St. Ignatius Mentoring Program
Purpose
The purpose of the St. Ignatius Mentoring Program is to assist newly hired teachers to make regular use of the best learning methods in the Ignatian and secular traditions. The mentoring program offered to beginning teachers will differ from what is shared with newly hired veteran instructors and will represent our best efforts to welcome these valued professionals into our community and to engage in mutual sharing of our professional experiences. New teachers will receive focused assistance in developing the skills foundational for success in the profession. In all cases the mentoring program is designed to foster community and shared efforts and to allow our mentors a chance to reflect upon and further develop their craft.
Underlying Assumptions
- The motivation for mentoring ought to be primarily intrinsic. Thus we want to treat this program as the professional honor that it is. Those who are chosen to be mentors should consider their selection to be a vote of affirmation from the administration and their department chairs, as well as a chance to share their expertise with others. Mentors will be offered monthly lunches, and offered some proctor time when visiting mentees.
- Mentors should come from the same department as their mentees. If possible they should teach or have taught the same subject.
- The Assistant Principal for Academics and the Professional Development Director, after consultations with department chairs, will choose the mentors.
- Our goal is that mentoring will not only enhance the effectiveness of our new hires, but will encourage community and be an opportunity for these teachers to study and codify their craft.
- The mentor does not replace the department head’s role or responsibility of working with and supervising new teachers. Though the mentor works independently from the department chair, it is expected that they will complement one another.
Specific Goals and Objectives
As a result of participating in this mentoring program, newly hired teachers will:
- improve the quality of their day-to-day teaching and subject matter presentation, specifically classroom management, instructional methods, and motivational techniques;
- be guided by their mentors so that the curricular objectives are achieved and that assessment practices genuinely measure and enhance student achievement;
- be assisted by mentors in all the procedures pertinent to their job: assessment, progress reports, specific department objectives and procedures, discipline procedures, use of and familiarity with all resources available to them, Back-to- School-Night and parent conferences, counseling department services, Campus Ministry programs, the place of extracurricular programs and announcements in the classroom, xeroxing and library services, and any other administrative task for which they might seek advice;
- be assisted in developing and recognizing the psychological and
emotional components that contribute to a teacher's ability to motivate
and teach successfully;
be aided in community-building and in establishing a network of people who will give each other long-term support; - collaborate in exchanging with their mentor their experiences and updated training;
- observe their mentor’s classes and those of other accomplished teachers inside and outside of St. Ignatius;
- work with the department chair and the Assistant Principal for Academics and the Director of Professional Development in identifying goals that target personal and professional growth.
As a result of participating in the mentoring program, beginning and inexperienced teachers will:
- be assisted in establishing classroom procedures and discipline policies that work;
- be assisted in establishing specific goals and objectives, in writing daily lesson plans that realize those objectives, and in making appropriate adaptations to their lesson plans;
- be assisted and guided in designing a variety of student assessments and in implementing various learning activities that allow students with different learning styles and strengths to achieve course goals;
- be assisted and guided in developing and recognizing the psychological
and emotional components that contribute to a teacher's ability to motivate
and teach successfully.
Selection Process
Mentor teachers will be chosen by the Assistant Principal for Academics and the Professional Development Director after consultation with department chairs and will be invited into the program with a formal letter from the Professional Development Director. If they accept they will be asked to carefully study this program outline and to formally agree to adhere to the duties of mentors as described in this proposal.
Duties of Mentors
- To read selected articles provided by the Director of Professional Development and the Assistant Principal for Academics. These readings will be chosen to encourage reflection on how mentors might best transfer their implicit knowledge of their craft into explicit suggestions for their mentees.
- To attend with their mentees some of the Professional Development Seminars described below. To meet with their mentee every week from August 19th through October and then once every two weeks thereafter. These meetings are to be informally scheduled and may be any length time mutually agreed upon.
- To meet formally with their mentee for lunch in the Faculty Dining Room once a month beginning the week of August 18th. These lunches are to be charged to the Professional Development Program.
- Educators mentoring first year teachers should meet with the department chair and the Professional Development Director once each quarter to discuss the progress of the mentoring program. These meetings are to be informally scheduled and may be any length time mutually agreed upon.
- To fulfill the duties as outlined in the goals and objectives listed above.
Observation of Other Teachers
The craft of outstanding teaching is considerably enhanced by observation of effective instruction, reflection on that instructional model, and practice of that teaching model. St. Ignatius requires all new teachers to observe both their mentors and other teachers at St. Ignatius at least three times a semester. The mentor and mentee should together determine who to visit and how often. The Academic Office will provide proctors if observations cannot be done during a free period.
During the year we expect the mentor and mentee to travel together to another school and observe effective teaching in the subject area of the mentee. The Professional Development Director will provide the support and contacts to both mentor and mentee. We suggest observations done in the morning and meeting and reflection on what was observed be done in the afternoon. We hope that both mentor and mentee will profit from this experience.
Professional Development Seminars
The Professional Development Program will provide a series of seminars designed to meet the needs of new and veteran teachers on a variety of topics relevant to effective teaching. These seminars will usually follow a format of a presentation by a faculty member or other professional, followed by small group and large group discussion. All faculty are invited to these seminars and new teachers are expected to attend.
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Possible Seminars Topics
Classroom Environment
• Management and Routines
• Relationships with Students and Colleagues
• Discipline
Assessment
• Philosophy and Value of Assessment
• Variety of Ways to Assess
• Proper Use and Construction of Tests
• Grading Approaching the Midterm
Meeting Student Needs and Professional Relationships
• Meeting the Needs of Learning Disabled and Diverse Learners
• Referral to Counselors of Students with a Variety of Needs
• Referral to Dean, Discussions with Parents
• Relationships with Department Chair and Colleagues
Ending First Semester on Positive Note
• Setting up Final Exams and Grading Procedures
• Evaluating the First Semester with Mentor
• Setting Reasonable Goals for the Second Semester
• Creating Balance in Life with Timesaving Tips/Organization
Motivation and its Role in Teaching
• Setting Standards that are Achievable, Appropriate and
Challenging Enough to Increase Student Motivation. Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic
• Clear Communication of Expectations and Teacher Leadership
• The Role of Positive and Affective Relationships with Students
The Faith Community and Role of Prayer in Class
• Meaningful Prayer to Begin Class
• Integration of Ethics and Religious Values into Class
• The Faith Community
Instruction that Integrates Technology
• Technology is not just the Computer and Internet
• How all Forms of Technology Have Effected Students’ Learning
• Using the Computer and Internet
Finishing the Year on a High Note/Planning for
Next Year
• Tired and Unmotivated Students
• Curriculum that Ends Year with a Sense of Accomplishment for All
• Evaluating the Year and Planning of Next Year