Mentoring Matters: Roles, Responsibilities, and Relationships

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Mentoring Matters Roles, Responsibilities, and
Relationships

• Alabama Teacher Mentoring Program

Alabama
Governors
Commission on State Department of Education


Quality Teaching
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Learning Targets

• I can overview information about Alabama Quality
  Teaching Standards (AQTS) with my mentee
• I can use the Shelby County New Teacher Mentoring
  website
• I can use information about generational
  differences to better support my mentee
• I can communicate with my mentee effectively
• I can use the Code of Ethics to clarify
  responsibilities, boundaries and expectations for
  my mentee

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Group Norms

• Be a learnerbe open to new ideas.
• Respect otherslisten to understand.
• Ask questionsseek clarification.
• Keep things confidential within the group.
• Have fun!

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Why Mentoring?
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Some of the Facts Beginning Teachers

• In a survey of 1st and 2nd year teachers in
  Alabama
• lt 40 said they had received help in
  establishing relationships with colleagues and
  managing class time
• gt 80 wanted assistance through professional
  development and an assigned mentor teacher
  (2000)

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Why Mentoring?

• More importantly, to provide a helping hand so
  that beginning teachers develop into effective
  teachers as soon as possible.
• What is the role of a mentor?

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Why Mentoring?

• Of the in-school factors that affect learning,
  the quality of teaching is the most important by
  far.
• Marzano, Robert J. What Works in Schools
  Translating Research into Action. 2003.
• What teachers doand dont doaffects student
  learning outcomes.
• Mentors can help beginning teachers develop into
  quality teachers.

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What is Quality Teaching?

• Teacher Look Fors
• Student Look Fors
• Classroom Look Fors

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Alabama Quality Teaching Standards

• Standard 1 Content Knowledge
• Standard 2 Teaching and Learning
• Standard 3 Literacy
• Standard 4 Diversity
• Standard 5 Professionalism

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Jigsaw

• Choose a time keeper and table leader
• Count off at your table 1 though 5
• Read the standard that correlates with your
  number
• Move to the chart paper with your standard number
  
• Collaborate with your standard team to develop a
  1 minute description or big idea for that
  standard
• Return to your table group
• Each person will share for one minute about their
  standard

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Alabama Quality Teaching Standards

• Standard 1 Content Knowledge

Teachers have deep knowledge of the academic
discipline they are teaching, facilitate
students understanding of the subject, and know
the state standards and district curriculum for
subjects taught.
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Alabama Quality Teaching Standards

• Standard 2 Teaching and Learning

In a classroom environment conducive to learning,
teachers use best practice instructional and
assessment strategies appropriate to the students.
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Alabama Quality Teaching Standards

• Standard 3 Literacy

Teachers model and teach effective oral and
written communication, integrating basic reading,
math and technology as appropriate.
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Alabama Quality Teaching Standards

• Standard 4 Diversity

Teachers differentiate instruction in ways that
exhibit a deep understanding of cultural, ethnic,
and social backgrounds second language learning
special needs and learning styles.
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Alabama Quality Teaching Standards

• Standard 5 Professionalism

Teachers engage in continuous learning and
self-improvement through collaboration with
colleagues.
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Generational Differences

• We have people of multiple generations working
  together.
• Some values and actions change as we age.
• Not all people of the same age share the same
  outlook, though there are patterns and trends.
• Values and actions are shaped by personal and
  world events that occurred at a given point in
  our lives.

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Name that Generationnote mixed research on
precise dates

• Traditionalists / Silent Generation
• Born between 1922 and 1945
• Baby Boomers
• Born between 1946 and 1964
• Generation X
• Born between 1965 and 1976 (some push to 1980)
• Generation Y / Millennials
• Born between 1976 and 1990
• Generation iY / Millenials)
• Born between 1990 and 1997(some push to 2000)
• Generation Z
• Born after 1997

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Generational Differences

• It is possible for a mentee to be mentored by
  someone younger.
• Realizing generational tendencies helps to reduce
  resentment and lack of understanding at behaviors
  that may seem to be disrespectful, arrogant, or
  distracting.
• Be aware of generational differences and
  celebrate all experiences brought to the table.

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Collaboration Calendar
Instructional
Personal
Professional
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As a mentor,

• the best thing we can do is to establish a
  relationship built on trust.

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Trust Mistrust

• Open
• Supportive
• Willing to Risk
• Respectful
• Genuine
• Cooperative
• Problem Centered
• Accepting Warm
• Dependable

• Closed
• Controlling
• Unwilling to Risk
• Disrespectful
• Hypocritical
• Competitive
• Solution Minded
• Rejecting Cold
• Capricious

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Trust Its Multiple Dimensions

• AuthenticityBe yourself.
• HonestySpeak the truth.
• ListeningListen to understand, not to judge
• ConfidentialityKeep confidences.
• NOT putting another downAcknowledge and build on
  strengths.
• NOT trying to take overRemember your role.

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How can we help bridge the gap between
a teacher of students?
a student of teaching
and
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Communication Strategies

• Ordinary, everyday habits of communication wont
  work as a mentor
• We need extraordinary skills of listening,
  rephrasing, clarifying, and prompting thinking

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Examples of Reflective Questions

• Tell me about
• Did you notice?
• What problems did you come across today?
• How are you planning to address this?
• What if?
• I wonder?
• How did you reach this conclusion?
• Why do you think?
• Talk to me about what success might look like.
• Lets assume for a minute that
• Imagine that you
• What might be the relationship between ____ and
  ____?

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Probing Questions or Comments

• To clarify,
• What do you mean when you say. . . ?
• Help me get behind your thinking. . .
• Paraphrase Let me see if Ive got this right.
  (Provide summary in own words.)
• To elicit more information
• Can you give me an example of. . .?
• Talk about a time when you were able to . . .
• Say more about . .
• Youve told me about how you hope to engage the
  students in learning fractions. Now talk about
  how you will know if that strategy is successful.