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Title: Mentoring for Skills for Life subject specialist trainees
Key words
Skills for Life diplomas; e-mentoring; online support for mentors; distance learning
Summary
Focus: To establish the needs of mentors who are supporting trainees undertaking a subject
specialist diploma in literacy, numeracy or English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
and to evaluate the effectiveness of e-mentoring. The courses are a combination of taught
days and distance learning and have recently been extended to include a generic teaching
qualification.
Main strategies: online questionnaires and telephone interviews were used to carry out the
research.
Outcomes: Support for mentors will include the creation of a dedicated web page, stronger
links between course tutors and mentors and a better understanding of the role of the
mentor. Trainees are not always well-supported by their mentors; course tutors will check
this during tutorials. The results of the research indicated that mentors should be subject
specialists. If that is difficult for trainees, they should be allocated a Skills for Life specialist
e-mentor.
Context
The Essential Skills Resource Centre (part of the Centre for Lifelong Learning, the University
of Warwick) has been delivering one year Skills for Life qualifications for teachers over the
four years. The Additional Subject Specialist Diplomas are offered in literacy, numeracy and
ESOL. Trainees with an existing generic teaching qualification work towards the Additional
Diplomas. Trainees without a generic teaching qualification have embarked on a two year,
partially integrated model. At the end of two years, trainees will have achieved a Subject
Specialist Diploma in addition to a Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector
(DTLLS). Delivering the DTLLS programme is a new venture for the staff at the Essential
Skills Centre. Diplomas are delivered by flexible study. Trainees attend 7 sessions: 1 day a
month over an 8 month period and they are required to complete distance study tasks
between the taught days. The course is managed through a website with monthly tasks and
e-learning activities. Trainees have their own blog to store course work and reflections.
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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Because of the flexible delivery of the courses, some trainees travel some distances to
attend the courses.
In the past, the Centre staff only delivered the subject specialist diplomas and although
mentors were used, it was not essential. The Centre staff will be offering the DTLLS
programme from September, 2009 and there is a requirement for all trainees to have a
mentor.
There are currently 46 trainees on the diploma courses: 27 on the two year partially
integrated programmes and 19 on the additional diploma courses.
The team consists of 2 full time staff and 3 part time staff. The e-mentor offered support to
14 trainees.
Aims and Objectives
As it will be a requirement for all trainees on the DTLLS programme to have a mentor, it was
decided that current mentors should be asked whether they felt well-supported and, if not,
how improvements could be made. A further aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of ementoring provided to trainees with no suitable mentors within their organisations.
There were a number of issues that could potentially affect the quality of the mentoring
process: last year, 14 trainees reported to the Centre manager that they were finding it
difficult to identify subject specialist mentors; there was no funding for mentors and incidental
comments from trainees suggested that there was a general lack of understanding about the
structure of flexible/distance learning model and there was a lack of understanding as to
what to expect of a subject specialist mentor.
Mentoring arrangements were not a requirement for the Additional Diplomas. The
development of the two year partially integrated Subject Specialist Diplomas with the DTLLS
focused the attention on the mentoring arrangements as they are a requirement of the
course.
Initially, all trainees were asked to provide the name of a mentor. For those for whom that
would be difficult, an e-mentor was allocated.
Although the staff at the Centre sent out information to the mentors, they had little contact
with them and no mentors replied to emails.
It was hoped that by strengthening the links with mentors and by discovering what they
would find the most helpful, appropriate support could be offered by the Centre. To gain a
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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balanced overview of the system, it was necessary to consider the views and experiences of
the trainees. It was hoped that the role of the mentor could be better defined and the
mentoring process improved.
Through the research project, funding was available for mentors to both engage with the
research and undertake their role more effectively. A one-off payment was offered to 12
mentors to contribute to their time spent mentoring the trainees and as an incentive and
payment for taking part in this research.
There was also the second strand of this research to consider: this year, the Centre
appointed an e-mentor to support those trainees who did not have a suitable person in their
organisation. In most cases, these were trainees who were working in isolated
circumstances. For example, one trainee assessed National Vocational Qualifications
(NVQs) in a logistics organisation and has developed literacy support for the workforce;
there is no one in this organisation with the necessary area of expertise to support her.
Through this research, it was hoped to gauge the effectiveness of this remote support to
inform future mentoring plans.
Strategies
The two main people involved at the planning stage were the manager of the Essential Skills
Resource Centre and the Project Manager. Together they decided what data to gather.
They decided to identify the following information: the level of contact between trainees and
mentors; the method used to make contact; the nature of the support required; how the role
of the mentor could have been enhanced; how that support should be made available and
any other suggestions.
To conduct this research, there were three main stages in the process: letters to inform
mentors and mentees of the research, data collection by questionnaires and semi-structured
interviews.
The first part of the process was to write to all involved: mentors and trainees. The letter to
the trainees was to inform them of the research and to alert them to the fact they would be
receiving a questionnaire. The letter to the mentors was inviting them to take part in the
research. (Appendix 1) The number taking part was limited as funding would be allocated to
those taking part; there were insufficient funds for all mentors.
Initially there was a poor response from the mentors with only 3 out of 46 replying. The
Centre manager contacted a mentor with whom she had previous contact. This mentor was
able to offer make some excellent suggestions for improving the letter. She felt that the
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letter was rather wordy and there was no ‘reply by’ date. She particularly thought that the
wordiness of the letter would not encourage busy professionals to read it immediately. A
further letter was produced. (Appendix 2) It was far more explicit and bullet points helped to
make it easier to read and to understand. The omission of a ‘reply by’ date was an oversight
when compiling the first letter and was included in the second version. The result was a far
better response with 14 replies; two of those respondents had to be placed on a waiting list.
The improved response was likely to be due to the improved second version. However, it
may also have been due to the fact that this was the second mailing and could have served
as a reminder. It should be noted that the mentors self-selected themselves to take part in
this research and that may have affected the responses.
Whilst letters were being sent out and responses recorded, the questionnaires were being
devised. Although containing similar themes, a separate questionnaire was devised for the
three main groups: mentors, mentees and e-mentees. (Appendices 3, 4 and 5)
Questionnaires were sent to: 12 mentors, 32 mentees and 14 e-mentees. As the quantity of
questionnaires was small (below 50), it was felt that it was possible to collect qualitative data
so it was possible for respondents to add their own comments. The result was that the
questionnaire was made up of both quantitative and qualitative data.
The on-line questionnaires were developed using FormsBuilder. This is on add-on tool to
the University of Warwick’s web-building software, SiteBuilder. Although the questionnaires
could be sent out to individuals, the returns were anonymous. The facility for collating the
results was better for quantitative data than for qualitative.
A pilot questionnaire was sent out to three mentors. Their feedback was useful and small
changes were made. A pilot was not carried out for the mentees questionnaire. There were
two reasons for this: firstly, the Project Manager was aware that the course that the trainees
were undertaking was very demanding and did not want to add to people’s workload and
secondly, some of the improvements suggested for the mentors’ questionnaire could be
applied to the mentees’ questionnaire.
Questionnaires were then sent out to those mentors volunteering to take part and to the
trainees. Mentors also received a consent form to sign and return. (Appendix 6)
Once the ‘return by’ date had passed, the Project Manager started to analyse the results and
considered what questions to ask during the telephone interviews (Appendix 7). The most
frequent issues were selected for further discussion. As the sample was small (12), openended questions were asked therefore qualitative data was collected. This method was
selected to enable the interviewer to elicit more detail and to seek clarification when
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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necessary. For example, the mentors were asked if they would have appreciated more
detail about the course. During the interview, it was possible to discuss the amount of
information required. Some mentors would have preferred as much information as possible;
whereas others felt they would only need an overview.
The Project Manager arranged a timetable of telephone interviews. All mentors were
emailed and were given dates and times when telephone interviews could take place. The
times suggested were from before the beginning of the working day until after the end of the
working day. Only two mentors had to rearrange an alternative time. The interviewer
ensured that the mentors were telephoned at the agreed time and did not take any longer
than the suggested fifteen minutes. This part of the data gathering process was extremely
effective. Mentors appreciated the punctuality of the interviewer. In all cases, the mentors
were immediately available for the interview and some had arranged to take the calls in
quieter places. During the telephone interviews, notes were made by the interviewer.
Two main methods of data collection have been used during this project: questionnaires
with both closed and open-ended questions and semi-structured interviews. Both these
methods gave rise to some useful information to help future mentors and trainees. Although
a little cumbersome, the results of the semi-structured interviews was enormously helpful for
identifying the amount of detail required by mentors. It was anticipated that, had this project
had a longer life, semi-structured interviews with the trainees would have provided further
helpful information.
There were a number of success aspects of these strategies. The shorter, more specific
letter was successful in attracting sufficient mentors to take part in the project. Piloting the
questionnaire helped to improve the questions. The well-scheduled telephone interviews
gave rise to some very helpful information resulting in some mentors making suggestions
that had not been previously considered. Using the questionnaire software was extremely
efficient as the results could be checked as they arrived. As stated previously, this was an
excellent way of gathering quantitative data.
The less successful aspect of these strategies was the first letter not being sufficiently
explicit. The qualitative responses to the questionnaires were more time-consuming to
collate. This would have been more problematic had the sample size been greater. The
responses from the e-mentees lacked some detail. The Project Manager and Centre’s
manager considered conducting telephone interviews. This was problematic as the majority
of the trainees were teaching full time and of course, were taking part in a demanding
flexible distance study course. It was decided that the e-mentor would collate the frequency
and nature of the contact between her and the e-mentees.
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An additional and unexpected feature of this project was the success of the seminars with
other managers of similar projects. These occasions provided excellent opportunities to
share experiences and ideas. This was so effective that it should be considered to be an
additional strategy. At each of the three seminars, peers asked questions and made
comments that added value to the research at its different stages. More importantly,
listening to peers describing mentoring in their situations, issues were raised for this
research that had not previously been considered. Some of the many points raised will be
considered in the plans that go beyond the life of this research project.
Outcomes and Impact
To elicit the required information, the questions asked were related to: the nature of the
contact between mentors and mentees; the effectiveness of the current mentoring process
and the details of support requested by mentors. At the onset, as previously stated,
mentoring for Skills for Life trainees was not essential and therefore occasionally
inconsistent. Trainees identified a mentor of their choice and an e-mentor was allocated to
those without suitable mentors. Although guidance was sent out to mentors, there was little
or no further contact between the teacher trainers and the mentors.
Mentors and mentees were asked about the nature of the support i.e. was it related to the
following: generic teaching, the subject specialism, assignments, the structure of the course
or ‘other’? Figure 1 below shows that the majority of issues were related to the subject
specialism and assignments. Although the sample was small, there were significant
differences that could inform future plans. During the seminars, interesting debates took
place around the issue of whether or not the mentor should have the specialist subject
knowledge. In this situation, it is the subject knowledge that it being developed as much as
the generic teaching skills, therefore, it may be suggested that trainees should be matched
with subject specialist mentors.
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Figure 1: Nature of support
Mentors, mentees and e-mentees were asked how effective they found the mentoring
process (see Figure 2 below). Acknowledging the fact that small samples were collected,
there were some significant differences in the results. 11% of mentors found mentoring to
be effective and 82% found mentoring to be mostly effective. The results for mentees did
not reflect the same level of satisfaction. Another significant difference was the
effectiveness of the system for those with an e-mentor. The reasons for this were not
established in this current research.
Figure 2: Effectiveness of current mentoring process
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One of the main outcomes of the research was to establish what support mentors required.
Figure 3 below gives as overview of the results. The main request from mentors was for a
dedicated web page (10 requests). The next most frequent request was for clarification of
the role of the mentor (8 requests) followed by the need for telephone contact with Centre
staff (7 requests). Mentors requested information that was related to the course itself.
Information related to the course content and structure was requested by 6 and 5 mentors
respectively and observation support by 4 mentors. Some mentors requested
communication with the Centre staff: 5 staff requested telephone communication whilst 3
requested communication using email.
Figure 3: Requests from mentors
Comments were collected from open-ended questions in the questionnaires. These
comments formed the basis of the semi-structured interviews carried out with the mentors.
The results can be seen in Figure 4 below. Whilst accepting that small samples of
questionnaires have limitations, the detail that was gained from the telephone interviews
proved to be excellent when considering the content of the dedicated web pages.
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Figure 4: Results of semi-structured telephone interviews carried out with 12 mentors
Point for discussion
Course structure
Role of mentor
Observation
Payment – does it
make a difference?
How should this
information be made
available?
Contact with other
mentors and course
tutors
Other suggestions
Responses with number of those in agreement
Overview of the course 12
Timeline of assignments and tasks 12
Detail 1
Guidance 12 (include how much help)
Make process more formal 4 (perhaps choose – it may be added
pressure) describe different scenarios about how relationship
works
Guidelines 12
Can observations be linked to college observations
A model lesson observation would be v helpful
No 10
Yes 2
Web 12
Paper based 5
Face to face meeting at the beginning 6
(mentors could have option of attending for an hour over lunch
possibly)
Knowing who to contact (course tutors) 12
Email once a month from course tutors 2
Forum for mentors 2
Distributing email contacts of mentors (with permission) 2
Collate FAQ
Recruit ex-trainees as mentors
The research has highlighted a number of key factors. Firstly, mentors have requested that
there should be stronger links with the Centre staff. Mentors will be given the contact details
of the appropriate members of staff. Some mentors suggested attending the induction day
to meet staff face to face. Secondly, mentors have requested more information about the
course content, course structure, observations and the role of the mentor. This information
can be made available on a dedicated web page for mentors. Finally, some aspects of the
mentoring process need to be considered. The choice of mentor is crucial. The research
suggested that the support received was not always appropriate: some mentees reported
that their mentors were too busy to offer support whilst others had identified their line
managers to be mentors; a decision they had later regretted. To provide trainees with
subject specialist mentors, the Centre manager may recruit mentors from previous cohorts of
trainees. For trainees unable to identify a suitable mentor, the e-mentoring should be
continued. It will be necessary to debate the level of formality required. A suggestion from
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the final seminar was to introduce a three-way agreement between mentor, mentee and
teacher educator.
Learning points
In respect of the research methods, it is clear that with small groups, quantitative
data is limited and with hindsight, evidence should have been gathered from
telephone interviews and perhaps face to face structured discussions with trainees.
It is clear from the results of the research that even though once trainees have
mentors, there should not be an assumption that all is well.
Next steps
The first action will be to present the results of this research to the team of subject specialist
course tutors. This can be done at a team meeting. Once the team has had chance to
discuss the issues raised, the actions below can be implemented and embedded into the
course procedures.
A dedicated web page for mentors has been started. Suggestions as a result of the
research will be included on the web page. This information will also be available in
a paper-based pack. The use of the web page needs to be monitored.
An e-mentor should be allocated to those who do not have access to a Skills for Life
specialist. Further research into the effectiveness may be useful.
In most cases, trainees should have a subject specialist mentor.
It is essential that all parties understand the role of the mentors. This includes the
mentors, trainees and tutors. The current guidance will need to be circulated to all
involved. There needs to be flexibility within the role to accommodate the varying
levels of experience of the trainees. The role of the mentor could be discussed at the
next teacher trainers’ meeting.
The Centre manager could consider recruiting mentors from previous cohorts of
trainees.
The issue around whether the mentoring process should be formalised or not could
be explored further. A suggestion from the final seminar was to introduce a 3-way
agreement between mentor, mentee and teacher trainer.
Mentees should be asked during their tutorials if they are satisfied with the mentoring
system. A question should be added to the tutorial forms.
Mentors will be able to access the contact details of appropriate Centre staff. The
Centre manager may consider contacting the mentors, perhaps twice during the
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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course, to identify any issues. Some mentors suggested they attend part of the first
day to meet teacher trainers.
Contact details: Anne.Schofield@warwick.ac.uk
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Supporting documents:
Appendices 1-7
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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Appendix 1
Dear ___________
Firstly, I would like to thank you for supporting ___________________ whilst he/she is attends the
Subject Specialist Diploma.
We have realised that mentors have agreed to take on this role and then received little in the way of
support. One of the reasons for this is that trainees live and work a long way from the university and
the opportunity to meet with mentors is impossible. We are now in the fortunate position of having
some funding to complete some action research. We are hoping to find out what support is
required to improve the experience of both mentors and mentees. Of course, we don’t know the
outcomes of the project but it is expected that the end result may be a webpage or ‘toolkit’
dedicated to mentors and possibly a system that allows regular contact with a course tutor.
We intend to complete the research with the mentors and mentees mainly through confidential and
anonymous questionnaires and telephone interviews. Some of the funding received will be used to
make a one-off payment to mentors who agree to take part in the action research.
Please let me know if you would be interested in taking part in this project that we hope will add the
quality of our provision.
If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact Anne Schofield:
anne.schofield@warwick.ac.uk
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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Appendix 2
Dear ___________
RE: Action Research into the effectiveness of support for mentors
We have written recently giving details of the above project. We have had a small response but
would like to be working with a larger sample. Therefore, I have included some additional
information about the project:
You will be sent an online questionnaire. This will take about 20 minutes to complete.
We will arrange to conduct a semi-structured interview over the telephone. This will take
about 15 minutes.
Your organisation will receive a payment between £250 and £300 to acknowledge the time
spent. (We acknowledge that working with your finance departments many be problematic.
You can take part in the project and not receive the payment.)
We understand that some mentees request very little support. Please do not let this put
you off taking part. All feedback will be helpful.
Questionnaires and interviews will be completed by 07/03/09
Please let me know if you are able to take part in this project by 16/02/09
Responses and queries to: anne.schofield@warwick.ac.uk
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Appendix 3
WMCETT (West Midlands Centre for Excellence in Teacher
Training) Mentoring Project
Mentor’s questionnaire
Thank you for agreeing to take part in this project.
The system that we use ensures that your questionnaires remain anonymous.
If you require any clarification when completing the questionnaire, please contact
anne.schofield@warwick.ac.uk
In your role of mentor, on how many occasions have you had contact with
your mentee?
Please tick one.
0
1
2
3
More
than 3
State
number
if
possible
What type of contact was used?
Tick those that are appropriate.
Face to face
Email
Telephone
There are a number of aspects to the course. In which aspects does your
mentee require support?
Tick those that are appropriate.
Issues around generic teaching
Issues around the teaching of the specialist subject i.e. literacy, numeracy,
ESOL
Issues around assignments/tasks
Issues around the structure of the course
Any other issues or comments.
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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Would your role of mentor been enhanced by any of the following:
More information about the course content
More information about the course structure
More information about the tasks and
assignments
More support for observations
More support for the completion of the
observation forms
More information about the role of mentors
Email contact with Centre staff before the
start of the course
Email contact with Centre staff at intervals
during the course
Telephone contact with Centre staff before
the start of the course
Telephone contact with Centre staff at
intervals during the course
A web page dedicated to mentors including:
useful details of the course, the role of the
mentor, observation information.
A paper-based pack including: useful details
of the course, the role of the mentor,
observation information.
Any other suggestions:
As a mentor, do you face any difficulties? Please comment.
How would you rate the effectiveness of the mentor/mentee relationship?
Ineffective
Mostly ineffective
Mostly effective
Effective
Any other comments about the role of mentor or the processes involved?
Once again, I would like to thank you for taking part in this project.
The next stage of the research will be to conduct semi-structured interviews over the
telephone.
Anne Schofield
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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anne.schofield@warwick.ac.uk
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Appendix 4
WMCETT (West Midlands Centre for Excellence in Teacher
Training) Mentoring Project
Questionnaire for mentees
As you will know, we are conducting some research into the effectiveness of the mentoring
process. Your comments will form an in
The system we use ensures that all questionnaires remain anonymous.
If you require any clarification when completing the questionnaire, please contact
anne.schofield@warwick.ac.uk
As a mentee, on how many occasions have you had contact with your mentor?
Please tick one.
0
1
2
3
More
than 3
State
number
if
possible
What type of contact was used?
Tick those that are appropriate.
Face to face
Email
Telephone
There are a number of aspects to the course. In which aspects have you
required support?
Tick those that are appropriate.
Issues around generic teaching
Issues around the teaching of the specialist subject i.e. literacy, numeracy,
ESOL
Issues around assignments/tasks
Issues around the structure of the course
Any other issues or comments.
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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Do you feel that your mentor would have benefited from any of the following:
More information about the course content
More information about the course structure
More information about the tasks and
assignments
More support for observations
More support for the completion of the
observation forms
More information about the role of mentors
Email contact with Centre staff before the
start of the course
Email contact with Centre staff at intervals
during the course
Telephone contact with Centre staff before
the start of the course
Telephone contact with Centre staff at
intervals during the course
A web page dedicated to mentors including:
useful details of the course, the role of the
mentor, observation information.
A paper-based pack including: useful details
of the course, the role of the mentor,
observation information.
Any other suggestions:
How well informed do you consider your mentor to be?
Uninformed
Mostly uninformed
Mostly informed
Informed
Do you face any difficulties with the mentoring process? Please comment.
How would you rate the effectiveness of the mentor/mentee relationship?
Ineffective
mostly ineffective
mostly effective
Effective
Any other comments about the role of your mentor or the processes involved?
Once again, I would like to thank you for taking part in this project.
Anne Schofield
anne.schofield@warwick.ac.uk
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Appendix 5
WMCETT (West Midlands Centre for Excellence in Teacher
Training) Mentoring Project
Questionnaire for e-mentees
As you will know, we are conducting some research into the effectiveness of the mentoring
process. Your comments will form an in
The system we use ensures that all questionnaires remain anonymous.
If you require any clarification when completing the questionnaire, please contact
anne.schofield@warwick.ac.uk
How many times have you contacted your e-mentor?
There are a number of aspects to the course. In which aspects have you
required support?
Tick those that are appropriate.
Issues around generic teaching
Issues around the teaching of the specialist subject i.e. literacy, numeracy,
ESOL
Issues around assignments/tasks
Issues around the structure of the course
Any other issues or comments.
None
How effective has your e-mentor been?
effective
Mostly effective
Mostly ineffective
ineffective
Do you have any further comments about the e-mentoring process?
How could the e-mentoring system be improved?
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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Appendix 6
Project: Mentoring Subject Specific trainees
Material gathered during this research will be treated as confidential and securely
stored. Please answer each statement concerning the collection and use of the
research data.
I have been given the opportunity to ask questions about the
study
I have had my questions answered satisfactorily
yes
no
yes
no
I understand that I can withdraw from the study at any time
without having to give an explanation
I agree to being identified in this interview and in any
subsequent publications or use.
I would like my name acknowledged in the report and on the
project web site (without linking it to content or quotation)
yes
no
yes
no
yes
no
Name (printed) ______________________________________________
Signature _______________________________ Date_______________
Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions.
The name of the main investigator, along with telephone and email contact details is:
Anne Schofield
Tel:
02476574558
Email: anne.schofield@warwick.ac.uk
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees
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Appendix 7
Topics for telephone interviews
Course structure
Role
Observations
Payment
Specialist knowledge
What would be the best way of communicating any information?
What support would you like from the university?
Essential Skills Resource Centre: Mentoring for subject specialist trainees