A recent Prairie Lakes AEA needs assessment of district mentoring programs revealed that districts have a need for professional development in three common areas:
- Looking at Student Work During PLCs
- Observation and Feedback
- Mentor Program Evaluation
To address the common needs, we’ve identified these three action steps:
- PLAEA staff will develop a module for PLC leads, mentors, and others to access at any time regarding an efficient and effective way to look at student work and make decisions.
- PLAEA staff will develop a learning opportunity for mentors and coaches to enhance their observation and feedback skills when supporting new teachers to strengthen their instruction. This will also be an opportunity to identify barriers that exist for mentors/coaches to observe and provide feedback as well as developing solutions.
- PLAEA staff will share an efficient and effective method for evaluating the mentor program. The method could also be used to evaluate other programs.
If you would like to provide suggestions about any of these opportunities or have questions, please contact either Sarah Nachazel, snachazel@plaea.or or Jaymie Randel, jrandel@plaea.org.