Telementor Guide
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How much help is too much? We are often asked by mentors how much help is too much. This is a fair question; and it is important not to oversimplify the answer. When students make what they believe are reasonable requests of their telementors, only to be rebuffed with the assertion that "I know the answer to your question, but I don't think I should tell you, it can shatter the collegial spirit that a mentor should, ideally, be building with his or her mentees. We have sometimes seen mentors make up rules that, for instance, it is okay to offer students hints about the terms to use in a web search, but not to provide specific URLs. Alternatively, they may think that it is fine to provide web links, but not to explain difficult concepts in their own words. In the end, however, these rules are just ways to avoid the question of what students are supposed to be learning. Whether or not it is right, in a given case, to offer students web links, or definitions for terms, or explanations of difficult concepts depends entirely on the teacher’s goals for the class. If you find yourself in doubt about how much help would be "too much", it should help to ask yourself four questions: What effort would this particular answer or piece of advice save the students? What learning opportunities would it forfeit? What learning opportunities would it make more accessible? Which of these learning opportunities is closest to the overall learning goal for the students' work? If any of these questions don't seem answerable, it is important to take them to the classroom teacher or project coordinator as soon as you can.Figuring out the learning goals for an investigation, making these clear to students, and evaluating whether or not students have met the goals are things that a teacher can do far better than a telementor. As a volunteer, you should feel that it is your right to ask the teacher (or project coordinator) as many questions as you need to understand what your mentees are supposed to be learning, and what the limits of your role are.
How can you know what your mentees know?
What does telementoring bring to the classroom?
Why telementoring?
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