TAPP Mentor Training
Presented by
Middle Georgia RESA
Activating Strategy
Think about…
What do you already know about
mentoring?
“How well I remember my first day of
teaching…I felt so unprepared! What
I really wanted was a mentor—
someone who would help me if I made
mistakes, or better yet, to give me
tips so that I wouldn’t make the
mistakes in the first place.”
The Phases of First-Year
Teaching
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Anticipation
Survival
Disillusionment
Rejuvenation
Reflection
Relationship Building
• Create an environment that includes
mutual trust, honesty, respect and a
willingness to work together.
• Be sensitive to the beginning
teacher’s concerns.
• Be enthusiastic towards teaching.
• Be willing to invest the time!
• Healthy mentoring relationships are
professional in nature and are
evolutionary rather than static.
• The purpose of the relationship is to
enable the new teacher to acquire
new knowledge, skill and standards of
professional competence.
A Mentor Is…
• One who helps teachers to recognize what
they know and can do.
• One who assists teachers as they
strengthen their ability to make more
effective use of what they know and do.
• One who supports teachers as they learn
and do more.
A Mentor Is Not…
• A supervisor
• One who ensures that teachers meet
requirements of their positions at a
satisfactory level and continue to do
so over time
The Critical Qualities of
a Mentor
• EXPERTISE - content area, teaching
strategies, differentiation, special ed
modifications, etc.
• TRUST – of teachers and administrators.
• FACILITATOR – of dialogue and team
work, assessing teacher needs, providing
support and feedback, etc.
Suggestions:
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Smile
Open stance/body posture
Forward Lean
Tone
Eye Contact
Nods
Physical setting
Conferencing Skills
• Conferencing is the heart of
mentoring.
• Mentors do most of their work
through meeting and talking with
beginning teachers.
• Mentors actively listen and provide
non-judgmental feedback.
• TAPP Intern provides the focus of
the conference unless a specific
event is to be discussed.
• Problem solving occurs when the
intern offers alternatives and ideas.
Six Stages of Listening
and Questioning
• Stage 1 – Door Openers – indicate you
desire a two-way conversation.
• Stage 2 – Passive Listening – bite your lip
and listen.
• Stage 3 – Acknowledgement Responses –
Eye contact, nodding, comments like, “I
hear you” and “I understand.”
• Stage 4 – Active Listening – responses give
evidence you are listening.
• Stage 5 – Closing the Gap – Identify
differences in your perception and intern’s
perception.
• Stage 6 – Concluding the Discussion –
Create a framework for next steps,
summarize conclusions, set date, time, and
location for follow-up discussion.
Observation Techniques
• Overview and Scripting – write down only
facts, not opinions.
• Selective Verbatim – write down
teacher/student talk, reward and praise,
directions, etc.
• Verbal Flow – use a seating chart to track
when the teacher speaks to a student or
when a student speaks to another student.
Observation Techniques
• At Task – Use a seating chart to
track “on-task” behavior. A=At Task,
B=Stalling, C=School work other than
requested, D=Out of seat, E=Talking
to others.
Observation Techniques
• Sampling – Prepare a chart showing a
column for time in four minute
intervals and column for behaviors.
Record the primary behavior by
teacher or student. P=Presenting,
O=Observing, M=Managing,
H=Helping, I=Individualized
Instruction
Observation Techniques
• Tally Marks – Create a chart showing various
categories:
-interaction w/teacher initiated by students
-praise statements
-students called on with or without hand raised.
-etc.
• Place a tally mark under the appropriate category.
• Class Traffic – use a seating chart to show
teacher and student movement.