How Mentor Got Her Name When the hero, Odysseus, set out for the siege of Troy, he expects a long absence from home and asks his trusted friend Mentor to care for his household. During the time he is away, however, his house is overrun by his wife’s unwanted suitors, and the goddess Athena asks Zeus if she can intervene. With Zeus’ approval, Athena assumes the shape of Mentor and whispers sound advice to young Telemachus, the son of Odysseus. The derivation of the word “mentor”comes from Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Mentor… has since been known as a wise counselor.

Learning Transitions Unconsciously Skilled Consciously Skilled Consciously Unskilled Unconsciously Unskilled Adapted from Gordon By Barry Sweeney

Mentoring should move from… … hierarchical dispensations of wisdom to shared inquires into practice … being an isolated innovation to becoming an integrated part of broader improvement efforts to re-culture our schools and school systems. “Mentoring in the New Millennium” Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan Professionally Speaking December 1999

The mentor should… Look for opportunities to provide specific praise. Express interest in the mentee’s ideas. Empathize by sharing experiences from your own first year of teaching. Encourage the mentee to reflect on things that are going well, on successes as well as on setbacks. Include the mentee in social as well as professional activities. Share your coping skills, and encourage the mentee to lead a balanced life that includes time for self, family, and friends. Survival Stage

The mentor should… Help the beginning mentee prioritize the many tasks that he or she feels compelled to complete. Share your methods of more efficiently accomplishing common teaching and management tasks. Encourage the mentee to speak with or observe colleagues who demonstrate exemplary practice in areas the beginning teacher has expressed interest in. Help the mentee reflect on his or her motives for pursuing a particular task. Task Stage

The mentor should… Commend the mentee for being student centered. Engage the mentee in collegial dialogue that focuses on meeting the needs of individual learners. Expose the mentee to more complex teaching and learning strategies. Encourage the mentee to collaborate with or observe outstanding teachers who can model best practices the beginning teacher has not mastered. Focus conversations on the mentee’s efforts to make progress with challenging students. Impact Stage

Keen observation skills Wise & caring High integrity Sense of humor Effective problem solver Dedicated to profession Accessible Informative Characteristics

The information specialists The mentee requests that the mentor model a lesson teaching students to generate processing questions. When asked for strategies, the mentor offers some for consideration. The mentee asks how the computer in the classroom works and asks if it has internet access Consultant provides information about university policies, procedures, etc. Roles

Co-labor People with different resources work together as equals to achieve goals. Mentor and mentee examine student papers together and determine an area for future instruction. Together they plan the next class. Mentor and mentee work together to submit a proposal to a conference that both plan to attend. Roles

Mentor makes no value judgments Mentor gives no advice or recommendation; instead the mentor asks questions that help the mentee develop his own answer to the situation or problem The mentee asks the mentor to observe his teaching. The mentor gathers requested data & conducts a reflecting conversation with the mentee after the lesson. The coach listens and reflects back what the person said and clarifies the mentee’s thoughts. Roles

Planning conversation Clarify goals Determine success indicators Action Meeting Observation Reflecting conversation Summarize impressions Analyze data Construct new learning Roles For more information on Cognitive Coaching©, click here.click here.