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8/6/2019 Mentoring and Coaching 2010 JMC
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Mentoring and Coaching James McLean 51010018
Contents
Contents .....................................................................................1
1. Introduction ............................................................................2
2. Review of Literature ..............................................................3
3. Key Principles underpinning approaches to Mentoring &
Coaching ...................................................................................4
4. Emerging issues supporting colleagues, probationer
teachers and students ............................................................11
5. Review of my practice relating to mentoring and coaching
...................................................................................................15
6. Mentoring to promote improved practice .........................19
7. Techniques and tools used in the mentoring process .....23
8. Next steps .............................................................................26
9. Conclusion ...........................................................................28
10. Bibliography ......................................................................29
Appendix A : Testimonial from Head Teacher
Appendix B : Testimonial from Depute Head Teacher
Appendix C : Certificate of Authenticity Colleague
Appendix D : Certificate of Authenticity Mentee
Appendix E : School Observation Tool
Appendix F: Appendix F : Exemplar tool : Movement Interaction &
Behaviour
Appendix G : Collaborative Conversation Log
Appendix H : Chartered Teacher Competency Grid
Appendix I : Professional review and development grid
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1. Introduction
My studies for the Chartered Teacher Program (CTP) have allowed me to
place great importance on the consistency of systematic reflection in all
aspects of my teaching practice.
Clift et al (1990) note that schools are difficult environments for reflective
thinking, and a redesign of time, compatible colleagues and administration
support would be needed to make systematic reflection more likely. I am
not sure how much has really improved since 1990, but certainly the CTP
has allowed me to look carefully at my professional practice, by using
reflective learning as a tool to make improvements.
In undertaking the Mentoring and Coaching Module, reflection again is a
recurring theme. If I were to aspire to being an agent for change as a
Chartered Teacher, then the Mentoring and Coaching module was one in
which I could make changes in my practice, and ensure development
because of interactions with the new teacher I was to mentor
Fletcher(2000).
In the current climate of financial cuts the opportunities for Professional
Development are few, however the opportunities arising from Mentoring are
plentiful. I felt sure that the time and commitment required to effectively
and efficiently allow the development of a new teacher to take place would
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also allow me to develop into a better, more competent, and skillful
practitioner.
2. Review of Literature
In Scotland before the publication and agreement on A Teaching
Profession for the 21st Century more commonly known as the McCrone
report in 2001, newly qualified teachers were interviewed for posts, and if
successful, and in full time employment carried out a period of 2 years
probation. During this time the newly qualified teacher was given a full
timetable, and apart from a few observations typically left to their own
devices, where they had to learn how to teach, in addition to all the
administrative duties required in the profession, unfortunately some new
teachers could become overwhelmed. This situation was not ideal, and
certainly it was reported in American schools that as many as 50% of newly
qualified teachers left the profession within the first 5 years. Ingersol and
Smith (2003).
In 2002 following publication of A teaching Profession for the 21 st Century
the probationary arrangements for newly qualified teachers changed
significantly. Each student was given a guaranteed 1 year contract, and
during the probation year would have a maximum 0.7 Full Time Entitlement
(FTE) with the remaining 0.3 FTE allocated for development time including
support with a dedicated Mentor, called a nominated probationer supporter
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in General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS) documents who was also
given a 0.1 FTE to devote time to the mentoring process. GTCS ( 2007)
In addition to the Mentoring of new teachers as described above through
the Teacher Induction System (TIS) there also exists many informal
mentoring activities. The Scottish Intranet Glow, makes provision for a Glow
Mentor, and through Teacher Learning Communities (TLC), there are
opportunities for experienced teachers to engage in peer mentoring and
coaching.
3. Key Principles underpinning approaches to Mentoring & Coaching
Mentor
noun
1.
a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
2.an influential senior sponsor or supporter.
and
noun
(in the Odyssey) a loyal adviser of Odysseus entrusted with the
care and education of Telemachus.
(American Heritage Dictionary website, undated)
Mentoring is an age old philosophy, and will have been considered and
practised long before the publication of the Odyssey and since. Today there
are many definitions and variations of mentoring, but as said by Peeler &
Jane (2003) all involve some sort of on-going supportive relationships.
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Brooks and Sikes (1997) advise that to be a good mentor one should have
a range of different strategies and high level skills in order to manage what
is a sophisticated and complex activity, this modern view, extends but also
complements the view of the Classical model of mentoring where Nicholls
(2002) describes a mentor as having values of a role model, teacher,
counsellor, adviser and encourager, each role employing a wide range of
skills and strategies, all of which are needed to Mentor effectively in the 21 st
Century , a century where changes have been made and we as a
population are more at ease with the idea of caring relationships, an article
in the (Sunday Times Website 2009) proposed the idea that we are a caring
society, where we are treated with respect. The mentoring model
complementing this view is the Nurturing Model, where emphasis is placed
on caring and nurturing, Anderson and Shannon (1995) put forward a
number of functions that they deemed as mutually exclusive within the this
model, namely : befriending , teaching, sponsoring, encouraging and
counselling, this model allows the mentor-mentee relationship to be
informal, and friendly, but because of this informality, it may be difficult, on
occasion to be truly honest for fear of spoiling the friendship.
Another model to consider would be the Competency model, and if we
examine the various standards set by the General Teaching Council of
Scotland (GTCS), then a competency model may seem best suited to the
task. A new teacher in his or her Probation year has to work towards
reaching the Standard for Full Registration (SFR). The SFR details baseline
standards or competencies that a new teacher would expect to apply
throughout their career, these competencies are visited throughout a
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probationary year, and when complete signed off by the mentor. This
process can be seen as procedural, where the mentor is simply coaching
the mentee through the agreed set of competencies, the downside of this
as reported by Awaya et all (2003) is there is a presumption of rank, and
the mentee is subordinate to the mentee. This model does not allow the
mentee to challenge the mentor, it does not allow the mentee to reflect on
issues, instead the mentee is focussed only on satisfying the procedural
needs of the mentor, thus this arrangement could be problematic, if the
mentee had issues with the mentor, then because of the hierarchy and
control placed over the mentee. this could give rise to the mentor not
approving the mentees evidence or profile at the end of the year, and thus
the mentee would not meet the SFR.
It is clear that this model in isolation would not be suitable for this process,
and some other model of mentoring would have to work alongside.
The GTCS state they have a responsibility to ensure that those registered
to teach in Scotland's schools are
competent and suitable to work as teachers (GTCS website, undated)
However this does not relate to the competencies completed in an
induction year, competencies are specific skills, techniques, attitudes and
knowledge. Competence is the demonstration of an integrated deep
structure (understanding) and on the general ability to coordinate
appropriate internal cognitive, effective and other resources for successful
adaption Wood and Power (1997), this then suggests that in mentoring
new teachers a combination of Mentoring models would best suit, a model
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that would fit with the completion of competencies and another to address
the more thoughtful reflective process that would allow the new teacher to
understand the thinking behind the skills acquired. I feel this is especially
important since the overall point of the induction scheme is to produce , as
stated by the GTCS competent teachers
The purpose of the TIS is to build a bridge for the student who has
achieved the Standard for Initial Teacher Education to becoming a fully
qualified teacher. (Ingersoll & Smith (2004) This bridge can include many
different forms in its construction, CPD, presentations, workshops,
seminars, coaching and mentoring.
The selection of a probationer mentor in schools is carefully described in
GTCS (2007) documents, they ask that amongst other qualities a
prospective mentor should have personal attributes such as patience, be
approachable, empathetic, supportive and a good listener. these are words
that we may associate with a relationship , (Awaya et al 2003) who also
state that the role of the mentor has a presumption of rank in which the
mentee is subsumed, the GTCS have sought to avoid this form of
relationship by promoting attributes that positively promote developing a
relationship as part of the growth in the development of a new teacher. In
creating a professional, trusting relationship it is easier to for both mentor
and mentee to reflect upon teaching practice, the reflection as stated by
Arnold (2004, citing ODonoghue 1997). should drive feedback from each
party and include the bad events allowing the mentee to face up to and
challenge their practice.
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In addition to the personal attributes highlighted by the GTCS there are
professional qualities, and in providing mentoring there should be a
balance. Professionally as described by Hobson et al (2009) we would be
supporting the mentees journey through the standards and competencies,
the journey would be measured, at the beginning or initiation stage of the
process where the relationship begins to carry meaning for both the mentor
and mentee, expectations are defined, trust is built and an honest open
relationship is established . This support is gradually reduced to the final
stage where the mentee is seeking less guidance and is working
independently. However this may not be the end of the relationship as
further development may move in a more collegiate or peer direction,
throughout the teachers career.
Important to all of the latter is mentor training, the desired outcome of an
induction year is for the mentee to develop better teaching skills, that
impact on the quality of learning experienced by pupils, the mentee should
be able to develop in confidence, self esteem and be able to reflect and
respond positively to practice writes Arnold (2004).It is therefore essential
that mentors receive appropriate training, this is recognised by the GTCS
and in response the Local Authority in which I am employed sets aside a 2
day training course for prospective mentors. This service may change as
the Local Authority are piloting an arrangement where an experienced
mentor takes the full time responsibility for mentoring a number of new
teachers in many schools across the Authority.
Like any relationship, the mentoring process should be one that is long
lasting and dynamic write Healy and Walchert (2000), and if the induction
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process is to reduce teacher turnover and improve the learning experiences
of the pupils then mentors have to be selected for the proper reasons.
Johnson (2003) demonstrated integrating three qualities of competence
that align with essential qualities of a Mentor. The model describes how a
good mentor demonstrates a balance of virtues, abilities and competencies.
Attributes from the (GTCS 2007 ) can be seen in this model and associated
table. below
Illustration adapted from Johnson (2003)
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ABILITIES COMPETENCIES VIRTUESCognitive: Student Development Integrity
Intellectual skill Relational Phases Caring
Cognitive Complexity Relationship Structure Prudence
Emotional: Mentor Functions
Emotional BalanceBoundarymanagement
Personality Cross Gender skills
Relational: Cross Race Skills
Communication Skills Respect for Autonomy
Capacity for intimacy Self Awareness
Virtues
Competencie
s
Abilities
Mentor
Competence
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Table adapted from Johnson (2003)
In summary from reviewing the relevant literature, there is sufficient
evidence to show that the role of the mentor is in the provision of on-going
support Peeler & Jane (2003) and within that on-going support there are a
number of models that give the necessary support. Nichols (2002) makes
good descriptions of the apprentice model, which would be ideal in an
industrial or skills based occupation, the competency model, which fits into
education as teachers must reach the standards set by the GTCS and finally
and probably the most relevant the reflective model, which in order to
promote critical reflection will require the mentor to be thoughtful, but
thorough in the cross examination of the mentees work. Throughout the
Probation year, and throughout teaching practice, the Standards for Initial
training and the Standard for Full registration state that critical reflection be
applied to current practices in order to improve teaching and pupil learning,
it is the task of the mentor to question the mentee on these reflections, to
allow the mentee to make sense of events and through collaboration both
mentor and mentee are allowed to develop. It is in this model that Schons
reflection-on-action and reflection-inaction is encouraged in order to
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promote reflective practice and give both mentor and mentee a deeper
insight into their practice.
The dilemma in the mentoring process for the Chartered Teacher is that by
definition they are seeking to improve practice and become leaders of
learning, however if they volunteer for mentoring, then in many cases they
have a full timetable which does not allow for the 0.1 commitment, thus
someone else is chosen, and they have to turn to other activities such as
those described below.
4. Emerging issues supporting colleagues, probationer teachers and
students
In school many opportunities arise allowing engagement with mentoring and
coaching. My role as a Glow mentor allows me to interface with every staff
member, and many pupils, however the name is a misnomer as really the
balance leans more towards coaching than mentoring simply because the
learners are relatively inexperienced with the system and my role is therefore as
stated by Parsloe and Rae (2000) to adopt a hands-on, instructor like role, where
through repeated sessions I allow the learner to progress in a spiral fashion, and
as they learn, my instruction lessons, become less frequent and less intense until
a point is reached and they require no further help. The figure below gives a
graphical representation of this process
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Parlsoe and Rae (2000)
Additionally any agendas regarding the training is focussed on achieving
specific and immediate tasks, as an example teachers and pupils want to
be able to create a Glow Group , or use a text editor or such like tasks,
compare this to mentoring where the mentee would set an agenda, with the
mentor providing support and guidance allowing the mentee to move
forward and face future challenges, with minimal, if any instruction, this
confirms Megginson & Clutterbuck (2005) who state that coaching is
primarily related to performance improvement over a short time in a
particular skills area, and mentoring relates primarily to the nurturing
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potential for the whole person, possibly a long term relationship, where the
goals are always set by the mentee.
The Glow Mentor role is contrasted with my role in Tapestry, the name
given to a group of teachers who meet regularly and collaboratively explore
Assessment is for Learning (AIFL) techniques in the classroom.
The Tapestry group is now in its third year of working, the group the
collaboratively and confidentially work towards improving learning and
teaching in the classroom. It allows both in its regular meetings and after
classroom observation sufficient time for reflection. It seamlessly moves
from elements of coaching to mentoring, depending on the activity and
because of this each member can make a real difference to professional
practice, and develop personal skills.It is a less intensive process , but no
less rewarding than a formal mentoring process. Each member of the
group at some time will reflect on the others practice, with an openness and
honesty allowing good and bad practice to be highlighted and reflected
upon. I feel the peer coaching and mentoring experienced in this group has
influenced positively on my confidence in class. Activities which are
prevalent in this group are for co-coaching: experimenting, understanding
each others learning goals and planning supported by questions, in
mentoring: identifying learning goals, providing guidance, feedback and
direction, and in specialist coaching: providing support to clarify goals,
reflecting on and debriefing shared learning experiences, all of these
activities are exemplified by CUREE (2005)
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The current climate of budgetary constraints may have an effect on
probationer mentoring. With the Local Authority (LA) seeking huge
reductions in the operating costs in schools, and imposing tight constraints
on teaching staff, by rigorously applying the ratio of teachers to pupils, it
has led to a situation where most teachers are on minimum non-contact
time. (The contractual agreement where teachers are allowed time to
prepare lessons, mark work and so on, away from pupils). In my school we
have brought in a retired teacher to engage with the mentoring process,
originally I saw this as a negative approach, as I felt the probationer may
feel at times isolated, especially as the teacher may not be as involved in
school as permanent members of staff, however Vilanni (2002) in a small
scale survey promoted the idea that using retired teachers as mentors is
worth consideration, especially in current times where the number of new
teachers may greatly exceed experienced teachers. Fortunately the teacher
in my school had spent many years at the school before retiring, and still
takes an active part in the life of the school.
Another arising issue because of budgetary constraints, may be a lack of
support for new Principal Teachers (PTs) , Faculty Heads (FH) or indeed
Senior Management (SMT). These positions could and should be
supported not at least because of the new skills and procedures to be
learned, and in those positions learning by mistakes , because of lack of
support is not ideal. Perhaps peer mentoring, where teachers are identified
and trained to work with new colleagues should be better promoted than
currently exists.
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5. Review of my practice relating to mentoring and coaching
Until my involvement in this module my practice was most likely centred
around coaching, My ICT background lent itself to me being approached by
staff and pupils to be coached on a particular skill required to efficiently
operate a piece of software. As this module progressed I realised I did have
the necessary attributes to potentially become a mentor, I was self-
confident I had faith in my ability to positively affect the growth and
development of others and I was a good collaborator, all of these attributes
highlighted by Hall et al, (2008) to define a mentor, however,
Simply being a good teacher does not ensure that a person would be agood mentor. Being an effective mentor requires a variety of skills andabilities that often go beyond those required of a good classroom instructor
(Daresh 2003, pp23)
It is those skills and abilities that a potential mentor would be seeking to
identify and demonstrate a consistency in. In schools currently there may
be a temptation to simply choose an experienced member of staff simply
because they have space on their timetable, or even take the easier option
of choosing a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT) in view of
budget lines, however this may prove to be false economy as they may be
experienced educators, but as Brooks and Sikes (1997) showed, mentoring
is not simply an extension of being a teacher, it requires a different
perspective, where abilities, aptitudes, attitudes and skills are necessary,
and although experienced teachers and SMT may have these it cannot be
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assumed they do. It is therefore essential that a potential mentor promotes
his or her interest in the position, and not simply chosen for convenience.
Then steps could be taken to establish if the candidate has the variety of
skills and attributes required.
Thinking of my own experiences of being mentored in my initial years as a
new teacher, I was fortunate to be mentored by my line manager, who was
quite able to separate her role as my manager and my mentor, I now see
her role was partly that of a co-operative teacher defined by Rudney and
Guilliame(2003) as a teacher with superior teaching skills, well honed
communications skills, and although I was a probationer before 2002, she
cleverly gave me an increasing amount of responsibility as my probation
progressed. At the time I saw nothing of this, we did communicate and
reflect on both our classroom teaching regularly, she clearly had skills and
abilities required to extend her role as a teacher and manager, into a
mentoring role, and if this mentor-mentee relationship is viewed or
conceived as a journey, then 10 years later it still continues, she continues
to provide me space to develop, she is a source of moral support, we are
equal partners in the relationship, and we still talk on the practicalities of our
subject, now I understand the entire process to be a derivation of the
classical model of Mentoring as described by Awaya et al (2001).
From my own experiences the characteristics of an effective mentoring
relationship cannot be simply defined, however a common theme is
throughout the literature studied is: relationships, and in 2006, at Local
Authority Induction teacher day, the new teachers were asked to generate a
person specification for the role of a mentor. The new teachers put their
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thoughts forward in a number of ways on flip charts, some were simply
embellished lists, some elaborate drawings, all were photographed. I
copied all the words, from all of the photographs and using computer
software a word cloud was generated. The cloud gives a visual
representation based on font size of the most frequently occurring words,
the more frequent then the bigger the font that the word uses.
The cloud generated from the words used by the new teachers is shown
below.
Computer Cloud Image
The most commonly used words, can be seen to be: experienced,
supportive, approachable, organised, trustworthy, listener, encouraging and
positive. All of these words would fit easily into a description of a
relationship.
The word most interesting to me was listener. In personal and professional
relationships, listening is a key component, we have to hear what we are
listening to, we have to respond appropriately to what we hear, we respond
in so many ways to what we hear, in all of the latter we are responding to
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what we hear and turning it into meaningful feedback, a nod, an interjection,
an explanation, a confirmation of what is said all contribute to what I now
understand to be a learning conversation. The opportunities for learning
conversations can be formal or informal, however when practised in a
mentoring environment, it ensures trust, it is sensitive to power imbalances,
it encourages reflection as defined by the General Teaching Council for
England (GTCE 2004).
In summary my practice relating to mentoring and coaching, is a developing
one, one which I now see as essential in improving my teaching practice,
and in particular my critical self evaluation and development and my
effectiveness in promoting learning in the classroom.
I feel my mentoring and coaching skills and abilities are developing, I can
still be unsure of what techniques to use and why, and I find myself
spending a considerable amount of time trying to ensure that my
conversations in a mentoring capacity do not appear as contrived, I am
confident though that as more opportunities arise to mentor in formal and
informal occasions my confidence will grow, and be mutually of benefit to all
parties.
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6. Mentoring to promote improved practice
Following summer school at University I approached the Headteacher, and
asked if I would be permitted to mentor one of our probation teachers. After
consideration, and because my timetable was full he suggested I co-mentor
a probationer, and that I would have the full support of himself and the
school in this task.
For the purposes of anonymity and readability I will refer to the probationary
teacher as Jenny throughout this document.
Jenny had previously visited the school prior to the summer holidays, and
was already familiar with her teaching timetable and many of the school
policies and procedures. I was given 1 period a week to engage with the
mentoring process, the other periods were with the mentor who would be
responsible for managing Jennys route to achieving the SFR.
An initial meeting was set up where Jenny met both her mentors.
The meeting agenda, was unusually set by the mentors, but it was thus as
we had to sort out what roles would be adopted, how we would treat
confidentiality, and the housekeeping for further meetings, times and rooms
and so on.
However I did get the opportunity to hear what Jenny expected from her
year in post, her fears, but also her enthusiasm to get the job done
properly. We had time to look at her Initial Professional Development Plan
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(IPDAP) and that prompted a conversation on what Jenny thought to be her
strong and weak areas.
It was agreed that for the year, that I would have a principal focus on AIFL,
and any observations, although informal would be recorded, reflected on
and actions taken , if necessary. The other Mentor would take
responsibility for the official observations and official GTCS documentation.
Throughout the process I have had regular meetings with the main mentor
where we discuss progress, and what targets have been set by Jenny for
the following meeting. This arrangement had a positive effect on my
mentoring as although we were equal partners in the relationship, the main
mentor had a great deal more experience of mentoring new teachers and I
was grateful for the many learning conversations that took place, allowing
me reflect and improve my mentoring and coaching skills.
My initial meeting with Jenny was fruitful, she was confident, excited and
looking forward to the year ahead. She had lots of ideas, and was keen to
try these in class. She was also well aware of her strengths and
weaknesses, we talked of the challenges she thought would come her way,
and hypothesized how we may get through them. Throughout the meeting it
was clear that she was going to use our time together in a positive way.
Jennys initial target was to experiment with one or two elements of AIFL,
and she chose to use the techniques of no hands up and thumbs up or
down for level of understanding. We agreed on an informal observation
later that week.
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At this point I was unaware of the tools available to me as we had not
covered this in the unit, so I used the standard school observation sheet
(See Appendix E: School Observation Sheet)
We then used the observation to start a learning conversation, and from
which she agreed additional targets. Indeed at each subsequent meeting
Jenny would arrive with a prepared agenda, and evidence of her reflection
on not just any classes I had observed, but on other aspects of her teaching
practice. I was beginning to see that she was benefiting from the process,
she was transforming good ideas into concrete lessons, she was becoming
part of the school community by becoming involved with the Duke of
Edinburgh group, and the ELT committee, and becoming more confident in
her professional competence , all positive signs writes Daresh (2003) that
she was benefitting from the mentoring experience.
Each meeting was an honest appraisal of her work, I felt I was becoming
more confident in the use of language when asking questions, and certainly
becoming a more active listener.
In October she raised the question of time, she was having great difficulty in
maintaining her initial work rate, I had raised this question a number of
weeks previous, but then she was confident and sure her schedule was
fine. She was upset and showing signs of losing some of her enthusiasm,
she was worried that if each lesson was not all singing and dancing then
somehow she was failing. I asked how she thought she could change this
perception, she spoke of how she would, by looking carefully at lessons
and decide what worked and what didnt. She knew she had to look at her
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organisation, and make sure that in addition to school she allowed time for
herself and family. Her reflection and action allowed her to develop a
manageable workload, yet still produce exciting innovative lessons, and
most importantly allow time for herself. Throughout this entire process I
had very little to do, I allowed Jenny the time to think and plan, I carefully
listened and if appropriate responded to her ideas, doubts, concerns and
abilities and gave her the space to think out solutions.
My critical incident was difficult to identify, but it was a light bulb moment
when I realised that I was beginning to routinely use reflection in action and
reflection on action, Schon (1983) , During conversations with Jenny I
would find myself analysing what was being said and trying to find a
suitable explanation. or fix, or theory that would immediately fit the situation,
however I would also, after the meeting, or on the drive home think more
carefully about what was actually said, the nuances behind statements and
then formulate new questions to ask, new areas to explore and so on. This I
feel was benefiting in equal amounts my own professional development,
and that of the mentee.
My mentoring experience, which will continue for Jennys probation has had
a positive effect on my learning and teaching. Regularly viewing another
teachers work is always good, and allows for the development of my own
lessons. Being privy to personal attitudes, ethics, ideas, doubts , concerns
and successes of another teacher and hearing how they are worked out
with or without advice from me is humbling, and yet again allows scope for
further reflection.
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7. Techniques and tools used in the mentoring process
The importance of body language, location and seating were my first
priority when meeting with Jenny. I had arranged for our meetings to held
in our Department office, chosen because it was quiet, away from pupils
and staff. I had arranged the seats so that we were side by side, so there
was no indication or presumption of authority, and finally the chairs were
turned slightly towards each other to give an open body language setting.
At our first meeting I asked Jenny if she was comfortable with the
arrangements, suggesting that if not another location could be found. Our
initial meeting was led by me, but in subsequent meetings the agenda was
always set by Jenny.
For the first few meetings I was concentrating on improving my listening
skills, I was always aware that in conversation with colleagues I felt I had to
say something, and that had to change with mentoring. I advised Jenny of
this weakness, knowing that this would not be an easy skill to aquire and
would most likely need changes to take place in my own basic attitudes as
suggested by Rogers and Farson (2007), and asked for her support.
Each meeting I would attempt to actively listen, knowing that this was an
essential technique to build on the trust set out in our first meetings, and it
would encourage positive problem solving. I would make every effort to give
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appropriate non-verbal signs, frequent eye contact, appropriate and
measured facial expressions such as nods and smiles. In addition I would
send out encouraging signs to Jenny that I was carefully listening to what
she was saying, I would use paraphrasing to demonstrate understanding.
Summarising what was said would also allow me to seek clarification, if
required in some of the points she was making.
As the weeks went by I became more skilled in this practice, and I felt that I
had moved on from being judgemental, giving the benefit of my advice , to
someone who could actively listen, could be non-judgemental and be happy
with silence, as this is a key moment where critical thinking is most likely to
occur. A variation of this silence technique is used in AIFL, where pupils are
given wait time where they really think about an answer before actually
saying it.
I then tried to introduce various language stems, however on occasion this
seemed very contrived, especially as I had met with Jenny on many
occasions prior to trying this tool, and she was clearly aware of my style in
mentoring conversations. In terms of language tools throughout our
meetings we would use in our conversation, instructional language where I
may illustrate points from my experience, or make suggestions, and I would
say that this style of conversation was used least, more commonly used
was the collaborative approach, this I feel was most frequent due to the
nature of our relationship. Together we were to approach the issues of
formative assessment in Jennys classes, and therefore we worked closely
on lesson plans, evidence gathering, and reflecting on the positives and
negatives in lessons.
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Complementing the weekly meetings were the informal observations I
made of Jennys teaching practice. The lessons observed were varied in
length, sometimes I would arrange only to see a particular part of a lesson
and as such come into class at an appropriate time. Other times I viewed
an entire lesson.
Each of the observations was planned, the focus was initiated and agreed
by Jenny, and all follow up sessions dealt only with what was previously
agreed.
At an early stage we spoke of the necessity of evidence, in observation the
evidence I gathered may not reflect the entire picture, and a conversation
took place regarding the use of audio or video evidence. described as one
of the most effective ways of enabling a trainee to improve on practice,
(Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Web Page
Undated) Confidentiality was assured, however Jenny was not comfortable
with this methodology, even though I suggested she observed my teaching
and made use of the audio-visual equipment in school in observation, but
again she was not comfortable.
It was clear from initial observations of Jenny and with conversations with
her main mentor, that Jenny was demonstrating clearly that she was rapidly
becoming a very efficient practitioner, she made excellent preparation for
lessons, and although in the beginning this caused her to stress with regard
to managing time, with a little guidance she began to plan more effectively
her lessons to allow her the freedom of more personal time.
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The tools used to effect here were the selective scripting tool, the seating
chart movement, interaction and behaviour, (See Appendix F: Seating
Chart) and the collaborative conversation log, (See Appendix G:
Collaborative Conversation log) I had seen video evidence from the New
Teacher Center at the University of California Santa Cruz,(UCSC) where
new teachers were seen using the tools in the presence of experienced
mentors, and following observed lessons, each tool was used in order to
stimulate reflection of the lesson.
I found these tools to be of great value, my school observation sheet is
cluttered (See Appendix E: School Observation Tool) but the tools from
UCSC were easily customisable, they could be used for all or any part of
lessons, but importantly were in use before the lesson where lesson targets
could be identified, methods of evidence collection agreed upon and then
after the lesson the same document was used to aid reflection by
synthesizing the lesson, drawing conclusions and planning next steps
(University of Aberdeen Mentoring and Coaching Unit 4 adapted from
A.Costa and R.Garmston)
8. Next steps
The Chartered teacher programme was always going to be a vehicle by
which I could take steps to improve my teaching practice. I feel this module
has allowed me to address elements in the Standard for Chartered Teacher
(CT) relating to Professional Action. The mentoring process gave me the
opportunity to really investigate and overtake (See Appendix H CT 4.2.1 &
4.2.2). The mentoring I undertook was emotionally draining, and I felt I was
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very lucky to mentor a new teacher with fantastic enthusiasm and skills,
even so I began to look at my own practice more critically than before as a
result of the skills and abilities I was learning during mentoring. The
necessary research and reading to put mentoring and coaching into
practice has allowed me to put into context the undoubted value in Critical
Self Evaluation.
With regard to the Standard relating to Professional Values and Personal
Commitments the mentoring module placed a great deal of responsibility
onto me. I was partly responsible for allowing the development of a new
teacher, I can relate back to my probation years and think of the negative
comments made by experienced teachers, I did not want to be that sort of
Mentor, I was taking responsibility to ensure my mentee would benefit from
the process and therefore put a lot of time, and emotion into the task. It was
and at time of writing still is a privilege to be involved. (See Appendix H CT
1.2,1.3 & 1.4)
With reference to the Professional Knowledge and Understanding
standards, to be an effective Chartered Teacher would involve critical
understanding of current educational policy and research. The mentee saw
me as a person who is engaging in this process and would question
accordingly, especially with regard to assessments and in particular ,
formative assessment, I therefore feel confident that I have addressed
issues in this Standard (See Appendix H CT 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 & 2.5)
Finally in the Standards for Professional Skills and Actions the module has
necessitated me being enthusiastic, If I was not then what would the
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mentee think of teaching? I had to learn new skills in communication, from
listening to seating to conversations, all of these play a very important role
in how messages are conveyed and received, and ultimately how the
mentee is allowed to develop. (See Appendix H, CT 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4)
The next step is to build on lessons learned, to take a more active
leadership role, where I can be a positive influence on colleagues. I will
continue with my membership on the Effective Learning and Teaching
Committee, continue to promote the good work done in the Teacher
Learning Community group as these groups provide the backbone of my
teaching practice as they each identify and allow understanding of effective
classroom teaching strategies, which is at the heart of the business of
teaching, we must be able to effectively provide learning and teaching to
each and every pupil in our care. Finally I will continue to take advantage
of the Curriculum for Excellence and the opportunity to develop new and
innovative materials with my colleagues.
9. Conclusion
I feel I now have the enthusiasm, skills and abilities to take on further
mentoring roles within my school. I also feel that this is an area, where a
Chartered Teacher could contribute positively in the life of the school, as it
would be free from any department or managerial conflicts.
Through engaging in the process I can make a direct comparison with my
probation period and the Teacher Induction Scheme, and comment that the
new scheme is effective, it is exciting, it is challenging, but it will produce
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teachers who want to teach, and critically at an early stage, reflection on
practice is embedded into the skillset of the new teacher.
Finally in engaging with the Mentoring programme I can agree with
Donnelly (2004) who states that Mentoring is not one thing: it is a
range of
possibilities.
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