Faculty Induction and Mentoring

The Faculty Induction and Mentoring program, coordinated by the Brobst Center for Teaching and Learning Services, is a two-year program for all new full-time faculty.

The program is designed to build positive relationships through mentoring by faculty and administrators to facilitate learning and to strengthen the likelihood of teaching success and faculty and student retention through learning, modeling, and guided practice of research-based instructional practices.

New Faculty Courses and Workshops

New full-time faculty must complete the following courses and workshops during the first two years:

• New Faculty Orientation including Canvas Basic Orientation
• Teaching for Learning @Hawkeye
• Assessment of Student Learning
• Strategies for Effective Online Learning
• Inclusive and Effective Instruction: Best Practices in Teaching

These learning opportunities will be held on Tuesdays from 3:00–4:30pm unless otherwise noted.

Pre-registration is required.

New Faculty Mentoring

Along with the above courses and workshops, new full-time faculty must complete two years of mentoring with their mentor assigned by the Brobst Center for Teaching and Learning Services.

Mentors have at least three years of teaching experience and the respect of their colleagues and students, they are trained in instructional coaching to support new full-time faculty in developing their unique talents and skills, and they come from outside the mentee's department.

Our goal is to help new full-time faculty become consciously competent in the development of their teaching for learning practices.

Mentors and mentees are expected to meet at least once per month. Meeting dates and collaboration logs will be provided to the Brobst Center director for verification purposes.

Year One Focus

• Assist mentee in the development of a teaching philosophy.
• Support mentee in planning instruction.
• Guide mentee, through use of reflective questioning, to identify their strengths and areas for improvement in teaching.

At the end of year one, the mentee will have a written teaching philosophy.

Year Two Focus

• Coach the mentee’s instructional practice to be aligned with their teaching philosophy developed during year one.
• Support the mentee in understanding Hawkeye’s Quality Faculty Plan.
• Guide the mentee as they create a teaching portfolio.

At the end of year two, the mentee will have a written teaching portfolio.

Becoming a Mentor

Remember what it was like to be a new faculty member? Did you feel as though you’d been dumped into a black hole of preparation, policy, and practices that you had little clue about? Did you find someone to help you or did you wish you had?

Every new full-time faculty member and every experienced faculty member trying something new at Hawkeye deserves to have a strong support system. Mentors are coordinated and trained through the Brobst Center for Teaching and Learning Services. Currently, we have mentoring for new full-time instructors.

The goal of mentoring is to provide instructional coaching, support, and resources from experienced teachers to help new full-time faculty:

• Articulate their teaching philosophy.
• Use their strengths to be the best teacher they can be.
• Plan, implement, reflect, and improve on their teaching practices.

To become a mentor, you must have the following qualifications:

• Have at least three years of teaching experience at Hawkeye and the respect of your colleagues and students.
• Have good listening behaviors, reflective questioning skills, and an approachable demeanor.
• Realize they don’t have all the answers and certainly not the only answer.
• Are curious learners who are willing to do the reflective work necessary to improve their own teaching practice.
• Lead through example.
• Are familiar with the resources and research that can support their mentee.

Mentors work with their mentee every four to six weeks for the first two years of the mentee’s employment at Hawkeye. They also meet with the director of the Brobst Center for Teaching and Learning Services two or three times a year for training in instructional coaching and dialogue about strategies, current challenges, etc.

If selected to be a mentor you will be matched with a new faculty member from an outside department and often times, outside your division.

It is assumed that new faculty also receive support from the department in which they teach on operational issues as well as curriculum and instructional support.

Benefits for the Mentor

There is so much in it for you! Other mentors have found their mentor-mentee relationship as one of the most meaningful things they have done professionally. Mentors often say they hope they’ve given at least as much as they’ve taken from the experience.

And if that’s not enough, you can receive credit for being a mentor on the Quality Faculty Plan.

Interested?

Contact the director of the Brobst Center for Teaching and Learning Services to become a mentor.