First blog in a new series! A mentoring lens
In both of my jobs I am privileged to work with thousands of mentors every year and aside from having the time to do their jobs, one of the greatest challenges they always say they face is being able to bridge that gap between research and practice. Most mentors engage with research and read lots of papers, blogs and books but there is so much out there, that it can sometimes be difficult to see the wood for the trees. Having the time to consider and discuss the implications of academic research on our own practice, let alone articulate what the implications might perhaps be for other's practice is a gift that not many school based mentors are given. They would like to do more of it, but this work gets lost in amongst the other competing jobs a mentor has, which are all jostling for their limited time. So here's the thing...I am unbelievably lucky to be able to think deeply about this stuff and to have the time as part of my role as England's only Principal Lecturer in ment
