Mentor-Mentee Activities List

Our hours spent together don’t always have to be in school time.

Activity Positives Important Considerations Other NotesStudying the syllabus and the guidebooks for teachers.

Teachers assume they know their syllabus, but often it’s not the case –assumptions rather than knowledge.

Information in the syllabus and the guidebooks support the communicative approach ELTDP encourages.

A good way to start the year.

Maybe you already know thesyllabus well, in which case this is a waste of time.

We’ll need to have a copy of the syllabus and guidebooks to do this!

Studying the Record of Achievement. On ELTDP we use the RoA to define the qualities of a good teacher. Looking at it is a powerful tool for reflecting on how and where you need to improve your teaching practice.

The RoA is quite large, and divided into Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation. We probably only have time to look at one stage for each session.

The RoA helps teachers identifywhere they should improve their teaching. If they aren’t interested in putting in the work to improve after they’ve identified areas of weakness, then looking at the RoA is a waste of time.

Observation and reflection Important to help mentors and mentees work together to identify where and how they need to improve.

Most important is time after theobservation to reflect together.

Only useful if teachers act on

I’ll have to observeyou sometimes, whether you want me to or not.

the reflection they’ve made.

Joint planning Teachers are often unsure about what a lesson using communicative teaching methods is supposed to be.

The mentor can help show the mentee how to stage a lesson more effectively.

The mentor can help the mentee interpret and adapt the textbook to the level of his or her students.

If we are going to plan together, then we probably need to organize an observation and reflection session to assess the success of our lesson planning.

Plenty of time needs to be available to plan before the class – at least an hour.

Team teaching Watching an example can be a very effective way of learning a new technique or approach to your teaching practice.

Careful joint planning needed before embarking on a team teaching exercise.

Careful reflection is also needed after a team teaching exercise.

It’s important to remember thatthe teaching techniques might not have an immediate impact or be successful with every class.

Deeper reflection Reflective teaching is a key concept behind ELTDP and one of the most effective methods of improving a teacher’s skills.

I have a number of exercises specifically designed to help teachers’ reflect on their teaching practice.

Only useful if teachers act on the reflection they’ve made.

Classroom research One of the most effective ways of helping teachers’ improve and

Last time we tried to organize classroom research; few

It’s very useful (but not

expand their skills. Improving your ability to conduct

classroom research is a skill that canaid you throughout your teaching career.

mentees actually did any actualresearch.

To do this properly, you have tobe prepared to spend researching outside the hours you spend with your mentor. It has to be taken seriously.

compulsory) to present your findings at a subcluster meeting.

Analyzing and adapting the textbook As we know, the KSSR textbook is not always suitable for our students. Having said that, it’s still a useful resource (after all, every student hasone!).

Extracting functional language from the textbook is a useful skill to have,and adapting material to suit our students’ level is very important.

Remember, there’sno requirement to use the textbook at all. It’s there to support your teaching.

Investigating formative assessment A lot of teachers’ remain confused about PBS and how to conduct formative assessment. We can spendsome time focusing on this aspect ofevaluating students. This includes setting up folders to collect evidenceof student level.

Rizal at the PPD is pushing for end ofterm tests to be abolished for Level One English students next year. These tests are a waste of time and achieve little, so this is a promising move. Students’ will be assessed formatively.

We’ll need some folders (or other method of storing pupils’ work) and a copy of the assessment instrument. Access to the internet would be useful but not vital.

Analyzing tests such as LINUS Raising the level of LINUS students isan important and challenging part ofa teacher’s role. However, success atthe LINUS test requires pupils to use

We’ll need copies of the pastLINUS papers to analyze.

aspects of English (namely grammar) which are not explicitly taught on the KSSR syllabus. Lookingcarefully at the LINUS test constructscan help teachers prepare their pupils to be more successful at passing the test.

Exploring phonics Phonics is an important part of the KSSR curriculum, but many students don’t know how to implement it (andit isn’t implemented very well in the textbook). We can look at methods of teaching phonics to learners, and we can also ensure you know the sounds you’re supposed to be teaching.

It’s important to remember that for all the emphasis the KSSR curriculum places on phonics, phonics alone cannot create functional users of English.

Creating resources Teaching aids (especially simple things such as flashcards) are very important resources for successful teaching, but many teachers only use them sparingly. Developing a bank of materials that can aid your teaching is an important step forward in your teaching practice.

This is something you should be doing anyway, so isn’t the most efficient use of time spentwith the mentor.

We’ll need access to materials to create and store your teaching aids. Access to the internet is also useful in order to find ideas or pictures.

For flashcards a laminator and a colour printer is very useful.

Engaging with parents Most of a child’s learning takes placeout of school, so considering how thehome environment can impact on their learning is very important. Working with parents can be very constructive for a child’s learning in the long term.

If parent engagement involves a workshop it will involve some work, and perhaps some funding for food and materials.

Objectives must be sustainable and ultimately driven by the teachers and parents rather

ELTDP’s objectives encompass working with parents, so it will have to be done at some stage during the project.

than the mentor.

Exploring new techniques and thinkingin teaching online or in books.

Perhaps you’ve heard about a different teaching technique but aren’t sure how to use it. Maybe you’ve got books with ideas for teaching which you’ve never been able to use. Now’s the chance!

Getting ideas from the Book of Change and other sources.

The Book of Change has a lot of inspiring and interesting ideas from many different areas where ELTDP has been. You might like to study some of these ideas and try and adopt them for your school.

Time will be needed to read the Book of Change, either together or in your own time.

Anything else you can think of!