Mentor Professional Development

Mentor Professional Development Offerings

Supporting new teachers is complex and demanding work, and rarely intuitive. Exemplary classroom educators do not always become outstanding teacher educators. Veteran teachers stepping forward to mentor beginning colleagues need time, careful training, and ongoing support to develop new skills and understandings that will enable them to become talented teachers of teachers. In response to the belief that strong mentor professional development is essential, the New Teacher Center offers a menu of trainings from which educational organizations can choose to support the growth of mentors, coaches, supervisors, master teachers, consultant teachers, principals, and coordinators of induction programs. The trainings are offered regionally on selected dates throughout the year on a per participant enrollment basis. NTC trainings are also available to school districts, universities, and other educational entities on a contractual basis.

For those organizations seeking a comprehensive scope and sequence of mentor training, the NTC offers a Mentor Academy series. The NTC is also available for consultations to support induction program development and implementation.

Download the NTC Professional Development Brochure

• Foundations in Mentoring
• Coaching and Observation Strategies
• Mentoring for Powerful Teaching: Using Student Work to Guide Instruction
• Coaching in Complex Situations
• Designing and Presenting Professional Development for Beginning Teachers
• Mentoring for Equity
• Creating and Facilitating Meetings That Promote Mentor Development
• The Site Administrator's Role in Supporting Beginning Teachers

Foundations in Mentoring (2 days)

To support mentors in responding to each new teacher’s developmental and contextual needs and promote the ongoing examination of classroom practice

• Create a Vision of Quality Teaching
• Define Mentoring Roles
• Identify New Teacher Needs
• Understand the Attitudinal Phases of New Teacher Development
• Build an Effective Mentoring Relationship
• Differentiate Support Strategies
• Establish an Environment for Professional Growth
• Develop the Language and Behavior of Support
• Highlight the Role of Professional Teaching Standards in Mentoring
• Assess the Beginning Teacher’s Level of Practice

Coaching and Observation Strategies (2 days)

To assist mentors in the collection and sharing of observation data aligned with professional teaching standards to help new teachers improve their practice

• Review the Coaching Cycle
• Become Familiar with a Planning Conference Protocol
• Use Professional Standards to Guide Data Collection
• Develop Skills around Collecting and Analyzing Data
• Distinguish between Evidence and Opinion
• Learn to Use Three Observational Tools
• Prepare For and Conduct a Reflecting Conference
• Give Strategic Feedback Using Language of Support

Mentoring for Powerful Teaching: Using Student Work to Guide Instruction (1 day)

To provide mentors with a tool and strategies for helping beginning teachers identify student needs, plan for differentiated instruction, and ensure equitable learning outcomes

• Explore the Rationale and Purpose for Analyzing Student Work to Guide Instruction
• Become Familiar with a Process and Protocol for Looking at Student Data
• Practice a Mentoring Conversation for the Examination of Student Work
• Learn a Scaffold for Differentiating Instruction
• Apply the Process to Other Contexts

Coaching in Complex Situations (1 day)

To support the mentor in coaching strategically and finding solutions to challenging situations

• Develop an Understanding of the Human Dynamics involved in Complex Coaching Situations
• Diagnose and Identify Key Issues Using Professional Teaching Standards
• Expand One’s Repertoire of Coaching Techniques
• Become Familiar with a Schema for Selecting Appropriate Strategies

Designing and Presenting Professional Development for Beginning Teachers (2 days)

To help mentors bring new teachers together for meaningful and responsive learning experiences

• Understand Assumptions about Adult Learners
• Use a Conceptual Framework for Designing Staff Development
• Know Your Audience
• Develop Outcomes
• Plan for Content
• Build a Repertoire of Strategies
• Extend and Refine Personal Presentation Skills

Mentoring for Equity (2 days)

To present mentors with a framework for coaching new teachers regarding inequities in issues of race, language, and culture

• Understand the Principles of Equitable Education
• Connect Culture, Language, and Race to All Aspects of Teaching and Learning
• Identify Inequities, Gaps, and Differential Treatment
• Use Knowledge and Strategies to Address Inequities
• Learn to use Observation and Self-assessment Tools
• Give Feedback on Issues of Racism and Anti-racist Practice

Creating and Facilitating Meetings That Promote Mentor Development (1 day)

To show a model that creates a collaborative learning environment in which mentors can develop skills, gain knowledge, and problem-solve issues of mentoring

• Learn a Conceptual Framework for Meeting Design
• Create a Scope and Sequence for the Curriculum of Mentoring
• Experience a Meeting Design that Promotes Professional Development
• Develop Skills and Strategies that Build Collaborative Cultures
• Building Personal Capacity as an Educational Leader
• Understand the Mentor’s Role in the Professionalization of Teaching

Download Professional Development Brochure