Listening as the Foundation of Effective Mentoring

When people think about effective mentors, they often think about expertise.

Experienced mentors possess extensive pedagogical knowledge, understand the curriculum, can identify effective teaching strategies and are able to provide high-quality feedback. Whilst all of these attributes are important, research consistently suggests that they are only effective when built upon a strong mentoring relationship.

One of the most important ways in which mentors establish that relationship is through listening.

Listening is often misunderstood as a passive skill. It can appear to involve doing very little—remaining quiet whilst another person speaks. However, educational and psychological research presents a very different picture. Effective listening is an active process that requires the mentor to gather evidence, interpret meaning, recognise emotion and make informed professional judgements.

Within Initial Teacher Training, listening is therefore far more than a communication skill. It is one of the primary ways in which mentors understand how trainees are developing, identify barriers to progress and determine the support that is most likely to improve practice.

The conversations mentors have each week are therefore not simply opportunities to provide advice. They are opportunities to collect evidence that informs future mentoring decisions.