THE NEEDS OF BEGINNING TEACHERS AND HOW MENTORS RESPOND

I was recently stranded overnight and then delayed while traveling to Rochester, NY to conduct a two day training for Mentors. I called my colleague, Sandra Fink, who lives close by and requested that she step in to cover until I could arrive. When I arrived, I found that Sandra had the group deeply engaged in a discussion around applying William Glasser’s elements of motivation to beginning teachers and mentors. I asked Sandra to share her activity here with you.

Sandra writes:
The Rochester City School District's Career in Teaching Program (CIT), a collaborative effort of the district and Rochester Teachers Association, has been a positive catalyst for over twenty-three years. It has been successful in improving teacher retention and providing a professional ladder for effective lead teachers to advance and remain in the classroom. Steve Barkley has been a consultant since the program's inception and continues to facilitate coaching workshops during new mentor orientation. Marie Costanza, the current director, was one of the original mentors who credits her success with mentoring new teachers to developing effective coaching skills.


DIRECTIONS: Let's look at mentoring beyond survival. Work in small groups and list the characteristics, activities and behaviors of the mentor and intern in the motivation stage you have been assigned.

In the third edition of The Quality School: Managing Students Without Coercion (1998) William Glasser, M.D., identifies five universals that motivate people:

• Survival - learning the ropes, doing the right things when approaching
something new.

• Belonging - being accepted, receiving approval, be liked by the group.

• Power - feeling comfortable enough to experiment and take risks, knowing
what to do, having a sense of power.

• Freedom - feeling confident to explore, taking ownership, and the freedom to
make choices.

• Fun - confident, excited, motivation spreads to others.

We had a whole group discussion about the survival stage. It was very apparent that everyone had a good idea of what survival sounds like, looks like and feels like to the beginning teacher.

Then, each table was assigned one of the remaining steps; belonging, power, freedom or fun. Here is what Rochester mentors generated when applying to mentors and the beginning teachers they serve.

BELONGING
Characteristics
• mentor and intern - being accepted, being respected, common knowledge

Activities
• mentor - assisting in set up, inviting, introducing to colleagues
• intern - observing

Behaviors
• mentor - calling to check up, sharing resources, socializing
• intern - open minded, calling for help


POWER
I can do it, confidence and competence,
The mentor moves from "how do I do this" to "here's an idea… how can you use this?” The intern takes chances, and is looking forward not backward.
A synthesis of what you learned becomes what you know,” I am an asset, I got it!”

FREEDOM
The intern becomes a risk taker, creative, adventurous, intuitive, open to new ideas, reflective thinker, fearless... They embrace many ideas, growing, seeking freedom and values, accepting failure, searching for strategies to motivate others.. a trail blazer.
The intern, feeling in control, adjust + readjust = flexibility, trust, confidence from success. The mentor finds satisfaction in seeing the intern move to a true professional level.

FUN
Mentor and intern are finding….
Pizzazz, sharing, laughter, friendship, survival, power, anticipation, excitement, freedom, field trips, being yourself, celebrations, belonging, cooperative learning, encouragement, sunshine, warm fuzzies, positive communication, and collaboration.

What would your mentors and beginning teachers say………..?

MIDDLE SCHOOL ADVISORY

I was recently asked to facilitate a middle school (grades 6, 7, 8- 720 students) leadership team as they developed plans for a newly implemented advisory program. They had decided the previous school year to design advisories so that teachers would keep a group of students for three years.

Searching for some material to spark their thinking, I found the following:

-an article in the August 29,2007 Education Week titled Pittsburgh Building ‘Nation of 9th Graders’. It detailed how incoming freshman took part in a week long summer orientation designed to target teenagers’ hearts as well as their heads. The 9th Grade Nation focuses on building a freshman class that moves through school feeling supported and confident. It is part of Pittsburgh’s plan for high school reform.

-the website for Brandon Valley Middle School in South Dakota which describes their advisor/advisee program called BEST Time-Becoming Exceptional Students and Teachers. This site describes BEST’s rational, goals and objectives, advisor responsibilities, and advisory activities.


After exploring the above and sharing their personal experiences and beliefs, as well as the initial responses from staff and students, this leadership team decided to hold advisories for the next 15 weeks (every Friday afternoon for one hour) built around the following guidelines. A task force is established to gather input during that time for a midyear assessment and possible modification.

Advisor/Advisee program purpose:

To increase...

-Students’ sense of support and caring
-Rapport
-Bonding with staff, students, parents
-Student Achievement
-Relating to students’ generation
-Trust with at least one adult
-Enjoyment at school
-Comfort at school
-Staff and student connectedness


Students should find that the program will:

-help them learn more about themselves
-help give guidance in their growth as a person
-help better understand friends and classmates
-help set personal goals, make decisions, and solve problems
-help make school a more caring and sharing place to be
-help develop better relationships between students and teachers
-help create a feeling of belonging

Advisory activities will focus on three areas:

I. Activities that create opportunities for the staff to KNOW students well
II. Activities that provide students opportunities to learn and practice critical life, community and school skills
III. Activities that create fun, belonging and team spirit


How does their initial plan match your program or your thinking?

TIME AND INCENTIVES FOR PEER COACHING

As a staff developer, consultant, school reformer, and change agent, I have frequently seen educators "give up" trying to be leaders and innovators because they needed time and, after looking for it, could not find any. One teacher lamented that she began a peer coaching strategy with three colleagues. The program died within two months because they were unable to find common time to observe and confer. Another teacher reported how a building-level staff development committee informed the principal of the need for early dismissal in order to conduct a two-hour information/planning session. The principal denied the request because he felt that the community would not accept an early dismissal. The program deteriorated.

How, teachers ask, can they engage in collaboration when no sustained blocks of time are available and work must be accomplished in short bursts of intense effort, and often alone? The question then becomes: Where can school leaders find the time in the school day and year for these activities?

I personally don’t believe they can. I think they need instead to make time. You can find strategies for making time in the following article: Time: It’s made, not found (by Stephen Barkley,Journal of Staff Development, Fall 1999 Vol. 20, No. 4). Additional authors writing on this topic can be found at www.nsdc.org.

Often, if teachers have the opportunity to experience the benefits of coaching and collaboration, they will be more inclined to carve out time on their own to continue. I recently worked with two school districts to develop the following outline for a 15 hour CEU or one graduate hour course.

Title: Peer Coaching and Collaboration: An Action Study

Text: Quality Teaching in a Culture of Coaching by Stephen Barkley

Structure: Four to eight teachers will form a study group. Each participant will complete at least one rotation of each of the following activities. A log and journal will be kept to document date, times, and reflections upon the learning from each of the activities. (Repeat any of the activities 2-6 to meet the 15 study hours)

1. Read the text
2. Attend a study group discussion to highlight and question critical issues from the text.
3. Observe a colleague’s lesson live or on tape and provide coaching feedback.
4 .Be observed (live or tape) by a colleague and receive coaching feedback.
5. Lead a conversation with colleagues to collect input on a lesson or unit plan prior to teaching it.
6. Lead a conversation with colleagues around your students’ work or assessment and gather suggestions for next steps.

Assignments: Submit your log and journal on completed activities. Include in your journal a final reflection on the value of your collaboration experiences. Examine the relationship between teacher collaboration and student achievement.


How do you create time and incentives?

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MY LATEST READ: MINDSET...THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY OF SUCCESS

This book, Mindset… The New Psychology of Succes, by Dr Carol S Dweck examines the impact of a fixed or growth mindset regarding ability: (Dweck pg 6-7)

Fixed mindset- believing that your qualities are carved in stone… you have a certain amount of intelligence, personality, moral character.

Growth mindset- believing that your basic qualities are things that you can cultivate through your efforts… Everyone can change and grow through application and experience.

While reading about how our mindset impacts all areas of our life, about how geniuses in music, literature, science, business, and sports apply a growth mindset, and about how we can change our mindset to create success, I considered some connections to my recent work:

While working with administrators in Fairfax County Schools in Virginia, we explored the Board of Education’s revised goals for student achievement. One goal identified as Essential Life Skills states,"All students will demonstrate the aptitude, attitude, and skills to lead responsible, fulfilling, and respectful lives."
Should we be teaching for a growth oriented mindset as part of our life skills curriculum? What discussions would you imagine teachers and students be having? Do you have some strategies for promoting growth orientation for your students?

In my work with reading, math, and instructional coaches around the country (click to see all that PLS has on Coaching), I often hear coaches frustrations when working with reluctant teachers who report being “fine” (in no need of growth or change). Dweck (pg127) suggest that Jack Welch (past General Electric CEO and author) had a better thought when he described self confidence as the courage to be open-to welcome change and new ideas regardless of their source. Self confidence is reflected in your mindset: your openness to grow. I was recently training mentors for beginning teachers and suggested that we need administrators to build the “ready to grow” speech into their orientation sessions for new teachers. I believe that new teachers were not hired for what they know and can do…but because the administration felt they were ready to learn what it will take to be successful.

In the closing chapter, Dweck (pg 238) had a powerful statement that should guide our work as teachers, administrators, and school leaders:
When we change to a growth mindset we change from a judge and be judged framework to a learn and help learn framework. Our commitment is to growth, and growth takes time, effort, and mutual support.

Lots to think about…

Reference-Mindset … The New Psychology of Success Carol S. Dweck, PH.D.
Random House/New York
2006

COLLABORATION BETWEEN 8TH AND 9TH GRADES

During a recent workshop that I did for the Arkansas Department of Education, I was working with Professional Learning Teams from each school in a district. As we explored collaboration among teachers, we expanded the conversation to collaboration between schools. In the July 18th blog, I identified the concept of team vs franchise as I saw it exist in schools. Perhaps one of the most critical franchise relationships exists today between middle schools and high schools.

Consider:
According to the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), fewer than one third of the students in eighth grade can read and write with proficiency. In math, only 30 percent of students in eighth grade perform at the proficient level, and nearly a third score below the basic level.

In 2005, 15 High Schools That Works (HSTW) states had a ninth grade failure rate exceeding 10%, nine states had failure rates exceeding 15% and two states had a failure rate exceeding 20%. The median 9th grade failure rate in HSTW states was 10%. This failure decreases the probability that these students will complete high school. For full article- Giving Students a Chance to Achieve: Getting Off to a Fast and Successful Start in Grade Nine

HSTW discovered early in their work that middle schools were critical partners in increasing graduation rates and higher student performance. For full article- Making Middle Grades Work

Frequently I find that 8th and 9th grade teachers have never observed in each others schools and classrooms. Wouldn’t it be valuable for 8th grade teachers to be observing their students from the previous year in October 9th grade classrooms? That observation would provide great data on how their instruction last year prepared students for high school. Wouldn’t it be great if 9th grade teachers observed 8th graders at the beginning of the year? When they received those students next year they’d know “how far they came” in the previous year instead of just “what skills they are missing”. Wouldn’t it be great if 8th grade instruction in the second half of the year was designed by 8th and 9th grade teachers working as a team?

Mark Thompson, director of the National Educator Program and sponsor of SLC Success Conference, a yearly national conference on small learning communities suggests that…

…the most difficult transition years are 6th grade, 9th grade and freshman in college; and all for the same two reasons. 1) There is a marked change in environment and expectations for the student and 2) there is almost no collaboration between the faculty of the new institution and the previous one. To that end, it is easy for 8th and 9th grade teachers to collaborate and here are some easy strategies:

-As Steve Barkley suggested, set up times to observe each other’s classroom. One day out of the school year for each school would make a sizeable difference.

-Set up a retreat for the 9th grade teachers and the 8th grade teachers from the feeder schools. Have it facilitated and walk out with a better understanding of what is required of all in attendance, and a structure for an email-based collaboration. I recently had the privilege of facilitating a retreat like this in Owensboro, Kentucky for the freshman faculty of Owensboro Community College and the 12th grade faculty of the feeder high schools and it was a “eureka” moment for all involved.

-Have an ongoing email-based collaboration (as mentioned above) where 9th grade teachers are in the habit of dropping an email to an 8th grade teacher about a particular student or vice versa.

What strategies are you implementing to build a team focused on freshman success. Are there elementary to middle school transition strategies that could be adopted?