sagerunner.com banners

Mentoring Teachers Programs – Improved Professional Competence and Educational Reform



Many schools in the US have formalized the process of mentoring novice teachers as their way of inducting the new teacher into the teaching profession. They run Mentoring Teachers Programs, which enable a newbie to adjust to the new teaching career through the assistance of a veteran teacher. In these programs, the veteran teacher, the mentor, coaches the new teacher on several areas in teaching such as how to prepare lesson plans and execute them, how to handle students of different ages and characteristics, how to teach more effectively in different kinds of settings, how to resolve classroom conflicts and the like.

Benefits to the New Teacher

The program leads not only to improved teaching skills but also to increased job satisfaction on the part of the new teacher. According to Evenson in his book on mentoring teachers, the new teacher benefits in three ways. First, the program allows the new teacher to easily adapt with the school environment. Aside from helping the new teacher get acquainted with the school’s staff and facilities, the mentor also teaches him how to observe and cope with the school’s rules and regulations.

Second, the program allows the teacher to establish teaching competence. This is achieved as the mentor provides the new teacher with opportunities to observe, assess, and practice his and other teachers’ teaching. The process encourages feedback from and constant communication with the mentor.

Lastly, the program introduces the teacher to teaching as a continuously developing and a life-long profession. If the new teacher feels that he gets as much support as he can from colleagues and the school administration, he will likely stay in this profession and would gladly make himself available as well for future teachers who would need his assistance.

Other Benefits of the Program

The benefits of mentoring programs are far reaching. It is not only the new teachers that benefit from the program but all the participants in the program including the mentor, the student and the school as a whole as well. Thus, mentoring programs are seen not just as a form of assistance to the new teacher but as a vehicle for the improvement of the school’s whole educational system.

For the mentor, the program serves as another opportunity to share his wealth of experiences, knowledge and skills. Much of these skills and knowledge are not found in books or reference materials. They are accumulated through time through extensive training and professional practice. Without the mentoring programs, these experiences, knowledge and skills gained and acquired through time may gradually fade away.

In a way, the mentor also improves himself as a teacher in the process of mentoring. He does this as he reexamines his professional experiences inside and outside the classroom and as he provides tips and guidelines to the new teacher.

Moreover, the mentoring program provides him with an added source of income as mentors are usually compensated for the extra services they render.

Students are directly and indirectly benefited with this kind of program as their new teachers gain more teaching skills and knowledge, which are imparted to them. Ultimately, the students learn more things and enjoy their classes more when the teacher is prepared and well versed with the topics he or she is discussing.

A research conducted by Southwest Educational Development Laboratory to study the mentoring programs in Texas reveals that many districts see mentoring teachers programs also as a vital retention strategy. The study recognizes that the attrition of new teachers is among the cause of shortages of teachers in some schools.


Article Provided By:
Mad Cash Club Pro Membership - Get your own Home Business up and running Today! Without the Hassle!
Sage Runner - Affordable Advertising for your Website or Business.



Comments

*Name:
*Email:
Website URL:
Title / Subject:
Hide my email
*Comments:
*
 



Return To The
Website Directory

Menu


Articles

All About Juvenile Mentoring Programs
Best Practices In Mentoring
The Concepts Of Mentoring, Coaching, And Directing
Effective Mentoring Relationships
Tips On Successful Implementation Of Mentoring
The Proper Way Of Mentoring Special Educators
Saving At-Risk Youth By Mentoring
The Concepts Of Coaching And Mentoring
Why Join A Mentoring Program?
What To Avoid In Mentoring Programs
The Growing Need For Mentoring In Healthcare
Mentoring Teachers Programs – Improved Professional Competence And Educational Reform
Peer Mentoring – Helping The Teens Beat Pressures Of Adolescence
The Fine Art Of Mentoring
A Definition Of Mentoring
Improving Student Performance Through Mentoring
Breaking The Ice: An Important Part Of Mentoring
Learnings From Mentoring Quotes
Mentoring: A Glue That Binds African Traditions
The Importance Of Mentoring For Children Of Prisoners
Teacher Mentoring Defined: Uses, Advantages And Limitations
Mentoring Nurses As A Way Of Empowerment
Preparing A Proposal For A Teacher Mentoring Program
How Mentoring Programs Establish Self-Confidence







Articles


Best Practices In Mentoring What is mentoring? Mentoring pertains to the..


All About Juvenile Mentoring Programs Guiding young people toward a better life can be a rewarding experience,..


Effective Mentoring Relationships The Mentor-Mentee Relationship The role of a mentor is to aid the mentee in..


The Growing Need For Mentoring In Healthcare Of the many programs that have been introduced and..



Related Videos:
Videos related to this Website
Loading...

Related News:

How to tell if last year's garden seeds are still good (source: Christian Science Monitor)

Here's an easy way to test last year's garden seeds to see if they're still good. (source: Christian Science Monitor) - RSS widgets and RSS feeds on Feedzilla.com

Read more...


Obama effigy hung at RI school with fired teachers (source: Washington Post)

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. -- A teacher at a failing school where he and all his colleagues are being fired hung an effigy of President Barack Obama in his classroom, apparently in reaction to Obama's support of extreme measures to ensure accountability in school... (source: Washington Post) - RSS news feeds and Widgets on Feedzilla.com

Read more...


Obama's student loan plan moving forward with health bill (source: Washington Post)

President Obama moved closer to achieving one of his top policy goals Thursday as congressional Democrats joined forces behind a bill that would cut funding to private student lenders and redirect billions of dollars in expected savings into grants to need... (source: Washington Post) - News widgets and RSS feeds on Feedzilla.com

Read more...


Universities feel funding squeeze (source: BBC)

Three quarters of England's universities are facing real-term budget cuts - for the first time since Labour came to power. (source: BBC) - RSS feeds and Feed widget on Feedzilla.com

Read more...


Professor Calls For Balance In Textbooks (source: NPR)

Conservatives on the Texas school board argue that changes they've proposed to the social studies curriculum will provide "balance" to a "liberal paradigm." Jonathan Zimmerman says conservatives are correct — many history books lean left. So he pro... (source: NPR) - RSS widgets and RSS feeds on Feedzilla.com

Read more...


Praying for the orphans of the world (source: Christian Science Monitor)

A Christian Science perspective. (source: Christian Science Monitor) - RSS news feeds and Widgets on Feedzilla.com

Read more...


Barriers Found to College Degrees for Hispanics (source: New York Times)

Fewer Hispanic students earned degrees even at both competitive and less competitive colleges nationwide, the American Enterprise Institute found. (source: New York Times) - RSS news feeds and Widgets on Feedzilla.com

Read more...


Lawmakers Say Needs of Rural Schools Are Overlooked (source: New York Times)

Federal education rules favor big-city school districts over rural systems, some lawmakers complain. (source: New York Times) - RSS and News widget on Feedzilla.com

Read more...


Deaths Revive Cornell's Reputation As 'Suicide School' (source: NPR)

Cornell University is reeling after news of two likely suicides by students in the past week, and four others this academic year. The gorges that run through its scenic campus have too often provided an opportunity for troubled students to end their lives.... (source: NPR) - RSS and News widget on Feedzilla.com

Read more...


Education Secretary: Struggling Schools Can Be Saved (source: NPR)

Education Secretary Arne Duncan appeared before Congress to discuss the administration's proposed changes to the "No Child Left Behind" law Wednesday. Part of the overhaul envisions requirements that school districts assign their most effective teachers to... (source: NPR) - RSS feeds and Feed widget on Feedzilla.com

Read more...


>