Mentoring ideas: The Pocket Mod

One of the tasks I undertake each year as part of the teaching staff here is to mentor Year 11 students.  We nominate how many students we are prepared to take (Year 11 runs at around 120 students, we have around 70 teachers) and the students give at least three choices of their preferred teachers.  The idea is that you are someone that the students can go to for advice, someone keeping an eye on them, supporting them, helping them generally with their studies etc.  You carry them through to the HSC, so it's a two year commitment.

This year I have three students, and so have decided to set up a more formal organisation for this than I have had in the past.  The teacher librarian is, of course, fraffly accessible throughout the school day, and three students at one period each per cycle... no.  Can do better than that; and they can benefit from each other, too.  So I've set up a fortnightly meeting time with them.  We had a meeting this week, and one issue that arose for each of them is organisation - planning, revision, and so forth.  It's usually an issue for Year 11, when expectations and the quantity/quality of work expected rise and it can be a little wee shock for them...

So they scoffed gingerbread and coffee/hot chocolate, and we talked of various things, and all went away with homework (including me).

While researching planners etc, I came across The PocketMod.  I'd forgotten about the PocketMod.  Great little idea, free, simple, customisable, fun.

You go to the Create page, choose the elements you want for each of the eight pages, and print it (oh, btw it seems to print to American A4 rather than Australian A4, the American size is just a tad smaller - fold on the lines and fold in the little extra bit.  Easy).  Then you have one A4 page with eight little pages.  This is where it gets clever....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAb31rIeGZo (this is on the PocketMod site too).

Et voila!

We'll be able to have Mentoring With Origami next time.  What larks, Pip!

The customisable option is great too, so students can choose the configuration that works for them - lists, calendars, planners, and so forth.  Go play yourself and see how it works.  Simple.  Clever.  And, as they point out, recyclable (bung it in the paper recycling when you're done).

I'll mention this on the school staff blog too, so others can pick it up and use it with their mentor kids too.

Cheers

Ruth

PS. One reason I have a blog?  So I don't forget things.  Now I'll remember the PocketMod!