The Mentor As Growth Agent: Developing Learning- Focused Relationships AWARENESS 1 Copyright 2006...

The Mentor As Growth Agent:Developing Learning-Focused Relationships

AWARENESS1

Copyright 2006 MiraVia, LLC

Mentoring Matters Key Concepts

Goals

• To consider a mentor’s roles, responsibilities and intentions as a growth agent.

• To define a learning-focused relationship as the balance of three functions: offering support, creating challenge and facilitating professional vision.

Mentor as a Growth Agent

Three Functions• Offering Support

• Creating Challenge

• Facilitating Professional Vision

Read & Example

Everyone Reads Offering Support p.2

Everyone Reads Creating Challenge p.3

Everyone ReadsFacilitating Professional Vision p.4

A’s Verbally SummarizeTrios: Craft 3-4 Examples

B’s Verbally SummarizeTrios: Craft 3-4 Examples

C’s Verbally SummarizeTrios: Craft 3-4 Examples

Balancing the Mentor Role

• Support alone will provide comfort but may encourage complacency.

• Challenge without support may increase anxiety and fear of failure.

• Support and challenge without vision may leave us wandering on a journey looking only at the ground beneath us but not the road ahead.

Think - Pair - Share

• One goal for me as a growth agent . . .

• As a growth agent, one new idea for me . . .

• One thing I will add to my learning- focused relationships . . .

Self-Assessment

• Collect notes and artifacts resulting from your implementation of the three functions: offering support, creating challenge and facilitating professional vision.

Bring your notes and artifacts to our next session.

• What goals did you set for yourself in learning- focused conversations and what were the outcomes from those conversations?

Phases of First Year Teaching Jigsaw

1. Count-off 1-5

2. Regroup with number-alike colleagues

3. Individually read your assigned pages

4. Table group discussion; complete worksheet

5. Create chart

Phases of First Year Teaching Jigsaw

READING….everyone reads page 5

Anticipation -- p 6

Survival -- p 7

Disillusionment -- p 8-9

Rejuvenation -- p 9

Reflection -- p 10-11

Group Chart Task

PHASE:______________Key identifiers:

Strategies Indicators of Effectiveness Support

Challenge

Vision

Reflective Prompts

• What are some things you might do to balance support/challenge/vision in your work?

• What are some patterns you are aware of in your own practice?

A Continuum of Learning-Focused Interaction

AWARENESS2

Copyright 2006 MiraVia, LLC

Mentoring Matters Key Concepts

Goals

• To introduce a continuum of learning-focused interaction.

• To explore specific strategies connected to each of the three stances: consulting, collaborating and coaching.

A Continuum of Learning-Focused Interaction

CONSULT COLLABORATE

COACH

Information andanalysis

Say Something• Partners read about the consulting stance;

Mentoring Matters p. 22.• When each partner is ready, they turn and “say

something” about what they have just read (e.g., an example, a main idea, a connection to their own work).

• Repeat the pattern for the collaborating stance; Mentoring Matters p. 24 and the coaching stance; Mentoring Matters p. 25.

A Continuum of Learning-Focused Interaction

• Read the strategies for each stance in Mentoring Matters pp 22-26.

• Determine a mentoring strategy that would be appropriate for a teacher during each stance.

• Record your ideas in the spaces provided on your worksheet (PM p.5).

A Continuum of Learning-Focused Interaction

Consulting Collaborating Coaching Example: Provide a demonstration lesson in the beginning teacher’s classroom.

Example: Create a lesson or unit of study with the beginning teacher.

Example: Ask about success within a beginning teacher’s lesson.

Independent Follow-Up/ Self-Assessment

• On your worksheet record 3 strategies (one for each stance) that you might use with your beginning teacher.

• When describing your strategies include how they will be applied in your learning-focused relationships.

Applying the Stances:

Journey to Excellence 2015

Mentor as a Growth Agent

A Continuum ofLearning-Focused Interaction

SKILL DEVELOPMENT2

Copyright 2006 MiraVia, LLC

Mentoring Matters Key Concepts

Goals• To develop fluency in navigating across a

continuum of learning-focused interactions including: consulting, collaborating and coaching.

• To mediate a beginning teacher’s thinking by establishing a focus, or third point, during learning-focused conversations.

The Third Point

Mentor

Beginning Teacher

Third Point

Focused Reading

√ = Got it. I know and/or understand this.

! = This is really important or interesting.

? = I don’t understand this or I would like to know more.

Third Point Examples

InternalA recollection or descriptionA personal observationA statement of concernA perception of a problemA statement of value or beliefA judgment

ExternalSamples of student workRubric defining excellenceA lesson planA curriculum guideStandards descriptionsTest resultsIndividualized Education Plan(s)Annual ReviewsLetters, written communications

Third Point Exercise

• With a partner, use the student work sample (PM p. 5) to determine language you might use to mediate thinking from each stance:

consulting, collaborating, coaching

• Use PM p. 6 to record your language choices.

Discussion Prompt

Given my present mentoring practice, what are some strengths and what are some stretches for me?

Maximizing Time and Attention by Attending Fully

AWARENESS3

Copyright 2006 MiraVia, LLC

Mentoring Matters Key Concepts

Goals

• To focus on attending fully as the foundation for the learning-focused toolkit.

• To explore the influence of non-verbal cues in conducting effective learning-focused conversations.

What is one example of a non-verbal cue that indicates full attention and facilitates thinking?

Round the Room and Back Again

1. Write your response on a sticky note.

2. Without taking notes, move round the room, share your response with others and mentally catalogue their responses.

3. Return to home-base and write down the ideas you can recall on additional sticky notes.

4. Pool your examples and extend your lists with additional sticky notes.

Round the Room and Back Again

Alignment Categories

• Physical– Muscle Tension, Posture, Gesture

• Vocal– Intonation, Pace, Word Choice

• Breathing– Depth, Duration, Rate

Be Intentional When/If:

• You anticipate tension or anxiety• Tension or anxiety emerges• You are having difficulty understanding

another person• You are distracted

5. Read “Attending Fully” MM pp. 35-36.

6. Categorize your sticky notes based on the alignment categories you just read about.

Round the Room and Back Again

Blocks to Understanding “I” Listening

• Personal Referencing– “me too” or “I would never”

• Personal Curiosity– Questions driven by our own personal need

to know or understand more

• Personal Certainty– “have you tried. . . ”? or – “have you thought about . . . ”?

Strengths and Stretches

• Read Blocks to Understanding MM pp. 36-37.

• Complete the Strengths and Stretches T-Chart PM p. 5.

• Partners share and compare T-Charts and select some thoughts to share with the full group.

Strengths Stretches

Think-Write-Share

As you think about your work as a mentor, what are some ways that attending fully might enhance your work and increase your effectiveness?

Use PM p. 6 to record your response.

Think-Write-Share

• Share your ideas at table groups.• As a table group, select one idea to

share with the full group.

Independent Follow-Up/ Self Assessment

• Monitoring the Media – View one or more TV talk shows, paying close

attention to the degree to which the interviewer and interviewee are matching posture, voice tone, etc. Use PM p. 7 to record your observations.

• As you reflect, consider: – “What are some new things you are aware of?” – “What goals are you setting for your own skill

development?”