Becoming a Mentor: 5 Tips From our Guest Mentors!

As we listen to mentors on the Mentor Meet-Up podcast, we are beginning to hear a few reoccurring themes! As we know, mentors come in all shapes and sizes and are found in all disciplines. What we want to know is how can these relationships revolutionize learning? How can a teacher-mentor lean on organizations to help enhance their curriculum? How can organizations support entrepreneurs? How are mentorship and environmental stewardship linked? Regardless of the questions begin asked here are similar responses:
1. Listen— Mentees and learners will often tell you what they need to know or how you can best help. Listening will set the stage for co-development and collaboration (and save you time and resources in the long run!)
2. Mentorship goes both ways—Approach the process of mentorship as a learning experience.
3. Be a sounding board—Sometimes mentees or learners don't need advice they just need a sounding board to try out new language, summarize and synthesize, or say something out loud for the first time.
4. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals—Other times, mentees or learners will need advice, reach a goal, or learn a new skill. Using the S.M.A.R.T (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) goal framework will create tasks that move the learner forward.
5. Be a connector—Being a connector is being a champion for your leaners. We all need champions in this life and sometimes all it takes is an introduction or a connection to a program.

Mentor Relationships in the Classroom

WOW! This month’s Inspired Classroom Office Hours was…...INSPIRING! There was no other word for it. We were joined by Arlee Science Teacher and Montana Teacher of the Year for 2022 Bill Stockton as he discussed the power of mentor relationships in in-person and online learning. 

Bill is an active educational leader across the state and nation. He teaches on the Salish-Kootenai Reservation in Western Montana and with the Montana Digital Academy and creates professional development courses for the Office of Public Instruction. We are also proud to say that Bill is part of Inspired Classroom, collaborating on numerous science projects in the past five years. 

During his ‘Office Hours’ visit, Bill shared his experience attending a professional development workshop from Dave Stuart. Dave’s “Six Things That Matter Most” influenced the way Bill re-engaged students as they came back to in-person instruction and has re-energized his own teaching practice. 

Bill’s top six things he is incorporating in his classroom to motivate even hard to reach students are: 

1. Credibility--Behaving like a professional at all times and ‘keeping it real’ with students so your word means something.

2. Competency--Confidently knowing your content and admitting when you don’t.

3. Caring--Listen to students, read what they are writing, and be involved with them in a caring way beyond the class period.

4. Feedback on Progress--Give accurate and realistic feedback to build a sense of progress instead of focusing on deficiencies.

5. Belonging--bring students together in a common goal and make sure all of the students feel part of something.

6. Growth Mindset--Building the capacity to be flexible and fluid through activities and discussions.

Bill also has some great tips about building teacher to teacher mentor relationships. Watch the entire discussion below to be truly INSPIRED. Thanks Bill! The teaching profession is very well represented!

Why Scenario-Driven Learning?

Scenario-driven learning is based on the principle that knowledge is best retained when it's used in context. By working through scenarios, learners can apply critical thinking to decision-making in complex situations – improving understanding, retention, and recall. 

This is especially important for adult learners like your employees. Adults need to know the ‘why’ of what they are learning before engaging in the learning process. They also bring varying degrees of knowledge and life experience into the new learning. By setting up context for the learning through scenarios or case studies, adults will be more motivated to learn and understand the logic behind the new information 

What is a scenario?

A scenario, or case study, sets the stage for learning to occur. It establishes a ‘hook’ that draws the Learner in and helps the Learner relate the content to their own world and authentic work being done. It makes the content more relevant. All of us relate to and remember stories better than dry facts and disjointed content.

Why are scenarios important to introduce new learning?

Scenario-driven learning is a very effective approach to engaging Learners because it gives them control over their decisions during the learning process. Scenarios enable Learners to tap their already-established skills and apply them in real-life circumstances.

Learners are motivated when the skills they possess give them opportunities to improve. They will always appreciate real-life situations where their skills are put to the test. Scenario-driven learning simulates real-world situations and allows Learners not only to make one decision or another but to also take responsibility for what they’ve decided. What’s more, they can always get back on the right track in case they go for a less successful option.

Why add scenarios to a mentor-based learning model?

Because most employees have varied background knowledge about the content they are going to learn, they probably may not know what questions to ask. To pique their curiosity and get them thinking about topics, a scenario that is relatable AND open-ended gives them a place to start.

Also, there is NO RIGHT ANSWER in scenario-driven learning. Participants will work through thinking processes and propose solutions that they must support with evidence. They must tussle with big ideas and processes--how they are thinking is more important than what they are thinking.

Designing a good, engaging scenario to start a mentor learning experience is not easy but taking time to think through the learning process that you want Learners to engage in, the projects they might do, and the learning outcomes will successfully set the stage for sticky learning. It will also prepare them for the types of jobs and thinking it takes to be a successful team member in your business.

How does Inspired Classroom's MentorIC software make scenario building easier?

Scenario creation in an embedded feature in the MentorIC software platform. The platform includes guides and templateslike these to assist our Mentor part

Thinking Processes: What's Missing in the Workplace

Thinking Processes: What’s Missing in the Workplace

Your company has an exciting future and you need to build a solid workforce that shares your vision and helps to move it forward. However, you struggle to bring new employees on board, get them up to speed, and still do the day-to-day work of the business.

Creating virtual experiences by using thinking process templates helps reinforce the critical types of skills needed in your workforce. Employees who can engage in various types of thinking are reflective, independent, and competent. If you practice thinking processes, you logically connect ideas, scrutinize and evaluate arguments, find inconsistencies and errors in your work and the work of others, solve complex problems and engage in reflection. Creating learning mentorship experiences that engage learners in deep thinking builds their skills and increases their confidence and leadership.  

Thinking Process Templates included in the MentorIC learning mentorship system are frameworks built on the best practices used by experts. Questions to ask when designing great virtual experiences are: 

• What processes do successful employees engaged in this work use to successfully tackle topics? 

• What causes roadblocks to growth in my business and how might thinking process frameworks help?

• How can I incorporate 21st Century Skills into high-impact virtual experiences to grow staff competence?

Incorporating thinking processes in virtual mentorship learning experiences elevates the training to a more effective level. Participants must engage in and practice the types of thinking they will need every day in your business. It changes the learner from a passive role to a more interactive role and builds the expectation that the employee will be a creative, contributing member of your staff. 

Examples of Thinking Process Templates currently in use in MentorIC projects are:

Problem Solving: Used for brainstorming and selecting idea or solution options for action plans or projects. People who learn to systematically confront roadblocks and create ‘workarounds’ are great team members, partners, and community contributors.

Strategic Planning: Used to focus priorities and energy, set goals, and establish and evaluate measurable outcomes. Use examples: business, engineering, science, art, technology, government programs, education.

Mentor Meet Up: Tips to Increase Impact from a SUCCESSFUL Small Non-Profit

The challenge of reaching teachers and students with amazing content and learning experiences for a small non-profit organization like the Montana World Affairs Council can best be illustrated with the numbers: 1.09, 7, 56, 95.3, 12.6, 150,446!

1.09 million people in a state with 7 Indian reservations and 56 counties. 95.3% of the students are in rural school districts and 12.6% of the population live in poverty. To reach students in classrooms, staff would have to drive 150,446 miles of roadway several times a year!

Daunting by any measure but the Montana World Affairs Council is successfully reaching its educational outreach goals through virtual programming that includes an amazing virtual speaker series of Ambassadors, Consul Generals and international thought leaders coupled with virtual learning experiences powered by MentorIC software and Inspired Classroom.

During October’s Mentor Meet Up, Executive Director Chris Hyslop shared his organization’s journey and offered advice to other non-profit organizations who are thinking of creating effective virtual programming to extend their reach. Click the video below to hear Chris’ thoughts on overcoming the challenges and building successful programs.

Thinking Processes Bring Virtual Content to Life for K-12

You love having kids learning in front of you! Their eyes light up. They laugh. They ask questions you never thought of before. You know they are engaged. But how do you transfer that to the virtual space?

Creating virtual experiences by using thinking process templates helps bridge the gap between high-interest face-to-face experiences and the expanded audience in the virtual world. Creating learning experiences that engage learners in authentic and deep thinking builds their skills and connects them with experts in the field.

Thinking Process Templates are frameworks built on the best practices used by experts. Questions to ask when designing great virtual experiences are: 

• What processes do adults engaged in this work use to successfully tackle topics? 

• What skills do the target population of students have and what skills do they need in order to think deeply about this? 

• What frameworks will help students in the future when engaging in similar work?

• How can I incorporate 21st Century Skills into high-impact virtual experiences?

So what is the difference between Thinking Processes and Activities as a way of designing learning experiences? 

Typically, teachers and content creators, start thinking about students learning their content by doing something. This ‘something’ is a product, action, or project that can be seen and evaluated. An educator’s planning might look like this:

I love to dream up, plan, and implement activities for learners! Quick! Give me a topic!

Bears? 

Well, right now it’s fall and bears are in hyperphagia preparing for hibernation.  My elementary students are going to start with a writing/discussion prompt, “if I could have all of my favorite foods today, I would eat….” Then we would look at a bear’s skull and examine its teeth and discuss what food bears eat.  Then we would walk around the school to see if we could find any food sources and then we would create a bear food map of our neighborhood.  

Fun, informative, engaging, right? 

Most educators--formal or informal-- love this process and immediately start lesson planning with a great idea for an activity but activities should not replace deep thinking processes in the classroom. Activities enhance a thinking process, help provide crucial background knowledge, teach a specific skill, or provide a culminating event that helps students summarize their learning.  

Thinking processes, on the other hand, are systematic frameworks that are NOT content-dependent and, once learned, develop students’ analytical, creative, evaluative, and goal-setting mindset.  By developing a student’s thinking ‘toolbox’ with various processes, they can better connect information, be more confident in interacting with new information and be prepared to tackle complex tasks regardless of content. 

Giving students the opportunity to think deeply about complex topics and then show the results of that new thinking through activities, creates learning experiences that are rigorous, relevant, and longer lasting—and that have PIZAZZ! Providing opportunities for students to think rather than telling them what to think is the ultimate goal. 

Why We Use Scenario-Based Inquiry to Build 'Sticky' Learning

What is a scenario?
A scenario sets the stage for learning to occur. It establishes a ‘hook’ that draws the Learner in and helps the Learner relate the content to their own world and authentic work being done. It makes the content more relevant. All of us relate to and remember stories better than dry facts and disjointed content.

Why are scenarios important to introduce new learning?
Scenario-based learning is a very effective approach to engaging Learners because it gives them control over their decisions during the learning process. Scenarios enable Learners to tap their already-established skills and apply them in real-life circumstances.

Learners are motivated when the skills they possess give them opportunities to improve. They will always appreciate real-life situations where their skills are put to the test. Scenario-based learning simulates real-world situations and allows Learners not only to make one decision or another but to also take responsibility for what they’ve decided. What’s more, they can always get back on the right track in case they go for a less successful option.

Why add scenarios to an inquiry-based learning model?
Because most students do not have deep background knowledge about the content they are going to learn, they probably do not know what questions to ask. To pique their curiosity and get them thinking about topics, a scenario that is relatable AND open-ended gives them a place to start.

Also, there is NO RIGHT ANSWER in scenario-driven inquiry-based learning. Students will work through thinking processes and propose solutions that they must support with evidence. Students must tussle with big ideas and processes--how they are thinking is more important than what they are thinking.

Designing a good, engaging scenario to start an inquiry-based project is not easy but taking time to think through the learning process that you want Learners to engage in, the projects they might do, and the learning outcomes will successfully set the stage for sticky learning.

How does Inspired Classroom's MentorIC software make scenario building easier?
Scenario creation in an embedded feature in the MentorIC software platform. The platform includes guides and templates like these  to assist our Mentor partners in developing the best learning experiences with their amazing content.

Creating Striped Leopards! Tips for Adult Learning Success

Harold is in a professional development meeting sitting at a round table covered with a white table cloth. His chair is tipped back, his arms are folded across his chest, and his eyes bore holes in the speaker. He’s been there, done it, and could teach the class. There is nothing new under the sun. Harold hates workshops. This is one leopard who is definitely NOT changing his spots!

We’ve probably presented to Harold, sat at a table with Harold, or have even BEEN Harold. Adult learners can be a tough crowd. You have great content to share. You are excited about it but the audience may not feel the same. Knowing a bit about how adult learners come to learning helps presenters and educators create successful and impactful experiences.

To get started, review this 2:51-minute video for an overview of andragogy, or adult learning theory.

Tip #1 — There is more than one way

We learn and remember information through our senses. As we grow and develop as learners, information presents in multiple formats. Our brains process that information, organize it, and make meaning. We may develop preferences in how we receive, organize, and use new knowledge. This has been described as learning styles or modes. 

Learning theory helps you understand how you learn best and will also help when presenting information to adult learners so the outcome is more successful. The key to using learning styles is to reflect on which modality would be best for the information presented and how to use the other modalities to support the presentation. Using multiple modalities expands the likelihood that more learners will be able to comprehend the new knowledge.

Visual learners prefer the use of images, maps, and graphic organizers to access and understand new information. Auditory learners best understand new content through listening and speaking in situations such as lectures and group discussions. Aural learners use repetition as a study technique and benefit from the use of mnemonic devices. Kinesthetic learners best understand information through tactile representations of information. Hands-on activities and building understanding through doing help them make meaning. Learners with a strong read/write preference learn best through words. This combines all three of the other styles as learners move as they write, may read aloud to clarify, and visually picture a narrative. These learners are copious note-takers and avid readers.

Not only is it good to present activities and information in multiple ways but it’s also a good idea for you to know your preference as it may bias how you construct learning experiences. For example, if you are a note-taker, you may rely on outlines and bullet points while some of your learners may need graphs or charts. 

Take a learning styles inventory to get some ideas about how you learn and ideas for presenting information in multiple ways. 

Tip #2--Scaffold Your Instruction

Adults DO NOT want to waste their time on meaningless learning, and they DO NOT want to feel incompetent. How do you strike a balance between technical or complex information and being too basic?

One way is to learn about your audience through a short survey. This can be done by sending out a survey before the event on something like a Google form or email. A quick survey of participants can be done at the beginning of the presentation through apps like Kahoot or PollEverywhere. 

Also, strategies like asking questions about topics and having participants group themselves by levels are a great way to get a feel for the experience of the group. For example, ask, “What level of experience do you have in (topic or content area)? Group One: Completely new to the information; Group Two: Have introductory or basic knowledge; Group Three: Have studied this topic quite a bit and are familiar with it.

Once you have some information about your group, plan your delivery of information and activities to scaffold support for the learners. For example: 

1. Have a glossary for those who are unfamiliar with terms or vocabulary.

2. Provide handouts with graphic organizers to help keep track of key points.

3. Have activities at different levels for different groups — basic and more difficult OR mix groups and ask those with more knowledge to assist the group in completing a task.

Supporting adult learners, whatever their experience level, is more successful and will increase the likelihood that they will walk away with information they can confidently use.

Tip #3: Don’t be afraid to HAVE FUN!

Adult learners might grumble about doing group activities or ‘icebreakers’ but it is important to build in time where people can network, share experiences, and let their hair down a bit. Sitting still for several hours and listening to a presentation does NOT help learning stick; it’s also not healthy, so add in some movement, friendly competition, or discussion time.

Remember that adult learners want to know why they are learning something and how that learning will be conducted. Set the expectations for the learning experience at the beginning to help people get ready for participation. It is not fun to be put on the spot or be asked to do something unexpected, so if you explain the what and why of activities before doing them, people will respond better. 

Acknowledge when participants follow expectations. Something as simple as saying, “Let’s give Susan a thumbs up for sharing that idea” or giving out stickers for bravely playing a game is a bit silly but builds acceptance and collegiality.

Add in music to lighten the mood, time transitions between activities, or help people concentrate. Music tends to give the brain a break particularly when dealing with complex tasks or heavy topics.

Building in ways to create an accepting atmosphere and assist in relating to the audience puts adult learners at ease. Check out more meeting facilitation ideas before planning your adult learning workshop or class. 

A well-planned learning experience might even make an old ‘leopard’ like Harold change his spots to happy stripes! Contact Inspired Classroom for more ideas and professional development at inspiredclassroom.com.