I will need to e-mail a few documents to you for this assignment. Please
The purpose of this assignment is review a few working mentor / new teacher plans. I would like you to review it for the following:
Post what you think might be the:
1. Strengths of the plan
2. Shortcoming or limits
3. Recommendations for improvement
Both plans I thought were excellent.
ReplyDeleteThe Columbia plan was for new beginner teachers in a school district. It stated the mission, goals, and criteria for the mentor clearly. The checklist idea is the best and provided a clear agenda dealing with having a tour, meeting key people, intro to technology, rules, and dates. Discussing classroom management was a good idea. It mentioned preparing for observations, budgeting, and working with students with special needs.
The only weakness I could find is that it is overwhelming-a lot to do!
The second plan was for student teachers. It was not in a list but it was by week. It allowed for initial observation. I liked the menor/mentee discussion questions. I also liked the collaboration model.
I agree with Bryan that both plans were excellent. I am a list person and I need to check items off when they get accomplished. The Columbia plan offered many lists of things to do with a mentee. Even though the lists are long and may seem like a ton of work to do, like Amy mentioned early in the week, we do these important duties without even thinking about it. Teaching your mentee the ins/outs of the district, familiarizing them with programs/policies, and showing them how to do things in the classroom (grading, writing plans, discipline, communicating with parents) should be goals we do with our mentees even if there were no checklist.
ReplyDeleteThe second plan was very helpful for me. It was a guideline of what to do with student teachers as they are part of your classroom. I am getting my first student teacher in the spring and this is something I will refer to during that time. It broke it down into sections of what to do with speaking with the supervisor, planning, teaching, classroom management and discipline, assessment, and working with parents. It went further as to give suggestions what to do with student teachers each week they are there. Obviously this is just a guideline, but for someone like myself who has never had a student teacher before, this will give me a starting point to be an effective mentor to someone who is just starting in this profession.
The only weakness is that these two plans might scare off teachers who could possibly be fabulous mentors because they see it as too much work.
Columbia County:
ReplyDelete* I really liked how structured this is, with a clear list of expectations that still leave room for creativity and approaching the unexpected when it comes out. Like Bryn, I like the checklists a lot. I take a great deal of pleasure out of crossing things off of lists and it gives me a sense of satisfaction. I really liked that the plan included pre-planning and each marking period separately in the lists. This seems like a great way to help keep on top of things as they come up rather than being surprised by conferences or other school events.
* My biggest concern with this is the sheer size of the lists. This would be overwhelming to be handed at the start of your first year teaching, when you're just trying to work out how to get through the first DAY. I think that this is something that would be more helpful if it were given out over time. I know that if someone handed me a document like this and said 'you have to do this all by the end of the school year,' I would be so overwhelmed that I'd probably lose it somewhere in the back of my filing cabinet and then be scrambling to get it done.
Student Teaching plan:
* Again, I liked the organization here and that it had the break-down by time. I like the idea that you do certain things at a certain time, and I liked the fact that when you examine the items on each week, you can see a progression, starting with a foundation in the first weeks and moving on to increasingly complex tasks.
* My concern here is the same as for the Columbia plan -- it is a lot of information on expectations all in one format. Taken as a whole, it would be intimidating to someone who is starting student teaching. Hopefully this is something approached in smaller chunks!
Columbia County Plan – First of all, I like the idea of beginning with the mission statement, rationale, and goals. Often times we take these topics for granted, but it’s important that we have a full understanding of what the district, or in this case, the county believes in with regards to educating kids. Secondly, I found the checklist to be a great way of keeping track of things that need to be accomplished. I’m the type of person that enjoys checking off items that have been completed. I also like the fact that these lists are separated by time periods. It definitely helps the mentor and mentee from procrastinating. The only problem I see with some of the checklists is that they can be long and can look overwhelming. I think that if the longer lists could be broken into sections by similar topics, or have some items combined, it wouldn’t appear as long and involved.
ReplyDeleteThe Mentor Teacher / Student Teacher Plan – Although this plan is set up in a different format, it still contains lots of valuable information for anyone who will be mentoring a student teacher. I like how it is separated into categories such as orientation, planning, teaching, classroom management, assessment, and so on. Even more useful are the explanations and examples of what to do for each section. Another positive is that a timeline is provided so that every task can be completed in the recommended sequence. It’s also helpful, to both the mentor and student teacher, knowing what things are coming up so that careful planning and discussions can occur. Finally, I like that a section is provided for collaboration and it’s always helpful to have a suggested list of discussion questions to ask the student teacher. This plan contains lots of useful information, instructions as to what needs to be completed, and explanations of tasks. With that said, this document is probably more overwhelming than the Columbia County Plan. I think that if the 41 pages could be divided into separate sections somehow, or gradually introduced, that would help ease the mind of the mentor teacher. My concern is that looking at this entire document at once would deter some effective teachers from accepting a student teacher. I’m sure the actual program itself is not as complicated as it looks so tweaking the layout is probably all that is needed.
I also thought that both plans were very well put together.
ReplyDeleteIn the Columbia County one I liked the way it was in a check list format and you could just check things off as they were done. It was stated that the mentor would give feedback to the mentee after and observation. The one thing I thought that could be added was that after the mentee observed the mentor that they discuss the why the mentor did things. Just to clarify things for the mentee.
In the other one it was laid out for a mentor of a student teacher. I think it needed to be very specific and it was, as you are dealing with student teachers and we have been saying all week that a lot of what we talked about should have been learned in college or during student teaching.
I beleive that both had a lot of information that could be overwheleming to a new or student teacher. I think though with the help of the mentor that information will be less intimidating.
The Columbia plan impressed me in that it included just about everything that we have been talking about in class. I liked the checklist and found them to be manageable. I felt that as a mentor I would be able to look at the list and feel that things were being discussed and the mentee was getting the information needed to succeed. I liked that it included philosophy of the school and had checklists about state mandates and district testing.
ReplyDeleteThe Maryland Student Teaching plan was similar to ones that I have seen through University around here. This one was a bit more detailed. Many university have a "class" that you must attend before the student teaching experience start so that you as a mentor know what you are to do. I know that I attended such classes for Penn State and York College. I liked that the plan incorporated the continuum at the end. I thought that that would be a good discussion starter. I also liked that it broke down the questions into weeks. Many of the questions were thought-provoking. They also would be good discussion topics.
Yes, the plans were long and may be overwhelming at first glance, but I felt that they were manageable and needed all of the information that each contained. If the goal is to have a teacher working with you that will be an asset to the district, it will require work and effort. It all goes back to caring.
Well, I guess I dont have to say anything since everyone else took my ideas. HAHA
ReplyDeleteColumbia:
The detailed layout would be very helpful for a new teacher. I think the checklist and sets of 9 nine week duties/responsibilites would answer a lot of question a new teacher would have throughout the year. The only negative is that it really puts most of the responsibilities on the mentor. I think the amount of work that the mentor must complete does not equall the extra compensation plan.
Other plan:
The plan for Intern Teachers is very detailed too. It even breaks down what the discussions between the teacher and intern should be. Gee, I wonder if you are aloud to talk about anything else. I think this plan can be very beneficial for initerns because it ensures that most of the information will be covered, but it seems a little overbearing. I wonder if teachers ever take a second student teacher from this school?
Columbia Mentoring Plan
ReplyDelete• Amazing that 46 % of new teachers leave the field within the first 5 years of teaching in the state of Georgia.
• I like the list of mentor teacher criteria – in field, willing to share ideas, resources, lesson plans, strategies, time, holds high expectations for self and others
• $500 stipend only
• Good list of mentor program outcomes.
• I think the check list is a good idea, very organized – appears overwhelming at first, but can check them off fairly quickly. I like the fact that the check list does not need to be dated, because I’m sure many will be covered throughout the mentor/mentee discussions without being official – therefore check it off when it’s time.
Student Teacher Plan
• I like the Teach, Coach, Reflect concept.
• Plan gives a long list of things that should be covered and discussed and then they break it down week by week as to what they should discuss – Why give the first list?
• I do like how the student teachers responsibilities in the classroom build up each week – the gradual introduction will give them a good opportunity for the mentor to model and then allowing the student teacher to practice what they have modeled.
• I like that they include observation of LS and ESL classrooms.
• I’ve never had a student teacher – is this amount of work typical?
• Lengthy lesson plan – have never seen the prerequisite part before.
• I like the different lesson plan formats for different teaching strategies.
• I like the observation feedback form – thorough and a good list of things to look for.