May 8, 2008 Teaching as a Learning Journey Functions of Support, Challenge and Vision Skill Building Ten Trainer Notes: This module is drawn from the text of Mentoring Matters by Laura Lipton and Bruce Wellman. If you have the Mentoring Matters Modules developed in California or the Learning Focused Mentoring Toolkit this Skill Building Activity is in alignment with the Awareness Module One: The Mentor As A Growth Agent: Developing Learning-Focused Relationships. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

May 8, 2008 Purpose To consider the Support Provider role in working with a Participating Teacher to promote growth To define a learning-focused relationship as the balance of three functions: offering support, creating challenge and facilitating vision Trainer Notes: Set the purpose by sharing the statements above. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10 2

May 8, 2008 Outcomes Support Providers will engage in dialogue regarding the three functions of the role between a Support Provider and a Participating Teacher Support Providers will understand how to establish a frame for their work as one that builds capacity while decreasing dependency Trainer Notes: An essential component of a learning-focused relationship is a clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities of both the support provider and the participating teacher. Balancing of the three functions offers opportunities to develop the relationship while building the capacity of the participating teacher. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

May 8, 2008 Stem Completion A mentor assisted in my growth by __(describe the actions)____. Trainer Notes: Begin by asking the participants to think across their work in education or other areas where they ma have experienced a mentoring relationship. Focusing on the idea that in those relationships there was growth over time what specific actions do they remember that caused them to grow in some way. It may be helpful for the trainer to provide an example from their own experiences. Allow two minutes for quiet think time for them to gather their responses individually before sharing at table groups. Table share their responses. Ask each table to choose one person to share an example with the room. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

Read and Example Read the paragraph on Support May 8, 2008 Read and Example Read the paragraph on Support Summarize paragraph on Support Brainstorm a list of examples with your partner Repeat for Challenge and Vision Consider in your examples the application of the tools and skills present in the experiences embedded in formative assessment Trainer Notes: This strategy provides an opportunity for participants to explore the three functions of learning focused relationship and make connections between the content and their knowledge of a formative assessment system and the relationship between a Support Provider and Participating Teacher. This should take about 12 minutes. Allow the pairs or trios to time keep for themselves in order to pace through the three sections of the reading. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

Three Functions of Learning Focused Relationships May 8, 2008 Three Functions of Learning Focused Relationships Trainer Notes: Suggestion: You may wish to move this to the beginning of this Activity. This illustration offers an analogy of balancing the three functions with the idea of spinning plates. In watching someone who is spinning plates it is apparent that the plates all spin at different rates and need attention dependent on the level of balance the plate has and its continuing speed. The same is true in a learning focused relationship. The Support Provider needs to be able to listen for cue and clues from the Participating Teacher to say here is where we offer support or this is a good place to insert information that will help to facilitate vision. The three functions operate from the beginning of a mentor/teacher relationship. There is no implied sequence. On the next three slides ask participants in the room to offer up some of their examples into the room. Be prepared to offer your own examples for any areas that the room may need assistance in thinking about. (*Mentoring Matters text pages 2-4 has examples that may be helpful to reference in advance.) Mentoring Matters - Copyright 2005 – MiraVia LLC – All rights reserved Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10 6

Offering Support Emotional Physical Instructional Institutional May 8, 2008 Offering Support Emotional Physical Instructional Institutional Trainer Notes: Have participants share out their examples for the areas listed. Ask if there were any areas that they had a hard time creating an example. Be prepared to fill in any of the blanks. It is important to discuss the relevant areas of support and acknowledge the key role it will play in the Context for Teaching as the beginning teacher learns about their instructional program and the institutional procedures and routines that will impact their classroom. This is typically where mentoring relationships begin and you will hear new and experienced support providers talk about staying in this arena in the beginning trimester. A key point is to note that while spinning this plate it will be important to attend to the other two plates in relation to balancing the three functions. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

Creating Challenge Goal-driven Data-focused Thought-provoking May 8, 2008 Creating Challenge Goal-driven Data-focused Thought-provoking Trainer Notes: Have participants share out their examples for the areas listed. Ask if there were any areas that they had a hard time creating an example. Be prepared to fill in any of the blanks. An important insert to the creating challenge discussion is that we are discussing cognitive challenge not physical/emotional challenge. Acknowledging that there are many inherent challenges that beginning teachers face and that the complexities of teaching are ever apparent for the novice. Formative Assessment with the analysis of practice, engaging in goal setting, and the focus on student learning and outcomes by nature creates the challenge for the participating teacher. The foundation of the FACT system is action research. The constructing and conducting of action research projects, building norms of experimentation and reflective practice will facilitate creating cognitive challenge. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

Facilitating Professional Vision May 8, 2008 Facilitating Professional Vision High expectations for self High expectations for students Lifelong learning Professional identity Trainer Notes: Have participants share out their examples for the areas listed. Ask if there were any areas that they had a hard time creating an example. Be prepared to fill in any of the blanks. Working in relationship with the standards that align the BTSA Induction program help to facilitate dialogue related to vision. The language of the CSTP, Induction Standards and Academic Content Standards for students provide high, yet achievable expectations for the novice teacher. Helping the participating teacher to connect the work of today with the bigger picture and the work that is achieved over time. Working in alignment with CSTP 6 provides a professional identity that links their work with goals set over time. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

Balancing Elements of the Relationship May 8, 2008 Balancing Elements of the Relationship Support alone will provide comfort but may encourage complacency Challenge without Support may increase anxiety and fear of failure Support and Challenge without Vision may leave us wandering on a journey looking only at the ground beneath us but not the road ahead Lipton and Wellman Mentoring Matters, 2003 Trainer Notes: Coming back to the critical component of balance in the three functions allows you to pull them together again after taking them one by one. The role of the support provider is to continually monitor the cue and clues from the participating teacher and provide appropriate support, challenge and vision into the mix of work and dialogue. Consider what you may hear from a participating teacher if one of these scenarios above were playing out? Allow for a brief table discussion. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

May 8, 2008 “New teachers quickly, but with no small amount of surprise, come to recognize that teaching is psychologically, intellectually and physically arduous… Trainer Notes: Slide 1 This is a quote that speaks to the mindset of the participating teacher. Read or have a participant read all three slides. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

May 8, 2008 …Another characteristic of new teachers is the sense that there are easily developed, immediately available strategies that can be used to transform their classes into some ideal condition… Trainer Notes: Slide 2 This is a quote that speaks to the mindset of the participating teacher. Read or have a participant read all three slides. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

May 8, 2008 …New teachers also believe that they already ought to know how to do things which they have never done before. These beliefs and perceptions reflect an underdeveloped conceptualization of the inherent complexities of teaching.” Murphy, Covin & Morey, 1990 Trainer Notes: Slide 3 This is a quote that speaks to the mindset of the participating teacher. Read or have a participant read all three slides. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

May 8, 2008 Reflect . . . Write . . . As you consider the role of Support Provider how might you know when to offer support, create challenge, or facilitate professional vision? Given your present practice as a Support Provider, what are some patterns you are aware of regarding these three functions? Trainer Notes: Given the input that this Skill Building has offered and the dialogue in the room. Consider your role as a support provider in relation to the prompts. Take a few minutes to write notes to yourself about things to remember. Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10

We don’t learn to teach; We learn from our teaching. May 8, 2008 15 Trainer Notes: Close with slide Copyright © Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the California Department of Education Formative Assessment for California Teachers (FACT) –Pilot Documents 2008-2009 Skill Building 10 15