Mentoring / Kaitohutohu

I am very grateful that my mentor took the time to organise such a great programmes which exactly suited my needs. I spoke to everyone from the director to the volunteers and I found it enlightening to talk with so many people about the same topics but from different viewpoints. By being able to observe and participate in a different experience, I have been able to identify points for change. My mentor has been entirely supportive and encouraging and given me exactly the sort of professional advice that I would anticipate. Pippa Lawlor.

2010 – 2011 Mentor Pilot Project

MEANZ and NSTP (National Services Te Papa) have partnered to provide some members with the opportunity to take part in a Mentor Pilot Project. This project is being evaluated by NZCER (New Zealand Council for Education Research) who will make recommendations for ways in which MEANZ could develop this service. This project is taking place December 2010 – January 2011, and extracts from the subsequent NZCER evaluation will be published on this site. 

Following the evaluation, the MEANZ council intends to launch an on-going mentor programme which will be open to all members. If you are interested in taking part in this either as a mentor or mentee, please email info@MEANZ.org.nz

MEANZ and NSTP Mentor Pilot Project participants are beginning by setting clear objectives for what they want to achieve during the project. They then make contact with their partner at least twice a week (for a period of approximately 1 month). This may be via telephone, email, Skype or other remote methods. Participants organise to meet face to face once, for a period of between 1-5 days, and end their participation by submitting a brief written report, detailing their experiences.

What is mentoring?

Mentoring is a developmental partnership through which one person shares knowledge, skills, information and perspective to foster the personal and professional development of someone else. The power of mentoring is that it creates a one-of-a-kind opportunity for collaboration, goal achievement and problem-solving. Most mentoring programmes are designed for the benefit of mentees and they encourage participants to come into the relationship with specific goals. However the benefits extend beyond this to positively impact upon the mentor and the museum where the mentee is based.

Mentoring is in many ways an elusive concept and an individual process. Every pair is unique because each person's experience, personality and professional development are different. A firm commitment to the mentoring process and a willingness to invest time and energy are the most important components for a successful relationship.

A mentor’s role

Taking the role of mentor involves a great level of commitment to the mentee, and an understanding of the role. Within the mentoring process, a mentor often assumes multiple roles to encourage the enhancement of the mentee's professional and personal development. At different times, the mentor may be: a role model, an advocate, a resource provider, an advisor, a guide, a facilitator. The function of the effective mentor is not far removed from what good teachers do. These include: building a relationship, being facilitative, providing information, being challenging.  

I am so utterly thankful to have experienced what the Mentorship programme offered and would definitely recommend the programme to others.  I learnt things like “Advisory Groups”, the functions and benefits of their inclusion, I learnt of “Inquiry Learning” and how frontloading is now more popular than ever in terms of motivating young learners from the start, I learnt of the extent of “flexibility and adaptation” especially when faced with restrictions spoken of earlier, I learnt more about “Windows of Opportunity” and capturing that “Teachable Moment” which furthermore extended into “Moments of Thought” and the function of plausible moments that can be further reinforced with preposterous ideas.  I learnt of “Mood Setting” and how outcomes can be determined by moods and also of interaction in terms of utilising all the senses being kinetics/vision/hearing/taste and smell. These are only a small scope of the skills I learnt while on my visitation. Nathan Whanga.

Benefits to participants

As each mentor relationship is unique the benefits will vary each time, however the most common benefits to mentees may include: support, advice and constructive feedback on personal and professional development issues, increased understanding of how to succeed in museum education, expanded network, increased exposure and visibility, accelerated skill development, improved self-awareness and self-confidence, meaningful learning experiences where theory and practice are closely integrated, opportunity to develop and apply problem solving strategies and critical thinking skills.

Benefits of taking on the role of mentor may include any of the following: exposure to emerging talent pool, possible catching up with latest education theory and practice, stronger competencies in mentoring and developing talent, chances to develop network of new colleagues, satisfaction from imparting wisdom and experience to others in the field without a huge time commitment, contributing to training the next generation of museum professionals, increasing leadership skills.

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