Readiness for Field Supervising

TAMU-CCCollege of Education

Norms• Contribute to your learning and the

learning of others through participating fully.

• Create and hold a respectful space for people to speak and to

be heard.

• Keep Confidences.

• Take a risk.

• Be on time.

Outcomes

Help you understand what mentoring is all about by:

• Building Relationships• Building Capacity• Being Reflective

Mentoring Overview

What is Mentoring?

What is it? Mentoring

Mentoring is a confidential, professional relationship designed to assist and facilitate a teacher in accomplishing breakthroughs and achieve goals that are beyond the

norm.

What Makes a Good Mentor?

Attributes for Mentoring • Effective communication skills

• Accountability to self and others

• Integrity in relationships

• Positivity and persistence

• Supportiveness and empathy

• Self-directedness and organization

Skills for Mentoring• Listening

• Paraphrasing

• Facilitating

• Mentoring

• Reflecting

• Maintaining client confidentiality

Role of the Mentor

The role of the mentor is to assist teachers in enhancing their professional and personal effectiveness through structured conversations and action around the challenges, goals, and desires which make up their days. The role is aptly described as being a “thinking partner,” working with plans for achieving the desired result.

Imagine…• a relationship where the total focus is

on you, on what you want in your life, and on what will help you achieve it.

• someone listening, not only to your words, but also what’s behind them.

• someone who listens to the very best in you, even when you can’t hear it in yourself.

• someone who will help you account for what you want and keep you moving forward toward your goals.

Adapted from Co-Active Coaching by Whitworth, Kimsey-House, and Sanhal

Imagine a relationship…• with someone who is totally curious

about your dreams and aspirations for your classroom and your students.

• with a person who is sometimes even more committed to helping you achieve what you want than you are.

• with someone who will hold the flag at the top of the hill, encouraging you to press on, someone to celebrate your victories and help you learn from your setbacks.

Adapted from Co-Active Coaching by Whitworth, Kimsey-House, and Sanhal

Imagine…• someone who listens to you without

judgment and allows you to show emotion—in fact, accepts you without analyzing you.

• you have someplace to consolidate, to integrate, and to push on…and you get to talk to this person regularly and consistently.

• a relationship where you finally break free of those self-limiting conversations you’ve been having over the years and that powerful part of you is always encouraged.

Adapted from Co-Active Coaching by Whitworth, Kimsey-House, and Sanhal

Why Mentoring?

Why Mentoring?

Teachers will have an ally with whom to brainstorm, plan, and implement classroom improvement resulting in:– clarification of their goals/what they

want.– creation of well thought-out and detailed

action plans for accomplishing goals.

– a greater likelihood for accomplishing goals for improvement.

What possibilities could a mentor or “thinking partner” provide for a teacher?

SupportBuild confidenceFeedbackHold accountableDifferent perspectiveMaintain focusFocus on ActionFocus on Meta-cognitive ThinkingReduce Stress

Building Relationships

Building Relationships

• Trust• Paying attention to words, thoughts and

feelings• Positive Communication – both verbal and

non-verbal.

Establishing Trust(Creating a safe, supportive environment that produces ongoing mutual respect and

trust)

• Show genuine concern for the mentee’s welfare and future

• Demonstrate personal integrity, honesty and sincerity

• Establish clear agreements and keep promises

• Demonstrate respect for mentee’s perceptions, learning style, personal being

• Provide ongoing support for new behaviors and actions, including those involving risk-taking and fear of failure

• Ask permission to mentor in sensitive, new areas

“Only when your consciousness is totally focused on the moment you are in can you receive whatever gift, lesson, or delight that

moment has to offer.”

Barbara De Angelis

Being Present as a Mentor(Being fully conscious and creating spontaneous relationship with the mentee, using

a style that is open, flexible and confident)

• Be present and flexible during the mentoring process (“dance in the moment”)

• Access and trust your own intuition (“go with your gut”)

• Be open to not knowing the answers and taking risks

• See many ways to work with the mentee and choose what is most effective

• Use humor effectively to create lightness and energy

• Confidently shift perspectives and experiment with new possibilities for action.

• Demonstrate confidence in working with strong emotions

"Listening looks easy, but it's not simple. Every head is a world."

-Cuban Proverb

“…a vocal competition in which the one who is catching his breath is called the listener.”

— Anonymous

Listening is NOT…

“…paying close attention to what is being said beneath the words. You listen not

only to the 'music,' but to the essence of the person speaking. You listen not only for what someone knows, but for what he

or she is."— Peter Senge

Listening IS…

Listening – A Way of Life

When people sense that we’re receptive to their ideas and feelings, they feel safe to open up.

When we understand that listening means receiving everything, we discover that there’s a lot to hear.

Breaking Through to the Dimension of Full Listening

• Commit to full listening• Be a sender or a receiver• Wait before responding/ask for more• Listen actively• Listen as if you’re the only listener• Focus on the message, not the

messenger• Remember that understanding is not

agreeing

Breaking Through to the Dimension of Full Listening

• Avoid “piggybacking” and counterpointing

• Be careful of advice and questions• Listen without obligation to act• Listen with your body• Allow and encourage emotion• Say your thanks

Listening for the Silence

Silence provides an opportunity for learning. Some individuals need time to think quietly. Silence can also indicate confusion, boredom or even physical discomfort.

• Don’t be afraid of silence• Encourage silence• Use the silence as an opportunity for

reflection

Listen. Do not have an opinion while you listen because frankly, your opinion doesn’t hold much water outside of “Your Universe”. Just listen. Listen until their brain has been twisted like a dripping towel and what they have to say is all over the floor.

-Hugh Elliott

Three Forms of Paraphrasing

Acknowledge/Clarify

Summarize/Organize

Shift (Conceptual) Focus

Acknowledge/Clarify ( A brief statement in the listener’s words reflecting what was said)

• You’re concerned about _________________.

• You would like to see ___________________.

• You’re feeling badly about _______________.

• You’re trying to figure out ________________.

• You know it can be _____________________.

Summarize/Organize (A statement illuminating themes.)

• You have 2 (or more) goals here:

One is ____ and the other is ____.

• So, on one hand ________.

On the other hand _______.

• There seem to be three (any #) themes:

1) ___ 2) ______ 3) _______.

• So, we have a hierarchy of ideas.

It is ________________.

Shift in Conceptual Focus (A statement reflecting ideas at a logical level difference.)

So here (in this case)• a value is __________________.• an assumption is ____________.• a goal is __________________.• a belief is __________________.• a concept is ________________.• an intention is _______________.• a perspective is ______________.

orOne way to look at this may be ___.Another way to view this is _______.

Common Less-Than-Helpful Approaches to ListeningListening for:

– opportunities to sound intelligent.– a chance to seem funny.– how you can sound important.– getting information you want.– external distractions such as other

noises/talking.– what’s flawed in the other person’s words.– your own thoughts, and not listening at all.– how you can fix the problem.– how you can benefit.

Committing to a New Way of Being

Let go of your attachment to being right - and suddenly, your mind is more open. You're able to benefit from the unique viewpoints of others, without being crippled by your own judgment.

– Ralph Marston

Exercise: Practice Listening

Think of something happy in your life (personal or professional) and share with the group or a partner.

"To say that a person feels listened to means a lot more than just their ideas

get heard. It's a sign of respect. It makes people feel valued."

— DeborahTannenAuthor and Professor of Linguistics

Georgetown University

A Foundation for Trust

Fully Listening Mentors

• Wait before responding• Ask for more• Handle distractions• Listen actively – feed back in your

words what you’ve heard

“Love is the merchandise which all the world demands; if

you store it in your heart, every soul will

become your customer.”

-- Hazrat Inayat Khan

Move Toward Love

Moving Toward Loving Teachers

• Foster mutual respect• Model kindness and genuine concern• Recognize failure as a step toward growth• Invest in team members’ personal success• Provide tactful, honest feedback

Experiment with “It’s all OK!”

• It’s an attitude• Practice facing our imperfections

and those of others• By allowing we discover solutions

and take actions untainted with negativity

Celebrate Mistakes• Gets our attention• Allows us to take risks• Shows commitment to quality• Uses mistakes to practice• Mistakes are powerful teachers

If you can’t love it all, love as much as you can.

Building Capacity

Our conversations create our world.

And . . .You get to choose the

conversations.

Problem vs. Solution Questions

Problem Focus– Why didn’t you hit

your targets?

– Why did you do that?

– Why isn’t this working?

Solution Focus– What do you need

to do next time to hit your targets?

– What do you want to do next?

– What do you/we need to do to make this work?

Creating Safety for Dialogue

How do we create and maintain safety toallow others to be fully engaged?

• Watch for signs…• Step out of content…• Create safety…• Step back into content…

Types of Capacity Dialogues/Discussions

• Action Plan Discussion

• Solution Focus Discussion

• Identifying Instructional Strategies Discussion

• Data-Based Discussion

Action Plan Discussions

• What do you want? What is your desired outcome? • What would it look like and feel like to you? • How will you know you have what you want? • What is stopping you from having what you want

now? • Who can support you in what you want? • What resources do you need to get what you

want? • What are you willing to do in the next 24/48 hours

to get what you want?

Solution Focus Dialogue

• What do you need to do next time to hit your target(s)?

• What do you want to do next? • What do you/we need to do to make this work? • What do you want today as a result of this

conversation? • How can I help you think through this

situation/challenge/plan/etc.? • What would be a measure of success as a result of

this conversation? • Tell me more… • If you say yes to this, what are you saying no to? or • If you say no to this, what are you saying yes to?

Identifying Instructional Strategies Dialogue

• What will you do?

• What might be some ways to engage students in a dialogue about their responsibility for their own learning and learning outcomes?

Data-Based Discussion

Initial Impressions

• What are/were you initial thoughts about …..? • How did it go?

Supporting Data

• What evidence led you to your conclusion? • What are you noticing about these data in relationship to the

outcomes? • What about the data is surprising to you?

Cont’d on next slide

Contributing Factors

• What might be some of the causes that created this result?• In what ways did this go as you had planned?• What are some things you did to influence this result?• What may have been going on for ______ that might explain this?

Self-Learning Goal• What new insights are emerging for you?• What are you learning about yourself? About your presentation of

instruction?• Based on what you are discovering, what might be some next steps?• How might you use what you have learned?

Checking In • As a result of this conversation, what is clearer for

you? (head)

• How are you feeling about this conversation? (heart)

1st Contact 1st Call 2nd Call 3rd Call….

Mentor

Teacher

Look Who’s Talking….

Being Reflective

ReflectingResearch indicates that one of the ways adults learn best and also retain the knowledge they learn is by consciously reflecting on their learning.

Reflection is a introspective dialogue carried on in written form that stmulates the raising of questions, provokes the assessment of learning, and enables the integration of new learning. In addition, reflection during the mentoring process

enables us to slow down, rest, and observe our journey.

Regular mentoring reflection has the following benefits:

• Clarifies thinking

• Captures the richness of learning experiences

• Helps to sort out the mentor’s feelings about what is occurring

• Provides a written log with specific details and information

• Promotes systematic and intentional reflection

( see “Strategies for Successful Reflection” handouts)

Reflecting

Reflection is a significant tool for facilitating the growth and development of

mentee and mentor. It is the springboard to action and further learning.

Being comfortable with the process skill of reflection means being able to

step back, evaluate, process, assess, ad articulate learning and consider

the implication of that learning for future action. Being skillful at reflecting

on learning enables a mentor to model that skill for mentee.

Celebrate

If the only thing you ever said was “thank you, ”that would be

enough.--Meister Eckhart

Celebration is fuel for the journey and not just a reward at the end.

Practice the Art of Celebration

• Make it a habit to celebrate constantly, often and authentically

• Be intentional and make up a reason• Lighten up• Celebrate in any circumstance• Assume the philosophy of celebration

The great mentor is not the one in the spotlight: he or she is the one

leading the applause.

How Celebration can help you in your mentoring relationship

• Time to think about the positives• Prepares you for sharing your

successes and allowing others to share with you

• Gives you time to feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in your work

QuickTime™ and a decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Let’s Celebrate!!!

Thank you for coming!