Discover the project
Build knowledge with multi generational relationships in the framework of post-secondary research and university work.

MENTORING: A METHODOLOGY FOCUS

The term mentoring is the Indo-European root * men "think the meaning is. Over time, the noun itself became common to refer to the concept of counselor, guide, teacher. For the Royal Spanish Academy concept expressed and "act giving advice or guidance"; 2012 Universal Encyclopedia defines it as "person who advises, guides or inspires another, regarding this." Mosbys Dictionary, is defined in the field of medicine as "trusted person who provides advice, experience, offering valuable guidance to younger people."
Who receives the traditional way is called mentoring protected disciple or learner and the person with the most experience and knowledge creates a relationship of personal development to help other less experienced or less knowledge, teaches a skill, and material ... then gives support directly or indirectly opens the doors of knowledge and even their presence provides a range of opportunities and a recognition of what is known so far and give strength to the achievement of the goal.

Who plays the role of mentor, plays a very important and prominent in the field in which he is making is that mentoring is an authority in relation to their knowledge and experience and is recognized as such and therefore assumes that provides their knowledge according to the demand of the student.
This knowledge and experience is not enough to perform the role of mentor so below are the basics of mentoring and conditions.


Foundations and conditions of mentoring:

Among the most distinctive skills that should be deployed to perform mentoring are: communication skills, to provide advice, transfer of knowledge and experience clearly and ability to get to the other transmetre- indeed knowledge, tips and the other recognizes the role of mentor.


Support:

Described as an act of verbal communication: listen, advise, guide, encourage, stimulate, energize, confronted, questioned ...). allowing whoever accompanies lies and tries to model behavior affective, cognitive and communicative person accompanied. Therefore the support has different aspects: 1) ethics promoted by empathy, 2) theoretical promotes communication 3) technique from the individualization of situations and customizing processes according to individual needs, and 4) political and a form of regular people to be independent, responsible and able to take decisions (Mael-2015) because it is a form of control or standardization but a relational space that meets the needs.
It is therefore essential that this relationship helps another person even begins with an asymmetrical relationship strengthens the emancipation of the people so that actors reciprocity is fundamental so that the disparity of experience and know not a hindrance to equality in the relationship. (Cornu, 2015).

In this sense it is not a patronizing relationship but a walk together, based on the stable communication, dialogue (listening to another voice), and in particular to enter into a cooperative company, based on trust so that leaves imprint on the relationship because it implies recognition between people from a situation that allows to share a problem (Conrad, 2008).


Communication:

Speaking of relationships is talking about communication in the full sense of the word is considering all languages: physical, attitudinal and verbal is oral, written and no objective are planned in the relationship is minimized or not assessed seriously impact communication that goes beyond learning content to enhance the framework in which the relationship is built.
This communication involves recognizing the contact person, so it requires reciprocity and entails that create bonds of a sign or other assumed responsibility for the words used and their interpretation and, therefore, there must be a constant review to redirect any bias that could divert as much mutual understanding, in this case, learning from mistakes.
It is also essential to consider the strength of the language reflects the thoughts and mental processes that take place in order to organize and consider sharing not only information structured but open new fields to compare, review, compare, summarize features that go beyond the learning content to develop the mind and acquire new skills.

This communication process is put into play a series of processes (Mael, 2015):
* "Verbalize and transmit identity: Being in relation to the other person" (step).
* Talk: Word / story / explanation .. Because a situation may be shared. Prior learning, doubts, questions, identifying a situation that can evolve.
* Reflect / Reflexivity / awareness / away and put to question, to elaborate on what is said and what is doubt.
* Question / problematisation / subjectivity to make way for critical thinking has opened opportunities to question both what is said and what the person brings interlocutor.
* Preparation / re-development / Ability to "think different," assuming that discovers, after reflection and questioning about what they say, knew and learned.
All these processes are essential both in the relationship and in all the research that goes beyond collecting information for analysis and advance knowledge.


Reciprocity:

A condition of the support for sharing different moments of the relationship that combines the knowledge of each person lived, the knowledge, experience personal and professional information to relevant theoretical body to work and learn expert vocabulary necessary and the field itself serves to understand the theory and combined with the experience and knowledge acquired by each person. From this reciprocal exchange come a time to reflect and integrate new knowledge for the project to gain consistency.
This support is based on reciprocity of integrating type (Gaulier, Pesce 2015) so that there is mutual support and highlights, as well as experiences and theoretical universe, reflexivity and considers each site participant (Gaulier, 2009) and the fact that life is a journey and a collective global interest that gives personal growth of individuals from participation, promoting a balance that leads to reciprocity and entails between two people, a change of feelings, obligations and "services" (Pineau, 1998). Each person occupies different places: inbound and outbound for reciprocity situation interlocutive causes and impacts occur in help for sharing, communication environment and climate for the construction of a road that favors mutual recognition outside the point and allows everyone involved to progress.


Cooperation:

As the collaboration process can build together a relational network to improve mutual understanding between young and older people with knowledge sharing and increasing mutual trade.
Learning to be a key strategy for the harmonious development of people throughout their lives and promotes opportunities available to articulate and enhance the personal experience to increase it and share it with others. By the time that involves different ages, dynamics and the process have more sense than if it occurs between people of the same generation, so they put together different points of view and experiences.
This cooperation between generations can participate in the learning process linked to the interests and needs of the young generation, having the knowledge of the senior generation, access and use information technology and communication, sharing and access to knowledge and experience the senior generation.


Evaluation:

The project calls for its features, an evaluation from two different aspects: qualitative and quantitative qualitative being the most important.
The process of evaluation of a project of this nature can not be the end, valuing the product, but must do so in different procedural found that walking and also to be assessed there are very different views according to the role of the person implicated by the subjective and different points of view from which they are assessed extraordinary influence.
A first step that must be guaranteed is that, in any case, the senior teachers are judging or evaluating, its powers or role in this process. Indeed, the specific content can have different work, the senior person may have a field of knowledge and training very different from teaching which does not imply a value judgment. It can also be a coincidence that the field of training of the senior author and teacher is the same but you can see differential approaches or views. In this case it may be more complex but the senior author should be explicit in any way that will affect the guidance from teachers to provide tutoring to students.

It is also important that teachers can listen, evaluate and analyze the contributions made by the senior person without involving a smear or a personal level or against the students. The contributions made to analyze and evaluate different points of view is a factor of great interest to students who may witness a reasonable and reasoned analysis of different views of a subject they are interested is doing research since in his professional life will certainly many times when there will be a debate and reflection and analysis before making decisions.
Students will also participate in the evaluation of this process as much of their work, the results and the experiences they had shared this debate and contributions, attitudes and information received from the senior generation and the person holding the tutorial. Surely this analysis from different points of view, the assessment process and can reach a high level of satisfaction above all relations established between the three generations. With greater perspective will be important to assess how the stereotypes associated with age for both of the senior generation to the younger generation as the reverse effect and see if you get a wider than strictly individual.
The quantitative assessment can be made depending on the number of people involved, the number of works in a multi well as the impact that it can have both in the community and in institutions where they have done.

Finally are the participants themselves who will be formulating criteria that allow to assess, make documents, seminars, publications .. you can highlight the value and impact of the approach of this project.