Vision of the Mentorship Program
As a non-profit organization focused on serving the members of our teaching
community, the role of OHASSTA-AESHO is to facilitate the professional development and
personal growth of educators. This mentorship program aims to pair mentors and mentees to provide a mutually beneficial learning experience, to support the implementation of civic education, and to produce a publishable collaborative project specifically in the context of the CHV2O Civics and Citizenship half credit course in grade 10.
Mentorship Program Objectives
● To encourage continual professional growth for those teachers who deliver the CHV2O course
● To encourage active cooperation among civics educators at all levels and from all parts of the province
● To facilitate communication among groups and persons interested in civic education in Ontario and to increase the overall integrity of civic education
● To maintain a high standard of pedagogical collaboration that results in high-yield, authentic classroom strategies and/or lessons.
The OHASSTA-AESHO mentorship program will provide an opportunity to teachers of civics to learn from each other and to share skills and knowledge. The purpose of a
mentorship program is to help civics educators at different points in their career to improve their teaching practices. While the civics teacher with more experience is the mentor and the teacher beginning their journey teaching civics is the mentee, this program is designed to allow each to learn from the other’s experiences, knowledge and skills so both can improve their professional practice and improve the overall integrity of the credit across the province.
Role of the Mentor
The role of the mentor is to provide guidance, advice, motivation and support to the
mentee. The mentor will:
-
Lead a professional learning community, based on strengths and needs of its members. The result of the collaborative learning will be a publishable product. The group will submit projects for CHV2O classes for online publishing. Identify and incorporate appropriate and professional resources and strategies
-
Demonstrate a mastery or exceptional level of understanding of the 2022 revised civics curriculum
-
Promote awareness of Culturally Responsive, Reflective and Sustainable Pedagogical approaches, strategies and content
-
Share information about their own career path
-
Provide constructive feedback
-
Develop trust and respect
-
Maintain confidentiality, professional practices and boundaries
-
The mentor will receive an honorarium.
-
Use hivebrite workspace to collaborate with mentees and mentors on an established basis
-
Work with small group of mentees and share learning on OHASSTA-AESHO website
A mentor is not expected to:
● Provide complete lesson plans, unit plans or course plans
● Act in the role of a department head or administrator
Role of the Mentee
The role of the mentee is to share experiences, goals and be engaged in the
mentorship process. The mentee will:
-
Identify an area of civic education they would like to develop
-
Choose a mentor who is skilled in your area of interest
-
Meet with the mentor to determine goals, establish times to meet and identify the product of the professional learning they hope to share
-
Proactively engage with the learning process with team on the hivebrite platform
-
Use collaborative inquiry to explore new learning in the civics course
Examples of collaborative project opportunities:
● Design a unit plan with new curriculum expectations
● Integration of active learning opportunities such as role play, mock parliament, simulations
● Co-create an assessment task for unit or course that addresses universal design for learning
● Culturally Responsive Reflective and Sustainable Pedagogy - What does this look like in the classroom and throughout the design process?
Responsibilities of the OHASSTA-AESHO Program Managers
The administrator of the mentorship program shall be a member of the OHASSTA-AESHO general membership, decided upon by consensus by the Executive.
The administrator of the program shall:
1. Keep a record of the list of mentees and mentors in the archived files (e.g.,
hivebrite) for a minimum of 2 years. The purpose is to have a record of mentors to possibly match in the future with other mentees.
2. Provide opportunities for mentors and mentees to connect by facilitating use of the hivebrite platform.
3. Be available to both the mentors and mentees in a consulting capacity to answer questions and give guidance on the mentorship process as necessary.
4. Establish a timeline for the project and communicate expectations of participants.
5. Meet with the mentors and mentees at the start of the process to go over the terms of reference and parameters of the mentorship program.
6. At the end of the mentorship program, facilitate a meeting to share the final product and learning process with other groups.
Application to the Mentorship Program
In December 2022 OHASSTA-AESHO will put out a call for mentors via social media, email and board contacts. Once a list of mentors is finalized, a call for mentees will happen by January. Anticipated start of the program is February 2023. It is unknown whether this program will continue after the 2023 school year.
Privacy Laws and Concerns Relating to Students
The mentorship program is intended to be a meaningful program which is built on ethics of the teaching profession and trust. As such, there is an expectation that all parties (OSSTA-AESHO, mentor, mentee) respect the privacy laws in the teaching profession as outlined by statute and the Ontario College of Teachers. It is useful to consult and review as necessary the following 2019 document published by the Information Privacy Commission of Ontario titled: Privacy and Access to Information in Ontario Schools: A Guide for Educators
To be safe all parties should consider:
1. The privacy sections of the Education Act and applicable laws covering privacy of personal information, such as the MIFPPA.
2. All parties should ensure that all reasonable measures (i.e., sharing student work with names) are taken to protect students from harm to their personal safety or reputation.
3. Mentor and mentee should speak professionally about students in a manner that does not specifically center students out or discriminate against them.
4. The mentors’ students should know that the teacher is involved in the mentorship program and students’ information may be shared in a general way without identifying them. This gives the students the opportunity to share concerns.
5. Use all methods available to uphold cyber security when using shared technology or platforms.
Work Breakdown and Time Expectations
The expectation is that the program will not last longer than a semester or half a year.
However, each situation is unique and may be shorter or longer depending on the
needs of the mentor and mentee. The mentorship component should include at least 1 hour per week of real-time collaboration and communication on the hivebrite platform. Individual group schedules will be at their discretion.
The mentor shall receive an honorarium and an acknowledgement/ reference letter thanking them for their participation for their portfolio, and upon request, a copy can be sent to their
Principal. Please note that OHASSTA-AESHO will not provide or arrange for any time release to the mentor or the mentee to conduct the mentorship program. Opportunities to share the results of collaboration at OHASSTA-AESHO’s annual conference are encouraged.
The mentees shall benefit from a collaboration project with activities, assessments and classroom strategies that can be directly implemented into their classroom and will receive a certificate signed by the OHASSTA-AESHO President that they participated in the program for their portfolio. Opportunities to share the results of collaboration at OHASSTA-AESHO’s annual conference are encouraged.
Conflict Resolution Process:
It is recommended that:
1. As a first step, the mentor and mentee are encouraged to discuss the issues at hand with an open mind and a desire to work things out. Try to find a solution and create a plan to avoid the situation in the future.
2. If it is a conflict or issue of a more serious nature, then either the mentor or mentee can request that the Mentorship Program Administrator on the OHASSTA-AESHO Board of Directors to act as a mediator. The role of the mediator is to ensure that each person has a chance to tell their side of the story and help guide the parties to a solution. OHASSTA-AESHO is always available to give suggestions and feedback.
3. OHASSTA-AESHO reminds you that reporting issues or conflicts to the principal of the school constitute an adverse report as defined by AEFO, OECTA and OSSTF. All district union offices can give more information on this upon request. When this occurs, it is out of the teacher’s and OHASSTA-AESHO control. The outcome may be unpredictable and lead to teacher consequences at the school board level.
4. Social media can be used to promote the projects and the mentorship program, but all parties must abide by the rules of Professional Conduct outlined by the OCT.
5. If the issue of an incredibly serious nature, that is, a law is broken, or discrimination or harassment occurs, we advise that the proper authorities be contacted, and Federation protocols are followed.
Special Notes
1. The general expectation is that all parties in the Mentorship Program
participate in a manner that raises the profile and improves the overall integrity and perception of the Civics and Citizenship half-credit course in Ontario.
Furthermore, acting in this program will reflect the basic ethics and standards set out by the Ontario College of Teachers.
2. OHASSTA-AESHA program managers are available to consult with mentors at any
time if they require clarification on the process, counsel on boundaries between the mentor and mentee and any other help that we can provide. It is also expected that both the mentor and mentee assume responsibility for their learning in a respectful manner.
Mentorship Program Terms of Reference
OHASSTA-AESHO is a registered non-profit incorporated association which operates under a constitutional structure. Specifically, article 3.10 states one of the purposes of the organization is to “contribute to the professional development of History and Social Science teachers.” As this program is under the umbrella of OHASSTA-AESHO, it is expected that participants are expected to uphold standards of academic integrity through proper source acknowledgement and give professional and academic credit where it is due. (Note the program and the matching process must be facilitated by a director on the OHASSTA-AESHO Executive committee.
