Appreciative coach-mentoring as inquiry in initial teacher education Sarah Fletcher Convenor for the Mentoring and Coaching Group for the British Educational Research Association Coach-mentor for educational research

Appreciative peer-mentoring No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it. We must learn to see the world anew… Albert Einstein. P.S. Don’t look for problems as your starting point in undertaking research! Look for what you enjoy doing!

Appreciative peer-mentoring What do we already know about peer mentoring and undertaking research? Why might we need to find out more about mentoring and doing research? How might we use what we learn to improve our practice as educators?

Appreciative peer-mentoring What is Appreciative Peer-Mentoring? What kinds of resources using web-based technology already exist to enable APM? How can we use web-based technology to improve our APM and have fun on the way!

Appreciative peer-mentoring Mentoring is a dynamic process of interaction concerned with the easing transitions and enabling growth. This is a process of active creative engagement in education and not just finding evidence to support externally imposed standards of professional conduct… Fletcher, S. (2000) “Mentoring in Schools”

Appreciative peer-mentoring Your starting point as a mentor should be what your colleague or your student needs Ask them how it feels to do research and let him or her discuss their emotions if they need to as well as what has taken place in research they have already undertaken. You may decide to ask explorative questions but do so gently and listen to your colleague’s or student’s reply.

Appreciative peer-mentoring Here are some questions you might like to use to scaffold your mentoring dialogue; What do you think went well? Yes, I thought so too! What about? Why do you think it went well? How did you feel when that was happening? What do you think didn't go quite as well as you planned? What might you do differently next time? I also liked how you…. what do you think?

Appreciative peer-mentoring As artists we assist others and ourselves to learn. As mentors we: Actualise professional and personal potential as an adult learners. Recognize, realise and celebrate capacity as collaborative professional knowledge creators. Extend educative influence with others (children and colleagues) and in so doing define and refine values, skills as well as understandings and knowledge…

Appreciative peer-mentoring What do I know about doing research? What can I bring to being a peer mentor? What do I know from being an artist that helps me to understand my own research? How can disability enrich or impede study? How might my own learning by self-study enable me to peer mentor someone else?

Appreciative peer-mentoring What is Appreciative Inquiry (Cooperrider)? discover (people talk to one another to discover the times when the organisation is at its best); dream (people are encouraged to invasion the organisation as if the peak moments discovered in the discover phrase was the norm rather than exceptional); design (a small team is empowered to design ways of creating the organisation that has been envisioned) and destiny (the final phase is to implement the changes.

Appreciative peer-mentoring Appreciative Inquiry is a form of action research starting from the basis of empowerment. We can integrate Appreciative Inquiry into arts-based action research. Appreciative mentoring empowers…

Appreciative peer-mentoring As educators seeking to meet others’ needs we should embrace change and learn from our/others’ mistakes. Old ways have their place and we should appreciate the good in them. We must be ready to see ourselves as learners too... Learning is a career long process.

Appreciative peer-mentoring Hazel Markus defines possible selves as representing individuals’ ideas of what they might become, what they would like to become what they're afraid of becoming Her model provides a conceptual link between cognition and motivation.

Appreciative peer-mentoring Coach-Mentoring can usefully embrace the concept of possible selves by enabling adult learners to explore the world of imagination and dreams as they orientate themselves to adapt to changing workplace situations…

Appreciative peer-mentoring You have given me the self-belief to carry out research through being extremely positive and above all interested in both my personal and professional development. Through action research, you have encouraged me to keep developing myself as well as my students as well as ensuring that people are aware of what I am up to (the broader community) and lots more besides…