Self-Evaluation & Development Plan document

Mentoring in Schools Self-Evaluation & Development Plan How to use this document FOR THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF THIS DOCUMENT 1. Complete the section for the Module you are currently on 2. Complete the background information in the table below this list 3. Save the document in Word or Open Office format.

4. Continue completing it as we progress in the course 5. Submit the final document in section e of Module 4

BACKGROUND INFORMATION Years of Mentoring Experience Brief description of your mentoring situation School-based or External Mentor?

Link to your Learning Diary (optional)

0 ( 27 yrs experience as an EFL teacher, but none as a mentor) -----------------------------

https://padlet.com/teacheralex_dua/Mentoring

MODULE 1: Current Practice

Desired Practice

Steps to achieve Desired Practice

Describe in 1-3 sentences how you see your role as a mentor.

Focus on the type of mentoring that you currently provide (or plan to provide) your mentee. In this context think about the different types of mentors identified by Professor FeimanNemser in section 1.1. of the course to guide you in your description:  Local guides – show mentee how things work  Educational companions - teachers of teaching, keep their eye on long-term goals of mentee’s learning  Agents of change – create collaborative school environment where mentee can feel safe and supported across the school

Describe in 1-3 sentences how you would like to develop as a mentor in general. Are you satisfied with your own work as a mentor? What general changes would you want to see in your current practice.

Describe in a bulleted list what you need to do in order to achieve any desired changes/developments identified in the previous column. Try to identify small concrete steps that will allow you to realistically progress towards your desired practice.

My former mentors were and still are my models: in a mentoring relationship I see myself first as a real (local) guide to a non-threatening working group within the school grounds; then as an educational companion in the sense that I will be a teacher in teaching them methodologies and pedagogy taking into account the mentee’s long-term goals, as well as an agent of change, by sharing and collaborating, by making them feel safe and supported taking them under their wing.

Therefore, I believe I would (like to) be a little of the 3 types identified in the video. As a final note, I would love to be a real model as a teacher and as a human being as my former mentors were – available and someone they can count on.

I’ve never been a mentor but if that should ever happen, I would embrace it the best way possible, preferably by teaching fewer hours thus having more time available to spend with the mentee as well as to develop resources and prepare lessons. With collaborative work and conversations, I am positive I would learn from them or complement my knowledge, for example, on the latest web 2.0 tools to use them more (and effectively) in my classroom.

. Contact the headmaster to let her know I’ll be involved in a mentoring relationship so that she can also provide for some time available as well as a venue for meetings / developing resources / preparing lessons; . Set short, medium and long –term goals; . As a mentor, encourage mentees to identify their areas for development; . Provide reliable sources for personal development, work methodologies and research; . Also leaving my comfort zone, I am willing to implement some new ideas in the classroom – as long as they are curriculum adequate - hopefully following some of the mentee’s ideas so that they feel listened to.

Describe in 1-3 sentences how you usually start (or plan to start) a mentoring relationship. What do you do with your mentee in your first session? What do you do in preparation for your first session?

Describe in 1-3 sentences how you would envision an ideal beginning to a mentoring relationship. What needs to be in place in order to develop a trusting and positive relationship right from the start?

Describe in a bulleted list what you need to do in order to achieve any desired changes/developments identified in the previous column. Try to identify small concrete steps that will allow you to realistically progress towards your desired practice.

As an experienced teacher who has long been teaching in the same school, aware of the school environment and

expectations, in a first session, I would start by lightening up any existing tension and nervousness by inviting the mentee for a cup of tea or coffee and by sharing some info of my professional life in order to make them feel at ease and understand that, being a lifelong learner, I’m also positive to develop my own practice through a mentoring relationship, always willing to learn, to share, to collaborate, to support – and be challenged. Just like with young learners in our classrooms so is with mentees (and all people, I would say): only in a stimulating environment and when confident enough, will true learning take place. In this case, there wouldn’t be any specific preparation…I just would be myself and examples would be drawn from my own experience!

In a relaxed environment, both mentor and mentee would engage in a positive conversation about being a teacher and a student in the 21st century, about goals and expectations with both willing to share, learn and collaborate. Given the mentee’s vulnerability, as a mentor I’m naturally open-

Describe in 1-3 sentences how you help your mentee in finding their place at the school. What specific advice do you provide?

Do you introduce your mentee to relevant colleagues, administrators, etc.? Do you rehearse certain out-of-class situations with your mentee?

Describe in 1-3 sentences how you would like to support your mentee to become more comfortable at whole-school level and to make effective use of school processes, colleagues, partners, etc.

Describe in a bulleted list what you need to do in order to achieve any desired changes/developments identified in the previous column. Try to identify small concrete steps that will allow you to realistically progress towards your desired practice.

Introducing a mentee to relevant colleagues and administrators would be one of first steps at school so that they are also acknowledged as staff and become part of the school community.

Being a teacher for so long and having “played” so many roles, as a mentor it’s relevant to demonstrate that to the mentee: being hands-on not only with bureaucratic stuff, but also academic with students and colleagues alike. Therefore, by modelling the type of work a teacher does across the school community, I would highlight, rehearse and roleplay some outof-class situations that may occur, especially with parents (kind of FAQ).

By introducing the mentee to relevant colleagues, the mentor opens doors for them so that they know who to go to voice their concerns.

When modelling active and positive involvement in planning and designing curricula, or to assess students’ progress, their achievement; by being available and supportive in managing the curricula, assessment criteria, planning and preparing resources and test structure, participating in meetings (with parents or staff), problem-solving techniques and strategies, how to get involved in projects like etwinning and/or Erasmus+, - I would be doing all that I can to make them comfortable at school and to interact effectively with the community.

. “Open doors” for my mentee; . Advise who to talk to; . Be a role model in our school community; . Schedule (at least) a weekly meeting; . Rehearse likely situations with my mentee; . Request critical self-reflection; (Besides the issues already mentioned in previous columns, mentoring often goes well beyond the classroom and may even include suggesting opportunities for professional development and lifelong learning, or associations of language teachers. For example, the Portuguese APPI – the Portuguese Association of English Teachers) embraces language teachers of all levels, provides TDC and organises conferences, seminars, webinars and workshops. This way, as a mentor, I would be ensuring an immediate support but also providing for my mentee’s long-term success in the teaching career.)

minded, and would be objective, displaying my passion for teaching ready to really listen to them, without ever asserting authority in order to create an atmosphere where mistakes can be openly discussed and problems addressed.

. Give them insight about the setting and provide some guidance on what’s not so obvious to novice teachers; . Interaction on how to articulate setting / curriculum / class size and classroom management; . Showcase my openness to new educational trends and receptiveness to new approaches: all have routines but education / methodologies / pedagogy keep changing and there’s a need to constantly update. Likewise, new generations of mentees keep coming and there’s a need to adapt to new realities / tools…; .Foster dialogue educator-facilitator as a way of valuing all situations as a form of learning.

MODULE 2: Current Practice

Desired Practice

Steps to achieve Desired Practice

Describe in 1-3 sentences how collaborative your current mentoring relationship is. Think about the definition of collaboration used by Rachel in section 2.1 and if possible briefly describe an example/situation that illustrates a collaborative practice. If you are not yet in a mentoring relationship, identify the focus and nature of collaborative work you plan to do with your mentee.

Describe in 1-3 sentences what level of collaboration you would like to achieve with your mentee. Think about what level of collaboration is realistic, taking into account time constraints, different interests, etc. Try to identify the level of collaboration that you would be comfortable with.

Describe in a bulleted list what you need to do in order to achieve any desired changes/developments identified in the previous column. Try to identify small concrete steps that will allow you to realistically progress towards your desired practice.

I’m not – never have been – in a mentoring relationship.

However, as I said before, I’m a lifelong learner and receptive to other people’s ideas and experiences. Therefore, I’m pretty sure I would embark in this mentoring relationship having in mind it’s a mutual form of professional development – just like in any TDC or MOOC where we exchange ideas and materials, successes and weaknesses. Collaborative conversations are really productive and rewarding as is the use of collaborative online tools to jot down and organise ideas outside of the school. In case there are common interests, both can embrace joint activities such as developing common assessment documents, rubrics or the pedagogic use of ICT in the classroom.

Time constraints are a real hurdle for collaborative conversations as teachers have many different classes and are always being distracted and interrupted from their stuff while at school. That’s exactly why I mentioned collaborative online tools. I’m familiar with some and they are optimal as they can be used any time, anywhere. Realistically speaking, all contributions in collaborative conversations are welcome and as for online tools, I’m a fan: being a full time teacher and a mum of two, I have to juggle school, school tasks and household chores and kids, and have learnt to take advantage of these ubiquitous tools.

. Share contacts (phone /email address) and agree to be ok to reach the other outside of the school walls; . Meet (at least) on a weekly basis; . Share some online tools for collaborative work. In case mentor or mentee isn’t familiar with any of them, allow some time to try out; .Decide on one or two collaborative tools; .Besides the daily contacts at school, which often take place during short breaks, allow some time for collaborative conversations including for discussing progress using those online tools in our desired practice; . Request critical self-reflection

Describe in 1-3 sentences the level of trust that exists from both sides in your mentoring relationship What do you do to build such trust? What did you or the mentee do to destroy trust? If you are not yet in a mentoring relationship describe the level of trust that existed in a similar type of relationship you have experienced in the past (when you were a mentee yourself or with a more senior colleague) as well as how trust/distrust developed.

Describe in 1-3 sentences the level of trust you would like to achieve with your mentee. Think about to what extent you are comfortable to open up and tell your mentee about your weaknesses, fears, etc. and how comfortable are you for the mentee to open up for example about personal issues that might play into their wellbeing at school.

Describe in a bulleted list what you need to do in order to achieve any desired changes/developments identified in the previous column. Try to identify small concrete steps that will allow you to realistically progress towards your desired practice.

My first teaching experience was almost 30 years ago but I still remember it very clearly. Unlike many situations highlighted by other colleagues, I had two mentors, one for each subject I was

I’m not perfect not as a person, not as a professional.

When my students ask me questions I don’t know the answer or am not 100% sure, I’m pretty honest and tell

Based on the link suggested, I would summarise it this way: . Elegant paraphrase: the power of the paraphrase (by summarising the other person’s ideas in one sentence), is to

teaching: English and German as Foreign Languages. We had class observations followed by discussions, there were also weekly meetings, they modelled documents and materials, classroom practices, everything. Though I was young, unexperienced and felt insecure, I’ve never felt I was on my own as I could even call them in case I needed any kind of guidance or support. I felt reassured by their wise comments and learnt to trust their wisdom: they were both educational companions in the sense that they were my teachers in teaching methodologies and pedagogy, as well as agents of change in that time, making me feel safe and supported at all times. They were / are real models as teachers and human beings. It was definitely a year of change, of hardship and stress, but so worthwhile with so much learning and enriching experiences. Real life and teaching came the following year and experience has been the best teacher (adapted from a Latin Proverb).

them “Let me check it”. With a mentee, I would do the same. Being exposed to hundreds of students and parents, colleagues, and mentees, for me, it implies I have to be humble and admit that I don’t know everything. This honesty is crucial for developing a climate of trust so that concerns and mistakes can be discussed and problems addressed and both can learn from them.

Active listening and thought-provoking questioning are of paramount importance: open-ended questions, learning questions, and solution-focused questions should be made for evaluation so that mentees become more autonomous, to consolidate their learning and enable them to move forward.

let the person know that their message has been listened to and understood. . Have the other person explore their options: instead of being the mentor to say what they should do, the mentor solicits for their own ideas. Usually the person has already given it some thought and having the person explore their options, empowers and guides their thinking. . After this exploring the options phase, plan their next step or steps. . The final phase if to check if those plans are working. So the final phase is self-evaluation for protégé.

Describe in 1-3 sentences what you do to stimulate and scaffold your discussions with your mentee. Refer to the Conversation Map introduced in section 2.3 for this and think about your process of listening. What specific strategies/phrases do you use to stimulate reflection and forward thinking? How well do they work? If you are not yet in a mentoring relationship describe how you proceed in similar relationships, possibly with students in class or when marking work.

Describe in 1-3 sentences how you would ideally stimulate and scaffold reflection and discussion with your mentee. Which approaches explored in section 2.3 would you want to implement?

Describe in a bulleted list what you need to do in order to achieve any desired changes/developments identified in the previous column. Try to identify small concrete steps that will allow you to realistically progress towards your desired practice.

With students in class, I tend to ask questions to make them think so that they can reflect on any given word / process / situation. The same would be with any given mentee: . After exploring the options in a given context, I question students and, as a mentor, I would ask the mentee: what will you do tomorrow? What will be your next steps? . And to check if the plans/ strategies are working: How do you know you’re being successful? How well have you accomplished your goals? What have you learned from the experience? What has changed? Is there more room or improvement? If you have to teach this lesson again, what would you change?

I found the material and links provided in section 2.3 very enlightening and would implement all the steps to stimulate (self-)reflection and discussion with a mentee.

All the info and videos available are excellent for showcasing all phases. As a teacher and a mentor, listening and asking thought-provoking, open questions to bounce the topic under discussion are crucial and implemented every single class with students.

Therefore, as a mentor, I would like to encourage this contact self-reflection and ownership of their development and growth as teachers so that they feel self-confident.

. Active listening: being available to listen (both mentally and in real time); . Effective questioning: may be very simple questions, but can be thought-provoking to stimulate careful attention and consideration; . Challenging in questioning, in ideas for the classroom to allow the mentee to flourish, to consolidate learning, and become (more) self-confident and autonomous; . Avoid prescriptive talk; . Always be there to plan, to instil reflection and problem solving.

By soliciting ideas from the person, the student or possible mentee I’m also encouraging them to be more evaluative of their own practice, they feel they are leading the conversation and feel empowered and guided in their own learning. What we’re really doing as a mentor, is that we’re supporting and enabling that scaffolding, mediating the person’s thinking.

MODULE 3: Current Practice

Desired Practice

Steps to achieve Desired Practice

Describe in 1-3 sentences how you currently prepare for a lesson observation. Do you discuss a focus for the observation with your mentee? Do you plan on how to gather information and data about the observation focus? Do you use a pro-forma already as part of your preparation? If you have never observed anyone, think about how things were done when you were observed yourself.

Describe in 1-3 sentences if and how you would like to develop your lesson observation planning and preparations. How would you want to change the proforma you are currently using? What questions would you want to ask your mentee? What other preparations do you think would be useful?

Describe in a bulleted list what you need to do in order to achieve any desired changes/developments identified in the previous column. Try to identify small concrete steps that will allow you to realistically progress towards your desired practice.

I have never observed anyone, but, back when I was a mentee and had lesson observations to prepare, I carefully outlined the lesson goals, lesson plan and every single step had to be detailed as well as the materials and when I was going to use them. We always had meetings before the observation classes to fine-tune all the details. Both my mentor, other student teachers and sometimes also the university coordinator would be there and I should ensure the plan was followed and the goals were achieved. However, what I always noticed because it was discussed afterwards, was that my mentor was very attentive to all that was going on in the classroom and that included all interactions between T and St, if I accomplished what I had set out to do as well as how I managed the classroom simultaneously. There was no checklist, just notes in the documents I had provided beforehand which meant that the after meetings were always very proficuous: first came the compliments, then what I could have done differently and suggestions for improvement if it was the case.

I’ve always believed that the process I’ve just described was the correct one. If I ever become a mentor, I’ll try to do the same and now, after watching the videos, even with more conviction that this is the most effective way to provide feedback after a lesson observation.

In case I had to use an observation grid, I would focus it on differentiated pedagogy, class management and innovative classroom practices.

Reframe observation notes with mentee’s view: . What didn’t they notice? . What did they recognise as success? . What did they recognise as challenge?

In case I had to use observation grids: . Creation of a pre-observation grid to be filled in by mentees with info about their class focus; . Apply it for after observation and self-reflection so that the mentee can check the degree of accomplishment and the mentor can provide constructive feedback; . I would include student participation, but differently, according to their ages: with younger learners, I would create focus groups; with more mature and responsible students who already have the ability to reflect on a lesson, I would provide them with a pro-forma to be filled in during class.

Describe in 1-3 sentences your current follow-up to a lesson observation and how you give feedback. What type of questioning do you use? Do you share all your notes with your mentee? What is the first thing you tell your mentee after the observation?

Describe in 1-3 sentences how you would like to develop your lesson observation follow-up. What would your ideal steps in the follow-up look like? What example phrasings can you identify that you think would work well in your situation?

Describe in a bulleted list what you need to do in order to achieve any desired changes/developments identified in the previous column. Try to identify small concrete steps that will allow you to realistically progress towards your desired practice.

Again, I was mentored but have never mentored any colleague.

I would like these follow-up sessions to be constructive, self-reflective and effective. To achieve this, here are

. Praise; . Allow mentee to celebrate their success;

In any case, I would use the structure mentioned by Rachel and referred to in the previous column.

Back to when I was a mentee, after every observed lesson there was a meeting and all started with appraisal, celebration of what had been achieved. I reflected on what I did, my colleagues and mentor provided feedback and we discussed what could have been done differently, what could be improved. All notes were on the desk for all to see, nothing was hidden.

Nowadays, I would do the same.

some types of intervention / example phrasings in a lesson observation follow-up or feedback session: . I liked the way… . How did you feel? . How do you think the … activity went? . Why don’t you…? . I think you would get more students to do that if … . It seems to me that XXXX example was very well chosen. . I noticed that you… why?

. Questioning - Ask targeted questions; . Ask about next steps; . Suggestion of rehearsal for future situations that may need improvement.

MODULE 4: Current Practice

Desired Practice

Steps to achieve Desired Practice

Describe in 1-3 sentences if and how you currently use video as a tool in your mentoring practice. If you are not using video, you can leave this part blank. What type of tools are you using?

What is the process of recording video? How do you embed video into your mentoring conversations?

Describe in 1-3 sentences if and how you would like to use video in your mentoring practice. Which of the tools highlighted on the course could be used as part of this?

What practical improvements would you need (recording quality, etc.)? How would you want the use of video embedded into your mentoring conversations?

Describe in a bulleted list what you need to do in order to achieve any desired changes/developments identified in the previous column. Try to identify small concrete steps that will allow you to realistically progress towards your desired practice.

I’ve never been involved in a video recording situation to be later analysed and discussed, but I believe I would be really nervous no matter my years of experience.

In class, though, and only for etwinning projects, students have already recorded themselves and I usually give them feedback but, again, never in a(n) (adult) mentoring situation. Students usually use their own mobile phones for school recordings and we’ve also been involved in videoconferencing within eTwinning projects – always very rewarding experiences for myself and the learners.

At this point, I would like to add that there now strict regulations in Portugal concerning the use of audio and video in school contexts to safeguard students’ privacy and even with AUPs signed, we can’t share much.

For TDCs I’ve recorded myself and used Screencast-o-matic and loved it as it’s very user-friendly.

I often use video recordings…mostly from TED lessons and their lesson plans. In Portugal, in some schools even mobile phones are banned and as I’ve just mentioned, there’s strict legislation concerning recording students in school activities and to be honest, all try to comply to prevent parental anger or school problems.

In a mentoring situation, any tool would be great if we could use them but the recordings would always have to be from the back of the classroom. Should I be a mentor, I would embed video in my mentoring conversations . to share and encourage best practices; . to facilitate discussions; . to reflect and analyse classroom situations for future improvement; . to exemplify effective strategies in different classrooms; . to be able to identify what may need improvement.

If it were in my hands, there would be . Softer / less strict internal school and official regulations concerning the use of mobile phones and video recordings in educational situations; . And I would definitely improve the speed of the internet connection.

I believe there’s not much I can do as both constraints are rather at a macro level (concerning the legal framework), not at a micro level (personal).

Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer interested in pursuing the teaching career nowadays and, therefore, there have been no mentees at my school for a long time.

Describe in 1-3 sentences if and how you mentor online. If you are not currently mentoring online you can leave this part blank.

In what context are you mentoring online? What type of tools do you use? What process do you follow?

Describe in 1-3 sentences if and how you would like to mentor online. If you don’t see any application of online mentoring in your context you can leave this part blank.

Describe in a bulleted list what you need to do in order to achieve any desired changes/developments identified in the previous column. Try to identify small concrete steps that will allow you to realistically progress towards your desired practice. If you have left the previous column blank you can also leave this column blank.

Have never been a mentor, much less online.

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Thank you  Alex_PT