Teacher Mentoring: Helping New Teachers Survive

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Teacher Mentoring Helping New Teachers Survive
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Mentoring Definitions
Jacobi (1991) a one-to-one helping relationship
or nurturing process Christensen (1991)
guiding of a novice in professional development
and the journeying together toward professional
excellence
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PURPOSESTATEMENT

•   Research demonstrates that many novice teachers
  are denied necessary support in their beginning
  years. Too often, young teachers leave the
  profession before having the opportunity to
  become effective and confident. One in ten
  teachers who left the profession say the primary
  reason they left was inadequate support. And
  one-third of the teachers who have left the
  profession say that if a high quality-mentoring
  program had been in place, they would have likely
  continued teaching. (Source NJEA Study of New
  Jersey Teachers Who Have Left the Profession,
  Sept. 2000).

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Functions of Mentoring

• To provide direct assistance
• To provide emotional and psychological support
• To act as a role model
• To give advice and guidance
• To act as a coach
• To develop and refine protégés understanding of
  content and ability to teach content to a
  particular audience

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How Did You Survive?

• Think back to your first couple of years as a
  teacher
• What do you remember about your first day, week,
  or month as a new teacher?
• Did anyone help you? Who? Did you ask for help or
  was it offered?
• Looking back, what information, materials or
  support might have been of help to you?
• Do you have a chance for professional
  discussions/sharing? If so, what do the
  professionals in your building share and how is
  it shared?

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Adults Learn Best When

• They are originators of their own learning.
• They are in a climate that encourages
  experimentation.
• They are recognized and given increased
  responsibility for their own learning.
• They can experience and do rather than be told.
• They see the results and get immediate and
  accurate feedback.
• They can individualize and adapt, rather than
  adopt.
• They are placed in informal learning situations
  with extensive social interactions.
• (Woods and Thompson, 1980)

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What a good Mentor does

• Help your mentee with unwritten practices and
  policies
• Meet on a regular schedule to discuss the
  mentees concerns, questions, progress and
  instructional practice
• Help with organization, materials, record
  keeping, classroom management, unit plans,
  curriculum, lesson plans, assessments, etc.
• Respond to specific requests by mentee
• Model/suggest techniques for parent communication
• Assure confidentiality when discussing mentees
  concerns
• Provide information about professional
  development
• Help mentee identify specific skills,
  competencies or strategies which need improvement
• Invite mentee in to observe demo lessons with
  follow up conference
• Offer to observe mentees class with pre/post
  conference discussions
• Identify resource people in and out of the
  district
• Encourage mentee to try new ideas and plans

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Expectations

• Mentor visitations of novice teacher
• Mentee visitations of Mentor
• Regularly scheduled formal meetings (minimally 1
  time per week for 1 hour)
• Maintain an electronic log
• CONTINUOUS COMMUNICATION

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Suggested Topics Weekly Meetings

• Instructional
• Strategies
• Assessment
• Teaching
• Standards
• Goal-setting
• New Teacher
• Support Plan
• PDP

• Communication
• Teacher wellness
• Parent/Teacher
• conferences
• Reflection
• Classroom
• management
• Curriculum

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Goal Setting

• Putting the pieces together

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• Comments and Questions

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• Together we are a puzzle
• Unique pieces made to show,
• that when we work together,
• theres no place we cant go.