LEARNING FOCUSED RELATIONSHIPS EXPLORING THE PURPOSE OF MENTORING AND THE ROLE OF MENTORS

MENTOR A TRUSTED ADVISOR, FRIEND, TEACHER, AND WISE PERSON.

FOUR BENEFITS TO LEARNING-FOCUSED MENTORING IMPROVE INSTRUCTIONAL PERFORMANCE AND, THEREFORE; STUDENT LEARNING TRANSFER DISTRICT POLICY, PROCEDURES AND INITIATIVES FRAME THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING JOURNEY PROMOTE THE NORMS OF LEARNING AND COLLABORATION

THE PURPOSE OF A LEARNING FOCUSED RELATIONSHIP: SUPPORTS CHALLENGES FACILITATES VISION Emotional Physical Instructional Institutional Goal-driven (PGP) Data-focused (observations) Thought-provoking (learning focused conversations) High expectations for self and students Lifelong learning Professional identity

Support, Challenge and Vision Support without challenge and vision offers comfort but little growth. Challenge and vision without support can lead to anxiety and frustration. Support and challenge without vision can leave us wandering.

The Role of the Mentor Consulting: giving advice, answering questions, sharing materials, imparting information about district policy and initiatives. Collaborating: working together to increase the instructional capacity of both teachers. Coaching: acting as the “guide on the side”, observing, collecting data, giving feedback, engaging in learning focused conversations, assisting the teacher in meeting his/her professional goals

A Continuum of Learning-Focused Interaction

Consulting, Collaborating and Coaching Answering questions about district policy Giving advice about how to handle an unhappy parent Showing resource guides for math Giving a worksheet to correspond with a math target Thinking aloud about your own ‘what and why’s of teaching Explaining how you set up your classroom Sharing a list of the rules and consequences for your classroom Sharing your grading policies with a new teacher Engaging in a book study Discussing the key points of a recently attended staff meeting Co-planning a unit of study Co-planning a lesson Co-teaching a lesson Reading and discussing a professional article Examining student work and discussing instructional implications Both teachers sharing successes and challenges of a recently taught unit of study Creating formative and summative assessments as a team Engaging in a learning focused conversation about the teacher’s professional goals Observing the teacher and providing feedback Collecting data for the teacher in relationship to his/her goals Allowing the teacher to observe your teaching and conducting a reflection conversation afterward Discussing the teacher’s professional aspirations and future goals

Please take a moment to… Add ONE idea to your thinking about the PURPOSE of the mentoring relationship Add ONE question that you may have about your role as a mentor Create a new visual OR revise your original visual to represent the mentor/mentee relationship.