practical work

Mentoring Models: Reverse Mentoring and Community

SEL

Relationship Building

Aspects of Teaching/ Learning

Being a Mentor/ Being Mentored.

Enrichment of Tool Box idea

As a student teacher, I’ve learned and adopted a variety of tools and techniques to use in the classroom. This included everything from classroom management, to teaching the actual lesson, and giving homework. As a master teacher, I was able to give over the knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years from the clarity of instructions, to class management, and involvement of students in the lesson.

We’ve both added to our methodological toolbox many strategies for homework giving and checking, tips on how to increase communication and collaboration between the students and the teacher, how to properly write, give, and score exams, and how to give sufficient feedback. We’ve also explored the use of technology in the classroom and experimented to what extent they could be used with every class.

As teachers, we also recognize that teaching goes beyond the material given, but also involves catering to the students social and emotional needs. This in turn also helps them focus better in class and increases academic achievement. We saw that when there was a need to stop the lesson due to misbehaving kids or to clear up a controversial topic, then time to speak about it with the class was crucial and necessary before we can continue with the lesson. And in all, it benefitted the classroom learning environment and maintained focus.

As teachers, we believe that a strong relationship is the foundation for any good teaching. And this is not only a strong relationship between the students but also between the teachers. Therefore, it was important for us to establish boundaries of respect so that the students feel comfortable speaking up in class and sharing their work with their peers. We encouraged students that when their classmates speak, that they have to respect them and listen just as they would like to be done to them when it is their turn to speak. Positive reinforcement is another way to develop a relationship with the students and to build a positive atmosphere in the classroom.

As a mentor, I was able to share my experiences and provide guidance and motivation about my career path and teaching in general. I remember what it was like being in the student teacher’s shoes and I am happy to have the opportunity to teach Racheli so that she can learn from my mistakes and develop herself as a teacher in the best way possible. As the student teacher being mentored, I appreciated and took in every word of advice, knowing that everything my mentor did had very good and logical reasons behind them. Listening to her feedback after I’ve given over a lesson has helped me to improve each time for the next lesson. Overall, it was an amazing experience for the both of us as we’ve learned from each other

As a mentor, I was impressed by how the student teachers always look for ways to advance their teaching in new and creative ways. Whether it be with the use of technology or the implementation of games in the lesson, it was a nice change to see. Throughout our year together, after each lesson, as the student teacher I would receive very good feedback from my mentor where she would highlight what she liked and shed light on areas that needed improvement. Additionally, after the day at school, we would get together in the learning community and have a chance to learn together something new. Whether it be AI and how to integrate it into the classroom, we both took from the learning community ideas we’d like to implement in our classrooms.

Thank you!