4th Annual Mentoring Conference: New Dimensions

Join us for the 4th Annual Mentoring Conference on Friday, April 12, 2019! The theme is "New Dimensions."

The EvCC Mentoring Conference is a full day of speakers and workshops focused on sharing best practices, bright ideas and both individual and institutional experiences with mentoring. This is a rare opportunity to build networks and share ideas with colleagues involved in mentoring across our region.

Would you like to be a presenter? Workshop Sessions are 45 minutes in length, including time for questions and evaluation. This year, we are particularly interested in starting conversations about equity and inclusion. Got a great idea for a presentation? Send it to the Mentoring Conference Planning Team today! Presentation proposals may be submitted through March 1, 2019. Notification of acceptance will be sent by March 8th. More information is available at: http://www.everettcc.edu/administration/admin-services/professional-development/disruptive-innovation-mentoring/conference

For more information, email mentoring@everettcc.edumentoring@everettcc.edu

Avoiding Burnout

submitted by Peg Balachowski, Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning at Everett Community College

I know it’s only week 2 of the quarter at our college, but somehow Spring Quarter is when most faculty seem to get that “burned out” feeling. In the Pacific Northwest, the spring can be wet, dark, and kind of gloomy, perhaps contributing to that feeling. There are other contributing factors as well, including the increased workload that comes with campus initiatives, new projects that we’re adding to a class, the increased number of young students in our classes who may feel a certain entitlement and who, as I recently heard from an administrator, demand our immediate attention both in the classroom AND online. Nothing like being on-call 24 hours a day!

One of my favorite educational bloggers, David Gooblar (writing in the Chronicle of Higher Education), writes: “ a 2014 study of depression, stress, and anxiety among non-tenure-track faculty in the United States discovered something strange: Among the faculty surveyed — in both part-time and full-time positions — the more committed they were to their institutions, the more likely they were to experience high levels of workplace stress, and to experience depression, anxiety, and stress more generally.”

Not great news, especially as faculty at most colleges are always being asked to do more.  Are there ways to avoid burnout (or to deal with it if you are feeling it already)? Gooblar offers 4 tips:

1. Take time off, if only for an evening.
2. Remember that your job is a job — even if you love it. 
3. Find ways to say no.
4. Choose sleep over extra class-prep time. 

You may read these tips and think, “I’ve got grading! I have committee meetings! I have to prep for tomorrow’s class!” Yes, all that’s true, and we are not recommending that you abandon all those responsibilities in favor of extra sleep or taking EVERY evening off. Remember that your college has resources, and Gooblar reminds us, “don’t be afraid to ask for help. You’ve got friends, family, and colleagues who can help. If you’re feeling stressed and emotionally exhausted, it’s for good reason — most likely you care about your job and believe in the importance of doing it well. But there’s no benefit to running yourself into the ground. Let people around you know when you’re feeling low, and offer words of understanding and support when you see colleagues struggling to balance it all. If you worry that you’re burning out, you can safely assume that others around you are, too. Share your burden and it will start to feel lighter.”

I encourage you to take several minutes to read the entire article in the Chronicle. Choose one of the 4 tips recommended by Gooblar and see how it works.  Be sure to close your eyes and breathe; move away from your desk (and that pile of papers to grade) for a few minutes; as the weather improves start taking a 10-minute walk across your campus at least once a day. And encourage your students to do the same. It’s likely they are feeling some burnout as well.

3rd Annual Mentoring Conference at EvCC

The 3rd Annual Mentoring Conference is scheduled for Friday, April 6, 2018. The theme is "Relationship Building."

It's not too late to register! 

The EvCC Mentoring Conference is a full day of speakers and workshops focused on sharing best practices, bright ideas and both individual and institutional experiences with mentoring. This is a rare opportunity to build networks and share ideas with colleagues involved in mentoring across our region.

For more information, email mentoring@everettcc.edu

You Should Be Here: 2nd Annual EvCC Mentoring Conference

The 2nd Annual EvCC Mentoring Conference is happening right now! 


The Disruptive Innovation Mentoring group from EvCC has an entire day full of sessions to encourage, motivate and engage everyone attending today! There are opportunities to network, a phenomenal keynote speaker, and of course lunch!

YOU SHOULD BE HERE!

Don't Forget: 2nd Annual Mentoring Conference

The 2nd Annual EvCC Mentoring Conference is only 1 week away!

There's still time to register.

Click here to reserve your spot today!

Q&A about the EvCC Mentoring Conference

April 7 marks the 2nd Annual Mentoring Conference hosted by Everett Community College in Everett, WA. The Mentoring Conference is a full day of networking, speakers and workshops focused on sharing best practices, bright ideas and both individual and institutional experiences with mentoring. 

Because mentoring focuses on the future, we believe that the more successful a mentoring program is, the more successful an institution can be. A strong institution supports both students and staff to achieve their goals, and mentoring can contribute to helping a person reach those goals.

Q: Who will be at this year’s conference?
A: We are proud to have Brandy Brown, PhD. as our keynote speaker. Brandy is an Assistant Professor and Program Director in the Organizational Leadership program at University of Arizona South. Her keynote presentation will be: Unlocking the Power of Cultural Intelligence in Mentoring. Brandy will also be presenting a session during the conference. We’re so lucky to have her!

Q: What are some session titles?
A: Here’s a short list of some of the exciting sessions at the conference (and there are many more!):

• Reflective Practices in Mentor/Mentee Relationships
• Improv for Team Building, Creativity and Trust
• The Power of Staff Mentoring
• Peer Mentoring for Retention and Leadership Development
• A Guide by my Side: Reflections on Mentoring Throughout a Career
• Get That Group Going! Mentoring Tools for Teams
• Beyond Yoda and Luke: An Alternative Faculty Mentoring Model
• Mentorship for Faculty of Color

Q: I heard there is a pre-conference workshop. What’s that all about?
A: This year we have a special workshop on Designing a Successful Mentor Training. What are the keys to a successful mentoring partnership? The first step is a training to provide mentors with the necessary tools to create quality mentoring relationships and programs. This workshop will guide participants in developing a training for potential mentors in their organization. Note: the pre-conference workshop is now sold out. 

 
Q: Will I have a chance to network at the conference?
A: You bet! We have registrations from CTCs across the state as well as various agencies such as DSHS. We will begin the day with an opportunity to network and meet lots of new friends over coffee and a light breakfast, and continue those rich conversations at lunch (and afterwards at the Mentorium!)





 
Q: Mentorium? That sounds interesting. What is a mentorium?
A: At the end of the day, the MENTORIUM is your place to dream, explore, connect with your peers, and reflect on All Things Mentoring.  We will model a mentoring icebreaker using a fun tool.  Then, there will be opportunities to have informal conversations with mentoring groups focusing on faculty, women, men, students, and perhaps a wild card group!  This is also an opportunity to bring your own table topic to find like minds for a discussion, or you can talk shop with your colleagues and new friends.  We will help you activate your imagination with light snacks and beverages.  Join us at The MENTORIUM for a meaningful and joyful end to your conference experience.


We hope to see you on Friday, April 7th for the Mentoring Conference, or at the pre-conference workshop on April 6th. Want to know more? Visit the conference website or email us at mentoring@everettcc.edu.

Want to Attend a Conference?

By Peg Balachowski, Associate Dean for Teaching & Learning at EvCC

I recently returned from a national conference (League for Innovation) and am still thinking about the amazing presentations I attended and the incredible networking opportunities. I have a notebook full of ideas that I want to share with our faculty, and am already thinking about next year’s conference and the possibilities for my own professional growth.

I believe that attending conferences is important for all levels of our profession. We can not only learn about the most recent trends and best practices in teaching, but we can also see common issues that all colleges share through the eyes of others. Building community with teachers from not just your discipline but other areas (and not just teachers but administrators and students as well) is always good for getting perspective and helping us to understand everyone’s role in moving students to success and completion! And what’s not to love about visiting a new city?

Different colleges have different ways of funding travel to conferences. If you are at an institution that has an application process, consider writing a letter to those who hold the purse strings to explain why a particular conference is important for you to attend. Here is a modified sample letter that comes from http://www.magnapubs.com/.

Good luck in securing funds for travel – I hope you are successful in attending a conference where you learn and grow in your profession!


Dear (Dean/Department Chair):
To ensure that (your institution’s name) continues to be on the cutting-edge of the best pedagogical practices, I would like to attend (name of conference with description, such as how many days, location, dates – as an example, The Assessment, Teaching and Learning Conference, Spokane WA, May 3-5 2017).
This conference features plenary sessions, workshops and non-stop networking through which I will discover research-based techniques on how to connect with today’s students, use new technology, and apply active-learning strategies from recognized experts.
By attending this conference, I will learn theoretically sound ideas covering topics such as:

• Course design
• Grading and feedback
• Student participation
• Learner-centered teaching
• Active learning techniques
• Assessment strategies

My participation at this conference will equip me with the new skills and strategies that will augment my strengths as a teacher. I will return reinvigorated and ready to share my new knowledge with colleagues.
Please consider supporting my attendance at this conference. To learn more, please visit (link to conference website).
Sincerely,
(Your name)

You may also want to include comments from colleagues who have attended this conference. There may be quotes that you can grab from the conference website, things like “This is the best conference I have ever attended!” Is there other information about the conference that would convince someone to support this travel? Are the plenary speakers nationally known (maybe include info about them) or are there specific topics on the conference agenda that are of particular interest to your campus (social justice, diversity and equity, assessment, etc.).

Keys to a Successful Mentoring Partnership

The 2nd Annual Disruptive Innovation Mentoring Conference at EvCC is coming soon!

In addition to the conference, there is a Pre-Conference Opportunity available! Here's what the Disruptive Innovation Mentoring team is offering:

Designing a Successful Mentor Training (Pre-Conference)

    Thursday, April 6, 2017 2-5pm
    Limit 20 attendees
    Early Bird Registration: $40 (Opens March 1, 2017)
    Regular Registration: $50 (after March 15, 2017)

What are the keys to a successful mentoring partnership? The first - and perhaps most important - step is training to provide mentors with the necessary tools to create quality mentoring relationships and programs. This workshop will guide participants in developing a training for potential mentors in their organization. Everyone who is interested in building a program is welcome to attend!
Goals and objectives will include:

•     Clarifying mentor's role/responsibilities
•     Clarifying mentee's role/responsibilities
•     Strategies for staying engaged
•     Sensitivity to cultural differences
•     Dealing with issues of confidentiality
•     Practical advice from past mentors and mentees
•     Discussion, questions, concerns
•     Time to design

Register today to reserve your spot! Make sure you select whether you wish to register for the Pre-Conference, Conference or both when selecting your tickets.

Tired Teaching

By Peg Balachowski, Associate Dean for Teaching & Learning at EvCC

I am a regular reader of educational blogs, and recently Maryellen Weimer, one of my favorite bloggers wrote in Faculty Focus:

“I have been wanting to do a blog post on tired teaching for some time now. Concerns about burnout are what’s motivating me. Teachers can reach a place where teaching does nothing for them or their students. They don’t just wake up one morning and find themselves burned out; they’ve moved there gradually, and it’s a journey that often starts with tired teaching.”

Coincidentally, I was walking down the hallway in my building this morning and saw a poster for self-care. I think that tired teaching often occurs at the end of the quarter, especially winter quarter (Snow? Rain? Commuting in the dark both ways? ) We are nearing the end of Winter Quarter, and even though the days are getting longer and spring is just a few weeks away, many of us are in the doldrums common at this time of year. Are you feeling burned out? Are you experiencing tired teaching? Are you just tired? What to do?
Let’s talk about some techniques you might consider for taking care of yourself to get you through the next few weeks, ways to find balance and be aware of your needs:

• Make time for self-reflection
• Choose exercise when you are feeling particularly stressed
• Be sure to pay attention to your nutrition, possibly reducing your caffeine intake
• Avoid getting overloaded – take care of tasks as soon as possible
• Learn to say no
• Call a friend
• Make time for sleep

There are some activities that would be good to avoid, such as sitting in your office for hours at a time getting that grading done. Take a break – walk down the hall and have a chat, however brief, with a colleague. The walk and the talk will help! I like to push away from my computer periodically and do a few yoga stretches (reaching for the sky, deep breaths), and a colleague in my hallway says she always takes the long way around to visit her Dean. And sometimes you do need to just close your office door. Interruptions are inevitable – after all, our goal is to support students, and we can’t always choose the time when they need the most help. Consider this permission to close your door for 15 minutes the next time you are feeling really stressed, and take a few deep breaths.

2nd Annual Disruptive Innovation Mentoring Conference

EvCC's 2nd Annual Disruptive Innovation Mentoring Conference is coming!

Register today!

Friday, April 7, 2017 8am-4pm
Early Bird Registration: March 1, 2017
Regular Registration: after March 15, 2017
Student Registration: $25
Preliminary Schedule


The EvCC Mentoring Conference is a full day of speakers and workshops focused on sharing best practices, bright ideas and both individual and institutional experiences with mentoring. The day will begin with the keynote address Mentoring to Increase Cultural Intelligence by Dr. Brandy Brown, Assistant Professor and Program Director of Organizational Leadership at the University of Arizona. Throughout the rest of the conference, participants will be able to choose from a variety of 45 minute breakout sessions emphasizing the themes of inclusion and equity, mentoring models, innovation and experimentation, mentoring students, and mentoring employees. The presenters come from large and small colleges and universities in Washington and Oregon. This is a rare opportunity to build networks and share ideas with colleagues involved in mentoring across our region.

 Questions? Email mentoring@everettcc.edu 

The Teaching Life

By Peg Balachowski, Associate Dean for Teaching & Learning at EvCC

“The teaching life is the life of the explorer, the creator, constructing the classroom for free exploration. It is about engagement. It takes courage. It is about ruthlessly excising what is flawed, what no longer fits, no matter how difficult it was to achieve. It is about recognizing teaching as a medium that can do some things exquisitely but cannot do everything.”

– Christa L. Walck, “A Teaching Life,” Journal of Management Education, November, 1997, p. 481

I recently came across this quote by Christa Walk and was so inspired by it that I wanted to share it with you. This quote brings together many of the ideas that I have been thinking about recently, including the fear many of us have about failing. I agree with Walck that teaching takes a lot of courage. Do you remember your first day in the classroom? I sure do. I even worried that I would mispronounce students’ names! Standing in front of a class of high school students can be a scary thing. Even today, after more than 2 decades of teaching, the first time I meet a class I get butterflies.

What has changed? You may recall a blog post from last September which includes this quote by Josh Stock: “We all have off days. It’s what you do afterwards that makes the difference.” I think I finally have the courage that we all strive for in our teaching practice. I recognize that not all my lessons are perfect. Have you heard the expression “perfect is the enemy of good?” This is usually attributed to Voltaire. Not only that, but I have realized that my ideas about how a (perfect) class will run when I walk into a classroom may in fact have to be thrown out the window because of an opportunity that comes up based on student questions or comments. Yes, this even happens in a math class! Does it take courage to do that? You bet! What if I don’t cover the material that my syllabus says I will cover that day? How will I recover from this interruption?

For a new teacher, these are constant worries. It’s only experience and time in the classroom (and a significant amount of mentoring and reflection) that have allowed me to relax a bit and recognize that any failure I experience in teaching is really a learning opportunity for me. So, can we agree that failure is not a bad thing? Remember Thomas Edison’s famous quote: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

If you’d like to read more about courage in the classroom and in your professional live, a good book is “Courage to Teach” by Parker Palmer. It’s a great read. The focus of the book is on our inner selves. The author says, “Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher.” Check with your professional development coordinator on campus to see if her or she has a copy.

Reminder: 2nd Annual Disruptive Innovation Mentoring Conference

If you haven't already, check out what Everett Community College is planning with their annual Mentoring Conference!

The Conference will be held April 7, 2017. Details can be found at the above link.

Don't forget; Session Proposals are due next Monday, February 13th, 2017!

Questions? Email fivestarcolleges@gmail.com

Why Do We Need a Mentor?

By Peg Balachowski, Associate Dean for Teaching & Learning at EvCC 

Many of you reading this post will know that the term mentor comes from the ancient Greek story of Mentor, a friend of Odysseus, who was asked to be in charge of his son Telemachus when Odysseus left for the Trojan War. It seems the definition has not changed much – Dictionary.com defines a mentor as a “wise and trusted counselor or teacher.” Sounds just like what Odysseus was looking for regarding his son.
In my career I have had several mentors – both formal and informal, mentors who challenged me, motivated me, and encouraged me. The mentors that I have had over a long period of time have acted as a coach and in some cases a counselor. Today I want to say thank you to all those amazing people, to let them know that without them, my path would have been significantly different.

Here at Everett Community College, we want to highlight the work of all mentors. On April 7, 2017, we will be hosting our second annual Mentoring Conference. We believe that mentoring focuses on the future; the more successful our mentoring programs are, the more successful we will be as an institution.

Dr. Brandy Brown

This year our plenary speaker will be Dr. Brandy Brown from the University of Arizona South, a Hispanic-serving institution. Dr. Brown is an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist and assistant professor in Organizational Leadership. Through courses like Leadership in Diverse Environments and the undergraduate research lab that she co-created with Dr. Laura Lunsford, The Mentoring and Leadership Collaboratory, she demonstrates the value of mentoring as a tool to empower non-traditional and marginalized students and studies leadership education as well.

Presentation titles this year include: Reflective Practices in Mentor/Mentee Relationships, Engaging the Reluctant Mentee, Mentoring Inspired Supervision: A Model of Connected Experiential Learning, and many others.

Are you interested in learning more about our conference? Check out our webpage, and consider making a presentation on any of the mentoring themes for the conference. We hope to see you there!