1. LEARNING FOCUSED RELATIONSHIPS
EXPLORING THE PURPOSE OF MENTORING AND THE ROLE OF MENTORS

2. MENTOR
A TRUSTED ADVISOR, FRIEND, TEACHER, AND WISE PERSON.

3. FOUR BENEFITS TO LEARNING-FOCUSED MENTORING
IMPROVE INSTRUCTIONAL PERFORMANCE AND, THEREFORE; STUDENT LEARNING
TRANSFER DISTRICT POLICY, PROCEDURES AND INITIATIVES
FRAME THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING JOURNEY
PROMOTE THE NORMS OF LEARNING AND COLLABORATION

4. THE PURPOSE OF A LEARNING FOCUSED RELATIONSHIP:
SUPPORTS
CHALLENGES
FACILITATES VISION
Emotional
Physical
Instructional
Institutional
Goal-driven (PGP)
Data-focused (observations)
Thought-provoking (learning focused conversations)
High expectations for self and students
Lifelong learning
Professional identity

5. Support, Challenge and Vision
Support without challenge and vision offers comfort but little growth.
Challenge and vision without support can lead to anxiety and frustration.
Support and challenge without vision can leave us wandering.

6. The Role of the Mentor
Consulting: giving advice, answering questions, sharing materials, imparting information about district policy and initiatives.
Collaborating: working together to increase the instructional capacity of both teachers.
Coaching: acting as the “guide on the side”, observing, collecting data, giving feedback, engaging in learning focused conversations, assisting the teacher in meeting his/her professional goals

7. A Continuum of Learning-Focused Interaction

8. Consulting, Collaborating and Coaching
Answering questions about district policy
Giving advice about how to handle an unhappy parent
Showing resource guides for math
Giving a worksheet to correspond with a math target
Thinking aloud about your own ‘what and why’s of teaching
Explaining how you set up your classroom
Sharing a list of the rules and consequences for your classroom
Sharing your grading policies with a new teacher
Engaging in a book study
Discussing the key points of a recently attended staff meeting
Co-planning a unit of study
Co-planning a lesson
Co-teaching a lesson
Reading and discussing a professional article
Examining student work and discussing instructional implications
Both teachers sharing successes and challenges of a recently taught unit of study
Creating formative and summative assessments as a team
Engaging in a learning focused conversation about the teacher’s professional goals
Observing the teacher and providing feedback
Collecting data for the teacher in relationship to his/her goals
Allowing the teacher to observe your teaching and conducting a reflection conversation afterward
Discussing the teacher’s professional aspirations and future goals

9. Please take a moment to…
Add ONE idea to your thinking about the PURPOSE of the mentoring relationship
Add ONE question that you may have about your role as a mentor
Create a new visual OR revise your original visual to represent the mentor/mentee relationship.