I. Monitoring activities
In recent years, the project has developed a number of activities to monitor the processes carried out. These activities are divided into two categories: periodic monitoring activities, which are carried out each year, and point analyses, which are summarised below.
- Periodical monitoring:
1. Monitoring of individual courses. For each course, a survey sheet was completed for the observations that the mentors conducted in class, as well as a summary sheet. This form was sent to the organising committee and contained monitoring of individual courses under mentoring.
- the strengths and areas for improvement of the course were identified by the mentors through their classroom observations and the feedback received from students via a special anonymous questionnaire and meetings between mentors and students.;
- any improvements compared to previous years, where the route has been followed for several years;
- the improvement actions that the mentee intends to develop for the following year, identified together by mentees and mentors.
2. Anonymous student questionnaires. For each course under the mentorship scheme, students receive an anonymous questionnaire that includes the following question, which aims to collect students’ opinions on not only the individual course, but also the usefulness of the project: “Do you think that teachers from the university participating in the mentoring project could improve the quality of teaching?”
3. Anonymous questionnaires for all project participants. Each year, project participants are asked to complete anonymous questionnaires to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the following: (i) mentoring pathways, (ii) refresher seminars, (iii) residential workshops and (iv) community activities;
4. Multi-annual mapping sheet. The organising committee draws up the sheet for each course from 2024/2025 onwards (in most cases, a three-year period). It contains the mentors’ comments on possible teaching improvements for each year of observation, the evolution of students’ opinions over the years, and a short summary of the course. To date, at least 34 three-year mappings have been defined, with a further 25 in progress.
- Specific analyses:
1. Investigating the effect of participating in the “Mentor“ Project on the introduction of innovative teaching methodologies. Between 2023 and 2024, a specific analysis was carried out on the effect of participating in the mentoring project on the introduction of innovative teaching methodologies. This analysis was based on an appropriate questionnaire being administered to project participants in an anonymous form.
2. Community buiding survey. At the same time, a survey was conducted to assess the impact of the “Mentor” Project on community building.
3. Project “Mentor” and student assessment. Finally, a survey analysing students’ assessment of teaching quality was carried out, covering both the courses included in the “Mentor” Project and all the other courses offered at the university. These were divided into different types, such as three-year, master’s degree and single cycle courses, as well as being categorised by the number of students and cultural area.
4. Project “Mentor” criticality survey. Between 2023 and 2024, a working group critically examined all monitoring documents and conducted a series of informal interviews to identify the main critical elements in the implementation of Project activities.
II. Results of monitoring activities
- Periodical monitoring:
1. Monitoring of individual courses. Analysis of the cards showed that, for about 90-95% of mentored paths depending on the year of observation, the routes were completed correctly, following all the phases provided for by the project (classroom visits; meetings with students, administration and analysis of the anonymous questionnaire addressed to students; and correct preparation of the summary sheet containing all the provided sections).
2. Anonymous student questionnaires. Over 90% of students believe that teacher participation in the Project can improve the quality of teaching.
3. Anonymous questionnaires for all project participants. The main findings from the questionnaires administered over the past two years are as follows:
- Around 75% of mentees reported that the suggestions and activities of their mentors had contributed significantly to improving the quality of their teaching.
- Similarly, around 80% of mentors reported that mentoring had significantly or substantially improved the quality of their teaching.
- Over 80% of Project participants consider in-depth seminars and informal exchanges of ideas and information with other Project components to be fundamental to improving teaching.
- For over 50% of respondents, participating in residential workshops significantly introduces new teaching methodologies and practices during lectures. For over 60%, it significantly or importantly improves teaching. Additionally, the annual residential workshops are considered a valuable tool for strengthening professional relationships between participants and consolidating the project community in most cases (over 80%).
4. Multi-annual mapping sheet. In only 3% of cases did the mapping show a substantial lack of improvement in relation to the goals set by mentors and mentees.
- Specific analyses:
1. Investigating the effect of participating in the “Mentor“ Project on the introduction of innovative teaching methodologies. It was found that participation in the “Mentor” Project facilitated the introduction of innovative teaching methodologies in around 80% of cases.
2. Community buiding survey. Participation in the Project was found to promote community building, improve well-being and encourage the inclusion of new hires. Most of the responses described the “Mentor” Project community as “enthusiastic”, “welcoming”, “passionate”, “brilliant”, “supportive” and “friendly”. In addition, in answer to the question, “What are the feelings of the members of the Mentor Project in relation to their involvement and commitment to the activities?”, , the most frequent results were: “Content”, “interested”, “pleasant”, “useful” and “stimulating”.
3. Project “Mentor” and student assessment. Although these analyses represent an initial exploratory attempt to evaluate the impact of participation in the “Mentor” Project on teaching quality, they have revealed higher scores than courses delivered by participating teachers, particularly in three-year degree programmes (an average increase in quality score of 0.22 points).
4. Project “Mentor” criticality survey. The analysis identified the main critical elements, which were presented at the 2024 Annual General Meeting and led to the development of countermeasures. These elements included rare cases where the mentoring path was not completed, and cases where the mentoring was carried out with inadequate accuracy and/or the report did not offer relevant suggestions for improvement.
III. Other results
In recent years, the Project’s visibility has increased considerably at both the local and national levels, partly as a result of its participation in conferences and specific publicity activities.
Several other universities have identified the “Mentor” Project as a basic model from which to draw inspiration for similar initiatives (with appropriate adaptations and modifications), including the Universities of Pisa, Turin, Modena and Reggio Emilia, and Catania. These universities have invited the lecturers on the organising committee to present the project in detail. In addition, members of the committee were invited to present the project at other universities (University of Turin and University of Trento) next autumn.
The first international symposium, “Mentoring: A Way to Support Quality of Learning and Teaching”, took place in Palermo in June 2023. Organised mainly by lecturers from the Mentor Project, a volume containing the extended contributions is now being published.
At a local level, communication was improved through the use of posters, seminars and workshops, and a WhatsApp chat group was set up to facilitate communication and the exchange of information. Facebook and LinkedIn profiles were created and updated, and the website is constantly updated.
IV. New activities in recent years
- Community development: Several social activities and faculty development initiatives are organised throughout the year to facilitate the development of professional relationships in a more informal setting. These include the “House of Mentors” (monthly meetings at a pub), a WhatsApp chat group and “Walking Mentors” (a group of project members who regularly go on trekking routes together).
- The creation of a senior mentor figure to support mentors when they need it during their activities.
- Exam mentoring experimentation. Since 2024, a group of expert mentors has been conducting an experiment on exam mentoring. The results will be presented at the 2025 annual meeting, where decisions will be made regarding future development.