The Directive-Control Approach to Mentoring (*Glickman, 2002)

Objective of the Planning or Pre-Observation Conference: To determine the professional development needs of the mentee while addressing the learning needs of the mentee's students and the learning outcomes of the school.

Assumption: The mentor and the mentee have concluded their preliminary introductory remarks.

The Directive-Control Approach to Mentoring (*Glickman, 2002)

The directive-control approach offers mentees a specific staff development program that is designed to improve their professional growth. This approach is ideal for pre-service, novice, and beginning teachers who possess (a) a developing knowledge of Judaics, and (b) a very limited repertoire in teaching and learning. The directive-control approach to mentoring is designed to meet the specific professional needs of the mentee while satisfying the learning needs of their students and meeting the learning outcomes of the school.

Sample Dialogue Between the Mentor Teacher (MT) and the Mentee (M)

MT: “Mrs. Keller, as you know, on Thursday I will be doing my third formal observation of your class. Is there anything in particular that you want me to observe, or anything that you wish to tell me before I share my thoughts on what I expect to see on Thursday?”

M: “No, Dr. Solomon, I feel that I'm making steady progress in all the areas that we’ve discussed during our two previous meetings.”

MT: “Can you tell me more about the areas where you see steady improvement?”

M: “Yes, of course. I’m not lecturing all class period. It doesn't take five minutes to begin instruction, and I'm moving around the classroom much more.”

MT: “That's excellent, because I had intended to tell you that I was going to collect data on all three areas. the amount of time devoted to lecturing, how long it takes you to begin instruction, and also chart your movement around the room.”

M: “Well, Dr. Solomon, I think you’ll see a lot of improvement in two of those areas, but I have to admit that I can't get the students to stop talking at the beginning, and even during the class.”

MT: “Mrs. Keller, I appreciate your honesty, but I'm concerned that you have not yet introduced a quiet signal to terminate student off-task talking.”

M: “That's not true, Dr. Solomon, I have used your quiet signal, but the kids still go on talking. It may work for you, but it doesn't work for me.”

MT: “Mrs. Keller, I respect the fact that you have tried to implement the quiet signal that we discussed last time. Perhaps I was unclear during our last conversation. I don’t expect you to use my quiet signal. I expect you to create your own quiet signal that informs your students that (a) you are about to begin instruction, and (b) they need to stop talking. This quiet signal can be a timer, a set of hand claps, a short tune, counting down from five to zero, or any visual or auditory prompt that ends off-task peer conversation. On Thursday, I expect you to create your own quiet signal that students honor promptly. In addition, as I indicated earlier, I’ll record the amount of teacher and student talk and your movement during instruction. Do you understand what I am expecting of you, and what I will be looking for during Thursday's observation?”

M: “Yes I do. You expect me to decrease my lecturing, increase my movement around the classroom, and create my own quiet signal that students will honor promptly.”

MT: “Mrs. Keller, I can see that you understand my expectations, and I look forward to visiting your classroom on Thursday.”

* Glickman, C. D. (2002). Leadership for Learning: How to Help Teachers Succeed.Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

On the next post we will describe the Directive-Informational Approach to Mentoring (Glickman, 2002).