Mentor Training
Salisbury University
The Power of Two in Today’s Classroom
Congratulations!
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You have just agreed to host an SU intern…
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What are your next steps?
Mentor responsibilities…
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Promptly sign and return your
contract to Salisbury University.
Remain engaged in all aspects of
instruction throughout the
experience.
Provide constant feedback (oral &
written) to the intern daily.
Complete mid-term and final
evaluations online and on time.
SU’s PDS Website
Mentors oversee…
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Welcome gestures (email, letter, phone call,
banner)
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Introductions to faculty, staff, parents & students
as your co-teacher (not an SU student or student
teacher)
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Work space with supplies
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Provide a map of the school & a tour
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Supply important school contact numbers
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Discuss school expectations (principal’s vision,
dress code, arrival & departure times)
Mentors oversee…(cont.)
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Provide schedules (classes/subjects, planning time,
duties, meetings, after school activities)
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Supply handbooks (county, school, classroom)
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Furnish curricular materials (textbooks, manuals,
teacher guides, State Curriculum)
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Provide class roster(s) & seating chart(s)
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Supply incidental information (copier info, supplies,
faculty room, restroom, parking, technology, media)
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Discuss school & class procedures (fire drill, crisis
plan, delay schedules, behavior policies, management
strategies)
Why PDS?
Preparing the
next generation
of teachers
Teacher
Professional
Development
P-12 Student
Achievement
Inquiry &
Dissemination
Teacher Retention and PDS

2006 Towson University Teacher Retention Study:
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Study examined retention rates for teachers prepared
in collaborative PDS settings vs. those prepared in
non PDS settings.
87 beginning teachers were followed for a five year
period. (2001-2006)
Results: Retention rate of PDS-trained teachers is
37% higher than that of non-PDS trained teachers. At
the end of 5 years 71% of PDS trained teachers were
still teaching, while only 34% of non-PDS trained
teachers were still teaching.
The PDS Difference

“Student Teachers” vs. Interns
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a cohort of interns placed exclusively in PDS
sites
interns complete a100-day Extensive Internship
experience over two semesters
Approach to the Experience
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remain engaged in instruction
co-teaching
What is co-teaching?
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Mentor & intern collaborating together in the…
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planning of instruction.
delivery of instruction.
assessment of student learning.
Mentor & intern remaining engaged in instruction.
A win-win for everyone involved:
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Pre-K – 12 students & parents
SU candidates
Teachers
Local schools
Co-teaching is NOT…
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the mentor and the intern “taking turns” teaching.
the mentor disengaging from the instructional
process after a week of modeling. (sink or swim)
interns “taking over” classes on a set timeline.
an extended “coffee break” for mentors.
a free ride for interns.
Free Ride
Co-teaching and Accountability


St. Cloud TQE Initiative
5 year U.S. Dept. of Education, Teacher Quality
Enhancement Partnership Grant - awarded in October
2003
 Looked at Co-Teaching during internship
 Collected 4 years of data (qualitative and quantitative)
 Training and Support for Mentors and University
Supervisors
 Teacher Candidates get co-teaching as a part of their
program
 Workshop for Pairs
Reading Proficiency
Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment
MCA Reading Proficiency
2004-2005
MCA Reading Proficiency
2005-2006
100
100
75.7
78.7
80
65.3
60
40
20
Percent of Students
Percent of Students
82.1
73.5
80
65.0
60
40
20
0
CoTeaching
Candidate
(N=318)
One
Teacher
(N=934)
Traditional
Student
Teacher
(N=101)
χ² (2 df, N=1353) = 12.79, p = .002
0
CoTeaching
Candidate
(N=484)
One
Teacher
(N=1597)
Traditional
Student
Teacher
(N=160)
χ² (2 df, N=2241) = 12.54, p = 002
Math Proficiency
Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment
MCA Math Proficiency
2005-2006
MCA Math Proficiency
2004-2005
100
100
82.3
70.5
80
60
40
80
Percent of Students
Percent of Students
75.8
68.9
64.7
57.9
60
40
20
20
0
0
CoTeaching
Candidate
(N=317)
One
Teacher
(N=927)
Traditional
Student
Teacher
(N=105)
χ² (2 df, N=1349) = 8.31, p=.016
CoTeaching
Candidate
(N=524)
One
Teacher
(N=1660)
Traditional
Student
Teacher
(N=171)
χ² (2 df, N=2355) = 7.35, p=.025
One last fact to consider…
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Accountability

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With the high stakes testing in Maryland & across
the nation, schools cannot afford to have their
“A-List” teachers disengage from
instruction.
With two teachers in the classroom
the student-to-teacher ratio
decreases making differentiation
a reality.
Who supports co-teaching?
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Your school district superintendent
Your administration
SU education faculty and students
The Maryland State Department of Education
Bottom line…PDS and co-teaching are not
“SU things”…they just make sense!
What does co-teaching look like?

Four basic models
1. Supportive teaching - one
teacher is the lead instructor
while the other teacher
provides support for
individual students and
observes particular
behaviors.

Strategies: graze & tag,
proximity, conferencing,
strategic pull-out, 1-on-1...
Co-teaching models continued…
2. Complementary Teaching when one co-teacher enhances
the instruction provided by
the other co-teacher.
Strategies: record
& edit,
demonstrations,
simulations,
activity/lab set-up &
break down,
technology
assistance,
modeling, planted
question...
Co-teaching models continued…
3. Parallel Teaching - when
two or more people work
with different groups of
students in different sections
of the classroom.
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Strategies: tiered instruction,
stations, cooperative learning,
literature circles...
Co-teaching models continued…
4. Team teaching - both teachers are actively
engaged in instruction and management of the
class.
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Strategies: role playing, modeling, cooperative
learning, think-alouds, staged argument
Co-teaching Tools
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Tools Include:
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Co-teaching Self- Assessment Checklist
Co-teaching Issues for Discussion & Planning
Co-teaching Daily Lesson Plan Form
Co-teaching Daily Lesson Reflection Form
Co-teaching training benefits
include…
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a Salisbury University “Clinical Mentor”
designation & certificate.
a $50 bonus each time you host an SU intern
for an 8 week internship experience.
the satisfaction of knowing that as a trained
mentor teacher you are making the most of all
available resources in your classroom.
SU’s PDS Website
For more information…
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please contact the Professional Development
Schools (PDS) Coordinator for Salisbury
University:
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Stacie Siers
410-677-5042
sesiers@salisbury.edu
References
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Bing, J., Dunn, A., Veditz, J. (April 2007). A Royal
Flush: How to Maintain a Successful PDS Partnership.
Brown, J., Conners, K., Ennis, T., Gasior, P, Houghtaling,
C., Johnson, J., Lutz, M.K., Siers, S. (April 2007). 21
strategies in 21 minutes: hands-on ideas for co-teaching in
PDS internship.
Conners, K., Gasior, P., & Siers S. (November 2006). Reinventing the student-teaching internship to maximize P-12
student achievement.
Elburn, S., & Siers, R. (2007, June). The power of two:
Maximizing the collaborative experience - A
phenomenological study. Paper presented at the
Professional Development Schools Workshop, Salisbury,
Md.
References continued…
MidValley Consortium for Teacher Education (2000).
Partners for Student Achievement: A Co-Teaching Resource
Handbook. http://coe.jmu.edu/esc/Consortium_CoTeaching.shtml.
Towson University. Teacher Retention PDS Study, Phase 1
findings. Retention Class of 2001.
Thousand, J.S., Villa, R.A., & Nevin, A.I. (2006). The many
faces of collaborative planning and teaching. Theory Into
Practice, 45 (3), 239-248.
St. Cloud State University (2010). Teacher Quality
Enhancement Center.
Villa, R.A., Thousand, J.S., & Nevin, A.I. (2004). A guide to
co-teaching: Practical tips for facilitating student learning.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Created by…

The Regional Professional Development
Schools Program of the Seidel School of
Education and Professionals Studies,
Salisbury University
Test Your Understanding (Activity One)
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In your group, choose a content standard
(objective) from the VSC for a specific
subject/grade level.
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Using the supportive teaching model, develop a coteaching strategy to reach the lesson objective.
Now do the same for the remaining co-teaching
models: complementary teaching, parallel
teaching and team teaching.
When you finish you should have developed 4
different ways to co-teach the selected objective.
Work it out!

In your groups, complete the case scenario
appropriate for your grade level and/or subject
area.