First time mentoring a student teacher... any tips?

[BlossomKill]

I have a student teacher starting in my class next week and have been thinking about what sorts of things I'll need to do; she's observing in class for a few weeks initially then starting to teach...

The provider has said that there will be training for in-school mentors at some point and obviously I'll need to introduce her to my class, go through planning, assessments and other paperwork with her (she did her second placement at the school so will be familiar with some things already) but I was wondering if anyone had any advice to help make sure she gets the most out of her placement with us?

[winewolfhowls]

If your school doesn't do it already create a welcome pack or department handbook including...

Their timetable
School calendar, circle the events you expect them to attend like open evening
Timetables of everyone else in the department
What break duty and what to do
Where to go if...e.g you want to collect photocopying, you need a trip planning form
School policies like behaviour
Who's who, especially the it guys and caretaker.
Log on and passwords for school system, mymaths etc
Their Form list of names, location, what day is assembly
Sow and relevant textbooks for their classes

I know they can pick all this up as they go along but it builds confidence and sets expectations clearly.

[lampfromikea]

I had a truly horrible experience on my main SCITT placement.

• don't email feedback (particularly if it has a more negative tone) for the weeks lesson plans at 9pm on a Sunday. That almost broke me a few times.
• try not to nitpick. I taught a few lessons that at the end I was really pleased with, only to be given RI for not bullet-pointing success criteria or because I rubbed the board off ready for the next lesson whilst books were being packed away.
• if it all gets too much for your student and they break down in tears, don't give them a speech about how it was more difficult for you as a student because xyz and tell them to go away and sort it out.

It was so bad I had to get the training provider involved because no matter what hoops I jumped through, I was never good enough. So glad I never have to go through it again!

[lampfromikea]

Oh and another. Split your lessons so that you both teach lessons where 'deep' marking is required. The teacher I was training with gave me the majority of the deep marking, so by the end of the week I had upwards of 120 pieces of work that had needed to be marked.
And mark with your student too. That way they will understand the types of feedback you can give and why you give it!

[DrDreReturns]

Make sure your trainee understands the administrative side of the job - record keeping etc. When I did my PGCE no one told me any of this in my first placement.

[MidniteScribbler]

Make sure you let them have a go at any assessments. Talk through things like how you organise your guided reading groups and sessions.

Let them write in communication books if you have them and be part of discussions with parents. Talk them through report writing if they are there for that part of the year and get them to provide some input.

[albertcamus]

I would add to the above, remember that your student may have had a bad experience with her first placement mentor; I worked with a teacher who was a downright bully to several trainee teachers whom she was meant to be mentoring. She crossed the line between constructive criticism and gratuitous bullying for her own pleasure. Naturally they were very hurt and demoralised by her. After seeing this, I can understand anyone being on the defensive in their second placement.

[samlovesdilys]

There are some things you do without thinking that will take trainees ages, plan and mark together. Get them to observe as many different people as possible. Build up to whole lessons. Offer tea and biscuits. I'm secondary so my biggest advice is always to be friendly but not friends!

[samlovesdilys]

I meant for them to be friendly to students...not mentor to trainee 🤦🏼‍♀️

[marriedwithhounds]

Always bear in mind that everything takes a long time at first. What seems like an hour's work to a confident teacher may take 3 or 4 hours for a trainee. Don't knowingly over face someone who is new to a demanding job.

[SansaSnark]

I did my PGCE last year, so I hope some of this is helpful.

I agree with a lot of what others have said- don't forget that at first everything takes ages, that everyone has their own style, and that there are only so many things someone can improve at once. It's also really helpful if you give them stuff like a map of the school (if secondary) and tell them where the printers are and where to get more resources etc.

Stuff my mentors did which really helped:
-Those little bits of praise that kept me hanging on after a tough lesson.
-Acted like a TA to start with especially when I was teaching tricky classes.
-But also backed off and let me stand on my own two feet when they thought I was ready!
-Let me have keys to the rooms I was teaching in- don't underestimate how much easier this makes someone's life!
-Set realistic expectations for planning- mine said 48 hours in advance, which I reckon is fair/workable and allows responsive teaching.
-Offer support when they are doing something like phoning a parent for the first time as this can be really daunting for some people!

Stuff which really wasn't so great:
-Don't blindside them e.g. the mentor who said she was going to grade me good for everything, then suddenly changed my grades at the last minute, without really having a clear explanation why.
-Don't force them to do stuff they are clearly uncomfortable with- e.g. one school made me do a filmed observation, even though it wasn't uni policy and I'd made it clear I was really uncomfortable with the idea.
-Don't model/encourage unhealthy behaviour (I know this is a tricky one). I had a mentor who came into school even when she was clearly quite ill, so when I got ill, I struggled in, and ended up probably getting much iller than I otherwise would have done.
-Try to avoid criticisms that get too far into the personal.