Mentoring as Continuing Professional Education

When we think of continuing professional education (CPE) programs we have attended during our careers, we may remember sitting for what seemed like boundless hours in workshops as "experts" in our field endlessly droned on about how to better perform our job tasks. During these workshops, we may have looked at charts and overhead displays, taken copious notes and received printed workshop materials that we intended to put into use back on the job. By the end of the program, we may have learned something, which we may or may not have put into practice once we returned to our everyday work. More likely, however, our notes and printed materials were set aside as the realities of everyday life intruded on our newly acquired information. Of course, CPE programs are not always boring, but they may have limited effectiveness for the complicated, everyday messiness of our work when compared to programs that provide real world learning. As Cervero (1992) contends, the "popular wisdom among practicing professionals is that the knowledge they acquire from practice is far more useful than what they acquire from more formal forms of education." (p. 91). Cervero (1988, 1992) further proposes that the most useful CPE models require that learners learn from and in their everyday work practice. Their knowledge is situated in the practice environment made even more meaningful by the workplace or everyday context. Mentoring Relationships As Context-Rich Learning One way to promote context-rich learning is through integrating mentoring relationships into continuing professional education programs. Mentoring relationships promote learning in and from the work place, assist learners in receiving career help and help learners realize developmental and psychosocial support. Typical functions associated with mentors include coaching proteges in career-related behaviors, sponsoring and helping provide visibility to proteges within th organization and assigning challenging, work-related assignments. Psychosocial support and actions that mentors might perform include role modeling, confirmation, counseling and friendship. Mentoring relationships occur in either informal relationships or workplace sponsored, formal mentoring programs; how these relationships are formed usually determines the nature of the relationship. Informal mentoring relationships usually occur spontaneously through mutual attraction between mentor and protege and provide psychosocial as well as career help. Formal mentoring programs are those sponsored, sanctioned and planned by organizations or programs. Mentors may be persons with more experience within the organization, or may be peers of the protege--the important defining quality of the mentors is their ability to aid in both psychosocial and career support (Hansman, 1998, 2000). Mentoring relationships may be either internal or external to the proteges workplace. Internal mentors, since they are physically in the same space as the protege, may be able to better shield and protect their proteges from excessive workplace demands. However, external mentors can also provide essential help to proteges. Mentors who work outside of the proteges workplace may be better poised to provide long-range career assistance and help with lateral career transitions (Hansman, 1998, 2000). What Role Can CPE Play in Mentoring? As Cervero (1988, 1992) maintains, the most valuable models of CPE include opportunities for participants to learn from and in their everyday work practice, situating their knowledge out of the tools, contexts, experiences and feedback in the everyday workplace environment. CPE professionals can plan and sponsor mentoring programs that include opportunities for participants to learn from and in a meaningful practice environment, richly situated with tools, relationships and experiences that help them understand and reflect upon their workplace knowledge. …