I’m mentoring Nicole, a teacher at one of my school sites who is new to teaching kindergarten. This technology mentoring relationship works out well for a few reasons. First of all, I knew Nicole at my last school and we developed a friendship. After she moved schools, we only communicated via Instagram, but I knew it would be easy to find more time to meet because we enjoyed each other’s company and talked about keeping in touch. The second reason why this mentoring relationship works well is because last year I knew she was not feeling as confident about technology as she wanted to be. I talked a lot with Nicole about the CSUF EdTech Masters program and recommended that she apply for it. Now, she is in her first semester! We've rekindled our communication, texting every week and talking on the phone about Masters work. The final reason why this mentoring relationship works out well is because Nicole is new to her grade level and school. She wants to be successful and feels comfortable talking about her struggles in search of solutions. Nicole is ready for more growth and change, and I will help her to get there!
Nicole is an amazing teacher who is always seeking to grow as a professional to be the best teacher she can be. This is the main quality I was looking for in determining who to choose for my mentee. In regards to the SAMR model, Nicole seems to be in the substitution phase, using technology as a tool substitute with no change to the function of the tool. In the TPACK model, I believe Nicole has pedagogical content knowledge, and she is actively seeking technological knowledge by getting her Masters in educational technology. Nicole's strong pedagogical content knowledge coupled with her desire to gain more technological knowledge made her stand out as the ideal mentee and impacted my decision in choosing her. She is in the position to made tremendous growth in a short amount of time because she wants to move up the SAMR model to make technology use meaningful for her students. I happen to be the Digital Learning Coach at Nicole's new school, so I can continue this mentoring relationship because it is my job to help teachers use technology with their students! I have time to demo and co-plan/co-teach lessons with Nicole all year! I am excited to know that our relationship can easily continue to grow.
At the beginning of September, I emailed Nicole, asking her to do me a favor with this mentoring assignment by being my mentee. I laid out the benefits for her, explaining that I would help with whatever she needed. We had already been texting and talking about her Masters work, so it was an easy conversation to initiate. I was honest and told Nicole that kinder is my weakest area, as I have mostly upper grade experience. I told Nicole that she would help me grow professionally as I gain more knowledge about kindergarten. I explained how this relationship will be mutually beneficial, and Nicole happily agreed to be my mentee!
To begin our mentoring relationship, I created a Google Doc with a simple table with the following headings: Area of support, how Jessica can help, and ways you want student learning to evolve. I used this input to create our action plan. I took into account our school’s Technology Integration Plan that I helped develop with Nicole's principal. Looking at this plan, I determined which focus areas would help Nicole grow as an educator while fulfilling her school's technology plan. This professional development will ensure that Nicole is meeting the goals of her school's technology plan and her personal goals.
Nicole and I will meet in person at least once a week and communicate via Google chat, email, and by phone at least twice a week. I am excited to document this technology mentoring experience via this blog, showing Nicole's successes and how I grow professionally by being a mentor!
Nicole is an amazing teacher who is always seeking to grow as a professional to be the best teacher she can be. This is the main quality I was looking for in determining who to choose for my mentee. In regards to the SAMR model, Nicole seems to be in the substitution phase, using technology as a tool substitute with no change to the function of the tool. In the TPACK model, I believe Nicole has pedagogical content knowledge, and she is actively seeking technological knowledge by getting her Masters in educational technology. Nicole's strong pedagogical content knowledge coupled with her desire to gain more technological knowledge made her stand out as the ideal mentee and impacted my decision in choosing her. She is in the position to made tremendous growth in a short amount of time because she wants to move up the SAMR model to make technology use meaningful for her students. I happen to be the Digital Learning Coach at Nicole's new school, so I can continue this mentoring relationship because it is my job to help teachers use technology with their students! I have time to demo and co-plan/co-teach lessons with Nicole all year! I am excited to know that our relationship can easily continue to grow.
At the beginning of September, I emailed Nicole, asking her to do me a favor with this mentoring assignment by being my mentee. I laid out the benefits for her, explaining that I would help with whatever she needed. We had already been texting and talking about her Masters work, so it was an easy conversation to initiate. I was honest and told Nicole that kinder is my weakest area, as I have mostly upper grade experience. I told Nicole that she would help me grow professionally as I gain more knowledge about kindergarten. I explained how this relationship will be mutually beneficial, and Nicole happily agreed to be my mentee!
To begin our mentoring relationship, I created a Google Doc with a simple table with the following headings: Area of support, how Jessica can help, and ways you want student learning to evolve. I used this input to create our action plan. I took into account our school’s Technology Integration Plan that I helped develop with Nicole's principal. Looking at this plan, I determined which focus areas would help Nicole grow as an educator while fulfilling her school's technology plan. This professional development will ensure that Nicole is meeting the goals of her school's technology plan and her personal goals.
Nicole and I will meet in person at least once a week and communicate via Google chat, email, and by phone at least twice a week. I am excited to document this technology mentoring experience via this blog, showing Nicole's successes and how I grow professionally by being a mentor!
No comments:
Post a Comment