I can still close my eyes and picture the first year of my teaching career. It was 1984 and I had just left my 2 toddlers for the unsure world of being a 4th-grade teacher. I walked into a very empty room. It was hot with 5 large south-facing windows, exposed pipes on the ceiling and walls, hard tiles on the floor, and nothing on the shelves. I took a deep breath (or probably several) and settled in. Alone. What had I gotten myself into? What and where was the curriculum I was to teach? How would I ever gain enough confidence to really make a difference in the lives of the 9 and 10-year-olds who were soon to walk into this room?

I had so many questions. Yes, there were other teachers down the hallway busying their rooms and going about their days. They had friendly smiles and nice hellos and welcoming waves. But how much could or should I bother them? I dug in my heels that first year and somehow or another made it through. How wonderful it would have been to have a mentor assigned to this very inexperienced young teacher. I think of this often as I now help fresh new teachers begin their own careers.  

Mentoring is a powerful tool in the development of a new educator.

In my state, the Mentoring and Induction Program for Beginning Teachers was first initiated in 2001 as part of the teacher quality legislation.  Its purpose, simply put, was to promote excellence in teaching which in turn would enhance student achievement.  And I was one of the lucky first few to be trained and then assigned to new teachers in our school. Once again, I was very green to this new position, but this time I had 16 years of classroom experience from which to draw, many days of Professional Development, and lots of summer institutes under my belt. I couldn’t wait to get started.

And now, after years of mentoring, I feel I make a difference. Mentoring matters to my new teachers. Helping to plan curriculum and even demonstrating best practices can give new teachers a chance to learn from the experience of a seasoned educator. I love the challenge of coaching and then giving constructive feedback. Because I am able to watch and take notes during a lesson, we can review the lesson’s progression together and discuss specific ways to improve or build on instruction. I can assist in sorting through the enormous and sometimes overwhelming resources available on the Internet. We can learn from each other and agree that this job is tough but can be so rewarding.

But how can mentoring be beautiful?

As mentor and mentee build strength through trust and honesty, the underlying beauty becomes more evident. My mentee depends on me to support her in her efforts with curriculum, best practices, and classroom management. We thoughtfully consider each other’s opinions and ideas. We work together to find ways to help students become their best selves. Collaboration and problem solving happen, along with celebrations and sometimes tears. I can see a new teacher’s confidence rising as she interacts with her students, laughs with them, and smiles. And yes, that is beautiful.

The power and beauty of mentoring are not only about increasing excellence in new teachers, though; coaching is valuable for mentors as well. I feel so lucky to have been a part of this process for many years. It often forced me to look openly and honestly at my own teaching. And that is when true growth happens.

Diane Noonan has been an educator for 36 years in a small midwestern school in Iowa, teaching both elementary and middle school children. She received her National Board Certification in 2001 and has also been an instructional mentor to new teachers for the past 20 years. Diane is passionate about creating classrooms where students feel a sense of belonging and develop a true love of learning.

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Our online platform, a staple in the professional development toolkit for coaches, mentors, and administrators, for years, has seen the bulk of its access from computers. As more of our users have incorporated phones and tablets into their observation routine, parity between the online and mobile experiences was no longer an option, but a necessity.

We’re excited to present the new and improved TORSH Talent Mobile App. Highlights of the updated app include:

Record and Photograph

Snap photos in a flash. Stay in one app to both record video and take pictures.

View & Rename Artifacts

All of our most popular features, including viewing and renaming videos, photos, and documents, are now available from any device.

Share Artifacts & Set Permissions

Share videos and files with peers, mentors, and coaches easily from your mobile device. 

Comment & Collaborate On-the-Go

Easily leave feedback on videos. Collaborate and coach at any time and from anywhere.

Check out What’s New

Visit the menu bar to see updates, adjust settings, switch systems, and reach out to support!

The team at Torsh is excited to provide users of the app with the ability to give and receive on the go feedback, stay in sync with all their devices, record and upload videos, along with other artifacts straight from their mobile device, and even share videos and files with peers, mentors, and coaches. 

Bringing desktop features to mobile devices, Torsh puts the power of professional development in the palm of each coach, administrator, and educator’s hands.

Like what you see, but not using
TORSH Talent yet?

Already a TORSH Talent User?
To view the complete how-to guide on the new & improved mobile app, visit the help center in your TORSH Talent system.

The post Torsh Mobile App Gets an Upgrade appeared first on Torsh.

Trying something new 🙃 #observeme pic.twitter.com/8eY8DLq75r

— Jessica Andaya (@ms_jess_aye) January 13, 2020

As a virtual coach, the exciting thing to me was that this type of learning did not have to be bound to the physical school building. In fact, video-based coaching offers even more opportunities for teachers to learn from peers because they are not restricted by only being able to visit other classes during planning periods or having to get someone to cover their classes while they observe in another room. 

As teachers learn to navigate and utilize online and remote environments, the need to learn from and lean on peers is even more necessary because many of them are engaging in unfamiliar arenas of lesson design or experimenting with transitioning traditional practices to new environments. No matter the context in which the instruction occurs, coaches have the opportunity to connect teachers through the power of video and create a space that is safe for sharing and growing from one another. To accelerate this culture of learning and sharing, consider these tips for scaffolding video-based peer coaching:

1. Look for and connect strengths. As the coach, I get to see all of the videos that my teachers upload because they share them with me for feedback. This allows me to note videos that represent some aspect of instruction really well. When I notice a great example, I put it in a collection folder. When I am talking to another teacher that may need support in this area, I might suggest that they contact Mrs. X and ask if she would share the video where she ____ because it was a great example of ____. I become the connector, not the driver of the interaction. I’m letting them know that there is a resource available to them, and that resource is a peer. That awareness becomes the first step in building the culture of learning from peers. 
   
2. Create sharing partners. Once the teachers have indicated that they are more comfortable with sharing their videos with me and start talking about wanting to see others, I will create sharing partners. These will be two teachers that share their videos with each other prior to sharing them with me. I may give them a viewing guide of questions to consider when watching each others’ videos or leave it open. This helps to create a sense of trust among the teachers and builds collegial relationships that may not have the chance to form in other circumstances. At first the partners may just watch and support each other through positive comments, but eventually I will provide guidance and some tools to help them provide productive feedback to each other. 
   
3. Use sharing circles and groups. When teachers become adept at sharing and giving feedback with a partner, sharing circles can be a great next step. Teachers might be grouped according to goals, grade levels, subject area, or at random. To begin, you might team up two pairs of sharing partners. Because the pairs already know at least one person in the group, it may accelerate the trust and intimacy within the sharing circle. In these groups, teachers first watch and reflect on their own videos then share them with their group and ask for feedback in 1-2 specific areas. Group members focus their viewing and feedback on the areas specified. 
   
4. Create opportunities for whole group sharing.  As teachers gain familiarity with giving and sharing feedback and the process of recording themselves becomes less intimidating, it is a great time to facilitate ways for them to share their teaching with the whole group. Maybe teachers put 2-3 of the videos that they think best represent their growth into a collection and share the collection with the group. Perhaps they collaborate with their sharing circles and pick some exemplars to add to a group exemplar collection. Eventually, maybe they will be comfortable enough to just share a less than stellar video with the group and ask for suggestions or feedback. Getting to this point will take time, but it can be incredibly powerful. 

The willingness and desire to actively learn from and seek the feedback of peers is a hallmark of collegial school cultures. This type of culture of sharing and learning from colleagues can be accelerated when coaches maximize the power of video and use purposeful scaffolds to build trust among peers.

The post Maximizing the Power of Peer Coaching appeared first on Torsh.