Feedback preferences questionnaire for teaching partners
This questionnaire invite you (mentor and novice) to think about different aspects of giving and receiving feedback. Consider using these questions to 1) discuss preferences with your teaching partner and 2) make some initial decisions about agreed-upon routines for feedback. 1. How would you finish the following sentences? Feedback is best given _____. When I excel at something or show improvement in an area, I like for this to be recognized through _____. When there are things I need to work on improving, I prefer for this to be shared through _____. 2. Think of a time when you received feedback that was hard for you to hear and learn from. How could this feedback have been more constructive for you? 3. Generally when and how do you prefer to give and/or receive feedback? While students are working, to let me make changes in real-time At the next available break During lunch or planning At the end of the day At the start of the next day First through writing, with time to reflect and then discuss 4. Rate how much you agree (A) or disagree (D) with the following statements—and discuss what these ratings might look like and mean for your work together. I like feedback that directly focuses on changes or areas for improvement. I like feedback that highlights strengths, then discusses areas for improvement. I like to give feedback verbally. I like to receive feedback verbally. I like to give feedback in writing. I like to receive feedback in writing. More...
Getting to know your school and the communities it serves
What is this practice? No matter your level of familiarity with your school placement and the communities it serves, knowing communities as a teacher is different. Inquiring into your school and its surrounding neighborhoods from the perspective of a teacher will give you a head start at the beginning of the school year. You can find valuable information from publicly available data, the school’s website or other school-related resources, or by visiting and talking with people. Why is it important? The work of teaching is strongly influenced by context. Knowing this context will help you do numerous important things—connect with students and colleagues, search for and find resources, contextualize your experiences and other information (like policies and regulations), and more. Most centrally, it will help you make your teaching relevant for your students, as you cannot anticipate how the learners in front of you will respond to ideas or points of view you bring up unless you literally understand “where they are coming from.” Where to start? First of all, find out what communities and neighborhoods your school serves. Then think about what you already know about the school and the surrounding area and try to generate “authentic” questions—those that you, students, families, or community members would actually want answered. Next, seek answers! Do you know people who live in the area? Whom could you ask for information or stories? What data are publicly available? Follow your curiosity and the tips below. More...
Professional roommate conversation
Early on, mentor-TC partners have found it highly beneficial to have an explicit conversation in which they get to know each other’s hopes, preferences, and work styles. The name “professional roommate conversation” comes from an experienced mentor who launches each year with a TC this way! Consider starting this conversation as early as possible – even before the school year starts if you wish. You may also want to revisit some of the topics you discuss later in the year. Getting started: Below, we share several questions that you might discuss. A day or two before your conversation, scan through and decide together what would be most useful for you as partners to discuss. Take a few minutes to think through or write out your own responses. Give yourselves at least 30 minutes to discuss, or break the conversation into multiple smaller parts. Possible questions: • What are our professional goals for this upcoming year, individually and together? • How does each of us prefer to work? What do we need to do our best work or thinking? (You might use the linked “work styles” resources to self-assess, then discuss.) • How do we want to refer to each other and define our roles with students? With colleagues? • What kinds of conversations do we want to make sure we have? When and how frequently might these different conversations happen? (Consider looking through the program timeline together as part of this.) • How does each of us prefer to give and receive feedback? (Check out the linked feedback preferences questionnaire to dig in here if useful.) • What are each of us most excited about, or nervous about this upcoming year? • What kinds of situations tend to make each of us stressed? How could we support each other in these situations? • Is there anything else we should know about each other? Download PDF > Professional roommate conversation Download Word version > Professional roommate conversation ...
Getting to know your students as individuals
What is this practice? Getting to know students as individuals in and outside your classroom is more than just knowing what grades they usually get in class and anecdotes you may have heard about them. Knowing your students as whole people means getting to know their interests, backgrounds, experiences, challenges, passions, and more. After all, the time they spend in your classroom is only a fraction of their daily life. Why is it important? The most effective first step you can take in the clinical experience is to find out who your students are. This means taking time to talk with them and building relationships, but it also means understanding the community they live in (see TC Practice: Getting to Know Your School and the Communities It Serves). Learning about your students right from the beginning is crucial for creating rapport and the safe environment that is so important for their learning, and has been shown to positively affect academic outcomes[1]. Getting to know students is also a matter of equity—of understanding what all students have to offer (beyond what they first put forth) and growing in your capacity to support students within and beyond the classroom community. Tips for doing this practice effectively Consider getting to know your students with a three-pronged approach: observation, communication, and information. More...
Tool: Setting up co-planning conversations
This tool helps both mentor and TC get ready for co-planning, once a lesson topic has been identified. Consider using the “Mentor’s Pocket Guide for Making Your Thinking Explicit” as you discuss. Begin the co-planning process at least a couple days ahead of the lesson being taught, so TCs have enough lead time to plan/modify, receive feedback, and make adjustments. _________________________________________________________________ Download PDF > Tool for co-planning conversations Download Word version (can type into) > Tool for co-planning conversations...
3 Conversation Practices
How to select the right kind of conversation to have about teaching and learning For mentors, different kinds of dialogue with teacher candidates can provide unique opportunities for learning and growth. In broad strokes, there are three types of mentoring conversations, each used for different purposes—calibrating, consulting, and collaborating. Each is defined by who identifies problems of practice, leads the analysis of teaching outcomes, and suggests next steps. These conversations usually happen before and after observing a teacher candidate. During the observation, the mentor generates or collects data from students that can be used for the post teaching discussion. These can be literal notes about what was said, student work products, exit slips, or other forms of documentation. Download PDF > 3 Types of mentoring conversations...
Observation-communication-information guide for start of year
Using observation, communication, and information to get to know students as individuals This guide provides you with some concrete steps you can take to learn more about your students as individuals at the start of the school year. Note that you will often have to actively seek out opportunities and information yourself; placements do not necessarily provide these opportunities for you. Observation: Listen to the sounds of your school. When you are outside the classroom in the hallway, schoolyard, or cafeteria: What do you hear? Are the sounds subdued, relaxed, and calm? Are the sounds lively? Is there laughter, or do you hear what might be aggression in some students’ voices? How are the sounds changing over the course of the day, over the course of the week? Take time to observe students outside the classroom. Which students stand together, and how do they interact? Which students are on their own? Why do you think this is the case? How do adults and students interact? Do you see patterns? Is there something that surprises you? What can you learn from these observations? Observe how your mentor and other teachers greet their students when they come to class. What do you notice? Examine artifacts (e.g., on bulletin boards, in the hallway) of how students express who they are. You may find photos, poems, or drawings from students displayed. Communication: Try to connect with your students often via eye contact and a smile. (However, be sensitive to the fact that not all cultures appreciate or even allow for as much eye contact as is custom in the United States.) In most schools, it is customary to greet students at the door when they come to class. You may prepare greetings and questions for your students. Make sure you check in with different students each day (keep a tally). Seek to become a “real person” in students’ eyes. Laugh at yourself, share a bit of yourself with students. Be available to “just talk” and demonstrate that you are approachable by greeting students in the hallway and sharing when you are available for drop-in conversations. Introduce yourself to your classes: Work with your mentor to decide how you want to refer to each other and define your roles with students, and identify ~5 minutes in each class for introductions during the first days of school. Prepare a slide or two with pictures that help tell about yourself,...