Mentoring Qualification Program

Overview

Our Mentoring Qualification Program (MQP) will teach you the strategies, tools and processes that form the foundations of effective mentoring and coaching. Using a practical, applied approach to learning, this program provides transformational skills to support administrators, teachers, managers, supervisors, business and support staff  in an inclusive and collaborative learning environment.

Our MQP was developed by experienced elementary and secondary principals  from across the province to enhance leadership capacity throughout the system by combining the skills, strategies and processes of both mentoring and coaching. This Additional Qualification (AQ) program is aligned with the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) guideline for Mentoring, the Ontario Leadership Framework (2013) and the Ministry of Education resource, Mentoring for All.

Key learning components include:

  • theoretical foundations of mentoring and coaching
  • program planning, development and implementation
  • instructional strategies and support, with an emphasis on equity, experiential learning and skill development
  • building relationships and developing people
  • having courageous conversations and
  • legislation, policy and practical resources.

A minimum of 125 hours of instructional contact time is included in the program through the practical application of learning and skills with a chosen mentee, a personalized project, digital tools, a choice of reading materials and personalized learning opportunities engaging candidates with trained facilitators and one another. 

Module Information

This program is made up of four modules. The breakdown of asynchronous and synchronous hours that total the required 125 hours is shown below.

Asynchronous Hours

Synchronous Hours

Total Required Hours
89 36 125

Module 1 - Introducing and Understanding Mentoring/Coaching
  • Principles of adult learning
  • Research on mentoring and coaching (including a personalized reading choice)
  • The importance of equity in mentoring/coaching
  • Principles of anti-oppressive leadership
  • Supporting MentorCoaching through the Co-Active model and skills (based on the seminal text Co-Active Coaching  currently in its 4th edition)
  • Attributes, processes, tools and skills of MentorCoaching, including:
    • The MentorCoaching relationship (including trust, honesty, confidentiality, safety, non-judgement, and bias awareness)
    • Deep listening (also articulating, clarifying, meta-view, metaphor, and acknowledging)
    • Curiosity and asking powerful questions

Module 2 - Continued Skill Development
  • Models of mentoring and coaching
  • Mindsets (including the impact of unconscious bias, strategies to support a positive/growth MentorCoaching mindset, fostering culturally responsive mentoring practices, supporting equity and inclusion)
  • Leveraging our signature strengths
  • Values in MentorCoaching
  • Feedback vs. feedforward
  • The guiding principles, critical skills and processes of MentorCoaching continued:
    • Listening, curiosity and powerful questions, intuition, forwarding the action and deepening the learning (also focusing on the mentee’s agenda, goal setting and accountability), self-management (also recovery, asking permission, bottom-lining, championing, clearing, reframing, making distinctions)

Module 3 - Leading with MentorCoaching and Courageous Conversations
  • The role of MentorCoaching in 21st century learning and leadership
  • Responding to leadership challenges (including applying MentorCoaching to school improvement and student achievement)
  • Moving toward equitable leadership (including the creation of an anti-oppressive culture and responding to micro-aggressions)
  • Differentiating supports for novice and experienced leaders
  • Risk taking and the importance of learning from failure
  • Mentoring new teachers (including collaborative inquiry in building teacher efficacy)
  • Case study analysis, Ministry of Education and other mentoring resources
  • Courageous conversations (based on the text Having Hard Conversations and/or Hard Conversations Unpacked and/or Swimming in the Deep End)

Module 4 - Applications and Creating a Culture of MentorCoaching
  • Creating a culture of MentorCoaching
  • Issues of race and equity (including using MentorCoaching to build a safe, equitable and inclusive culture)
  • Using MentorCoaching to support sustainability, health and well-being
  • Multi-generational mentoring opportunities
  • MentorCoaching across districts and in other careers

Admission Requirements

  • Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) Certificate of Qualification and Registration in good standing.

Program Fee

$900.00

Includes all four modules and a $50 non-refundable registration fee.

Full payment is required for registration to be confirmed.

Upcoming Sessions

Winter 2025 - Online
  • Module 1 (synchronous) 
    • January 25 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
    • January 26 - 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  • Module 2 (synchronous) 
    • February 8 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
    • February 9 - 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  • Module 3 (synchronous)
    • March 1 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
    • March 2 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
  • Module 4 (asynchronous)
    • To be complete by April 14

Registration Deadline: January 11
Summer 2025 - Online
  •  Module 1 (synchronous) 
    • July 8 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
    • July 9 - 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  • Module 2 (synchronous) 
    • July 15 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
    • July 16 - 8:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  • Module 3 (synchronous)
    • July 22 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
    • July 23 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
  • Module 4 (asynchronous)
    • To be complete by August 31

Registration Deadline: June 24

Register

Board Partnerships

The MQP can be locally customized to meet the unique needs of your district. If you are interested in offering this program with your board, please email learning@principals.ca.

Terms and Conditions

Academic Integrity and Engagement
Professional Learning Expectations and Standards
Accessibility and Other Policies
Our Accessibility and other policies that relate to our programs are outlined on the OPC Policies webpage.
Program/Course Resource Access 
  • Modules 1 – 3 will be facilitated online in a synchronous model using Zoom.
  • Module 4 will be complet4ed online through Canvas, our Learning Management System (LMS)

All program content and LMS access will be available to candidates/participants one week in advance of the program/course and will remain active for two weeks after the end of the program/course. Following this period, candidates/participants will no longer have access to assignments, conversations, resources or other content. Please save any information that you would like to retain during the timeframe that you have access to the LMS. 
Program Tax Receipt

A tax receipt will be generated and available on your OPC account by the end of February for the previous tax year.

To access the document:

  • Log into the OPC website.
  • Go to "My Profile" on the navy blue bar towards the top right of the browser window.
  • Click on “Program Tax Receipts”.
  • Select the appropriate year to open and print your tax receipt.
Refund Policy

Cancellation Date

Refund Amount

Up to two weeks before start date

$850

One week before start date

$250

After start date

$0

A full refund applies when a session is cancelled due to low enrollment.

For more information about the program, please contact mqp@principals.ca.