Structured reflections – questions

Overview

Structuring the mentoring session can provide value to the mentor and mentee creating a sense of familiarity and allows for an easy way to start and continue conversations.  One such way is to have a template of questions that work for the specific relationship.  This page introduces one possible structure.

Theoretical perspectives

There is no one right way of running a mentoring session; the main thing is that both the mentor and mentee find value in the session and collaborate on learning and knowledge creation.  There are many ways to do this; one way is to use a framework of questions that has been introduced to reflection coaches in the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship mentoring program at the University of Edinburgh.

Framework

This framework can be adapted to suit each mentor/mentee pair.  You can start each session  going over:

• three successes the mentee has had,
• three challenges the mentee has had, and
• three things the mentee is working on at the moment and would like help with.

Spend as much or little time on each of the questions.  Often things that are brought up in these questions can be a springboard for the rest of the conversation.  One such thing can be identifying the right people for the mentee to engage with for help or debriefing challenges and successes - for instance, using a reflective model (see, structured reflection – model).

Furthermore, if the framework is being used throughout the mentoring relationship, it can make sense to incorporate a question relating to how things discussed in the previous session went – for instance, how have the mentee progressed on the challenges, have they implemented some of the learning that was identified and so forth.

Context for mentoring African International Students

This framework has been used by mentors, and a lot of African International Students on the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship have responded positively. Just as with all other tools, it should be used consciously.  Checking in routinely with your mentee to see if they enjoy and are getting value from the framework is a good way to enhance your relationship and ensure that the mentee is a part of the decision-making processes in your relationship.  Getting your mentees input on what questions that they would like to work through in your sessions (whether that is structured or unstructured) is crucial to ensure that the mentee feels that the session is a space for shared knowledge creation and development.