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Mentoring Science Teachers in the Secondary School: A Practical Guide

The purpose of this book About this book eResources Other resources About you Terminology used in the book Section 1. Foundations of mentoring Models of mentoring Introduction Objectives Definitions of mentoring The context in which you are working that underpins your mentoring practice Effective mentoring models Summary and key points Further resources About you as a mentor Introduction Objectives Analysing your motivations and readiness to mentor What does good mentoring mean to you?Your sense of self and how it impacts on your mentoring role Mentoring beliefs and values and their impact on the styles of mentoring Mentoring styles and your beliefs and values Teacher beliefs and values and its impact on you as a mentor Cultural beliefs Other external forces Summary and key points Further resources Beginning science teachers’ expectations of their mentors Introduction Objectives Self-reflection on the characteristics of effective mentoring from a beginning teacher’s perspective Mentoring actions from a beginning teacher’s perspective Constructivist approaches to establish effective mentoring Supporting a beginning teacher’s expectations Support to understand the school environment Suggestions on balancing teaching life with other commitments Facilitate a beginning teacher’s teaching of science Support to meet teacher standards Unreasonable expectations by a beginning teacher of a mentor Summary and key points Further resources Appendix 3.1 Personal Record of Progress (PRoP) form Accountabilities of a reflective mentor Introduction Objectives Some important aspects of reflective mentoring Elements of reflective practice (RP)Ourselves Other people The environment Time offers new challenges RP to support change among beginning teachers RP and experience sharing conversations RP and documenting reflective accounts Models of reflective practice (RP) for unreflective beginning teachers Model 1: Kolb’s learning cycle Model 2: Brookfield’s lenses Model 3: Malthouse and Roffey-Barentsen’s situated reflective practice Summary and key points Further resources Developing a mentor–mentee relationship Introduction Objectives The need for building a mentor–mentee relationship Mentoring approaches that support the emotional needs of a beginning teacher A mentor–mentee relationship to support the development of confidence by a beginning teacher Mentoring to strengthen the mentor–mentee relationship through emotional intelligence Summary and key points Further resources Section 2. Basic mentoring practices Supporting beginning teachers with lesson planning Introduction Objectives Lesson planning as a reflective process Supporting a beginning teacher’s developmental journey of planning Apprenticeship plane Guided participation plane: Understanding the science curriculum to plan learning outcomes and key questions Learning outcomes and pupils learning Learning outcomes and key questions Guided participation plane (continued): Three-part lesson plan one: Start two: Main body three: Consolidation Participatory appropriation plane Planning for differentiation Planning for differentiated questions Planning for differentiated tasks for the same activity Long-term planning Summary and key points Further resources Appendix 6.1 Handout for pupils investigating the relationship betweenthe voltage across a resistor and the current through it Supporting beginning science teachers to teach and evaluate their lessons Introduction Objectives Stages of development as a teacher Characteristic behaviours of effective teachers Calmness Clarity Consistency Care Confidence A beginning teacher teaching lessons and mentor’s support Early idealism stage of development Survival stage of development Recognising difficulties stage of development Revisiting basic teaching skills Teaching strategies Hitting a plateau stage of development Use of questioning Incorporating group work Use of texts Moving on Evaluation of a beginning teacher’s progress Self-evaluations of lesson debrief Self-evaluations of pupils' feedback Summary and key points Further resources Appendix 7.1 Self-evaluation and mentor–mentee discussion template Pre-lesson discussions, lesson observation and post-lesson discussions in mentoring beginning science teachers Introduction Objectives Mentoring style Lesson observation cycle Pre-lesson discussions Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)Teacher standards Agreed on focused dimensions for feedback Lesson observation When to intervene in an observed lesson?Recording lesson observations Рost-lesson discussions Mentoring checklist Summary and key points Further resources Appendix 8.1 Lesson observation template for John Holding weekly mentoring meetings Introduction Objectives Purposes of a weekly mentoring meeting External and internal drivers that guide the purpose of weekly mentoring meetings External divers Internal drivers Pre-planning the structure of weekly mentoring meetings The GROW (Goal, Reality, Obstacles/Options and Way forward) model Reflection on your ability to hold weekly mentoring meetings Summary and key points Further resources Appendix 9.1 An example template of a weekly meeting record document Section 3. Extending basic mentoring practices Supporting beginning teachers to develop pedagogical content knowledge Introduction Objectives The importance of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in teaching science A learning progression approach to the development of a beginning teacher’s PCK Elicitation leading to reconstruction stage of development Reconstruction leading to PCK-mediated effective teaching Effective teaching: Linking subject knowledge with PCK Summary and key points Further resources Appendix 10.1 Subject knowledge audit for beginning teachers Appendix 10.2 A CoRe matrix to develop PCK, adapted from Eames,Williams, Hume and Lockley (2011, p. 3)Appendix 10.3 An example of a completed CoRe matrix, for teachingenzymes to 14–16-year-old pupils Appendix 10.4 A three-step process to help a beginning teacher to developtheir subject knowledge and PCK [SK refers to subject knowledge]Supporting beginning teachers to cope with contingencies Introduction Objectives Where does mentoring begin?Mentoring: What is scientific explanation?Why can science learning be so difficult?Why are unexpected questions so unsettling for a beginning teacher?Summary and key points Further resources Supporting beginning teachers to develop their ability to assess pupils Introduction Objectives Assessment dimensions development over time A beginning teacher’s induction to some assessment policies, procedures and practices in your school Supporting a beginning teacher to develop some dimensions of summative assessments Supporting a beginning teacher to develop some aspects of formative assessment Rich questioning: Developing classroom dialogue and building confidence among pupils Comment-only marking: Improving feedback and enhancing motivation among pupils Self- and peer-assessment to support learning The formative use of summative tests and fairness for all pupils Summary and key points Further resources Appendix 12.1 Action plan template Supporting beginning teachers to link learning, memory and inguiry Introduction Objectives Effective teaching and successful learning in science classrooms What are beginning science teachers’ beliefs and understandings about memory and learning?Supporting beginning teachers to optimise learning by embedding the memory phenomenon of desirable difficulties in their classrooms The spacing effect Interleaved practice Retrieval practice Beginning teachers’ inquiry into misconceptions about learning and memory Summary and key points Further resources Appendix 13.1 Task 13.2 suggested answers (based on Firth, 2018)Supporting a beginning teacher to apply features of the nature of science Introduction Objectives Mentoring to support a beginning teacher’s understanding of the importance of the nature of science (NoS)Is there a best way of teaching the NoS in the curriculum?Supporting a beginning teacher to reflect on their existing practical work mediated teaching practices using the nine elements of the NoS Incorporating health and safety training as part of beginning teacher development Sources of guidance Induction to the laboratory Risk assessment for every experiment A professional development walk (PDW)NoS focused lesson plans Summary and key points Further resources Supporting beginning teachers in embedding scientific literacy Introduction Objectives Mentoring a beginning teacher to incorporate some pedagogical practices associated with scientific literacy Supporting beginning teachers to embed scientific literacy dimensions in their teaching practices Assisting beginning teachers in planning lessons to highlight a pedagogical view of scientific literacy Column one: Learning outcomes and scientific literacy elements Column two: Activities Column three: Assessment Mentor and beginning teacher’s evaluations Summary and key points Further resources Appendix 15.1 A lesson plan template: Scientific literacy dimensions Mentoring beginning teachers in implementing process-oriented guided inquiry learning: An example of an inquiry-based pedagogical approach of teaching science Introduction Objectives POGIL: An inquiry-based, experiential learning approach Mentoring science as inquiry The POGIL learning cycle: Understanding the link between theory and practice Inquiry questions Group roles and responsibilities Implementing POGIL process skills Developing a series of POGIL lesson plans Mentoring questions to facilitate planning, teaching and evaluation Summary and key points Further resources Appendix 16.1 Rates of reaction Section 4. Moving beyond Supporting a beginning teacher to become autonomous Introduction Objectives Mentor’s self-reflection and a beginning teacher’s peer-discussions to support the development of an autonomous teacher Introducing a beginning teacher to the wider school community The continued transition between the three planes to develop teacher’s autonomy Apprenticeship plane: Inducting a beginning teacher into the wider school community Guided participation plane: Introduce the concept of negotiation of meaning Participatory appropriation plane: Characteristic changes in exhibiting personalised teacher’s identity Summary and key points Further resources Supporting a beginning teacher to implement extension and enrichment Introduction Objectives Differentiation and extension Enrichment Framework for supporting the ability of a beginning teacher to enrich pupils’ learning Mentoring to elicit reflection Mentoring to support Chen’s learning outcomes Using the modelling of good practice to provide support and challenge Draw on external expertise to develop relevant knowledge-based enrichment activities Step 5. Review and plan for the future Summary and key points Further resources Supporting beginning teachers to work with pupils with special educational needs and disability Introduction Objectives What do we mean by special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)?What does research say about SEND classroom practices and how can you support a beginning teacher to implement best practice?Experiential learning Scientific literacy Inquiry-based learning Overarching activities for beginning teachers Case study In-depth discussion Summary and key points Further resources To conclude

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