Mentoring English Teachers in the Secondary School

Debbie Hickman is a senior lecturer and subject co-ordinator for Secondary English and Professional Studies for the PGCE at the Institute of Education, University of Chichester. Debbie taught in secondary schools for sixteen years prior to moving into Higher Education and she is currently a doctoral student at the University of Reading researching secondary pupils’ perceptions of reading.

• List of illustrationsList of tasks List of contributorsAn introduction to the series: Mentoring Trainee and Newly Qualified Teachers Introduction: A Practical Guide to Mentoring in English 1 SECTION 1 WHAT IS MENTORING? 1 Models of mentoring Gill Golder, Alison Keyworth and Clare Shaw Definitions of mentoring; The context in which you are working, which underpins your mentoring practice; Effective mentoring models; Effective mentoring modelsSECTION 2 YOU AS A MENTOR 2 Understanding yourself and how your experiences influence your approaches to mentoring Andy Goodwyn Purpose or purposes; Becoming an English teacher; Starting with literature; Not a conclusion but a beginning3 What subject and pedagogical knowledge, understanding and skills does a mentor of beginning English teachers need? Sally Catchpole and Theresa GoodaUnderstanding knowledge; Reflecting on the nature of knowledge in English; Reflecting on your own knowledge and how you might address ‘gaps’; Developing knowledge of mentoring 4 Developing a mentor-mentee relationship Rachel Roberts The role of the mentor; Becoming an English mentor; Approaches to mentoring; Supporting your student teacher; Setting boundaries and expectations; Developing a professional identity; Navigating tricky relationships; Underpinning values SECTION 3 WHAT A MENTOR DOES 5 Managing workload and student teacher well-being Yvonne Williams Understanding and managing workload, including the recommendations of independent working groups; Managing marking and assessment; Managing planning; Managing data; Understanding and supporting well-being. 6 Developing collaborative practice Trevor Wright Lesson observations; Processing inputs; Collaborative work; the transfer of experience; Lesson planning; Wider collaborationSECTION 4 SUPPORTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF BEGINNING ENGLISH TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND UNDERSTANDING 7 What knowledge, skills and understanding do beginning English teachers need? Debbie Hickman and Theresa Gooda Outlining subject knowledge; Developing knowledge about speaking and listening; Developing knowledge about reading; Developing knowledge about writing 8 Supporting beginning English teachers to become reflective practitioners Julia O’Kelly Definitions of reflective practice; Reflexivity; Making sense of practice9 Supporting beginning English teachers to support pupils’ Louise BeattieSupporting the planning process; The planning process – the bigger picture; The planning process – individual lessons; Teaching and evaluating lessons; Using data and assessment to inform planning and teaching; Moving from planning individual lessons to planning sequences of lessons 10 Observing beginning teachers’ lessons Rachel Roberts Student teachers observing teaching; Being observed; Observing beginning English teachers; Effective feedback; Verbal feedback; Responding to feedback; 11 Holding weekly debriefs Rachel Roberts The reflective conversation; Knowing how to help; Barriers to progress; Topics for mentoring conversations; Evaluative language and praise; The role of emotions in mentoring conversations; Having difficult conversations; Values and the problems with progress 12 Developing the wider, professional role of the teacher Debbie Hickman What does it mean to be a professional and how does this relate to the role of the teacher?; Professional Studies and the wider role of the teacher; Stages of development as a teacher; Pastoral care and the role of the tutor; Working with others; Making a positive contribution to the wider life of the school 13 Continuing mentoring beginning English teachers beyond their initial teacher training Yvonne Williams The practicalities; What will be the demands on the mentor’s time?; Documentation; Establishing expectations; Considering the expertise in your school; Conducting meetings; Planning; Marking and Assessment; Lesson observation feedback; The wider professional role; Cross-curricular involvement; Supporting a weaker NQT; Mentoring an NQT to adapt beyond the induction year; Becoming a member of the professional References Author index General index