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  3. Back story of Max and Ellen from the Mentoring materials

Back story of Max and Ellen from the Mentoring materials

As you will know from the transcript, Max is a GPT coming to the end of his programme and he has been previously in a mentoring relationship with Laura who, due to sickness, has now been replaced by Ellen who we see in the animations. Ellen is a senior teacher in the school but seems a little nervous about mentoring Max because what you won’t know is that Max is actually the Headteacher’s son and a highly successful GPT.

I personally love the animations of Max and Ellen, his enthusiasm, but need for affirmation, is endearing. Ellen is trying hard in the core animation but really falling short of the mark and her blithe praise and the high score that she gives Max, instead of motivating him, really risks losing the learning opportunity for him. This reminds me of a research taster called “Why should we be careful about how we praise our pupils”. http://www.curee.co.uk/files/publication/1270114942/Why%20should%20we%20be%20careful%20about%20how%20we%20praise%20our%20pupils.pdf

It is in the Pulling Through pack and is one of the many nuggets of research followed by mini enquiry tools that CUREE has developed.

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Effective Mentoring and Coaching resources - Users Forum

Submitted by Serena (not verified) on Wed, 09/02/2011 - 15:18
Genuinely active listening involves unpacking the details of what is inevitably an invisible process. It means managing the balance between speaking and listening – because when we listen time goes slowly and once we start talking time goes very quickly. And teachers are used to doing a good deal of the talking. So it is important to build awareness of, and analyse, common problem patterns in coaching conversations and identify strategies for rectifying them. Active listening also means accurate listening, both to what’s actually being said and the hopes and fears behind it. Effective mentoring means both focusing on the questions that will move learning forward, and spotting the moments when learners can best make use of them.

Submitted by Serena (not verified) on Wed, 09/02/2011 - 15:18
Genuinely active listening involves unpacking the details of what is inevitably an invisible process. It means managing the balance between speaking and listening – because when we listen time goes slowly and once we start talking time goes very quickly. And teachers are used to doing a good deal of the talking. So it is important to build awareness of, and analyse, common problem patterns in coaching conversations and identify strategies for rectifying them. Active listening also means accurate listening, both to what’s actually being said and the hopes and fears behind it. Effective mentoring means both focusing on the questions that will move learning forward, and spotting the moments when learners can best make use of them.

Submitted by Serena (not verified) on Wed, 09/02/2011 - 15:30
Genuinely active listening involves unpacking the details of what is inevitably an invisible process. It means managing the balance between speaking and listening – because when we listen time goes slowly and once we start talking time goes very quickly. And teachers are used to doing a good deal of the talking. So it is important to build awareness of, and analyse, common problem patterns in coaching conversations and identify strategies for rectifying them. Active listening also means accurate listening, both to what’s actually being said and the hopes and fears behind it. Effective mentoring means both focusing on the questions that will move learning forward, and spotting the moments when learners can best make use of them.