Considering the subject in mentoring: The value that subject matching adds to mentoring

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Considering the subject in mentoring The value
that subject matching adds to mentoring

• Lynn Paine, Lisa Jilk, and Robert Hurd

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Starting points Mentoring is the
dominant theme in induction. Mentoring
literature ignores subject matter or treats it
unproblematically.
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Goals for todays presentation

• Reframe mentoring
• Consider the terrain and how it changes when you
  take subject matter seriously
• Explore variation in terms of salience of subject
  matter
• Illustrate what is possible for new teacher
  learning

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Ways mentoring has been framed

• Mentoring as support (Gold, 1996)
• For survival
• Emphasize role, relationship, and trust
• Mentoring as educative practice (Feiman-Nemser
  2001)
• For novice teacher learning
• Emphasize practices

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Subject matter matching

• Suggestion that it is desirable
• NTs with matched mentoring, common planning
  time and collaboration on instruction, less
  likely like to leave teaching
• Ingersoll and Kralik (2004)

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Subject matter matching

• Evidence that it is not universal
• between 1995-99,
• 66 of math and science NTs work with mentors,
• but only 52 of math teachers have math mentors
• 38 of science teachers have mentor in subject
• (NSF, 2004)

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MSTI study data related to mentoring

• 6 sites, all with some version of mentoring
• 2-3 Interviews with NTs and Mentors
• Observations--mentoring interactions, mentor
  training, monthly meetings
• Document analysis--observation guides, rubrics,
  mentor handbooks
• Subset in depth interview on activities--18 NTs,
  12 Mentors

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Activities and Interactions between Novices and
Mentors

• classroom observations of NT by mentor
• reciprocal classroom observations
• debriefing after visit
• consultation
• co-plan
• co-teach
• demonstration lessons/demonstrate
• help with certification/professional development
  needs
• go together to observe another teacher's class
• advise about district regulations and policies
• provide formative and final assessment
• help locate resources
• work on classroom management issues
• work on subject matter issues
• help with instructional strategies
• look together/study samples of student work
• participate together in study group or book club
• participate together in content-focused seminars
  or workshops

• attend a conference together
• regularly scheduled coaching/mentoring session
• script lesson (have their lesson scripted, get
  given the script)
• case discussions
• participate in a lesson study group
• developing assessments together or scoring
  student work with colleagues
• engaging jointly in curriculum topic study
• setting up new classroom together (or getting
  advice on this)
• get newsletter from mentor with
  ideas/tips/information
• get help with Praxis requirements and preparation
• get advice about jobs/ job change
• get moral support
• get oriented to the building/district
• help with time management

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Activities mentors/novices engage in most often
Get moral support 53
Help with instructional strategies 42
Help locate resources 39
Classroom observation 38
Classroom management 38
Debrief observation 37
Consultation 37
Get advice on district regulations/policies 34
Subject matter issues 34
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Mentoring Activities

• Moral support
• Locate resources
• Help with instructional strategies
• Observation and debriefing
• Consultation
• Classroom management

• Subject matter issues

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Mentoring Activities

• Moral support

• Subject matter issues
• Locate resources
• Help with instructional strategies
• Observation and debriefing
• Consultation
• Classroom management

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Reported as most helpful

• Moral support
• Consultation
• Debriefing
• Developing assessments
• Looking together at student work
• Demonstrating work with content
• Co-planning

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Reported as most helpful

• Moral support
• Consultation
• Debriefing
• Developing assessments
• Looking together at student work
• Demonstrating work with content
• Co-planning

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When there is no match

• she gave me an idea about how to speed up the
  process for checking them outI said to the
  class you know what guys, grab a calculator.
  I had them out there, they signed them and she
  said, I dont know Betsy. It took a while. It
  was kind of like a lot of movement. You might
  want to try this. And so what Ive done is
  created like a spread sheet so that the kids can
  just find their names. You know theyll grab a
  calculator, sit down get to work and then when
  the sheet comes around theyll just sign their
  name and it will be all over. But for the most
  part, shes given me advice here and there.
  (Betsy Thomas, 1st year HS math)

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When subject match is not a guarantee

• Yes, I agree with you (the mentor who wrote that
  he was inconsistent on certain dimensions), but
  instead of telling me that Im inconsistent in
  these things find me the tools to change.
  (Robert Jansen, 1st year HS science teacher)
• Hal Martinson (1st year science)s
  mentor--dropping off materials when its
  done--fragmented tips

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When is a match of subject?

• Hunter Bobs really the person, Larry, me and
  Larry do sit down and we have some mentoring, but
  Larrys physical science, whereas I teach
  biology. So if Im looking for something in these
  specific classes Id probably go to Bob. (1st
  year Biology teacher, with Physics mentor)

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What a subject match affords

• Deepened understanding of content
• Insights into representing content
• Knowledge related to assessing student learning
• Connecting kids and content
• Recognizing learner diversity and connecting to
  content and pedagogy

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Deepened understanding of content
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Insights into representing content

• Story of Larry and Hunter--probing about how kids
  will come to see an abstract idea

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Knowledge related to curriculum and assessment

• She (the novice) and I spent a lot of time
  writing assessments, ..and thats been a really
  good experience because its made us talk about
  whats important. One of the things she and I did
  over the summer was to meet and develop these ten
  big ideas, we call them, in algebra 1 and
  geometry both, and what we basically did was sort
  of glean the whole curriculum and came up with
  ten big concepts that we can use as kind of
  guides. (Ellen Martin, math mentor to Glenda
  Robins, 2nd year HS math teacher)

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Connecting kids and content

• The mentor suggests an activity on charting what
  students do with their time, thus illustrating
  for them what their priorities are. Starting up
  his laptop he notes that Kate Conswella gave him
  this assessment for students and goes on to
  discuss supporting this priorities activity with
  a list of strategies for becoming/being a better
  student. He shows the novice a multiple-choice
  survey of study habits and conveys that
  priorities are culturally based and should be
  handled delicately. CF, looking at the resources
  on DKs laptop, starts to look about the room for
  a printer that is hooked up. I like to get a
  hard copy of that, the survey of strategies for
  doing math home work and the one of active
  problem solvers behaviors.

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Implications and complications

• Finding a match, of subject and level
• Finding the focus and range of activities
• Creating tools that support interaction around
  content
• Demands on mentors and novices
• Everybody is trying to do all this support and
  they want to know what can we do to be more
  supportive and youre like I wish that I knew
  what to tell you but I dont know, it just
  doesnt feel supportive Like how do you take
  that support and make it feel like its working
  and that its not a burden?

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Considering the subject in mentoring
Novice and Mentor
Subject Matter
Local Context
Student Learning
Professional Community