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Mentoring New Teachers

Third Edition

By: Hal Portner

This latest edition draws upon research to illustrate essential mentoring behaviors. Provides new tools such as classroom observation methods, teacher mentor standards, and learning styles assessment.

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781412960090
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2008
Page Count: 168
Publication date: April 29, 2008

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Author(s) Table of Contents Reviews

Description

"A much-needed resource for teacher mentors. The new and updated strategies and practical approach will give mentors crucial support as they provide assistance and encouragement to new teachers. Portner has clearly demonstrated the importance of both theory and practice in this practical guide."
—Priscilla Miller, Director
Center for Teacher Education & Research, Westfield State College

A comprehensive guide for developing successful mentors!

Quality mentoring can provide the support and guidance critical to an educator's first years of teaching. In the latest edition of the best-selling Mentoring New Teachers, Hal Portner draws upon research, experience, and insights to provide a comprehensive overview of essential mentoring behaviors. Packed with strategies, exercises, resources, and concepts, this book examines four critical mentoring functions: establishing good rapport, assessing mentee progress, coaching continuous improvement, and guiding mentees toward self-reliance. Tools and topics new to this edition include:

Teacher mentor standards based on the NBPTS Core Propositions and validated by members of the International Mentoring Association and other practitioners
Classroom observation methods and competency instruments
Tools to assess preferred learning styles
Approaches to mentoring the nontraditional new teacher
A guide for careerlong professional development

School leaders, experienced and prospective mentors, and staff developers can use this step-by-step handbook to create a dynamic mentoring program or revitalize an existing one.

Key features

Brand new chapter on career-long professional development
Teacher mentoring standards validated by members of the IMA and other practitioners
A new learning style inventory
The Connecticut Competency Instrument
Revised and updated annotated bibliography

Author(s)

Hal Portner

Hal Portner is a former K-12 teacher and administrator. He was assistant director of the Summer Math Program for High School Women and Their Teachers at Mount Holyoke College, and for 24 years he was a teacher and then administrator in two Connecticut public school districts. From 1985 to 1995, he was a member of the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Bureau of Certification and Professional Development, where, among other responsibilities, he served as coordinator of the Connecticut Institute for Teaching and Learning and worked closely with school districts to develop and carry out professional development and teacher evaluation plans and programs. Hal developed and teaches for Western New England University a 3 credit MEd in Curriculum and Instruction online core course in Mentoring, Coaching, and professional development.

Portner writes, develops materials, trains mentors, facilitates the development of new teacher and peer-mentoring programs, and consults for school districts and other educational organizations and institutions. In addition to Mentoring New Teachers, he is the author of Training Mentors Is Not Enough: Everything Else Schools and Districts Need to Do (2001), Being Mentored: A Guide for Protégés (2002), Workshops that Really Work: The ABCs of Designing and Delivering Sensational Presentations (2005), and editor of Teacher Mentoring and Induction: The State of the Art and Beyond (2005) – all published by Corwin Press. He holds an MEd from the University of Michigan and a 6th-year Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) in education administration from the University of Connecticut. For three years, he was with the University of Massachusetts EdD Educational Leadership Program.

Foreword by Gerald N. Tirozzi

Preface to the Third Edition

Who Should Read This Book

Overview of the Contents

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Introduction

Support for Mentoring

Effective Mentors Are Made, Not Born

Mentoring Is Not Evaluating

Mentoring’s Role in Induction

The Mentor’s Primary Role

What Mentors Do: The Four Mentoring Functions

Teacher Mentor Standards

1. Relating

Establishing Trust

Paying Attention to Thoughts and Feelings

Confidentiality

The Student Teacher Dilemma

Communicating Nonverbally

A Checklist of Relating Behaviors

A Mentoring Relationship Is a Serving Relationship

2. Assessing

The Nontraditional New Teacher

Generic Needs of New Teachers

Specific Needs of Your Mentee

Gathering Resources

Your Mentee’s Learning Preferences

Modes of Communication

Summary

3. Coaching

Coaching Assumptions

The Coaching Cycle

The Preobservation Conference

The Initial Classroom Visit

Focused Classroom Observations: When and How

Some Observation Considerations

The Postobservation Conference

When to Show and Tell

Coaching Adults

Feedback

4. Guiding

Guiding Your Mentee’s Journey: A Decision-Making Process

Identifying Your Mentee’s Problems

Guiding Principles

The Unwilling and Unable Mentee

The Moderately Willing and Somewhat Able Mentee

The Competent and Confident Mentee

The All-of-the-Above Mentee

From Mentor-Mentee to Peer-Peer

5. Mentoring’s Legacy: Career-Long Professional Development

Teacher’s Inquiry Process

From TIP to MIP

6. Tips and Observations

Set Ground Rules Early

Help Change Happen

Avoid Information Overload

Share Decision Making

Know When to Intervene

Mentoring, Remediating, and Peer Review

Maintain the Relationship

Don’t Forget Content

What Is Your Mentee Asking For?

Know When to Wean

Find Time to Mentor

Earn Points Toward Teacher Recertification

Reflect on Your Mentoring

Consider Multiple Mentors

Build a Mentoring Community

Find Networking Opportunities

Remember, Student Learning Is the Goal

Pass the Torch

Resource A. Teacher Mentor Standards

Core Propositions

Teacher Mentor Standards

Resource B. Learning Style Inventory: Discovering How You Learn Best

Resource C. Mentor’s Inquiry Process for Experienced Mentors

Focus

What Will It Be Like?

Activities

What Are Your Chances Of Completing the Activities?

When Do You Want It?

Costs

Does It Represent a Worthwhile Challenge?

Resource D. The Connecticut Competency Instrument

Management of the Classroom Environment

Instruction

Assessment of Student Progress

Resource E. Annotated Bibliography

References

Reviews

“The book gets straight to the point of mentoring and provides practical, doable strategies and guidance to mentors, as well as the opportunity to practice those strategies with immediate feedback. A short and easy read for people who need good advice but don’t have a lot of time to spare.”

Kathy Grover, Assistant Superintendent
Clever R-V School District, MO

“Provides a concise overview of all the issues mentors need to consider when working with a new teacher. Mentors who are working on their own can easily use this text to support their development.”

Debra Pitton, Professor of Education, Gustavus Adolphus College
Author, Mentoring Novice Teachers

"Bravo for basing this on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards! Standards for mentoring are long overdue. This book will become a primary resource for our annual mentoring staff development, to be used with both mentors and mentees."

Mark Bower, Director of Elementary Education and Staff Development
Hilton Central School District, NY

"A much-needed resource for teacher mentors. The new and updated strategies and practical approach will give mentors crucial support as they provide assistance and encouragement to new teachers. Portner has clearly demonstrated the importance of both theory and practice in this practical guide."

Priscilla Miller, Director
Center for Teacher Education & Research, Westfield State College

“With the guidance of Hal Portner, our new teacher induction/mentoring program made a turnaround from a bare minimum, “letter of the law” program into a dynamic, teacher-affirming program! Our mentoring team now has a shared vision of the components of effective mentoring and, more importantly, our mentees are reaping the benefits. I wholeheartedly encourage anyone interested in improving their school’s mentoring program to read this book.”

William E. Collins, Principal
William E. Norris Elementary School, Southampton, MA

“Mentoring is an activity in which both participants gain experience and knowledge, and this book reflects that. Portner presents very practical suggestions for both the mentor and the mentee.”

Joy Rose, Retired Principal
Westerville, OH

"An essential key to passing on wisdom and an important pick for any education collection."

The Bookwatch, July 2008
Midwest Book Review

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Other Titles in: Mentoring | Teacher Induction | Teacher Leadership