The Nondirective 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 Nondirective Approach to

Mentoring (*Glickman, 2002)

The nondirective approach invites mentees to determine and design their own professional development program. This approach is ideal with experienced teachers who possess (a) a sophisticated knowledge of Judaics, and (b) an abundant knowledge and varied repertoire in teaching and learning. These highly self-motivated professionals do not need any direction from the mentor (unless requested) as to what staff development initiatives would best serve them, their students, and the learning outcomes of the schools.

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

MT: “Mrs. Keller, having taught at our school for the past ten years, and having received excellent ratings, I'm wondering what your professional goal or goals for the year are, and what we can do to help you achieve those goals.”

M: “Thank you, Dr. Solomon for your words of encouragement. Are you sure you don't want me to work on any specific school outcomes as we have discussed in the past?”

MT: “Mrs. Keller, I assure you that I have no hidden agenda. I truly want to know what you’d like to achieve this year as your professional goal, and what we can do to assist you.”

M: “Well, I’d really like to get greater parent involvement in what I’m teaching their children.”

MT: “You say greater involvement of the parents. What do you mean by that?”

M: "Well, I mean, I'd like to see the parents or guardians reinforce at home what I’m teaching their children in class.”

MT: “That sounds like a great idea. What specifically could you do to make that happen?”

M: “Well, I'm not sure. Perhaps I'll send the parents and guardians a letter explaining what I intend to do this year, and suggest a number of things that they can do to assist me.”

MT: “Mrs. Keller that's a wonderful idea? Would you like to write the first draft of that letter to parents and have me edit it? What else can I do to assist you?”

M: “Dr. Solomon, I'll write the first draft of the letter, and then I'll get back to you. Okay?”

MT: “That sounds great. Throughout the year we can discuss ways of engaging parents and guardians in the Jewish education of their children. This might include parent involvement in classroom and home-based activities or a special evening meeting at the school for the parents and guardians of your students. If you like, we can co-facilitate that session. Before we conclude our conference, I have one question for you, Mrs. Keller, how am I going to assess your professional growth during the year?”

M: “Oh, Dr. Solomon, that's no problem. I'll use the Professional Reflection Log to document the interventions, and my personal learnings throughout the school year. Each quarter I'll share my reflection log with you, and you can offer your feedback and comments.”

MT: “That's a wonderful idea. I'm really looking forward to working with you on this project this year.”

M: “Me, too.”

* 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 introduce five different types of post-observation conferences developed by M. Hunter.

The Collaborative 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 Collaborative Approach to Mentoring (*Glickman, 2002)

The collaborative approach invites mentees to jointly design their professional development program with the mentor. The approach is ideal for advanced beginning and some experienced teachers who possess (a) a sophisticated knowledge of Judaics, and (b) an abundant knowledge and varied repertoire in teaching and learning. These highly self- motivated mentees are eager to co-design with the mentor staff development initiatives that meet the needs of the mentee, and their students, and also the learning outcomes of the school.

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

MT: “Mrs. Keller, let's talk a little bit about your goal or goals for this year. Is there something specific that you would like to do with your students?”

M: “Yes, there is, Dr. Solomon. I'd really like to get my students more actively engaged in the lessons I teach. When I talk to them too much I see boredom in their body language, and I want to change that. I know other teachers are more successful at getting their students energized about Judaics, but I don't know how to change my style of teaching.”

MT: “Okay, I have a thought; let's brainstorm a list of things that you can easily do to get your students to become more actively engaged in learning in your classroom. Name one simple change you can make that might energize your students, and I'll record it on this paper. Then, I'll offer a suggestion.”

M: “How about asking my students what they want to learn in this class?”

MT: “Okay, I'll write that down. Let me offer another idea. How about using, Turn to Your Neighbor”.

M: “Oh, I know that one; that's easy. I just never tried it. That reminds me, I could try Think-Pair-Share with my students. That also seems simple to do.”

MT: “You could also do a Two-Step or Paired Interview.”

M: “What's that?”

MT: “That's where you pose a question to your students; they form pairs, and interview each other.”

M: “That doesn't sound complicated, but I don't want to give myself too many things to introduce to my class right now.”

MT: “Fair enough, which one or two would you like to try to implement?”

M: “I definitely want to try Turn to Your Neighbor and Think-Pair-Share.”

MT: “Great. Would you like me to do a demonstration lesson on how to implement these activities with your students?”

M: “Not really, but I'd like to observe how Ms. Sherling uses these cooperative procedures in her classroom. Can you make that happen, Dr. Solomon?”

MT: “Let me talk to Ms. Sherling about that, and I'll get back to you. But in the meantime, perhaps you can practice Turn to Your Neighbor and Think-Pair-Share with your family at home. That's how I started. I told my wife and children that I needed to practice some teaching methods at home before I brought them into my classroom. I'm so thankful they agreed to give it a try.”

M: “That's not a bad idea. I'll try these on my two kids and husband tonight at dinner.”

MT: “Sounds like a plan. In three weeks, we'll set up a time to observe you using these active learning instructional strategies in your classroom. We'll also discuss and perhaps co-create an observation instrument that would best work for you. How does that sound, Mrs. Keller?”

M: “Terrific!”

* 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 Nondirective Approach to Mentoring (Glickman, 2002).

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

The directive-informational approach invites mentees to select a professional development program from a set of options presented by the mentor. This approach is ideal for pre-service, novice, and beginning teachers who possess (a) an elementary knowledge of Judaics, and (b) an elementary knowledge, and limited repertoire in teaching and learning. These highly self-motivated mentees do not yet have the knowledge base or experience to determine what staff development initiatives would best serve them, their students, and the learning outcomes of the school.

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

MT: “Mrs. Keller, before I observe your class, let's talk about your professional goals for the year. Can you tell me more about what you’d like to achieve this year?”

M: “Well, Dr. Solomon, I have two goals. I want to smoothly integrate Judaics into my teaching, and have fewer disciplinary problems this year.”

MT: “Mrs. Keller, integrating Judaics and reducing disciplinary problems are two excellent instructional and classroom management goals for the year. Let's talk about how you might accomplish those goals. Have you considered using Judaic knowledge like the middah, derech eretz, or kavod, as the foundational concept for your classroom disciplinary plan?”

M: “Not really. Can you explain to me how that would work?”

MT: “Of course. You can begin the year by explaining to your students that Jewish education is different from public education in that it is based on Jewish virtues or middot, such as derech eretz (showing civility toward others) or kavod (showing respect for others). Then you can do a lesson on how a particular middah, such as derech eretz, is reflected in your classroom. That is, you could facilitate a classroom discussion on what derech eretz would look and sound like if a parent or teacher came into your room.”

M: “That's a great idea. It would hit both of my goals. But exactly how would I do that?”

MT: “Well, we have several choices, I could describe to you now how I would do it, or I could do a demonstration lesson in your class. What would be most helpful to you?”

M: “With all due kavod to you Dr. Solomon, I'd prefer that you tell me how you would teach this lesson, rather than have you demonstrate it in my class. Frankly, I don't want my students to see me as being a novice teacher, even though I know that I am.”

MT: “That's not a problem. Here is what I would do ....”

M: “Thank you, Dr. Solomon; I'm going to practice this lesson with my first class, and then invite you to observe my second class.”

MT: “Mrs. Keller that sounds great. During the orientation meeting in August, we distributed the teacher handbook in which there were listed several observation instruments. What instrument would you like me to use?”

M: “Dr. Solomon, would you mind using the one with the three columns, time, observation, and comments, and focus your observation on how I taught the middah, derech eretz? I'd like your feedback on two issues: Was I clear in explaining derech eretz, and were my students able to describe what derech eretz should sound and look like in my classroom. Can you do that?”

MT: “That's exactly what I will do. Thank you, Mrs. Keller.”

* 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 Collaborative Approach to Mentoring (Glickman, 2002).

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).