Instructional Mentoring: Skills for Teacher Leaders Division of Instruction Howard County Public Schools

Mentoring is the process by which individuals share their experience, knowledge, and skills with a protégé to promote their personal and professional growth. Mentoring can also facilitate change, improvement and professional growth within teaching.

Outcomes Participants will… understand the supports and resources available to support non-tenured teachers. understand the qualities of effective teaching and how it can be supported. enhance skills with respect to support of non-tenured teachers.

Today’s agenda Welcome and Overview What is Induction? Effective Teachers Instructional Mentoring Phases of First Year Teaching Article Review Trust Building Continuum of Interaction (The three Cs) Communication Closure 4

Our collaborative norms Ensure equity of voice. Practice active listening. Be open to different perspectives. Maintain confidentiality. Take responsibility for your learning. Monitor personal technology. 5

Personal Goals Choice Board 6

M-E-N-T-O-R-I-N-G On your letter card, write a word or phrase that comes to mind when you think about mentoring that begins with that letter. Form groups of 9 where your letters spell out the word “mentoring.” Share your ideas with your group. M E N T O R I N G

Comprehensive Teacher Mentoring COMAR 13A Each LEA will: Establish a mentoring program as part of its Comprehensive Induction Program Identify a cadre of full-time or part-time mentors whose sole responsibilities are to support teachers during their comprehensive induction period (first three years of tenure) Establish the maximum ratio of mentors to mentees at one mentor to 15 mentees Mentors may be assigned school-level administrative duties only on an emergency basis. A mentor may not participate in the formal evaluation of a mentee.

Teacher Induction What? Phases of new teacher development Period of socialization A formal program for non-tenured teachers Why? Increased student achievement Improved and accelerated teacher performance New professional norms of collaboration, ongoing learning and accountability 9

Effective Teachers 10

Effective Teacher Activity Discuss your response to the assigned prompt. What will they be thinking? (blue) What will they be feeling? (red) What will they be saying? (green) What will they be doing? (black) Record ideas on sticky notes. Post ideas on the Effective Teacher Poster. 11

Gallery Walk & Stop Make connections with the VETSL (Vision of Exemplary Teaching for Student Learning) p

Effective Teachers Engage students in active learning Create intellectually ambitious tasks Use a variety of teaching strategies Assess student learning continuously and adapt teaching to student needs Create effective scaffolds and supports Provide clear standards, constant feedback, and opportunities for revising work Develop and effectively manage a collaborative classroom in which all students have membership 13

Break 14

Effective Mentoring On page 5 of your packet, brainstorm a list of what you wanted or needed during your first year of teaching that would have helped in your development as a teacher. Code each item on your list according to the domain from the Framework for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in which it belongs. Refer to the HCPSS Framework on pages 6 -8 if needed. Interpersonal Skills (IS) Planning and Preparation (PP) Classroom Environment (CE) Delivery of Instruction (DI) Professional Responsibilities (PR) 15

Effective Mentoring: Five Corners Activity Interpersonal Skills (IS) Planning and Preparation (PP) Classroom Environment (CE) Delivery of Instruction (DI) Professional Responsibilities (PR) 16

Problem- solver Data partner Trusted listener Teacher Resource Consultant Learner Advocate Facilitator Coach Collaborator Teacher Mentor Roles 17

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What the Research Says Response Group Activity Read article 19

What the Research Says Response Group Activity Answer questions Discuss at tables Share out 20

Lunch Break 21

The Importance of Building Trust 22

Whom do you trust? On a scale of 1-10, write down how trusting you are of the following groups of people. Car dealers Corporate executives Doctors Police Officers Lawyers Fire Fighters Politicians Teachers Why might this be? 23

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What is trust? What builds trust? What is trust? How do you describe it? What builds trust? What can you do to ensure trust exists? 25

Problem- solver Data partner Trusted listener Teacher Resource Consultant Learner Advocate Facilitator Coach Collaborator Teacher Mentor Roles 26

Trust Scenarios Individually respond to all three scenarios on the handout. Choose the scenario you would like to discuss further. Share ideas about your specific scenario within your group. Then discuss how your scenario is fundamentally different from the other two scenarios. 27

Three Types of Trust Deterrence-Based Trust Knowledge-Based Trust Identification-Based Trust Read the article about the three types of trust. Focus on your specific type. How does the article expand your knowledge of this type of trust? 28

Emotional Bank Account As you think about working with a non-tenured teacher, consider how to establish trust or continue building an emotional bank account. What kinds of deposits fill your bank account? What builds trust with you? How can you translate that information into your relationships with your non-tenured teachers? 29

Building Trust Read the scenario in your packet. Left side: Record what the mentor did to break down trust. Right side: Record what the mentor could have done to build trust. 30

Building Trust Individually, write trust building ideas on the left of the chart. Give One, Get One Activity 31

Reflection Take two minutes to solidify your thoughts about trust. Use index cards or sticky notes to write down your next steps. 32

Break 33

Problem- solver Data partner Trusted listener Teacher Resource Consultant Learner Advocate Facilitator Coach Collaborator Teacher Mentor Roles 34

Continuum of Interaction 35 Collaborate Consult Coach Information and Analysis

CONSULT Ideas come from mentor. Information is shared. Advice is given. Resources are provided. Dependency can be built if overused. 36

COLLABORATE Ideas come from both mentor and mentee. Information, ideas and approaches are co-developed. Relationship is collegial. Conversations are held around co-planning and co- teaching. “False collaboration” should be avoided. 37

COACH Ideas come from mentee. Mentee becomes self-directed, independent learner. Ability of mentee to self-coach is increased. Mentee’s perceptions, perspectives, issues and concerns are surfaced. Stance is not appropriate when mentee is not ready. 38

Continuum of Interaction Form 5 different groups based on the Framework domains. In groups, on your sentence strip, write one example of each stance for your domain. 39

What’s my stance? Take turns drawing a slip from the envelope. Each slip will include a situation and a stance. Begin talking as if you were mentoring a new teacher on that situation from that stance. Your group will try to guess the stance from which you were mentoring. 40

Problem- solver Data partner Trusted listener Teacher Resource Consultant Learner Advocate Facilitator Coach Collaborator Effective Communication 41

Characteristics of a Good Listener 42

Mindful Listening Read the characteristics. Circle one that resonates with you. Put a check mark next to one you want to work on. Put a box around one that would like more information about. Find a partner/triad and share your thoughts. How will these characteristics impact the interaction you have with the teachers you support? 43

Communication Skills: Instructional Mentoring Skills Paraphrasing Clarifying Powerful Questions Positive Presuppositions Suggestions 44

Paraphrasing Acknowledge/Clarify You are frustrated by… You are excited by… Summarize/Organize One idea you have is…and another idea you have is… Shift Conceptual Focus UP: So, an outcome you want to achieve is… DOWN: First you want to…then you want to … 45

Clarifying Statements/Questions Tell me more about… Let me see if I understand… So, you believe that… You are saying that… One assumption you have is… What else can you tell me about this situation? 46

Powerful Questions Open-ended Direct Relevant Useful to the mentee’s agenda Expand thinking and possibilities 47

Positive Presuppositions Positive Presupposition What objectives have you planned for your lesson? What goals have you set for yourself? What strategies are you finding yield the most success? Negative Presupposition Do you have an objective for your lesson? Do you have any goals? Have you thought of any strategies? 48

Suggestions I really think you should…because… Have you thought about… Research suggests that…would work well. Given those outcomes, it seems like the most logical step is to … 49

Model Conversation 50

Personal Reflection 51 Will- How willing am I to take a risk? Skill- How comfortable am I in my skills of instructional mentoring? Knowledge - Do I have the knowledge of effective instructional practices needed to successfully provide instructional mentoring supports? Capacity - Do I have the capacity to be successful in providing mentoring support? Emotional Support- Do I have the emotional support needed from my colleagues to provide instructional mentoring supports?

Tying it all Together Think about the key ideas/terms we have explored today around the topic of Teacher Mentoring. In teams of 3 or 4, brainstorm a list of key ideas/terms you predict will appear in the Word Cloud on the next slide. 52

Count How Many Matches You Have 53

Revisit Your Personal Goals Choice Board 54

Future opportunities Continued opportunities through after school workshops & summer training Teacher Mentoring CPD course Teacher Mentoring Workgroup will continue to develop training opportunities & mentoring supports Teacher Development Liaison support

Teacher Mentoring Resources: hcpssnewteacher.hcpss.wikispaces.net/Teacher+Mentoring +Resources

Think About Based on what you’ve heard and learned here today: What are some next steps for you? 57