Mentoring Builds Leadership Skills and Teacher Effectiveness
June 27, 3:15 – 4:15pm, Room: Union B
Mentoring can build skills for 21st century leadership. The new evaluation structure, the need to retain new teachers, and the necessary focus on collaboration are among the challenges that can be positively impacted with an effective mentoring program. Participants of this session will be provided with information and activities to assist with implementing a mentoring system. Come and learn how mentoring can increase teacher effectiveness.
Main Presenter: Robert Rayburn, Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical School
2. Mentoring’s Importance
The Resident Educator Program increases the need for
mentoring in Ohio as well as creating more teacher
leadership opportunities.
The most frequently occurring number of years on the
job for teachers is dropping in schools. (Nat’l School &
Staffing Survey data– 1987-88 15 years, 2003-04 1 to
5 years, 2007-08 one year.)
Many schools are losing teachers within the 1st 5 years.
How do you retain teachers? Teacher morale is lower.
(MetLife Survey of the American Teacher)
3. Teacher Effectiveness
Skills of an effective teacher include:
Good communication skills
Reflection on work
Using well chosen instructional strategies
Well developed listening skills
Attitudes of effective teachers include:
• Growth mindset
• Commitment to students and community
• Truly believe all people can learn
4.
5. Mentoring & Leadership
The goal of this presentation is to convince you that
mentoring will build teacher leaders.
Mentoring can be a stepping stone to a more effective
teaching/learning environment.
The skills and tools used for mentoring help teachers
develop the leadership skills necessary for success as
a teacher leader.
Teacher leaders are created through effort and not
natural selection. There is more to it than having or not
having skills.
7. Mentoring is Required
We know that mentors are part of professional
development such as the Resident Educator (RE)
program in Ohio.
We should know the skills needed to be a successful
mentor and the benefits to the teachers involved in the
process.
Build leaders while meeting requirements = double the
benefits for your time commitment
8. Effective Mentoring
Requires:
The ability to build adult relationships and collaborate.
Skills in articulating teaching strategies, analyzing
evidence, and supporting teacher growth.
The ability to work with all who have a stake in a
beginning teacher’s success.
The ability to work with administrators who supervise
new teachers while maintaining confidentiality to gain
the teacher’s trust (EL. 5/2010, “What Mentors Learn
About Teaching” p.80 )
9.
10. Teacher to Leader
“Mentors gained a “global view” that affected their
vision of good schools and good teaching. – EL 5/2010
page 77
A group of teacher leaders can supply the variety of
professional knowledge needed to sustain school
improvement. –Danielson EL 9/2011 page 16
Teacher leaders have the desire to contribute to a
wider audience. Building the skills needed to work with
and communicate to that audience can be enhanced
through mentoring.
12. Formative Assessment
for Leadership
An effective Mentoring program allows for teacher
growth in a learning environment.
Mentoring encourages differentiation in leadership
development.
Mentoring provides a platform for development of
leadership skills.
Teacher leadership does not have to happen by accident
or individual teacher initiative.
14. Examples of Actions
Micro Mondays – ½ hour on Mondays at the end of the
day to discuss professional topics of choice. Trained
group leaders, provide an open environment for trust
and the Building Leadership Team publishes topics of
discussion later.
Teacher initiated investigations such as grading
structure are encouraged and supported.
FAC – Allow teachers to bring issues that concern them
to a monthly meeting where all work to respect
viewpoints and resolve issues. Equal voices.
15. It’s Not About You!
It’s about creating a more successful
learning environment.
16. It’s not about you!
If, as a teacher,
I present the same lessons in the same manner that I
have in the past;
I seek no feedback from my students;
I do not analyze and evaluate their work in a manner that
changes my own emphasis, repertoire, and timing;
Others from the audience?
Then I have absolutely no way to become a better
teacher. (Glickman. Page 5)
17. It’s not about you!
If, as an administrator,
I stay in my office and complete my paperwork;
I delegate only clerical tasks to teachers;
I do not analyze and evaluate teachers’ work in a manner
that changes my own emphasis, repertoire, and
interaction with teachers;
Others from the audience
Then,
I have absolutely no way to move from managing things to
leadership of people in the organization.
18. A Leadership Resource
Structure, organizati
on and policy
suggestions to build
a learning
community
19. Chapter Titles
Building Professional Relationships
Mentoring New Teachers
Organizing Study Groups
Coaching
Leading and Supporting Collaboration
Building and Sustaining Learning Communities
Appendix: Monthly Focus Chart for Mentoring
20. Chapter 6 Example
Identifying And Supporting Teacher Leaders
Identification enhances leadership talents & helps
ensure continuous nurturing of new leadership
Sources for New Teacher Leaders – Figure 6.5
Existing ranks of leaders – formal positions
Teachers recognized for excellence
Professional development plans
Identify emerging leaders in curriculum work, assessment
development etc.
Leaders in processes related to the learning org. –
mentor training, policy & procedure review
Ask – make a specific invitation for a task / benefits
24. Defining Teacher Leadership
What are teacher leaders?
Formal Teacher leaders – department chairs, master
teacher, instructional coach etc.
Informal Teacher Leaders –they just emerge, influence comes
from peers’ respect for their expertise & practice
Teachers with the ability to collaborate with others
Teachers that exhibit persuasiveness, open-
mindedness, flexibility, confidence, and expertise in their fields
Opportunity to build leadership skills – curriculum & assessment
design, data analysis etc. Also skills to facilitate group
meetings, listen carefully, decide on a course of action, and
monitor progress
(Danielson EL Sept. 2007, Page 16)
25. Defining Teacher Leadership
How to build teacher leaders
Layer the learning-don’t overwhelm teachers
Promote social interaction- personal level
Spotlight success- teams & individuals
Ink practice sessions into the weekly schedule
Use “us” language
It’s not a choice- collaboration, support the team
Dare to delegate
(JSD Spring 2005 Vol. 26, No. 2 Page 19)
26. Resources
Mentoring Beginning Teachers:
guiding, reflecting, coaching /Jean Boreen etc. Stenhouse
Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57110-742-8
Creating Dynamic Schools Through
Mentoring, Coaching, and Collaboration / Judy Carr etc.
ISBN 13: 978-1-4166-0296-5
Leadership for Learning: How to Help Teachers Succeed /
Carl D. Glickman. ASCD. ISBN 0-87120-596-3
Mirror Images: New Reflections on Teacher Leadership /
Casey Reason & Clair Reason. ISBN:9781412994040
27. Resources Continued
School Leadership that Works /Marzano etc. ASCD
ISBN 1-4166-0227-5
Educational Leadership. Vol. 65 NO. 1 / September
2007 (Teachers as Leaders is the theme of issue)
Educational Leadership. Vol. 69 NO. 2 /October 2011
(Coaching The New Leadership Skill- theme)
The Journal of the National Staff Development Council.
Vol. 26 NO. 2 / Spring 2005 (Leadership at the school
level is the theme)
Good afternoon. Welcome to the presentation. My name is Bob Rayburn. My experience includes teaching, mentoring and being a teacher leader for a number of years. I am presenting from my experience. The information presented is to support those experiences and explain how mentoring builds teacher leaders. Let me start with an brief story. In a presentationTodd Whitaker, school administration consultant, advised that principles turn to known building teacher leaders when planning to implement a decision to predict the success of that decision. His point was that if teacher leaders were not going to support the decision it would fail. If that decision-making strategy is true for successful school leadership then building a larger and stronger group of teacher leaders would also strengthen building leadership. Even if Whitaker’s strategy is not one you embrace it is true that having more teacher leaders to bounce ideas off will create a more positive audience for sound practice. At the very least it will increase the effectiveness of school leadership and that translates into more success for students.HOW MANY ADMINISTRATORS ARE IN THE ROOM? TEACHERS? OTHERS? –you are?
We are losing teaching experience at the very time we need more of it to strengthen educational practice. Mentoring is recognized as a way to create a positive experience for new teachers and build the confidence needed to stay in the profession.Mentoring is not a “plug & play” process today. Mentors need to develop skills that will ensure new teacher success. If schools are required to train mentors as well as provide mentoring support they can create a stronger program that will strengthen the whole professional community of the school.
The skills of a successful teacher are similar strong mentoring skills. In addition teacher leadership skills start with a strong foundation in effective teaching skills. Building effective teaching skills leads to the Accomplished level of teaching in the Ohio Teaching Evaluation System. It also to building effective leadership skills.
An experienced teacher’s describes the impact of mentoring on her professional practice. Stronger teacher practice will help build skills that will transfer to leadership when a teacher is ready to take that step. Sometime in every teachers career there is the desire to step out of the classroom and impact a wider audience.
If effective teachers had all the skills necessary walking in the door than we would not need any supervision or reflection. We can not expect teachers to step into a leadership position without support any more than we can expect a new teacher to have all the skills necessary on the first day of school. Every person with a commitment to student learning, subject content, and teaching can grow and improve. Our enthusiasm & energy come from that growth.
A teacher leader that started as a new teacher just a few years ago. Skills and confidence come from the mentoring experience. This teacher will be the lead mentor in her building and 1 of 2 lead mentors in the district.
Are you willing to go beyond the strict separation of teacher and administrator ? If so there are opportunities with a mentoring program to build the skills and understanding to create a larger number of teacher leaders.
This article is cited earlier and describes training of full time mentors by the New Teacher Center. The organization also has an article titled “Mentor Assessment and Accountability: Promoting growth” that may help provide structure for a new mentoring program for a school that is following the Ohio Resident Educator Program.
Teacher leaders can assist in creating a successful experience for new teachers to the district. The speaker is the Assistant Director for the Eastland Career Center. He will be the Director or building leader in the coming school year.
A May 2010 article in Educational leadership, “What Mentors Learn About”, Susan Hanson reported on research describing the benefits of full time mentoring on the mentors. The question for us today is can those benefits be transferred to teachers that are mentoring while also teaching. Mentors need support to grow beyond the classroom. We will look at this issue near the end of the presentation.
Matt is a natural teacher leader. While mentoring did not build his leadership skills it has helped create a wider perspective on school leadership. He serves as the current president of the local education assoc. as well as a member of the BLT. In the coming school year he will be the liaison to the OSU PDS in Social Studies and the school will host pre-service teachers during the coming school year.
We often think that formative assessment is only for student learning. However, the Ohio Resident Educator Program is really focused around formative assessment and teacher growth. We should apply the same principles to the development of teacher leaders. Mentoring forces us to focus on the individual and therefore more easily differentiate training. Administrators may think that a teacher has “leadership ability or they don’t”. The public and educational research no longer tolerate that belief with students. Why should we drop back into old beliefs when it comes to teacher leadership skills?
Deb Stevenson is the Director of Eastland Career Center. She is an excellent example of a building leader that is working to create more teacher leaders. She is answering thequestion Does mentoring build teacher leaders?
These activities are operating at Eastland Career Center currently. Micro Mondays are PLC’s with carefully selected groups to develop the practice of reflection. While professional growth is always a work in progress teachers are taking ownership of creating a stronger and more effective learning environment for both students and staff. Teachers with a specific interest are encouraged to ask teachers to join them for investigation and reflection. For example there is a grading group meeting this year under their own direction. There is a critical friends group that holds monthly meetings to help teachers improve lesson design or discussion educational issues. The Faculty Advisory Committee is an open forum for teachers to bring issue each month. Teachers are encouraged to be open with viewpoints and ideas. (This is also a place where administration can look for potential teacher leaders.)
Please look at the other side of your handout. There are some examples for challenges to both teachers and administrators. Please remember that effective teachers and administrators do not take problems and challenges to their work personally, They take the work professionally and personally focus on g0als to improve the system.
What other teacher observations can you list that are obstacles to teacher improvement? (Opening up to a wider environment such as visiting other classrooms) (Not having individualized PD, year professional development plan, evaluation system)
Educational research says that effective teachers are the single most important factor in student learning. Other research states that the principal has a great impact on student learning. Both are true. Instead of blaming each other, how do teachers and administrators use sound practice for higher performance levels and less stress? Part of the answer is to show that we are all in this together.
This book provides helpful suggestions for building teacher leadership skills. It provides a structure that building leadership can use to create a professional growth plan. Please go online and check out the book! This is a resource for the leader or administrator that wants to work from a more structured approach to create more teacher leaders.
The book separates mentoring, coaching, and collaboration in order to better explain how leadership can build a stronger professional community. Chapter 1 describes the professional relationships, purposes, participants, and skills used in mentoring, coaching and collaboration. It also describes different peoples operating styles to provide guidance on reducing personal conflicts. Describes how to help groups function more effectively.Chapter 2 provides guidance on characteristics of good mentors, beginning a mentoring program, the first year cycle for a new teacher, needs assessments and expectations for mentor & mentee.Chapter 3 describes organizing, types of groups, and leadership needed for study groups.Chapter 4 focuses on coaching, leadership, peer and cognitive coaching . (feedback and coaching will increase the transfer of a new skill into practice from an average of 25% to 90% according to the sources quoted - page 105)Chapter 5 focuses on the skills leaders need to guide a school in the implementation of a comprehensive colleague support system. Chapter 6 describes the structure, policies, and procedures needed to create learning communities.
This section of Chapter 6 is just one example from this resource that can provide support for building teacher leaders. Obviously I chose this section for a reason! Teacher leaders are more available then most educators are aware.
This book is designed around questions that mentors would need to answer such as How do I prepare to be a mentoring Guide? How do I encourage reflection? How do I help integrate beginning teachers into the school culture? (These are chapter titles.)
The authors describe 10 different types of teacher leaders and describe the impact they could have on helping to create change in your learning community. Some of the types will be familiar, but some may make you think differently about teacher leaders. Perhaps you will identify teachers who could grow into that type of teacher leader. The important point is that you open up your view of teacher leadership and see your colleagues potential impact on improvements.
These are leadership styles described in the book Mirror Images. They may not describe people exactly in your building, but they can help you form new viewpoints on the human capital that you have available to develop. This is a people approach to increasing building leadership. Just a different way of looking at the human capital available.I will read a brief description of the learning advocate style to give you a sense of the book’s content and focus. “Leading Advocates are teacher leaders whose actions and priorities revolve around one ultimate mission: learning. They are always working toward the continuous improvement of learning conditions in their school. They seek to maximize learning conditions for their students and they make decisions that impact student learning. They seek to create ideal learning conditions for the adults who work in the school. They acknowledge that their individual and collective success as educators will be driven primarily by their ability to learn. The learning advocate’s passion for learning is contagious and these teacher leaders help each of us learn more, do more, and ultimately become more.” page 15
The September. 2007 issue of Educational Leadership focuses on Teachers as Leaders. Charlotte Danielson’s article titled “The Many Faces of Leadership” provides much more detail regarding the advantages of developing teacher leaders. It also provides a list of avenues that teachers can take to build leadership skills. The leadership skills need to be developed. If you are a teacher are you willing to show an interest or effort to develop the skills? If you are an administrator are you willing to create opportunities and provide support so teachers may develop the skills? Other articles in the issue such as “Ten Roles for Teacher Leaders” also explore leadership.
There are several articles in this issue of the National Staff Development Journal that have suggestions for teacher leadership. The list above is brief but provides a good picture for action. For example Ink practice sessions could include a reflection on a journal article, provide some data or demographic information and ask them to share their findings or questions with the rest of the staff. There is also an insert called Tools For Schools that describes the process of building a teacher leadership conference and gathering data on teacher expertise as well as providing opportunities to present at a local conference. Other resources are listed that will support reflection on building teacher leader skills.
These resources were described in the presentation. Briefly:Mentoring Beginning Teachers answers “How do I” questions to help mentors become comfortable in the mentoring role. (prepare to be a mentoring coach, encourage reflection, help with classroom management)Mentoring, Coaching, and Collaboration looks at the challenges that a building leader could have in creating a learning community. Policy, procedures and solutions challenges needed to create a sustainable learning community.Leadership for Learning provides structures of classroom assistance-clinical supervision, peer coaching, critical friends, and action research groups. It also provides formats for observations- frameworks for teaching, open-ended questionnaires, samples of student work and other examples. In addition approaches to working directly with teachers- directive, collaborative, and nondirective are described and modeled.Mirror Images is focused on personalities of different leadership styles. It can provide a picture frame to place in front of each staff member, or teacher colleague, to see where their motivations would lead them as leaders.
Based on research the Marzano book provides an overview of school leadership and a list of responsibilities for school leaders on page 42. On page 108 there is a list of Distributed Responsibilities and Actions of the Leadership Team that can provide direction. The Educational leadership issues have several articles that relate to teacher leadership. The JSD Journal has several articles and a Dare to Delegate Checklist on page 19.
If you wish more information or clarification please feel free to contact me at the above email address. Thank you for listening and participating in today’s presentation.
