This blog is based on a larger report from Michigan Virtual and explores the experiences of mentors working in different school settings. It additionally includes potential options for supporting mentors in their efforts to assist students in their online learning courses.
We are certainly living in uncharted waters right now. Who would have ever thought that we would be remote learning and teaching for the final
There exists an ever growing body of research on mentoring online students. In this article we seek to answer the question: What does this research tell us about mentoring K-12 online students?
Why are on-site mentors so important for online students? In this article, Jered Borup, a digital learning researcher and professor at George Mason University dives into research that supports the critical role that mentors play in highly successful online learning programs.
In 2017 and 2018, the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute published a series of blog posts written by Michigan Virtual’s Regional Mentor Leaders to bring to life what mentors do to build and maintain a supportive online learning environment to help students be successful. We thought it worthwhile to revisit these posts and again hear firsthand what mentors had to say about the work they actually do day to day and what it means to them.
The mentors of K-12 online learners wear many hats and serve as a critical pillar of support for their students. What is less commonly recognized is how mentors act as stewards of personalized learning for their online students. The constant pulse-checking mentors do with their students allows them to work with an online teacher to customize instruction and support based on their students’ needs.
In this month’s Mentor Forum, we hear from Debbie Lynch, our Outreach Coordinator for Mentors about the important role that mentors play in online learning and some strategies for connecting with and supporting online students.
This is the fifth in a series of blog posts written by Michigan Virtual’s Regional Mentor Leaders to bring to life what mentors do to build and maintain a supportive online learner environment to help students be successful. If you are a mentor and would like to share a strategy, a success story, or another topic that illustrates how you support students, please email [email protected].
