Building rapport with your mentee from the start of the program is a powerful motivation for mentees to set your mentees up for success from the start!
Below, we offer step-by-step guidance, templates, and FAQs to lead introductory calls and coaching calls as you build relationships with mentees:
Once you have been paired with a mentee, the goal of the introductory coaching call is to build rapport, generate excitement, and support them in launching the VMP experience.
Invite to Schedule in the Welcome Email: Encourage your mentee to schedule an intro call with you. Every mentee has received a link to your Acuity scheduling account.
Some mentees may not end up scheduling an intro call. The MCP team encourages and reminds mentees to schedule this via email, however, occasionally mentees may opt-out. Feel free to continue offering a call, but don't worry if they do not accept.
School Year Timing: Please try to schedule your intro call within the first two weeks of the session (before the first submission deadline).
Summer Timing: Please try to hold your intro call before the start of the summer session. The summer session moves quickly!
During the Call: Once you've made introductions, consider asking these questions to guide the call:
What are your goals for the Mentorship Program? What compelled you to enroll?
What three lessons are you considering planning? Do you have any materials ready that you'd like to use?
What technology do you have available (screen recorder, LMS, etc.)?
What can I do that's helpful to support you? What should I NOT do?
Is there anything else you'd like to share with your mentor?
Lock in a time together for your second coaching call before wrapping up the intro call.
Take notes in your mentee's Course Companion under the "Coaching Call Notes" section to refer back to.
Use the call as an opportunity to figure out how to support your mentee as effectively as possible.
After the Call: You are encouraged to follow up via email with mentees to summarize the strategies and action items you discussed in the call and document these, as well as lesson plan ideas, in the Course Companion.
Use Mentor April Williamson’s template to guide your conversation.
If your mentee is late to join or misses an introductory call, wait no longer than 15 minutes for the mentee to join.
If the mentee does not join the call after the first five minutes, send them a reminder email about your meeting. After waiting for 15 minutes, email the mentee with instructions for rescheduling.
Enter activity completion via the Mentor Activity Completion form so you are compensated for your time waiting.
Some mentees may not end up scheduling an intro call. The MCP team encourages and reminds mentees to schedule this via email, however, occasionally mentees may opt-out. Feel free to continue offering a call, but don't worry if they do not accept.
It's a great idea to continue following up over email and sharing your Acuity link. If your mentee does turn in a submission, you could nudge a coaching call to talk through feedback live!
Our mentees are busy educators with full lives. This happens! Mentees may drop off the map for weeks at a time, or even cease participating altogether. Don't worry!
MCP emails each mentee weekly with a progress update and action steps. Every four weeks, we will include you on this email, suggesting that the mentee reach out to you to check in or schedule a coaching call.
Our mentees are, ultimately, like our students: much as we want them to succeed, we can’t force them to complete the program when they have other commitments or priorities that interfere.
MCP uses the Acuity scheduling tool to share your calendar availability and schedule video calls with your mentees. Your Acuity scheduling link is: modernclassrooms.as.me/yourfirstname-yourlastname.
Review this how-to document for more support on setting up or updating your calendar availability.
If a mentee requests ongoing coaching calls after the program ends, we have community-oriented support that doesn't require your time. You can direct mentees to Educator Commons in Moodle, our Facebook group, or offer one or two calls (and log your time accordingly). However, if they require more formal ongoing support, please have them reach out to us.
Yes! If you and your mentee both agree to text or call each other, you are strongly encouraged to use this avenue to stay in touch. Be sure to check with your mentee if this works for them first!
Once you have established a rapport, you're encouraged to schedule a second coaching call before ending your first call.
Coaching calls are encouraged as your mentee continues working through the course and the focus may change, depending on your mentee's needs. Some topics may include:
Talk through Submission Feedback Live: Written feedback is helpful, but talking through your suggestions and improvements live on a call is a powerful way to get through to your mentee.
Add context and additional suggestions to your written feedback through a live discussion. Pull from your teaching and mentorship experience to offer suggestions and remove barriers for your mentee.
Answer your mentee's questions on next steps, revision requests, the model, etc.
Be a sounding board and thought partner as your mentee brainstorms their next submission or their approach to a revision request.
Encourage and Motivate: Educators are busy, and so are you! The Mentorship Program contains a lot of new information for educators and they may benefit from an understanding supporter who offers a listening ear.
Ask follow-up questions to understand the challenging areas in the model or submission challenges.
Practice active and empathetic listening. Sometimes mentees may simply want to be heard, so you can serve as a sounding board and empathetic listener. Offer strategies that have been helpful to motivate or unblock mentees in the past. Suggesting a small action step can generate momentum.
Offer best practices you've seen from other mentees who experienced similar challenges. You can always refer to our Common Submission Feedback resource.
Take notes in your mentee's Course Companion under the "Coaching Call Notes" section to refer back to.
Use the call as an opportunity to figure out how to support your mentee as effectively as possible.
Closing Call: Towards the end of the session, you can schedule a closing coaching call to discuss how the program went overall, strategies to overcome challenges with submissions, and continue encouraging to complete submissions even after the program.
Ask about their schedule and times when they will have more capacity to work on the program. Share motivation and accountability strategies.
Remind mentees about the resources available to them including our Resource Bank, Templates for Teachers, ways to connect with other educators in the Educator Forums or Facebook group, MCP's podcast, webinars, and our Course Navigation & Submission Support page.
Feedback on your mentoring approach and ways to continue learning and innovating as a mentor!
We hope your mentees will take advantage of your knowledge, excellent implementation of our model, and encouragement!
