In the spirit of Feiman-Nemser’s (1998) “educative mentoring,” we have created a tool that harnesses an inquisitive stance and aims to promote long-term professional development by fostering a collegial relationship with mentors and mentees. The Mentorship Dimensions tool includes six dimensions, split between two foci: dynamic, perspective, and role are dimensions related to the mentor’s disposition and focus, and approach and debrief are dimensions related to the feedback process. Each dimension can be utilized individually, but the combination of several dimensions most often reflects the nuanced dynamic of mentorship in the field. We call these dimensions because they are intended to represent depth and breadth in a nonlinear fashion. Each dimension exists on a continuum, and to operationalize the dimensions, we name and define the extreme ends of each. It is important to note that although there is a visual distinction from one end of a dimension to the other, it is not intended to be perceived as a binary, nor is there a right end and wrong end of the continuum. Rather, the continuum encourages movement, sliding between different positions as a way of responding to and tailoring approaches based on individual contextual factors and student needs. In fact, it is our position that the movement within the dimensions is necessary to be truly responsive to the mentee and the context. Although there is no right or wrong in the case of these dimensions, immovability is indicative of a static approach to supervision that often will not reflect the realities of the classroom nor meet the individualized needs of mentees.

The Mentorship Dimensions are a reflective tool, and with any tool, there are limitations. We caution safe use of this tool as one of many approaches to support student teachers. Its intended use is not singular, and not all contextual variables, situations, or dynamics will be accounted for. So, we invite you to use this tool to guide reflection on your experience to identify optimal approaches to foster professional growth. In realizing the broad applicability of the Mentorship Dimensions within and beyond the field of education, we use the terms mentor and mentee. In the field of education, the mentor may be the school-based or university-based teacher educator, or the school leader, and the mentee is the student teacher, but in other mentorship contexts, the terms mentor and mentee apply more generically.