{"id":83024,"date":"2023-09-28T09:12:35","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T13:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michiganvirtual.site.strattic.io\/?p=83024"},"modified":"2023-10-26T14:06:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T18:06:18","slug":"mapping-the-mentorship-landscape-insights-on-mentoring-in-different-school-settings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michiganvirtual.org\/blog\/mapping-the-mentorship-landscape-insights-on-mentoring-in-different-school-settings\/","title":{"rendered":"Mapping the Mentorship Landscape: Insights on Mentoring in Different School Settings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why Mentoring Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As per Michigan state requirements<\/a>, students taking online courses are provided with a school district employee who can support them throughout the process. These employees who support students in a myriad of ways are typically referred to as mentors. By forming strong relationships with students, mentors can help students make informed choices regarding their learning (e.g., course enrollments), motivate them to engage with course content, monitor their progress and performance, and encourage them throughout the term\/semester.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The student support strategies used by mentors seem to have quantifiable benefits. Previous research has shown that having a mentor for an online course increases the pass rate for students (Roblyer et al., 2008 as cited in Lynch, 2019). Students also report that they get support from their mentors, in addition to, and sometimes above that of their instructors (Borup et al., 2018).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highlighting Mentor Student Loads Across Locales<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Because of the pivotal role mentors play in supporting students, it is important to understand the experiences of mentors in schools with varying locales (urban, suburban, town, rural). A better understanding of mentors\u2019 student loads can help provide insight into their workloads and resources that might benefit their efforts to support students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results discussed in this blog are part of a larger study conducted by the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute<\/em> and are detailed in this report<\/a>. Briefly, data about mentors\u2019 student load, communication with instructors, and building and districts\u2019 locale codes were collected from Michigan Virtual mentors in the Spring of 2023 via student learning interfaces<\/a> and an end-of-the-year survey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the state, mentors are busy <\/em>supporting students! The number of students assigned to a mentor, often referred to as their ‘student load,’ varies significantly depending on the type of setting they work in. Mentors working in school buildings located in towns carry the heaviest student loads, as they are assigned around 17 students on average. Similarly, those in rural school buildings aren\u2019t far behind with an average student load of about 15. In contrast, mentors in city buildings have roughly half the number of students assigned to them, with an average load of only eight students. Zooming out to the district level, things follow a pretty similar trend; however, mentors in rural districts have slightly higher student loads compared to towns, but the difference was less than one student per mentor on average. The figure below shows mentors\u2019 student loads across varying building and district locales.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what’s the main takeaway here? The number of students mentors work with can change depending on where they work. While mentors in towns, rural areas, and suburbs generally have similar student loads, those in cities usually work with fewer students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"