Building a Faculty Mentoring Program

Senior Teachers are Excellent Resources for New Teachers

Jan 12, 2009

When a new teacher has a senior educator as a mentor, he or she is much more likely to be a successful teacher. Both parties will benefit from a mentoring relationship.

The faculty mentor needs to be trained in the art of mentoring. The senior faculty has a lot of experience teaching, which is why he or she was chosen to be a mentor, but he or she may not have experience as a mentor. An effective training program for senior faculty will include a discussion of the roles and responsibilities of a faculty mentor, including the ability to attract, retain, and promote new faculty, according to Gaye Luna and Deborah Cullen in their article titled "Empowering the Faculty: Redirected and Renewed."

Goals of the Faculty Mentor

The faculty mentoring program described at the University of San Diego website on their Faculty Mentoring Program lists both long and short-term goals for faculty mentors. One of the most important goals discussed is being able to help the new teacher set priorities. This includes balancing time between teaching, researching, and service to the school.

Choose Faculty Mentors Carefully

Faculty mentors are generally very busy with their own course loads, so be sure everyone understands the time requirements clearly. A good faculty mentor will need to be accessible via phone, e-mail, and in person if necessary. It is also important for the faculty mentor to understand that he/she is not in competition with the new teacher, according to the information at The University of San Diego site.

Benefits

Faculty who mentor will benefit by achieving a sense of accomplishment in helping a colleague and faculty who are mentored will benefit by learning from a more experienced educator. Ideas are shared, with both parties learning new, fresh ways to teach. As in any industry, networking is a key outcome of a mentoring program.

Some Typical Issues

New faculty will have many questions, and will face many issues, whether or not they are new to teaching or just new to the particular campus. Some of those issues, listed on the San Diego University site, are:

Faculty mentors should be prepared to answer these and other questions related to both the art of teaching and the operation of the school.

Faculty Mentors Collaborate

A faculty mentoring program should include a process where the mentors can meet and discuss strategies, issues and solutions to problems that may come up with the mentees. Sharing their mentoring best practices will give the mentors ideas as well as lend credibility to the program. Mentees will ultimately benefit from the expertise of others as well as their own mentors.

Maintaining the Faculty Mentor Program

Choosing the right senior faculty, training them in the art of mentoring, and encouraging the new faculty to work closely with their mentors will ensure that the mentoring program is effective. As the new faculty grow into their positions, they can then take over the faculty mentoring process, bringing the process full circle.

The copyright of the article Building a Faculty Mentoring Program in Teacher Mentorship is owned by Janie Sullivan. Permission to republish Building a Faculty Mentoring Program in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.