Participants' Comments

What was the most meaningful and useful for you...

"This is one of the best classes I have taken so far. Every teacher should take this course for their own professional growth."
~ Special Education Teacher
Department of Defense Schools, Germany

"This is a good course with opportunity to grow and develop ideas through interacting with peers and searching the many links. I liked that it brought people in from a wide area with many different interests and perspectives. The text was very good and will be a good resource for me in the future. I liked many of the links and have signed up for enews through a number of them. It is a good course and provides a great opportunity to learn from other's experiences. Very well structured."
~ Masters in Education Degree Student
UW-Stout

"It doesn't matter what stage your mentoring program is in--you will gain knowledge that's relevant to you. This course is excellent whether your district is just starting out or has had a program in place for a long time. There is enough room for each participant to get what they need from it."
~ Middle School Teacher
Manawa, Wisconsin

"This course offers you the chance to reflect on your past experience and allows you the chance to better yourself both as an individual through mentoring, and as a professional. The instructor is great. I felt like she cared about us as individuals and about our learning experience. "
~ Middle School Language Arts/Reading Strategies
Manawa, Wisconsin

"The mentor course was very sequential in nature and had information at every activity level that was very relevant to what is actually going on in the educational setting in school districts.   The course provided the tools and information to successfully deal with mentoring, no matter what level of education the students in the class were at.  From my point of view as a district administrator it has better prepared me to deal with this topic from writing and implementing policies and procedures to helping new staff with topics to make them as successful as possible as educators.

I also want to let you know that all of this was possible because you have a very capable and professional person teaching this course.   Ms. Burger was an outstanding teacher as well as facilitator.   Her ability to make herself available at any time during the totality of this course and to relate to you as a person and professional was outstanding.   She was also very knowledgeable about PI-34 and all the components within.

In ending, I would like to commend your university and instructor for a job well done."
~ Superintendent
Riverdale, Wisconsin

"I liked the open dialog among the students the best.  I also thought the resources in the readings and activities provided during instruction were valuable. I believe that nothing would be gained by taking this course on campus instead of online.  Student interaction was just as available online, and  I was able to better manage my time with this method."
~ Superintendent
Gilmanton, Wisconsin

"This course really helps to begin to understand the challenges for initial educators today."
~ Elementary Teacher
Janesville, Wisconsin

" The instructor really has a strong expertise in this area. The resources provided do not compare to anything that I have seen compiled on mentoring in one easy to access location."
~ HR Director
Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

"Even if it were only for the experience of taking an online class for the first time, I found this one to meet my needs and calm my apprehension. This course gave me the opportunity to meet so many of my fellow educators who also have an interest in mentoring. It was well designed and success driven."
~ Family & Consumer Education
Walworth, Wisconsin

" The one important thing I learned is that each mentee/mentor relationship will be different due to personalities, but as long as communication is open and needs are known it can be successful.  I also realized that no matter how successful you get in your profession one can always use a mentor."
Director Administration
Morris, Minnesota

"Before taking this class I had some preconceived, not highly researched ideas, about mentoring.  I now have a much clearer picture of what a mentor is and what a mentoring program in a school should be. I will advocate for the development of a mentoring program and the importance of a well-structured program to mentees and the school district."
~ Third Grade Teacher
Boyceville, Wisconsin

"This course helped me understand the need for mentoring programs, components of successful programs, roles of mentors, and I have gained a mountain of helpful resources that I can refer to in the future.  I not only learned how I can be of help to somebody someday as a mentor, but I have also learned that I would like to work in a district that will offer me a mentor for my first year.  I will encourage and support any efforts by the school district to put together a formal mentoring program .
~ Counselor and Substitute Teacher
Durand, Wisconsin

"The most relevant information was the forming of the relationship between the mentor and mentee. Our work in communication and building trust was very valuable and the course provided an in-depth look at the processes and procedures for developing an effective mentoring program."
~ Principal
Freedom, Wisconsin

"This course offers strategies to make the best of your first year of teaching and beyond. I was able to see through the eyes of others that were at different levels in education and to understand their concerns."
~ High School Principal
Rhinelander, Wisconsin

"I found the easy interaction with many experienced professionals of varying areas of emphasis to be the greatest asset the course had to offer.

The most relevant skill that I developed during this course was the ability to remain reflective. I have always done my best to be reflective in my practice, but the emphasis that was placed on reflection in the course made it a true necessity for my future.

Also, I was able to interact as an equal with many other professionals from different areas of emphasis and levels of experience. It was convenient and meaningful interaction with experienced professionals."
~ 6th Grade Teacher
Marion , Wisconsin

"This is a great course to take when thinking about becoming a mentor. It provides a variety of different inventories and activities that can benefit you as a mentor. It is a great learning experience."
~ Gr. 7-12 Agriculture Teacher
Marion , Wisconsin

"It was a great way to take a college course that I could fit in my schedule, and I enjoyed networking with other professionals. The instructor did an outstanding job guiding me through this learning process. "
~ Day Care Director
Wausau , Wisconsin

"I liked the fact that I could work on this class at home and at different times of the day or night. It was much easier to fit into a schedule then a traditional class. I did not have to worry about traveling or finding a babysitter. I also liked using the WebBoard as a way to communicate with classmates. I felt the communication was much more positive and occurred more often than in a traditional class."
~ Special Education Teacher
Marion , Wisconsin

"This class DID help me with interactions with my student teacher, yet at the same time, I learned mentoring new teachers and guiding student teachers is very different. This class confirmed my personal feelings that we are here to mentor - not to judge when we have student teachers."
~ Middle School Reading and Social Studies Teacher
Bloomer, Wisconsin