Tim Gunn, Morpheus, and Gandalf: Reimagining What Mentorship Means

Slides from talk given at Ruby Nation, 2014

Transcript

1. TIM GUNN, MORPHEUS, AND GANDALF: REIMAGINING WHAT MENTORSHIP MEANS Allison Sheren McMillan @allie_p Sunday, June 8, 14
2. NOT YOUR MOMMA’S MENTORSHIP TALK Sunday, June 8, 14
3. Sunday, June 8, 14
4. MENTOR != ANYONE Sunday, June 8, 14
5. ABOUT ME Sunday, June 8, 14
6. PARKER PALMER Sunday, June 8, 14
7. Sunday, June 8, 14
8. When my students and I discover uncharted territory to explore Sunday, June 8, 14
9. When my students and I discover uncharted territory to explore then teaching is the finest work I know. Sunday, June 8, 14
10. Sunday, June 8, 14
11. I am so powerless to do anything about it Sunday, June 8, 14
12. I am so powerless to do anything about it the enemy is everywhere Sunday, June 8, 14
13. I am so powerless to do anything about it the enemy is everywhere impossible for mortals to do even passably well! Sunday, June 8, 14
14. Sunday, June 8, 14
15. Sunday, June 8, 14
16. IN THIS TALK... •Palmer’s 4 techniques •Effective mentoring •Effective mentee-ing •Playing both roles Sunday, June 8, 14
17. CRITICAL MOMENTS “Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy” - Dumbeldore Sunday, June 8, 14
18. MENTOR STRATEGIES Caterpillar: By the way, I have a few more helpful hints. One side will make you grow taller... Alice: One side of what? Caterpillar: ...and the other side will make you grow shorter. Alice: The other side of what? Caterpillar: THE MUSHROOM, OF COURSE! Sunday, June 8, 14
19. Invite questions Sunday, June 8, 14
20. Explain Googling Sunday, June 8, 14
21. MENTEE STRATEGIES “What are you waiting for? You’re faster than this. Don’t think you are, know you are. Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me.” - Morpheus Sunday, June 8, 14
22. Set Goals Sunday, June 8, 14
23. Work Towards Them Sunday, June 8, 14
24. THE HUMAN CONDITION “When an individual acquires great power, the use or misuse of that power is everything. Will it be used for the greater good? Or will it be used for personal or for destructive ends? Now this is a question we must all ask ourselves.” - Professor Xavier Sunday, June 8, 14
25. MENTOR STRATEGY “I’m trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it” - Morpheus Sunday, June 8, 14
26. Bring The Culture Sunday, June 8, 14
27. Let Them Be Lost Sunday, June 8, 14
28. No Rabbit Holes Sunday, June 8, 14
29. MENTEE STRATEGY “Playing music is supposed to be fun. It’s about heart, it’s about feelings, moving people, and something beautiful, and it’s not about notes on a page” - Mr. Holland’s Opus Sunday, June 8, 14
30. Working Styles Sunday, June 8, 14
31. Say Thank You Sunday, June 8, 14
32. METAPHORS AND IMAGES “Secret to punch, make power of whole body fit inside one inch” - Mr. Miyagi Sunday, June 8, 14
33. MENTOR STRATEGY “A wizard is never late. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to. - Gandalf Sunday, June 8, 14
34. Repetition/Rubber Ducking Sunday, June 8, 14
35. Don’t touch my keyboard Sunday, June 8, 14
36. Don’t crowd Sunday, June 8, 14
37. MENTEE STRATEGY “Open different doors. You may find a you there that you never knew was yours” -Mary Poppins Sunday, June 8, 14
38. Try New Learning Techniques Sunday, June 8, 14
39. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL REFLECTION Arthur: You were really great, Merlin, but.... but you could’ve been killed. Merlin: It was worth it, lad, if you learned something from it Sunday, June 8, 14
40. MENTOR STRATEGY “Do or do not. There is no try” - Yoda Sunday, June 8, 14
41. Provide a technical ear AND an emotional one Sunday, June 8, 14
42. MENTEE STRATEGY “[Think about] who do you want to be, who are you, and how do we help you get to that place” - Tim Gunn Sunday, June 8, 14
43. Give back Sunday, June 8, 14
44. Critical Moment: Moment at which you open up or shut down Human Condition: Diagnosing what’s going on Metaphors and Images: Imagining who you want to be Autobiographical Reflection: Thinking about who had an impact on you Sunday, June 8, 14
45. • Invite questions • Explain Googling • Bring the culture • Let them be lost • No rabbit holes • Rubber Ducking/ Repetition • Don’t touch my keyboard • Don’t crowd • Lend an emotional ear • Set goals • Work towards those goals • Talk about working styles • Say thank you • Try new learning techniques • Give Back Mentor Mentee Sunday, June 8, 14
46. BALANCE IS KEY “You must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all.” - John Keating Sunday, June 8, 14
47. SO WHAT? “My dear Frodo. Hobbits really are amazing creatures. You can learn all there is to know about their way in a month, and yet after a hundred years they can still surprise you.” - Gandalf Sunday, June 8, 14
48. Sunday, June 8, 14
49. Sunday, June 8, 14
50. NITPICK GUIDELINES Sunday, June 8, 14
51. NITPICK GUIDELINES subtly nudging a coder toward progressively better implementations Sunday, June 8, 14
52. NITPICK GUIDELINES consider instead giving suggestions of small adjustments or refactorings to evolve the [...] existing code subtly nudging a coder toward progressively better implementations Sunday, June 8, 14
53. NITPICK GUIDELINES Sunday, June 8, 14
54. NITPICK GUIDELINES Strive to be clear in your explanations and give users a chance to arrive at their own improvements. Sunday, June 8, 14
55. Sunday, June 8, 14
56. “Mentoring is not a prescription, it's not a template, it's very individualized according to the [person] you're working with” - Tim Gunn Sunday, June 8, 14
57. Critical Moment: Moment at which you open up or shut down Human Condition: Diagnosing what’s going on Metaphors and Images: Imagining who you want to be Autobiographical Reflection: Thinking about who had an impact on you Sunday, June 8, 14
58. • Invite questions • Explain Googling • Bring the culture • Let them be lost • No rabbit holes • Rubber Ducking/ Repetition • Don’t touch my keyboard • Don’t crowd • Lend an emotional ear • Set goals • Work towards those goals • Talk about working styles • Say thank you • Try new learning techniques • Give Back Mentor Mentee Sunday, June 8, 14
59. THANK YOU! Questions? @allie_p Sunday, June 8, 14
60. SOURCES • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Palmer • Good Teaching by Parker Palmer: http://www.couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/good-teaching • The importance of mentoring for individuals and organizations: Mentoring: a mutually beneficial relationship between mentor and mentee that serves to create strong organizational ties while offering networking opportunities. Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 24 Iss: 3, pp. 27-30 • Good talk about Good teaching by Parker Palmer: http://www.couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/good-talk • The Heart of a Teacher by Parker Palmer, http://www.couragerenewal.org/parker/writings/heart-of-a-teacher • Evidence of mentor learning and development: an analysis of New Zealand mentor/mentee professional conversations. Professional Development in Education, v. 40, iss 1, 2014. pp. 36-55. • http://exercism.io/help/nitpick Sunday, June 8, 14