One of the strategies to diminish resistance is to facilitate the building up of a critical teaching community Kemmis, 1993, and to root reflective and investigative practices to make it possible for tutors at ULBRA to have more control over their working conditions. University researchers within the TEFL department at ULBRA can enhance this process by encouraging teachers involvement in collective projects, such as the peer mentoring project, by introducing teachers to the investigative methods, by mediating tensions between the school and the educational system. Hargreaves named it a culture of interdependent culture, and by giving voice and acknowledgement to their production, raising their confidence and autonomy. Changing the institutional culture diminishes teachers resistance to changes Zeichner. A new institutional culture would potentially bring very good results in the long run, as mentors working in the peer collaborative project may in the future interact with school teachers showing them how beneficial such project could be, and even being invited to provide training to other mentors within the community schools in Palmas and, perhaps, in the whole state. A peer mentoring programme would aim at developing a series of skills, such as the willingness to listen to your peers, ability to work in groups, self awareness, as well as the ability to do classroom observation and give feedback. Besides that, it should, provide a counseling approach which encourages individuals to disclose their frustrations and anxieties. Provide sensitive and attentive listening to their questions and puzzles. Offer understanding Sense the anxieties involved. Whitaker, 1993 However, it would be very naive to think that all problems faced by tutors at the institution would be magically solved by the implementation of a peer mentoring programme. There will be situations where the group will have to find out for itself the solution for its problems, but this also one of the most important features of a peer mentoring programme, participants enhanced capacity to help each other to find contextualized solutions. Implementing a peer mentoring programme What follows is a more detailed description of some practical aspects to take into consideration when creating peer mentoring groups. It has my specific teaching context in mind, but its principles may be applicable to other institutions and teaching contexts in Brazil, or even other countries. Group size Group dynamics can also create some difficulties among their members. To sort that out, groups can be formed using self selection, random assignment, or criterion based selection. The choice of group size involves difficult trade offs. According to Rau and Heyl 1990, smaller groups of three contain less diversity and may lack divergent thinking styles and varied expertise, which help to stimulate collective decision making. Conversely, in larger groups it is difficult to ensure that all members participate. This study proposes a group size of five tutors. To be subsequently expanded so as to reach the total number of 12 University tutors in Palmas. Follow Up Activities and Evaluating Procedures According to Slaving 1989 59, for effective collaborative learning and teaching, there must be group goals and individual accountability. When the groups task is to ensure that every group member has learned something, it is in the interest of every group member to spend time explaining concepts to group-mates. Research has consistently found that participants who gain most from cooperative work are those who give and receive elaborated explanations Webb, 1985. In the present project, the peer collaborative mentoring medium at the TEFL department should provide participants with opportunities to analyze synthesize and evaluate ideas cooperatively. The informal setting facilitates discussion and interaction. The group interaction should help participants to learn from each others scholarship, skills, and experiences. Participants would have to go beyond mere statements of opinion by giving reasons for their judgments and reflecting upon the criteria employed in making these judgments. Thus, each opinion should be subject to careful scrutiny. The ability to admit that ones initial opinion may be incorrect or partially flawed should be valued. The peer collaborative mentoring group participants would be asked for written comments on their learning experience to reassure that the project is achieving its goals. In one of the follow up activities participants are asked to give feedback on. Benefits of the process of peer collaborative mentoring. Benefits related to the social and emotional aspects involved in the process. Negative aspects of peer collaborative mentoring is a very harmful side effect of the process. Participants need to believe that they are linked with others in way that ensures that they all succeed.
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