An evaluation of a pilot mentoring project

1. Recognising Excellence in
Teaching (RET)
An evaluation of a pilot mentoring project
Dr Janis McIntyre Davidson
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2. Policy context
• Increasing focus on the quality of teaching in UK Higher Education:
“significant movement towards recognising and rewarding teaching
excellence”, (Pickford, 2018)
Glasgow context
• Recognising Excellence in Teaching (RET), the University of Glasgow’s
CPD framework aligned to the UKPSF
• Accredited by the HEA in 2014, reviewed within the institution in 2017
• Mentoring in RET

3. Evaluation of the RET mentoring Project
Questions:
1. whether and how mentoring
supports successful RET applications
2. what was the impact of the role
of mentor on academic staff
• Qualitative approach
• Ethics approval from the University
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4. What I did
• 1 focus group and 1 individual interview with the RET mentors
• Individual interviews with 5 mentees
• Thematic analysis of transcripts of data, guided by Braun & Clarke’s (2006)
and Lichtman’s (2013) approach to coding
What I did not do
• Narrative analysis of mentee interviews
NB None of the mentees had submitted their application for RET Fellowship
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5. What I found Challenges: mentors
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we went through the classic sort of, well ‘where do you
want to meet, when should we meet, I could meet
then’…we must have spent a fortnight agreeing a 3-week
window…and eventually we found a day
I think the problem is that nobody knew who was in charge
Difficulties with
practical
arrangements &
keeping in touch
so they didn’t know who should take the lead, and I didn’t want
to take the lead because I'm not meant to be telling them what
to do, I’m just meant to be helping them if they need
Uncertainty about
who should lead
the mentoring
process

6. Feeling uncertain about the role, and lacking confidence
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I thought the objectives,
meeting the different
standards and stuff was
quite well-presented but I
wasn’t sure how much
guidance to give on how it
was written
when I was giving feedback on the one
that was submitted, I did find that a bit
nerve-racking actually. Hers was quite
good, I mean, but there was an element
of ‘who am I to tell her?’…maybe her
opinion is just as good as mine
it’s not like when you’re giving feedback to students where you know exactly what
the criteria are, you know exactly what you’re looking for and you can say ‘this, this,
this and this is what you should do here and I think you need to go and do that’

7. What I found Rewards: mentors
Opportunity to see &
hear about learning &
teaching practice
Enjoyment
Acting as an informal Encouraging colleagues to apply for Fellowship
champion of the Answering questions about the application process
Framework: Reading drafts of colleagues’ applications (whether mentee or not)
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it gives a better idea of what’s going
on in other places, especially in that
case it was a different College, so I can
find out the mysteries of medical
But I like the fact I’ve done it and I think I
benefitted from it but I doubt I could
quantify it, but again it’s seeing how other
people are doing it

8. What I found Mentees
Challenges
• Difficult to find time to meet
• Uncertainty about who leads
• Need for more structure or an
agenda for the meetings
• Frustration with group
“But it didn't quite pan out that way
because some people didn't manage
along or they were running late and so
we would, you know, it was a bit of a
staggered kind of meeting if you like.
So, I'm not sure that we probably
maximised the time with the mentor
really”
Benefits
• Knowing the mentors have been
through the process
• Getting feedback on the
application
• Sharing ideas about case studies
• Keeping the group together
• Less intimidating than LEADS
staff
• Complementary to the RET
workshops
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9. Strong theme for all the mentees…
… guilt about not submitting their Fellowship application
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Yes, I think there's always going
to be drift, I don't think you can
plan ahead because obviously I
was thinking of doing it straight
away and now it's not, it's kind of
slipping ever further into the
future
I've certainly not put in my
application. So, I'm not sure that
I kind of got the most out of it
just simply because I didn't really
pursue the application when I
hoped to do it, you know, to
submit . Did not make the most
of the opportunity that mentor
provided.

10. Does mentoring support successful RET applications?
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Yes No

11. Impact on professional development of academic staff
Confidence to take on another similar role
Skills in reflecting and writing about teaching
Maintaining connection with the UKPSF
Part of P&DR conversations
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12. 16/11/18 SEDA 23rd Annual Conference 12
it gave me
something to
say in a box I
otherwise used
to have to leave
empty
it’s interesting, I’m very happy to
do it and I think it’s a good way to
encourage it, but it’s not…I mean
it’ll go on a PDR form but it won’t
be acknowledged really anywhere
in workload…
I know I had it on the PDR and I must
have said something about the
mentoring because I’ll try and make
something of it, you know ‘I’m doing
this and isn’t it wonderful?’…

13. Recent related literature
“Colleagues who have received validation of their current practice also
appear more confident engaging in dialogue with colleagues around
what constitutes good teaching and learning practice. They appeared
more willing to lead and mentor colleagues in relation to teaching and
learning personal development” (Botham, 2018a, p.173)
“One key finding was the real value of ensuring that applicants received
some mentorship from within their own departments often combined
with mentorship from Academic Developers” (Botham, 2018b, p.186)
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14. Share practice
1. What are your responses to the
research?
i. Do you recognise the challenge of
encouraging staff to apply for Fellowship?
ii. How do you do this?
2. Do you utilise mentoring in your context?
i. What have you found are the benefits
and challenges of implementing mentoring?
ii. What do you think are the support &
development needs of potential mentors?
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15. Next steps
• Recruit more mentors
• Provide additional support
& development
• Continue to monitor the
success of the scheme
•Teaching Excellence Network
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16. Sources:
• Botham, K.A. (2018a). The perceived impact on academics’ teaching practice of
engaging with a higher education institutions' CPD scheme. Innovations in Education
and Teaching International, 55:2, 164-175
• Botham, K.A. (2018b). An analysis of the factors that affect engagement of Higher
Education teachers within an institutional professional development scheme.
Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 55:2, 176-189
• Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative
Research in Psychology, Vol 3, 77-101.
• Lichtman, M. (2013). Qualitative research in education. A user’s guide(3rd ed.).
London:Sage
• Pickford, R. (2018). A blueprint for teaching excellence. Journal of Perspectives in
Applied Academic Practice, Vol 6 (1),98-102
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17. #UofGWorldChangers
@UofGlasgow
Thank you
Janis.Davidson@glasgow.ac.uk