Mentoring New Teachers

'Provides practical, doable strategies and guidance to mentors, as well as the opportunity to practice those strategies with immediate feedback. A short and easy read for people who need good advice but don't have a lot of time to spare.'uKathy Grover, Assistant SuperintendentClever R-V School District, MOA comprehensive guide for developing successful mentors!Quality mentoring can provide the support and guidance critical to an educator's first years of teaching. In the latest edition of the best-selling Mentoring New Teachers, Hal Portner draws upon research, experience, and insights to provide a comprehensive overview of essential mentoring behaviors. Packed with strategies, exercises, resources, and concepts, this book examines four critical mentoring functions: establishing good rapport, assessing mentee progress, coaching continuous improvement, and guiding mentees toward self-reliance. Tools and topics new to this edition include:Teacher mentor standards based on the NBPTS standards and validated by the International Mentoring AssociationClassroom observation methods and competency instruments Tools to assess preferred learning stylesApproaches to mentoring the nontraditional new teacher A guide for careerlong professional developmentSchool leaders, experienced and prospective mentors, and staff developers can use this step-by-step handbook to create a dynamic mentoring program or revitalize an existing one.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Gerald N. Tirozzi Preface to the Third Edition Who Should Read This Book Overview of the Contents Acknowledgments About the Author Introduction Support for Mentoring Effective Mentors Are Made, Not Born Mentoring Is Not Evaluating Mentoring’s Role in Induction The Mentor’s Primary Role What Mentors Do: The Four Mentoring Functions Teacher Mentor Standards 1. Relating Establishing Trust Paying Attention to Thoughts and Feelings Confidentiality The Student Teacher Dilemma Communicating Nonverbally A Checklist of Relating Behaviors A Mentoring Relationship Is a Serving Relationship 2. Assessing The Nontraditional New Teacher Generic Needs of New Teachers Specific Needs of Your Mentee Gathering Resources Your Mentee’s Learning Preferences Modes of Communication Summary 3. Coaching Coaching Assumptions The Coaching Cycle The Preobservation Conference The Initial Classroom Visit Focused Classroom Observations: When and How Some Observation Considerations The Postobservation Conference When to Show and Tell Coaching Adults Feedback 4. Guiding Guiding Your Mentee’s Journey: A Decision-Making Process Identifying Your Mentee’s Problems Guiding Principles The Unwilling and Unable Mentee The Moderately Willing and Somewhat Able Mentee The Competent and Confident Mentee The All-of-the-Above Mentee From Mentor-Mentee to Peer-Peer 5. Mentoring’s Legacy: Career-Long Professional Development Teacher’s Inquiry Process From TIP to MIP 6. Tips and Observations Set Ground Rules Early Help Change Happen Avoid Information Overload Share Decision Making Know When to Intervene Mentoring, Remediating, and Peer Review Maintain the Relationship Don’t Forget Content What Is Your Mentee Asking For? Know When to Wean Find Time to Mentor Earn Points Toward Teacher Recertification Reflect on Your Mentoring Consider Multiple Mentors Build a Mentoring Community Find Networking Opportunities Remember, Student Learning Is the Goal Pass the Torch Resource A. Teacher Mentor Standards Core Propositions Teacher Mentor Standards Resource B. Learning Style Inventory: Discovering How You Learn Best Resource C. Mentor’s Inquiry Process for Experienced Mentors Focus What Will It Be Like? Activities What Are Your Chances Of Completing the Activities? When Do You Want It? Costs Does It Represent a Worthwhile Challenge? Resource D. The Connecticut Competency Instrument Management of the Classroom Environment Instruction Assessment of Student Progress Resource E. Annotated Bibliography References

About the Author :
Hal Portner is a former K-12 teacher and administrator. He was assistant director of the Summer Math Program for High School Women and Their Teachers at Mount Holyoke College, and for 24 years he was a teacher and then administrator in two Connecticut public school districts. From 1985 to 1995, he was a member of the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Bureau of Certification and Professional Development, where, among other responsibilities, he served as coordinator of the Connecticut Institute for Teaching and Learning and worked closely with school districts to develop and carry out professional development and teacher evaluation plans and programs. Hal developed and teaches for Western New England University a 3 credit MEd in Curriculum and Instruction online core course in Mentoring, Coaching, and professional development. Portner writes, develops materials, trains mentors, facilitates the development of new teacher and peer-mentoring programs, and consults for school districts and other educational organizations and institutions. In addition to Mentoring New Teachers, he is the author of Training Mentors Is Not Enough: Everything Else Schools and Districts Need to Do (2001), Being Mentored: A Guide for Protégés (2002), Workshops that Really Work: The ABCs of Designing and Delivering Sensational Presentations (2005), and editor of Teacher Mentoring and Induction: The State of the Art and Beyond (2005) – all published by Corwin Press. He holds an MEd from the University of Michigan and a 6th-year Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) in education admin­istration from the University of Connecticut. For three years, he was with the University of Massachusetts EdD Educational Leadership Program.

Review :
“The book gets straight to the point of mentoring and provides practical, doable strategies and guidance to mentors, as well as the opportunity to practice those strategies with immediate feedback. A short and easy read for people who need good advice but don’t have a lot of time to spare.” “Provides a concise overview of all the issues mentors need to consider when working with a new teacher. Mentors who are working on their own can easily use this text to support their development.” "Bravo for basing this on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards! Standards for mentoring are long overdue. This book will become a primary resource for our annual mentoring staff development, to be used with both mentors and mentees." "A much-needed resource for teacher mentors. The new and updated strategies and practical approach will give mentors crucial support as they provide assistance and encouragement to new teachers. Portner has clearly demonstrated the importance of both theory and practice in this practical guide." “With the guidance of Hal Portner, our new teacher induction/mentoring program made a turnaround from a bare minimum, “letter of the law” program into a dynamic, teacher-affirming program! Our mentoring team now has a shared vision of the components of effective mentoring and, more importantly, our mentees are reaping the benefits. I wholeheartedly encourage anyone interested in improving their school’s mentoring program to read this book.” “Mentoring is an activity in which both participants gain experience and knowledge, and this book reflects that. Portner presents very practical suggestions for both the mentor and the mentee.” "An essential key to passing on wisdom and an important pick for any education collection."