No doubt, students appreciate the talks they have with their mentors but do they learn from it as well? Conversations can be comforting or confronting, but above all they need to be helpful in the attainment of a higher level of proficiency and understanding. Are you, as a mentor, up to the task of “climbing the mountain”; that is, to attain the goals you have set with your students and create a truly learning conversation?
Conversations are a prime tool in a mentoring relationship. Keeping track of the flow and direction of a conversation is a crucial element in mentor professionalism and a condition to ascertain learning will happen. Mentoring for Learning: “Climbing the Mountain” concentrates on the need to get grip on what happens during a conversation between a mentor and a mentee to enable both mentor and mentee to understand the nature and route of their talks.
The book provides tools for the professional development of mentors to conduct learning conversations.