Learning Mentors work with the student on one-to-one level. We tend to call this vertical mentoring which is different from horizontal mentoring, such as group mentoring and peer mentoring. There are broadly five key aspects to the work of mentoring between an adult learning mentor and a student:
Getting to know the student
– getting to know the student’s background (eg, life history)
– understanding the student’s character traits (eg. learning biography)
– knowing the student’s strengths and weaknesses (eg. talents, skills and knowledge)
– discovering the student’s personal goals (eg. main interests and passions)
Setting the context for learning
– the context of secondary education and educational processes of schooling to link education to one’s overall personal development
– the context of the curriculum and each aspect of it to clarify what to study and why
– the context of standards to understand what counts as progress and how to make progress accordingly
Helping construct personal goals, Learning Agreement and tailored curriculum
– articulating a set of goals for the short, medium and long term
– drawing up a Learning Agreement
– formulating a learning plan
– mapping out the student’s learning activities
Nurturing, challenging and supporting the student’s holistic development
– being attentive the student’s learning processes
– posing right questions at the right time to encourage the student’s reflection on learning and experiences
– helping the student pinpoint the obstacles to learning and overcome them
– enabling the student forge a picture of their future and learning trajectories towards it
Providing feedback
– providing feedback on the student learning
– reviewing student’s progress
– preparing a personalised record to represent progress (eg. learning portfolios)
Whilst one-to-one mentoring with a dedicated Learning Mentor is one approach to implementing mentoring, schools might also consider other models, such as group mentoring (facilitated by an adult) and peer mentoring, in which students are empowered to support and guide one another. These other approaches to mentoring will have many common features, and all mentors (peer or adult) will require training in active listening, dialogue and mutual learning.