The Enhancement Conference (*Hunter and Russell, 1989)

The mentor and mentee identify areas for additional professional growth for the mentee. This type of feedback conference is ideal for self-motivated expert teachers. Mentor and mentee identify areas for additional professional growth for the mentee. This type of feedback conference is ideal for highly motivated, veteran expert teachers.

Objective of the Post-Observation Feedback Conference. To assess the lesson taught by the mentee.

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

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

MT: “Frankly, Mrs. Keller, it’s not really necessary for us to have a conventional post-observation feedback conference. What I would prefer to do during with our time together is to learn about some area of professional growth that you would like to pursue this year or in the future. That is, if that’s all right with you. I’d be happy to tell you all the things I saw you do in class today that demonstrate why I consider you an expert teacher. So what would you like to talk about?”

M: “Well, I do have something that I would love to do this year or perhaps, in the future.”

MT: “And what is that, Mrs. Keller?”

M: “I’d love to mentor beginning teachers. That is, I’d really like to share what I know about teaching Judaics with other teachers.”

MT: “Wow, that’s fantastic, because one of the ideas that the instructional leadership team of our school has been discussing is the gradual transformation of our school into a Jewish professional learning community where experienced teachers would mentor our pre-service and beginning teachers. Let me discuss this further with the Rabbi and the educational director and see what we can do to start a mentoring program at our school.”

* Hunter, M. & Russell, D. (1989). Mastering Coaching and Supervision. El Segundo, CA: TIP Publications.

On the next post we will begin to discuss how the mentor teacher can make the hidden practices of teaching visible to the mentee.

The Brainstorming Conference (*Hunter and Russell, 1989)

The mentor and mentee brainstorm alternative methods of dealing with a teaching event. This type of feedback conference is ideal for pre-service and all in-service teachers except for expert teachers.

Objective of the Post-Observation Feedback Conference. To assess the lesson taught by the mentee.

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

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

M: “Dr. Solomon, can you give me some ideas on how to make the teaching of the brachot more interesting to my students?”

MT: “I have an idea. Let’s think about your question for a minute. Let's list our suggestions on individual sheets of paper, and then alternately share one idea from each list. After sharing our suggestions we can discuss which ones can be easily implemented in your classroom. Do you want to do this type of brainstorming?”

M: “Sure, let’s see what we come up with.”

MT: “Now that we have brainstormed a list of possible learning activities on teaching the brachot, which ones, if any, would you like to implement in your classroom?”

* Hunter, M. & Russell, D. (1989). Mastering Coaching and Supervision. El Segundo, CA: TIP Publications.

On the next post we will explore the Enhancement Conference.

The Mentor Constructive Positive Feedback Conference (*Hunter and Russell, 1989)

The mentor only shares constructive positive feedback regarding the performance of the mentee. This type of feedback conference is ideal for advanced beginning and experienced teachers who have made significant progress in their knowledge of Judaics, and have developed an increased repertoire of instructional and classroom management strategies.

Objective of the Post-Observation Feedback Conference. To assess the lesson taught by the mentee.

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

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

MT: “Mrs. Keller I’m so pleased with the strides you’ve made in the three areas that we've discussed during the pre-conference. You developed your own unique quiet signal, and your students responded promptly to your signal. Now take a look at this Teacher Movement Observation Form that I charted which shows how much you moved around the room while teaching. I also want to commend you on the increased amount of on-task student talk that I charted. During the last observation you lectured ninety percent of instruction time. Today your students spoke appropriately for thirty percent of instruction time. You reduced your lecturing by twenty percent. What a remarkable improvement!”

M: “Thank you, Dr. Solomon. I told you that I’d made steady progress in those areas of concern.”

* Hunter, M. & Russell, D. (1989). Mastering Coaching and Supervision. El Segundo, CA: TIP Publications.

On the next post we will explore the Brainstorming Conference.

The Mentee Constructive Negative and Corrective Feedback Conference (*Hunter and Russell, 1989)

The mentee identifies what did not go well in the lesson (i.e. gives himself/herself constructive negative feedback), and the mentor and mentee brainstorm ways to deal with the situation. This type of feedback conference is ideal for mentees who are highly motivated and self-analytical.

Objective of the Post-Observation Feedback Conference: To assess the lesson taught by the mentee.

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

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

M: “Dr. Solomon, I appreciate what you liked about my lesson. But, I’m more concerned about the things I did in class today that didn’t work very well. Can we discuss those items?”

MT: “Sure. What, in your opinion, didn’t go well?”

M: “ For one, I didn’t like the fact that two boys in the back of the room, Moshe and Shimshon, were talking to each other while I was teaching. I know there is something that I should have done, but I have no idea what to do. Dr. Solomon, do you have any suggestions?”

MT: “I do have some ideas; but, I’d rather do some brainstorming with you so that we can collectively come up with other alternatives. Shall we?”

M: “I guess so. Well, for one thing, I could change their seats.”

MT: “You could also ...”

The brainstorming session between the mentee and the mentor continues. Ultimately they agree upon a plan for implementation.

* Hunter, M. & Russell, D. (1989). Mastering Coaching and Supervision. El Segundo, CA: TIP Publications.

On the next post we will explore the Mentor Constructive Positive Feedback Conference.

The Mentee Constructive Negative and Corrective Feedback Conference (*Hunter and Russell, 1989)

Mentee identifies what did not go well in the lesson (i.e. gives himself/herself constructive negative feedback), and the mentor and mentee brainstorm ways to deal with the situation. This type of feedback conference is ideal for mentees who are highly motivated and self-analytical.

Objective of the Post-Observation Feedback Conference: To assess the lesson taught by the mentee.

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

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

M: “Dr. Solomon, I appreciate what you liked about my lesson. But, I’m more concerned about the things I did in class today that didn’t work very well. Can we discuss those items?”

MT: “Sure. What, in your opinion, didn’t go well?”

M: “ For one, I didn’t like the fact that two boys in the back of the room, Moshe and Shimshon, were talking to each other while I was teaching. I know there is something that I should have done, but I have no idea what to do. Dr. Solomon, do you have any suggestions?”

MT: “I do have some ideas; but, I’d rather do some brainstorming with you so that we can collectively come up with other alternatives. Shall we?”

M: “I guess so. Well, for one thing, I could change their seats.”

MT: “You could also ...”

The brainstorming session between the mentee and the mentor continues. Ultimately they agree upon a plan for implementation.

* Hunter, M. & Russell, D. (1989). Mastering Coaching and Supervision. El Segundo, CA: TIP Publications.

On the next post we will explore the Mentor Constructive Positive Feedback Conference.