BPSOM : Boston Public School Online Mentoring Using Technology to Support 2 nd & 3 rd Year Teachers
Dec 23, 2014
BPSOM : Boston Public School Online Mentoring
Using Technology to Support 2nd & 3rd Year Teachers
Who is Here Today?
Presenter: Patreka J. Wood-Blain, New Teacher Developer,
Boston Public Schools Round Table Introductions:
Name Title Experience with Online Learning
Why BPSOM is Needed? All school districts are required to provide an
induction program for all teachers in their first year of practice [603 CMR 7.12].
50 additional mentoring hours are required for the professional license
Budget does not allow for additional full or part-time support
Research by Ingersoll & Strong indicates that:“…support and assistance for beginning teachers have
a positive impact on three sets of outcomes: teacher commitment and retention, teacher classroom instructional practices, and student achievement.”
Online Learning Environment Considered Moodle but didn’t have a shell to
host the course Considered Google Sites which would have
worked Ultimately used Wikispaces because preferred
layout of WebPages, easy to use and free for educators
About the Mentors Veteran educators with over 10 years of
teaching experience Various content areas Mostly secondary Mentor to Teacher ratio = 1:10
Organization of BPSOM Learning Forums
Teachers explore web-based resources on a variety of topics and post new learning and insights in biweekly learning forums.
Community Forums Teachers contribute to a weekly community forum
in which they network, collaborate and share ideas with other participants.
Face-to-Face Meetings Held at the beginning, middle and end of the
course.
Biweekly Learning Forum Sequence1. Self-reflect on DOET or PTS2. Identify Successes, Challenges & Area for
Growth3. Review web-based resources through the
lens of their personal area for growth1. Articles, interactive websites, videos
4. Discuss applications of resources to their classrooms
5. Develop a product implementing the new strategy or learning
1. Assessment, lesson plan, web 2.0 tool6. Share comments, feedback and reflections
with teachers in your mentor group.
Final Course Product E-Portfolio
All new learning and reflections on the coursework and their teaching practice will be documented in a final course portfolio that will be presented at the last face-to-face session.
BPSOM E-portfolio
Successes & Challenges
Successes Challenges
E-Portfolio Rewarding for those that
completed the course Scavenger Hunt during
F2F Wiki environment
worked well for hosting course
Over 40 teachers initially signed-up for course
Live Chat
• Too long - participants dropped out
• Mentors lacked support• More assignments lead to
less mentoring• Some participants needed
more F2F time• Too much work for 2 in-
service credits• Mentor groups not
organized by grade level, especially challenging for early childhood teachers
• No formal feedback - no evaluation given, all feedback was anecdotal
Next Steps Move course from Wikispaces to a Moodle
learning environment Develop an online facilitation course for
mentors or make completion of the New Teacher Center’s Online Facilitation course a prerequisite for new mentors
Integrate ongoing mentor support Separate the Learning Forum from the
Community Forum Learning Forum last 12 weeks instead of 16 weeks Community last all year long
Use social networks to encourage teachers to participate in BPSOM
For More Information… Email Patreka Wood-Blain
[email protected] PowerPoint Slides and Resources
http://bpsom-presentation.wikispaces.com/