Education Mentoring for Educators

Too often, teachers are sent to professional development sessions only to return to their classrooms without the support to enact change. With mentoring from November Learning, educators receive the guidance they need to expand the boundaries of learning.

NL mentoring extends the teaching and learning strategies presented in our powerful professional development services right into the classroom, helping teachers strengthen their skills with customized hands-on, one-on-one instruction in their own environment. Our team also works with school and district leaders to establish a new mindset towards technology, along with concrete plans for supporting change. Here’s how:

Hands-on Approach

While in the classroom, an NL mentor or two-person team of mentors observes the teaching, studies student learning and, ultimately, offers specific suggestions for improvement. These recommendations help teachers reach curricular goals and also meet education standards. NL mentors assist teachers with:

Defining clear learning objectives
Implementing new instructional strategies
Locating subject area resources
Selecting the right technologies to meet learning objectives
Creating rubrics and other assessment tools for project-based learning
Assessing their technology skills and planning their professional growth
Locating and connecting with peers and innovators around the world

Additionally, NL mentors show teachers exactly what to do by modeling lessons for them. These lessons incorporate 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication. NL mentors also demonstrate how to use several Web 2.0 tools, including collaborative resources for educators and professional learning communities online.

Fostering Support

Including your school and/or district leadership team is essential to the success of November Learning mentoring. After the NL team has had to chance to work with teachers in their classroom(s), we collaborate with school and/or district administrators to accomplish the following:

Perform building walk-throughs for further observation
Review the positive and negative teaching practices witnessed
Discuss the positive and negative learning experiences perceived
Pinpoint essential initiatives and technologies for effecting change
Develop a strategy for implementing and evaluating those initiatives
Establish a common vision and rubrics for using technology effectively
Create a professional development schedule and sign-up calendar

Leading by Example

We believe that school and district administrators must model technology use and be able to communicate knowledgably about it. For that reason, school and district leaders are also eligible to receive one-on-one mentoring.

Student Ownership

Along with engaging key leaders, student ownership of technology is a vital part of a mentoring program’s positive outcome. To this end, NL mentors work with staff to create Student Technology Teams, which support technology use among teachers, administrators and peers.

Ongoing Support

Throughout our stay, the NL team will provide ongoing support for your school(s) through a variety of mechanisms. They include:

A professional development calendar and sign-up schedule created by NL mentors and school/district leadership – These administrative tools will keep track of feedback and approval from the staff development department at your school or district.
Online support, video/print tutorials, Skype sessions and more – In addition to hands-on instruction, NL mentors will utilize Web-based solutions to guide your school.
Monthly updates and ongoing data analysis of our work with your school or district – To help you gauge progress, we’ll keep you apprised of what is being accomplished.