Mentoring Roles

Barbara Stripling, Director of Library Programs at New Visions for Public Schools and former President of the American Association of School Librarians, has summarized the mentoring roles for instructional media specialists that are most likely to encourage inquiry-based learning. These roles are paraphrased as follows:

• Catalyst – when convinced of the power of inquiry and other investigative strategies based on the Scientific Method, take steps to change traditional curriculum so that student learning is center on inquiry; take leadership.
  
• Connector – see the total curriculum, recognize the best teachers, support the best learning projects, acquire access to the most useful instructional materials and connect these whenever there is an opportunity; demonstrate the potential.
  
• Coach – model and reward the inquiry process by practicing it as a value process before students and other teachers, encourage and praise successful inquiry projects; assess practice and reward team efforts.
  
• Caregiver – independent learning is also encouraged and guided to meet special needs and interests supported by resources that meet specific levels; motivate each learner to achieve at his or her highest ability.

Added to this list is:

• Communicator – demonstrate results of the process as well as products so that learners and teachers can visualize possibilities; display student efforts in critical and creative thinking.

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