Portrait of a Mentor

Why Mentors are Important in Online Courses (and Everywhere Else)

According to Wikipedia, on the package, Mentos are described as "chewy dragées". This definition probably doesn't help unless you know what a "chewy dragée" is, but that's outside the scope of this page, so feel free to look it up on your own if you're interested. Mentors, on the other hand, are defined by the U.S. Department of Education as people that provide "...a sustained relationship between a youth and an adult". Exactly how to provide that relationship in an online setting so it is the most beneficial to the student is what this page will cover.

As Patrick Cook-Deegan reports in an article for Greater Good Magazine, research tells us that students who have a meaningful relationship with an adult at their school are more likely to have success. Deegan's article discusses ways to provide that relationship through an advisory period, where students meet with a teacher outside of the normal academic classes. This approach, of course, is not possible in a school setting which is entirely online (at least not in the way presented), but student needs do not change, and the importance of mentoring is in fact heightened in an online setting, where research also shows that student attrition rates and academic performance are worse than in a traditional brick and mortar school (Archambault and Kennedy, 2013). Inspired by Fairfax County Public Schools' Portrait of a Graduate, below you will find the Portrait of a Mentor, which covers the traits most beneficial to providing students that much needed relationship.

chewy dragées

Picture of Mentos source

The Portrait of a Mentor

I Stole This from FCPS too

Communication Graphic source

COMMUNICATOR- Given that the relationship needs to be formed entirely online, it is important that excellent lines of communication are maintained. Otherwise, it is unlikely that any of the traits of a good mentor will come into play. This communication needs to be intentional and planned, because unlike in a traditional brick and mortar school, there are not generally opportunities for spontaneous interaction as a teacher might have seeing a student in the hall between classes, for example (Borup, Graham, and Drysdale, 2014). It's also important to maintain good lines of communication with the parents and teachers of the student. In a study done at Mountain Heights Academy, a fully online school, mentors (known in this program as "shepherds") reported that they were best able to support their "sheep" by working closely not only with the "sheep" but also with the other adults in a student's life (Drysdale, Graham, and Borup, 2014). Students can vary in their preference for communication modes (for example text, video chat, phone, etc), and teachers in this study also reported that it was very helpful to find out that preference as soon as possible (Drysdale, Graham, and Borup, 2014).

SUPPORTER- The foundation of any mentoring arrangement is forming a good relationship with the student (Zachary, n.d.). Students need, first and foremost, to feel that their mentor understands them, and that the mentor is in their corner. Along with simply making that connection to make the student feel cared for, mentors often find that an important role is to provide the motivation that students can lack. One mentor at Mountain Heights Academy, for example, described her role as a "cheerleader" waving her "virtual pom poms" (Drysdale, Graham, and Borup, 2014). This is especially important in an online setting because research shows that it is easier for students to ignore their teachers in an online setting than it is in a face to face environment because they can just switch off the computer (Borup, Graham, and Drysdale, 2014).

COLLABORATOR- As already noted, the job of the mentor does not just involve communication with the student. Mentors should work with the students' teachers, parents, and other involved adults to keep abreast of how the student is doing in the various facets of life. This understanding can be critical to properly addressing the needs of the student. One mentor at Mountain Heights Academy, for example, reported finding out that about a students' anxiety, and was able to work with the various service providers to develop a 504 plan to ensure the students' needs were met (Borup, Graham, and Drysdale, 2014). The "Shepherds" in this program also related that even in situations where no immediate solution to an issue was possible, knowing about a students' problems allowed them to have a better understanding of what was going on (Borup, Graham, and Drysdale, 2014).

INSTRUCTOR- Although the mentor in an online setting is not necessarily the content teacher for a particular class, it is important for a mentor in an online setting to be able to provide instruction to students. Online learning requires a skillset which can be somewhat different from a traditional brick and mortar classroom. Students taking a class entirely online need to have good time management, good study skills, and the ability to deal with ambiguity when things are not immediately clear (Valentine, 2002). These are not skills that all students possess inherently, and the mentors at Mountain Heights Academy reported that one of their most important jobs was to teach students how to manage their time, study, and keep up with other aspects of online learning, including the use of technology (Borup, Graham, and Drysdale, 2014).

The Results

Mentorship can be quite rewarding. Mentors at Mountain reported higher job satisfaction and greater motivation for their own jobs (Borup, Graham, and Drysdale, 2014). And, of course, when you mix those "Mentos" with the "Diet Coke" of students, there can be some amazing results.

Citations

"Mentos - Wikipedia." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentos. Accessed 14 Oct. 2018.

"Archived: Mentoring - US Department of Education." https://www2.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ConsumerGuides/mentor.html. Accessed 14 Oct. 2018

"Five Tips for Teaching Advisory Classes at Your School." 6 Apr. 2017, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_tips_for_teaching_advisory_classes_at_your_school. Accessed 14 Oct. 2018.

Archambault, L., & Kennedy, K. (2013). Making the Choice to go Online: Exploring Virtual Schooling as an Option for K-12 Students. A Handbook for Researchers, Policy Makers, Practiitioners and Journalists, 1–20.

"Portrait of a Graduate | Fairfax County Public Schools." https://www.fcps.edu/index.php/about-fcps/portrait-graduate. Accessed 14 Oct. 2018.

Borup, J., Graham, C. R., & Drysdale, J. S. (2014). The nature of teacher engagement at an online high school. British Journal of Educational Technology, 45(5), 793–806. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12089

Drysdale, J. S., Graham, C. R., & Borup, J. (2014). An online high school “shepherding” program: Teacher roles and experiences mentoring online students. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 22(1), 9–32. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/112372

Zachary, Lois J. (n.d) Mentoring at a distance: Strategies for Success" Retrieved from http://iols.gmu.edu/assets/761/Article8b.pdf. Accessed 14 Oct. 2018.

Valentine, Doug (2002) "Distance Learning: Promises, Problems, and Possibilities", Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, Volume V, NumberIII, Retreived from https://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall53/valentine53.html

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