MnSCU and University of Minnesota Distance Learning Initiative

Mentorship Training

The project will provide teachers, selected by their districts to perform mentoring services to first year teachers, with flexible and individualized mentorship training through the use of web-based instructional modules and on-line time with University faculty. This assistance oriented program fills a need largely neglected by inservice training material. Because it can be accessed by teachers near and far from campus at a reasonable cost, it also helps serve those Minnesota districts with the greatest need; the small, rural district with severely limited resources. Filially, due to its individualized nature, this proposal addresses what Wilkinson (1994) determines to be a primary component of effective mentor training programs - flexibility.

As an assistance oriented model, the focus of this proposal is on mentor skill-building rather than mentee evaluation. Thus the emphasis is upon building a collegial relationship between the mentor and the mentee. Through this trusting relationship, mentors can better address the critical needs of beginning teachers, including: Classroom management, student motivation, lesson planning and assessment (Veenman, 1984). Additionally, the specially trained mentor is better equipped to model and address current issues in the field, such as Minnesota Graduation Standards, emerging technologies and INTASC standards. Ultimately the goal of this project is to provide building-level mentors with the skills needed to foster professional collaboration and shared inquiry with their mentees. In doing so we have helped to create what Feiman-Nemser and Parker (1992) refer to as mentors who are educational "change agents."

Up: Proposals Currently Funded