Assignment Task
Topic
What is mentoring, and how is it different from coaching? Discuss the characteristics and skills educators need to be effective mentors in a school environment. Use your findings to critique the efficacy of two mentoring models or frameworks.
The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate your understanding of mentoring for professional learning in education, as presented within the literature. It will be important to define mentoring and to explore the various theoretical underpinnings for mentoring in a school environment. These underpinnings may include philosophical, psychological, theological and social perspectives. Take time to define key terms and to identify significant issues that surround mentoring and professional learning.
The topic is thus quite broad, making it possible to approach from a number of different directions. It is important however to select a particular perspective, question, or argument, that the essay sets out to address.
Essay
1. Outline clearly for the reader at the start, the particular perspective, argument, or question that your essay is addressing. This helps prevent the essay from being simply a summary of things you have read.
2. Ensure that the reader can follow how each section joins to the next and how each is important in answering the perspective/argument/question outlined at the start.
3. Use a variety of credible sources to support your views. Ensure that your ideas/claims are backed up by other authors.
4. Only include in the reference section sources actually cited in the body of the essay (and vice versa).
5. Take time to both accept the ideas of others and to critique them, providing appropriate justifications for your arguments.
