"What teachers are to one another matters. In a sometimes lonely profession, isolation within the individual egg cell crate of a school does not promote professional or personal growth. Parallel play may socialise youngsters in sandboxes, but it limits learning for adults" - Garnston & Wellman, 1999.
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What is Mentoring?
Mentoring provides a powerful opportunity to improve students' learning outcomes through teachers learning with and from each other sharing their skills and expertise. It gives educators time to reflect on their practice and to question what they are doing as they go about teaching. Mentoring also requires careful planning and effective implementation so that the practice becomes embedded into the culture of school supported by design, not chance.
What might Mentoring Involve?
Mentoring is an important strategy for induction and is based on a formalised partnership that supports and encourages professional learning between an experienced teacher and first or second year. Developing a sound and trusting relationship will rely upon the degree of understanding and responsibility shared by the mentoring partners.
What are the Attributes of an Effective PRT Mentor?
A list of values and/or skills as attributes are identified by the following groups:
PRT or Provisionally Registered Teachers...
*approachable * accessible and willing to be engaged * supportive * understanding * good communicator * knowledgeable (mainly pedagogical but also subject matter) |
Mentors...
* ability and willingness to listen * empathetic * supportive * great communicator * experienced teacher |
Principal/ School Leaders...
* effective listener * excellent communicator * builds positive 'working' relationships * gives honest constructive feedback * high-level of teaching and learning, skills and curriculum knowledge * willingness of time |
Key Elements that Support a Mentoring Relationship
* Time allocation - for mentoring and/or profession learning activities
* A well considered teaching load and class allocation for the PRT
* Regular and timetabled mentoring meetings on a weekly or fortnightly basis
* SMART objectives and an action plan that aligns with learning and the mentoring partnership
* The mentor and PRT working in close proximity to one another
* The mentor and PRT teaching at the same year level/s
* The mentor and PRT using/sharing release time for planned observations or professional learning
* Active support from the school leadership team
* A well considered teaching load and class allocation for the PRT
* Regular and timetabled mentoring meetings on a weekly or fortnightly basis
* SMART objectives and an action plan that aligns with learning and the mentoring partnership
* The mentor and PRT working in close proximity to one another
* The mentor and PRT teaching at the same year level/s
* The mentor and PRT using/sharing release time for planned observations or professional learning
* Active support from the school leadership team
Moving Forward in Partnership
An action plan provides instructional support and a comprehensive way to monitor change and progress across a variety of objectives and goals within multiple areas (ie: teacher's thinking, student learning, classroom, practice, pedagogy).
It should link to the RTC's NZ Registered Teacher Criteria and be used throughout the year by mentoring partners to help focus and shape those on-going professional learning conversations.
It should link to the RTC's NZ Registered Teacher Criteria and be used throughout the year by mentoring partners to help focus and shape those on-going professional learning conversations.
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How Might I Observe a Mentor Teacher?
Watching experienced teachers at work is vital to the continuing development
and improvement of a PRT’s professional practice. PRTs are required to
spend time learning, observing learning experiences taught and activities
undertaken by a number of teachers in a variety of learning contexts.
Stages of a Learning Experience Observation
1. During the first stage the PRT actually observes a Mentor while she/he is teaching, making detailed notes in the form of a running account. This will be a description of the action that the PRT is seeing and should describe what happened in the learning experience and how it happened.
2.The second stage involves a re-working of the descriptive notes into a learning experience format. The PRT will detail the teaching steps, strategies used, key examples and the like in an effort to identify the plan behind the observed action. The PRT may also challenge, question, reflect, adopt, adapt and at times implement the ‘new learning’ into his/her own teaching practice.
Structuring the Observation
Learning intentions and/or outcomes are made explicit so that PRTs come to understand and appreciate links between the elements of learning experience planning (content, effective pedagogy, teaching strategies, assessment, classroom organisation, and so on.)
The introduction of any learning experience should orientate students towards the activity, set the tone and establish the rules, boundaries and spaces within which they may act. During the introduction the PRT might question:
¨ What prior preparation or organisation did the Mentor carry out before the start of the day or the learning experience?
¨ How does the learning environment facilitate activities for the day? (e.g. furniture arrangements for group work)
¨ What equipment is normally in the room? (Whiteboard, OHP etc)
¨ What equipment has been especially used?
¨ How do students enter the room?
¨ What do students bring to the experience?
¨ Does the Mentor have a designated seating arrangement for the class?
¨ What does the Mentor do to get the students’ attention at the start of the day/lesson?
¨ What key questions did the Mentor ask?
¨ Were there any particular resources the Mentor used to motivate the students and maintain enthusiasm?
¨ Where were the students seated and how were they grouped?
During the body of the learning experience it is important to try and identify each step and the strategies that are effectively employed by the Mentor. In other words, observations should attend to the content being taught and how it is being taught.
¨ How are the students grouped?
¨ Where does the Mentor stand or sit to talk to the group?
¨ How did the Mentor orientate the students towards the main lesson task?
¨ What language does the Mentor use to explain a concept?
¨ How orderly are teacher-student and student-student interactions?
¨ What does the Mentor do to promote “on task” behaviours?
¨ What do you observe about the teacher’s use of voice (volume, projection, variation) and vocabulary?
¨ What does the Mentor do to promote an atmosphere of calm and care in the room?
¨ Does the Mentor refer the class or individuals to any classroom rules?
¨ How might disruptive behaviour be dealt with?
¨ How is interest in the learning experience maintained?
¨ How does the Mentor cater for the faster or slower learners?
¨ What teacher strategies are used and when are these used?
¨ What kind of feedback to students does the Mentor give?
Not every learning experience has a discrete conclusion, owing to the less-than-ideal circumstances in many classrooms. PRTs may look for any follow-up activities planned by the Mentor to augment understandings of the learning experience at a later date as well as any extra activities undertaken. It is also important that PRTs recognise the conclusion involves not only the packing up and tidying stage at the end of the learning experience but also involves how the next session is led into.
Stages of a Learning Experience Observation
1. During the first stage the PRT actually observes a Mentor while she/he is teaching, making detailed notes in the form of a running account. This will be a description of the action that the PRT is seeing and should describe what happened in the learning experience and how it happened.
2.The second stage involves a re-working of the descriptive notes into a learning experience format. The PRT will detail the teaching steps, strategies used, key examples and the like in an effort to identify the plan behind the observed action. The PRT may also challenge, question, reflect, adopt, adapt and at times implement the ‘new learning’ into his/her own teaching practice.
Structuring the Observation
Learning intentions and/or outcomes are made explicit so that PRTs come to understand and appreciate links between the elements of learning experience planning (content, effective pedagogy, teaching strategies, assessment, classroom organisation, and so on.)
The introduction of any learning experience should orientate students towards the activity, set the tone and establish the rules, boundaries and spaces within which they may act. During the introduction the PRT might question:
¨ What prior preparation or organisation did the Mentor carry out before the start of the day or the learning experience?
¨ How does the learning environment facilitate activities for the day? (e.g. furniture arrangements for group work)
¨ What equipment is normally in the room? (Whiteboard, OHP etc)
¨ What equipment has been especially used?
¨ How do students enter the room?
¨ What do students bring to the experience?
¨ Does the Mentor have a designated seating arrangement for the class?
¨ What does the Mentor do to get the students’ attention at the start of the day/lesson?
¨ What key questions did the Mentor ask?
¨ Were there any particular resources the Mentor used to motivate the students and maintain enthusiasm?
¨ Where were the students seated and how were they grouped?
During the body of the learning experience it is important to try and identify each step and the strategies that are effectively employed by the Mentor. In other words, observations should attend to the content being taught and how it is being taught.
¨ How are the students grouped?
¨ Where does the Mentor stand or sit to talk to the group?
¨ How did the Mentor orientate the students towards the main lesson task?
¨ What language does the Mentor use to explain a concept?
¨ How orderly are teacher-student and student-student interactions?
¨ What does the Mentor do to promote “on task” behaviours?
¨ What do you observe about the teacher’s use of voice (volume, projection, variation) and vocabulary?
¨ What does the Mentor do to promote an atmosphere of calm and care in the room?
¨ Does the Mentor refer the class or individuals to any classroom rules?
¨ How might disruptive behaviour be dealt with?
¨ How is interest in the learning experience maintained?
¨ How does the Mentor cater for the faster or slower learners?
¨ What teacher strategies are used and when are these used?
¨ What kind of feedback to students does the Mentor give?
Not every learning experience has a discrete conclusion, owing to the less-than-ideal circumstances in many classrooms. PRTs may look for any follow-up activities planned by the Mentor to augment understandings of the learning experience at a later date as well as any extra activities undertaken. It is also important that PRTs recognise the conclusion involves not only the packing up and tidying stage at the end of the learning experience but also involves how the next session is led into.