Philosophic Issues and Approaches to Mentoring

Sophie

Just three weeks before the school year was to begin, Sophie received the call that she was the successful candidate for a grade two teaching position.  Thrilled to begin her career as a teacher, she packed up all the materials she had been collecting, and went to get started setting up her first classroom. 

The school custodian was in the building and unlocked her classroom door for her. As she carried her boxes in, he remarked that he doesn’t clean around ‘junk’. She wondered if the rocking chair and braided rug that she had purchased that summer for a reading centre would qualify as ‘junk’. As she turned to face her room, she was taken aback at the condition it had been left in. The custodian told her that other teachers had come and taken the better furniture once ‘old Betty’ retired, so this was what was left. The materials on the one small book shelf were worn copies of the same ones she had used as a child.  She silently congratulated herself for having started her own collection of children’s books. Eager to establish a ‘literate environment’ that mirrored one she had learned about in her preservice program, she reorganized the little remaining furniture, set up a classroom library, created engaging and welcoming bulletin boards and established the beginning of a ‘Word Tree’ in preparation for the first days of school.

Over the next couple of weeks, as teachers popped in and out of the school, Sophie began to learn more about the school and the staff she would be working with. The small rural school meant that Sophie was the sole Grade Two teacher, so she was assigned to the Grade One teacher for Mentoring support.  Sophie was hoping for advice and guidance – someone to dialogue with about her ideas and decisions. She was dismayed to find her ideas met with smirks, and her creativity belittled. Her mentor gave her a copy of the Ontario curriculum guidelines and said she could chat during recess breaks but had to leave right after school to pick up her children.

At the first staff meeting, the principal invited Sophie to talk about any recent research that she had read in her B.Ed. Language Arts program, (her area of interest). She brought in readings and samples on the topic of reader response and suggested that the primary division might form cooperative planning sessions.  She was told that this board uses the Four Blocks program and DRA and that in-service and support for these programs is provided through the central office.

Though she had been a confident prospective teacher, Sophie began to have doubts in herself and her confidence began to erode.  She attempted to establish divisional planning meetings, but there was no interest in ‘one more meeting’.  She felt isolated, and unsure of how she might engage in a professional community that she could talk to about her program –both to consolidate what she had learned, and to gain wisdom from experienced teachers. She was spending more and more time at school working, but was unsure of whether she was on the right track to prepare her students for the next grade. She started to wonder if this was really the right career choice for her.

Elise: Using a communication book in mentoring a new teacher

Elise was excited about the prospect of mentoring for the first time. She had fond memories of her own experience working with a mentor and was excited about supporting a new colleague in a similar way.

Elise thought about how she would first give her mentee, Magda, a general picture of the kind of teaching issues to which she wanted her to attend, and offer support through observation and reflection about Magda’s lessons.

Elise viewed her role as one that was gradually shifting from full support toward that of co-learner. To Elise, her role as mentor in a profession was not simply about modeling specific activities and strategies, but also modeling a disposition of inquiry and reflection that would sustain Magda’s personal and professional development. To this end, Elise established a communication book, in which she wrote observations, questions, positive feedback and constructive suggestions that were shared with Magda at the end of each day. Writing her comments down ensured that Magda could reflect on them further at home prior to the next day’s lessons, Elise remembered how valuable this had been to her. It also allowed Elise to articulate the goals for the subsequent lesson in response to what had unfolded each day. It was important for Elise to help Magda recognize the importance of responsive teaching in a way that overrides the formalized long-range planning.

Eventually, the communication book evolved to become a place for Magda to articulate her own questions and reflect on her lessons. She had become comfortable enough with the process to be able to do this, and Elise remarked that Magda’s lessons were growing increasingly more sophisticated – leaving Elise with some new ideas and strategies to think about.

Alex: Developing a reciprocal learning relationship

Alex had been teaching for 17 years when his administrator, Pat, approached him and asked if he would consider mentoring a teacher new to the Intermediate/Senior division. Alex’s first thought was, ‘Just what I need! One more thing to do.’ However, he was growing weary of the isolation he felt in an area that had excited him so much in previous years, so he decided to give it a shot.

His mentee Ellen, he learned, had taught elementary school for twelve years, and was looking for a change in division from Grade Three to working with secondary school students. Ellen had a background in History, and Alex was intrigued with some of the work she had done with Aboriginal students in her school. Since this mentoring relationship was achieved at a distance, all of their communication was exchanged through email.

Although initially Alex had assumed the relationship would be one-sided, he quickly realized that he stood to gain a great deal from Ellen’s experiences in addition to having knowledge and experience to share with her. As he read her messages describing what she had done with her grade three students and her community, he found himself wondering if he could adapt those ideas and apply them at the secondary level. The possibilities and the discussions challenged him to think about his practice in a way that he had not done for a while. Ellen’s questions to him also caused him to reconsider and reflect carefully on his own teaching before responding to her. He realized that over time, some of the ways in which he ‘performed’ his teaching had become rote procedures and viewing his practice through the eyes of his new colleague proved to be more helpful to him than he could have imagined.

He found himself thinking about teaching during the day and actively seeking out feedback from his students. He told them what he was doing with Ellen and found that they had a great deal to say. It became very important to Alex that the information that he shared with Ellen was as meaningful as what he was getting from her. For the first time in a number of years, he felt invigorated about what he was doing and looked forward to new developments.

Questions to consider

• How are the roles of the mentor/mentee understood in these two examples?
• How did the mentor/mentee relationship evolve?
• In what ways might the OCT Standards of Practice be used to guide the exchanges?
• What are the implications from this relationship for students’ learning?
• How might schools support such relationships?
  

Fatima: Setting goals in a practicum setting

Fatima was not sure what to expect from her first practicum. Although she had spent many years in schools as a student, the role of teacher was a new and exciting experience.

Prior to meeting with her associate teacher, Fatima made a tentative list of what she wanted to get out of this first practice-teaching experience. She wanted to observe a variety of teaching styles, especially ones that involved co-operative learning. She wanted to have some opportunities to try out some of the neat teaching approaches she learned at the Faculty of Education – approaches that she would have appreciated as a student. And, she wanted to develop a positive relationship with her associate teacher, as well as with other teachers at her practicum school.

Fatima found that having a set of goals for her practicum helped her focus her attention and energy. When she mentioned her interest in observing a variety of teaching styles, her associate teacher made a list of teachers whose classrooms she might want to visit. He also encouraged her to take an afternoon and visit a nearby school where co-operative learning was a school focus, and he suggested that she might report on the strategies that she observed at the upcoming staff meeting.

Her associate teacher also took the time to help her with her planning of teaching approaches that Fatima had learned at the Faculty of Education. He was himself eager to see them in action. In fact, they co-taught the first of these: a jigsaw co-operative learning activity.

At the end of her practicum, Fatima reflected that coming in with a list of things to do and learn – things that personally interested her – helped make her practicum a truly educational experience. Her associate teacher noted that this also helped him focus on things that she needed and wanted to learn.

Alberto: Keeping a reflective journal

Alberto had recently finished his Principal’s Qualification courses and had applied to become a Vice Principal. His school district had a mentoring program for prospective administrators, and he was paired up with a mentor Principal (Claire) in a large urban school.

Alberto had asked Claire if he could spend a day shadowing her so that he would have a context for their ongoing discussions, and also get a chance to see, first-hand, a school quite unlike the one in which he was currently teaching.

Alberto knew that his day with Claire would be very busy so he took a notebook and pen with him to write down his observations, questions and comments as a way of preparing for their discussions. He also used the notebook to record Claire’s suggestions, responses and any salient points from their discussions together.

When he returned to his home school, he found himself noticing significant differences in the way the school day was organized, the way discipline was handled and the general climate in the school.

Returning to his journal, Alberto began to reflect on potential reasons for the differences. Initially, his thoughts were recorded as a way for him to remember to ask Claire about them. Eventually, however, he used the journal to theorize about possible solutions, potential pitfalls and as a way of reflecting on his thinking. Keeping a reflective journal, he found, was a way of leading him to insights about these differences. His conversations with Claire shifted from one, where he was asking the questions, and she was providing the answers – to one of collegial dialogue. Several months later, Claire invited Alberto to collaborate on her ‘School Growth Plan’ since their conversations always led her to think of new ideas.