Mentor Training Brunel University Primary Partnership

1. Mentor TrainingBrunel University Primary Partnership An introduction to the mentoring of beginning teachers Tuesday 2nd December 2008

2. Objectives • To contextualise SSE1 within the Professional Standards for QTS (TDA, 2007) • To explain the roles and responsibilities for trainees, mentors, Professional Tutors and Link Tutors within the Brunel Primary Partnership on Sustained School Experience (SSE) 1 • To provide an overview of paired placements • To introduce the Training Plan and its various components • To give a brief overview of the processes and procedures for trainee development (eg monitoring and feedback) and for assessment at the end of SSE1

3. Dates • Block week: Mon 10th – Fri 14th Nov 2008 • Serial Visits: Tues 18th, 25th Nov and 2nd, 9th and 16th December • Block Experience: Mon 5th Jan – Fri 13th Feb 2009

4. The Standards - published 2007 • Three inter-linked sections: • Professional attributes • Professional knowledge and understanding • Professional skills • 33 standards at QTS

5. Major emphases within the Standards The Standards reflect the following agendas: • Policy awareness and the promotion of diversity • ECM and Safeguarding Children • Curriculum change and innovation

6. Professional Attributes (PA) Q1 – Q9 Some key ideas…. • Communication • Collaboration • Policies • Creativity and innovation • Wellbeing

7. Professional Knowledge and Understanding (PKU) Q10 – Q21 Some key emphases….. • Knowledge of Policies and their impact • Personalising provision • Using statistics • Promotion of diversity

8. Professional Skills (PS) Q22 – Q33 Specific strategies and teacher behaviours including: • Planning for progression in learning • Teaching drawing on appropriate strategies • Assessment for learning • Reviewing teaching and learning • Team work and collaboration

9. Role of Link Tutor • Initial contact • Weeks 1-5 • Review trainees progress with mentor • Set targets • Ensure assessment procedures fro final weeks are clear • Weeks 5-6 • Assess trainee with mentor • Complete Profile of Professional Development

10. Role of Student Students should: • Undertake planning, teaching & assessment as specified • Be professional • Punctuality • Dress/appearance • Fit in with school • Absenteeism

11. Professional Responsibilities of Mentors • Responsibilities towards the beginning teacher and her/his development as a professional • Responsibilities towards your school • Responsibilities towards the Brunel Partnership • Self-responsibility – opportunities for enhanced professional learning and for accreditation (see the new Standards for serving teachers)

12. Mentor Tasks • Devising and implementing an individualised Training Plan to ensure trainee learning during the SSE • Explaining the school’s policies and systems for planning, assessing and record keeping • Ensuring that trainees have opportunities to observe and discuss good practice in planning, teaching and assessing in the relevant Key Stage • Sharing non-confidential records on children’s progress with the trainee • Ensuring that the trainee has the opportunity to assess children in the core subjects in the terms set out above • Directing the trainee in terms of pupil tracking • Monitoring and assessing trainee progress throughout the SSE through regular observation, debriefing and target setting • Assessing the trainee against the Standards for QTS

13. Paired Placements: Basic Principles • Two or more trainees work together on a school placement • They share responsibility for at least one class • They engage in planning, teaching, reviewing lessons together • They get feedback and support from a mentor both collectively and individually

14. Benefits Trainees : • Personal security • Emotional support, Peer support • Developing skills of co-coaching, peer coaching, and critical analysis – learn from each other and together. • Opportunities to develop self and peer evaluation • Instant feedback from partner • Focused continual observation - More time to assess for learning • Having the opportunity to plan and share ideas and information together • Confidence to be innovative • Increased opportunities to evaluate pupil learning • Working towards the standards, in particular those relating to team teaching and collaboration (Q32 & Q33)

15. Benefits Mentors : • Trainees more innovative and less reliant on mentor for ideas • More in-depth discussions at mentor meetings • Provides excellent basis for joint tutorial discussions – lively debate and engagement in professional dialogue • Three way feedback

16. Benefits Pupils : • More support in class • More innovative and imaginative teaching • Opportunities for more creative learning experiences. • Less disruption to classes

17. Best Practice Placements work well where trainees: • are open to working as a pair • plan early for their whole approach to the placement • share the work load • spend time talking the curriculum through in detail with the class teacher. • listen to other ideas, structure things, share objectives and agree targets, but are still confident enough and able to develop their own style. • offer instant assessment feedback to each other which is very beneficial to both their own and the pupils’ learning.

18. Best Practice Placements work well where: • everyone is committed and confident it will work • guidance is clear to all parties • there is flexibility • organisation of all aspects is carefully monitored, particularly at the beginning • expectations are defined from the beginning • mentors don’t feel alone • each trainee is recognised as an individual with different needs

19. Top Ten Tips for Trainees • Be a professional partner • Be a critical friend • Recognise each others’ strengths as well as areas requiring development • Value each others’ teaching style • Be open to, and share, new ideas • Listen • Value and organise your time in school well • Reflect and move on • Develop self and peer evaluation • Enjoy the experience and make the most of it!

20. What could it look like ? • Teacher and classroom assistant mode – one leads the other takes a support role • Team teaching - lesson is compartmentalised with separate responsibility for sections • Pre-teaching observation – one watches the other teach ,reviews and feeds back and then uses the same material with another class • Planning/teaching split mode – one plans and the other teaches and vice versa • Class division mode – the class is separated and each teaches different sections

21. Possible Models Contact with pupils should build up to 50 % of an NQT’s timetable, whether leading lessons or supporting partner trainee. Lead classes involve : • Collaborative planning, including the use of support from the partner trainee and other staff • Individual teaching • Joint evaluation • Focused observation concentrating on pupil learning  Shared classes involve : • Class teacher and trainees working in partnership to deliver lessons • Collaborative planning, including how activities / lessons will be divided • Joint evaluation

23. PATTERN OF SCHOOL EXPERIENCE Taken from School Experience Handbook p.104-105

24. Paired and Multiple Placements “Collaboration and partnership are a way of life. People work together. There is a consistent approach which is supportive. People are not left to sink or swim. People are available to each other. Team teaching, mentoring, peer coaching, joint planning and mutual observation and feedback are a normal part of the everyday life of the school.” (‘A Profile of Change’, 2001, MacBeath and Stoll in ‘Improving School Effectiveness’, MacBeath and Mortimer)

25. Developing an Individualised Training Programme • Mentors are asked to develop Individualised Training Plans for their trainees. Examples of generic Training Programmes for SSE1 can be found on page 65 - 71. This document needs to be individualised by taking into account: • trainees’ individual starting points and needs, as identified in previous paperwork, with particular reference to enhancing the quality of teaching in the core subjects and ICT • the routines and timetables of the school and class in which the trainee is working • Please adapt the generic Training Plan, in discussion with the trainee where possible • If you have any difficulties with this process, please contact your University Link Tutor or Dipa Bilimoria in the Taught Programmes Office (TPO).

26. Developing the individualised Training Programme 2 Devising a programme which meets needs – possible components: • observing other teachers • observing children’s learning • focused interviews with teachers / school personnel • data collection for assignments • team planning, teaching and assessing, followed by discussion • solo planning, teaching and assessing, followed by de-briefing • space for self-evaluation and target setting • formal target setting, formative and summative assessment processes

27. Task • Choose one of the standards below for each trainee. Devise a training programme to support each trainee in meeting the standard. • Maintaining high expectations (Q1) • Using a range of behaviour management strategies (Q10) • Making provision for EAL learners (Q19)

28. Feedback and formative assessment issues • Encouraging self review and evaluation in your trainee • Engaging in constructive evaluation (s/he is an adult but also a learner and as such may sometimes be insecure and vulnerable or full of false bravado!) • Telling the trainee how to teach / what to do • Providing information and knowledge • Affirming worth and positive features • Recognising and dealing with feelings • Assertively challenging actions and ideas • Promoting independent development

29. Monitoring trainee progress: formal and informal processes Monitoring draws on: • Formal observation skills – seeing the snapshots of lessons • Informal observations and professional inter-actions • Monitoring the development of trainee files How is the monitoring recorded?

30. Paperwork • Observation sheet (1per week) • Weekly training sheet (1per week) • Interim report (end of week 3) • Indicative criteria for assessment (on-going for informal formative assessment; week 6 for summative assessment)

31. Providing Feedback • School based mentors or professional mentors are required to make a formal assessment of their trainees each week, using the carbonated Brunel Observation form (see appendix 19 p.109). • When trainees are delivering a lesson jointly, it is appropriate to use one observation form and it will be up to your professional judgement, whether it is appropriate to provide feedback individually or jointly. As trainees take more responsibility individually, it would be most useful to carry out individual observations, with individual feedback. This depends on the relationship between the trainees and again would be up to your professional judgement.

32. Further Information and Training • Next mentor training session : Tuesday 20th January 2-4pm: Assessment • Partnership website: http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/acad/sse/schpart/mentor • Our Partnership Officer can be contacted on: e.mail: dipa.bilimoria@brunel.ac.uk Tel: 01895 267141