Welcome to Mentor Training

1. Welcome to Mentor Training

2. ‘Housekeeping Information’

3. Culture Activity Option 1 Divide paper into four quadrants. Use the colored markers to draw the following in the four quadrants: • An experience from your first year of teaching (may represent mentoring you received). • A symbol of how you might empower a new teacher to grow professionally. • A symbol of what you hope to learn as a mentor. • The most selfless act that someone extended to you within your most recent teaching year. p. 177

4. Culture Activity Option 2 On the index card write: • One thing you probably have in common with MOST people here today. • One thing you probably have in common with SOME people in the group. • One (question?) you might have in common with A FEW people. • One thing that is UNIQUE about you. p. 178

5. We’re glad you’re here! • Your name • Your school • Your content area or grade level • What you hope to learn as a mentor

6. Collaborative Norms

7. Discuss at your table • What types of mentoring, if any, did you receive as a beginning teacher? Was it or was it not beneficial? • What are some effective ways of welcoming a first-year teacher into a school system? How is it done in your district?

8. The goal of the ND Teacher Support System Mentoring Program “We want to develop teachers who are thinkers and problem-solvers, who ask questions about their practice, and constantly seek solutions, who are committed and passionate advocates for learning for all children.” New Teacher Center, Santa Cruz, CA” p. 5

9. Overview of materials

10. Jumping around …

11. Why is mentoring important?

12. What is the difference between induction and mentoring?

13. Why Mentoring? • Retaining quality teachers • Improving beginning teachers’ skills and performance • Supporting teacher morale, communications and collegiality • Building a sense of professionalism, positive attitude • Facilitating a seamless transition into the first year of teaching • Putting theory into practice • Preventing teacher isolation • Building self-reflection Guidelines for Mentoring Teacher Programs for Beginning and Experienced Teachers Virginia Department of Education p. 11

14. Why Mentoring? Teacher Retention Statistics • 50-60% of new teachers nationally are still teaching after 5 years. (Ingersoll and Perda, 2012) • 81% of teachers who were in the TSS program in 2010 are still teaching in ND in their 5th year. (2013 MIS03) p. 11

15. Why Mentoring? Cost Impact • The cost of replacing a teacher is 25-35% of the annual salary and benefit costs. • It costs $11,000 every time a teacher leaves the profession. Center of Best Practices of the National Governors Association • Every $1 spent on high-quality induction provides a return on investment of $1.66 over a period of five years. Making a Case for Policy Investments that Help New Teachers Succeed (2007) p. 12

16. “As teachers, we might learn from our mistakes. Our students won’t.” Gary Rubenstein

17. Strong mentors: • improve teacher quality – in high quality programs the skill level of a teacher finishing the first year can move to that of a 4th year teacher (Villar, 2004) • improve student assessment and achievement (Glazerman et al., 2008; Isenberg et al., 2009) • benefit veteran teachers through new leadership opportunities and time for professional reflection and development (Villar, 2004) p. 12

18. Two categories of support • Psychological • Instruction-related

19. ND Century Code 15.1-18.2-05 The Education Standards and Practices Board shall: c. (1) Select and train experienced teachers who will serve as mentors for first-year teachers and assist the first-year teachers with instructional skills development

20. Novice teachers are hesitant to request assistance DOUBLE BARRIER TO ASSISTANCE Experienced teachers are reluctant to interfere and/or offer assistance p. 13

21. Four kinds ofnovice teacher questions • One right answer • Several options but one right answer in this school • There is consensus on best practice but using best practice requires professional judgment • There is no consensus on best practice, so our professional judgment and caring about kids and each other is all we have to guide us Barry Sweeny p. 14

22. Remember!! It is important to tell your legislators about the value of the work you do with your first-year teacher if we want this program to continue!

23. Chart design suggestion p. 16-21

24. Ellen Moir’s p. 15

25. FirstYearPhases

26. • When does it begin? • Characteristics Phase 1Anticipation p. 16

27. Surprise! • Time Phase2Survival p. 17

28. Doubt • Pressures Phase3Disillusionment p. 18

29. Reorganization • Focus Phase 4Rejuvenation p. 19

30. Frustrations • Celebrations • Looking Ahead Phase 5Reflection p. 20

31. The Good Mentor James B. Rowley p. 22-26

32. Mentor Roles • Resource • Problem Solver • Advocate • Facilitator • Coach • Collaborator • Learner • Assessor • Trusted Listener • Teacher New Teacher Center p. 29

33. Ellen Moir’s p. 15

34. What is good teaching?

35. Write one idea per Post-it What do you observe (both in the classroom and in other professional settings) of a teacher whom you consider to be highly effective?

36. Consider one of these questions • Are some aspects of teaching more important in some settings than in others? Which ones? • Are the aspects of teaching you have identified generic in nature, or are they specific to the setting in which you experienced them? • Which of the teaching aspects you identified would you expect to observe only in experienced teachers? Which are parts of the repertoire of novices?

37. Teaching standards • We’ll use the Danielson Framework for Teaching for the training. • You will use the model your district chooses in your work with your mentee this year. • If your district has not chosen a model, please use the Danielson Framework. • If your mentee is not a classroom or special ed. teacher, please talk to us about what model to use. p. 31

39. The Four Domains • Planning and Preparation • Classroom Environment • Instruction • Professional Responsibilities p. 32

40. p. 32

41. Domain 1- Planning and Preparation “The Head” • This is where the “thinking about teaching “ happens. • What do the students need to know? • What do I need to do to make sure this happens? p. 33

42. Domain 2- Classroom Environment “The Heart” • This is where the “feeling“ of teaching happens. • We all remember how a classroom feels … welcoming, cold, inviting or uninviting. • Learning happens more readily when students are safe, comfortable and willing to take the risks of learning. p. 34

43. Domain 3- Instruction “The Hands” • This is where the “work of teaching” happens. • We engage, communicate, question and teach. • This is the part of teaching that the public sees as “teaching”. • It is the day-to-day observable part of the job. p. 35

44. Domain 4- Professional Responsibilities “The Feet” • This is the foundation of everything else that happens in teaching. • Without a good foundation of professionalism, the rest of the teacher is on shaky ground. • This is the unwritten piece of teaching that affects communication with the public and peers. p. 36

45. Share and Discuss • Is one of the domains more important than the others? What makes you think so? • Is one of the domains of particular importance to beginning teachers? Explain. • Does the sequence of the skills in each domain matter? If so, what is the sequence? If not, explain why?

46. Practice Activity 1 “Students in Mr. Mason’s eighth-grade history class have been given a timeline and a worksheet to fill in while the teacher takes roll and completes somepaperwork needed immediately by the main office.” Domain 2C - Managing Classroom Procedures

47. Practice Activity 2 “In Mr. Grant’s math class, the students are working in small groups to complete a worksheet. The teacher gave multi-step oral directions to the groups. Thestudents have many questions. The teacher moves from group to group to clarifythe task.” Domain 3A - Communicating with Students

48. Questions to consider • What specific evidence did you have to identify a location on the continuum? • Are the rubrics explicit and clearly differentiate between levels of performance? • Did each group member agree on the level of performance? • How could this information help determine a focus for teacher self-reflection?

49. Framework Uses • Teacher self-assessment tool • District evaluation tool • Teacher growth tool

50. What are 3 things you observed this past year in your school and which component or element do they represent? • What are 2 components or elements that you might have forgotten to include if you had created this list? • Which 1 component or element do you want to work on yourself?