Group Mentoring of New Graduate Midwives: Emerging Professional Capacity: A Naturalistic Inquiry

<p>This research explores an innovative group mentoring model developed at the request of four newly graduated midwives who were mentored as a group by four experienced midwives. Since virtually all research on mentoring, both internationally and in New Zealand assumes that mentoring is a one-to-one activity, this study aimed to describe how this group mentoring model operated and explore whether it was successful in supporting new midwives to gain confidence. A naturalistic study design was used with a mixed methods approach to collecting and analysing a large amount of richly descriptive data. Data were gathered from records of individual contacts between mentors and new graduates, from a series of interviews with each of the eight participants, and from the actual audio recordings of regular group mentoring meetings across the mentoring year. Simple descriptive analysis of quantitative data and detailed thematic analysis of qualitative data were undertaken. The study found the group mentoring model provided everything that is expected of one-to-one mentoring and the new graduates felt well supported as they gained confidence during their first year in practice as autonomous self-employed midwives. The group model provided new graduates with 24/7 one-to-one mentor support whenever they asked for it. This was found to occur mostly in the first half of the year and was highly valued. The new graduates and the mentors all agreed that the most important part of the model were the regular group meetings. These meetings were entirely focused on day to day experiences that the new graduates chose to present to the group. Analysis of the meeting transcripts showed that the new graduates' issues ranged across the whole scope of practice; that they were sometimes prompted by self-reflection, sometimes by issues to do with relationships with others, and sometimes by a need to discuss technical matters. The mentors' responses were variously supportive; listening and exploring; directing or informing; and questioning or challenging. The group aspect of this mentoring model added a number of features that would not be possible in one-to-one mentoring. The new graduates valued how the group meetings exposed them to multiple perspectives from several mentors. The group meetings modelled a supportive and collegial way of working together that facilitated their emerging professional capacity now and into their future. The group provided a safe yet challenging space: a "stimulating sanctuary" for the new graduates' development. Overall the study found that group mentoring can successfully meet the needs of new graduates and provides several advantages over one-to-one mentoring. Group mentoring may be a more sustainable model than one-to-one, particularly where there are shortages of mentor midwives available. It is a model that promotes a supportive professional midwife culture, contributes to new knowledge in the area and is the preferred approach to mentoring in the future.</p>

Group Mentoring of New Graduate Midwives: Emerging Professional Capacity: A Naturalistic Inquiry

<p>This research explores an innovative group mentoring model developed at the request of four newly graduated midwives who were mentored as a group by four experienced midwives. Since virtually all research on mentoring, both internationally and in New Zealand assumes that mentoring is a one-to-one activity, this study aimed to describe how this group mentoring model operated and explore whether it was successful in supporting new midwives to gain confidence. A naturalistic study design was used with a mixed methods approach to collecting and analysing a large amount of richly descriptive data. Data were gathered from records of individual contacts between mentors and new graduates, from a series of interviews with each of the eight participants, and from the actual audio recordings of regular group mentoring meetings across the mentoring year. Simple descriptive analysis of quantitative data and detailed thematic analysis of qualitative data were undertaken. The study found the group mentoring model provided everything that is expected of one-to-one mentoring and the new graduates felt well supported as they gained confidence during their first year in practice as autonomous self-employed midwives. The group model provided new graduates with 24/7 one-to-one mentor support whenever they asked for it. This was found to occur mostly in the first half of the year and was highly valued. The new graduates and the mentors all agreed that the most important part of the model were the regular group meetings. These meetings were entirely focused on day to day experiences that the new graduates chose to present to the group. Analysis of the meeting transcripts showed that the new graduates' issues ranged across the whole scope of practice; that they were sometimes prompted by self-reflection, sometimes by issues to do with relationships with others, and sometimes by a need to discuss technical matters. The mentors' responses were variously supportive; listening and exploring; directing or informing; and questioning or challenging. The group aspect of this mentoring model added a number of features that would not be possible in one-to-one mentoring. The new graduates valued how the group meetings exposed them to multiple perspectives from several mentors. The group meetings modelled a supportive and collegial way of working together that facilitated their emerging professional capacity now and into their future. The group provided a safe yet challenging space: a "stimulating sanctuary" for the new graduates' development. Overall the study found that group mentoring can successfully meet the needs of new graduates and provides several advantages over one-to-one mentoring. Group mentoring may be a more sustainable model than one-to-one, particularly where there are shortages of mentor midwives available. It is a model that promotes a supportive professional midwife culture, contributes to new knowledge in the area and is the preferred approach to mentoring in the future.</p>

Mentoring Guides for U.S. College Faculty and Administrators in Culturally Diverse Settings

The purpose of this paper is to provide answers to the following research questions: Is effective mentoring a function of culture, learning or hereditary, birth/ nature? Or are people born with certain traits that make them more effective or better mentors than others or is it based on learning or socialization/ nurture?; Is cross gender or cross-racial more effective than mentoring based on demographic similarities characteristics? Are there some types or techniques or practices of mentoring that are more appropriate or more suitable to some demographic groups or populations – women, blacks and other racial minorities etc. than others? This paper defines mentoring, discusses competing schools/ theories of mentorship, as well as typologies of mentoring approaches. The paper concludes that multiple/ group mentoring approach is indicative of the new trend in the business; and that while each mentoring technique or model supplements or complements the other, multiple mentoring styles or systems tend to present the best possible path to achieving efficiency and effectiveness. Finally, it recommends appropriate mentoring strategies and techniques to improve mentoring that include programs that take into account demographic similarities between mentors and protégés, gender and race-based norms, stereotypes and discrimination, as well as cultural diversity.

Mentoring programs implementation: differences between group and individual mentoring

Purpose This article aims to present the differences in implementation between individual mentoring programs (IMPs) and group mentoring programs (GMPs). Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study used semi-structured interviews with 16 experts: mentoring program (MP) coordinators, consultants and mentors. During the interviews, the steps in implementing a mentoring program were reviewed and discussed by practitioners. Findings Based on the interviews and contrasting with the proposed implementation model, the authors compared IMPs and GMPs. The results highlight the role of the GMP coordinators, especially in the selection of mentors, mentees and generating resources that favor the beneficial effects of group dynamics on mentoring processes. Practical implications This model for implementing MPs and the differences identified between IMPs and GMPs provide practical help to program coordinators (PCs) and mentors to deploy MPs by highlighting the relevant aspects. Originality/value Mentoring is a Human Resource Development (HRD) technique whose implementation at the program level needs further deepening for practitioners. This is the first work that emphasizes the differences to be considered in the design and implementation of MPs by taking the individual or group dimension of mentoring.

Professional Growth of Novice and Experienced STEM Teachers

The first years of teaching are crucial for novice teachers’ integration into and retainment in the education system. The support they receive from experienced teachers impacts their professional development. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers require specialized support from domain-specific mentors. In this study, we examined how a three-level mentoring support system contributes to STEM novice teachers’ professional growth (PG) and to their mentors. The support system levels are individual mentoring, group mentoring, and mentoring networks. Based on the framework of teachers’ professional development, there are three PG dimensions: personal, professional, and social. Our research goal was to analyze teachers’ professional growth by the various mentoring level and dimension combinations. The study, conducted using a mixed methods approach, included 123 novice and 78 experienced STEM teachers. We examined the novice teachers’ perceptions of their teaching efficacy, the mentoring factors, correlations between the professional growth dimensions, and the contribution of each support level to the growth dimensions. We found that experienced teachers perceive novice teachers’ efficacy as lower than that perceived by the novice teachers. We identified gaps between the mentoring factors described by novice and experienced teachers and a strong correlation between the growth dimensions. All three mentoring support levels facilitate substantive personal, professional, and social growth. Individual mentoring contributes the most to all three growth dimensions, followed by mentoring networks. The contribution of this research is its elucidation of the intertwined support levels, which provide scaffolds for the novice teachers and facilitate the growth of the experienced teachers.

Peer-mentoring na educação em saúde: quais as suas aplicações, limitações e estratégias para o sucesso?

Este estudo buscou investigar a contribuição do Peer-Mentoring na formação acadêmica de base e educação continuada de profissionais da saúde, bem como identificar as principais limitações, desafios e alternativas para atingir o sucesso de sua implementação. Trata-se de um estudo de revisão integrativa com busca sistemática, realizada nas bases de dados PubMed, Scopus, Web Of Science, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) e Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS). Foram incluídos artigos eletrônicos, disponíveis na íntegra, nos idiomas português, inglês e/ou espanhol e publicados nos últimos 5 anos. Excluiu-se os estudos do tipo revisão de literatura, resumos, carta ao editor, manuscritos duplicados e estudos que não apresentaram relação com a temática. Os seguintes descritores foram combinados com os operadores booleanos AND e OR: “Peer-Mentoring”, “Peer Group”, “Mentoring”, “Mentors”, “Health Education” e "Education, Medical”. Foram coletados 31 artigos elegíveis, que passaram por uma análise na íntegra e fichamento dos dados. Os estudos foram agrupados em cinco categorias de análise: (1) contribuição do Peer-Mentoring no processo de formação acadêmica; (2) impacto do Peer-Mentoring na educação continuada de profissionais da saúde educação continuada; (3) limitações são encontradas durante a execução do Peer-Mentoring; (4) desafios pedagógicos que devem ser vencidos, no transcurso da mentoria entre pares; (5) Como atingir o sucesso durante a implantação e execução de programas de Peer-Mentoring?. O Peer-Mentoring mostrou-se capaz de melhorar significativamente o processo de ensino em saúde. Perspectivas futuras apontam para uma maior adesão, por parte das instituições de ensino, em inserir a mentoria entre pares nos programas pedagógicos.

Providing support for the development of authentic assessment instruments for civic education teachers in Central Lampung Regency

The objective of this paper is to increase the comprehension of teachers on the significance of authentic assessment in Civic Education, particularly with a scientific approach and quality learning process. Therefore, adequate skill support for developing these channels, specifically in relation to character and learning activities in the form of attitude scales and guidelines. Expository, discussion, assignment, training, individual or group mentoring were among the applied community empowerment methods. Based on this assistance, teachers' understanding of the design and implementation of authentic assessment instruments in the 2013 curriculum was greatly increased. Furthermore, it is expected that the knowledge learned is simultaneously integrated into the learning process.

Mentorship – Propitious Methodology to Improve Low Performers

Mentorship program have a wide array of benefits which imparts an important role in reversing the decline of academics and helps in understanding the challenges encountered. The main objectives of the MP are 1) To address the student’s problematic areas and identify sectors where they need more support. 2) To provide immediate support network to the Low performers and establish small group mentoring program which was based on performance basis. A total of 50 students and 28 faculty were involved in the study. All the 50 students were allotted mentor, in a lottery basis picked by the students, with the mentor to mentee ratio of 1:2. The marks obtained in Mid Term 1 exam was taken as baseline and compared with subsequent exam marks to identify the effectiveness of mentorship program. Further, at the end of terminal exam, 13 students were identified as low performers and were given an extra focused care other than regular mentoring. At the end of the 1st year MBBS, a preformed questionnaire with four Likert scale was taken to understand the effectiveness of mentorship. The marks were expressed in mean ± SD. The marks between the exams were compared using Paired t Test. SPSS 26.0 was used for all statistical procedures. Among the low performers, the comparative improvement in the marks between Terminal and Mid Term II was 18% in Anatomy(p<0.000), 9% in Physiology (p<0.005) and 8% in Biochemistry(p<0.01). Further the comparative improvement in the marks between Mid Term II and Final Professional exams was 5% in Anatomy(p<0.029), 5% in Physiology and 11% in Biochemistry(p<0.001). In addition, analysis of students feedback revealed that 38% of the students have agreed and 54% of them have strongly agreed that mentorship program was effective and beneficial to them. Mentorship Program should be a part of the academic plan and should be implemented in all medical Colleges to bring out efficient Doctors and prevent dropouts of medicos. Students with effective mentors as role

Developmental Outcomes of University Female Basketball Athletes As Participants in Peer Mentoring Groups

Peer group mentoring can stimulate developmental outcomes for university basketball athletes. Seven female university basketball athletes from an NCAA Division III team participated in peer mentoring groups over the course of an academic year. By sharing about their lived experiences, the researchers were able to capture narratives that illuminated the impact of this developmental relationship. Thematic analysis was utilized to explore these descriptions and collate them into findings relevant for athletes, coaches, Athletics administrators, and others. Findings presented below indicate that these peer group mentoring experiences (a) nurtured synergistic relationships; (b) cultivated athletes’ resilience; and (c) developed athletes’ self-efficacy.