1 of 37

TEACHERS NEED FEEDBACK TOO: MENTORING TEACHERS

Dr Michelle Attard Tonna, Stefania Pace, �Amanda Smith, and Stefan Zammit

2 of 37

LEARNING OUTCOMES

  • By the end of this session, you will:
    • Have a clear understanding of what mentoring is;
    • Be able to list the benefits of mentoring for both the mentor and the mentee;
    • Become familiar with the PGCEM course offered by the University of Malta;
    • Work on a case study involving mentoring.

3 of 37

THE POST-GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN �EDUCATIONAL MENTORING

Dr Michelle Attard Tonna

4 of 37

THE ROLE OF �THE MENTOR

Stefan Zammit

5 of 37

WHAT IS A MENTOR?

In education, mentoring is a complex and multi-dimensional process of guiding, teaching, influencing and supporting a beginning or new teacher. It is generally accepted that a mentor teacher [functions] in a work situation characterized by mutual trust and belief.

(Koki, S., The Role of Teacher Mentoring in Educational Reform)

6 of 37

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD ‘MENTOR’?

  • In Homer’s Odyssey, the hero’s son Telemachus, still an infant at the time of Odysseus’ departure for Troy, is placed under the care of the elderly Mentor, son of Alcimus. Years later, the goddess Athena takes on the guise of the old man when she wishes to urge Telemachus to stand up against his mother’s suitors and to investigate his father’s disappearance.

7 of 37

WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD ‘MENTOR’?

  • According to Wikipedia,
    • “The first recorded modern usage of the term can be traced to a 1699 book entitled Les Aventures de Télémaque, by the French writer François Fénelon.”

This book was very popular at the time and featured Mentor as the main character, imparting his wisdom about sundry subjects.

  • Mentor (both the real one and the disguise adopted by Athena) was seen as a close teacher figure, and the term was adopted to mean someone who imparts wisdom to and shares knowledge with a less experienced colleague.

​

8 of 37

CHARACTERISTICS OF A MENTOR

    • Trustworthy
    • Tactful
    • Flexible
    • Consistent
    • Informal
    • Respectful
    • Demanding
    • Willing to engage in active, open learning
    • Able to listen
    • Facilitators
    • Willing to share information
    • Committed to providing time to be with the mentee

9 of 37

WHY MENTORING?

Many people who work in a mentoring role enjoy it, saying it’s the best part of their many roles and they get a lot from it.

(Sara Bubb, Successful induction for new teachers, 2007; pg. 43)

10 of 37

WHY MENTORING?

Given mentor support, new teachers are more likely to successfully move through the challenging first year of teaching; research shows that mentor programs have positive effects on teacher retention.

(Huling-Austin & Murphy, 1987; Odell & Ferraro, 1992; in Carr, Herman and Harris, p. 17).

11 of 37

MY MENTEE WITH ONE OF MY CLASSES

12 of 37

MY EXPERIENCE

  • Classroom observations (mentee observing mentor)
    • Provide a wide range of lessons (different strands, interaction types and activities)
    • Demonstrate classroom management skills, questioning techniques, and assessment methods
    • The mentor needs to think ahead about what the mentee will need during her TP and provide examples

13 of 37

MY EXPERIENCE

  • Classroom observations (mentor observing mentee)
    • I took notes during the lessons, using colour coding to ensure balance
    • Notes would inform mentoring conversations
    • The presence of the mentor helps the mentee with classroom management

​

14 of 37

MY EXPERIENCE

  • Provide support
    • Encouragement during moments of doubt
    • Integrate mentee into school structures, e.g. departmental meeting

15 of 37

MY EXPERIENCE

  • Suggesting activities
    • Providing sample resources such as board games, card games, kinaesthetic activities
    • Helping the mentee to choose the activity which works best with each group (discussing group dynamics, abilities, and preferences)
    • These pointers help the mentee in feeling less overwhelmed, and lessen the chance of an activity not working, thereby demoralising him or her

​

​

16 of 37

MY EXPERIENCE

  • Helping with ICT
    • using the interactive whiteboard creatively
    • creating one’s own activities
    • troubleshooting difficulties with speakers, Microsoft Word, the projector…

​

​

17 of 37

MY EXPERIENCE

  • A typical day during my mentee’s teaching practice involved:
    • Observations of her lessons
    • Going over lesson plans and resources in different stages of completion
    • Suggesting changes, but being aware that the mentee had every right not to take my ideas on board
    • Meeting for a daily formal mentoring conversation, during which I would help her reflect on her practice during the lessons of the day
    • Offering my help with the creation of resources

18 of 37

THE MENTORING CONVERSATION

19 of 37

THE MENTORING CONVERSATION

  • A mentoring conversation is a formal session between mentor and mentee. It should ideally be scheduled by the participants.
  • The mentor’s function in a mentoring conversation is to focus the mentee’s reflective thinking.
  • Ideally, the mentor should talk less than the mentee – though some mentees are either naturally reticent or have not yet developed their reflective thinking.
  • Should be very frequent – daily or almost.

20 of 37

FINAL THOUGHTS

  • Mentoring was certainly time-consuming but ultimately satisfying.
  • It was a change of pace from my normal routine.
  • I put into practice what I acquired in my M.A. in Adult Education, i.e. the joint creation of meaning between two adults who are in a joint learning experience.
  • It enabled me to support a student teacher in her first steps in our profession.

21 of 37

BENEFITS OF MENTORING �FOR THE �STUDENT TEACHER

Stefania Pace

22 of 37

REFLECTION POINT

  • A. What are the needs of a student teacher during TP and during this journey of ‘teacher becoming’?

​

  • B. How can these needs be addressed? (individually and also with the help of a teacher mentor)

​

  • C. How useful is feedback during this process? What kind of feedback do you think is the most beneficial?

23 of 37

  • identifying, analysing and addressing the mentees’ needs
  • feedback sessions (in person and via email daily)
  • action plan
  • follow-up
    • needs
      • personal

​

      • professional

​

​

  • being present
  • showing care and understanding
  • support and encouragement
  • time-management
  • collaboration

24 of 37

Teacher identity

reflection

beliefs about teaching and learning

self-confidence

autonomy

control

roles

Language

use

Prompting

&

eliciting

Collaborative

mentoring

style

Colour

code

2 individuals

=

2 approaches

25 of 37

Feedback

Written

Reflection points

Action plans

Verbal

Spontaneous discussion / reflection

Theory

vs

Practice

26 of 37

27 of 37

WHAT’S IN IT �FOR ME?

Amanda Smith

28 of 37

KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL MENTORING

At the beginning of my mentoring experience, I wanted to make sure that I had clear objectives about what type of mentor I wanted to be. I definitely wanted to be an effective mentor and to establish a successful relationship with my mentees.

​

​

29 of 37

WHY DID I CHOOSE MENTORING?

  • To encourage
  • To support
  • To inspire
  • To learn
  • To pay it forward…..

​

​

30 of 37

MY MENTEES

  • Ms Erika Scicluna and �Ms Jessica Micallef

​

31 of 37

BEING A MENTOR TO ME MEANS BEING...

  • Approachable
  • Non-judgmental
  • Empathetic
  • Trustworthy
  • Supportive
  • Enthusiastic

32 of 37

33 of 37

SUPPORT

  • OBSERVATIONS
  • ORIENTATION OF SCHOOL
  • TEACHING STRATEGIES
  • METHODOLOGY
  • MENTORING CONVERSATIONS
  • LECTURES
  • LITERATURE

34 of 37

MY PERSONAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE

  • Re-assessment of Pedagogy and methodology
  • Better awareness of students’ needs
  • Improvement of questioning techniques for assessment
  • Improvement of listening skills
  • Improvement of reflection strategies

​

​

​

​

35 of 37

ACHIEVEMENTS

By the end of the block practicum both my mentees.....

      • Grew in confidence
      • Improved time management skills
      • Improved planning skills
      • Started writing more meaningful reflections
      • Built a positive rapport with the students
      • Stepped out of their comfort zone bravely

36 of 37

37 of 37

THANK YOU