My Mentoring Odyssey

Roisin McCarry,

St. Colum’s P.S., Portstewart

What is Mentoring?

"Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in

order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they

want to be.”

Eric Parsloe, The Oxford School of Coaching & Mentoring

Theories and counter theories

A mentee emerges

“Crucial to successful mentoring is the building of a good personal and

professional relationship”

(Rundell 2002)

Creating a learning platform

National Framework for Mentoring and Coaching (CUREE 1997):

Ten principles to help increase the impact of continuing professional development on

student learning

Creating a structure

The Teacher Education Partnership Handbook (DENI 2010) for Early Professional Development requirements

GTC NI: Professional Competences

Agreed focus and format for observation lesson

Observations and reflections

Jolly Phonics program in action

Professional Competence 19: Create a safe, interactive and challenging environment …

Reflections on the delivery of the program for future reference

Peer mentoring of our Mentoring

“It is very important for coaches and mentors to realise that there are benefits through this coaching process for them as well as for the participants… including skills such as … gaining respect in the eyes of their colleagues …”

(GTC NI School-based

Professional Development p. 18)

Next steps

Reviewing progress of PDA write-up

Learning opportunities arising from reflection on practice

Focus for second PDA

What we’ve gained and learnt from the process

A positive experience of mentoringTargets set, successful outcomeThe importance of paperwork: a learning

journal, minutes of meetings Sharing learning experiences through

observation and communicationThe opportunity to practice and develop

management skills

Final thoughts- where am I now?