Page 77: Stepping into the role of mentoring

 Page 77: Stepping into the role of mentoring

This year, I have taken on a new role within my classroom - being a class mentor (for a fantastic may I add) PGCE student. When I was originally asked about stepping into this role, I jumped at the chance. Being a part of someones teaching journey (just like teaching the pupils) is incredibly rewarding. I am passionate about inspiring and supporting the next generation of teachers, from my blog to links with the university to support their new cohorts, when the opportunity came my way, it was an easy decision. What I would like to note and highlight, being a mentor makes you a better teacher. This may seem obvious but let me put it simply. Particularly at the start of a trainees journey, a trainee steps into your classroom, you are making hundreds of internal decisions to support the teaching and learning in your classroom, suddenly, you are verbalising, reflecting and explaining everyone of those hundreds of decisions you make. It allows me to reflect and inform my practice, I am able to observe my pupils in the sessions, implementing change that you can not always notice when you are delivering the input yourself. This is just the start. 

In today's post I will be sharing my model of mentoring and how I use high quality modelling, observation and feedback to support the next generation of teachers to establish their classroom presence, confidence, capabilities. 

As an EYFS teacher, our day combines both group teaching inputs and continuous provision. Here is the model used in my classroom.

We have 3 taught group sessions a day. A thirty minute phonics, mathematics and communication and language session. When building up and supporting a trainee teacher in your classroom, just like how you build small steps of progression when teaching children a new concept in mathematics, I have implemented a similar model on a 5 day cycle. 

Day 1: Trainee teacher observe class teacher teaching the session.

Day 2: Class teacher observe the trainee teacher teaching the session following class teachers planning and previous observation.

Day 3: Class teacher teaches the session, highlighting and emphasising the areas of development for the trainee teacher to work on whilst the trainee teacher is observing.

Day 4: Both the class teacher and trainee teacher 'team teach' the session, working on targets together. Trainee teacher to take lead with the class teaching jumping in when required to add further scaffolding and support.

Day 5: Trainee teacher again has a go at independently teaching this session with the class teacher observing and providing feedback. 

The combination of modelling, observation, feedback and implementation allows the trainee to see the desired expectation from the expertise of the class teacher, following this, they are able to have a go drawing on their observation from your teaching. When the trainee is teaching, observing and providing high quality feedback paired with the class teacher modelling this the next day, sets a foundation for a team teach implementing the strategies together. Over the week, this allows confidence to build whilst establishing behaviour management strategies, teaching and learning approaches and new subject knowledge for this first time. 

This is my initial model used in the classroom at the start of placement block, where the teaching percentage is low and observation percentage is higher. As the placement progresses, from this strong start, the trainee will build up the fundamentals in responding to feedback and this process happens at a faster rate. 

I am thoroughly enjoying this role and look forward to welcoming and supporting many more trainee teachers into my classroom over my career. It is a real pinch me moment, reflecting on where Miss Yeoman's Yearbook started as a student teacher who needed something to read and wanted to know answers. Now, supporting other teachers and trainee teachers in that mentoring role. I am very grateful for all of the opportunties I have had so far in developing my career and practice, being a mentor is the next step in this. Join me over the next few weeks where I continue to explore the world of mentoring start with the use of effective feedback!

- Miss Yeoman