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Introduction 3
Mentoring versus Coaching?
Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably as mentioned in later chapters of this book. Mentors do some coaching, and coaches do some mentoring, but for the purpose of this book, we define mentoring in an academic setting as a way of introducing, orienting, familiarizing, or guiding someone in the stages of a practice, profession, discipline, or those new to online teaching or learning, or new to a community or institution. However, coaching seeks to help someone (who may or may not have a substantial degree of experience or expertise in a particular area) to im- prove skills or understanding, refine, or revise their practice. Coaching may often focus on a particular area for improvement while mentoring often has the aim of providing a broader spectrum of support. Coaching sometimes is built on the premise of providing the structure and processes for self-improvement or advancement.
A faculty member new to online or new to teaching in general will likely seek a mentor; a faculty member who has been teaching in person for 20 years but is new to online may also seek a mentor. A faculty mem- ber who has been teaching online for a good many years but has recently struggled with new technologies or is dissatisfied with student outcomes might, however, seek a coach, as might a faculty member who seeks help in carrying out a specific pedagogical approach. In the context of online teaching and learning, faculty might approach a mentor for a quick fix to a specific technology – “how-to” problem but may be receptive to larger questions of the “when” and “why” to use the technology, or how to in- tegrate the technology into the overall instructional design of the course. Similarly, a student might ask a mentor for assistance with a very specific or narrow concern, but the resulting interaction between a mentor and a mentee can lead to something more far reaching than initially anticipated. A mentor typically has more contextual understanding to enrich an oth- erwise seemingly simple exchange.
Looking at it from this vantage point, our book is about mentoring in all its manifestations rather than coaching, but we recognize that some of the interactions that might be associated with coaching will often fall under the rubric of mentoring as well, so that even if you prefer to refer to your program as “coaching,” we think you might find this book is still relevant and applicable to your concerns.
Informal versus Formal Mentoring
In the literature on mentoring (the majority of which is about in-person mentoring), a number of different structures or organizations for men- toring that have been established are discussed. Some of these models