Post-Graduate Certificate in Education

(Post-Compulsory Education)

GUIDELINES FOR

MENTORING

Trainee Teachers

HANDBOOK FOR MENTORS

2008

Contents

Introductory Remarks

Selection and De-selection of Mentors and Tutors

Training of Mentors and Tutors

Frequency of meetings

Protocols for Mentoring

Mentor/Tutor Meeting Venue

The First Meeting with the Mentor

The First Meeting with the Tutor

Mentor/Tutor Meetings

Framework for Dialogue about Teaching

Further General Guidelines for Mentoring

References on the Practice of Mentoring

Mentor Record Form

Teaching Observation Feedback Form...... 12

Observation Top Sheet………………………………………………………………………..14

Teaching Practice Observation Criteria Checklist...... 15

Introductory Remarks

This document acknowledges that the mentoring process rests jointly with a subject specialist, hereafter referred to as the Mentor and a member of the college staff usually from within the programme team and often the ‘personal tutor’ hereafter referred to as the Tutor. The term ‘mentoring’ will be used to apply to the process carried out by both roles.

The role of the Mentor is crucial to the training process and involves offering subject specific-support, and both the Mentor and Tutor are involved in assessing the trainee’s progress and enabling the trainee to reflect on their learning and needs.

Whether you are a Tutor or a Mentor, your meetings will need to start with checking what was said to your trainee by the person fulfilling the other role…have they set targets?, observed sessions?, completed documents? etc. Please make sure that you are fully conversant with their role and the ways in which it complements yours.

Selection and De-selection of Mentors and Tutors

It is the responsibility of the Colleges toidentify and confirm the appointment ofMentors and Tutors for their trainees and to ensure they are appropriately trained. Where the trainee is asked to nominate a Mentor,the College has a responsibility to approve this selection, to ensure that the Mentor understands their role and to inform the Mentor of their duties including their attendance at Mentor training.

The College is responsible for ensuring that the Mentor’s details are passed onto the University on the ‘Mentor Record Form’ (PCE20 available on line at and appended page 17)

Mentors and Tutors should be:

  • exemplary teachers
  • familiar with the ‘Professional Standards: teacher/ tutor/ trainer education in the Lifelong Learning Sector’
  • able to encourage the trainee to reflect on their training
  • able to offer constructive criticism
  • able to assess the trainee, both formatively and summatively, against the Standards
  • willing to support the trainee in planning appropriate lessons
  • willing to support the collection of appropriate materials for assignments
  • able to work with the trainee in constructing action plans that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-related
  • able to observe the trainee in appropriate practice contexts

and, in addition, Mentors should be:

  • experiencedin the subject sector and context of the trainee
  • able to offer subject specialist knowledge

Colleges should ensure that the Mentors and Tutors are covered by their quality assurance procedures and if they are unable to fulfil their role even after additional support from the College Course Director, they should be de-selected.

Training of Mentors and Tutors

The University of Exeter will provide mentoring training which will focus on:

  • assessing the trainee’s individual needs in relation to their specific subject and practice context
  • enabling the trainee to reflect on his/her own practice
  • assessing trainees both formatively and summatively
  • process and paperwork

Other mentoring skills will be assumed by the University and should be part of any additional professional development provided to the Tutor and Mentor by the College.

It is assumed to be the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the Tutor and Mentorhave sufficient time and resources to fulfil this role, and to ensure that they are given time to undertake the mentoring training provided by the University.

Frequency of meetings

Tutors should ensure that they have at least one conversation with their trainee every week to maintain continuity. Tutors shouldformally meet with their trainees a minimum of twice per term (2hours in total). They should also have at least 2 conversations with the subject mentors to ensure that no problems have arisen or are threatening.

Formal Mentor meetings should be scheduled at mutually convenient times in line with the following criteria:

  • Full Time trainees should meet formally with their mentor at least twice per term (2 hours total).
  • Part Time trainees should meet formally with their mentor at least once per term (1 hour total)

However, this is the minimum required. You will probably find that you both need approximately one meeting per half term to ensure a meaningful process and to complete all the paperwork.

Protocols for Mentoring

As a Mentor or Tutor you might find it useful to share the following protocols with your trainee in order that you have a mutual understanding your Tutor/Mentor/trainee relationship. It may form the basis of discussion at your first mentor/tutor meeting. The following italicised information is found in the trainees’ Programme Handbook and replicated here for your convenience.

Mentoring may be defined as a means of developing individuals to reach their potential. You, as the trainee, should possess the following:

  • a commitment to your own development;
  • an honesty and openness about your own behaviour;
  • a positive approach to the value of feedback;
  • time and willingness to develop a relationship with your Mentor/Tutor;
  • a willingness to listen and clarify your understanding;
  • a willingness to learn about the placement and about possible new ways of working;
  • the ability to accept the support and encouragement offered by them Mentor/Tutor and to consider advice in the spirit it is offered;
  • a willingness to challenge your own assumptions;
  • a willingness to consider options suggested by the Mentor/Tutor which you had not previously considered;
  • a willingness to review and reflect on your own behaviour and performance;
  • the wish to take responsibility for your own personal development;
  • an acknowledgement of the need to share in the decision-making process to ensure the maximum outcomes for the Mentor/Tutor relationships.

Helpful Hints for TRAINEES

  • Make sure you and the Mentor/Tutor arrange regular meetings and that you attend these.
  • If you are unable to make a meeting give your Mentor/Tutor plenty of notice.
  • At the first meeting fix up a schedule of meetings
  • Agree an agenda for the meetings based on the one offered below (p 5).
  • Always come prepared to discuss the items on the agenda.
  • Always bring your ILP to mentoring sessions.
  • Agree time limits for the meeting and stick to these.
  • Discuss your career objectives with your Mentor/Tutor.
  • Make sure you use the meetings as a means of gaining information, not just to off-load.
  • Arrange with your Mentor/Tutor when is/is not a good time to contact him/her outside normal meetings if extra time or help are needed and stick to these times.
  • If you are unsure about something always ask.
  • Remember your Mentor/Tutor is there to help you reach decisions and understand the placement and its procedures. He/she is not there to make the decisions for you!

Mentor/TutorMeeting Venue

Please ensure that you meet somewhere conducive to professional dialogue. It should be somewhere that you are confident will be undisturbed and confidential.

The First Meeting with the Mentor

Whilst it is highly likely that your first meeting with your trainee will be orchestrated by the Course Director, and will be introductory and pastoral, it is important to ensure that an immediate date is set for the next formal meeting.

During the first meeting you will need to cover the following areas:

  • Pastoral care of trainee
  • Check that the trainee has received appropriate ‘orientation’ information and can find the key rooms, people and resources
  • Complete the Personal details and the Mentor Detailsforms and keep a copy for your records.
  • Complete the Self Assessment Skills Scantogether so that any issues can be dealt with as they arise
  • Complete a copy of the Tutor/Mentor Record Form for the trainee to keep in their file
  • Discuss the mentoring protocols listed above and clarify your relationship as trainee/Mentor (particularly if your trainee is a colleague you have previously worked with in a different relationship)
  • Identify mutually convenient forms of communication (email, phone numbers etc)
  • Set dates for subsequent meetings
  • Agree an agenda for the next meeting (in line with recommendation below)

Whilst you will no doubt meet many times with your trainee in an informal setting, it is important to safeguard this mentoring time and maintain it on a professional level. If you feel that the relationship is not going to work you must negotiate this with the PCE College Course Director as soon as possible. Remember that the first meeting is breaking new ground for both parties. It is about creating a new relationship using the appropriate skills.

The First Meeting with the Tutor

Many of the same issues as detailed above will be relevant and you should cover the same agenda adapting it as necessary, completing the Self Assessment Skills scanand checking that the Mentor Form and Information Sheet were filled in appropriately.

Mentor/TutorMeetings

At each meeting the following areas should be covered:

  • Dialogue about a teaching session using the Framework for Dialogue about Teachingas a prompt and support
  • Completion of an Action Plan resulting from this above discussion
  • Completion of the Mentoring Log: Mentor/Tutor Meeting Document
  • Check of the trainee’s Individual Learning Plan (located with the trainee)
  • Check of any meeting records, targets, comments, observations made by the Mentor/Tutor since you last met the trainee

It might also be appropriate to include any/all of the following:

  • Pastoral care
  • Clarification of the trainee's responsibilities and the giving of reassurance where appropriate
  • Establishing how the trainee is coping with their new involvements with others trainees or staff
  • Planning formal lesson observations

There will be a great deal of listening to do in these meetings and you will certainly need to record some of the trainee’s comments and requests, for addressing later. The Mentoring Logwill be useful here and you should try to achieve this without interrupting the dialogue.

Framework for Dialogue about Teaching

A larger copy of this diagram is available on the back cover of this handbook

This tool should be used to provoke conversations with the trainee about different aspects of teaching. It covers all aspects of ITT including the Professional Standards (Domains) for Teaching in the Lifelong Learning and Skills Sector. The on-line version ( has questions attached to each of the hexagons which could form a basis for focussing the dialogue on the particular aspect in a reflective and critical (analyse in detail) way.

Subject Knowledge

This addresses all aspects of the trainee’s subject knowledge and encompasses:

Academic knowledge – knowledge, understanding and skills of the subject

Pedagogic knowledge - how to teach the subject

Curriculum knowledge - the relevant National Curriculum, frameworks and examination specifications

Professional Knowledge and Enquiry

This addresses the ongoing pursuit of improving professional practice and might include consideration of:

Research - accounts of research studies and how these can inform practice

Theory - understanding theories of teaching and learning, for example, theories of motivation or identity

Aspirational practice - best practice, including striving towards ideal practice

College Communities

This addresses the contextualised nature of teaching and learning through considering:

College and national policies - how members of the college community interpret national policies and how the values of society impact on the college

Attitudes, expectations and ethos - understanding the ethos of the college and the part that students, teachers, governors and parents play in creating this; including the complex ways in which underlying values and beliefs influence approaches to teaching and learning

Working with others - how to work collaboratively with college colleagues, parents and external agencies.

It is acknowledged that the consideration of parents will not always be relevant

Core Curriculum

This addresses the elementsof the knowledge and understanding andpersonal skills in English, Mathematics and ICT requiredof teachers in the lifelonglearning sector. Trainees should be encouraged to develop their own:

Language and Literacy

Numeracy

ICT

to meet their particular needs and todevelop the skills of their learners. All trainees need to be confident in managing the literacy, language, numeracy and ICT skillsexpected of learners.

Professional Standards – Domains A, B, C, D, E, F

These should be exemplified throughout the framework. Dialogue should consider:

Professional values and practice -understanding how to be a professional and the requirements of professional behaviour.

Learning and teaching -having appropriate teaching and interpersonal skills, both in the classroom and as a colleague within the school community

Specialist learning and teaching - having appropriate intellectual and specialist subject knowledge and understanding of how students learn about your subject

Planning for learning -planning to promote equality, support diversity and to meet the aims and learning needs of learners, including them in the planning of learning and evaluating own effectiveness in planning learning

Assessment for learning - designing and using assessment and feedback tools fairly and in both formative and summative ways

Access and progression - encouraging learners to seek initial and further learning opportunities, and to use services within and outside the organisation to provide support for learners and to further own professional development

Understanding Learning and Development

This addresses how people learn and develop and encompasses:

Theories of learning and development - including understanding the significance of personal, emotional, social, cognitive, linguistic and cultural influences

Progression- helping students broaden and deepen their understanding, including support for individual needs

Assessment - understanding the purposes and application of formative, diagnostic and summative assessment

1

Further General Guidelines for Mentoring

(Taken from ExeterCollege Mentoring Handbook)

Throughout this appendix the term ‘Mentor’ should be taken to include Tutor

To get the best out of the mentoring process

Mentors should possess:

  • experience and skills related to the trainee teacher’s area of work
  • well-developed interpersonal skills; ability to relate effectively with trainee teachers
  • a desire to help and develop potential new staff
  • an open mind, a flexible attitude and recognition of the value of support time and willingness to develop relationships with the trainee teacher

Trainee teachers should possess:

  • commitment to their own development
  • honesty and openness about their own behaviour
  • a positive approach to the value of feedback
  • time and willingness to develop relationships with their Mentor

The Mentor’s role will include the following activities:

  • preparing for the first meeting
  • planning the first day, the first week
  • introducing regular contacts to the trainee
  • gaining familiarity with the communication system within the placement
  • operating within a suitable work-base
  • ensuring suitable resources for the trainee
  • providing information such as, social facilities and care, parking, etc.
  • information about the site and the geography of the buildings
  • familiarisation with the organisation of the placement
  • developing relationships between staff at all levels and disciplines,both teaching & non-teaching staff
  • dealing with the management of trainees as appropriate

An effective Mentor will be prepared to:

  • listen
  • question and elicit facts
  • give information and knowledge about the organisation and information networks
  • offer different perspectives
  • offer support and encouragement
  • discuss current issues

An effective Mentor will encourage the trainee teacher to:

  • listen
  • clarify understanding
  • share thinking
  • review and reflect on own behaviour and performance
  • challenge own assumptions
  • consider different perspectives
  • take responsibility for their own personal development
  • make decisions for maximising the outcomes of the Mentor relationship

In practical terms, a good Mentor:

  • knows the name of the trainee teachers and something about them as a person before meeting them
  • helps them to prioritise
  • is aware of their area of work – constraints, etc.
  • is aware of the tasks associated with the post occupied by the trainee teacher
  • helps the trainee teacher come to realistic understanding and targets
  • clearly defines the Mentor’s role
  • recognises the trainee teacher’s previous work experience and shows them sympathy and understanding whilst they are coming to terms with their new environment
  • meets with the trainee teacher regularly
  • introduces the trainee teacher to other members of staff
  • makes him/her feel comfortable outside their direct work role
  • routes him/her to other people
  • explains necessary administrative procedures
  • gives trainee teacher the opportunity to observe the Mentor and/or experienced staff at work
  • gives general information on health and safety issues to the trainee teacher
  • ensures that the trainee teacher knows they when they can be contacted

References on the Practice of Mentoring