Mentor Teacher Development 2020

Facilitator: Beth

Ehara taku toa, he takitahi he toa takitini

My success should not be bestowed onto me alone, as it was not individual success but the success of the collective.

By the end of the session mentors will:

• Have an understanding of the roles and requirements of mentor teachers and PCT's (Provisionally Certificated Teachers)
• know what is involved in creating a high-quality mentoring program
• be familiar with resources provided to mentor teachers by the Teaching Council

Teaching Council induction-and-mentoring

High-quality induction programmes are comprehensive, educative and evaluative. p9 Guidelines for Induction 

It is about building the teaching profession and ensuring teachers are part of a learning community focused on continually improving the learning outcomes of all their ākonga.

COMPREHENSIVE A comprehensive induction programme has many elements and is conducted over a sustained period. For PCTs, this is at least two years. No single intervention is enough to create high-quality induction. A comprehensive induction programme includes: 

• welcoming and introducing a new teacher to the context in which they will work
• ongoing professional development and support from a range of sources
• access to external professional networks
• high quality educative mentoring
• standards-based, evidence-informed evaluations of professional practice against the Practising Teacher Criteria. 
• A comprehensive induction programme should not be undertaken in isolation. It requires employers, leaders, the school, Kura or ECE professional learning community, and the wider profession to be engaged.

EDUCATIVE The induction programme is a key opportunity and time for intensive, sustained professional learning. An induction programme should not be focused on progressing through a standard checklist of requirements. Instead, induction should be focused on enabling PCTs to learn and practise the skills, attitudes and attributes they need to become accomplished, fully certificated teachers who can improve the learning outcomes of diverse ākonga.

EVALUATIVE An induction and mentoring programme provides an opportunity for formative and progressive feedback to the PCT on their professional learning as well as leading to a final assessment of whether the PCT is ready to hold a full practising certificate. This means records must be kept of: 

• activities that occur as part of the induction programme, the feedback and support provided to the PCT, and the PCT’s own reflection and learning

• evidence of the PCT’s progress towards meeting the Practising Teacher Criteria.

Remind PCTs that the process and evidence are about them.

Collecting evidence is essential and their responsibility.

Mentors toolbox:

• Observations
• professional learning goals
• Examples of planning
• Examples of their work with students
• Evidence of their reflections
• dated notes of regular meetings
• PL or PD notes and reflections
• What's changed in their thinking and their practice
• Evidence of the use of release time (really important)

That PCT release time is not theirs alone. 

It is for both mentor and PCT. eg. analyze student data

For second-year release, time should not be used for planning.

Tip: Notability app for recording meetings, observations etc

(Most mentors at this PL are doing 1 observation per term with their PCT) That is not enough.

Observations: should be formal or informal. Next steps... that will come from observations.

An interview with Professor Sharon Feiman-Nemser from Brandeis University Massachusetts. (video TC site) Videos

RELATIONSHIP-BASED A mentor should be able to work comfortably and supportively in a co-constructive relationship with the PCT. Mentor teachers require professional development and support to advance their relational skills.

Mentors need to:

• build a trusting relationship
• get to know your PCT
• know when to be structured and when to let them fly.
• observe the performance and take that performance apart.
• constructive feedback

Appraisal

Evidence that shows you participated in an appraisal system using the Standards (However your school approaches the Standards)

Evidence should be measured against the Standards - keeping evidence well documented.

Thinking about Evidence

Analysis Tool II: necessary and sufficient p4

Sufficient gathering of evidence in any form eg. modelling books

An anecdotal record-keeping is a good piece of evidence.

Eg. what are the PCTs doing and changing to improve their practice or what are they doing to improve students outcomes.

When doing an observation think about the questions and answers the PCTs use in their lessons.