Group Mentoring Bridging Research and Effective Practice. October 17, 2013

Transcription

1 Group Mentoring Bridging Research and Effective Practice October 17, 2013

2 2013 Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series Planning Team Sarah Kremer, Friends for Youth Michael Garringer, Education Northwest Polly Roach, MP of Minnesota Meghan Ferns, Oregon Mentors Dana Gold, MP of SWPA Tammy Tai, MENTOR Molly Brenner, MENTOR

3 Good to Know After the webinar, all attendees receive: Instructions for how to access PDF of presentation slides and webinar recording Link to the Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series webpage, where all slides, recordings, and resources are posted. Please help us out by answering survey questions at the end of the webinar.

4 Participate in Today s Webinar All attendees muted for best sound Type questions and comments in the question box Respond to polls Who is with us today?

5 Today s Webinar Gabriel Kuperminc, Ph.D. Georgia State University Jerry Sherk Mentoring Consultant Q & A throughout the presentation (use the Q & A panel)

6 Gabriel Kuperminc Gabe is a Professor and Chair of Community Psychology at Georgia State University. His work studies the processes of resilience and positive youth development. From 1998 to 2007, he directed and conducted research on a group mentoring program, called the Youth Development Program. He authored a chapter on Group Mentoring for the recent Handbook of Youth Mentoring. With partners at GSU and the San Francisco USD, he was recently awarded a grant from OJJDP to conduct an evaluation of Mentoring for Success Group Mentoring over the next four years.

7 Jerry Sherk Jerry Sherk, M.A., is a mentoring consultant who has been doing work with the state of California's mentoring efforts since Over the past 20 years, Jerry has provided technical assistance to hundreds of mentoring efforts of all kinds. Jerry also created and facilitated a number of group mentoring programs for schools and non-profit agencies. Based on those experiences, he developed methods for teaching others how to design and manage group mentoring programs.

8 What do we mean by group mentoring? Group mentoring Team mentoring (mentors have differentiated roles) Hybrid approaches 1:1 working in groups Group 1:1 1:1 with occasional group activities

9 Building a Theory Group Therapy Dies, 2000; Richmond, 2000; Yalom, 2005 Meta-analyses support effectiveness, insight re: iatrogenic effects (e.g., Weiss et al., 2005) Highly structured programs (e.g., based on cognitivebehavioral therapy) most effective; unclear about role of relationships Youth Development Developmental significance of peer and adult relationships (Hartup, 1989) Effective youth dev settings, mutual support (Eccles & Gootman, 2002; Barrera, 2000)

10 Importance of Adult/Peer Relationships Adult Vertical Guidance Role model Regulate, facilitate individual and group behavior Relationships with group members and group as a whole Peer Group Horizontal Cooperation and reciprocity, offer and receive help Try out social skills Socialization, positive & negative peer pressure Group identity, cohesion, sense of belonging

11 Opportunities for Interaction Target Youth A Mentor B C D Other Group Members

12 Theoretical Model Group Member Connectedness with Mentor Group Cohesion Desired Outcomes Mutual Support

13 Benefits of Group Mentoring Easier sell to potential mentors Place-based, access to resources and activities Structured or curriculum-based Attracts different youth than one-to-one Youth benefit from both peer and adult relationships Access to more mentoring/negate or improve dud mentors Can be less expensive to operate

14 Challenges of Group Mentoring Development and implementation of curriculum and activities Possibility of less connection than one-to-one Staff support of mentors and observation of groups is critical Youth may not get the individualized support they need

15 Do Group Mentoring Programs Work? Few studies, varied models, mixed evidence Some evidence of effects for School dropout, academic performance (Dynarsky et al., 1998; Hanlon et al., 2009) Problem behavior, school engagement (House et al., 2005) Sexual knowledge, sexual attitudes (Shin & Rew, 2009) DECLINES in school belonging (Lapidus, 2005; House et al., 2006) No evidence for differential effects as function of mentor ethnicity, ethnic diversity of group (Cummings, in prep)

16 Case Study: The Youth Development Program Overall Effects on Peer Relations and School Belonging Do GM participants experience increases relative to matched comparisons? Test the Theory: Group Processes Do perceived mutual help and connectedness with mentor contribute to effects?

17 The Youth Development Program , ethnically diverse high school in GA Graduate psychology majors matched with 4-7 HS students Weekly meetings, during school day, full academic year Full-day training, required semester course on interpersonal communication, weekly supervision, coordination with school counselor and GSU faculty Single sex (some women mentors for male groups) Matches based on shared interests Combination of planned and group initiated discussions/activities

18 What We Measured Theory-Based Measures of Group Process Connectedness with mentor Perceived mutual help with peers Outcomes: Peer Relations, School Belonging Relationship quality Interpersonal competence Sense of school belonging

19 Findings: Perceptions of Group Process Mid-Year End-of-Year 1 Mutual Help Leader Connectedness

20 Effects: Interpersonal Competence Participation Mentor Connect * --- Mutual Help * Unstandardized regression weights, controlling gender, grade level, and pre-test score for DV. * p<.05; p<.10

21 Effects: School Belonging Participation Mentor Connect Mutual Help * Unstandardized regression weights, controlling gender, grade level, and pre-test score for DV. * p<.05; p<.10

22 Questions??

23 Use Effective Practices * 1) Recruitment 2) Screening 3) Training 4) Matching 5) Monitoring and Support; and 6) Closure * Elements of Effective Practices for Mentoring: 3 rd Edition

24 Designing Effective Group Mentoring 1. Ice Breaker Program Area Est. Time Description 2. Core Sharing Exercise 3. Activity 4. Curriculum/Education (followed up by interactive exercise or activity) 5. Incentives

25 Lesson Development Template Name of Exercise Materials Needed Estimated Time Facilitator Instructions Debrief Instructions

26 Sharing Exercises Sharing puts mentoring into group mentoring Good News/Bad News -- I d like each of us to share something good that has happened since the last group, and something not so good. Never force anyone to share Mentors share too, but don t go too deeply When helping mentees solve problems, ask peers for suggestions (mentees get advice from adults all the time)

27 Special Clinical or Professional Support for Group Mentoring Knowledge of group dynamics is critical Can provide targeted activities to address youth needs Can support troubleshooting and problem-solving for groups Available for extra support if a youth reveals serious problems Can be difficult for programs to find this support Not needed for some program designs/goals

28 Training Mentors for Group Programs Put mentors through similar training as 1:1 Make them accountable! Teach group facilitation skills key is to draw ideas and solutions from mentees Provide them with curriculum and have them practice Program should include matching plan for mentors

29 Managing Behaviors Consider a good of mix mentees not just problem youth Increase ratio of mentors to mentees Reduce group size Walk problem mentees out of the group Create group rules during first session

30 Develop Group Rules Ask mentees for suggestions, but include: Support & encourage each other One person talks at a time Respect each other no making fun Hands off of others Do the right thing (or: no disruptive behavior)

31 Pitfalls to Avoid Programs don t put in as much effort as one-toone Lack of accountability for mentor/mentee participation Too much curriculum, not enough fun and bonding Too intensive over time; participants need a breather

32 Questions??

33 Additional Resources Group Mentoring chapter in the Handbook of Youth Mentoring, Second Edition: Designing and Implementing a Group Mentoring Program, part of the Mentoring Tactics series: Contact Gabriel Kuperminc at gkuperminc@gsu.edu Contact Jerry Sherk at sherk@mentorms.com

34 Remember After the webinar: Please help us out by answering survey questions at the end of the webinar. Everyone will get an with information on how to download the slides, recording, and resources on the CMWS webpage on the MENTOR website: opportunities/collaborative_mentoring_webinar_series/

35 Access CMWS Information All Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series information for upcoming and past webinars is on the CMWS webpage on the MENTOR website:

36 Receive Monthly CMWS News Sign up for the newsletter! Information about upcoming webinars Evaluation results from the previous webinar Links to resources and recordings from past webinars Sign up on the CMWS page on the MENTOR website.

37 2013 Collaborative Mentoring Webinar Series Thank you for participating today! Next Webinar: November 21, :00-2:15PM EST Sarah Kremer, Friends for Youth Michael Garringer, Education Northwest Polly Roach, MP of Minnesota Meghan Ferns, Oregon Mentors Topic: Leveraging National Mentoring Month Dana Gold, MP of SWPA Tammy Tai, MENTOR Molly Brenner, MENTOR Registration will open next week on the MENTOR website.