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1) Focus on pedagogy rather than the subjects

2) Be mindful about the BT being overwhelmed having to meet both ET for subject content and IM for mentoring.

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For a IM to observe a foreign language lesson, what advice can you give?

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SUM sounds like a last resort due to lack of same subject mentor & mentee. Has anyone explore subject alike mentoring from mentors in cluster

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How can we minimise the impact of UTs feeling overwhelmed? E.g if they have 2 CS-es and already have 2-3 subject mentors, not including the 1 SUM mentor.

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The mentoring time is timetabled and there is support for IMs from the school

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Today’s sharing confirms to me that great mentorship doesn’t have to come from someone teaching the same subject. Mentors from other areas can offer fresh perspectives on pedagogy, classroom strategies, and school culture, etc pushing us to grow as educators beyond our content knowledge.

It inspired me to look for mentorship pairings that challenges thinking, learn from diverse colleagues, and help build a school culture where teacher growth is shared and collective.

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1. Subject unalike mentoring can enhance the collaborative culture through focus on common mentoring topics/skills such as positive classroom culture, TSR etc.

2. With the complement of certain structures and accommodations set in place for a school’s mentoring programme. Subject unalike mentoring can ease deployment pairing issues and enhance the school’s existing mentoring practices.

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1) building positive relationship with mentee - critical factor for subject unalike mentoring

2) change in mindset - instead of focusing only on mastery of subject matter, we can focus on pedagogy

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If you have enough mentors in the school, will SUM be necessary?

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1. Building a holistic teacher - SUM compliments the development of the teacher. While sometimes we take it that it is a given to have TSR or teachers will be confident overtime, SUM offers a broader perspectives in these learnings

2. SUM builds trust and understanding especially for PAM subjects, often not understood by other subjects.

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How to overcome language barrier issues, in particular for MTL teachers?

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1. Provides mentors and mentees with opportunities to gain fresh perspectives and broaden their professional outlook.

2. Encourages deep reflection on teaching practices, emphasizing not only SMC but also the strength of PCK.

3. Fosters relationship-building and reinforces reflective practice as core components of effective mentoring.

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Having a mentee from another subject matter would help develop the mentor to have a broader view of the curriculum while they are trying to find ways to help their mentee.

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Subject unalike mentoring can be done in more than 1 way, it need not be 1 is to 1 basis, it can be 1 mentor to many mentees.

As the mentor may not have the subject knowledge, one school has deployed1 subject buddy to fill this gap.

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1. Focus on Pedagogical Strategies Over Content Knowledge
Even when mentors and mentees teach different subjects, effective mentoring can still take place by focusing on broad pedagogical principles such as classroom management, questioning techniques, assessment for learning, and student engagement. The workshop reinforced the idea that strong mentorship doesn’t require subject-matter alignment when the emphasis is on reflective teaching practice and professional growth.

2. Building Trust Through Active Listening and Open Dialogue
A key takeaway was the importance of creating a safe and respectful mentoring space where the mentee feels heard and supported. In subject-unalike mentoring, where content-specific guidance may be limited, building relational trust through active listening, empathy, and goal-setting becomes even more critical for impactful mentoring conversations.

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Our school has been on Subject Unalike Mentoring for a long time and we echo so much of the experiences shared by the presenters. Important for long term sustainability of the mentoring programme as mentors need to remain flexible and nimble.

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It is a good approach as schools may not have enough STs or trained IMs for all subjects. For a BT, it may be more important to help in areas such as classroom management or even settling down in school.

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How long does it take for the school to plan, brainstorm before implementation of SUM? Through discussions, followed by implementation and review?

Thank you.

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I learnt that mentors can mentor across subjects because there are broad pedagogical areas to work on. Having the same subject is a good leverage but not the most necessary.

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What do you do when your mentee encounters challenges in her subject content? What if she does not get as much support from her department?

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When will the team recommend subject unalike mentoring and when will it be better to adopt subject alike mentoring?

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Using the SCAL and the other IM tools and the IM principles to grow subject unalike mentors and mentees is a great way!

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it is important to have an open mindset, many opportunities for mentors and mentees to learn from each other.

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Collecting reflections from both mentor and mentee is a great way of collecting insights and suggesting improvements to the mentoring process.

Building rapport by first asking about the career vision.

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Mentors should be prepared and be very intentional in their conversations with the mentees – displaying genuine curious disposition.

Mentors can also show growth mindset and follow mentee to atend and learn from the same open classroom shared by another TL of the mentee's subject.

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From BTs perspective, they are sometimes not assured that a mentor who doesn’t teach the subject would understand their challenges. So building a good relationship n going into the classrooms as shared would be very helpful.

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Thank you all for sharing! Getting mentees to think about their career vision is a good start and will remain as a good motivator to keep on refining their craft.

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Does the team find that subject unalike mentoring is generally better than subject mentoring, or just equally as good?

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SUM is doable and workable. Focus on pedagogy rather than content areas. Pairing is important.

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The focus on child rather than subject is powerful.

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Providing a structure is important as a guide for both mentor and mentee.

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Very wide variety of experiences of mentors with SUM. Thank you for the honest insights.