Group and Peer Mentoring Group and Peer Mentoring
When group or peer mentoring is the right model, and how to run it.
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
Four group mentoring models
Pick one of four group models
A review of group mentoring research found four main types.
- Peer group peers mentor each other
- One to many one mentor, a group
- Many to one a panel for one mentee
- Many to many several mentors, a group
Three kinds of peer relationship
Peers support each other in three ways
A study of 25 pairs found peers to be real alternatives to a mentor.
- Information peer shares news about work
- Collegial peer career strategy, feedback, friendship
- Special peer emotional support, personal feedback
Mutuality between peers
Peers both give and receive
Unlike a mentor, each peer takes the roles of giver and receiver.
Developmental networks
Help people build a network
Higgins and Kram sort networks by range of contacts and strength of ties.
- Entrepreneurial wide range, strong ties
- Opportunistic wide range, weak ties
- Traditional narrow range, strong ties
- Receptive narrow range, weak ties
Mentoring circles
Circles reach people pairs leave out
Mentoring circles gave academic staff an option beside one-to-one schemes.
Keeping peer schemes going
Plan contact beyond the first week
In a scheme for 124 students, use peaked in week one and fell by week ten.
- Week one most students used it
- Week ten use had dropped
When a peer is not enough
Watch those who ask most for help
Students wanting more peer support had lower well-being and integration.
- Brief peer mentors on their limits
- Give them a contact for referrals
- Check in with heavy users yourself
- Point students to professional services
Setting up a group
Give every group a written plan
Agree the size, the lead, the rules and the meeting dates up front.
- Size fixed before the first meeting
- Lead who facilitates
- Ground rules confidentiality, attendance
- Dates set for the whole cycle
- Goals one per member
Monitoring each member
Track each member, not only the group
MENTOR warns that individual experience is easy to miss in groups.
- Attendance sessions attended per member
- Progress own goal, per member
- Experience short survey, per member
Closing a group
Plan for members who leave
Closing a group is harder when one member or several leave.
- One member leaves a goodbye in the group
- The mentor leaves a new lead, or close
- Several leave merge or close the group
- The cycle ends a last session together
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- Huizing, R. L. (2012) Mentoring together: A literature review of group mentoring Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 20(1), 27-55
- Kram, K. E. & Isabella, L. A. (1985) Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development Academy of Management Journal, 28(1), 110-132
- Higgins, M. C. & Kram, K. E. (2001) Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 264-288
- Darwin, A. & Palmer, E. (2009) Mentoring circles in higher education Higher Education Research & Development, 28(2), 125-136
- Collings, R., Swanson, V. & Watkins, R. (2016) Peer mentoring during the transition to university: Assessing the usage of a formal scheme within the UK Studies in Higher Education, 41(11), 1995-2010
- MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership (2015) Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring, Fourth Edition MENTOR, Boston
Match the model to the need
Use groups and peers on purpose, with a plan and a closing.