Mentoring & Coaching Academy

The Mentoring and Coaching Academy utilizes a professional development curriculum that is upheld by the following four pillars:

• Evidence-based,
• Human-centered,
• Standards-driven, and
• Experiential.

Through a rich online learning experience that includes case studies, video exercises, and group discussions, participants will explore the best practices of mentoring and coaching for beginning teachers as well as uncovering the personal core of mentoring with a human-centered philosophy and leadership style.

1. Adult Learning Theory and Developing a Mentoring Philosophy
2. The Mentor/Mentee Dyad
3. High Leverage Teaching Practices
4. Best Practices in Mentoring
5. Coaching Beginning Teachers
6. Online Mentoring
7. Performance Management

The Mentoring and Coaching Academy is a collaboration among the School of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University and facilitated by the Education Leadership Research Center  at Texas A&M University.

Understanding the principles and characteristics of major adult learning theories is essential to establishing one’s own mentoring philosophy.  A sound mentoring perspective can lead to growth for the beginning teacher in the areas of increased self-esteem, effective problem-based learning, self-direction, and validation of prior experiences, which supports the integration of new learning experiences with prior learning.  In this module, you will be introduced to three major adult learning theories, including the key principles of andragogy, which form the groundwork for effective mentoring.  Examining adult learning theory will lead to understanding the importance of framing your own philosophy of andragogy-centered mentoring.

As you complete this module, you will:

• Identify major theories and principles of adult learning.
• Examine the role and process of reflection for mentoring sessions.
• Formulate your own philosophy of andragogy-centered mentoring.

Understanding the principles and characteristics of major adult learning theories is essential to establishing one’s own mentoring philosophy.  A sound mentoring perspective can lead to growth for the beginning teacher in the areas of increased self-esteem, effective problem-based learning, self-direction, and validation of prior experiences, which supports the integration of new learning experiences with prior learning.  In this module, you will be introduced to three major adult learning theories, including the key principles of andragogy, which form the groundwork for effective mentoring.  Examining adult learning theory will lead to understanding the importance of framing your own philosophy of andragogy-centered mentoring.

As you complete this module, you will:

• Understand the mentor-mentee dynamic.
• How to build a successful mentor-mentee match.
• Explore ways to foster successful relationships with mentees.

Preparing beginning teachers to “do teaching” (Ball et al., 2009, p. 460) in real classroom environments can be challenging. A beginning teacher needs to learn how to recognize effective teaching, manage different classroom environments, and to communicate with parents, students, and colleagues among other skills. A High Leverage Teaching Practices (HLPs) approach recognizes that to prepare skilled beginner teachers it is important to identify the key actions or tasks that are central to teaching. Research has demonstrated that HLPs are effective for student learning across different disciplines, grade levels, and contexts.
In this module, you will have the opportunity to reflect on your own practice, identify HLPs that you already implement in your teaching, and learn strategies to encourage beginning teachers to utilize effective teaching strategies in their practice.

As you complete this module, you will:

• Define high-leverage practices
• Identify high-leverage teaching practices in your own teaching
• Reflect on your own practice
• Identify strategies to encourage future and beginning teachers to implement high-leverage teaching practices

Mentor teachers are an integral part of a novice teachers’ induction into the field of education as new teachers face increasing challenges throughout their first five years.  Effective mentoring can help alleviate some of the stress that novice teachers encounter, while positively impacting their retention in the field and performance in the classroom.

As you complete this module, you will:

• Understand the importance of mentoring.
• Explore different ways to mentor and coach novice teachers.
• Become aware of the needs of novice teachers.

Instructional Coaching is a practice that takes place in many districts because it works in terms of building capacity in teachers and increasing the academic success of students (Knight, 2019). Sometimes instructional coaching is delivered in a formal way by someone who has the role of an Instructional Coach. At other times, instructional coaching is delivered as part of the campus leaders’ development of others.

As you complete this module, you will:

• Articulate the difference between mentoring, consulting, teaching/training, and coaching
• Become acquainted with, and utilize, the Censeo© Framework
• Delineate the ways that coaching aligns with adult learning theory
• Ask for and use feedback from your “client” to inform your coaching

Face-to-face interaction is the principal means of providing emotional support and guidance to mentees. However, mentoring does not have to be tied to only face-to-face interactions. One alternative to face-to-face mentoring is gaining more traction in education: mentors helping their novice teachers online. Interactions with mentees do not always have to be in person, and with internet video conferencing services comes the ease of communicating and mentoring via the internet.

As you complete this module, you will:

• Understand what online/virtual mentoring is.
• How to add online mentoring to your existing mentoring format.
• Explore ways to communicate with your mentee online.
• Become aware of the generational differences that can interfere with the use of technology as a method of mentoring.

Providing beginning teachers with regular feedback on their performance is integral to their growth and development, but not all mentors feel confident doing this. Feedback is delivering evaluative or corrective information that can be used as a basis for improvement. Although the feedback itself may appear simple, its deployment requires artful delivery. For this module, classroom teachers will understand why constructive feedback to beginning teachers needs to be goal-oriented, measurable, collaborative, specific, actionable, routine, and confidential, and how to construct a performance management plan (PMP).

As you complete this module, you will:

• Understand the role of standardized teacher assessment as a means to share systematic feedback to help teachers solve instructional problems and improve their practice.
• Appraise the types of feedback for effective mentoring.
• Unpack SMART Goals for creating the conditions for confidential and collaborative performance review for beginning teachers.
• Correlate the teacher’s developmental phases to performance management for beginning teachers.