# Mentorship Training and Orientation

[Workshops](https://campeones-web.netlify.app/en/workshops/index.md) · Track: [Mentoring](https://campeones-web.netlify.app/en/tracks/mentoring/index.md) · Workshop 1 of 1

Mentoring skills (active listening, effective questioning, giving feedback), tools and logistics of the rOpenSci Champions Program.

- Duration: 90–120 min
- Open license: [CC-BY-NC](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.en)
- Instructor / Authorship: [Yanina Bellini Saibene](https://campeones-web.netlify.app/en/authors/yanina-bellini-saibene/index.md)

## Reading material

This course is part of the rOpenSci Champions Program's mentor training and orientation.

Mentors play a vital role in the rOpenSci Champions Program by helping select the cohort of Champions and advising and inspiring their mentees. Mentors will also __connect__ their mentees to people, programs, and organizations; __recommend__ resources, readings, training, and experiences; and provide __feedback__ on the mentee's project.

After this training, mentors will work with Champions to support them while they develop their project, which can be one of the following options:

* Create a new package;
* Go through the review process with an R package they have already developed;
* Serve as a reviewer for the rOpenSci software peer review system.

Mentors may also support Champions with delivering other activities including: giving a talk, writing blog posts, and teaching other communities.

## Who are our mentors?

All training is designed with some learner personas in mind. As a community, we also have personas to describe our members. When we build this training material, we think about this persona:

Fausti
: sent their packages to [rOpenSci review process](https://ropensci.org/software-review/) a couple of years ago. The process ensured the quality of their software and facilitated its publication in [JOSS](https://joss.theoj.org/), which gave them academic credit. Also, getting the rOpenSci badge as an international organization helped other colleagues take their software products more seriously and as valid research products.
Fausti volunteered to review packages in Spanish, and advised other colleagues to send their packages to review because their experience was very good.
Fausti learned about the [champions program](https://ropensci.org/champions/) and volunteered to mentor because they can give back to the community. It is also a way to be trained as a mentor, which is a good skill for their academic role and to increase their contact network.

During this training and orientation, Fausti will gain mentoring skills (active listening, effective questioning, giving feedback), will receive resources for their mentoring role such as the Mentors Guidelines, Meeting Templates and details of the logistics of the champions program.

## Learning goals

- What does a mentor do?
- How can I actively listen to my mentee?
- How can I ask effective questions?
- How do I give good feedback?
- How do I set expectations for myself and the mentee?
- What are useful tools when guiding someone through a project?
- How is the program organized?

## How to use this material

If you want to use this material for teaching, the tabs of this page contain:

- the course **slides**;
- **templates** you can copy, reuse and remix: the shared document with the exercises to solve during the class, the feedback survey, the mentor-mentee meeting templates, the meeting report form and the mentors monthly charter;
- the **instructor notes**, with a script for the course, extra content for the slides and an explanation of the exercises;
- the **schedule**, with example timings for the 90 and 120 minutes versions.

We also provide mentors with the [rOpenSci Champions Program Mentors Guidelines](https://ropensci-org.github.io/champions-mentor-guidelines/).

## Sources

We use different sources to build this training and the material. We thank these organizations and their authors for sharing their material under an open license that we can reuse and remix.

* [Mozilla Open Leaders](https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/initiatives/mozilla-open-leaders/)
* [Teaching Tech Together](https://teachtogether.tech/en/index.html)
* [The Carpentries Instructor Training](https://carpentries.github.io/instructor-training/)

The content originates from the [ropensci-mentors](https://github.com/ropensci-training/ropensci-mentors) repository.

## How to cite this work

[![DOI](https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.7742298.svg)](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7742298)

Yanina Bellini Saibene. (2023, March 16). Mentorship Training and Orientation. rOpenSci Champions Program. Zenodo. <https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7742298>

## Slides

<https://campeones-web.netlify.app/en/workshops/mentoring/slides/>

## Templates

Markdown templates you can copy, reuse and remix for your mentoring program.

- [Shared notes for the training](#shared-notes)
- [Feedback survey](#feedback-survey)
- [Mentor-mentee meeting templates](#meeting-templates)
- [Meeting report](#meeting-report)
- [Mentors monthly charter](#monthly-charter)

## Shared notes for the training {#shared-notes}

```markdown
## rOpenSci Champions Program [year]

## Date | Link calendar invite

Shared document for exercises, notes and questions. This document will be available for those who attend the workshop after the training.

Attendees: *List of names with link to the contact to the attendees*

Zoom link: *add the link to the meeting videoconference platform.*

## Resources

* Slides:   
* Mentor guidelines: 
* Templates: 

### Agenda

* Mentor orientation (60 minutes )  
* Program logistic (30 minutes \- share tools, Q\&A)

### 1\) Think of an experience you've had as a mentor or being mentored.  Look for your name and write the answer to the following questions.

**Duration:** \~15 minutes (\~7 minutes to answer, \~8 minutes to chat)

* #### What went well / what was helpful?

  * Name 1  
  * Name 2  
  * Name 3  
  * Name n

* #### What didn’t work?

  * Name 1  
  * Name 2  
  * Name 3  
  * Name n

* #### Think of a problem you’d like mentoring on right now

  * Name 1  
  * Name 2  
  * Name 3  
  * Name n

### 2a) Watch this video of an example using the GROW model and try to identify the steps of the model. 

**Duration:** \~10 minutes (\~1:42 minutes to watch the video, \~8 minutes to discuss and answer)

**Video:** [https://youtu.be/4dYLaoI5UFM](https://youtu.be/4dYLaoI5UFM) 

Room 1: Name 1, Name 2, Name n *(no more than 5 people in each group)*

* Goal:  
* Reality:  
* Options:  
* Way Forward:

Room 2: Name 1, Name 2, Name n

* Goal:  
* Reality:  
* Options:  
* Way Forward:

Room n: Name 1, Name 2, Name n

* Goal:  
* Reality:  
* Options:  
* Way Forward:

### 2b) Practicing the GROW model with your classmate.

**Duration:** \~10 minutes   
*Create group of two people.*

* ### Using your answer to the question *Think of a problem you’d like mentoring on right now* in exercise 1, practice the GROW model with your classmate.  

* ### Decide who is the mentor and who the mentee **or** 

* ### Take turn to be the mentor and the mentee.

### 3\) Do you feel ready to mentor? Any questions? Let us know here:

**Duration:** \~10 minutes

* Name 1  
  * Name 2  
  * Name 3  
  * Name n

### 4\) Let‘s practice feedback: please fill our anonymous survey about this training.

**Duration:** \~5 minutes

*Link to the anonymous survey*

_rOpenSci Champions Program. Mentors training. Shared document. Yani Bellini Saibene (2023) - CC-BY-SA. Version 2023-2024_
```

## Feedback survey {#feedback-survey}

```markdown
# rOpenSci Champions Program Meeting Feedback

We ask you for a quick anonymous feedback on the meeting in order to improve them.

## Which meeting are you providing feedback? \*

You can use the name of the meeting

## What did you like the most? \*

(e.g., something we have to maintain, a positive thing we did)

## What did you like the least? \*

(e.g., something you would like to see changed or improved)

## Can you rate this meeting? \*

In a scale from 1-worst to 5-best.

All the questions mark with \* are mandatory.

_rOpenSci Champions Program. Mentors training. Feedback Survey. Yani Bellini Saibene (2023) - CC-BY-SA._
```

## Mentor-mentee meeting templates {#meeting-templates}

```markdown
# \[Champions name\]\[Project Title\]

rOpenSci Champions Program [cohort number] (years)

\[Add relevant links here \- project github, website, blog post, papers, etc.\]

# First Meeting

### Meeting \[complete number\] \[Complete month\]

*Check \-- how are you?*

### Agenda

* Introductions \- get to know each other  
* Mentees, tell your mentor about your project  
  *   
  *   
  *   
* Set 1-2 goals for your project  
  * Where do you want your project to be by the end of the program? (10 month from now)  
* Possible areas to think about:  

  * _For a new package project:_ a first functional version of the package following the recommendation of the rOpenSci development guide. Improve functions, testing, documentation, repository, functionalities. Improve the developer guide (content, translations)  
  * _For a package sent to review:_ prepare the package to send to the review process, send the package to review and complete the process. Improve functions, testing, documentation, repository, functionalities, governance. Write a paper for JOSS about the package. Improve the review process (accessibility, languages, guidelines)  
  
  * _For those wishing to become a reviewer:_ select a package to review. Review a package. Improve the review process (accessibility, languages, guidelines)  

* Goals  
  *    
  *    
* What do you want to see from a mentor?  
  *     
  *   
*  Meeting logistics & Reminders  
  * Does this time every month work for everyone?  
* Anything else?  
  * 

* Next time  
  *    
  *    
  * 

# Second to tenth meetings

### Meeting \[complete number\] \[Complete month\]

*Check \-- how are you?*

Agenda

* Highlights from the past month \+ Recognitions (anyone to thank or appreciate?)  
  *    
  *   
* Review goals & roadmap  
  * Are we progressing? Should we adjust anywhere?  
  * \[In meeting number 7-8\] Set 1-2 goals for mentee outreach activities  
    * Analyze potential contributions by type (community call, meetups, conference, blog post, tutorial), by number, when, by goal (develop a new skill, try something new, organize something with other community).   
  *   
* \[When is a month with a cohort call\]Review the cohort call: any thoughts / questions / feedback after last week’s call?  
  *    
  *    
  *   
* How else can we help?   
  *   
  *   
* Next time  
  *    
  *    
  * 

# Last meeting

### Meeting \[complete number\] \[Complete month\]

*Check \-- how are you?*

Agenda

* Celebrate\! Look at all you accomplished the past months\!  
  *    
  *   
* Review goals from the beginning of the program. Are you where you thought you would be? Why or why not?  
  *    
  *   
* Sprint \+ Mentorship & Training  
  *  What went well?  
    *   
    *    
    *    
  * What could be better?  
    *   
    *    
    *    
  * Any contributors / attendees stand out?  
    *    
    *    
    *    
  * Anything we should do differently next time?  
    *     
    *    
    *   
* Next steps  
  *    
  * 
  
> *rOpenSci Champions Program Templates \- Adapted by Yani Bellini Saibene from Mozilla Open Leaders \- CC-BY \- version 2022-2023* 
```

## Meeting report {#meeting-report}

```markdown
# **rOpenSci Champions Program | Meeting Report**

This form register the meeting between champions and mentors. It helps us to track activities and offer support.

## Meeting's Month \*

We ask you to have at least one meeting each month. Please indicate the month of the meeting you are reporting. It is ok if you have more than one meeting in a month.

## Mentor \*

Choose your name from the list

## Status \* 
### (Occurred, Schedule, Mentee Canceled, Mentee don’t show up, Other)

Indicate the status of the meeting. This also help us to provide support.

## Notes

Any comment you want to add. If you have a minute or agenda, you can link here.

*rOpenSci Champions Program Templates \- Adapted by Yani Bellini Saibene from Mozilla Open Leaders \- CC-BY \- version 2022-2023*
```

## Mentors monthly charter {#monthly-charter}

```markdown
# Mentors Monthly Charter (version 2027)

> For activities that require a meeting we add the link to join the meeting. 
> For activites that involve picking a date and time we include the link to the pool o calendar tool.
> For review of documents or articles, we include the link to that document or Pull Request
> For reporting we include the link to the proper form.

This document lists the monthly activities for mentors. Activities may change based on the needs of your champions and your project. We may also add or remove activities based on your feedback and the evolution of the program.

You can create a copy of this document (google doc) to edit by selecting **File \-\> Make a copy.**

# March 2026

- [ ] Confirm your participation in the program.
- [ ] Review the program applications assigned to you.
- [ ] Share your availability for the first program meeting.
- [ ] [Attend one of the mentor kickoff meetings.]()
- [ ] [Share your availability for mentorship training.]()

# April 2026

- [ ] [Review the mentors' introduction blog post]()
- [ ] Select the final list of champions.
- [ ] Attend mentorship training.
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the Champions kickoff meeting

# May 2026

- [ ] Initiate contact with the champion you will be mentoring (after the Program Director has made email introductions).
- [ ] [Report on the first meeting.]()
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Code style and quality \- [May 5 at 9:00 AM UTC-3]()
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the Introduction to git and GitHub workshop ([May 12]() and [19 at 19:00]() UTC-3).
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the training Package Development: The Mechanics, part 1 ([Tuesday, May 26 at 9:00 AM UTC-3]().

# June 2026

- [ ] Organize and hold the meeting with your champion.
- [ ] [Report on the meeting.]()
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the training Package Development: The Mechanics, parts 2 and 3 ([Tuesday, June 2]() and [9 at 9:00 AM UTC-3]().
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the training Package Development Is Not Rocket Science ([Tuesday the 23rd at 9:00 AM UTC-3])

- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the Advanced Git workshop: Git Wednesday! ([Tuesday, June 30 at 9:00 AM UTC-3]())

# July 2026

- [ ] Organize and hold the meeting with your champion.
- [ ] [Report on the meeting.]()
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the Advanced Git workshop: Using and Improving Your Git History ([Tuesday, July 7 at 9:00 AM UTC-3]())
- [ ] Vote to schedule the second Mentors cohort meeting

# August 2026

- [ ] Organize and hold the meeting with your champion.
- [ ] [Report on the meeting.]()
- [ ] Attend the Mentors cohort meeting.
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the workshop How to Do Code Peer Review 101 ([Tuesday, August 4 at 9:00 AM UTC-3]())
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the workshop How to Do Advanced Code Peer Review ([Tuesday, August 11 at 9:00 AM UTC-3]())
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the workshop How to Contribute to Open Source Projects ([Tuesday, August 18 at 9:00 AM UTC-3]())
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the workshop How to Organize Great Meetings and Events ([Tuesday, August 25 at 16:00 UTC-3]())

# September 2026

- [ ] Organize and hold the meeting with your champion.
- [ ] [Report on the meeting.]()
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the first Champions cohort meeting
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the workshop Creating and Giving an Unforgettable Talk ([Tuesday, September 1, 16:00 UTC-3]())

# October 2026

- [ ] Organize and hold the meeting with your champion.
- [ ] [Report on the meeting.]()

# November 2026

- [ ] Organize and hold the meeting with your champion.
- [ ] [Report on the meeting.]()
- [ ] *\[Optional\]* Attend the Champions cohort meeting

# December 2026

- [ ] Organize and hold the meeting with your champion.
- [ ] [Report on the meeting.]()

# January 2027

- [ ] Organize and hold the meeting with your champion.
- [ ] [Report on the meeting.]()
- [ ] Vote to choose the dates for a Mentors cohort meeting.

# February 2027

- [ ] Organize and hold the meeting with your champion.
- [ ] [Report on the meeting.]()
- [ ] Attend the mentors meeting.

# March 2027

- [ ] Organize and hold the final meeting with your champion.
- [ ] [Report on the final meeting.]()

# April 2027

- [ ] Attend the final cohort meeting. Program closing.
- [ ] Complete the final anonymous survey.
- [ ] Attend a discussion group to give your feedback on the champions program.

*rOpenSci Champions Program Templates \- Adapted by Yani Bellini Saibene from Mozilla Open Leaders \- CC-BY \- version 2026-2027*
```

## Instructor notes

## Pre-training

Send a calendar invitation with the link to the meeting and a link to the shared notes.

In the shared notes file add the link to the meeting and the rest of the material (such as slides, videos, etc).

Make a reminder the day before and one hour earlier.

> [!TIP] Reminders
> Use the different channels you have. For example we use Slack and email.  Try to use timezone-independent reminders like  _"See you all in 50 minutes, here (link)"_

## Training

### Time to connect. 
Start the meeting a few minutes early, allow people to enter, and check the video and audio. Be sure they can listen and see you. Let them know it is ok if they don’t turn on their camera. Share the document you will be using as shared notes on the chat.

When everyone arrives, remember the rules of participation, like the code of conduct and how to use it. Mention a short agenda for the day: 

> We will see tools for your role as mentor and logistic about the program. We will also shared resources we build for you, to help you with your role. 

> [!TIP] Shared document
> People can't access the previous chat when they join a meeting. So share the doc one last time when all the attendees are there. Also, share the doc before each exercise to be sure all students can access it.

> [!TIP] Recording
> If you will record the sesion, this is a good time to ask for permission. Be clear on how you will use the recording and with whom you will share it.

### Start the training

You can start with the first exercise: Mentorship Reflection. (you can decide if you want to share the slides with the exercises, the shared doc with the exercises, or not share the screen).

> We will start with an exercise: Mentorship Reflection. Please think of an experience you've had as a mentor or being mentored.  Use the shared doc to answer the questions next to your name (in alphabetical order).

Read the questions aloud and give some more examples on what to think to answer:

> What went well / what was helpful?” “What was that relationship like? How did it help you? What is one helpful thing your mentor/mentee said/did?
>
> What didn’t work? What you needed, and your mentor/mentee couldn't help you?  or didn't understand you?
>
> Think of a problem you’d like mentoring on right now.

> [!TIP] Time for activities
> Always clarify at the beggining of the activity how much time we have for doing it.
> _"We will use 10 minutes for this exercise”_, _"We will take a 10 minutes break"_

Give them one-two minutes to write in silence. Then you can read some of the answers aloud or add some comments on the doc in silence. Encourage them to read their classmate's answers and do comments. 

### Mentors roles. Mentorship skills 

You continue with __slide three__ about the mentors' roles. 

> What do mentors do? Mentors advise and inspire. How do you do this?. 
> Recommend resources, readings, training, experiences. Feedback to consider.
> Connect to people, programs, and organizations.

You should give examples of each activity related to the type of project they will be mentoring.
On __slide four__, you summarise the mentorship skills we will see today: 

> Active Listening, Effective Questioning, Giving Feedback.

Show __slide five__ now about active listening. Before showing some bullets point, you start with a question:

> Please, answer on the chat or unmute yourself and answer: What is active listening? How active listening looks like?

Give them time to think and share. Read aloud the chat if someone shares in writing form. Iterate on what they said. They will be able to mention helpful information you can note when you show the bullet point about active listening. For example, someone can share that active listening is _when people ask good and insightful questions. Or when they pay attention to you (they aren't watching their phone or answering their email)_.

Now follows with __slide six__ about effective questioning. Before showing effective questioning concepts and tips, make the questions:

> Why questions are important in mentoring? What kind of questions are helpful?. Please, answer on the chat or unmute yourself and answer

Give them time to think and share. Read aloud the chat if someone shares in writing form. Give priority to the people that don't participate in the previous question. Iterate on what they said. Use their answer when sharing the bullets point on the slide. 

As the final part of this section, you go to __slide seven__ about giving feedback.  Here we have two prompt questions: 

> What happens if you only give positive feedback? As we did previously, please share your thoughts in the chat or by speaking up.

After two or three of them share their thoughts, you can ask the second question:

> What happens if we provide only negative feedback?

Give them time to think and share.  Read aloud the chat if someone shares in writing form.

Now show the cartoon about feedback and the bullets point on the slide. One more time use their answer to give examples or support this points. Mention that:

> Feedback can be the way you provide advice. It also allows everyone to grow. 

> The source material for good feedback is built on the above two skills, active listening and effective questioning. 

The following slide (number eight) present Meetings. 

> Meetings are one of the places where mentoring will happen and where mentors will use the skill we mention.

Note we create templates for meeting as scaffolding for their mentorship task. And then introduce the GROW model.

### Mentor tools. GROW Model.    

Use slides nine and ten to introduce the model and then you do the second exercise.

> You will work in groups for the next exercise. You will have 10 minutes to watch the video linked in the shared doc. It is an example using the GROW model. The idea is you try to identify the steps of the model. You can re-watch the video or stop, answer, and then continue. Please use the shared doc on your group space to write your questions._
>
> When you finish, we will discuss your answer with the whole group.

You can create random groups, with no more than 3-4 people in each group. Read their answer during the exercise and choose some groups to share with the whole class. Choose each group because they add something interesting or different to the discussion. If you have a few groups, give all of them a chance to share their insight. 

> [!NOTE]
> If you are teaching the _120_ minutes version of the trainig it is time of a 5/10 minutes break away from the screen.

> [!TIP] Exercise: Practice GROW model mentoring your classmate
> This in an extra exercise for the _120_ minutes version of the training.
> You will find the instruction on the 2.b exercise on the shared doc.
> If you are teaching the _90_ minutes trainig, then you should remove the
> 2.b point on the shared doc.

Finished this section with slide __twelve__ with a summary for GROW model. 
 
### Mentor tools. Program logistics 

The next session introduces the Mentors Guidelines and others infrastructure and tools we developed for the champions program.

Shared slide __thirteen__, mention each tool, and then show the tools. The most important one is the _Mentors Guidelines_. You can click on the slides to open the document and go through it, showing each section, the list of resources, and the information we gather there for them.

You can click on the link to the other resources inside the guidelines to show them: be sure to show the google drive and the meeting templates. Finally, you can ask if they want to check the Slack channels. 

> [!TIP] Checking for Access
> This is an excellent time to check for access to these resources: are all in Slack and the proper channels? Do you have access to google drive and google docs? Can you copy the meeting templates and access the meeting report form?

Now it is time for the next exercise. With the prompt "Are you ready for mentoring?" we provide space for comments, questions, and clarifications mentors need. Allow them to speak or write on the shared document or the chat. If they ask on the chat, copy those comments on the shared doc. These questions can be useful for the other cohorts. The time for this activity is 10 minutes, but take more minutes if they have good questions about the mentoring role or the program.  

The final exercise calls mentors to practice giving constructive feedback by filling out an anonymous feedback survey about the training. Share the link to the form on the chat or mention they can access the link on the shared note. Give 5 minutes to fill out the survey.

> [!TIP] Checking completion
> For this final exercise, you can also ask students to write on the chat _"Done!"_ or _"Finish!"_ or similar when they finish. This way, you will know, and you can end the activity when all are done. Some times this can mean before the time allocated for the exercise.

## Post-training

After the training, send a message (email, Slack) thanking those who attended and re-sharing essential resources:

- Shared document (which has links to the slides, mentoring guide, meeting templates, etc.).
- Recording of the meeting (in case you have recorded it).
- The feedback survey (for a second chance to fill).

Check the feedback survey and identify one or two points to improve for the next training iteration.

## Schedule

We run the training several times to allow mentors attend the best day and time for them according their timezone.

Here is an example schedule with a morning training and _90_ minutes long, starting at 9:00:

|     |               Topic                 |
| --- |-----------------------------------|
|8:50-9:00 | Time to connect. Check audio+video |
|9:00- 9:05| Sharing rules of participation. Code of Conduct. Sharing materials |
|9:05-9:15 | Exercise: Mentorship Reflection. Think of an experience you've had as a mentor or being mentored |
|9:15-9:25| Mentors roles. Mentorship skills |
|9:25-9:40| Mentor tools. GROW Model.        | 
|9:40-9:55| Exercise: Work in group with the GROW Model|
|9:55-10:10| Mentor tools. Program logistics and insfrastructure.|
|10:10-10:20| Exercise: Are you ready for mentor? Question, Comments|
|10:20-10:25| Exercise: practice feedback|
|10:25-10:30| Closing |

Here is an example schedule with a morning training and _120_ minutes long:

| |                Topic              |
| --- |-----------------------------------|
|8:50-9:00 | Time to connect. Check audio+video |
|9:00- 9:05| Sharing rules of participation. Code of Conduct. Sharing materials |
|9:05-9:15 | Exercise: Mentorship Reflection. Think of an experience you've had as a mentor or being mentored |
|9:15-9:25| Mentors roles. Mentorship skills |
|9:25-9:40| Mentor tools. GROW Model.        | 
|9:40-9:55| Exercise: Work in group with the GROW Model|
|9:55-10:05 | Break away from the screen. |
|10:05-10:20 | Exercise: Practice GROW model mentoring your classmate (using exercise 1 results)|
|10:20-10:35| Mentor tools. Program logistics and insfrastructure.|
|10:35-10:45| Exercise: Are you ready for mentor? Question, Comments|
|10:45-10:55| Exercise: practice feedback|
|10:55-11:00| Closing |