INNOVATIONS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION IN NIGERIA, Ebele C. Okigbo, Nneka R. Nnorom, Ernest O. Onwukwe [best reads .TXT] 📗

be an ongoing process throughout the mentoring relationship. The point is to be aware of what you are thinking...and how it is affecting the relationship.

Open-mindedness: One of the most important skills needed is the ability to keep an open mind. Both the mentor and the mentee came to the mentoring "table" with their respective idiosyncrasies: thoughts, value system, prejudices expectations et cetera.. This is normal: it is called being human. But the purpose of mentoring is to transform...not only the mentee, but also the mentor. For this to occur, everyone needs to open his/her minds to new ways of thinking. It is not always easy, and it will likely be an ongoing process throughout the mentoring relationship. The point is to be aware of what you are thinking...and how it is affecting the relationship.

Active listening: There are two types of listening: active and passive, and their definitions are just as their names imply. When you actively listen, you are fully engaged with the other person. You are focused on what he/she is saying, and you reinforce what the person is saying by offering nonverbal cues, such as eye contact and nodding your head. Active listeners are alert, sit up straight, ask questions, and show their sincere interest in what the other person is saying. Both mentors and mentees need to engage in active listening with one another.

Active listening: There are two types of listening: active and passive, and their definitions are just as their names imply. When you actively listen, you are fully engaged with the other person. You are focused on what he/she is saying, and you reinforce what the person is saying by offering nonverbal cues, such as eye contact and nodding your head. Active listeners are alert, sit up straight, ask questions, and show their sincere interest in what the other person is saying. Both mentors and mentees need to engage in active listening with one another.

Tough Questioning: The way to dig deeper into an issue is by asking questions, and sometimes the most important questions are hard to ask. Ask them anyway. Do so with diplomacy and tact, of course, but go ahead and ask. Through questioning, more clarifications are made and issues get clearer.

Tough Questioning: The way to dig deeper into an issue is by asking questions, and sometimes the most important questions are hard to ask. Ask them anyway. Do so with diplomacy and tact, of course, but go ahead and ask. Through questioning, more clarifications are made and issues get clearer.

Total honesty: This goes hand-in-hand with the previous skill. If you ask a tough question -- or if you are asked a tough question -- be prepared to hear honest answers (or to deliver honest answers). It is not always easy to be completely honest, but it is important. Of course, to be honest, you need to feel safe.

Total honesty: This goes hand-in-hand with the previous skill. If you ask a tough question -- or if you are asked a tough question -- be prepared to hear honest answers (or to deliver honest answers). It is not always easy to be completely honest, but it is important. Of course, to be honest, you need to feel safe.

Deeper reflection and self-awareness: You ask a tough question, you hear an honest answer, and now what? This is where reflection and self-awareness comes in. It is easy to want to move away from the challenging conversations and onto easier subjects. But the most successful mentoring relationship won't allow for this. Instead, mentors and mentees will take time to reflect on what is been discussed. This is important because when we are discussing difficult issues, we can often slip into defense mode in the heat of the moment. Taking time to reflect, however, can help us avoid knee-jerk reactions and, instead, help us grow.

Deeper reflection and self-awareness: You ask a tough question, you hear an honest answer, and now what? This is where reflection and self-awareness comes in. It is easy to want to move away from the challenging conversations and onto easier subjects. But the most successful mentoring relationship won't allow for this. Instead, mentors and mentees will take time to reflect on what is been discussed. This is important because when we are discussing difficult issues, we can often slip into defense mode in the heat of the moment. Taking time to reflect, however, can help us avoid knee-jerk reactions and, instead, help us grow.

The Mentoring Process

It was Seneca, a great philosopher who once said that “if a sailor does not know to which port he/she saileth, then no wind is favourable”. This statement underscores the relevance of mentoring in formal establishments and by implication, the need for the guidance of an employee in course of his/her career progression.  Professional development of an employee demands that the officer be properly guided as to the academic and professional requirements necessary for him/her to progress successfully along authentic career path.

There may not be any hard and fast set of rules or procedures guiding the mentoring process but, suffice it to say that, there needs to be that innate conviction on the part of the mentee that he/she needs the guidance of the mentor and that he/she recognizes that the mentor has got the knowledge, skills, expertise and experience which he/she (mentee)  is very much in need of. Conversely, the mentor is expected to demonstrate that willingness to share his/her knowledge, skills and expertise with the mentee. This is the innate bond that keeps the mentoring relationship going on, in spite of any/some perceived shortcoming(s). However, some models abound in literature to guide the mentoring process (pcaddick.com/page 6.html).

The mentoring process presupposes that at inception, both the mentor and mentee should get familiarized to themselves and discuss on how to structure the relationship. This could entail:

Building rapport: In this case, the team engages in discussion to understand one another and clarify the overall goals of the mentoring programme, including:

*                What are the mentee’s vision and aspiration?

*                What specific academic or professional competence do the mentee need to develop?

*                Any technical skills to be built?

*                 Do you intend to forge a new career path?

 

This discussion could culminate to drafting of a mentoring partnership agreement. Here, the expectations and responsibilities of every member of the team are clarified.

In the partnership deed, both parties may agree on

Meeting schedules: where, when and how frequently?

Mode of contact: through phone calls or e-mails.

Confidentiality of the relationship and outcome of meetings.

Regularity of feedback and evaluation process

Procedure for concluding the mentoring relationship.

iii.  Sketching the mentoring Action Plan: The mentoring action plan, usually comprise  

 of specific steps to be taken to accomplish the career goal(s), including:

knowledge to gain, attitudes to develop to accomplish the career goal  

Projected outcome- observable trait

Action steps- concrete steps to be taken, learning activities very necessary.

Resources needed- apart from the mentor, the materials needed in achieving the goal. Learning hands-on, and on the job, is advocated.

Target completion date- expected completion period/time.

In some situations, there may not be necessarily a formalized structural plan as discussed above. It may proceed informally following a gentleman’s agreement between two compatible staff. They may even see themselves neck-deep into the relationship before realizing that mentor-mentee relationship is at work.

Provisions for Mentoring in Teacher Education Institutions

A critical review of relevant guidelines and policy documents of TEIs show that there are structures on ground to facilitate mentoring relationships in institutions, particularly as it affects the experienced and less experienced members of the academic staff.  The hierarchy of authority in the Faculty/School, as the case may be, shows that all animals are equal but some are more equal than others. At the helm of authority is the Dean, followed by the Heads of Departments, Lecturers, None teaching Staff, and students. As authority increases so also does responsibilities and the need for higher officers to exercise control and guide the subordinate staff including the students. The subordinate staff look up to the higher officers for direction.

 

Again, the National University Commission (NUC, 2007), spelt out the guidelines for appointments and promotion of staff in the Faculty of Education and  recommended a staff rank mix and ratio of 20% in the professorial grade(professors and Associate Professor/Readers), 35% in the Senior Lecturer grade and 45% in the Lecturer-ship grade

(Lecturer I, II and Assistant lecturer) and below (20:35:45), as provided for in the NUC BMAS document (2007). A similar staff rank-mix and ratio is also tenable for Polytechnics and COEs, although there may be slight variations in the categorization and nomenclature of the constituent ranks.  For instance, rather than professorial rank, the Polytechnics and COEs adopt Chief Lecturers as their peak rank.

Again, to have ascended the academic ladder to the professorial position or Chief Lecturer as the case may be, the candidate in addition to possession