I absolutely love teaching. I almost pursued a doctorate in curriculum and instruction (probably shouldn't say that since I'm in a different program). I love unpacking standards, developing assessments, differentiating, observing classrooms and conducting professional development for teachers. My project this year is focused on new teacher induction and support and so far has gone extremely well. I threw a "mixer" where I met with new teachers and mentors over happy hour and discussed the program and did a few get know you icebreakers. Since then, mentees have met with mentors and discussed expectations, observations and some have even started reading a book together on teaching. I received a few notes saying they enjoyed the mixer and think highly of the new initiative. So what's the problem? I don't know.
I feel like I want to get more involved in new teacher's classrooms but how do I do that without taking over? I sit and observe teachers and see something I want to correct immediately but instead I leave detailed feedback and invite teachers to talk about it. I send suggestions on lesson plans but not regularly because what if I overwhelm them. Five of our new teachers are in science,math, and health and I have some really great ideas. Would teachers be open to a model lesson? How do I even ask without offending them?
At the beginning of the school year I conducted a survey to find out what areas new teachers needed help with and when they wanted to get help. Should I use that as a basis and just tell them the time we will meet to discuss instructional strategies? Maybe I am getting in my own way of making the changes I want to see. Maybe its me being in my first year as an administrator and not understanding my own authority. There are plenty of articles on the principal as instructional leader but what exactly is my role as AP in leading instruction?
I talked with two math teachers last week and offered to unpack a standard with them or help them differentiate a lesson. They seemed genuinely thankful and open to the help. I guess this is a good start. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Patrice-Thanks for the thoughtful post. Your passion for instruction is very clear. You talked about how your passion at times makes you want to "correct immediately". One strategy to help change teacher behavior is to thoughtfully ask reflective questions. Although most leaders talk about this, it is a real skill to do it effectively. It doesn't just involve asking questions "off the cuff", but actually preparing questions that address area where improvement is needed.
ReplyDeletePatrice, You have identified one of the biggest issues with mentors. I teach a coaching endorsement class for Griffin RESA and I have two resources for you. The first is the 7 norms for collaboration - http://www.iod.unh.edu/RENEW%20tools/RENEW%20Implementation%20Manual/Section%203%20RENEW%20Implementation%20Team/3.%20Norms%20annotated.pdf and the second is coaching sentence stems - http://josseybasseducation.com/teaching-learning/coaching-sentence-stems-for-effective-communication/. There is a fine line between being a mentor and being a coach. A mentor is going to help a new teacher survive in the school framework. The coach is going to help the new teacher improve student learning. The mentor focuses on the classroom, behavior, survival where the coach focuses on the new teacher. See if either/both of these resources help you help the new teacher realize what needs to change versus telling them what to change.
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