Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen, and a push in the right direction. (John C. Crosby)
What are Three Important Strategies for Mentors to Use?
What do new teachers need? They need emotional support, they need some quick wins in the classroom, and they need feedback. The following three strategies will help address these needs.
Listen, Listen, Listen
Listen to whatever they have to say. Try to refrain from interrupting with questions of any kind, only give little dollops of advice, and don't share your "war stories" from your first year teaching. Although many New Teachers are young, see where they can get to when talking through their own problems. That can be very empowering.
Determine Small Goals
Because New Teachers are so overwhelmed with everything, it's essential for the Mentor to narrow what that teacher focuses on in the first months. Help your New Teacher set small, high leverage, measurable goals that can be reached within a few weeks.
Give Feedback
New Teachers need feedback on their emerging teaching practice, but a particular and thoughtful kind of feedback. Perhaps most important is to give feedback that is 1) grounded in observational data and 2) restricted to one or two key points that the teacher can actually do something about.
What Else Should a Mentor Do?
Below is a list of best practices for mentoring of New Teachers to foster a strong sense of teaching efficacy and, hopefully, reduce teacher attrition. As a result of an effective teaching mentoring program, New Teachers will develop a strong sense of resilience to the challenges and changes that plague the field of education and cause teachers to flee.
Make every effort to make your New Teacher feel welcomed and a part of the school family.
Provide opportunities for your New Teacher to learn the ins and outs of the classroom from the start of the school year.
Give your New Teacher a myriad of opportunities to plan and collaborate with you and peers as well as learn “best practices” from job embedded professional development.
Expose your New Teacher to authentic teaching experiences and allow opportunities for rich reflection on a daily basis.
Model for your New Teacher how to institute a consistent and effective classroom management plan.
Support your New Teacher as much as possible. Share valuable websites and resources.
Encourage your New Teacher to attend professional development regularly in order to grow professionally.
Additional Tips for Mentors
The above information was adapted from some of the following sites.
Aguilar, E. (2013). Tips for Coaching New Teachers. EdWeek.org
Barrett, S. (2016). Ten Tips on How to Mentor New Teachers, ASCD
Leach, J. (2014). Twenty seven Tips for Mentoring New Teachers. DailyGenius.com