Mentoring Reflections

Reflection 1

Through the readings and information provided in the modules, the mentoring process has been thoroughly explored and explained in great detail. In the Zachary text, the ROS tool is used to encourage the mentor to reflect on if he/she is prepared for the mentoring process. After reading chapter 8 and 9 of the Zachary text, I understand that a mentor must prepare before the mentoring phase begins. When beginning to prepare for the mentoring process, I used the ROS Chart provided by the Zachary text to analyze myself and the questions I had regarding mentoring. When reading the ROS tool, I do believe I am receptive to learning. I have had experience with mentoring, but not as a mentor. I have only had experience as a mentee. Through this process, I learned great techniques that can be used during this mentoring process. Some of the techniques I learned from my mentor include self-analysis, reflections, and redoing interpreting material after first completion. I do not know the how receptive to learning that the mentee will be, but I will understand this more when I begin the mentoring process. When beginning to prepare for mentoring, I have also viewed the opportunities I believe I can offer to the mentee. I believe I have many resources that I can offer the mentee. These resources include educational interpreting videos, different interpreting books, available online workshops, and many interpreting articles. Over the years I have kept material related to growth regarding interpreting skills development. If the mentee is struggling in improving a specific skill, I hope to offer the mentee information that can help him/her enhance that skill. When reading the Zachary text, I understand the important of being proactive. After completion of reading and preparing for the first meeting, I decided to send out a schedule of the weekly meetings that the mentee and I will have. The mentee decided which time she would like to be mentored, and I worked accordingly to her schedule. The mentor that will be mentoring me also contacted me with the set schedule of mentoring dates. When discussing negotiations, enabling growth, and closure, I do believe that as a mentor I will be receptive and flexible to both of these aspects in the mentoring process.

Reflection 2

The mentor/mentee partnership started off to a great start in both meetings. As a mentee, the first meeting I had with my mentor, Linsey Frohlich, went very well. The meeting started off with the mentor and I discussing our past and how we began interpreting. We both discussed our background, including where we were from and which colleges we attended before entering the Master’s Program at UNF. I feel that sharing our stories brought more of a connection between us as mentor/mentee. We both work at high schools, and immediately had a connection due to the similarities in the work environment. We then discussed my goal, and I explained to Lindsey that I want to improve with my skills in classifiers. Lindsey then asked me questions related the goal that I had set, and what I would like to improve on specifically. We discussed the assignments that I will be having, and how we would share the assignments. I am currently working on an assignment that Lindsey has given me. Overall, the first mentoring experience went very well and I am looking forward to the partnership. As a mentor, I had the pleasure of meeting with Kirshana Calhoun. We began the session with discussing how we both began interpreting, and where we learned ASL. I learned that Kirshana also works in a high school setting and that we share many common experiences. I asked Kirshana different questions in regards to her goals, how much time she can devote towards mentoring, which activities she felt most comfortable with…etc. The meeting ended with Kirshana and I discussing which assignments could be completed withing a specific time frame, and the mentee goals/work plan. The first meeting as a mentor went fantastic, and I am looking forward to the other meetings. The ROS tool provided by the Zachary text discusses readiness, support, and opportunities in regards to negotiating. As a mentor, I am willing to negotiate with my mentee. The mentee and I have already negotiated on times/dates regarding scheduling. As a mentee, I am willing to negotiate on specific activities that I have created in order to align with my Mentor’s activities. As a mentor/mentee, I am looking forward to supporting the mentor/mentee in every possible way I can. I discussed with the mentee that I am willing to provide as much resources as I can. My mentor is also excellent at organization and already has offered me resources for the first assignment. As a mentor, I strived to create the mentoring environment free and open. I always want the mentee to feel that she can be vulnerable and honest when discussing her experiences. My mentor also gave me the opportunity to be honest with my experiences, and I felt very at ease in the mentoring process.

Reflection 3

In the second mentoring session, the mentor and I discussed the previous work that was assigned. During the session, the mentor showed me different pictures that I had the opportunity of setting up using classifiers. This took up almost half of the mentoring session. I enjoyed this activity because it helped me expand my classifiers usage. There are many times that I tend to forget the different classifiers that can be used for different objects. In the previous assignment, the mentor gave me examples of locative, instrumental, and body part classifiers. During this assignment, I provided 5 examples of each of the classifiers. I videoed myself signing the different classifiers and sent them to my mentor. In the mentoring session, we discussed the assignment. In the mentoring session that I as the mentor facilitated, the mentee and I also discussed classifiers. The mentee that I am working with decided that she wanted to improve on classifiers as well, so we discussed different classifiers that she had researched prior to the mentoring session. In the mentoring session, we discussed different techniques that she could use to remember the classifiers she uses during classes. We discussed her different classes that she interprets for during the day and the different classifiers that she could possibly use during these specific classes. At the end of the mentoring session, we discussed which video she would like to interpret for the next session. For the next assignment, the mentee is going to view a video material and be able to recognize the different classifiers that are being used. Overall, I felt that both of the mentoring sessions that I participated in during the week went very well. Even though the stress load of this specific week was heavy, I felt that the mentoring sessions helped me relieve some of the stress. Both of the mentoring sessions were successful at working towards the goals of the mentee. When discussing “enabling growth” shown by the Zachary ROS tool, as a mentor, I do believe that I am receptive to learning and promoting growth for the mentee I am mentoring. I believe that I do enable the mentee to seek opportunities while providing them as well. I also believe that I am adequately supporting the mentee in the learning process. I want the mentee to feel comfortable in showing where she is struggling. I believe that allowing the mentee to be fully “themselves” is one of the best techniques to enable growth.

Reflection 4

The third mentoring session that I facilitated as a mentor was successful. During the session, I felt that the mentee was very focused on the material and ready to learn. I have yet to experience any issues with the mentee, and I am enjoying watching personal growth take place. During the meeting, the mentee and I discussed classifier usage. Improving in the use of classifiers is the mentee’s goal. Before the session, the mentee had finished her assignment. The assignment consisted of watching a person who is fluent in ASL sign a story and be able to identify the different classifiers that are used. The mentee brought her notes to the session, and we both discussed the classifiers that the person used in the story. Upon completion of the activity, the mentee and I discussed what she would do for the next assignment. We discussed different educational science videos that she could interpreter while using classifiers. We also discussed an activity that the mentee will complete along with interpreter the educational science video. The session was productive and insightful. In the mentoring session that I attended as a mentee, I felt that the session was very beneficial. The mentor I have the pleasure of working with encourages and allows the mentee to feel freedom to “be yourself”. I always enjoy attending the mentoring sessions because I do not feel judgement by the mentor. In the session, we completed a classifier activity that we had started in the previous session. We also discussed the video I had interpreted for a previous assignment. When the interpreter provided feedback, she communicated the feedback in a constructive manner. She mentioned techniques I could use to improve my production of classifiers. I now have a better understanding of the different classifiers that I use every day, along with the students that I work with. At the end of the session, the mentor and I discussed what my next assignment would be. I will be learning 3 more types of classifiers and will be able to identify them

Reflection 5

Both the mentoring session that I attended, and the mentoring session that I facilitated went very smooth. In the session that I facilitated as a mentor, the mentee and I discussed her previous assignment that she completed. The mentee completed an interpretation of a science video that I gave her the previous week. Before the assignment, I reviewed her work. During the mentee session, we discussed how she used classifiers during her interpretation. She struggled using specific classifiers and we discussed how she could improve in the future. For the next assignment, the mentee is going to look at 6 different classifiers and be able to show 5 examples of each. This type of assignment helps a mentee broaden his/her ideas when creating classifiers. In the mentoring session that I attended as a mentee, the mentor and I discussed my previous homework assignment. After we discussed the assignment, the mentee then showed me three videos of people who told classifier stories. I found this very interesting, and it helped me brainstorm new ideas when using classifiers. For the next assignment, the mentor told me to create a story using classifiers. The story is not required to be a certain length, but the goal of the assignment is to use as many classifiers as I can. Over the last few weeks, discussing classifiers on a regular basis has helped me understand how to sign them and when to sign them, better. During each mentoring session, I feel that I am becoming more open to the mentor I am working with. She is very easy to talk to and understanding of my goals. She understands what I am needing to improve on and tries her best to create assignments that meet the goals. I appreciate the openness I have to talk to her. The mentee I work with is also open and gives me great feedback during our sessions. I love to hear her thoughts and think we are making great strides to towards reaching her goal.

Reflection 6

In mentoring session that I facilitated as a mentor, the mentee and I discussed different use of classifiers in her interpretation of “The Sniper”. The mentee and I discussed how specific concepts of “The Sniper” were shown through the mentee’s choice of specific classifiers. I noticed improvement of classifiers in the interpretation. The mentee did an excellent job at portraying the details of “The Sniper”, and accurately represented through her choice of classifiers. In the last close-out session, we will discuss a video that the mentee chose and which classifiers she is able to identify. We also discussed what she has learned, and the progress she has made over the 6 weeks of mentoring. In the mentoring session that I attended as a mentee, the mentor and I discussed a previous “123 Story” that I had completed. After we discussed the video, the mentor and I practiced different sentences using classifiers. The mentor and I also watched a ABC story and was able to identify specific classifiers that the signer used in the video. For the next assignment, I will be able to identify three different kinds of classifiers providing 5 examples of each. After we discuss the three different kinds of classifiers with provided examples, the mentor and I will have a closure discussion. After reading the “Coming to Closure” section of the Zachary ROS tool provided on p. 92, I understand that the process of closure requires the mentor/mentee to reflect on both of their experiences throughout the mentoring relationship. Before the closure session begins, I have found a list of questions that I am going to ask the mentee about her learning through the mentoring partnership. I understand that reflection is the best tool to understand how the mentor and the mentee can improve in future partnerships.

Reflection 7

Looking back over the 6-week mentorship/partnership, I believe that I have taken great steps in learning how to be an effective mentor. In the 6 weeks, one of the lessons I learned was the importance of organization. Having a plan for activities for each mentee is very important in a mentoring/partnership. I understand that for a mentor to be able to lead, he/she must be adequately organized and prepared. In future mentoring relationships, I would like to have more ideas for activities. In the mentoring process that I have completed, I felt that my ideas of activities for the mentee need improvement. Even though I did provide activities for the mentee, I felt that the activities could have been more interactive and interesting. There were times during the mentoring partnership that I felt that my activities were possibly not challenging enough for the mentee. In the future, I will work on achieving this goal by researching interactive activities for interpreting students. I know there are many resources on the internet in regards to activities that match specific skills that students need to improve. on. As a mentee, I felt that the overall mentoring partnership was a great experience. The mentor that I had the opportunity of working with was nothing but understanding of my specific strengths and weaknesses. The mentor never made me feel “less than” or that my interpreting skills were not “up to par”. The mentor continually encouraged me and made feel that I could be honest in regards to the skills that we were working on together (classifier usage). The mentor I worked with taught me that it is acceptable for the mentee to suggest different activities that he/she would like to work on. As a mentor, I was constantly worried that the activities I had were not enough. However, it is important that a mentor discuses what the mentee’s needs and preferences are when creating activities. I understand that it is also important that a mentor does not “force” a mentee to perform activities that he/she does not feel comfortable with. There were times that the mentor I worked with asked if I would like to do a specific activity that I was not comfortable with. The mentor completely understood and did not push me to do something uncomfortable. I learned that it is important, as a mentor, to listen to each mentee and understand that his/her needs/preferences will range.