Core Mentor Development Training
01
02
03
06
05
04
10
07
09
08
02 - Teacher development
Understanding the novice practitioner, looking at models of mentoring and making tacit knowledge explicit.
05 - Observing & Reflecting
Unpacking skills of observation and guiding trainees reflections.
09 - Adaptive mentoring
Considering approaches for supporting trainees who may be struggling, high achieving, or challenging.
06 - Co-planning
Co-planning and co-teaching in the early stages of teacher development.
01 - Role and attributes
Understanding definitions and attributes
of an effective Mentor and unpacking the role and responsibilities of the Mentor.
10 - Moving on
Supporting trainees as they move on to their next school.
08 - Effective feedback
Looking at the role of deliberate practice, and professional conversations in helping trainees develop.
03 - Inclusion & wellbeing
Considering workloads and how to support neurodivergent trainees and those with additional physical and emotional needs.
07 - Instructional coaching
Unpacking the role of mentoring and instructional coaching.
04 - Settling in
Building relationships with trainees and looking at the essentials of induction.
Core
This training covers the core common elements across all our ITE providers to help mentors effectively support their trainees and is supplemented by specific local mentor training by the trainee’s provider.
Core Mentor Development Training
01 Roles and Attributes
Development foci
Knowledge Recognise the knowledge of a mentor that enables them to:
Skills
Recognise the importance of mentors’ interpersonal skills in how they both challenge and support trainees through:
Attributes
Recognise that all mentors have qualities that will help to support and shape through:
National Standards for school-based ITT Mentors
National Standards for school-based initial teacher training (ITT) mentors. July 2016
Standard 1 | Personal qualities | Establish trusting relationships, modelling high standards of practice, and empathising with the challenges a trainee faces. |
Standard 2 | Teaching | Support trainees to develop their teaching practice in order to set high expectations and to meet the needs of all pupils |
Standard 3 | Professionalism | Induct the trainee into professional norms and values, helping them to understand the importance of the role and responsibilities of teachers in society. |
Standard 4 | Self-development and working in partnership | Continue to develop their own professional knowledge, skills and understanding and invest time in developing a good working relationship within relevant ITT partnerships. |
Links to research
Beek, G.J., Zuiker, I. and Zwart, R.C.(2019) ‘Exploring mentors' roles and feedback strategies to analyze the quality of mentoring dialogues’ Teaching and Teacher Education 78 pp.15-27.
Clutterbuck, D. (2004) Everyone Needs a Mentor – fostering talent in your organisations (4th Ed) London: CIPD.
Furlong, J. and Maynard, T. (1995) Mentoring Student Teachers – The Growth of Professional Knowledge London: Routledge.
Hobson, A.J. (2016) ‘Judgementoring and how to avert it: Introducing ONSIDE mentoring for beginning teachers’ International journal of mentoring and coaching in Education, 5, 2, pp. 87-110.
Lofthouse, R. (2018) ‘Re-imaging mentoring as a dynamic hub in the transformation of initial teacher education; The role of mentors’ and teacher educators’ International journal of mentoring and coaching in Education, 7, 3, pp. 248-260.
01 – Roles and Attributes
'The good mentor is accepting of the beginning teacher…’
(J Rowley)
One possible model
ACTIVITY
The diagram on the right shows one possible model of the school-based mentor as initial teacher educator
Consider the diagram
What does the role of the mentor involve?
Ten attributes of a competent mentor�
ITT and ECF
A definition of mentoring:
“receiving structured feedback from expert colleagues on a particular approach –using the best available evidence –to provide a structured process for improving the trainee’s practice."
Behaviour management
(TS 1 & 7)
Pedagogy
(TS 2, 4 & 5)
Curriculum
(TS 3)
Assessment
(TS6)
Professional Behaviours
(TS 8)
The Mentoring Journey
Initial Teacher Trainee
Awarded QTS
Early Career Teacher
Observing the Mentor
Or other experienced teachers
Department for Education
Mentors must:
Initial teacher training (ITT): criteria and supporting advice, December 2021.
Key Definitions
Some key definitions from the ITT and ECF to support you with observation, deconstruction and feedback�
The Art and Angst of Mentoring
Beginning Students’ Interpretation | Mentoring Intervention | Advanced Students’ Interpretation |
Nurturing Helpful Structuring | Exposed to basic rules Specific Instructions Directive | Infantilising Rule chanting Authoritative |
Hyperspeculative Passive Abandoning | Questioning Searching quality Undisruptive of the process | Challenging Curious Supporting autonomy |
Davis, L.L., Little, M.S. & Thornton, W.L. The Art and Angst of the Mentoring Relationship. Acad Psychiatry 21, 61–71 (1997)
Mentoring and Coaching
A continuum for mentoring and coaching
Neale, S., Spencer-Arnell, L. & Wilson, L. (2009) Emotional Intelligence Coaching, London: Kogan Page
Non-Directive
Listening
Questioning
Clarifying
Thinking
Ideas Generation
Giving Advice
Training
Telling
Directive
Coach or Mentor
Diagnostic questions pull on what the teacher knows to help the coach determine their expertise level and decide what to do next.
If a teacher knows:
exactly how their lesson could be improved;
the steps they needed to take;
and has a clear mental model of effective practice,
they can move to a less-directive approach.
(Goodrich, 2021)
Beware : Judgementoring
"the mentor, in revealing too readily and/or too often her/his own judgements on or evaluations of the mentee’s planning and teaching (e.g. through ‘comments’, ‘feedback’, advice, praise or criticism), compromises the mentoring relationship and its potential benefits."
(Hobson and Malderez, 2013, p. 90).
Possible Consequences
Of Judgementoring
being reluctant to seek the support of a mentor;
being less open and honest with mentors about their perceived professional learning and development needs, which has been termed ‘fabrication as strategic silence’;
avoiding forms of behaviour and interaction that they worry may draw attention to perceived weaknesses in their teaching capability or gaps in their knowledge, which has been termed ‘fabrication as strategic avoidance’;
impacts on wellbeing.
(Hobson, 2016)
Onside Mentoring
An onside approach promotes a non-judgmental manner which is supportive of teachers' development of critical reflection, autonomy and learnacy, although feedback may involve relatively directive elements such as providing practical advice or offer potential solutions.
Mentors' judgments are used to guide their own thinking about ways to scaffold and support.
(Hobson, 2016)
Providing Support and Challenge
This diagram demonstrates pictorially the balancing dynamics of the mental role of providing support and challenge to the student teacher (source: The Open University, adapted from Martin (1986) and Daloz (1986)).
Takeaways to consider
As you continue on your mentoring journey consider the following:
References
The following articles indicate some really useful directions for the follow on training:
Use the hyperlinks to access these in your own time.
Re-imagining Mentoring as a Dynamic Hub in the Transformation of Initial Teacher Education: The Role of Mentors and Teacher Educators
The role of the mentor in an increasingly school-led English initial teacher education policy context
https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/11752/
What are the signature pedagogies of teacher education?
References
Thank You