Please give an example you encountered during your mentoring experience of each of the six essential mentoring conversations.
Conversation 1: Building a Relationship
Conversation 2: Establishing Mentoring Agreements
Conversation 3: Moving from Starter Goals to Smarter Goals
Conversation 4: Creating Learning Opportunities
Conversation 5: Managing Stumbling Blocks
Conversation 6: Checking in on Progress
Conversation 1 - This was an easy one as my mentee and I have been friends for several years and taught together before. We spent some of our time this past summer catching up and had several conversations about case load and what the school year would look like.
ReplyDeleteConversation 2 - We spent a week together before school started doing ESY with one of her students. Each day we would talk about how it went and what we wanted to try differently. I was up front about I will be there any time she needs me but being in a different building may mean she would have to call or email to let me know she needed more. In the beginning things were tough and she called several times at night and would talk for an hour just to toss ideas or to vent. As the year has gone those calls have gotten fewer and fewer.
Conversation 3 - We worked a lot in this area trying to face the challenge of one on one students vs. average needs. This was a difficult area for my mentee to juggle at times and I went and spent a week of sitting in the class trying to help problem solve how to make a situation transition and work smoother. As we worked through the challenges we got things more organized and structured to make both classrooms flow.
Conversation 4 - I feel like number 3 above went right into this area. It took both of us out of our comfort zone and made both my mentee and myself do a lot of research and trial and errors to get things in a much better state.
Conversation 5 - This was an area I failed in at times. I probably caused some of the stumbling blocks by assuming when I didn't hear anything it was all going well. I would get busy and not always think to check in because things had been going well. Things got tough about Christmas time and sometimes I had to give my mentee that little reminder of just step back and get through the day tomorrow is always a better one and a fresh start.
Conversation 6 - I think this is the biggest thing is asking what else can I help you with to make the remainder of the year go smoothly. I ask this quite often as I worry about we are half done with the year and I feel I am missing something. I want my mentee to become independent but I don't want her to think I have left her high and dry either.
This was a difficult situation, but I believe that without a mentor, it would have been even more difficult. Thank you for sticking in there and continuing to try to help her work things out.
Delete1. We already knew each other, but hadn't had the chance to visit lately. We basically shared where we are in life and gave each other updates on family.
ReplyDelete2. We discussed how often we would meet and to just ask questions whenever they arose. We are in the same building 2 days a week and can text and email when we need to as well.
3. We discussed problems and challenges she was having with para support as well as a couple of students. We worked together and used some other HPEC support staff to get the challenges under control.
4. We worked together writing her first IEP and me attending and running her first IEP meeting. She learned the process and paperwork.
5. My mentee has had a few stumbling blocks with paras this year. She finally got the number she needed, and now one just recently quit, so she needs to find another one! She has remained positive with the struggles though.
6. I just try to check in with my mentee as I can. It gets tough because we are all so busy. I try to ask how the IEPs are coming, if she is staying on schedule, and ask her if she has any questions. She is quite independent, so it has made my job a little easier.
Your mentee is doing wonderfully which is due in part to your support. Her caseload is a difficult one and your support has been greatly appreciated:) Thank you for mentoring!
DeleteConversation 1: Building a Relationship
ReplyDeleteOne of my mentees and I have known each other for years but we had to establish a working and professional relationship. This happened after we really sat down and discussed how we best communicate. My other mentee and just met this year so we had a good conversation getting to know one another discussing our backgrounds and interest.
Conversation 2: Establishing Mentoring Agreements
I sat down with each of my mentees and talked about what we both needed from the relationship and what our roles were going to be. I had to establish this more with the mentee with whom I already had a friendship more so then the one who I just met this year.
Conversation 3: Moving from Starter Goals to Smarter Goals
The starter goals were basically lets get you through these first few months. After my mentees got their feet wet and felt more comfortable in their buildings and teaching positions we had conversations about what the issues were that maybe they hadn't foreseen or had come up during the school year.
Conversation 4: Creating Learning Opportunities
With my mentee who is new to teaching we spent alot of time working on paperwork and writing IEPS. This has been the bulk of the learning that has taken place. My other mentee has really just needed support with areas that are different here then where she previously taught, such as school policies and professional development.
Conversation 5: Managing Stumbling Blocks
The biggest stumbling blocks this year have been based around scheduling writing IEPs. Both of my mentees have asked me to have conversations about scheduling and how to best go about this. The change in the IEP systems has been a challenge as well.
Conversation 6: Checking in on Progress
I check in with my mentee who is new teacher weekly or more as needed. My other mentee who is experienced we meet once a month or as needed. She usually comes to me when she has a question about something as it comes up.
Interesting how each mentee experience was different. I mentored two people one year and found the same thing. One was more independent than the other. Thank you Kayla for all of your help:)
DeleteConversation 1: Building a Relationship
ReplyDeleteIt was actually easy for me to build a relationship with my mentee this year, because I knew her previous to our mentee/mentor relationship. We rode together to all of our meetings and this gave us opportunities to talk casually with each other about school and about non school things to build this relationship.
Conversation 2: Establishing Mentoring Agreements
At our beginning mentor/mentee meeting we set up a calendar with each other of when we were going to meet, how to set up meetings, and how to best contact each other. We also spend some time talking about check in meetings and how we would handle those.
Conversation 3: Moving from Starter Goals to Smarter Goals
These talks have really started just recently. It seems like the first part of the year is spent going over how to do things. Now that she has her feet under her we have talked some about "next year" This has made her (and me) stop and set goals for things that we would like to see and focus on for next year.
Conversation 4: Creating Learning Opportunities
My mentee has had to leave her comfort zone many times this year and one of those things is holding meetings with parents. She was used to PT conferences, but the IEP meeting has been different for her. She has been able to attend meetings with the school Psych. and with me so that has provided her with learning opportunities, but this has been a place that she has needed some support to feel comfortable with it. She does a really good job.
Conversation 5: Managing Stumbling Blocks
She started with a math curriculum that she was not feeling comfortable with. She really needed to get something she felt was what each kid needed at there level. We spent a lot of time finding the right combination for her and her students. She was able to look at what works and what does not for her over a period of time and find something that she can adjust and feel good about.
Conversation 6: Checking in on Progress
My mentee tended to be independent. I had to make an effort to drop in and see how she was doing, because she would do it on her own (and do it well) and never ask me for help. This was great, but I felt like I was not doing much. When I do check in I try to ask about her progress with different things we have talked about and see how it is going.
Conversation 1: Building a Relationship
ReplyDelete-I believe my mentee and I started out with building a relationship. We discussed personal stuff prior to getting into all that is involved with being a first year special ed teacher. All that we do in the first year can be overwhelming, building trust and a relationship is super important before diving into it.
Conversation 2: Establishing Mentoring Agreements
-Before school started, we discussed the days I would be in her district. We also discussed that she could call, text, or email as needed. We had to expedite our meetings with the notification of a new student starting school with her. The student had violent tendencies and we had to work closely to get things ready for the new student.
Conversation 3: Moving from Starter Goals to Smarter Goals
-We had this conversation over writing IEPs. We looked at her IEPs for the year as we put them on her calendar. We talked about how I would write the first one with her watching and me explaining everything. The second one she would write with me there to answer any questions that came up. The third one I would be in the building, but she would write it independently and I would check over it when she was done. We had a goal and time line for when she would be completing an IEP independently. There are always those questions that come up and she still asks questions over IEPs, but she is writing them on her own now.
Conversation 4: Creating Learning Opportunities
-With high needs behavior students, my mentee has had to continually grow in her behavior management skills. My mentee has teaching experience, but not with the high needs students she has now. It has been a tough year, but we are continually making it better for her and the students.
Conversation 5: Managing Stumbling Blocks
-We have recently changed up her approach in the classroom in terms of structure and behavior management. I noticed the last time we met that she is struggling with the changes. This week when we meet, I will be using some probing questions to try to help her work through any challenges she might be having.
Conversation 6: Checking in on Progress
-I am a list maker. I make lists for everything. When we are meeting, I make lists of things my mentee needs to accomplish and things I need to do to assist her through. I go back and touch base on how she is doing with things that need to be accomplished. This also helps me insure that I am meeting her needs as a new sped teacher.
Conversation 1: Building a Relationship - we started off by having conversations about where we are from - both of us are from Wyoming and what we have in common.
ReplyDeleteConversation 2: Establishing Mentoring Agreements - we met at the mentoring meeting and learned what expectations HPEC had of us. We also met at our HS and discussed what mentoring looked like and how it would be useful.
Conversation 3: Moving from Starter Goals to Smarter Goals - we have spent this first year "getting through" and understanding how ieps work and their purpose and what our role is. Now we are getting into what curriculum are we going to use for next year and what can we do better. We have a semester to reflect back on and can look at how we can improve things in our room.
Conversation 4: Creating Learning Opportunities - My mentee is taking on more of leadership role with our paras. She is working more with them on what she want's them to do and train them to how she likes to work. She has also gone to an ASD conference and has brought back to ideas to implement. She feels more confident in taking on her role as a teacher and leader in her classroom.
Conversation 5: Managing Stumbling Blocks - We have recently had some students with behavior challenges move in to our room and this has been difficult for my mentee to figure out how to handle the student. We've worked through how his IEP is set up to follow when I am gone and how to be consistent and not worry so much about their actions, but worry about what we are in control of.
Conversation 6: Checking in on Progress - We check in about every other week and go over any questions we have for one another and how things are going and if we need to change anything that we are doing.