Summary of Practicum Project

Title of Project: Mentor Program

Statement of the Problem

We have 7 new teachers on staff at East Brainerd Elementary three of which are new
to the teaching profession. Along with our 7 new teachers we have several teachers
who are new to the grade levels in which they are teaching. It is important that we
provide support to these teachers to make sure that they are successful in their
classrooms since there are many demands placed on teachers and stresses run high.
Review of the Literature: Why is the important?
In her article, Why Induction Matters, Linda Mollner Kelley (2004) reminds us of the
staggering statistic that more than a third of beginning teachers leave the profession
during the first 3 years, and almost half leave after 5 years (p. 438). It is very
apparent that a strong mentoring program is needed throughout the schools in our
nation. Many teachers enter into the profession without a true picture of the demands
that come with the job. Teachers need a mentoring program that will allow teachers
to talk to fellow new teachers, watch seasoned teachers in action, have mentors
observing them within their classrooms, and opportunities to collaborate with other
teachers (Kelley, 2004, p. 439). Since new teachers are given the opportunity to
collaborate with other teachers, they are able to form communities of practice in
which learning occurs as novices participate with each other and experts on
meaningful tasks (Kelley, 2004, p. 443). These meaningful tasks will ultimately lead
to student achievement since the students will be participating in true learning
experiences rather than mere busy work.
It is very important to consider the mentors that are chosen; however, if the mentors
are highly qualified and highly effective teachers then the students should ultimately
reap the benefits. Kelley (2004) tells us that in Colorado, mentors are chosen for
their demonstrated teaching excellence, dispositions toward collaboration and inquiry,
commitment to professional growth and change, and expertise in specific district and
university priority areas such as literacy, mathematics, or classroom assessment (p.
442). If these types of individuals are acting as mentors then new teachers will have
experts right there waiting to help them out and the mentors will also help serve as the
kind of role models that every new teacher needs. Therefore, if a new teacher learns
from this type of expert and aspires to be like one of those experts then our
schools will be filled with highly effective teachers who are able to teach all students.
In his article, The Good Mentor, James B. Rowley (1999) states, Good mentors are
willing to coach beginning teachers to improve their performance wherever their skill
level (p. 21). For this reason we must work together to create an environment that
fosters this kind of coaching. We must allow new teachers to feel comfortable to ask
for help, to be able to self-reflect enough to know where they are struggling, and then
to seek out assistance so that they can put new methods and strategies into action.
Rowley also points out that it is much more meaningful for new teachers to work
alongside their mentors so that the experience is a shared experience (Rowley, 2004,
p. 22). This makes the discussion that follows even more powerful. For this reason it
becomes very important to provide teachers the opportunity to work side by side so
some of these open conversations can take place. Since these situations are more
powerful, the students are much more likely to benefit from the situation.
Kelleys (2004) conclusion states it best when she states, This work demonstrates
that induction does indeed matter, that a meaningful induction experience has lasting
effects on teacher quality and retention (p. 447). Therefore, if induction directly
improves teacher quality then student learning is directly impacted as well!

Action Plan: What you did?
Action Plan (Methodology)
1. Meetings: I will meet with the mentor/mentee group on a regular basis. Teachers
that are new to the profession (first or second year teachers) will meet on a monthly
basis. At these meetings we will focus on specific issues. The topics will include:

September Getting to know the school.
October Report cards and reporting to parents
November Behavior management
December Time management
January The evaluation process
February Legal issues knowing the law
March The reflective teacher
April Testing and assessment
May Wrapping up the year

Teachers who have taught for several years, but are either new to the grade level or
the building will not receive such intense support. They will be invited to every meeting,
but it will not be a requirement. I will meet with these teachers quarterly simply to show
support and to answer questions that arise (these meetings will take place in September,
November, February, and May at both buildings) . Additional support will be given on a
case-by-case basis.

2. Observations: I will observe in the classrooms and offer feedback to all teachers.
Teachers who are struggling will also receive additional interventions such as side-by-
side teaching, modeling, etc. Mentors and mentees will be given the opportunity to
participate in teachers observing teachers so that the mentees can go observe the mentors
and the mentors can go observe the mentees. This will be available at least once a quarter
and possibly twice a quarter depending on how many teachers sign up for the program.

3. Professional Literature: I will share articles and excerpts out of various resources
that may help them in terms of teaching strategies, content knowledge, and basic
classroom management techniques. Mentors, math coach, literacy coach, and other
administrators will also be consulted to see if they have any literature that may be useful
to the new teachers.

4. Mentors: First and second year teachers will receive two mentors within the
building. One mentor will be on grade level and the other will be someone out of grade
level. Teachers who are veteran teachers, but who are new to the building or grade level
will receive one mentor unless the need for a second one arises. Mentors will meet with
their mentees on an as needed basis. It will also be arranged for mentees to observe their
mentors teaching various lessons and mentors will also be encouraged to observe their
mentees. A list of the monthly topics will be handed out at the opening Mentor/Mentee
meeting so that mentors are aware of what will be covered. This will allow the mentors
to be aware of what is being discussed so that they can offer additional support as
necessary.


5. Results
I will administer a survey in April to see if the mentors and mentees felt like this was
beneficial.

Reporting of results
A questionnaire was administered to all of the participants of the program during
the month of April. The questionnaire was anonymous and it was completed so that we
could get a grasp of how we can alter the mentor/mentee program next year since we do
plan on continuing the program. Out of the 28 surveys that were administered 25 were
returned. The first question on the survey merely asked whether or not the
mentor/mentee program should be continued next year and all 25 surveys were marked
yes. All participants felt that the program should continue next year. This question was
the same on both questionnaires. From this point on the questions were different based
on whether or not the participant was a mentor or a mentee.
Mentor Results:
- 9 out of the 11 mentors responded that they would participate in the program again next
year. The 2 that responded that they would not said that they felt that they did not have
enough time to devote to the project.
- 6 out of the 11 mentors were able to go and observe the mentees teaching during
teachers observing teachers.
- 9 out of the 11 mentors mentioned that their mentees had concerns about dealing with
parents and effective ways of reporting to them.
- 11 out of the 11 mentors said that they felt like their mentees felt comfortable enough to
come to them if they had questions or concerns.
- 11 out of the 11 mentors felt like we met just the right amount of time.
- 6 out of the 11 mentors felt like the meeting times were appropriate.
- 4 out of the 11 mentors felt like they had enough time to meet with their mentee to
discuss and debrief.
- 9 out of the 11 mentors felt like they would have benefited from a mentor training.
- 11 out of the 11 felt like they got something out of the program as well.
Mentee Results
- 14 out of the 14 felt like the program was good and worth their time.
- 14 out of the 14 enjoyed being part of the program.
- 2 out of the 14 felt like they could be a mentor next year.
- 12 out of the 14 enjoyed having first and second year teacher part of the intense group.
- 11 out of the 14 felt like the meeting time was good.
- 13 out of the 14 felt comfortable talking to their mentor.
- 10 out of the 14 liked having 2 mentors to go to (one in their grade level and one outside
of their grade level).
- 13 out of 14 felt like the program helped them become a better teacher.
- 10 out of the 14 felt like the topics were good ones to discuss.
- 14 out of 14 enjoyed observing their mentor.
- 12 out of 14 enjoyed having their mentor observe them.
Discussion
Overall I think that this was a huge success and I am so excited that we decided to
implement this program at our school. The mentor program allowed the new teachers to
develop relationships with their peers much faster than in previous years. You saw
teachers collaborating with one another and because we had set it up to were some
teachers were working with teachers outside of their grade levels we found that cross
grade level collaboration was taking place as well.
This happened to be a year that welcomed several new, seasoned teachers to our
staff. These teachers were transferring from other schools within the county and many of
them had over a decade of teaching experience so they really did not need a true mentor
program, but they did need something to acclimate them to our building. Initially we had
paired one of these teachers up with one of her first grade peers, but through careful
observation, we found that she didnt feel comfortable going to a younger, less
experience teacher to ask her simple questions like how do you do your lunch count
around here. We figured that she probably did not want to seem incompetent to the same
teachers that she would be planning with so we gave her another mentor outside of her
grade level, who had equal years of experience to her and the relationship was much
better.
The hardest part of the program was the meeting times. Since we are in two
buildings I had to hold two meetings quarterly and we were going back and forth for the
monthly meetings to try to keep it fair. This was hard because it always felt like someone
was being rushed (and many times it was me). The morning meetings were hard because
no matter how many reminders were sent out people forgot, but scheduling conflicts
always caused low turnout for the afterschool meeting times.
The biggest successes were the monthly meetings where multiple mentors
attended along with their mentees. These were the most enjoyable meetings by far
because the mentees got to see their mentors outside of their classrooms and they got to
just sit back, talk, and brainstorm with one another. I think everyones favorite was the
February meeting where we talked about legal issues because it was nice for the mentees
to hear their mentors talk about all of the silly things they had done their first year of
teaching.
The other major success was being able to give the mentees new resources. I
always tried to go to meetings with materials in hand ready to handout. During the
parent/teacher conference meeting I gave them recording sheets that they could use,
during the behavior management meeting I gave them responsive classroom activities
and we talked about whole brain teaching activities. My goal was for them to have a take
away from each session so that it was worth their time and I truly feel like they did get
something from every meeting that they came to.
Conclusions and Recommendations
As we look to continue this program again next year we will definitely make
some changes and we will also keep some things in place since they seemed to go well.
We will continue to have our mentors volunteer to participate for the program and a team
will place the mentors with the appropriate mentee. The new mentees will continue to
have two mentors to help guide them since that really seemed to benefit our new teachers.
We will also continue to work with our teachers observing teachers model;
however, we will make some modifications to this model. Teachers will need to
participate in pre and post conferences prior to going into the observation. The mentor
will work with the mentee prior to going into her lesson to see what areas she would like
the mentor to focus on while she is observing. This will allow the mentee to do some
self-reflecting. Following the observation, the mentor will sit down with the mentee to
debrief and offer strategies for improvement. On the flipside, all mentees will be
expected to go and observe their mentors. Pre and post conferences will be held for these
observations as well. Mentees will be looking to see specific best practices that are being
used by the mentor that she can then go back and try to use with her own classroom. A
debriefing session will be held with the mentor following the observation so that the best
practices can be discussed.
While we do not have a budget to pay the participants, we will train the mentors
on effective mentoring strategies. Our coaches, who have undergone extensive coaching
training through various countywide PDs sessions, will conduct this training. This will
help our mentors provide the mentees with the constructive criticism that they need
improve their instruction and challenge their students learning.
We will continue to work with our community partners to work out volunteers so
that our mentors and mentees have enough time to work together on collaboration and
debriefing alike. We want them to build a professional relationship that will allow them
to reach their highest potential professionally which will ultimately push their students to
their highest potential academically.