MLTAV Mentoring
Project
Project Manager:
Kylie Farmer
PL@mltav.asn.au
Project Goals

To match Languages teachers in their first 5 years of service with
accomplished teachers of Languages to provide high quality
assistance with all aspects of the beginning teachers’ work.

To use the Professional Standards for Accomplished Teachers of
Languages & Cultures to reflect on the teaching and learning of
Languages and develop an investigative stance to:
 Improve student outcomes
 Use evidence and data to improve and measure impact and
guide improvement

To facilitate effective mentoring through:
 Collegiate classroom visits
 Innovative use of ICT
 Support from project manager
Project Timeline
Date
Activity
1 May Workshop 1@ MLTAV Conference
2015 -Registration & 1 day CRT funds provided
Collegiate Classroom Visit
-1 day CRT funds provided
OR
1 day registration @ AFMLTA Conference
May
2016
Workshop 2 @ MLTAV Conference
-Registration & 1 day CRT funds provided
Dec
2016
Conclusion of project
Presentation of Certificates @ MLTAV AGM
Online
collaboration
Ongoing
Mentoring

Assists teachers in reflecting on their work and
improving their practice.

Allows the individual needs of the new teachers to
be met in a timely and relevant manner and guides
their progress to demonstrate the Standards of
Accomplished Teaching of Languages and Cultures

As beginning teachers experience the full range of
responsibilities of the teaching role, the mentor as a
professional and critically supportive colleague
assumes greater importance.
Principles of Effective
Mentoring

Mentoring is a two way relationship that continues over time (not
a coaching exercise). Both teachers bring many skills and much
knowledge to the relationship that can enrich and develop both
teachers’ practice.

The process should be guided by the Beginning Teacher’s
professional learning needs and concerns.

The mentor is there to help Beginning teachers identify their
professional learning needs and help find positive and effective
ways to support that learning.

Commitment to the process and to “meeting” on a regular basis
to discuss concerns, to plan and work through suggestions for
developing professional practice and to celebrate achievement is
essential.

The capacity and willingness of mentors to listen, to
ask questions, to challenge and share critical
professional knowledge often determines the
effectiveness of the mentoring relationship.

The rich professional dialogue and opportunity to
investigate and articulate elements of professional
practice with other teachers is empowering and
leads to very sound professional learning.
Characteristics of Successful
Mentoring

Roberts’ (2000) review of mentoring research
found that successful mentoring has the
following characteristics:






A supportive relationship
A helping process
A teaching-learning process
A reflective process
A career developing process
A formalised process

Source: More Leaps (AFMLTA)
AITSL Convention – Feb 22 2012
Fred Brown, Learning Forward, US
Standards
based PL
Changes in
educator
knowledge, skills
and dispositions
Changes in
student results
Changes in
educator
practice
Professional Standards

Links






AFMLTA Professional Standards for Accomplished Teaching of
Languages & Cultures
http://pspl.afmlta.asn.au/doclib/Professional-Standards-forAccomplished-Teaching-of-Languages-and-Cultures.pdf
AFMLTA Professional Standards for Lead Teachers of
Languages & Cultures
http://afmlta.asn.au/mldocuments/Professional%20standards%20
for%20lead%20teachers%20of%20languages%20and%20cultur
es.pdf
AFMLTA Language Specific Annotations of the Professional
Standards
http://pspl.afmlta.asn.au/standards.html
Professional Standards
Aligned

AFMLTA Lead and Accomplished Standards
aligned with AITSL Standards

Chinese:



http://www.lls.edu.au/teacherspace/assets/uploadResources/tm12a/
AFMLTA_AITSL_Standards_alignment_v3_FINAL.pdf
Japanese:
http://www.lls.edu.au/teacherspace/professionallearning/2073
Indonesian:
http://www.lls.edu.au/teacherspace/assets/uploadResources/challen
ges/PL%20modules/AFMLTA%20Alignment%20of%20Indonesian%
20standards%20Combined_VL6.pdf
Why Professional Standards?

Professional Collaboration
Framework to guide Professional Learning
Resource for Professional Review Processes

A retirement goal?


TASK


Look at the “Aligned Standards” document to
facilitate a conversation and help you get to
know each other a little more – you, your
school and your students
Focus on the Graduate column of AITSL
Standard 3 then refer to the left hand column
to see if the AFMLTA Standards provide
some useful detail specific to the teaching of
Languages which helps you identify possible
areas of improvement
AITSL Illustrations of Practice



http://www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au/Illus
trations/Details/IOP00152
Many more also available
More video clips also available on the
Independent Schools Victoria website:
http://is.vic.edu.au/teachers/learning/innovati
on.htm
The process of mentoring

The process involves making decisions
about:






The context
The goals of the mentoring program
The activities that will be undertaken
Evidence that will be collected
Reflection & re-framing
Documenting/reporting the process, outcomes
and reflection
Source: More Leaps (AFMLTA)
Collaborative Inquiry Model

This model acknowledges that:



All participants have knowledge to bring
The knowledge that participants bring may vary
because of different experiences and this is
valuable
Inquiry – questioning, challenging through
collaborative, constructive, respectful dialogue is
crucial
Planning your Investigation




See sample investigations provided
Select one from samples or modify/ develop
your own
Plan to implement between now and May
2016. You may then decide to start a new
project or to continue the current one.
Keep focus of investigation narrow and “GO
DEEP” rather than trying to do too much and
only making surface level changes!
Resources to support your
investigation






Language Learning Space
Lls.edu.au
Teaching & Learning Languages: A Guide
http://www.tllg.unisa.edu.au/examples.html
ICT – archived webinars
http://mltav.asn.au/index.php?option=com_co
ntent&view=article&id=350&Itemid=100134
A-Z to Language learning resources
01. Animation (stop-motion)
02. Blogs
03. Cartoon dialogues
04. Collaborative spaces
05. Digital images
06. Digital story telling
07. E-books
08. EduSTAR software
09. Film making & green screens
10. Flashcards / vocabulary lists
11. Foreign films/subtitles
12. FUSE (DEECD)
13. Games .
14. Guides/phrase-books
15. Learning objects
16. Online dictionaries
17. Online media - radio, TV, newspapers
18. Podcasting
19. Proficiency testing
20. Pronunciation correction tools
21. Quizzes
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
Robotics (Bee Bots)
Screen casting
Self-paced language courses
Social networking
Songs and lyrics
Translation (online) tools
Ultranet
Video conferencing
Video dialogues
Virtual classrooms
Virtual trips / streaming webcams
Virtual worlds (see Games)
Vodcasting
VOIP (Skype)
Vokis / Avatars
Web conferencing
Web presentations & slideshows
Web quests (see games)
Wikis
Word clouds/Word walls
DEECD eBook
available on
FUSE:
https://fuse.ed
ucation.vic.go
v.au/?SB9L8N
19
Collaborating throughout your
investigation

Share your journey/your questions and your ideas
on our collaborative space throughout the project:


Mltavmentoring.weebly.com
Plan your next meeting together:

Collegiate classroom visit


Decide on date and focus of visit
Decide on venue – either school of mentor/mentoree or neutral
venue (eg. LMERC / MLTAV office – Carlton)
OR meet at the AFMLTA Conference on 10th or 11th July,
2015 Melbourne University

Exchange email and phone details with your
mentor/ mentoree
Contact Details

Kylie Farmer – PL@mltav.asn.au

MLTAV – ph: 9349 5759

Mentoring has forced me to be reflective
about my own beliefs about teaching,
students and learning, and teaching as a
career, (and) continued contact with mentees
provides some of my richest collegial
interactions.
Teacher mentor quoted by Huling & Resta 2001, p2