Roles and Responsibilites of the Mentor Teacher

1. Roles and Responsibilites of the Mentor Teacher Thank you for participating in our Mentor/Mentee Program! Parkway School District Summer 2010

2. UbD Unit Plan for Mentoring (click on above title for plan)

3. Key Features of Mentor Programs • Respond to the developmental needs of those they serve • Grounded in the research on teacher and adult development • Primarily supportive in nature and NOT linked to a formal personnel evaluation • Centered on enhancing the knowledge and skills of new teachers in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment • Provide mentors with opportunities to serve as a collegial guide, seasoned teacher, consultant, and coach • Focused on collegial connections • Designed as a learning system that examines and refines practice as well as adding to the collaborative culture of a school community

4. … as a result … mentor programs are more likely to positively impact teacher retention, teacher renewal, teacher quality, and most importantly, student learning and achievement. (Joyce and Showers, 2002)

5. Why Mentoring? • The growth and developmentof children is vitally linked to the growth and developmentof adults in and beyond schools. • A successful mentoring program can help teachers respond intentionally with effective strategies to the needs of a diverse population of learners. • The early years of teaching are a critical part of a continuum of learning – a link between pre-service preparation and ongoing professional development. From: Mentoring New Teachers Through Collaborative Coaching, by Kathy Dunne and Susan Villani

6. Five Benefits of Mentoring • Support for new teachers • Reduce attrition • More effective instructional strategies for new teachers • More effective classroom management • Increase in student achievement

7. Attributes of Effective Mentors

8. Mentor Roles • Collegial Guide – orient and acclimate and respond to the new teacher’s immediate and evolving needs • Consultant – helps identify strategies for managing and resolving struggles • Seasoned Teacher – shed light through wisdom and experience while modeling professionalism, collegiality, and lifelong learning • Coach – leads through a process of collaborative inquiry From: Mentoring New Teachers Through Collaborative Coaching by Kathy Dunne and Susan Villani

9. Offer Support Emotional Physical Setting Technical Informational Facilitate Professional Vision High expectations for self/students Life-long learning Professional identity Create Challenge Goal-driven Data-focused Thought Provoking Mentor Responsibilities

10. Offering Support • Emotional • Sometimes humor, sometimes tears • Physical Setting • Room arrangement, moving books • Technical • Guidelines for applying procedures, or advice on certain processes • Informational • Content area resources, practical professional suggestions

11. How do I offer support? • Maintain confidentiality • Communicate that you are not evaluative • Visit regularly with your mentee • Your Lead Mentor has sample reflection guides too • Provide feedback

12. Creating Challenge • Goal-driven • Goal-driven conversations ensure productive use of time • Set goals for “next” meeting • Data-focused • Look at student work together • Thought-provoking • Encourage problem solving and decision making • Build connections between theory and classroom practice

13. How do I create challenge? • Encourage your mentee to use the mentor/mentee release day. Plan this day together. • Invite your mentee into your classroom to observe something specific. • Observe your mentee when he/she is ready – encourage him/her to ask for specific feedback.

14. Facilitating Professional Vision • High expectations for self and students • Refer to Parkway Teaching Standards • Support the new teacher’s PGP • Lifelong learning • “We don’t learn to teach, we learn from our learning.” • Professional identity • As mentors, we need to model this on a daily basis.

15. How do I facilitate professional vision? • Keep track of the Mentor/Mentee Collaborative Assessment Log • Assist mentee in writing PGP and continual focus on PGP and Parkway Teaching Standards • Serve as a resource to foster professional growth (share articles, information about current research)

16. Mentoring Standards(New Teacher Center at USC) • Engages, supports and advances the professional learning of each teacher • Creates and maintains collaborative school and professional partnerships (for professional growth) • Designs and facilitates professional development for teachers • Utilizes knowledge of pedagogy, content, and standards to advance teacher and student development • Utilizes assessments to promote teacher learning and development • Develops as a professional leader to advance induction and school improvment

17. When working with our mentees, there are some things to take into consideration… • Characteristics of the Adult Learner • CBAM Stages of Concern • Phases of New Teacher

18. What does this mean for me as a Mentor… • Roles and Responsibilities

19. As a Mentor, what tools do I have available to make it work? • CONFIDENTIALITY • Needs survey to determine the focus of Mentor/Mentee conversation • Mentor/Mentee Collaborative Assessment Log (used for documentation of hours and action plans) • Mentor/Mentee Release Day Form • Calendar/Checklist (nuts and bolts of first 6-8 weeks of school)