The word ‘mentor’ seems to be an easy word and yet, it contains very complicated functions and meanings. A mentor is a person who guides, coach and mentor your training activities. For example, in the workplace, a mentor is guiding and interacting a worker in the learning process, which may lead him to become an expert in the worker’s expertise. How does the mentor perform and lead the learner? There are complex guidance which in involve in mentoring.
Mentoring needs complex strategies such as motivation, reflection, induction and structuring. Furthermore, there are other perspectives that lead to the aspects of mentoring – mentor needs to consider – modeling, coaching, questioning, analogies and diagrams.
1. Modelling – Develop rapport with the learner and getting them involved, assist the learner in understanding the task, hands-on-task, assessing examples both good and bad performances, monitoring of task.
2. Coaching – Explain both good and bad performances, increase confidence and provide a challenge to the learner, share knowledge and provide good reinforcement.
3.Questioning – Mentor needs to determine learner’s needs, to understand and to progress, first part of instruction, immediacy of response, learner does the thinking and attribute and looking at options.
4. Analogies – Require the construction of descriptive image of what is to be explained, making learning relevant and explaining complex ideas, some obvious examples and making comparisons.
5. Diagrams – Mentor is responsible to explain things using flow charts, equipment workings. Mentor needs to provide strong mental image, quick understanding, an overview.
A successful mentor is someone who has a set of the above strategies in mind, which can be used in many settings such as food-processing company, universities, public sectors, neighbourhood and schools. Not only using strategies, a mentor should focus on reflecting on what had been practiced, guidelines that lead to improvement to this types of practice.