What Constitutes Quality Training for Mentors?
Public law requires the mentor to be trained. Listed are suggested content topics to assist mentors in developing the attitudes, knowledge, and skills to assist new teachers.
Foundation of Mentoring:
- Identifying mentor, new teacher, and administrator roles
- Understanding the Utah Professional Teacher Standards (UPTS) and district standards
- Recognizing phases of new teacher development
- Recognizing differences in people
- Developing a repertoire of mentor tools
- Assisting in the preparation of a reflective professional practice portfolio
Utah Professional Teacher Standards
Strategic Coaching
Planning Conferences
- Preparing for observation
- Focusing on Utah Professional Teacher Standards
- Guiding new teachers to set the agenda
- Paraphrasing, clarifying, mediating, and suggesting
Observation/Gathering Data
- Developing a repertoire of tools for gathering data
- Preparing data that will assist the new teacher
- Creating a strategic plan based on data
Analysis of Student Work
- Setting a strong criteria/rubric for the assignment
- Sorting student work for analysis
- Finding patterns to inform instruction
Reflecting Conference
- Looking at data from observation or student work
- Preparing with data in mind
- Planning instruction to meet student needs
Collegial Conference
- Sharing with colleagues
- Giving the new teacher a choice
- Expanding the new teacher's community
Resources
- Utah Professional Teacher Standards, Utah State Office of Education (USOE).
- Utah State Core Curriculum, USOE
- Utah Life Skills: A Guide to Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions for Success, USOE
- New Teacher Center, University of California at Santa Cruz
