Mentorship

An alternative to Intensive
supervision
Presented by
Lynn White

Why Intensive
Supervision?
The Intensive Supervision Procedure has been established
to assist those tenured teachers who have been identified
as not satisfactorily fulfilling the duties and responsibilities
of their position. The goal of the procedure is to provide a
structured environment in which these tenured teachers
will have the opportunity to improve their performance.
River East Transcona School Division
Intensive Supervision Procedure GCOE - R

Action Research
Research was conducted in the Spring 2009
Interviews were conducted with 5
Administrators and 2 Classroom Teachers
from 3 School Divisions in Winnipeg, MB
Questions focused on the participants
experiences with the Intensive Supervision
Process.
Responses were grouped based on
similarity

Participant Responses
Administrators described the process as:

Labour intensive
Time consuming/Costly
Detrimental to relationships
Not leading to sustainable change

Teachers described the process as:

Stressful
Exhausting
Harmful to their relationship with
Administration
Not leading to sustainable change

Things to Consider
Why are we continuing to use the Intensive
Supervision Process if both administrators and
teachers are not finding it a helpful process?
Is there another method that School Divisions
could implement that would assist in bringing
about sustainable change in teacher practice
that would help teachers feel supported
instead of judged?
What are some other factors that should be
considered when deciding how to best support
a struggling teacher?

Teacher Career
Characteristics

8 Stages a teacher may pass through in a

career
Pre-Service
Induction
Competency Building
Enthusiastic and Growing
Career Frustration
Stable but Stagnant
Career Wind-Down
Career Exit

Tom Skinner
Supervisory Policy and Practice

Mid-Life Variables
Growing sense of mortality
A need for self-assessment
Transformation in family structure
Generativity/Mentoring
Reduced drive and competitiveness
Security and stability become a priority
Strong need to enjoy work
Growing sense of obsolescence

Marginal Teachers

Taken from Eileen Beverley Kayes article

Turning the Tide on Marginal Teachers

Flotsam

Consciously unskilled teachers

ex. beginning teachers / those new to a position
Thought to be temporary as they are self motivated with
the ability to seek out the type of support required to
assist them to improve their teaching practice

Jetsam

Teachers left behind in times of change.

Overwhelmed by changes to curricula and the
implementation of new technology and new initiatives
without the time, resources and support put in place to
help them adapt to these changes.
Exemplify a tiredness resulting from rapid change
occurring. Tend to erode the energy and will of others
Aware of their ineffective teaching practices but lack the
resources to make the necessary changes to improve due
to fatigue, frustration and loss of hope

Clubmed

Teachers who make a career out of marginal teaching.

Appear lax and lazy with little connection for students
learning and the profession of teaching.
Do not necessarily view themselves as unskilled and in
fact may think that they work very hard.

Plans for Professional

Growth

First identify the type of marginal

teacher that you are assisting. What
is their age & stage?
Consider the type of support that
will best suit the struggling teacher.
Certain kinds of marginal teachers
will respond better to mentoring
than others. Ex. Flotsam, Jetsam

Mentoring
Vital and necessary for increased
teacher retention
Increases the knowledge base and
general awareness of best practice
Increases collegiality, collaboration and
continuous professional development
Encourages reflective teaching practice
James B. Rowley
The Good Mentor, Educational Leadership May 1999

Qualities of Effective
Mentors

The good mentor is:

Committed to the role of mentoring.
Accepting of the teacher.
Skilled at providing instructional support.
Effective in different interpersonal
contexts.
A model of a continuous learner.
A communicator of hope and optimism.

Mentorship Proposal
Through Supervisory Process a struggling teacher is
identified.
Collaboratively the struggling teacher and the
administrator decide to initiate mentorship as a strategy
to assist with teacher growth and development.
Master teacher is brought in as mentor.
A timeline is set up and collaborative time is scheduled
for planning, mentoring, co-teaching, and reflection to
occur.
Administration continues to perform formative
assessments to track performance and growth as the
mentorship is occurring.
A summative assessment is done by administration at
the completion of the mentorship timeline.

What Next?
Teacher Performance
Improves:

Teacher Performance
Does not Improve:

-confidence in ability
increases
-dignity is restored
-relationship between
administrator and
teacher is maintained
-teacher feels
supported in the
process

Recommendation is
made to
Superintendent for
further action such as

Counselling
Transfer
Change of assignment
Professional
development
Termination

The Future
It is time to be reflective about
the process that many
school divisions have in
place for working with
struggling teachers. If the
Intensive Supervision
Process is not bringing
about sustainable
improvement in teaching
practice, we need to be
looking for other options.
The bottom line must always
be what is best for the
children in our classrooms.
Mentorship may just be one
viable option.