Mentoring Matters: Putting the Pieces Together for an Effective Mentoring Program

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Mentoring Matters Putting the Pieces Together
for an Effective Mentoring Program

• Alabama Teacher Mentoring Program, September 2007

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Understanding this Resource

• Introduction to Mentoring for Beginning Teachers
• What is it? Why was it begun? (slides 4-10)
• Making It Work Roles and Responsibilities of
  Participants
• Expectations of New Teachers (slides 11-13)
• Expectations for Mentors (slides 14-17)
• Needs of Beginning Teachers (slides 18-22)
• The Mentor Role (slides 23-30)
• Role of Beginning Teacher (slide 31)
• The Principals Role (slides 32-40)

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Understanding this Resource

• Discussion icon
• Reflection icon
• Decision Point icon

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Mentoring Matters in Alabama!

• Beginning in the 2007-08 school year, a statewide
  program was recommended by the Governors
  Commission on Quality Teaching (GCQT) in which
  every new teacher is matched with a mentor
  teacher.
• Mentor stipends were funded by the Alabama
  Legislature for the 2007-08 school year
• Guidelines were created by the Alabama SDE
  training and support is available from the AL SDE
  and Regional Inservice Centers (RICs)

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Goals of Presentation

• Create a deeper understanding of the Alabama
  Teacher Mentoring (ATM) program
• Foster dialogue, among key staff, about how a
  school can best support beginning teachers
• Build commitment to mentoring as a process that
  facilitates the transition for beginning teachers

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Why Mentoring?

• To provide on-the-job support to help beginning
  teachers transition into their job
  successfullyand to become effective teachers as
  soon as possible.

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Mentoring Mission

• To help support beginning teachers as they
  develop the skills and confidence to become
  quality teachers

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Some of the Facts Beginning Teachers

• Initiation of new teachers has traditionally been
  sink or swim

• In a survey of 1st and 2nd year teachers in
  Alabama
• lt 40 said they had received help in
  establishing relationships with colleagues and
  managing class time
• gt 80 wanted assistance through professional
  development and an assigned mentor teacher
  (2000)

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Expected Benefits

• Improved learning of all students
• Increased retention of effective new teachers
• Reduced replacement costs
• Leadership and professional growth opportunity
  for mentors
• Enhanced school culture

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Purpose of Alabama Teacher Mentoring

• Provide every beginning teacher in Alabama with
  a well-trained, effective mentor who will
• Help induct the beginning teacher into the
  culture of the school and the system
• Deliver ongoing coaching and support to beginning
  teachers in the areas of
• Classroom instruction, curriculum, management,
  and assessment so as to maximize the learning
  and achievement of all students
• Personal, social and emotional support to new
  teachers as they transition into the complexities
  of the teaching profession

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Expectations for Mentoring

• On the web-site is a handout, Expectations for
  Participants in Alabama Teacher Mentoring
  Program, that describes what you can expect if
  you are a participant in the ATM program.
• Read through the expectations for Every new
  teacher in Alabama

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Expectations for Mentoring

• As a team, discuss
• What are the benefits to the new teacher and to
  the studentsif each of these expectations is
  met?
• What will be the challenges in meeting these
  expectations?
• What will be required in order to meet these
  expectations?

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Mentors Cant Do It Alone

• Hopefully, part of your discussion on the prior
  slide pointed out the need for a school-wide
  approach to meet the needs of beginning teachers.

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Expectations for Mentors

• Look at the next section of the handout,
  Expectations for Participants in ATM Program.
• Read through what Every teacher mentor can
  expect

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Expectations for Mentoring Ongoing Training

• Mentor consultants (from the Regional Inservice
  Centers) and mentor liaisons (from the LEA) will
  provide training to mentor teachers.

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Expectations for MentoringClarity about Roles,
Responsibilities

• The principal will learn about the mentoring
  program and have conversations about the role of
  mentor teachers in the school.
• Principals and other administrators will honor
  the confidential relationship between mentor and
  beginning teacher.

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Expectations for Mentoring Support from
Colleagues

• All teachers helping the beginning teacher to
  feel welcome
• Teachers offering to allow the beginning teacher
  to observe
• All staff helping the beginning teacher learn
  how we do things around here in a positive way
• Teaching staff committed to offering
  encouragement to beginning teacher

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Think about

• the major challenges that beginning teachers
  face.
• Individually, make a list of the challenges that
  you, as a new teacher, faceor that you remember
  facing when you were new to this profession.

Challenges Faced by Beginning Teachers

• ________________
• ________________
• ________________
• ________________
• ________________

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Share Your Ideas

• With other members of your team, share what you
  consider to be the major challenges faced by
  beginning teachers.
• There are a lot of them, arent there?

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Alabama Teacher Mentoring Program Spheres of
Activity
Classroom
Personal
School
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Look Back at Your List of Challenges

• Select one of them.
• Who best could help a beginning teacher with
  this?
• Proceed through several of the concerns to
  identify a group or individual who could best
  support a beginning teacher.

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Develop Supportive Relationships Among All
Members of the School Community
Beginning Teacher
All school staff
Principal
Mentor
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Mentors Role

• Establish a relationship of mutual trust,
  respect, and confidentiality be available
• Meet regularly with the beginning teacher to
  address concerns and to build knowledge and
  skills
• Help with quality lesson design, using the
  Alabama Courses of Study
• Use the Alabama Quality Teaching Standards to
  guide your selection of a focus, observations,
  and feedback
• Recommend helpful resourcesother staff,
  websites, materials, etc.
• Encourage and involve other staff

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The Go-To Person at School

• The mentors main job is to establish a
  comfortable relationship so the beginning teacher
  has at least one person to whom they can ask any
  question with whom they can share good news and
  on whom they can depend to keep confidences over
  potential frustrations.

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Meet Regularly With the Beginning Teacher

• Your goal is to address concernsand also to
  build knowledge and skills for high quality
  teaching
• Meet at least once a week with your beginning
  teacher. Together, decide the focus for your
  conversation. Depending on the topic, it may be
  appropriate to observe, find resources to share,
  or work together to plan and design

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Meet Regularly With the Beginning Teacher

• Check in daily if possiblebefore school, during
  lunch, between classes, etc. Use every
  opportunity to listen and to provide
  encouragement
• Mentors are experienced and capable teachers but
  they are not experts in every aspect of
  teaching. Sometimes the main job is to promote
  reflection so the beginning teacher can think
  through his or her own solution.

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Alabama Courses of Study

• New teachers need to become familiar with the
  Alabama Courses of Study.
• Use it to work with them in designing lessons.
• Use the AL COS with which to assess tests and
  quizzes.
• This is arduous and difficult work. It helps to
  have a partner in this effort!

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Alabama Courses of Study

• The Alabama Content Standards should be the
  primary guide when discussion turns to
  curriculum.
• Help the beginning teacher find resources on the
  Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX) at the website
  http//alex.state.al.us/browseStand.php
• Lesson plans, links, websites and more are
  available for each standard.

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AL Quality Teaching Standards

• Use the Alabama Quality Teaching Standards to
  guide your selection of a focus for discussions,
  observations, and feedback

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Involve Other Staff

• The entire school is responsible to help new
  teachers learn the ropes, feel welcome, and
  become effective as soon as possible.
• What are some ways that your mentoring team can
  encourage other staff to be involved?

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Beginning Teachers Role

• Ask when you dont knowand expect to ask often!
  Dont expect that you should know everything
  theres lots to learn in this profession!
• Reach out to others on the staff develop
  relationships
• Make yourself available to your mentor teacher
  be open to suggestions and help
• If you have problems with the mentor
  relationship, talk to your school principal

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Principals Role

• Communicate the purposes of Alabama Teacher
  Mentoring.
• Encourage key teachers to participate as
  mentors.
• Find time for the mentor and beginning teacher to
  meet support mentor training
• Respect the confidentiality of the
  mentor-beginning teacher relationship.
• Create a school culture that supports the
  mentoring process

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Communicate ATMs Purposes

• Communicate with all faculty and staff about the
  purpose and benefits of mentoring. Help them
  find ways they can help in making a new teachers
  year successful.
• Talk with parents and the community about
  potential benefits

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Encourage Teachers to Mentor

• Identify key teachersleaders on your staffwho
  know good instruction, who are trusted, who are
  committed to improving the school
• Encourage them to be a part of the Alabama
  Teacher Mentor program!
• Match them appropriately with a new teacher

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Find Time for Mentoring

• School principals should help create time for
  mentors and beginning teachers to work at least
  once a week.
• Researchers recommend an average of 2.5 contact
  hours per week between the mentor and mentee.
  The time may vary from week to week, but weekly
  contact is critical.

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Find Time for Mentoring

• For mentors to be successful, they need support
  from administration.
• Some shared time will be at lunch, before or
  after school, and on the fly.
• Sometimes they will need a block of time for
  observation and conferencing. The principal can
  help.

Beware of Burn Out!
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Find Time for Beginning Teachers

• Beginning teachers may need time to observe other
  teachers, especially if the mentor does not teach
  the same subject or grade level.
• Planning periods may not always be the best time
  for observations.
• It may be beneficial for beginning teachers to
  attend planning meetings of other grade levels or
  disciplinesto learn with and from other faculty
  members.

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Support Training for Mentors

• Work with the systems designated mentor
  liaison in scheduling of training.
• The SDE and RIC will provide train-the-
  trainer experience to the central office liaison
  who will arrange training for all mentors in your
  system.

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Respect Confidentiality

• The mentor is a support personnot an evaluator.
  All parties should understand that the
  relationship between the mentor and beginning
  teacher is confidential and is based on mutual
  trust and respect.

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Create a School Culture that Supports Mentoring

• Focus on students and their learning
• Encourage collaboration among teachers
• Model learning yourself
• Develop a sense of collective responsibility for
  the learning of all studentsand for the success
  of all beginning teachers

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What Can Each of Us Do?
Beginning Teacher
All school staff
Principal
Mentor