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Establishing a Mentor Project
Step 3: Recruit qualified people to serve as mentors and provide training
Back to Step 3.
Teaching the strategies behind leadership training for mentors.
Each lesson followed the same instructional format:
- Define the goal of the lesson, that is, the strategy to be learned (the LAF, DO IT! or ASK strategy)
- Demonstrate the benefits of using the strategy
- Describe each step in the strategy
- Model strategy use with an example
- Check that the mentor knows the steps of the strategy
- Check that the mentor recognizes appropriate use of the strategy in various examples; provide feedback to the mentor for each answer
- Provide repeated opportunities for the mentor to practice using the strategy in role play situations responding to potential messages from a protégé; provide feedback to the mentor for each answer
In each lesson, as part of Step 7, mentors participated in several role-play activities to practice the strategies presented. They were e-mailed with feedback on their answers and were given additional opportunities to develop the skills as required.
The lessons were implemented on the WWW in order to provide access to a wide range of potential mentors who lived across the United States. The lessons allowed for self-paced instruction. The lessons were implemented on the WWW following the guidelines for WWW accessibility for people with disabilities, the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).
Most mentors reported that it took them less than 20 hours to complete the entire training program. After completing the Mentor Leadership Training, all of the mentors demonstrated competence in
- Effective and positive interpersonal communication skills (LAF strategy)
- Collaborative problem solving and goal setting (DO IT! strategy)
- Strategies to access disability-related information and resources (ASK strategy).
Furthermore 93% of the mentors expressed satisfaction with the training. For further information on the results of the Penn State AAC Leadership Training program, see Outcomes.
We have created a revised version of the Penn State AAC Mentor Leadership Training program and made it available on line for those who are interested. The revised program does not provide individual feedback to participants for their role-play responses. Instead the revised training program provides opportunities for participants to self-check and self-correct their responses to the training activities.
The on-line training is customized for potential mentors who will be working with adolescents and young adults who use AAC. Therefore, the role-play examples used in the training are ones that are drawn from the lives of adolescents and young adults who use AAC. However, the training is also relevant to others who are interested in developing their mentoring skills. The role-play examples could be easily modified to include scenarios that are relevant to other groups of people with disabilities.
The revised Penn
State AAC Mentor Leadership Training program is organized in five
sections as follows:
- Introduction to the Penn State AAC Mentor Leadership Training:
This site welcomes participants to the training site. It explains
the goals of the site and describes the on-line lessons.
- Communication Skills: Lesson 1 covers communication skills
such as listening with empathy and respect, and asking questions to
understand the situation completely.
- Collaborative Problem Solving and Goal Setting: Lesson 2
teaches mentors the DO IT! strategy to help them support protégés
in learning to solve problems and achieve goals.
- Access to Disability-related Information and Resources: Lesson
3 provides training for mentors on how to respond to questions about
disability-related issues. These might include questions related to
personal care attendants, jobs, independent living, or going to college.
The lesson also reviews resources on the World Wide Web. A page of
links to disability resources is provided, organized by topics. These
links are by no means exhaustive but they provide examples of the
resources available on the WWW.
- Putting it all together. The last lesson in the series reviews
all of the strategies and provides links to return to the other lessons
if needed.
Continue to Step 4.
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