The Role and Potential of External Mentoring in Developing Teacher - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The Role and Potential of External Mentoring in Developing Teacher Effectiveness:

Evidence from the Modes of Mentoring and Coaching (MoMaC) research study

Andrew J. Hobson (Sheffield Hallam University) Joanna McIntyre (University of Nottingham) SCORE Annual Conference, 19th March 2012

Outline

• 1. Introduction to MoMaC research project
• 2. Research design and methods
• 3. Findings
• 4. Key discoveries and conclusions

• 1. Introduction

Introduction: project overview

Paper draws on analyses of data generated for the Modes of Mentoring and Coaching (MoMaC) research project (2010-12) Collaborative project Sponsored by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation Project aims: to investigate nature, impact and potentially broader applicability of ‘external mentoring’ support for science teachers in England associated with:

• the pilot Physics Enhancement Programme (PEP);
• the pilot Science Additional Specialism Programme (SASP); and
• the Stimulating Physics Network (SPN).

Introduction: programmes studied

Some differences between the 3 programmes examined:

• PEP – support for beginner non-specialist teachers
• SASP – support for more experienced teachers of ‘additional specialism’
• SPN – bespoke support for certain departments or faculties with non-

specialists teachers

Common feature of the 3 programmes we were interested in:

• provision of experienced subject specialist practitioner, external to the

teacher’s institution, to act as mentor or coach

• PEP Regional Support Mentors (pilot phase only)
• SASP Regional Advisors (pilot phase only)
• SPN Teaching & Learning Coaches (TLCs)
• ...to whom we collectively refer as external mentors (EMs)

Introduction: Teacher shortage

International problem of teacher shortage in certain subject areas,

related to difficulties both of recruiting and retaining such teachers (Ingersoll, 2003; Osborne & Dillon, 2008). One consequence is that in some secondary schools, shortage subjects, which in the UK include physics, chemistry and mathematics, are by necessity frequently taught by non-specialists (Moor et al., 2006) Possible implications for:

pupil learning

pupils’ interest in and ability to study these subjects to higher levels production of future generations of (e.g.) scientists; teachers of science future competitiveness of the economy (Royal Society, 2008).

Introduction: limitations of school-based support

Whether teachers experience effective support for professional development is something of a lottery, dependent on various factors including: Culture and leadership of school Culture and leadership of department Resources (un)available to support CPD Individual mentor allocated Subject(s) taught

• 2. Research Design & Methods

Research design and methods

Sequential mixed method design (Tashakkori & Teddlie,1998)

1 Scoping phase

Review of existing literature; analysis of existing datasets Informal discussions with stakeholders

2 ‘Qualitative’ research phase

Part-structured interviews with external mentors and mentees Part-structured interviews with ‘unmentored’ PEP and SASP participants Case studies (observation/documentary analysis/follow-up interviews)

3 ‘Quantitative’ research phase

National survey of 1558 primary and secondary teachers (all subjects) Administered by NFER: autumn 2011 Teacher Omnibus Survey (online)

Methods {cont.}

Table 1 Interviews conducted

PEP (including case study interviews)* SASP (including case study interviews) SPN (including case study interviews) Total (including case study interviews) Mentors / TLCs 5 (6) 6† (7) 8 (11) 19 (24) Mentees 19 (22) 9‡ (14) 19 (26) 47 (62) ‘Unmentored’ PEP and SASP participants 6 4 N/A 10 Total 76 (96)

*Some mentees who took part in the case study work had not previously been interviewed, whereas all case study mentors/TLCs had previously been interviewed. †Two of the SASP mentors were supporting teachers of Chemistry. ‡Two of the SASP mentees were being supported for their teaching of Chemistry, the remainder for Physics.

Methods {cont.}

Table 2 The survey sample

Total sample Achieved sample Response rate (per cent) Primary teachers 4054 849 21 Secondary teachers 3527 709 20 Total 7581 1558 21

Methods {cont.}: main survey question

“In some regions and subject areas, teachers are able to access the

support of an external mentor, namely an experienced subject specialist teacher, not connected with their school, who works in a purely supportive capacity and is able to provide face to face or online support for their subject knowledge, subject pedagogy or other teaching-related issues.

Qu.2 For each of the subjects you currently teach, please indicate

whether you feel you might benefit from the opportunity to call upon the support of an external mentor, if the support were available…”

Methods {cont.}: other survey questions

Other substantive questions included: “which factors might prompt you to seek [EM] support?”

• 3. Findings

Main types of contact between external mentors (EMs) and teachers

Email Face-to-face* Telephone Social networking online *Face-to-face contact included:

• One-to-one and group meetings / school visits
• Workshops
• Social networking

Main kinds of support provided by EMs

Support for:

Subject content knowledge Subject pedagogy General pedagogy

Support for emotional wellbeing Support for career progression Responsive to individual need

Specific support strategies included

Modelling teaching and practical work Providing or facilitating access to teaching resources Helping mentees to use specialist equipment Helping mentees with lesson planning Help with planning schemes of work Providing ‘a shoulder to cry on’ and enabling mentees to share confidences Cultivating and encouraging mentees to engage with a peer network Encouraging mentees to become part of the broader science community, such

as engagement with the ASE and IOP

Again, support tailored to meet needs of individual teachers / departments

Factors encouraging take-up of EM support

Shortcomings of existing institutional support Issues with existing mentor, induction tutor or line manager Perceived difficulties in being open with school-based colleagues Easier to ask for help from (admit perceived ‘deficiencies’ to)

external mentor

Personal attributes, qualities and characteristics of EMs Mentors’ credibility with teachers/mentees Perception amongst teachers/mentees that EMs had more time

available to support them

Factors encouraging take-up {cont.}

I didn’t feel that I was in the right school. I was teaching the subject for the first time but there was no support. I was going out of my mind. {PEP participant} My induction tutor really couldn’t help me with my subject

• knowledge. {SPN participant}

And he [external mentor] has got a very good manner about him, someone you feel you can contact if you’ve got any issues – a friendly, professional, very positive, very supportive manner. {PEP participant}

Factors discouraging or restricting take-up of EM

Time and timetabling constraints Geographical distance School gatekeepers not facilitating access Teacher satisfaction with existing support Teacher confidence and self-sufficiency re. teaching and

professional development

Teacher and mentor not getting along Failure to recognise support need

Factors restricting take-up {cont.} In both my placement schools I had fantastic mentors and was getting really good support. This was also the case

• n my PGCE I felt I already had all the support I

needed...This isn’t a criticism of [external mentor], its just that I didn’t need him. {PEP participant}

Perceived impact of EM support

Out of the 47 PEP

, SASP and SPN teacher mentees whose interview transcripts we analysed and coded:

40 clearly indicated that they found the external

mentoring support helpful

four had mixed feelings

• ne considered that the support was not helpful.

Reported benefits of EM support

• 1. Impact on mentees’ professional knowledge and skill base,

including

Improved subject knowledge Improved knowledge of and ability to use technical equipment Increased commitment to professional development Increased awareness of regionally based opportunities for

• ff-site learning for their pupils

Increased reflection on practice

Reported benefits EM support {cont.}

• 2. Impact on teaching and learning, including
• Increased use of practical work in teaching physics and reduced

reliance on textbooks

• More interesting, enjoyable and accessible lessons
• Increased focus on subject content by teachers
• Enhanced pupil understanding and learning
• 3. Emotional impact on mentees, including
• Increased confidence in subject knowledge and teaching
• Reassurance of having someone to whom they could turn
• Increased enjoyment of and enthusiasm for teaching
• Reduced anxiety or stress

Reported benefits EM support {cont.}

[T]he physics I was teaching was wrong. [EM] didn’t say anything then

[while witnessing this] but came to me afterwards and said “we need to fix this now”... I think he was there to do a job and really he did that job which was to guide me to the point where I was more confident about my subject knowledge... (SASP mentee)

[A]ll this rusty old equipment at the back of the cupboards, we’ve been

able to get it out and use it and it’s not just collecting dust anymore... The fact that we can actually do the experiments, I’m a strong believer that if you actually do something you are more likely to remember it. (SASP mentee)

Reported benefits EM support {cont.}

One mentee sent her EM a PowerPoint she had developed about ‘the physics involved in a rollercoaster ride’, and asked if he could check if:

it makes sense… Am I right in thinking that if a coaster is racing at an acc >g that the rider in the cart will still be falling at g and that is why they hit the lap bar? I hope it's all correct, I've really enjoyed trying to sort it all out in my own head! I've attempted to link forces, vel, acc, energy...etc using equations to help explain stuff. May I send you it at a later date to (again) check it all makes sense??

The following day, EM sent a very detailed email which gave some feedback about the PowerPoint as a whole and suggestions about how the information might be made more accessible for the audience:

For Yr8, when the train accelerates down a slope you could think of it as the seat trying to race away from your bottom. But gravity still pulls you down so you remain in contact with the seat. However the seat pushes with a smaller force - you feel to have lost weight. (If the two forces on you were equal and

• pposite you could not accelerate and therefore would not keep up with the train!)

The EM also corrected some misconceptions within the PowerPoint, for example: ‘Slide 1. Fire is not a form of energy’.

Reported benefits EM support {cont.}

• 4. Enhanced recognition and career advancement, including
• Enhanced career progression or promotion prospects
• Becoming a ‘leading light’ within the department, to whom other

teachers can go for support

• 5. Impact on department, school and profession, including
• Freeing up some of time of HoDs & other school-based subject

specialists

• Increased discussion about subject and subject pedagogy within

departments and schools

• Improved knowledge and expertise of laboratory technicians
• Enhanced teacher retention

Perceived advantages of external over internal support

More advanced subject and subject pedagogical

knowledge / expertise

Dedicated time to support teacher Independent perspective EM role as supporter not judge or assessor

easier for teacher to be open

Perceived advantages of external support {cont.}

[With the external mentor] I was able to discuss much more about a physics classroom as opposed to a classroom in general... The mentors that you have in school didn’t have a physics specialism... so ... it was really more about how to become a teacher rather than being a physics teacher. {PEP participant} It gives you ideas about different ways of explaining things but it also gives you confidence. If you’re feeling a bit unsure or insecure about something ... to have someone of [mentor’s] experience to give you reassurance... [it’s] comforting to know that there’s someone at the end of an email... There’s a time issue too. I know if I ask a question [the external mentor] will take time to sit down and answer it... {PEP participant}

Perceived advantages of external support {cont.}

• Qu. What do you think about these kinds of programmes being

under threat due to financial considerations? It means that if you can’t ask questions and deal with misconceptions and challenge yourself you’ll have to get help from people who are less equipped to help you and go with established ways of doing things and not make physics lessons as exciting as they can be and [EM] is helping us to make them. {SPN participant}

• 4. Key Discoveries and Conclusions

A key prerequisite of teacher effectiveness

Other things being equal, professional learning and

development will be more likely to come about where teachers are able to both recognize and acknowledge their perceived limitations or areas for development to one or more significant others who may be able to help them to address these, or else to facilitate access to someone who (or something that) can.

Teacher concealment of support needs

Many teachers appear unwilling to acknowledge or admit to

perceived limitations or support needs, especially to school- based colleagues

Teacher concealment of support needs {cont.}

[D]uring PGCE whatever you ask your mentor they would judge you on and [think] “why doesn’t she know that?” (PEP mentee) [I]f I said to my head of department I didn’t know how to do this, I didn’t want him to think I was an idiot... (SASP mentee) I can openly admit when I started at this school that I wouldn’t go to anyone because you are so scared, you’re trying to establish yourself, you don’t know anyone, you don’t know people and how they might judge you and you’re scared of how people may judge you... (SPN mentee)

Teacher concealment of support needs {cont.}

I couldn’t go to the former head of department because they’ll feel I know nothing about physics. I’ll just keep my views and questions to myself. {SPN participant} I wouldn’t want to say to my boss I don’t understand something because I don’t want to come across like I don’t know anything about physics. {SPN participant} I know I can ask the teachers here but if you’ve got a physics question you may not want to ask the teachers here because you feel you ought to know the answer , so it’ s good to go elsewhere ... and people won’t think ‘hang on we’ve got a physics teacher here who doesn’t know the answer!’ {PEP participant}

Teacher concealment of support needs {cont.}

One (non-science) participant in the ‘Becoming a Teacher’

research said:

“to your mentor or your line manager , you never want to mention any potential failings that you might have because you don’t know what’ s going to go down in writing ... I have got the acting down to a fine art I think, well most of the time anyway... Don’t let it show to anybody at all; let nobody know.” (Hobson et al., 2009: p.223)

The same beginner teacher expressed a need for:

“something else, like if you had something you could fill in, and maybe send to somebody else, another mentor from another school anonymous, something like that.” (ibid.)

External mentoring as potential remedy

Students ask [EM] if they don’t want to look foolish. (University-based stakeholder) Externally you could be quite open and honest and really discuss the issues, there’ s no

• ne they’re going to tell, you can really be honest. (PEP participant)

[J]ust the fact that he wasn’t in my school was brilliant, so if school issues would

• ccur

, so if I said to my head of department I didn’t know how to do this, I didn’t want him to think I was an idiot but with [EM] he wouldn’t think that at all, [he was] kind of outside the loop... I could be completely open and honest. (SASP participant) You know [TLCs] aren’t going to be judging or gossiping about you. It might be embarrassing to admit to someone in school that you don’t understand something

• r have forgotten things. (SPN participant)

External mentoring as potential remedy {cont}

I’ve used the TLC loads and can ask stuff that I would feel a bit too stupid to ask colleagues that. TLCs don’t seem to judge. (SPN mentee) Having someone independent of their own job, someone they can talk to openly about what’ s on their mind without the fear of compromising their position, that’ s very useful... I think it gives them the freedom to ask questions and to explore the possibilities more. I think if it is being provided by someone in your school, if I’m training my own team they aren’t going to have the same freedom to ask me questions and to perhaps appear stupid. They might feel there are consequences to asking those daft questions. I don’t think they are daft but they might think so. (PEP mentor) Teachers need someone to develop a long-term relationship with who they can consult without feeling they will be judged. So they need a critical friend – someone who will support and challenge in a non-judgemental way. (TLC)

External mentoring as potential remedy {cont}

Status of EM as supporter rather than judge or assessor of

teachers’/trainees’ teaching is crucial

EM must be independent from school, have no involvement in or

connection to teachers’ assessment, appraisal or inspection

[Teachers]...are not so open and honest in large groups, but they are in the subsequent one-to-one meetings once they realise I am not there to judge

• them. For example, a head of department in a secondary school said they

didn’t understand the teaching of electronics: “I’ve got no idea and I’m completely reliant on the textbook”. They wouldn’t have said this to me in my advisor role as they think I’m there to make a judgement. (TLC)

External mentoring as potential remedy – not cure

“Sometimes when I offer support there’ s a certain amount of defensiveness” (TLC) “I felt more comfortable opening up to [TLC] about gaps in my knowledge than I thought I would... [but] I’m always very aware that my physics knowledge isn’t perhaps as good as it could be... [and] you don’t want to leave yourself open do you? Never leave yourself open to [someone] thinking I’m stupid.” (SPN participant)

The potential demand for external mentoring amongst wider population of teachers

Table 3 Did respondents feel they might benefit from the support of an external mentor?

Yes for one or more subjects No and/or not sure Total no. of respondents % Weighted % % Weighted % Primary 49% 49% 51% 51% 814 Secondary 49% 50% 51% 50% 698

The potential demand for external mentoring amongst wider population of teachers {cont.}

Factors which might encourage teachers to take up EM support (survey)

The most frequently stated responses, each given by over half of both primary and secondary respondents who indicated that they might benefit from an EM for at least one subject, were:

I would welcome additional support to develop my subject

pedagogy

I would welcome additional support to develop my subject content

knowledge

I would welcome additional support to facilitate access to or help

with teaching resources or equipment.

Conclusions: key findings

Concealment of support need is a major obstacle to teacher

professional development

This has serious implications for teacher effectiveness and pupil learning

External mentors associated with PEP

, SASP and SPN have been found to:

Help overcome this issue and have a positive impact on teaching and

learning in relation to non-specialist teachers of physics

Survey work suggests there is a wider demand for external mentoring

Conclusions: factors contributing to effectiveness of EMs and thus the teachers they supported

1.

Mentors having reliable and effective means of gaining access to teachers who are potential beneficiaries of their support

2.

Individual teachers’ openness to mentoring, and willingness and ability to learn/change

3.

Mentors having credibility with mentees as experienced, passionate subject specialist teachers

4.

Mentors’ independence from mentees’ schools, and lack of involvement in or association with their assessment or appraisal

5.

Mentors’ ability to build relationships and trust

6.

Mentors being empathetic, encouraging, supportive and positive

7.

Opportunities for one-to-one, face-to-face interaction between mentors and mentees

8.

Mentors having sufficient time to engage with teachers and flexibility to be able to respond swiftly to requests for support

9.

Mentors’ geographical proximity to mentees

• 10. Mentors’ ability and willingness to tailor support to individual mentee needs
• 11. Mentors’ willingness and ability to be proactive in establishing and maintaining contact with

mentees

References

• Hobson, A.J., Malderez, A., Tracey, L., Homer, M.S., Ashby, P., Mitchell, N., McIntyre, J., Cooper, D., Roper,

T., Chambers, G.N. & Tomlinson, P.D. (2009) Becoming a Teacher: Teachers’ experiences of initial teacher training, Induction and early professional development (Final report). Nottingham: Department for Children, Schools and Families.

• Ingersoll, R., (2003) Is there a shortage amongst Mathematics and Science Teachers? Science Educator

, 12(1), 1-64.

• Moor, H., Jones, M., Johnson, F., Martin K., Cowell, E. & Bojke, C. (2006). Mathematics and Science in

Secondary Schools: The Deployment of Teachers and Support Staff to Deliver the Curriculum, DfES Research Report 708, Nottingham: DfES.

• Osborne, J., & Dillon, J. (2008) Science education in Europe: Critical reflections. London: The Nuffield

Foundation.

• Royal Society (2008). Science and mathematics education, 14 –19 A ‘state of the nation’ report on the

participation and attainment of 14–19 year olds in science and mathematics in the UK, 1996–2007. Available online at: http://royalsociety.org/uploadedFiles/Royal_Society_Content/education/policy/state-of-nation/SNR2- full-report.pdf (Accessed 10 February, 2012)

• Tashakkori, A. and Teddlie, C. (1998). Mixed Methodology: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative
• Approaches. SAGE: Thousand Oaks.

Contact details

A.Hobson@shu.ac.uk J.McIntyre@nottingham.ac.uk