EDUC 744 941 Mentoring Teachers
Online Course 3 semester hours graduate credit
Instructor: Alfi Velasco-Hurst
Tuition and Registration
Dates
September 20 - November 19, 2010
Description
Current research and strategies to support, guide and foster personal and professional growth of new educators.
Designed for PK-16 general educators, special educators, guidance counselors, school nurses, other support staff, administrators, teachers supervising student teachers and pupil service personnel seeking professional development.
This course will focus on how to provide a support system for initial educators including ongoing orientation; a professional learning community; support seminars; confidential formative assessment; and the Professional Development Plan team process.
Textbook
The Mentoring Year: A Step-by-Step Program for Professional Development by Susan Udelhofen and Kathy Larson (Corwin Press, Inc. 2003). This book is available from online book stores and can be ordered from most local book dealers. Readings will be assigned from this textbook.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Articulate an understanding of the role, benefits, and impact of serving as a teacher mentor. (WI DPI 10; WI DPI-Admin 3)
- Research and analyze the needs of initial educators, educator standards, and benefits of a mentoring program for the initial educator and the school. (WI DPI 10; WI DPI-Admin 3)
- Research and analyze the characteristics and behaviors of effective mentors when providing support, assistance, and feedback during observing and conferencing.. (WI DPI 9, 10; WI DPI-Admin 3)
- Demonstrate an awareness of the potential problems that are likely to occur in a mentoring relationship and apply best practice strategies and effective responses to minimize the problems. (WI DPI 10; WI DPI-Admin 3)
- Initiate a mentor/mentee relationship and establish a foundation of trust, communication, collaboration, and reflective practice. (WI DPI 6, 9; WI DPI-Admin 3)
- Identify best practices for creating and maintaining a safe environment for the mentee to attain and sustain a mastery level of teaching in an active, positive learning environment that supports school, district, and state curricula. (WI DPI 10; WI DPI-Admin 1, 3)
- Utilize and adapt a wide range of online resources when planning mentoring activities including inventories, readings, and a mentor/teacher journal. (WI DPI 10 ; WI DPI-Admin 3)
- Differentiate appropriate and inappropriate use of specific communication skills such as paraphrasing, active listening, and clarifying. (WI DPI 6; WI DPI-Admin 3)
- Design a professional development plan with a mentee including self-reflection, goals/benchmarks, activities, timelines, evidence of collaboration, and data as evidence of success in an assessment plan. (WI DPI 9, 10; WI DPI-Admin 1, 3)
Content Outline
Why mentor?
Benefits to mentors, initial teacher/mentee and districts
Reflections on mentor's own first year of teaching
Research review - "Top 12" first year problems encountered by beginning teachers
Helping new teachers stay on top of their workload
Case Study: Characteristics of Mentors and Getting Started
Characteristics of successful mentoring programs
Establishing rapport and developing trust and communication
Building collegial relationships; providing moral support
Mentor responsibilities
Observation and feedback
Learning journal
Understanding Assessment & Feedback
Techniques, strategies and assessments used to analyze professional practice, classroom environment, curriculum and standards, and promote reflection
Establishing Goals for Mutual Benefit
Setting goals
Writing the professional development plan
Checking the plan
Observing and documenting the change process in a reflective journal
Sustaining the mentor relationship
Writing the Professional Development Plan
A mentor log of activities
Mentor guide for self and initial teacher
Initiating the outline for a professional development plan
Peer feedback of a peer’s professional development plan
Reflective journaling
Alignment with Teaching Standards
Course objectives are aligned with the following:
Wisconsin Standards for Teacher Development and Licensure
(WI DPI) 6, 9, 10
Wisconsin Educator Standards for Administration Development and Licensure
(WI DPI) 1, 3
No travel to campus required
Because this class is online and open to you 24/7, you may participate from your home or work computer during hours that are flexible and convenient for your work and family schedule and responsibilities.
The class is highly interactive with a significant discussion component. All discussion postings, projects and assignments will be submitted via the course discussion board and dropbox. Activities are conducted according to a schedule with specific due dates each week; there are no required "live" chat sessions.
What Our Students Say...
"The mentor course was very sequential in nature and had information at every activity level that was very relevant to what is actually going on in the educational setting in school districts. The course provided the tools and information to successfully deal with mentoring, no matter what level of education the students in the class were at. From my point of view as a district administrator it has better prepared me to deal with this topic from writing and implementing policies and procedures to helping new staff with topics to make them as successful as possible as educators."
~ Superintendent
Riverdale, Wisconsin
"This course offers you the chance to reflect on your past experience and allows you the chance to better yourself both as an individual through mentoring, and as a professional. The instructor is great. I felt like she cared about us as individuals and about our learning experience. "
~ Middle School Language Arts/Reading Strategies
Manawa, Wisconsin
"This course really helps to begin to understand the challenges for initial educators today."
~ Elementary Teacher
Janesville, Wisconsin
"This course offers strategies to make the best of your first year of teaching and beyond. I was able to see through the eyes of others that were at different levels in education and to understand their concerns."
~ High School Principal
Rhinelander, Wisconsin
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AccreditationThe School of Education at University of Wisconsin-Stout is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), 2010 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036; phone (202) 466-7496.UW-Stout School of Education's undergraduate and graduate professional education programs including majors, minors, and concentrations are accredited by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. University of Wisconsin-Stout is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges & Schools (NCA) located at 30 LaSalle Street, Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602. Phone: 312-263-0456 or 800/621-7440 fax #312/263-7462. |
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Contact Us: School of Education
Online Professional Development
University of Wisconsin - Stout Menomonie, WI 54751
Phone: 715-232-2253
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