6 Mentoring Activities

Establishing Clear Goals

The list below is made up of ideas you can select from during your peer mentoring time together. You may decide to work on something outside of these ideas as related to teaching.

Teaching is an ongoing learning process, and so there’s plenty of time to keep learning something every quarter or throughout the academic year.

Examples of topics you may choose from to include during your planned mentor/mentee meetings:

• LOGISTICS: Are there any immediate questions about logistical topics? Visit www.LWTech.edu/NewFacultyChecklist
• TEACHING @ LWTECH COURSE: Is there anything that the mentor can assist mentee with from this course? (Such as sharing your TILT, or ideas you do for formative assessments.)
• TRAINING: Are there workshops/trainings you can recommend or attend together and further discuss?
• STUDENT CENTERED LEARNING: Discuss instructional strategies that focus on student-centered learning and removing barriers. Suggestions:
  • 4 Connections — www.LWTech.edu/4Connections 
    • Mentor could share how you have more intentionally made these a part of your teaching practice, and of their impact.
  • Culturally Responsive Teaching — www.LWTech.edu/CulturallyResponsiveTeaching
    • Explore a few ideas from this course together.
  • Diversity Social Justice
    • Mentor, if you have gone through the DSJ trainings, you might share how it has benefited your coursework for students.
  • Grading for Equity
    • Formative Assessments: Mentors, share your best tips on using formative assessments. Which ones do you use? How/when do you give them? New faculty learn about these in the Teaching @ LWTech course. Examples such as:
      • exit tickets
      • 3 minute pause
      • muddiest point
      • prior knowledge surveys
      • plus/delta at mid quarter
      • many more examples are in LWTech.edu/SmallBites.
    • Student Feedback: Discuss how you use any student feedback (such as from quarterly surveys, formative assessments). How have you been open and responsive with student feedback (for example, learning to not take feedback personally, but rather how to use it to reflect and pivot as needed). Share vulnerabilities as we all can feel we aren’t “good enough” at times.
    • Grading/Providing Feedback: Share any grading strategies you use that center student learning, such as how you provide feedback with opportunities for multiple retries.
    • Alternatives to Graded Finals: Discuss ideas for cumulative projects (vs. one big graded project at end) that focus on quarter-long learning process.
      • Unless it is a department policy, you do not need to have a final exam. If you can measure students’ learning progress of the course learning outcomes throughout the quarter, allowing for opportunities to learn, get feedback, and be allowed to resubmit, this an example of measuring authentic learning.
  • Universal Design for Learning  (UDL)
    • Do you use UDL in your teaching? How so?
  • Small Bites for Impactful Instruction you could look into together:
    • www.LWTech.edu/SmallBites
  • Student Support Resources: Besides these being listed at the end of your syllabus, how do you more intentionally use or refer students to student resources.
    • www.LWTech.edu/StudentSupportResources
  • Motivating Students: Discuss how you motivate students, connecting their life to the learning in class. This is fundamental for learning!
  • Self-Care: Sharing experiences or strategies on topics of stress management, work/life balance, managing time

Setting Future Dates/Times

Decide when and where you will meet. Decide which of you will send calendar holds. (See Planning Worksheet if helpful.)