Enhancing university teaching and learning through mentoring

Abstract

Purpose – Mentoring has been increasingly used in educational development to facilitate transfer of knowledge from programs for higher education teachers to their pedagogic practice. However, studies are missing which would critically assess the outcomes of mentoring in programs for university teachers. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review existing research on mentoring in the context of educational development in higher education. Design/methodology/approach – Using a careful search strategy, 17 relevant scholarly sources were selected and analyzed to document the results of mentoring at individual, departmental and institutional levels. Findings – Among the striking findings was the lack of clarity or definition surrounding mentoring and similar terms, coaching and tutoring and the lack of methodological rigour in many studies. However, those methodologically more advanced studies suggest that mentoring can become a valuable component of educational development programs. As reported by previous research, mentoring can: enhance university teachers’ cognitive abilities, beliefs and attitudes; improve the effectiveness of teaching; increase teachers’ capability to research teaching and learning; enhance mentoring skills; and improve the overall teaching climate at universities. Practical implications – Categorization of different types of outcomes of mentoring in educational development can help the practitioners engaged in introducing or re-designing educational development programs with a mentoring element. Originality/value – This is the first systematic review of the studies discussing the process, value and outcomes of teacher mentoring to improve pedagogical practice at the university level.

Participant perceptions of the faculty development Educational Research Series

“…• review the purpose and logistics of the program as a whole • share learning outcomes for all workshops • discuss approaches for engagement and networking • exchange ideas for resources and handouts The lessons learned from this study are pertinent to educational developers who are investigating how to advance a culture of educational research in postsecondary education. In the last five years, institutions have explored different techniques for engaging educators in the study of their own teaching, including scholarship institutes (Marquis, 2015), writing groups (Chitpin, 2011;Marquis et al, 2014;Pleschová & McAlpine, 2015), workshops (Weaver et al, 2013;Lawrence et al, 2016), and peer mentoring (Chitpin, 2011;Pleschová & McAlpine, 2015). These approaches collectively demonstrate the power of a community of practice to sustain engagement with the study of teaching and its potential to lead to change in teaching practice.…”

“…Peer mentorship has been proven to have an impact on educational research. Chitpin (2011) and Pleschová and McAlpine (2015) discuss the overall importance of peer mentoring as a means of sustaining the learning that results from professional development in educational research. Chitpin (2011); Marquis, Healey, and Vin (2014); and Pleschová and McAlpine (2015) note that by promoting informal mentorship and community building, writing groups are effectual in building capacity for engaging in scholarship focused on teaching and learning and scholastic identity.…”

University Teachers and Their Reflections on Their Pedagogical Development

“…Mathias(2005,inPleschová&McAlpine, 2015uvádí,ževněkterýchzemích,napříkladveVelkéBritánii,setvrdí,že mentoring se již stal společným rysem vzdělávacích programů. Pleschová & McAlpine (2015) dále uvádějí, že i přes poměrně malý počet odborných publikací, které dokumentují stávající postupy a výsledky mentoringu, existují určité důkazy, že mentoring by mohl mít pozitivní vliv na dosažení cílů vzdělávacích programů na všech úrovních. Proto jej lze doporučit jako užitečnýprvekkurzůproučitelevysokoškolskéhovzdělávání.…”

Student-Centered Teaching Approach Combined with Coaching and Mentoring Elements in Arabic Language Speaking Proficiency

“…These coaching and mentoring elements have been widely used in various fields to enhance the skills, professionalism, individual self-development or organization. Among the areas of knowledge that often uses coaching and mentoring elements are education development [4], teacher professional development [5] [6] [7], staff development [8], management [9], school leadership [10], science field [11] and business management [12].…”