5 Things I learned from my mentoring experience

1. Mentoring is a powerful tool to build connections; personal or professional. Consciously building mentoring relationship is something that I will take with me from this point forward. I’ve been fortunate enough to have met or worked with some incredibly gifted people. I plan to take advantage of those opportunities and turn some of those into mentoring relationships. "Those who seek mentoring, will rule the great expanse under heaven" Tao Mentoring, Huang and Lynch 1995.

2. I have it within me to be a mentor. To build a relationship on a level that allows me to be the expert without the traditional hierarchal boundaries.


3. I’ve been here before, just never thought about it as mentoring, or given it a structure. This course and the text assignment helped me understand the process in a way that I can now create “mindful” learning as I engage in the mentoring relationship. In this way I come from a place of consciousness where as I build the mentoring relationship, I value my mentee and I value and recognize my own learning in the relationship.

4. It takes a lot of work to maintain the relationship. Scheduling, following up, and thinking about the relationship continuously, being present not just during your time together, but being present means being in the relationship wholeheartedly.


5. Listen, Listen, listen unconditionally

4/7 – In your current professional environment, how are educational experiences or program assessed? Is the evidence collected from the assessment use

At the Graduate school that I was employed, the program is assessed through the WASC accreditation and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) accreditation. The university responds to standards by those accrediting agencies. The standards set by those agencies are valid and research based, but given the fact that those reviews are generally every five years, the process is lacking. Assessment should be continuous, similar to action research. I can’t say absolutely that’s not happening, since at the level that I work, perhaps I am not privy to it…but then again, if it were truly intensive, we (all) would be part of the assessment process. There then, is the weakness in the “assessment”, lack of participation from all members of the CoP.

Student learning assessment is generally done through the traditional route, test, papers, and projects. This year our teacher education students will be required to complete a series of assessment referred to by the CCTC as TPA's (Teacher Performance Assessment). TPA's are a series of activities in which the teacher candidate demonstrates their competencies of curriculum design. Candidates writes a lesson demonstrating their skills a differentiating instruction, they then tape themselves delivering that lesson in their student teaching assignment. TPA's have a lot of strengths. Since it's a structured model, it calibrates teacher preparation programs, assuring that all programs meet a minimum standard in teacher preparation. TPA's or the PACT model are designed and based on research. Built in to both models are a continuous process of evaluation and res-design. This force, programs to do continuous evaluation and self study.

Blog: From your experience in OMET thus far, what design practice has resonated with you the most? Why? (3/3)

Focus on your own learning:

I see the backward design model coming into play in our OMET experience. Fall term was focused on our own learning. Margaret mentioned this last term and now I’m starting to see it coming into place. In Action Research we started Summer Term and continued into Fall Term with our own learning, understanding the concept of action research, defining our action research project, a doing our lit review on the topic was all about our own personal knowledge. Bill Moseley’s class “Educating Today’s Learners” was focused on learning theorist, how those theories apply to our own personal learning styles. Gary’s class “Learning and Technology” while experimenting with different technology forums for the K-12 learner, also allowed us to reflect our own learning as we experimented with each learning adventure. It also allowed us to view how others were responding to the learning adventure, thus giving insight to others learning styles.

Another insight I had about last term was looking from the inside out…I could see how the faculty’s design of the learning was in many way them modeling for us what is expected this term. For example Bill’s use of Second Life focused on learning theorist, and our understanding of those theories and their application, but also how it reflected in our own learning style. Second life was clearly designed for the visual, auditory, tactile learner. SL creates a sense of touching and feeling, although virtual, in distributed learning curriculums.

Margaret’s preferred use of Wiki’s is designed for collaboration as well as independent work. Geared toward the analytical thinker, its best used to construct the document, maintain notes. Her experiment with us constructing a Gliffy timeline was rather interesting. Gliffy is a collaborative, creative, visual tool. I can see this being a wonderful tool for the abstract thinker to use their imagination in creating a rather routine task, such as a historical timeline.

Taking into consideration the activities that we experienced already and what we’ve learned about learning theory, connecting the two is where the analysis begins.

Gary’s class was distinctly geared towards the visual, right brain, musical learner. He really brought home Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence. In that each of his learning adventures, stretched a different part of your brain, your thinking and your sense of fun. He also focused on team learning, where the information was shared through the forum discussions. Each member’s thought and input contributed to the groups understanding of the adventure.

Designing learning for others

This term is about designing learning for others, such as the current assignment that we have in which we’re using UDd to design a lesson, which well teach to others. Paul’s mentoring class focuses on our mentoring others.

We’ve experienced a number of instructional forums and strategies in OMET thus far, I’m assuming that each professor gives consideration to the forum he utilizes and chooses the forum in consideration of the various learning styles in the Cadre. However, I think in the case of OMET, they have to go beyond consideration of learning styles, since they want to expose us to as many of the instructional technology forums and their uses as possible.

Reflecting on the forums they used, connecting what I now understand about learning styles and learning theories, I feel more confident about creating (designing) curriculums for others, which seems to be the focus of this term.

I feel more confident in my design of forums for cycle I of my action research as well as introducing forums in my mentoring relationship.

Habit#2: Begin with the end in mind

Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

In your ARP, are your learners engaged in their learning? Why or why not? (2/25)

Again, since I just started Cycle 1 of my ARP, I can’t respond to this question. I can say that I believe the participants that I have selected, based on my experience of them will be fully engaged in the learning. All of my participants are members of an academic community. They’ve expressed a desire in the group, because they are looking to find a greater meaning and growth in their professional lives. Members have recognized that in the current workplace, employers are no longer loyal to their employees and therefore they must be self guided, They must have a clear focus and direction in their careers and remain marketable and flexible. Flexibility means to have the tools to make changes quickly or adapt to changes quickly. Refining and enhancing technology skills allows for more employment flexibility. For the older worker, it creates an opportunity to compete and stay relevant in the workplace against younger, tech savvy co-workers.

For your ARP, how did you select the technologies that you are utilizing? How have your learners responded thus far (2/18)?

I’ve constructed a support group made up of employees who’s company has recently gone through a top down organizational change. As a result of the restructuring the morale in the organization has decreased. Employee loyalty is almost non-existent. A large number of employees have left the organization and a number have expressed a desire to leave and are actively looking. My support group was developed as forum for those involved to feel once again empowered. A group of women that can mentor each other in whatever avenue the individual chooses. Initially I thought about developing a Wiki where they can post information, articles, poems and other useful resources, but thought against it, since some of the participants are not tech savvy. I created instead a Google group. Google groups provide instant communication through email. I can attach a Google calendar for meeting times. We can chat as group, or members can chat individually when they need assistance. Since Google groups sends email notifications, those members that have a Blackberry or other similar cellular phone features can stay in the loop continuously. We can post documents, link to various resources and upload documents for others to review such as a resume for input.

For meetings, we’re exploring Skype, but since not all members have webcams we are still chatting. I would hope that later we can all have webcams for face to face interaction. I plan on experimenting with Freeconference.com and Yugam, both are web conferencing forums.

It’s too early to tell how my group is responding to the technology forums that I chose, I think at this moment they appreciate the fact that it allows them to participate without putting the added pressure of being somewhere at a particular time and location. They can participate anywhere there is internet service and they have access to a computer. There is no cost or investment on their part for the services that we use. I hope to convince them to invest in a webcam, but that is strictly voluntary.

An added bonus to the participants of my ARP is that they are exploring with me the uses of technology in facilitating group and individual interactions. I foresee using additional technologies, such as a blogging, creating a video or webpage, although these are decisions the group will make.

Moving Forward in Understanding by Design

What were your desired results? Why did you choose these results? (Backward Design 1/14)

When I conduct workshops, I start by putting the key points of the presentation on the white board. Although, I generally provide the audience with a copy of my Powerpoint presentation, I find that this gives the audience a chance to know up front all of the areas that will be covered, but more importantly, it gives them time to think about how it relates to them, formulate any questions, comments or concerns that they may. This in essence is communicating the goals up front, providing them the "end result" of our time together, so that the audience understand the value of our time and what they will walk away with.

(Goals & Essential Questions 1/21 -1/28)

Recently at the F2F meeting in Orlando we had a number of sessions with our OMET professors. In each of the meetings, the expectations of the day were presented to us prior to the day’s activities. The problem was in some of the activities there was still confusion. Clearly the concept of backward design was not present. Confusion stemmed from contradictory information given by different participants in the process, of course then chaos ensues, confusion, and time wasted. Interestingly what I noticed is that some people checked out (disengaged) from the experience. I think as learners, since the goals of the experience were not clear, it distracted from the experience and ultimately the value of the experience.

The Teacher Within Me

Where does teaching fit into learning? and what is the role of a teacher? a faciliatator? An educational or instructional designer?

I think that teaching is sharing. Sharing information and knowledge, and frequently that sharing is two sided. In my professional life, I conduct informational workshops and while it's often one sided, my providing information and the audience that I am speaking to obtaining the information. I am constantly learning about how to make that infomation meaninful to each individual in the audience. Nothing worst that talking to a group of people about legislative mandates and seeing someone slowing and painstakingly trying to not doze off during the workshop, and worst yet to see one in deep sleep. I find that if I encourage questions or pose questions there is more of a dialogue and more interest for both the audience and myself.


Teaching is a two way street. A good teacher in my opinion has to be part of the learning experience that is happening. I really enjoyed "The Big Picture" by Dennis Littky. Littky describes the learning enviroment at "The Met" as a participatory structure; where teachers are completely engaged in the learning as much as the students. The teacher is merely faciliators of the knowledge.