EDM190: Developing mentoring excellence (theory and practice)

Module code: EDM190

Module provider: Institute of Education

Credits: 20

Level: 7

When you’ll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Professor Yota Dimitriadi, email: y.dimitriadi@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2025/6

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 5 January 2026

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module is designed to support educators in their leadership development journey by exploring how both mentoring and coaching contribute to organisational and personal growth. It provides a balanced examination of these approaches, recognising their distinct roles and complementary nature.

During this module participants will explore mentoring and coaching, including instructional coaching, from various theoretical perspectives and models. They will reflect on good practice within mentoring and coaching and effective skills that mentors and coaches use or demonstrate to foster positive professional relationships. Common issues in application of mentoring and coaching as an organisational resource will be discussed. An opportunity to draw upon their own experiences of mentoring and coaching and practising coaching will be included in the module. As such a range of contexts will be considered, including initial teacher education, other settings including adult education environments and care settings.

The module includes both distant learning elements and asynchronous, independent learning as well as live group workshops. The larger part of the module is distant learning. Depending on the size of the cohort the live sessions can be face-to-face at the Institute of Education. The module requires participants to be independent and autonomous in their studying and learning. Learning materials will include a mix of asynchronous resources and live online or face-to-face practical workshops. 

The module will require access to high-speed broadband to access Blackboard and the digital resources (e.g. video clips) that are part of the module.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. develop a critical understanding of issues relating to mentoring and coaching through reflection on practice and academic study
2. evaluate a range of models of mentoring and coaching and reflect on the role of coaching and mentoring for personal growth and building quality professional relationships
3. apply the theoretical perspectives of mentoring and coaching to individual practice and analyse critically skills applied and developed
4. evaluate strategies for leading mentor and coaching development in a setting

Module content

The module aims and objectives are designed to deepen students’ knowledge, skills, and understanding of mentoring and coaching. While the focus is on educational settings, the skills developed can be transferable across professional contexts. The module emphasises students’ own professional practice, making clear links between mentoring and coaching approaches and relevant theories. Themes include:

• Self-assessment and reflective practice
• Theories of mentoring and coaching
• Contemporary issues of mentoring and coaching
• Understanding ourselves as coaches and mentors
• Effective communication, effective questioning and active listening skills
• Effective feedback and target setting
• Experiencing a coaching intervention
• Management of difficult conversations and conflict resolution
• Development of academic literacies

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Distance and online learning using a variety of platforms (mainly Blackboard and MS Teams). Materials will be released at weekly intervals during Semester 2, which students will manage independently. As well as narrated presentations and online tasks, there will be opportunities for group discussions, tutor to student and student to student communication during the live online workshops and scheduled tutorials.

Study hours

At least 8 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 50% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each calendar day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three calendar days;
• where the piece of work is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in you Individual Learning Plan), the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three calendar days of the deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three calendar days after the original deadline (or a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment indicated in your Individual Learning Plan): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

Where a piece of work is submitted late after a deadline which has been revised owing to an extension granted through the Assessment Adjustments policy and process (self-certified or otherwise), it will be subject to the maximum penalty (i.e., considered to be more than three calendar days late). This will also apply when such an extension is used in conjunction with a DAS-agreed extension as a reasonable adjustment.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: /cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Students will be given weekly asynchronous tasks to complete. Formative feedback regarding some of these tasks as they relate to the portfolio and written essay will be given at the practical workshops.

Reassessment

Additional costs