Training for Newly Qualified Teachers and Their Mentors

Training for Newly Qualified Training for Newly Qualified Teachers and Their MentorsTeachers and Their Mentors

High Reliability Schools1998

Understanding the Concept Understanding the Concept of Mentoringof Mentoring

The term mentor was originally derived from Homer’s Odyssey, where the mentor was a trusted guide and couselor, and the mentor-protégé relationship a deep and meaningful association

Currently, mentoring in schools is used in an unrestricted way to mean the establishment of an ongoing relationship between an experienced educator and a less experienced educator for the purpose of professional guidance

Current Status of Current Status of Mentor Programs in the Mentor Programs in the United StatesUnited States

Thirty four state-mandated statewide mentor programs were enacted through 1992

The mentoring of novice teachers by veteran teachers is the central feature of many beginning teacher programs

Effective mentoring is Effective mentoring is defined by the following defined by the following attributes:attributes:

the process of nurturing; the act of serving as a role model; five mentoring functions (i.e., teaching,

sponsoring, encouraging, counseling, and befriending);

a focus on professional development and/or personal development; and

an ongoing caring relationship

Mentoring RationaleMentoring Rationale

New teachers need support and continuing staff development to succeed

Mentoring is a successful induction strategy

Mentoring benefits all participants (new teachers, mentors, and schools)

Induction programs…Induction programs…

resolve immediate problems; improve teaching skills; provide emotional support; and socialize teachers into the school

Benefits of MentoringBenefits of Mentoring

New teachers receive support to become competent professionals

Mentors reexamine their own teaching beliefs and practices, and develop the competencies necessary to share their expertise

Mentors pass along the knowledge and skills they have gained through experience

The leadership opportunities, training, and compensation available to mentors contribute to greater job satisfaction

School districts benefit from the increased competence and satisfaction of new teachers and mentors,

School districts are better able to attract and retain new teachers

Mentor programs are interactive systems which benefit all participants

Purpose of Mentor Purpose of Mentor ProgramsPrograms

Induct new teachers into the school system by:

providing information about school procedures;

sharing the research on effective instruction;

communicating important school norms, traditions, and values; and

provide assistance tailored to the circumstances of beginning teachers in individual schools

Mentor CharacteristicsMentor Characteristics Willing to be a mentor sensitive helpful, but not

authoritarian astute diplomatic able to anticipate

problems nurturing and

encouraging

timely in keeping beginners appraised of their successes

careful to keep the beginner’s problems confidential

enthusiastic about teaching good role model at all times

Criteria for Successful Criteria for Successful MentorsMentors

Mentors should be excellent teachers and judged by their supervisors to have the ability to plan and implement organized, academically focused lessons

Mentors should possess “mentor qualities.” They should have a positive attitude toward the students, teachers, administrators, and parents who make up the school community

Good mentors are people-oriented and even-tempered; they respect and like their subordinates and engender trust and respect in others. They should be confident, secure, flexible, altruistic, caring, and sensitive to the needs of proteges

A Mentor Wears Many A Mentor Wears Many Hats: Functions of Hats: Functions of MentoringMentoring

A content analysis of the collected tasks of mentors mentioned in job descriptions revealed that these fell into three major categories: 1- professional support 2- technical support 3- personal support

Mentors As Verbs...Mentors As Verbs...

assisting guiding modeling advising instructing demonstrating coaching

observing supporting meeting documenting providing feedback identifying resources planning curriculum

Common funtions of Common funtions of mentors include the mentors include the following:following:

Socializing the protégé into the culture of the classroom, the school, the district and the profession

Modeling appropriate teaching in the protégé’s class or by inviting the protégé to observe the mentor teaching

Providing instructional resources for the protégé Meeting with proteges to discuss common

concerns

Providing advice in the areas of classroom management, report card preparation, parent conferences, and school administration

Providing feedback Encouraging the protégé in the face of minor

failures Acting as a sounding board and confidante Accompanying the protégé to conferences,

workshops, etc. Serving as an intermediary for the protégé

with school, district, or program administrators

Meeting with school administrators about individual proteges or issues related to the conditions of teaching in the school

Meeting with other mentors or program administrators for purposes of problem-solving

Completing paperwork related to mentoring functions performed and/or the progress of the protégé

And, (though infrequent) counseling individuals to choose alternative careers outside of teaching

The Mentoring ProcessThe Mentoring Process

Mentors working with a novice should concentrate their efforts in three critical areas: the classroom, emotional support, and practical applications

Classroom GuidanceClassroom Guidance Provide knowledge about school policies and curriculum Provide knowledge about student needs Provide information about the community’s educational

expectations Model techniques that are helpful with special-needs

students Encourage joint participation in grade-level planning

activities Invite participation in cross-grade and school planning

activities Impart your wisdom and expertise

Emotional SupportEmotional Support Give regular constructive feedback Exhibit confidence and support for protégé’s

decisions Make time to listen Help find joint solutions to problems Treat proteges as adults and partners Support them in taking risks Encourage them to be involved in activities outside

of school Remind them that all work and no play leads to

stress

Practical ApplicationsPractical Applications Encourage joint research projects Encourage them to join local teachers’

organizations to broaden their growth and development

Encourage interactions with district and staff members

Tell them about the student body, faculty and community

Inform them about district rules and regulations

RelationshipsRelationships

Working with adults is seldom a breeze, because we are dealing with varied standards and behavioral styles

Interpersonal skills such as listening, patience, and understanding are imperative to mentoring

Much of what is written about mentoring suggests that there is a life-cycle to the mentoring relationship. As the protégé becomes more experienced and self-confident as a teacher, his/her needs and the type of support he/she requires from a mentor apparently changes as well

The mentor relationship is one of the most developmentally important relationships a person can have in early adulthood

The mentoring relationship passess through a series of phases: initiation, cultivation, and separation

Characteristics affecting the mentoring relationship include mentor’s age, gender, organization position, power, and self-confidence

The crucial component of a mentoring relationship is the ability to work together, not necessarily social background or common outside interest

What is the Head’s Role in What is the Head’s Role in Mentoring?Mentoring?

Since head teachers are the first contacts teachers have within a school community, they are the first with whom relationships are forged

When first hired, the novice tends to regard the head as a mentor, but this changes as the question of formal evaluations occurs

In the beginning, the novice may not be certain who to trust. If a head understands this early, and appoints an experienced teacher to serve as ongoing mentor, the beginning teacher will not flounder

A mentor becomes a source of support only when not seen as threatening or evaluative

To ensure the novice’s success, the head must know the strengths of the staff when seeking a mentor for the beginning teacher

Head teachers also need to provide mentors and beginning teachers with time to spend in each other’s work space and to meet regularly- not just when a crisis occurs

Concerns and Questions of Concerns and Questions of Mentor TeachersMentor Teachers

The most common concerns of mentors focus on mentoring activities: How much advice to give, how often to meet, how often to step in when the mentee is in need, how involved to get in advising the beginning teacher regarding teaching styles, methods, etc.

Another concern is the struggle to strike a balance between mediating in the beginner’s work so as to prevent bad experiences and allowing experiences to take their own course

Other concerns include: Mentoring the poorly prepared or discouraged teacher; how much help/advice to offer to someone who thinks or knows they do not need much help; how to feel like a resource, rather than an evaluator or judge; forgetting what it is like to be a new teacher; and will the mentor role be enjoyable?

Perceived ObstaclesPerceived Obstacles Often, teachers doubt their qualifications

to serve as mentors Beyond that, four areas of concern,

acknowledged most by mentor teachers, include: (1) time required; (2) matching beginning teacher and mentor; (3) qualifications of beginning teacher; and (4) support for mentoring and mentoring activities

Many mentors suggest that problems in finding time for mentoring was compounded by their involvement in a variety of other professional activities, ranging from serving as cooperating teachers to involvement in site-based management teams.

Concerns about the match between mentor and beginning teacher often deal with personalities and teaching philosophies and ideologies.

Some mentors are concerned about working with a mentee who doesn’t want help and how the mentee will react to having a mentor

Other concerns of mentors include: how good the beginning teacher is; how sensitive; how tough emotionally; how dedicated; and how the new teacher views herself/himself

One important concern of mentors is how to effectively role model without knowing the mentee’s students

Mentors also raise questions about the degree of support available to mentors and for mentoring activities

Mentors are also often concerned about having no budget for teacher inservices, lack of administrative support for mentoring, and involved time and effort.

Points to PonderPoints to Ponder

There is a danger in assuming that the dispositions and skills associated with good teaching are identical to those involved in mentoring; Being a mentor is similar to being a cooperating teacher, but certainly not identical

Mentor programs work best when the first and primary responsibility is to meet early career teachers’ needs, whatever they are

And….And…. Because mentoring involves highly personal

interaction, conducted under different circumstances in different schools, the roles of mentoring cannot be rigidly specified. Mentoring, like good teaching, should be defined by those who will carry it out

The range of helping strategies used, time-consuming reflection, modeling, and collaborative problem-solving suggests that mentors have a serious desire to help develop real competence, not just to offer emotional help