Agata's+(to+be+replaced+with+alias)+Response


 * __Final Interview Questions__

1. How many years have you been teaching? In what context (include curricular and extra-curricular). 2. Do you think teacher induction has value? Why or why not? 3. Describe your experiences with induction in your first five years of teaching. 4. Describe the support you received in your first five years of teaching. 5. What was your best support during your first five years of teaching? 6a. How do you wish you had been better supported during your first five years of teaching? 6b. Of the supports you received, which ones would you recommend and why? 7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of induction? 8. How do you think induction should be implemented? 9a. Have you ever been a mentor (informal or formal)? 9b. What are/were your experiences as a mentor? 10. From a mentor's perspective, what supports do you think beginning teachers need? 11. As a mentor, how could you have been better supported? 12. Additional Comments. **


 * __Final Interview Questions – Agata’s Responses__ **

-I have been teaching for 4 years. -I am currently the Grade 11 Academic Advisor; I create and implement support plans for students who are struggling with their course work. -I coordinate the Graduation Transistions program for grade 11 students; I create lesson plans and resources for the Graduation Transistions curriculum, and I help teachers implement this curriculum. -Subjects I have taught: English 9, English 10, English 11, Information Technology 8. -I teach in an independent, Catholic school in North Vancouver, BC. -I completed my teaching practicum at a public school in Richmond, BC. -I have coached gymnastics and volleyball. -I have produced 3 school plays. -I participate in various social justice initiatives at the school such as Thinkfast and grade retreats. -I am a member of the Assessment for Learning committee. -I have been a member of the Occupational Health and Hazard Committee. - I am motivated to be so involved because I learn so much with every initiative I am a part of. I also wish to gain more experience and build stronger connections with students outside of the classroom, as this often helps with classroom management.
 * 1. How many years have you been teaching? In what context (include curricular and extra-curricular). **

What is your role as the grade 11 Academic Advisor and how do you corrdinate the graduation transitin program?

You are involved in many things at your school. What motivates you to be so involved? When did you start being involved with so many different clubs/projects/initiatives at your school?

-I definitely think teacher induction has value because beginning teachers need so much help learning school culture, gathering resources, and maintaining a healthy balance in their life. Mentor teachers can offer a lot of advice and experience, and they can share stories from their years of teaching that will help the beginning teacher. -I think there are different kinds of induction that have value, such as formal and informal.
 * 2. Do you think teacher induction has value? Why or why not? **

Are these perspectives based upon personal experience when you were a beginning teacher or more from the perspective of an experienced teachers that you are now? These experiences are definitely based on my perspective now, as a more experienced teacher.

-The mentoring I received in my first years of teaching was mainly informal rather than formal. However, some formal approaches were attempted. For example, before classes started in September, there was a conference for all new teachers and their principals working in the Catholic Independent Schools of the Vancouver Archdiocese (CISVA); this was a type of orientation to the district. At that conference, I got to meet all of the superintendents and I learned a little bit about the culture and history of the district. I was also introduced to the inter-school mentoring program offered by the CISVA, which involves experienced teachers from various schools mentoring beginning teachers from other schools. Once the school year began, however, I heard very little about this program; I never ended up participating in it. Nobody approached me about participating in it. As a new teacher, this made me feel somewhat forgotten about - just another person working from day to day, as opposed to a teacher with goals, worth, and the ability to improve.
 * 3. Describe your experiences with induction in your first five years of teaching. **

How did this make you feel as a new teacher?

-The week before classes began, the first year teachers’ meeting was cancelled because the principal just had so much work to do. I think it would have been helpful to have some time with the principal and other new teachers to ask questions about school policies and procedures. The meeting would have been a positive mentoring experience. Instead, I was given a binder full of school policies that I was expected to learn and memorize. With everything else I had to prepare, I never got a chance to thoroughly read through all of the policies and procedures; I learned as I went through the year. Why was the first year teacher's meeting cancelled? Was there not enough interest?

-On my first day at the school, I met a fellow colleague and she voluntarily took me for a tour of the school and introduced me to many of the teachers, including her friends. Without her, I don’t think I would have met so many people in the first week or felt as comfortable in the school. This informal mentoring was invaluable to me.

-Another critical type of informal mentoring I received was from two teachers in my department. They both gave me all of their binders and resources to use at my leisure. This was extremely appreciated, as my practicum did not provide me with all the units and lessons necessary for the courses I would be teaching in my first year. -In my second year of teaching, my principal asked me if I wanted a mentor. I felt it was a little late for me to have a mentor; in hindsight, it would have been more beneficial in my first year. Also, I felt embarrassed to ask for help; I did not want to seem incompetent. Looking back now, I see that having a mentor would have made me so much more successful, but this was never explained to me. I thought I was being constantly watched and evaluated in my first year, so I didn’t want to let anybody see the mistakes I may have been making. Why do you think you felt embarrassed? Was it a personal feeling or do you think there is a culture for beginning teacher to feel that they have to know everything right from the start. Were there any beginning teachers that you know of that did choose to get a mentor? I think I felt embarrassed because it is my nature to put pressure on myself that way, but I think that a lot of beginning teachers feel the same way; research that I've done shows that many teachers share the same sentiments - they recognize that they are being evaluated, and therefore do not want to seem incompetent. What really impresses me is that a colleague of mine came to our school 2 years ago after teaching in another school for 13 years, and she requested a mentor. It proved to be very successful, as she learned the school culture more quickly. I think this shows that it is naivety and pride that stops teachers from requesting a mentor - at any point in their career. You can always learn more!

-I could have been better supported. It would have been beneficial to have somebody on staff guiding the mentoring process for all new teachers, including me. In any case, my supports were both formal and informal, ranging from conferences to meetings, to casual conversations and sharing of stories/resources with experienced teachers. -Much of my support transpired by chance and by colleagues volunteering to help me. There was not much useful formal support in place.
 * 4. Describe the support you received in your first five years of teaching. **

-The informal mentoring was the best support I received. All of the casual conversations, advice, stories, resources, and experiences shared have stayed with me and have helped me learn more than anything else. Some of the coversations I found most valuable were the ones about classroom management, encouraging/motivating students in the right ways, dealing with parents, curriculum objectives, resources, when to call in sick, and overall wellness.
 * 5. What was your best support during your first five years of teaching? **

What were the conversations about (ie. classroom management, dealing with parents, curriculum, overall well-being/health, how to call for a TOC)?

-I wish somebody had let me know that it was alright to be mentored. I naively thought I would look like I was lacking skill if somebody mentored me. -I wish some more formal mentoring had been at my disposal; I wish there had been a better support program available and accessible to beginning teachers. -I wish I had had a mentor.
 * 6a. How do you wish you had been better supported during your first five years of teaching? **

-The informal supports were the most valuable. The informal conversations, activities, advice, and stories were the most helpful and memorable. They weren’t forced; they were natural and necessary. This type of informal mentoring does not require coaching, perse; I think that formal mentoring would necessitate more structured coaching and training. however. Some might say that informal supports occur due to the personalities of the people interacting and may not occur in all circumstances. What aspects of informal support could be pulled into a more formal setting to try to ensure that it occurs? Conversations surrounding lesson plans, classroom management, parent interaction, etc.
 * 6b. Of the supports you received, which ones would you recommend and why? **

Do you think mentors need to be coached re: how to be an effective mentor?

-It was especially helpful to liaise with teachers who taught the same subjects as me and who worked in close proximity to me.

-I can’t think of any disadvantages that induction would bring, unless the mentoring transpiring was inappropriate or negative in some way. -Induction has tremendous advantages. It can help a teacher learn the culture of a school, gain knowledge and expertise, and also network within a teaching community or district. -Teaching is known to be a profession that “eats its young.” Induction prepares teachers for this whirlwind profession and enables them to lead a more balanced lifestyle. Induction inevitably helps teachers stay in the profession longer because they get a better head start in the field. Helping teachers in this way improves the chances of student success, as well. If you see no disadvantage, why do you think it doesn't occur as often as one would like? Probably because of the cost and resources required to run a successful program.
 * 7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of induction? **

-I think that both formal and informal mentoring are important in induction implementation. -I think that induction programs should be made very accessible to beginning teachers. Beginning teachers should not seek out mentoring; mentoring programs should be provided for them automatically. -Induction should be continuous and somewhat structured, taking place over a period of at least one year. Successful induction or mentoring would see a relationship between mentor and mentee grow over a period of time, and extend past the induction year(s), preferably. -I think that beginning teachers should be paired up with somebody who works in close proximity to them, who teaches similar subjects to them, and who is relatively close in age. This way, the mentor and mentee will have the most in common and will most likely have a successful relationship. It's interesting that you state someone close in age. Do you think a larger age gap creates too much of a power imbalance? Is it more of a personality match that is required rather than age? I don't think age has to do with a power imbalance, necessarily - being close in age just helps because the mentor and mentee might be able to relate to similar experiences and draw from the same theories and resources as one another.
 * 8. How do you think induction should be implemented? **

-This year, I have been helping a beginning teacher who is taking a maternity position at my school. I invited her to share my classroom with me even though she doesn’t actually teach in it, just so that she can have a place to put her things. This allows us to see each other at the start and end of each day, and to share our struggles or successes of the day. Since we are both teaching English 11, I have given her my binders and resources to use at her disposal. I hope that this has been of use to her. Why do you "hope"? Does the conversation ever move towards whether you are helping her or whether she needs help? No - I just never seem to have enough time to thoroughly "be there" for her. We are both running around a lot to extra-curricular activities. -I would be interested in mentoring somebody more formally in the years to come.
 * 9a. Have you ever been a mentor (informal or formal)? **

-I wish I had more time to spend with the teacher I’ve been mentoring. As it has been very informal, there is hardly enough time or money allocated to it. Any time spent together is in addition to any work I am already doing. It would be valuable to share a block with the other teacher so that we could have more structured time to work and talk together. -I benefited from mentoring, as I had to consistently stay very organized in order to share resources, and I had to make sure I was very clear about my objectives and goals in order to help the other teacher be clear about hers. -It helped me reflect on my teaching practice. -It was nice to develop a working relationship with this teacher.
 * 9b. What are/were your experiences as a mentor? **

-Resources, lesson and unit plans, organizational skills. -Emotional support; Somebody to help them balance their work and personal life. -Somebody to talk to. -Knowledge of the rules, procedures, and policies utilized in the school. -A “home” or classroom in the school to place their things.
 * 10. From a mentor's perspective, what supports do you think beginning teachers need? **

-It would be beneficial to have the time and money allocated to a mentoring program. Teachers could accomplish so much more with the right resources. Extra blocks, shared time, and recent resources would have been appreciated. -It would be nice to learn more about how to mentor appropriately. I mentored based on what I knew I needed when I started teaching; perhaps I could have done a better job with my mentee if I was up to date with current research.
 * 11. As a mentor, how could you have been better supported? **


 * 12. Additional Comments. **