A college diploma and a teaching license are not enough for new teachers to succeed in their initial year taking the various roles of a teacher. Though they have prepared for the responsibilities and duties of a teacher for several years, most of them will struggle with the challenges of the actual teaching career.
The best way to help new mentors is by letting them be mentored by older and experienced teachers. With this, they are not only guided in terms of what needs to be done. They are also inspired to work harder and better as how their mentors share with them. So if you get assigned to mentor a new teacher in your school, check out these tips to make the mentoring effective and successful:
Observe.
There is no point mentoring a new teacher if you don’t know how he performs in class. Hence, observe a few classes of the new teacher. Take note of the strong points as well as the weak ones. Then, schedule a time to provide your feedback.
Discuss.
Hold a one-on-one discussion with your apprentice to give him all the feedback based on your observation. Relaying specific areas for improvement is not about criticizing him. Provide both positive and negative points of which he should take note. Deliver constructively so that your trainee will be more encouraged towards excellence.
Solve.
Come up with a specific solution to every weak point. As a mentor, you should devise ways to make it easy for both of you such as maintaining a checklist or a dialogue journal. Furthermore, emphasize his strong points as you guide him to become a more effective teacher.
Model.
You are a mentor because you embody the role at school. Hence, share your knowledge, skills, and strategies in teaching which you have proven over the years. Provide him different teaching approaches and let him discover which ones are effective for him. You can also let the new teacher observe you or other excellent teachers in their respective classes. Guide him in the process to further help him in his observation. This way, he can pick up new skills necessary for his improvement.
Inspire.
What makes you a great mentor is getting the neophyte teacher inspired to continue in the profession. Tell him your past experiences as a new teacher and how you have become confident in the job today. Let him understand that it’s pointless for him to give up on the profession as every new teacher undergoes the struggle of the initial year.
Helping a new teacher advance in the teaching craft and be passionate in his career is tremendously rewarding for a veteran teacher like you. It does not only mean that you are helping the new teacher set his very life. You are also helping countless students that this new teacher will have in his classroom in the future.