Mentors Roles and Activities with Mentees
Mentors fulfill a number of important roles
in relating to their online adjuncts, with key roles being identified
as LEADS - Liaison, Encouragement, Assistance, Distribution and
Survey.
- Liaison
between the DLO and online adjunct instructors
- Encouragement
to adjuncts in learning online instruction
- Assistance
and training for adjuncts in a variety of ways
- Distribution
of important information during the semester
- Survey
adjunct and student interactions and offer suggestions
Mentors serve as a liaison between the DLO and online adjuncts,
providing important information and direction. This role involves
helping to communicate to adjuncts any items of importance from
the administration. Further, mentors inform adjuncts of administrative
policy updates and procedural revisions. Conversely, adjuncts
provide mentors with information about instructional related issues
that may need to be brought to the administration’s attention.
Learning how to teach effectively in the online environment can
be an enjoyable yet, at times, challenging experience. Adjuncts
can benefit greatly from sharing these experiences with mentors
and, in return, receiving encouragement from the mentor. Adjuncts
know that mentors may have gone through similar situations in
learning how to teach effectively, including helpful hits and
tips.
Newly hired adjuncts, as well as the veterans hoping to improve
their online instructional skills, can find valuable assistance
from their mentors. Sometimes this takes the form of simply e-mailing
the mentor with a question; yet, at other times it may include
receiving formal training.
Once new adjuncts are hired they are required
to go through an orientation process.
Orientation is an important process in becoming acclimated with
a learning environment and understanding the policies and procedures
of an educational institution, specifically Florida Community
College at Jacksonville (FCCJ).
Mentors have developed an online orientation course to assist
adjuncts in learning more about Florida Community College and
teaching in the online environment. The course is designed and
offered in Blackboard. Each new adjunct and his or her mentor
will be automatically registered in the orientation. The orientation
course is a facilitated and interactive course; adjuncts post
questions and answers and interact with other faculty members,
as well as mentors.
The orientation is continually being updated. The current modules
of the orientation course and a brief description of each are
provided below:
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Module 1: Online Adjunct
Orientation to DLO |
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This module is an orientation to the Distance
Learning Office and outlines the services offered to both
faculty and students.
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Module 2: Administrative Procedures
and Expectations for Adjuncts |
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This module outlines the administrative policies and procedures
requiring faculty compliance. |
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Module 3: Campus-wide Instructional
Procedures and Expectations for Adjuncts |
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This module outlines the campus-wide instructional policies
and procedures expected of all faculty at Florida Community
College. |
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Module 4 - Accessing and Using the
Online Resources |
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This module reviews the online resources available to adjuncts,
such as updating your Faculty Web page, using FCCJ online
library resources, Sharepoint (Online Faculty Lounge), and
the Learner Support Center. |
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Module 5: Online Adjunct Facilitation
Guidelines |
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This module contains best practices for successful online
facilitation at Florida Community College. |
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Module 6: Online Grading Procedures/Guidelines |
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This module provides instructions on how to post grades
using Artemis, as well as offers guidelines on various grading
policies at Florida Community College. |
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Blackboard Management |
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This section explains how to make your course available
to students and how to use the Gradebook in Blackboard. |
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Supporting Documents and Resources |
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Here you will find additional documents and materials related
to the training you have received. |
A mentor serves the role of distributing important college and
DLO information and, when appropriate, forms to the adjunct. At
times this information can be related to academic calendar deadlines,
such as grade inputting. Also, revisions to administrative procedures
and updates to policies will be communicated by mentors to their
adjuncts.
As previously mentioned, during the semester the mentor will survey
how things are going in an adjunct’s course by surveying
instructor and student interaction. Such information can then
be shared with the adjunct and, if deemed appropriate by the mentor,
suggestions made for strengthening the course.
- A preferred communication method (e.g., phone,
email, chat)
- An expectation of response time for general
questions (outside of scheduled communication)
- A discussion regarding the specific types
of questions and assistance the mentor can and will provide
- Establish at least two “feedback points,”
i.e., times throughout the semester that the mentor will provide
feedback to the mentee about his or her course and instructional
technique
- Establish the frequency of your regular communication
The mentor is a resource to new adjuncts, and
thus the pair may decide on the most mutually beneficial amount
and type of support provided in the relationship. However, some
of the basic functions of the mentor are as follows:
Each semester every course taught is automatically
set up in both WebCT and Blackboard, with the instructor teaching
from one or the other platform. New adjuncts will be teaching
from a course shell that the college has provided. The mentor
will help to ensure that the course shell is used in its entirety.
Adjuncts teaching from course shells are required to follow the
prescribed curriculum, including all instructional activities
and procedures, such as proctored testing and discussion facilitation.
The mentor may review the edited course syllabus before it is
posted in the learning management system, prior to the first day
of class. If a course shell is not provided for a specific course,
the mentor and/or other invited content experts will offer guidance
and insight into the development of course material for the online
learning environment.
The
mentor will work with the adjunct prior to the commencement of
the course to ensure that all course materials are updated, posted
and ready for access by the first official day of class. The mentor
may share any previous experiences teaching in an online environment
and how these might benefit the adjunct and the students. The
mentor will also provide reminders and support for adjuncts regarding
how to designate a course management system in Artemis, access
the course roster, and become familiar with the navigation of
Artemis. Mentors will also provide support related to design and
content of the faculty home page.
During the delivery of the course, the mentor
will visit the adjunct’s course periodically to provide
advice and assistance, as needed. This will be transparent to
students; students will not know that a mentor is a guest or observer
in the course.
During the course (time frames to be established)
and at the end of the course, the mentor will share specific feedback
about instructional technique with the mentee, and may provide advice,
tips, and ideas for improvement.
Procedurally, the mentor will remind the adjunct of certain administrative
and instructional procedures that must be completed during the course.
These procedures include:
- Reconciling the Blackboard or WebCT roster
with the official roster that appears in Artemis
- Completing the Drop for Nonattendance process
- Completing the Failure for Nonattendance
process
- Understanding and following procedures for
awarding “I” grades
- Ensuring that final grades are posted by
the official deadline
