You have been carefully matched with a mentor teacher who has volunteered their time to guide, support, give feedback, and facilitate evidence-informed learning conversations with you during your field experience. Now what? Considering that this mentor-mentee relationship is an important element in your journey to becoming the teacher you hope and dream to be, you shouldn’t leave developing a relationship with your mentor teacher to chance.
While there isn’t a map guaranteeing the route to an inspired relationship, there are a number of waypoints that will help you build trust, establish goals and share learnings, and take action. These waypoints involve connection, communication, initiative, collaboration, feedback and celebration as detailed below:
Connection
Take time to get to know your mentor and share about yourself
- Discuss your pedagogy, passions, goals, and areas of strength/stretches professionally and ask your mentor about theirs.
- Find out what you might have in common personally.
Communication
Ensure you are conversing openly and honestly
- Review the Field Guide together. Ensure you and your mentor are clear on what is expected and when. Discuss roles and responsibilities for all involved.
- Seek to understand before being understood and ask for help when you need it.
Initiative
Look, listen, be proactive
- Ask for your mentor’s opinion.
- Inquire about your mentor’s favorite resources and if possible, borrow and read to spark further dialogue.
- Write your questions out ahead of time and add to your list during the school day so whenever there is opportunity to talk, you are ready.
Collaboration
This can take various forms
- Learn with your students and co-plan, co-teach, co-assess with your mentor teacher.
- Collaboration could include parallel teaching, team teaching, station teaching, and/or small group teaching.
Feedback
Link feedback with empathy and assume positive intent
- Provide lesson plans/unit plans to your mentor in advance and adjust your planning based on mentor feedback prior to teaching students.
- Discuss how you’d like to receive feedback on your lesson enactment (mentor gives verbal feedback – you take notes, mentor gives written feedback – OSE forms, running record etc.) and ask how your mentor would prefer to give it (formally and/or informally).
- Consider frequency and timeliness of the feedback in your discussions.
- Accept feedback graciously remembering it’s not about your identity. It’s about your development as an educator.
Celebration
Be sure to acknowledge and celebrate successes together as you go
- Revisit your goals with your mentor and reflect on the process remembering that mistakes are an essential element in learning.
As you engage in your field experience, may you be inspired to build a strong relationship with your mentor teacher based on trust, respect, and mutual understanding. Remember to extend your thanks and show your appreciation for your mentor’s support and guidance!
Written by Darlene Loland, Field Advisor