Mentoring: Key Principles and Best Practices
“Mentoring can be most educative when mentors engage in assistance and assessment structured by appropriate frameworks and processes, get support from a professional community that upholds professional teaching standards, and receive training and ongoing professional development to carry out their important responsibility” (Yusko & Feiman-Nemser, 2008, p.4).
In the Literature:
Key Issues:
- mentoring must be linked to a vision of good teaching
- mentors need to understand what and how beginning teachers need to learn over time
- mentoring is a professional practice, not only a social role
- mentors need time both to mentor and to develop their mentoring skills
- school cultures and broader policies affect mentoring practices and beginning teachers’ learning
(The National Center for Research on Teacher Learning, 2000)
Critical Elements of an effective, research-based mentoring program include:
- shared vision of what mentoring means—the expectations for a mentoring program need to be clear for all involved
- skills development of mentors, school leaders, district staff and teachers
- incentives for experienced educators to become involved
- resources, e.g., release time, materials, mentoring training
- a plan of action that includes formative and summative evaluation of the program
(Robbins, 2004)
- mentorship can take different forms
- mentoring is the predominant strategy in beginning teacher induction
- careful selection and matching of mentors should be based on beginning teachers’ needs
- mentors need to develop specific skills in addition to being master teachers
- mentors must be able to lead beginning teachers through a structured learning process, anchored on professional teaching standards and norms
- mentors should not evaluate beginning teachers; in Ontario, this is the responsibility of school principals
(Parker Management Consulting Inc.’s (2006) A Review of
Literature on New Teacher Induction Programs)
Effective Mentoring Is:
- “Structured and purposeful, based on defined goals developed with the new teacher, and addressing specific aspects of teacher development over time.
- Supportive and conducive to fostering a collegial and collaborative professional learning community within the school that supports professional development and builds professional capacity.
- Differentiated and tailored to the learning needs of the new teacher, and his or her background and training”
(Ontario Ministry of Education, 2006, p. 5)
Benefits of Effective Mentoring:
“A mentor provides the newcomer with support, guidance, feedback, problem-solving guidance, and a network of colleagues who share resources, insights, practices, and materials. This circle of support is a lifeline to an individual new to teaching, or new to a building, who may otherwise find themselves, in the words of one first-year teacher, ‘tossed in tumultuous waters of uncertainty’” (Robbins, 1999, p. 40).
Benefits of Effective Mentoring:
Beginning Teachers, when effectively mentored, more consistently:
- use instructional techniques that improve student achievement
- provide more complex and demanding instruction linked to higher order thinking and cooperative learning skills
- participate in long-term planning of curriculum and instruction
- motivate heterogeneous groups of students to engage in learning
- provide the same level of challenging assignments to groups of diverse students as they do to more homogenous groups
(Bartell, 2005)Positive Outcomes for mentors
Ehrich, Hansford, and Tennent (2004) summarize positive outcomes for mentors identified in their literature review:
- collegiality, collaboration and networking
- reflection
- professional development
- personal satisfaction, growth
Ideas for Mentors to Consider:
According to Odell and Huling (as cited in Bartell, 2005), mentors should be:
- committed to: continuously improving and reflecting on their own teaching and learning; ethical practice; providing professional and affective support and challenge; dedicating adequate time to carry out his/her responsibilities
- able to: model appropriate standards-based teaching; work with adults from varied backgrounds
- sensitive to others’ views
- knowledgeable about their responsibilities
- experienced, i.e., have completed the program’s requisite number of years of teaching
Stages of Mentor Growth:
Casey and Claunch (2005) identify five distinct stages of growth that mentors experience, including:
Stage Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions
(examples)
Predisposition is ready to assist others, has good interpersonal
skills, is open-minded
Disequilibrium copes with unfamiliarity of working with adults
rather than children, has doubts
Transition develops knowledge and understanding of
mentoring roles and strategies, focuses more on new
teacher’s needs, clarifies personal teaching philosophy
Confidence refines mentoring skills, renews sense of
professionalism, advocates for new teachers
Efficacy develops individual mentoring style, reflects on
experiences, deepens understanding of teaching and
learning as well as personal strengths
Ideas for Policy Makers/Organizations to Consider:
Issues of Concern:
- lack of time
- mismatch of personality or professional expertise
- lack of mentor training or understanding of program goals
- mentors who were overly critical, out of touch, defensive
- logistical difficulties related to observation and meeting times
Planning Considerations:
- program planners should stay current with research literature on mentoring
- program support is needed at all levels
- mentors need to be formally trained
- participants need to be carefully selected
- ongoing evaluations of the program should occur
(Ehrich, Hansford, & Tennent, 2004)
Mentor Training should:
- be provided when mentors are ready to learn
- guide mentors in how to make the best use of the mentoring time they have available
- provide adequate time for coached practice of key mentoring techniques
- incorporate adequate time for follow-up and problem-solving
(Sweeny, 2005)
Teacher Induction, Mentoring and Renewal Conference Highlights: Mentoring
As many districts and universities engage in applying these key principles and identified best practices in mentoring, they experience a variety of successes and challenges from which others can learn. Links to Conference Highlights focused on mentoring are provided here, leading to academic papers, PowerPoint slideshows and/or videos of conference sessions. We hope that these rich resources will promote reflection and discussion of issues related to mentoring.
Keynote : BEYOND MENTORING: THE CAREER PATHS OF VETERAN MENTORS AND HOW THEY USE THEIR NEW SKILLS AS TEACHERS, LEADERS, AND COLLEAGUES
Ellen Moir is Executive Director of The New Teacher Centre, University of California at Santa Cruz. The NTC has been a leader in developing numerous local, state and national partnerships in teacher induction. Ellen Moir was awarded the 2005 Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education for her pioneering work in teacher induction.
This study examines how mentoring contributes to the professional development of experienced teachers and how they apply the skills and knowledge they gained as mentors after they finish their mentorship. Using survey and interview methods with 50 former mentors, the study looks at the effects of being a mentor on being a teacher, a leader, and a colleague. Results suggest that teachers who take time away from classroom teaching to be mentors in an induction program are likely to return to positions as school leaders with an increased interest in working in a professional learning environment. Administrators faced with funding decisions regarding mentoring programs should consider the potential benefits and challenges of mentors returning to their school districts with greater capacity to be leaders.
Keynote: MAKING MENTORING MATTER: SUPPORTING GROWTH FROM NOVICE TO MORE EXPERT TEACHING
Bruce Wellman is co-director of MiraVia LLC. He consults and presents for school systems, professional groups and publishers throughout the United States and Canada, presenting workshops and courses for teachers and administrators on interactive/ collaborative instruction, thinking skills development, learning-focused conversations for supervisors and mentors, presentation skills and facilitating collaborative groups. His numerous publications include: Learning-Focused Mentoring: A Professional Development Resource Kit, Data-Driven Dialogue: A Facilitator’s Guide to Collaborative Inquiry, and Mentoring Matters: A Practical Guide to Learning-Focused Relationships.
No one is born knowing how to teach. Classroom instruction is one of the most complex intellectual and emotional tasks that any professional undertakes in modern society; and the journey towards expertise is a lifetime’s work. Successful journeys begin with skilled counsel and guidance. Effective mentors model and point the way for novice teachers as they develop their teaching skills from novice to more expert levels. The knowledge base on teaching is both wide and deep. Expert teachers develop their capacities in four areas: knowledge of the structure of the disciplines; knowledge of self; knowledge of teaching skills and strategies; and knowledge of learners and learning.
Cognitive Coaching™ for Mentors
Penny Ballagh & Denise Overall, Toronto District School Board/Educational Consultant
“As an experienced teacher-mentor, what are some behaviours, skills or approaches you might use to support and extend the thinking of a teacher with whom you are working?”
Teacher Induction, Mentoring and Renewal: Supporting Instructionally Intelligent Teaching
Barrie Bennett, OISE
“Ideally, what we’re trying to do here is to make sure we become consciously skilled.” Areas of consideration include: Systems and Systemic Change; Instructional Intelligence; Instruction; Thinking; and Evolving.
OISE School-University Partnership Projects: Mentoring
“School/University Partnerships: Research Into Practice is a unique research and practice initiative in OISE’s Initial Teacher Education program…focused on enhancing learning experiences and strengthening relationships between OISE’s field partners and the university….Projects…demonstrate the value of creating communities of inquiry and practice within teacher education. There is increased opportunity for teacher candidates to experience coherence in their programs; new and experienced teachers can learn from and with one another; and, university- and school-based educators can work and learn together to design rich learning environments that benefit all learners” (Rolheiser, 2008, pp. 2-3).Walford, K., & Brown, C. (2008). Using technology to enhance
learning and teaching in The York Region District School
Board. In C. Rolheiser (Ed.), School/university
partnerships: Enriching and extending partnerships (pp.
30-34). Toronto, ON: OISE/UT Teacher Education
Program.
Objectives:
- To explore technological tools and components of mentoring in order to improve teacher candidates’ effectiveness
- To develop a community of learners—new and experienced associate teachers, technology lead teachers, administrators, board consultants, and teacher candidates—in which learning about new technology fosters literacy and collaboration
- To encourage associate school teams and teacher candidates to practice reflective inquiry concerning their use of technology in the classroom and to study the impact of technology on student learning
Broad, K., & Strachan, B. (2008). Authentic voices from the
field: Associate teachers talk about effective feedback. In
C. Rolheiser (Ed.), School/university partnerships:
Enriching and extending partnerships (pp. 47-51).
Toronto, ON: OISE/UT Teacher Education Program.
Objectives
- To support the mentoring practices of associate teachers through structuring learning-focused conversations to effectively provide feedback for individual teacher candidates
- To increase school-university partnerships and capacity for inquiry through engaging in shared research related to teaching practice
- To develop a digital resource that demonstrates effective practices for providing feedback, with the aim to stimulate discussion and study with field partners across the Initial Teacher Education program at OISE
Walford, K. (2007). Mentoring teacher candidates in an
inductive literacy model. In C. Rolheiser (Ed.),
School/university partnerships: Transformation of teacher
education (pp. 21-23). Toronto, ON: OISE/UT Teacher
Education Program.
Objectives:
- To explore and develop mentorship strategies for associate teachers in the area of literacy, K—Grade 8
- To examine the impact of the introduction of the Picture Word Induction Model (PWIM) on literacy instruction
- To look at the qualitative experiences of our associate teachers and teacher candidates as they gain new knowledge in a collaborative and inclusive environment
Eldridge, J., & Walford, K. (2006). Doncrest option associate
teacher mentorship project. In C. Rolheiser (Ed.),
School/university partnerships: Creative connections (pp.
15-17). Toronto, ON: OISE/UT Teacher Education
Program.
Objectives:
- To improve the mentorship of teacher candidates by exploring tools and components of mentoring new teachers
- To develop a community of learners comprising experienced associate teachers, new associate teachers, and teacher candidates
- To encourage associate teachers and teacher candidates to enter into reflective dialogue, where common goals, common language, and shared understanding are the cornerstones of the relationships
Mazurek, J., & Lemieux, L. (2004). Instructional intelligence
and collaborative learning. In C. Rolheiser (Ed.),
School/university partnerships: Research into practice (pp.
11-12). Toronto, ON: OISE/UT Teacher Education
Program.
Objectives:
- To stimulate research-driven, “instructionally intelligent” practices in partnership with teacher candidates, thereby increasing the quality of their learning experiences
- To develop better congruency between course-work and practicum experiences for teacher candidates
- To provide associate teachers with a better understanding of the program so that they can collaborate with and mentor candidates more effectively