Possibility mentoring online for Philadelphia middle school students: a comparative view

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Part 2, Possibility Development in comparative and international perspective: Possibility mentoring as an application of Possibility Development theory

Proposal

Sasha Mejia-Bradford will discuss her involvement particularly in the online aspect of the Possibility Mentoring pilot. Mentors studied student progress and their practice through observation notes, research memos, group debriefing, and analysis sessions. A second research team worked independently to analyze the research memos that each of the mentors produced and created a thematic codebook. Findings indicate that mentors: (1) engaged in the process of reciprocal transformation with their students, (2) took diverse pathways and used various scaffolds and multimedia activities to engage their students in possibility development work, and (3) utilized the weekly support sessions to develop essential skills, share their experiences, and receive support for various problems of practice. It suggests that online possibility mentoring can be just as effective as in-person mentoring in certain ways, and potentially stronger in others. More research would need to be completed to sharpen the view on those comparisons and contrasts. Sasha finally relates this online mentoring project experience with her involvement in the Seeds for Progress initiative in Nicaraguan rural coffee farming communities. Local students have learned the workings of the coffee industry, gotten concrete guidance from which to develop transferable skills. Nakkula's possibility development concept was used to study how the students pursued specific goals, and got supports along the way. Sasha highlights similarities and contrasts in possibility mentoring across contexts.

Author

• Sasha Mejia, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania