GOALS/FEEDBACK INDEX CARDS
During busy days, goals/feedback index cards can provide a quick way for mentors and TCs to interact around something the TC is intentionally working on. These index cards can be used anytime, and can but need not go along with formal observations. Try this out with your mentor, it is a quick way to get targeted feedback on teaching episodes...
NEWSLETTER 4 OCTOBER 3: CO-PLANNING & CO-TEACHING
As early as October (if not before), mentor and teacher candidate partners can begin engaging in the practices of co-planning and co-teaching, strategically sharing responsibility for both planning and enacting instruction. This newsletter focuses on these practices, describing different arrangements they may take and how you might get started with an upcoming lesson. Link to: Newsletter 4 Co-planning and Co-teaching...
TC practice: Getting to know your students as learners
Getting to know your students as learners is more than formally assessing students’ content knowledge. It requires a targeted and systematic inquiry into your students’ ways of thinking, how they “do school” and how they understand the subjects you are teaching. This includes knowing about your students’ prior learning experiences and resulting habits of mind, their cultural norms and social status within the class, their self-esteem and sense of efficacy, and also their dispositions and attitudes — and goes hand in hand with getting to know students as individuals. The accompanying tool helps the TC understand a particular student as a learner in the classroom. It poses questions like: What is working well for this student: strengths & interests? (e.g., likes to work alone, with a friend, in groups; fast in answering questions vs. mulling over ideas; likes to doodle, to move around, to help others; etc.). What is this student avoiding or needing help with in class: struggles & dislikes? (e.g., sharing ideas publicly, reading long paragraphs, listening to other’s ideas, etc.). This sketch of one learner allows the TC to ask effective questions and allow them insights about how to serve them better. ______________________________________________________________ Download PDF > TC Guide: Getting to know your students as learners Download PDF > Tool- Structured reflection on student as learner Download Word version > Tool- Structured reflection on student as learner...
Newsletter 3 September 12: Making the most of opportunties to observe
Making the most of opportunities to observe. At the beginning of the year, TCs are primarily in an observational phase of their clinical experience. This newsletter focuses on ways to support deep learning during this phase—through strategically selecting key pieces of instruction to model, engaging in pre-briefs and debriefs together, and determining meaningful observational data TCs can collect. We also continue to share ideas for what mentors and TCs might focus on at this time of the year in our "trajectory" column, on the righthand side of the newsletter. Link to: Newsletter 3 September 12 : Making the most of opportunties to observe...
Newsletter 2 August 29: The start of the school year, a one-time opportunity
The beginning of the year is a unique opportunity for the TC to experience getting to know students for the first time—as a teacher—and learning how teachers set up a classroom as a community. This newsletter focuses on tips for the start of school. Read on to learn more about the mentoring practice of making your thinking explicit, how mentors and TCs can work together to introduce the TC to students and families, and more. We also continue to share ideas for what mentors and TCs might focus on at this time of year in our "trajectory" column, on the righthand side of the newsletter. Link to: Newsletter 2 August 29: The start of the school year, a one-time opportunity...
Introducing students to the discipline they’ll study
Students can start studying ideas in science, math, social studies, etc., without really knowing about the disciplines that underlie these subjects. One way to start the school year is to do an activity that introduces students to these discipline(s), helps them understand the different branches of inquiry that advance knowledge in the discipline(s), and how these areas of study relate to their everyday lives. The links below provide an example from Chemistry (a PPT and a lesson guide), but these resources could be adapted to any subject. Download PPT > What is chemistry and how does it connect to my life? Download Word version of lesson plan >What is chemistry and how does it connect to my life? ...
Debrief flow chart and record
This is a tool for a longer de-brief between the mentor and TC (longer than the "check-ins" that are also available here). Consider using the following flow to debrief an instructional episode, where either the mentor or the TC was teaching. Download a PowerPoint (modifiable) version > Debrief flow chart and record...
De-brief flow-chart and record
This is a tool for a longer de-brief between the mentor and TC (longer than the "check-ins" that are also available here). Consider using the following flow to debrief an instructional episode, where either the mentor or the TC was teaching. Download PDF > Debrief flow chart and record ...
Connecting with Teacher Colleagues and Staff
What is this about? The school community encompasses students, teachers, education (ELL, SpEd, STEM, etc.) specialists, administrative staff, nurses, security and cafeteria personnel, maintenance experts, volunteers, and others. Every one of them is there to support students’ well-being and learning. Connecting with teaching colleagues and other school employees is a good way for you to find out more about the culture and workings of your school community, and about the families and neighborhoods it serves. Tips for doing this When it comes to supporting your students, the staff and fellow teachers can offer important resources. When choosing with whom to connect, make sure you include ELL and special education specialists, counselors, and instructional coaches. They are all part of the ecosystem. Prepare a brief introduction about yourself and your role as a TC and use this prepared “quick-intro” whenever you meet someone new at your school. Of course, it is common sense to use courtesy and a professional demeanor when interacting with other adults at the school (as it is when interacting with students). More...
Tool for analyzing student work
This easy-to-use tool helps you to use different lenses in examining student responses and considering implications/next steps. You can use this together to group responses or items of work from students, like models, whiteboard recordings, exit slips, etc. We include a Word version here so you can make changes in this tool. __________________ Download PDF > Mentor-TC tool for analyzing student responses Download Word version > Mentor_TC tool for analyzing student responses...