLCC policies and procedures (faculty evaluation, faculty handbook, grading policies, student handbook, copyright, plagiarism, etc)
- Within the first three weeks or so of the semester, we discussed/completed the following:
- Student retention strategies
- Test construction tips/strategies
- Classroom management issues (time management, discipline, etc)
- Instructional techniques/strategies (handouts, overheads, special topics, etc)
- Optional classroom visits by your mentor.
- Optional observation of your mentor's class.
- About the middle of the semester, my mentor:
- Discussion of classroom successes or difficulties with me
- Discussion and review of the student evaluation/faculty evaluation process
- Discussion about end-of-semester grading policies and procedures
References:
• Allen, T. "When Mentors and Protégés Communicate: Lessons from Universities."
Mentoring International 4.1 (1990): 24-28.
• Astin, A. E. and R. G. Baldwin. Faculty Collaboration: Enhancing the Quality of
Scholarship and Teaching. Washington, DC: ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports No.
7. 1991.
• Boice, Robert. The New Faculty Member: Supporting and Fostering Professional
Development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1992.
• Boyle, P. and B. Boice. "Systematic Mentoring for New Faculty Teachers and Graduate
Teaching Assistants." Innovative Higher Education 22.3 (1998): 157-179.
• Grubb, N.W. Honored but invisible: An Inside Look at Teaching in Community Colleges. New York: Routledge.
• Kram, K. E. 1986. "Mentoring in the Workplace." In Career development in organizations, edited by R. A. Katzell pp. 160-201. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Perna, F. M., Bart M. Lerner and M. T. Yura. "Mentoring and Career Development
among University Faculty." Journal of Education. 177.2 (1991): 33-45.
• Toth, Emily. Ms. Mentor's Impeccable Advice for Women in Academia. Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.
• Washington, Paula and Diane Scott. The Womentor Guide: Leadership for a New
Millennium. Traverse City, MI: Sage Creek Press, 1999.
• Wright, C. A.. and Wright, S. D. 1987. "Young Professionals." Family Relations 36(2): 204-8.
• Wunsch, M. A. "Developing Mentoring Programs: Major Themes and Issues." New
Directions for Teaching and Learning. 57 (1994): 27-34.
• Wunsch, M. A. "Giving Structure to Experience: Mentoring Strategies”
Your First Few days,
And a Few Suggestions to
Help You Get Started
- Greet students at the door when they enter the classroom, and always start the class on time.
- Take attendance: roll call, clipboard, sign in, seating chart.
- Have students write out their expectations for the course and their own goals for learning.
- Stage a figurative "coffee break" about thirty minutes into the hour; tell an anecdote, invite students to put down pens and pencils, refer to a current event, or perhaps tell them about your current research interests and how you got there from your own beginnings in the discipline.
- Let your students see the enthusiasm you have for your subject and your love of learning.
- Talk about a favorite book you have read and ask about theirs.
- Hit the ground running on the first day of class with substantial content.
- Hand out an informative, artistic, and user-friendly syllabus.
- Put in writing a limited number of ground rules regarding absence, late work, testing procedures, grading, and general decorum, and maintain these.
- Give an assignment on the first day to be collected at the next meeting.
- Administer a learning style inventory to help students find out about themselves.
- Use multiple examples, in multiple media. to illustrate key points and . important concepts.
- On index card, collect students' current telephone numbers and emails and let them know that you may need to reach them.
- Organize. Give visible structure by posting the day's "menu" on chalk- board or overhead.
- Reward behavior you want: praise, stars, honor roll, personal note.
- Learn names. Everyone makes an effort to learn at least a few names.
- Set up a buddy system so students can contact each other about assignments and coursework.
- Direct students to the Learning Skills Center for help on basic skills.
- Explain the difference between legitimate collaboration and academic dishonesty; be clear when collaboration is wanted and when it is forbidden.
- Seek out a different student each day and get to know something about him or her.
- Ask students to write about what important things are currently going on in their lives.
- Find out about students' jobs; if they are working, how many hours a week, and what kinds of jobs they hold.
- Make a grand stage entrance to hush a large class and gain attention.
- Give a pre-test on the day's topic.
- Start the lecture with a puzzle, question, paradox, picture, or cartoon on slide or transparency to focus on the day's topic.
- Elicit student questions and concerns at the beginning of the class and list these on the chalkboard to be answered during the hour.
- Have students write down what they think the important issues or key points of the day's lecture will be.
- Gather student feedback in the first three weeks of the semester to improve teaching and learning.
- Use variety in methods of presentation in different class meeting.
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References:
1. PovlacsJoyce T., The First three weeks of Class,
2. Watson Purkey, William and Novak, John M., Inviting School Success
3. Wright,Delivee L. The Most Important Day Starting Well