Mentorship Matters: 6 Ways to Explore Reverse Mentorship in Education-Series 4

On By LaurenMKaufmanIn 1. Mission, Vision, and Core Values, 10. School Improvement, 3. Equity and Cultural Responsiveness, 4. Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, 6. Professional Capacity of School Personnel, 7. Professional Community for Teachers and Staff, Uncategorized

This blog series is being written from my perspective as I am a Mentor Coordinator K-12 in a school district in Long Island, N.Y. I will share my experiences as my mission and vision are to continuously develop a Mentor Program that will build a strong foundation to support educators during their first years of teaching and for the rest of their educational journeys. Refer to the Mentor Program tabs,#LBLeads 2019-2020 and#LBLeads 2020-21 in my digital portfolio as a window into my experiences. Refer to my previous blogs in this series titled Mentorship Matters: 8 Tips for Developing a Strong Mentor Program-Series 1 and Mentorship Matters: The 6 Cs to Successful Mentor/Mentee Relationships-Series 2, and Mentorship Matters: 8 Pieces of Advice for New Teachers-Series 3 for insight into how to develop a strong Mentor Program, cultivate Mentor/Mentee relationships, and provide advice for new teachers.

School districts who place an emphasis on valuing the teacher induction process understand that there is a huge return on investment for committing time, passion, and dedication to our newest teachers. In turn, this will develop social and professional capital, build teacher efficacy, and open learning portals of potential; these portals pave the way to growing solid educational foundations that influence the eternal impact on the most precious gifts in a school system, our students. The careful pairing of mentors and mentees is a critical component to ensuring that great teachers are retained and are destined to embark on long meaningful careers.

Bridging Knowing Gaps 

Great school districts also recognize that new teachers come with their own unique gifts. It is an obligation to collectively work together to recognize and cultivate those areas of expertise so that those practices can be shared within their own educational communities and beyond! In the Mentor Program I facilitate in my school district, I always discuss that the partnership between the mentor and mentee is symbiotic in nature. Although veteran teachers have so much knowledge to impart on their mentees, the relationship is mutually beneficial as the mentor and mentee can both dedicate time to share their strengths, bridge generational lenses, and fill respective knowing gaps with fresh perspectives.

What is Reverse Mentorship?

In a recent #Read2Lead Twitter Chat I moderated with Ellen O’Neill, the topic #MentorshipMatters invited Stephanie Rothstein to participate and introduce me to the idea of Reverse Mentorship in this tweet:

Her tweet led me to Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead podcast with guest Patrice Gordon, followed by her Ted Talk about Reverse Mentorship. After listening to the brilliance in both, I learned that Reverse Mentorship can bridge the gap between generations in the workforce. It is when an organization recognizes that new team members have the opportunity to mentor more veteran ones in pursuit of teaching them new skills, knowledge, and understanding as they navigate their roles within a system. Usually in mentorship a more senior staff member is recognized as the more experienced person in the professional relationship, however, Reverse Mentorship acknowledges the idea that there are learning curves on both sides and each person can address their areas for growth with the help of the other’s strengths. According to Gordon, this is a unique opportunity for organizations to model inclusivity and amplify the voices of underrepresented people within a system. In her Ted Talk, Gordon also states that in order for Reverse Mentorship to work, “You have to be genuinely curious about learning from that individual and you have to be intentional about the relationship in order to make it valuable.” In this Ted Talk, Gordon discusses 6 ways to make reverse mentorship work in business organizations. These ideas served as a framework of inspiration as I thought about ways to transform them to the idea of Reverse Mentorship in education.

Here are 6 Ways to Explore Reverse Mentorship in Education:

*Before exploring the Reverse Mentorship experience, it will be important to meet with your mentor/mentee pairs to explain what Reverse Mentorship is and why it can be valuable for the growth and development of educators within the organization. Having continuous follow-up meetings to reflect on the experience will be an important part of the process as you work to refine it over time so everyone involved can reach their maximum potential! Realistically, this pivot from the traditional mentorship approach may only take place in dedicated slots of time within the mentoring experience.

  1. Thoughtful Pairings:  The Mentor Coordinator can work with administrative team members who have a pulse on the organization to thoughtfully pair new teacher mentors with a veteran teacher who would be open to embarking on this unique experience of mentorship. In order to make sure the match is right there must be chemistry and genuine enthusiasm for leadership development. For Reverse Mentorship, you may consider pairing the new veteran teacher with someone who has  different perspectives than their own.
  1. Develop Norms: Consider finding a place to meet in a comfortable location and agree that your conversations will be confidential. If you are the mentee (in this case the more veteran educator), you may want to discuss what you plan to learn from the experience. For example, the senior teacher may inquire about how to better use technology to elevate their instructional practices or how to use digital portfolios to track student learning over time.
  1. Share Stories: There are many facets to who we are as people. Being an educator is only one part of our life. Share who you are, what you have in common, your goals, hopes for the future and pivot toward talking about things that make you different from one another. Your stories will bind you as people, illuminate who you are at your core, and shed light on pieces of you that may be important for the other person to know.
  1. Maintain Roles: In order to give Reverse Mentoring a real chance, try to remember that the newer staff member should be the one doing the mentoring in those specific conversations. Realistically, it may be an approach to take during dedicated slots of time. If this happens, remind one another that the senior staff member is there to receive the advice that is targeted towards the goals that were established when norms were developed. These are the moments where the newer teachers’ insights and contributions are highlighted in the conversation.
  1. Revisit and Reflect: We know that education and learning is an infinite process. It is essential to make time for reflection. What are the key takeaways from each session? Use the time at the end, use follow-up emails, and/or send video reflection videos to one another with the progress that has transpired to meet the learning goals. Revise your course if needed!
  1. Give Credit: In a traditional mentoring relationship, giving recognition to the mentor and mentee is valuable to the growth of both parties. In reverse mentorship, it is also important to give the senior teacher credit for taking risks, opening their minds to new ideas from the newer teacher, and disrupting the status quo. Furthermore, the newer staff member deserves credit for having the confidence to lead and share their expertise with the senior staff member. This is a win-win as both the mentor and mentee will feel valued!

The Benefits of Reverse Mentorship

Some of the benefits of exploring Reverse Mentoring are that organizations have an opportunity to build a strong culture of learning, develop leadership skills within new team members, close generational gaps, understand different perspectives, embrace inclusivity, enhance communication skills, and elevate the confidence of all stakeholders. Gordon closes her Ted Talk by sharing, “Forward thinking organizations use reverse mentoring as one of the tools to help them build a more inclusive environment and studies have shown that when organizations embrace reverse mentoring members of those underrepresented groups feel more confident sharing their perspectives.” We have an opportunity to leave a legacy within the organizations we live in by disrupting the status quo, touching people’s hearts, and empowering them to believe in themselves despite how long they have served in their roles.