Mentoring in educational innovation:systematization in the experience of teachers’ educational experimentation and research

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the mentoring process carried out during the development of 70 educational innovation projects from Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, financed by the Novus fund. This fund grants financial resources to professors of the institution to perform educational innovation and research projects. The projects analyzed included 243 collaborators impacting 247 courses and 5824 students. For this analysis, the author systematized the experience using instruments to record and follow up on the activities, identifying the primary needs of the participants in the process and the essential elements of mentoring. The results showed that the main requirements for mentees were the definition of the experimental procedure, review of experimentation progress, the presentation of evidence, and scientific writing at the end of the project. The essential elements for mentees were agreeing on times with the mentor and having someone knowledgeable in educational research and their accompaniment. The participants considered the mentoring process positive because they received support on methodologies, writing, and research in educational innovation and had follow-up and good communication. The results of this study can be helpful for universities, innovation managers, and teachers, where a mentor can accompany professors to become more involved in educational innovation and research.