Coaching and Mentoring First-Year and Student Teachers

Vicki Denmark, India J. Podsen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781317923299
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Features over 60 step-by-step procedures, checklists, and planning guides for supervisors, mentors, and all those engaged in in-service teacher training. NEW to this edition
- updated coverage of standards
- assessment
- analyzing student work
- cognitive coaching
- and more...

1

SINK OR SWIM— YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN

SCENARIO ONE

Lori Adams was honored when her principal asked her to serve as a cooperating teacher for a student intern from Gateway College. She knew her principal considered her to be a very effective eighth grade math teacher and her annual performance evaluations supported this endorsement. After 10 years of teaching both middle and high school students, Lori was eager to share her expertise with an aspiring teacher. The intern would be with her for four weeks from 7:45 a.m. until noon, completing the required extended field experience just before student teaching for a full semester.

Lori’s first week with Christy Johnson dampened her enthusiasm. Although she had oriented Christy to the school, her class procedures, and her expectations, the student intern seemed unresponsive and very unsure of herself. Lori thought this attitude was due to lack of experience and fear of the unknown. She smiled to herself, remembering how intimidating her first year of teaching had been, but she had gotten through it. In Lori’s mind, it was a sink or swim proposition. The first week passed with Christy observing Lori’s teaching style, reflecting daily in her teaching log about what she observed, getting to know the students, and meeting with her college supervisor. Christy gave Lori a copy of her four-week extended teaching guide outlining her field requirements, suggested tips and observation forms for mentor teachers, and a projected timeline for class visitations and conferences.

During the second week, Lori asked Christy to prepare her required seven-day teaching unit. Lori picked her second period math class because she knew that the students would provide many opportunities for Christy to demonstrate her classroom management skills. “She might as well face the music from the very beginning,” Lori mused. Christy presented her plans, drafting them as she had been taught in her teacher preparation program. Lori looked them over and commented, “These are very detailed, but you won’t have enough time to do this for every class. But I guess you have to do them this way for your college supervisor. What do they know?” Lori laughed, but Christy just shrugged her shoulders. The second week concluded with Christy shadowing a student for a day, observing the team planning meetings, and developing materials for her math unit. The college supervisor set up a meeting time with Christy and her mentor teacher, but Lori canceled it at the last minute because of an urgent parent conference.

Christy stood before the second period class and started her unit during the third week. Lori sat in the back of the class and observed. The intern conducted the lesson in a satisfactory way and managed the class better than she expected. After introducing the objective and relating it to the students’ life experiences, Christy presented a concise 20-minute lecture on the math concept and then followed it up with practice examples, which the students completed in teams of two. She walked around the room using proximity to keep students on task. At one point, Christy moved in on a student who was passing notes and spoke quietly to her. She responded by putting the note in her book bag. At the conclusion of the lesson, Christy summarized the concepts, assigned homework, and dismissed the class.

Before the next class arrived, Lori turned to Christy and commented, “Good job, but you didn’t do enough checking for understanding and guided practice before letting them work in teams. I usually don’t put these students in any groups because they are so chatty. I suggest you do the same.” Christy started to ask a question, but Lori moved to the door to greet the entering students, saying, “We’ll discuss this lesson later.” But later never came. Planning time was consumed with team meetings, parent conferences, and the endless stream of paperwork that came with the job.

By the end of the fourth week, Lori was glad to see Christy go. They had never developed the kind of rapport that Lori anticipated. The intern’s questions seemed to challenge her way of teaching and often Christy did not respond to her suggestions. How could she help Christy if she didn’t take her advice! Lori completed the required field experience assessment form rating Christy as having “good” potential to be a teacher. Being a cooperating teacher just wasn’t what she expected.

SCENARIO TWO

William Fox had mixed feelings when the principal assigned him to be a teacher buddy for a first-year teacher at Kingston High School. He had just completed his fifth year of teaching math and expected to finish his masters at a nearby university within the next semester. He wondered why the principal had asked him to take on this assignment and hoped it wouldn’t require any after school demands on his time.

The principal held a brief orientation for the seven first-year teachers and their assigned teaching buddies. William concluded that the meeting was more an overview of school rules and procedures rather than a chance to clarify the expectations of the buddy system that had materialized over the summer break. The orientation session ended with about 10 minutes for the new teachers and their buddies to socialize and get to know one another a little better. William looked into the face of Tom Sparks, who smiled warmly and expressed his eagerness to teach by saying “I’ve had a terrific student teaching experience and can’t wait to have a class of my own. They chatted casually and William encouraged Tom to call on him when he had questions or if he needed any help.

Two weeks passed and William had not heard from Tom. He concluded no news was probably good news. Not wanting to appear intrusive or interfering, William left a brief note in Tom’s box conveying the notion that he hoped things were going well and to call if he wanted to talk about any problems or concerns. Tom replied by asking where he could get certain supplies and what the procedure was to fill out various administrative forms that he recently received. William promptly responded and made a copy of the forms he completed so Tom would have an example. William dropped by Tom’s classroom, located in one of the outside trailers, to personally hand him the forms. He thought the young teacher looked a bit glum as Tom sat quietly at his desk during his planning period; the quick, eager smile did not come forth as William greeted the first-year teacher and inquired how things were going.

William looked around the drab walls and remembered how alone he had felt when he had started his first year of teaching. He tried to cheer his young colleague by telling him he also started out in a trailer but eventually worked his way into the main building. Tom responded with a half-hearted smile. William asked about his classes and soon learned that Tom had four different course preparations for his five classes and a quick glance at his class rosters told him Tom had at least two classes that had become “dumping grounds” for students with chronic behavior problems and learning difficulties. Yes, William thought, the rites of passage into the teaching profession could be hazardous, and trial and error seemed to be embedded in the process.

As the semester moved along with fall fading into winter, William ran into Tom at faculty meetings, or coming or going in the parking lot. Their interactions were friendly and focused more on general topics and sports. After the semester break, William returned to school to find a note in his box from the principal. Tom had turned in his resignation during the winter holiday break and would not be back. Tom told the principal that teaching was just not what he expected and that he just didn’t feel capable of doing the job well. He decided to leave teaching and find another career. William was surprised that Tom had quit. What had happened to the bright-eyed young teacher who wanted to teach kids?

TOUGHING IT OUT

Whether you are mentoring a student intern or a first-year teacher, Debra Pitton (1998) tells us that “dealing with problems in education is never easy. There are seldom clear-cut solutions.” She points out simply that there are multiple factors surrounding the complex situation of teaching and, of course, there are multiple perspectives about how it all should be done. We know quite often that pedagogy is the main focus in our teacher preparation programs, but once out in the field, student interns must also confront a roller coaster ride of emotions and personalities within the context of the school community. Likewise, entry-level teachers face the realities of surviving the first year in the profession but, unlike student interns, often have no assistance and are fearful of asking for help. Stephen Gordon (1991) comments that “despite good intentions and high expectations of these beginners, 40 to 50 percent of them will drop out of teaching within the first seven years, most within the first two years.” He concludes that those who manage to get through the first year have such disappointing experiences that “many never reach their full potential as educators.”

Similarly, cooperating teacher and peer mentors are also left to tough it out without any training for the sensitive and supportive role they have willingly embraced and expected to demonstrate. Both teacher mentors and their mentees need to be aware of the relationship that should develop within practicum and first-year experiences, as well as the anxiety these interactions can produce.

STUDENT INTERNSHIPS AND ENTRY-LEVEL REALITIES

Field experiences, whether they are short weekly observation visits or extended field visitations, provide snapshots of actual schools with real children and teachers. For some aspiring teachers, it’s the place where the “rubber meets the road”; it’s the first chance for interns to determine whether they really like teaching with all its special challenges. In each field situation, teacher interns enter classrooms belonging to other professionals—a person like you, whom they usually don’t know and who may demonstrate a teaching style or classroom management approach that differs from their own scheme of how things ought to be.

They find themselves in unfamiliar territory faced with two taskmasters—you, the cooperating teacher, and their college supervisor (Bullough & Draper, 2004). Even under the best circumstances, student interns constantly question their ability to successfully complete the experience, asking such questions as: “How can I make my cooperating teacher happy? What am I expected to do? Will I get a good recommendation from my mentor teacher? How can I get all of my coursework done and still plan and teach lessons? Is my college supervisor satisfied with my progress? What happens if I don’t do well? Will I still be able to graduate?” Depending on the intern’s confidence level and current skills, and the consistency among the taskmasters, these questions get answered or they multiply.

For beginning teachers, the enormous responsibility of the job finally hits home and this feeling is significantly overwhelming when things don’t go as planned. Gordon (1991) gives us five environmental factors that confront novice teachers:

1. Difficult Work Assignments	Often beginning teachers start the job with larger classes, more difficult students, and more course preparations than experienced teachers.
2. Unclear Expectations	In addition to the formal expectations cited in faculty handbooks, there are a myriad of informal routines and customs that make up the school culture.
3. Inadequate Resources	First-year teachers lack the stockpile of years of instructional materials and often their classrooms have been stripped of better furniture, materials, and equipment.
4. Isolation	Many entry-level teachers view seeking help as an admission of incompetence and continually hide serious problems.
5. Reality Shock	The discrepancy between the novice teacher’s vision of teaching and the job realities of the situation can cause serious depression, which tends to impact the other factors and make them even more unbearable.

Each of these factors brings its own set of problems, which are intensified when experienced teachers avoid helping new teachers, believing that it’s not their job or that their advice would be viewed as meddling. With new teacher attrition rates of 15 percent and higher for each of the first few years, it seems logical to develop an assistance program to address these issues, especially because it’s the most promising teachers who exit the profession (Gordon, 1991, p. 7). Furthermore, Gordon tells us tha...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Meet the Authors
• Table of Contents
• Coaching & Mentoring Activities
• 1 Sink or Swim—You’re on Your Own
• 2 From Master Teacher to Masterful Mentor
• 3 Assessing Your Coaching and Mentoring Aptitude
• 4 Sizing Up the Situation
• Competency Training Modules
• Appendix A: Internship Evaluation Form
• Appendix B: Mentor Teacher Preference Checklist
• Appendix C: Mentoring Agenda for Cooperating Teachers
• Appendix D: Agenda for First-Year Teacher Mentors
• Appendix E: First-Year Teacher Checklist and Reminders
• Appendix F: Criteria for Unit Plan Evaluation
• Appendix G: Lesson Plan Template
• Appendix H: Classroom Management Plan Template
• Appendix I: Daily Reflection Guide