During hands-on activities in the web-design classes I teach, I often ask, “What would Project Runway mentor (and national treasure) Tim Gunn do?” After all, if you’re going to take teaching tips from only one reality-TV star, it should be Tim Gunn. He was a faculty member at Parsons for a quarter century and chair of their fashion department for several years, making him one of the few reality-TV stars with a CV that would make any SoTL-loving academic swoon. 

During his tenure on Project Runway, Tim’s primary role was to serve as the contestants’ mentor and sounding board. While Tim didn’t officially evaluate contestants as a judge, mentors on other competition shows often shift more fluidly between coaching and assessment roles, much like faculty do throughout the term. On RuPaul’s Drag Race, for example, RuPaul serves as a supportive, caring mentor during consultations in the workroom. Later, he’s more distant (figuratively and literally) and authoritative when leading the judges in final critiques and contestant eliminations.

The workroom is where most of the drama and education happens on both Project Runway and Drag Race. The contestants are each assigned a table where they design and construct dresses made of bird seed, a haute-couture version of a flannel onesie, and hats made of, well, whatever this is. The result is a space that looks less like a typical TV-show set and more like an active-learning classroom.

This focus on hands-on learning and individualized coaching means both Project Runway and Drag Race provide models for course design that can be easily replicated in a variety of disciplines. While contestants work on a project, the mentor provides consultations individually or in small groups. The focus of each consultation can vary depending on the needs of the student, but there are recurring themes that translate perfectly for any instructor looking to improve their mentoring methods.

Strategies for Mentoring Students

1. Goal Summary/Progress Report

For both reality TV and the reality of teaching, every good mentoring session is learner-centered. This means the learner does most of the talking, while the mentor uses questions to guide the conversation and help the learner uncover key realizations. To start, the mentor needs to get a basic understanding of what the learner has in mind and/or how far along they are. There are several ways to phrase this:

• Tell me about what you have in mind for this assignment.
• What are you hoping to accomplish?
• What would success look like for you by the end of this project?
• What have you done so far?

2. Wellness Check

Every mentoring consultation doesn’t have to turn into a therapy session, but it’s also important to acknowledge that a student’s mental state impacts learning. A good mentor knows when it’s time to ask about their mentee’s frame of mind. This might take the form of questions like:

• How are you feeling about this idea and the progress you’ve made so far?
• Are there any potential challenges that you’re concerned about?
• Is everyone in the group on board with this plan?
• Is there anything about this that makes you feel stressed or overwhelmed?

Note that by including “about this” in the last example, the mentor keeps the focus on stressors that relate directly to the project. Tweaking the wording slightly can encourage students to share external factors that are impacting their state of mind. This will not be appropriate for all situations, but it can be particularly helpful if you’re having a private conversation and want to take a more holistic approach to mentoring.

3. Metacognition and “Think-Alouds”

Metacognition is often overlooked when we design assignments. This is unfortunate for several reasons, but one of the biggest reasons is that it can be the source of so many great “ah-ha” moments. By asking students to walk you through their thought processes, sources of motivation and inspiration, and plans, you help them uncover patterns and issues they may have missed. Here are a few ways to start these types of reflective discussions:

• Walk me through your thinking on that. What would happen next?
• Why did you decide to take that approach?
• Why do you think that idea was so appealing to you?
• What steps do you need to take to get this done?

4. Focused Questioning

Many aspects of good mentoring involve asking the right questions at the right time. In some cases, that means bringing the focus back to the core goals of the assignment and asking questions that are more granular, practical, or concrete than you would ask during other stages in the process. For instance, you might ask:  

• Did you consider that X might be an issue?
• Have you discussed this with other members of the group?
• Are you concerned that you may be spending too much time on this issue?

5. Advising

Some reality-TV mentors give very direct advice, but most stop short of telling the contestants exactly what to do. It’s tricky to strike the right balance, and finding phrasing that feels true to your communication style can be tough, but it gets easier with practice. Here are a few examples:

• I’d consider X before you invest more time in Y.
• Cutting out X and focusing on Y might lead to a better final result in this case.
• I think you’re on the right track with X. I’d steer clear of Y and focus on that.
• It sounds like you just need to make a decision and commit.

6. Connecting

In reality-TV land, there’s often a moment of tension when the mentor points out that two contestants are working on the same creative concept. While you might not need to help students make the connection that they’re about to create identical dresses for a red-carpet event, there are lots of ways mentoring can help students make connections both with each other and with your rich depth of knowledge in your field. For instance:

• I noticed X is doing something similar. You should talk to her about it.
• I saw a great example of this recently. I’ll send you a link.
• This reminds me of something X would do. Have you seen/read her work?

7. Motivating

Reality TV —much like school— can be a pressure cooker at times, and TV producers know it. If contestants are unmotivated, uninterested, or too overwhelmed to stick around, there’s no show. As a result, mentors on TV have to address many of the same “student success” issues (i.e., retention and persistence) that we encounter as educators.

On the one hand, it’s easy to argue that motivating and inspiring students isn’t an instructor’s primary job. However, instructors have a key role to play when it comes to increasing students’ belief in their potential to learn and meet course outcomes, and research shows that a high sense of self-efficacy can improve student performance.

Of course, pep talks and motivational messaging are only meaningful if they feel genuine, so word choice is critical here. The more specific you can be when telling students why you believe in them, the better. For example:

• It’s an ambitious goal, but I know you can pull it off if you manage your time well.
• You did great work on project X. The way you handled Y will serve you well on this new project.
• You’ve got a great eye for X. I’m excited to see what you come up with this time around.

Final Thoughts

Taken as a whole, reality TV might not seem like an obvious source of inspiration for teaching practices, but the genre has more to offer than just angry housewives flipping tables and throwing glasses of wine in each other’s faces. Well-designed competition shows like The Voice, Project Runway, and RuPaul’s Drag Race all have their share of drama, conflict, and witty quips, but they’re also packed with “teachable moments,” thanks to their emphasis on mentorship.

If you’re a fan of a show that models good mentoring or one that provides a great example of what not to do as a mentor, I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment and tell me why it’s on your list.