Reverse Mentoring – Final Report

2016to2017 Pairingyouthwithpeoplewhoneedtoupgradetheirdigitalskills

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ReverseMentoring–FinalReport P A I R I N G Y O U T H W I T H P E O P L E W H O N E E D T O U P G R A D E T H E I R D I G I T A L S K I L L S

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 2

Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 4

Curriculum Development ....................................................................................................................... 5

Recruitment Process ............................................................................................................................... 7

Participant Criteria ................................................................................................................................. 8 MentorCriteria...........................................................................................................................................................................................9 MenteeCriteria........................................................................................................................................................................................10

Mentor Training ................................................................................................................................... 11

Pairing ................................................................................................................................................. 11

Support through process ..................................................................................................................... 12

Change to Model – High School .......................................................................................................... 13

Challenges & Learnings ...................................................................................................................... 16

Next Steps ........................................................................................................................................... 18

APPENDIX ........................................................................................................................................... 19 RecruitmentMaterials..........................................................................................................................................................................19 TechTeachCurriculum........................................................................................................................................................................19 MentoringAgreement...........................................................................................................................................................................19

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

LiteracyLinkNiagarawouldliketothanktheOntarioTrilliumFoundationforfundingtheReverse

MentoringProject.

Theprojectcouldnothavebeensuccessfulwithoutsupportfromtheadvisorycommittee.

Membersincluded

• AlanCherwinski,AlphaPlus

• DeberaFlynn,QUILLNetwork

• RachelCrane,NEXTNiagara

• StephanieHarper,NEXTNiagara

• DougNoyes,LiteracyLinkEasternOntario

• SarahStocker,ContactNorth

• GrahamSchaefer,EmploymentHelpCentre,NiagaraWest

LiteracyLinkNiagaraisgratefultotheprojectpartnerswhosupportedthecreation,deliveryand

evaluationofthepilotproject.Thesepartnersincluded

• NEXTNiagara

• LakeshoreHighSchool

• NiagaraRegionalHousing

• PortColbornePublicLibrary

Fouroutstandingadultliteracypractitionerseditedthecurriculum.Theircommentsand

suggestionswereparamounttothedeliveryofthetrainingmaterials.Thesepractitionerswere

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• JacklynCatterick,DistrictSchoolBoardofNiagara

• TinaDeluca,NiagaraCatholicDistrictSchoolBoard

• SaraGill,AdultBasicEducationAssociation

• NormandSavoie,L’ABCCommunautaire

LiteracyLinkNiagaraprojectstaffincluded

• ChristineEaton,ProjectCoordinator

• KarenSchmidt,ProjectSupport

• AshleyHoath-Murray,ProjectManagementandCurriculumDevelopment

• GayDouglas,ProjectManagement

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OVERVIEW

LiteracyLinkNiagarareceivedSeedFundingfromOntarioTrilliumFoundationtorunaReverse

MentoringpilotprojectfromMay2016toJune2017.Thepurposeofthepilotwastocreateand

testasystemwhereyouthundertheageof29werementoringpeoplewhowantedtoimprove

theirdigitalliteracyskills.

MentorswererecruitedthroughBrockUniversity,youthfocusedcommunityprograms,

employmentservicesandalocalhighschool.Mentorswereprovidedwithtoolsandtraining.

Thoseundertheageof18werealsoprovidedwithsupervisionduringmentor/menteemeetings.

Menteesdeterminedwhattheywantedtolearn.Theycouldchoosefromalistofmodules.

Modulesincluded

§ SocialMedia

§ InternetBrowsing

§ Tablet/SmartphoneUseandApplications

§ MicrosoftWordBasic

§ MicrosoftExcelBasic

§ GoogleDocs

Mentorsandmenteeswerematchedbasedonmenteeinterests,mentorskillsandlocation.The

expectationwasthatpairswouldcomplete10-12hourstogether,averagingonehourperweek.

Pairsthatcompletedwereeachgivena$50giftcard.Menteesreceivedacerti&icateofcompletion.

Mentorsreceivedaletterofreference.

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CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

LiteracyLinkNiagaraspoketoliteracypractitionersandadministratorstodeterminewhatareas

tofocusthecurriculum.Thecurriculumwascreatedinawaythatwouldappealtomanydifferent

menteeswithdifferentgoalpathsfromemployment,educationandindependence.

At$irst,themodulesweregoingincludeSocialMedia,InternetBrowsing,Tablet/SmartphoneUse,

MicrosoftWordBasicandMicrosoftExcelBasic.LiteracyLinkNiagaraplannedtodevelop

modulesforthe-irstthreeandutilizeafreewebsitecalledGCFLearnFreefortheMicrosoftpieces.

Thiswebsiteallowsuserstochoosewhichversionoftheprogramstheyhaveaccessto.IfLLN

weretodevelopsimilarcurriculum,theywouldhavehadtolimitittoafewversionsbecauseof

time.

Whendiscussingplanswiththeadvisorygroup,amemberfeltstronglythatGoogleDocsshouldbe

included.ThisfreeplatformissimilartotheMicrosoftprograms,butauserdoesn’thaveto

purchaseitandcanaccessitonmanydifferentdevices.Forthisreason,LLNincludeditinthe

curriculum.

Thecurriculumiswritteninawaythatiseasyforamentortouseandadapt.Itiswritteninplain

languageandlikeanaturalconversation.Thisallowsamentortoreadpiecesalouddirectlyfrom

itiftheychooseto.

Lessonsgivethementortheopportunitytointroduceanewtopictothementee.Discussion

questionsareincludedtocreateadialoguethatmakestheinformationrelevanttothementee.

Activitiesareincludedattheendofeverylessontohelpreinforceandpracticewhathasbeen

learned.

Thecurriculumendedupbeingmuchlongerandin-depththanoriginallyplanned.Thestylecan

bereplicatedwithmorematerial/topicsinthefuture.Itiswritteninawaythattriestoreducethe

speedoftheinformationbecomingobsolete.Insteadofusinglinks,itasksusersto“Google”

speci&ictermstoreceivethemostup-to-dateinformation.

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Fouradultliteracypractitionerseditedthecurriculum.Thefeedbackwasextremelypositive.The

curriculumisalsousefultoliteracypractitionerswhoworkwithadultlearnerstoupgradedigital

literacyskills.

TheSocialMediamodulewastranslatedintoFrench.ItcanbefoundinAPPENDIXB.

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RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Materialsweredistributedtoadultliteracyagencies,employmentserviceagenciesandother

communityserviceagenciesatLeadersinAdultLearningBreakfast.Materialswereemailed

throughtheNiagaraEmploymentNetworkdatabase.TheywerepostedonBrockStudent

Services,NiagaraCollegeVolunteerBoardandNEXTNiagarasocialmediaoutlets.

Mentorsshowedinterestbycompletingasurveymonkey.Interestwasfolloweduptodetermineif

theywereagood,itfortheprogramandsetatrainingtime.

Menteescalledtoregisterandcompletedaquick-screentodeterminewhathelptheycouldbene3it

from.Stafffollowedupwiththemtosetameetingwithamentorwhenamatchwasfound.

MaterialscanbefoundintheAPPENDIXA.

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PARTICIPANT CRITERIA

Belowisthementorandmenteecriterionforparticipants.

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MentorCriteria

ToparticipateintheReverseMentoringproject,Mentorsneededto

• bebetween18and29

• becon'identintheirskillsintwoormoreofthefollowingareas

o Socialmedia(Facebook,twitter,Instagram)

o MicrosoftWordbasic

o MicrosoftExcelbasic

o InternetandWebbrowsing

o Tablet/Smartphoneuseandapplications

o GoogleDocs

• bewillingtomeetone-on-onetomentoraclienttoupgradetheirdigitalliteracyfora

minimumof6meetings

Theprojecttriedtotargetmentorswho

• couldspeak'luentfrench

• identi&iedasindigenous

• wereunemployedorunderemployed

Mentor›apersonwhogivesalessexperiencedpersonhelpandadviceovera

periodoftime

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MenteeCriteria

ToparticipateintheReverseMentoringproject,Menteesneededto

• beunemployedorunderemployed(20hoursperweekorless)

• fallintolevel1or2intheOntarioAdultLiteracyCurriculumFrameworkforDigital

Technology–identi&iedthroughself-assessmentchecklist

• needassistanceintwoormoreofthefollowingareas

o Socialmedia(Facebook,twitter,Instagram)

o MicrosoftWordbasic

o MicrosoftExcelbasic

o InternetandWebbrowsing

o Tablet/Smartphoneuseandapplications

o GoogleDocs

• bewillingtomeetone-on-onewithamentortoupgradetheirdigitalliteracyfora

minimumof6meetings

Theprojecttriedtotargetmenteeswhoidenti/iedas

• Francophone

• Aboriginal

• Newcomer

• Personwithadisability

• Singleparent

Mentee›someonewhoisgivensupportandadviceaboutbyamentor(amore

experiencedpersonwhohelpsthem)

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MENTOR TRAINING

Originally,LiteracyLinkNiagaraplannedtohold2hourtrainingsessionsformentors.Itwas

discoveredearlyonthatthiswasnotthe1irstchoiceforyouth.Youthpreferred1lexible,informal

meetings.Theydidn’twanttowatchaPowerPointpresentation,participatedinicebreakersor

learnthehistoryoftheproject.Theywantedthebarebonesofwhatwasexpectedofthemand

tangibletipsandtrickstomentoring.

Meetingsweremovedtoinformallocations–cafes,restaurants,andlibraries–inaneffortto

increasethementorshowrate.Stafffollowedashortlistofthingsmentorsneedtoknowandleft

therestuptothementortodirectthemeetings.Staffstayeduntilalltheirquestionswere

answeredandtheyfeltcon+identmovingforwardintothepairingphase.

Themainpurposeofthetrainingwastosharethecurriculumandhowtouseit.Mentorswere

askedtofollowthecurriculum,butaddinadditionalinformationiftheythoughtthatitmighthelp

thementeemeettheirlearninggoals.ThecurriculumcanbefoundinAPPENDIXB.

PAIRING

Staffmetwithmentorsandmenteesinapublicsettingtointroducethemtoeachotherandreview

theprojectguidelines.TheywereaskedtocompleteaMentoringAgreementthathelpedoutline

theboundariesoftherelationship.ThiscanbefoundinAPPENDIXC.

9pairssuccessfullycompletedtheprogram.Another4mentorsweretrained,butwereunableto

bematchedbecauseofthedistanceawayfromavailablementees.10menteeswereunabletobe

matchedbecauseofthesamelocationissue.Inthefuture,theprogramwouldconcentrateon

speci&icneighbourhoodsormunicipalitiestoensurethisissuedidnotarise.

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SUPPORT THROUGH PROCESS

LiteracyLinkNiagarastaffofferedsupporttobothmentorsandmenteesduringtheprocess.They

checkedinregularlythroughphoneandemail.Mentorswereaskedtocompleteasurveymonkey

aftereachmeeting.Menteeswerecalledaftereverythreemeetingstoseehowtheyfelttheir

learningwasprogressing.

Menteeswerethedriversoftheirlearning.Theydecidedwhattheywantedtolearnwithinthe

perimetersofthecurriculum.Ifthecurriculumdidn’tmeettheirgoals,itwasmodi#ied.Pieces

thatwereirrelevanttotheirgoalswereexcluded.Mentorsweregiventheopportunitytoshare

othertipsandtricksoutsidethecurriculumthattheyfeltwouldbehelpful.Staffwereavailableto

provideguidanceandsupportwithmodi3ications.

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CHANGE TO MODEL – HIGH SCHOOL

Oneofthebiggestlearningsthroughouttheprojectwasaroundthestructureoftheprogram.At

!irst,attractingHighSchoolstudentswasidenti!iedasamorecomplicatedprocess.Formentors

overtheageof18andnotaf/iliatedwithaHighSchool,theassumptionwasmadethattheycould

meetwiththeirmenteeinapublicspaceontheirowntime.WithHighSchoolstudents,

supervisionwasmorecomplicated.Forthisreason,the6irstmodelleantmoretouniversity

students.

At$irst,over30BrockUniversitystudentsregisteredfortheprogram.WhenLLNstaffbegan

followinguptobooktraining,thenumbersofinterestedmenteesdwindledquickly.Manywould

registerfortraining,butnotshowup.Thetrainingmodelwasadaptedtobemoreinformalwith

somesuccess,butstillthehoursspentattemptingtorecruitandmatchweremuchhigherthan

expected.

InlateFall2016,LiteracyLinkNiagarahadachangeofstaff.Anewprojectcoordinatorbrought

newenergyandideastotheproject.Withherconnectionsandenthusiasm,shewasgametopilot

anewmodelthatinvolvedHighSchoolstudents.

ShemetwithMr.Gifford,thePrincipalofLakeshoreCatholicHighSchool,togiveanoverviewof

theprojectanddiscussthepossibilityofworkingtogether.SheexplainedtheMentee/Mentorroles

andeligibilitycriteria,andthestudentbene2itsofgainingvaluablementoringexperience,

connectingwithmembersofthelocalcommunityandearningcommunityinvolvementhours.

Questionswereraisedaroundthelogisticsoftheproject,howtheMenteerecruitmentwas

facilitatedandwhethercriminalbackgroundcheckswereconductedtoensurethesafetyofthe

studentsworkingwithadultsovertheageof30.AsLLNdoesnotconductbackgroundcheckson

Mentees,theHighSchoolwasunabletohosttheprojectonsite.Tocircumventthispotential

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obstacleandmovetheprojectforward,theprojectcoordinatorcontactedthePortColborne

Librarytobegindiscussionsaroundhostingtheproject.

TheHeadLibrarianwasthrilledattheideaofpartneringwithLLNtoofferwhattheyconsidereda

much-neededprogramwithinthecommunity.Safetyconcernswerealsoraisedregardingthe

pairingofunderagestudentswithadults.Aquicksolutiontothisproblemwastobeonsite

supervisingforthedurationofthesessionseachtimethepairsmet.TheLibraryquicklyagreedto

reservingcomputersystemsandmeetingspacesforourMentor/Menteepairsatapredetermined

weeklydateandtime.Recruitment2lyerswerealsopostedforinterestedcommunitymembers

whoaccessthelibrary.

TherecruitmentofbothMenteesandMentorsthenbegan.Mr.Giffordpresentedtheprojecttohis

DepartmentHeadsandtheGuidancedepartmentwhobothreceivedreferralprotocoltoensure

interestedstudentwereabletogetstartedasMentors.Attemptsweremadetopartnerwiththe

localFriendsOver55CommunityCentreyetduetopriorcommitments,theywerenotableto

assistwiththerecruitment.Theydidhoweverpostrecruitment5lyersaroundtheCentreand

expressedinterestinworkingtogetherintheFallshouldtheprojectcontinue.Recruitmentthen

beganthroughwordofmouthinthecommunityandsecuredMenteestopairwithinterested

studentMentors.Menteesincludedretiredprofessionals,businessownersandparttimeworkers,

allrequestingtolearndifferentmoduleswithinthecurriculum.

AgroupfacilitatedMentortrainingsession,coveringanoverviewoftheprojectandcurriculum,

tookplaceattheLibrarytheweekpriortothesessionsstarting.Onetoonemeetings,where

MentorswerepairedwiththeirrespectiveMentees,werescheduled.Theintroductorymeeting

includedatouroftheLibrarymeetingspace,areviewofthemodulesofinterestandthe

completionoftheMentoringAgreement.

Sessionsbeganthefollowingweek.MentorstailoredtheteachingtomeettheMenteesidenti7ied

areasofinterestspeci-ictoavailablemodules.Havingonsitesupervisionallowedforobservation

oftheteachingandlearning.Inaddition,itprovidedopportunitytocheckinwiththepairsand

giveobservationalfeedbackimmediatelyafterwards.Thisprocesskeptthestudentsengagedand

motivatedprovidedtheMenteeswithanopportunitytosharerealtimethoughtsand/orconcerns

andsatis(iedthepotentialsafetyconcern.

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CommunicationremainedconsistentwiththeHeadLibrarianandonsitesupportstaffduringthe

weeklysessions.Feedbackreceivedwaspositiveandthecontinuationofthepartnershipinthe

futureiswellsupported.

FacultystaffatafollowupmeetingofferedsuggestionsonhowLLNcouldstrengthenthe

partnershipwithLakeshoreCatholicHighSchoolmovingforward.Timingofwhenproject

informationwassharedwiththeteachingandguidancestaffwasnoted.Toensureallstaffreceive

accurateandinclusiveinformation,itwasrecommendedtoscheduleabriefpresentationattheir

!irststaffmeetinglateAugustandagainatthebeginningofthesecondterm.

Asforrecruitment,itwasmentionedthatmoststudentsareeagertoearntheircommunity

involvementhoursbeginninglateSeptember.Grade12studentsinparticularneedtocomplete

thisrequirementfortheirOSSDandwouldbeabletoaddtheirparticipationintheprojecttotheir

scholarshipapplicationsthatgooutmid-January.

Thesuccessofthispilotedhighschoolmodelcanbehighlyattributedtotheco-operationand

accommodationoftheLibrarystaffandfacultystaffwhoseevalueinthisprojectandthecontinual

lifelonglearningthatitfosters.BothLakeshoreCatholicHighSchoolandthePortColbornePublic

Libraryhavecommittedtoanongoingpartnershipandlookforwardtoassistinginthegrowthand

deliveryofthisprojectinthefuture.

Asthemodelhasnowbeenestablishedandsuccessfullypiloted,LLNwillpursuefuturefundingto

speci&icallygrowthisprogramandreplicatethismodelinothermunicipalities.NiagaraWest

alreadyhasmenteeswaitingtobematchediftheprogramreceivesfuturefunding.

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CHALLENGES & LEARNINGS

Thisprojectwasajourneyinunderstandingthegenerationaldifferencesbetweenmillennialsand

otheradults.Belowisachartofourchallengesandlearningsoverthecourseoftheproject.

Challenges Learnings

Recruitmentofmentorsand

menteesinthesamelocations

At$irst,therecruitmentcallsweretoobroad.Mentorsand

Menteeswerewaitingtobematched,butwerenotinthesame

municipalities.Inthefuture,LLNwillfocusonspeci7ic

recruitmentcampaignsbytargetingareaswithpreparedyouth

mentorsthroughlocalHighSchools.

Mentortrainingstyles Youthdonotwanttositthroughlong,formaltrainingsessions.

Informalsessionswheretheycanasktheirownquestionsand

engagewiththetoolsaremoreappreciated.Coffeeorfood

offeringsincreaseretainment.

Supervisionofyouthunder18

whilevolunteering

Bothrecruitmentandretentionofmenteesandmentors

increasedwhensessionswereheldinthesamepublicspace

withanLLNstaffmembereveryweek.Thisnegatedconcern

oversafetyissues.Partneringwithalibraryorotherpublic

agencyalsoallowsmenteestoaccessadditionalcommunity

supportsifneeded.

Staffchanges–Communication

issueswithadvisoryand

partners

Havingastaffchangeduringahighlyinvolvedprojectwas

dif$icult.Whiletheprojectbene,itedwithaninjectionofideas

inthesecondphase,communicationbetweenLLNandthe

advisorycommitteeproveddif0icult.Inthefuture,LLNwill

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ensurethisisaprioritywithscheduledupdatesaspartofthe

projectplan.

Ambitiousprojectoutcomes WhileLLNconsidersthisprojecttohavepositivelearningsand

overallsuccess,theywouldnothaveidenti.iedsomanyproject

activitiesinashorttime.Thecurriculumalonetookmuch

longerthanexpected.Movingforward,LLNwillmakeproject

timelinesandoutcomesmorerealistictoavoidstaffburnout.

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NEXT STEPS

Theprojectreportandcurriculumwillbesharedwith16adultliteracynetworksthatcanpasson

theinformationtoover240adultliteracyagenciesinOntario.LiteracyLinkNiagarawillpostthe

projectreportandcurriculumontheirwebsite.Theyarecommittedtoupdatingthematerialfor

thenext36monthswhenchangestotechnologyoccur.

LiteracyLinkNiagaraiscommittedtorunningasmallcohortof6-8studentsthroughonehigh

schoolforthe2017-18year.LakeshoreHighSchoolinPortColborne,withthesupportofthe

publiclibrary,iswillingandreadytoparticipate.

WithallLiteracyLinkNiagarahaslearned,theyfeelreadytorolloutthishighschoolmodelto

additionalschools.Theywillbelookingforadditionalfundingtosupporttheongoinggrowthof

thisuniqueandneededprogram.

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APPENDIX

RecruitmentMaterials

TechTeachCurriculum

MentoringAgreement