OnEdMentors Connect (OEMConnect) is a community that supports 1:1 self-directed mentorship experiences as professional learning to strengthen teacher efficacy and impact student achievement. We wrote that statement after going though the first 2 Phases of a collaborative inquiry into the impact of responsive, non-hierarchical mentorship relationships. Our community began with 5 Mentees, 13 Mentors, and 3 Critical Friends. In Phase 2, we grew to 30 Mentees, over 40 Mentors, and remained at 3 Critical Friends, though one became even more. Our goal is to create the conditions that support a thriving community of learning and teaching, grounded in research and proven pedagogical practices. We think that our logo says so much.
We started this adventure small, and the community continues to grow. Leigh Cassell, of digital Human Library (dHL) and I began what was first called OnEdMentors Connect as an offshoot of the OnEdMentors Show on which i was a panelist and producer (even backup host). Now, being the host of OnEdMentors provides a great vantage point from which to share the process of growing this offering as well as feed insights back to the show in regards to content, concepts, communication and tools/strategies that teachers are interesting in discussing and/or learning more about. It helps to create a full circle where we can learn and support teachers at all stages of their careers by providing mentorship through the weekly OnEdMentors Show as well as the direct support that truly impacts learning.
Here are links to each of the OEMConnect episodes on OnEdMentors Show in chronological order:
Reflection is such a key component of learning, and through each stage of OEMConnect thus far, we have has opportunities like the ones through the OnEdMentors Shows, surveys, and meeting time to hear back from our Mentors and Mentees to help ensure that all voices are invited to help evolve our community. Last month, Leigh and I were able to share the journey and some of our next steps through our MADPd presentation, along with our critical friend and the course instructor of the Critical Digital Literacy at Lakehead University, Helen DeWaard.
A few weeks ago, Leigh and I were invited to present on Mentorship and the OEMConnect experience at Niagara University from Dr. Patricia Briscoe's Masters of Leadership class (EDU 644). It was really exciting to be able to invite these educational leaders to explore OEMConnect and the power of mentorship.
(You can barely see that it's me underneath Leigh because I was moving around Dr. Briscoe's classroom when she happened to capture the moment.)
This journey began with the hope that mentorship could be a source of professional learning and that the 1:1 support of an OEMConnect Mentor could help teachers receive whatever they needed to maintain a learning stance and improve their knowledge and/or skills. Both Leigh and I believe, even more now, that mentorship is a powerful tool, and we want to keep growing this community so that anyone, at any stage of their teaching career can both find a Mentor and be a Mentor, even simultaneously. We all have something to teach, and we all have something to learn.
We are so excited to have opened registration to Mentors for Phase 3 of OEMConnect. We will keep registration open until the end of the summer when we will begin registering Mentees. After Phase 3 ends, OEMConnect will be more fluid and accessible all year round. We will be ready to go full throttle to support teachers in their learning in a way that is as comfortable and personalizing ways possible.
Discover more about OEMConnect!