Mentoring New Teachers

by Hal Portner

Overview

A comprehensive guide for developing successful mentors!

In the latest edition of this bestseller, the author draws upon research, experience, and insights to provide an overview of essential mentoring behaviors. Packed with strategies, exercises, and resources, this book examines four critical mentoring functions and gives school leaders, mentors, and staff developers the tools to create a dynamic mentoring program or revitalize an existing one. Features and topics new to this edition include:

• Classroom observation methods and instruments
• Teacher mentor standards based on the NBPTS Core Propositions
• Approaches to mentoring the nontraditional new teacher
• A guide for careerlong professional development

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412960083
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	04/29/2008
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Hal Portner is a former K-12 teacher and administrator. He was assistant director of the Summer Math Program for High School Women and Their Teachers at Mount Holyoke College, and for 24 years he was a teacher and then administrator in two Connecticut public school districts. From 1985 to 1995, he was a member of the Connecticut State Department of Education’s Bureau of Certification and Professional Development, where, among other responsibilities, he served as coordinator of the Connecticut Institute for Teaching and Learning and worked closely with school districts to develop and carry out professional development and teacher evaluation plans and programs. Hal developed and teaches for Western New England University a 3 credit MEd in Curriculum and Instruction online core course in Mentoring, Coaching, and professional development.

Portner writes, develops materials, trains mentors, facilitates the development of new teacher and peer-mentoring programs, and consults for school districts and other educational organizations and institutions. In addition to Mentoring New Teachers, he is the author of Training Mentors Is Not Enough: Everything Else Schools and Districts Need to Do (2001), Being Mentored: A Guide for Protégés (2002), Workshops that Really Work: The ABCs of Designing and Delivering Sensational Presentations (2005), and editor of Teacher Mentoring and Induction: The State of the Art and Beyond (2005) – all published by Corwin Press. He holds an MEd from the University of Michigan and a 6th-year Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) in education admin­istration from the University of Connecticut. For three years, he was with the University of Massachusetts Ed D Educational Leadership Program.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Gerald N. Tirozzi
Preface to the Third Edition
Who Should Read This Book
Overview of the Contents
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Introduction
Support for Mentoring
Effective Mentors Are Made, Not Born
Mentoring Is Not Evaluating
Mentoring’s Role in Induction
The Mentor’s Primary Role
What Mentors Do: The Four Mentoring Functions
Teacher Mentor Standards
1. Relating
Establishing Trust
Paying Attention to Thoughts and Feelings
Confidentiality
The Student Teacher Dilemma
Communicating Nonverbally
A Checklist of Relating Behaviors
A Mentoring Relationship Is a Serving Relationship
2. Assessing
The Nontraditional New Teacher
Generic Needs of New Teachers
Specific Needs of Your Mentee
Gathering Resources
Your Mentee’s Learning Preferences
Modes of Communication
Summary
3. Coaching
Coaching Assumptions
The Coaching Cycle
The Preobservation Conference
The Initial Classroom Visit
Focused Classroom Observations: When and How
Some Observation Considerations
The Postobservation Conference
When to Show and Tell
Coaching Adults
Feedback
4. Guiding
Guiding Your Mentee’s Journey: A Decision-Making Process
Identifying Your Mentee’s Problems
Guiding Principles
The Unwilling and Unable Mentee
The Moderately Willing and Somewhat Able Mentee
The Competent and Confident Mentee
The All-of-the-Above Mentee
From Mentor-Mentee to Peer-Peer
5. Mentoring’s Legacy: Career-Long Professional Development
Teacher’s Inquiry Process
From TIP to MIP
6. Tips and Observations
Set Ground Rules Early
Help Change Happen
Avoid Information Overload
Share Decision Making
Know When to Intervene
Mentoring, Remediating, and Peer Review
Maintain the Relationship
Don’t Forget Content
What Is Your Mentee Asking For?
Know When to Wean
Find Time to Mentor
Earn Points Toward Teacher Recertification
Reflect on Your Mentoring
Consider Multiple Mentors
Build a Mentoring Community
Find Networking Opportunities
Remember, Student Learning Is the Goal
Pass the Torch
Resource A. Teacher Mentor Standards
Core Propositions
Teacher Mentor Standards
Resource B. Learning Style Inventory: Discovering How You Learn Best
Resource C. Mentor’s Inquiry Process for Experienced Mentors
Focus
What Will It Be Like?
Activities
What Are Your Chances Of Completing the Activities?
When Do You Want It?
Costs
Does It Represent a Worthwhile Challenge?
Resource D. The Connecticut Competency Instrument
Management of the Classroom Environment
Instruction
Assessment of Student Progress
Resource E. Annotated Bibliography
References

Interviews

From the Author
Guiding a new teacher into the profession? Here's how. I have written this book for teachers who are presently serving as mentors, as well as teachers who are considering their involvement as mentors. School administrators, especially school principals and staff development leaders, will benefit from this book as they plan induction and orientation programs for new staff or implement peer-mentoring between and among experienced educators. Teacher educators will find this book a valuable resourse or supplementary text in supervision and evaluation courses. Thank you for your interest. If you want to know more about me or Mentoring New Teachers, feel free to email me.
— Hal Portner ([e-mail]), the Author

Editorial Reviews

"A much-needed resource for teacher mentors. The new and updated strategies and practical approach will give mentors crucial support as they provide assistance and encouragement to new teachers. Portner has clearly demonstrated the importance of both theory and practice in this practical guide. "

Priscilla Miller

"An essential key to passing on wisdom and an important pick for any education collection. "

The Bookwatch

"Bravo for basing this on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards! Standards for mentoring are long overdue. This book will become a primary resource for our annual mentoring staff development, to be used with both mentors and mentees. "

Mark Bower

Provides a concise overview of all the issues mentors need to consider when working with a new teacher. Mentors who are working on their own can easily use this text to support their development.

Debra Pitton

The book gets straight to the point of mentoring and provides practical, doable strategies and guidance to mentors, as well as the opportunity to practice those strategies with immediate feedback. A short and easy read for people who need good advice but don’t have a lot of time to spare.

Kathy Grover

With the guidance of Hal Portner, our new teacher induction/mentoring program made a turnaround from a bare minimum, “letter of the law” program into a dynamic, teacher-affirming program! Our mentoring team now has a shared vision of the components of effective mentoring and, more importantly, our mentees are reaping the benefits. I wholeheartedly encourage anyone interested in improving their school’s mentoring program to read this book.

William E. Collins

“Mentoring is an activity in which both participants gain experience and knowledge, and this book reflects that. Portner presents very practical suggestions for both the mentor and the mentee.”

Joy Rose

"A much-needed resource for teacher mentors. The new and updated strategies and practical approach will give mentors crucial support as they provide assistance and encouragement to new teachers. Portner has clearly demonstrated the importance of both theory and practice in this practical guide."--Priscilla Miller, Director (10/12/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"An essential key to passing on wisdom and an important pick for any education collection."--The Bookwatch, July 2008 (11/20/2008 12:00:00 AM)

"Bravo for basing this on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards! Standards for mentoring are long overdue. This book will become a primary resource for our annual mentoring staff development, to be used with both mentors and mentees."--Mark Bower, Director of Elementary Education and Staff Development (10/1/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"Provides a concise overview of all the issues mentors need to consider when working with a new teacher. Mentors who are working on their own can easily use this text to support their development."--Debra Pitton, Professor of Education, Gustavus Adolphus College (9/26/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"The book gets straight to the point of mentoring and provides practical, doable strategies and guidance to mentors, as well as the opportunity to practice those strategies with immediate feedback. A short and easy read for people who need good advice but don't have a lot of time to spare."--Kathy Grover, Assistant Superintendent (9/26/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"With the guidance of Hal Portner, our new teacher induction/mentoring program made a turnaround from a bare minimum, "letter of the law" program into a dynamic, teacher-affirming program! Our mentoring team now has a shared vision of the components of effective mentoring and, more importantly, our mentees are reaping the benefits. I wholeheartedly encourage anyone interested in improving their school's mentoring program to read this book."--William E. Collins, Principal (10/30/2007 12:00:00 AM)

"Mentoring is an activity in which both participants gain experience and knowledge, and this book reflects that. Portner presents very practical suggestions for both the mentor and the mentee."--Joy Rose, Retired Principal

From the Publisher

Praise for first edition:

"This short but effective book could be the perfect guide to help experienced teachers as they work with new colleagues through their first (often the most difficult) months of teaching. Porter has included specific activities and exercises to teach mentors behaviors that develop trust as they work through the mentoring process. He shows the teacher mentors and their proteges how to develop an effective working relationship as the new teachers grow from dependence on their mentors to a high degree of self-reliance as effective teachers in their own right. "

CHOICE, 1998 - G. E. Pawlas

"A timely, instructive, and important book on mentoring new teachers. It provides direction and guidance and clearly outlines how to be a mentor."

From the Foreword by Gerald N. Tirozzi

"An invaluable resource for anyone who is currently a mentor or planning to be one. I’ve not seen any other book like this—one that actually provides guidelines, and serves to facilitate an individual’s transition to the role of mentor. It models behavior by including clear and concrete examples and advice in a friendly manner."

Norma Gluck

"The author writes in a conversational manner as if he were talking directly to the reader. Portner maintains the reader’s interest throughout his books by using factual data, case studies, and by providing suggested practical activities. Furthermore, Portner’s recommendations appear concrete with carefully described step-by-step instructions.

Mentoring and Tutoring

"This book captures the essence of mentoring and the process necessary to be an effective mentor."

Kaye Dean

"Provides a much-needed framework for quality mentoring of beginning teachers."

Christine Brown

I appreciate the excellent tool your book has become for me. The opportunity to mentor has a clearer definition and description of the process, insuring a much more effective experience for both mentor and mentee.

Sharon Wise

"A timely, instructive, and important book on mentoring new teachers. It provides direction and guidance and clearly outlines how to be a mentor."

Gerald N. Tirozzi