Aims of Workshop

1. Aims of Workshop • Introduce more effective school/University partnerships for the initial training of teachers through developing mentorship training • Encourage a reflective learning approach to their own teaching and mentoring (reflective log) • Share and develop: • the principles of effective teaching and learning; • strategies for effective classroom observation and feedback

2. School-University Partnerships • Complementary model: clearly defined areas of responsibility, separate knowledge domains • HEI-led model: University-led with some consultation, strong emphasis on quality assurance & assessment, defining tasks for schools • Collaborative model: teachers and tutors collaborate professionally on an ongoing basis recognising each others contribution & strengths

3. Mentoring defined • Mentoring is a means of providing support, challenge and extension of the learning of one person through the guidance of another who is more skilled, knowledgeable and experienced, particularly in relation to the context in which learning is taking place (Pollard, 2008: 32) • Mentorship as partnership in learning: with emphasis on reciprocal learning

4. Mentoring involves: • Mentors being willing to analyse & discuss their own practice, assess strengths and areas for further professional learning, and share these with student teachers • Identifying and agreeing learning goals and supporting progression through action planning; • Supporting and challenging learners to increase control over their own learning (self-assessment); • Active listening, guidance, feedback and direction; • Modelling teaching, observing, articulating, discussing and reviewing practice

5. Mentoring involves (2) • Sharing learning experiences: learning from a range of others; • Assessing practice; • Brokering a range of support and opportunities to engage in structured observation of teaching practices; • Inducting student teachers in to the life and culture of the school; • Developing a progressive model of mentoring which changes over time: i) beginning teaching; ii) supervised teaching; iii) from teaching to learning; iv) reflective teaching

6. Mentoring Skills • affirm, • analysing, • brokering, • challenging, • clarifying, • coaching, • collaborating, • confronting, • directing, • discussing, • empathy, • evaluating, • guiding, • informing, • inspiring, • listening, • modelling, • observing, • questioning, • reflecting, • relating, • sharing, • supporting, • summarising.

7. Models of Mentoring • Apprenticeship, competency, reflective practitioner: moving beyond routines to understanding the learning process as appropriate to different stages in the student’s development • Continuum of support at 4 levels: zero, minimal, developed (testing ideas & replacing them with new ones, questioning preconceptions), extended (beyond competence, whole school context of teaching) (Maynard & Furlong, 1995)

8. Concept of a Mentoring School • A good school for me is a place in which everyone is teaching and everyone is learning- simultaneously under the same roof. In a school that is a community of learners, the principal occupies a central place... as the head learner engaging in displaying and modelling the behaviours we want students and teachers to adopt (Barth:1990)

9. Learning through Mentoring(Tomlinson:1995) • Assisting students to learn from other people teaching: explaining planning, guiding observation, modelling and monitoring, modelling and reflection • Assisting students to learn through their own teaching: assisting their planning, supporting their teaching, assisting monitoring and feedback, assisting analysis and reflection • Progressive collaborative teaching: progressive joint planning, teaching as a learning team, mutual monitoring, joint analysis and reflection • Exploring central ideas and issues: direct research on pupil, colleagues, school and system contexts, reading on teaching and background issues, organised discussion on these topics

10. Effective Mentoring Characteristics • Enthusiasm for teaching; source of inspiration • Willing to critically reflect on their practice and discuss this with students and others; • Able to articulate their professional knowledge; • Be open-minded accepting that their view of teaching is not the only one; • Willing to develop own skills and understandings of teaching and learning; • Be accessible and have a positive, supportive and encouraging attitude; • Have the ability to be constructively critical; • High status within the school & committed to the role of mentor; • Be prepared to continually update their knowledge in the light of research

11. Principles of MentoringCentre for the Use of Evidence and Research in Education (CUREE.com) • A learning conversation: a structured professional dialogue rooted in evidence from the learner’s practice; • A thoughtful relationship: trust, respect, sensitivity to the emotional aspects of deep professional learning; • Combining support from fellow professional learners and specialists; • Growing self-direction: an evolving process in which the learner takes increasing responsibility for his/her professional development

12. Principles continued • Setting challenging and personal goals • A learning agreement: confidence about the boundaries of the relationship and awareness of imbalances in power and accountability; • Understanding why different approaches work – the theories that underpin new practice; • Benefits that mentors gain and making use of that for the professional learning of other colleagues; • Experimenting and observing: innovation, risk-taking and seeking out direct evidence from practice; • Using resources effectively: time & other resources to protect and sustain daily learning, action and reflection.

13. Schools are best placed to provide.. • Arrangements to introduce student teachers to the broad life and work of the school • The support of an experienced teacher to assist, advise and encourage the student teacher • A wide range of experiences for the student teacher • Opportunities for student teachers to observe a variety of teachers and a range of teaching styles • Opportunity for the student teacher to teach a range of classes • Access to a range of normal school resources

14. Class teachers are best placed to... • Support the student teacher in developing subject application, pedagogical skills, classroom management • Planning lessons jointly with the student teacher • Be willing to discuss own teaching and articulate the reasons for decisions taken • Observing lessons, completing a lesson observation report and having a feedback discussion • Observe other aspects of the student teacher’s work • Liaising with the University tutor • Contributing to the assessment of the student teacher

15. Universities/colleges are best placed to provide • Courses to support the development of the student teacher’s professional knowledge and skills • Co-ordination of University and school-based work and the development of effective partnerships • Opportunities to assist students to achieve the competences • Preparation for school-based work • Formative and summative assessment reports

16. Students teachers should...NI Competences • Professional Values and Practice (1) • Professional Knowledge and Understanding (2-13) • Professional Skills and Application; Planning and Leading (14-18) • Teaching and Learning (19-23) • Assessment (24-27)