“I sat behind her and lis-tened to what she was whispering to her neighbors. She had the right answer.” By taking note of the teacher’s actions and tracking student participation, he is also able to show the teacher that she had, in fact, called on several other stu-dents with wrong answers.

ere is evidence it helps stu-dents academically as well.

ng-based, chosen by the principal and positioned as content experts. Mentors, by contrast, often give support in non-academic, even personal areas of the new-teacher experience.

earning that is developmentally grounded and personalized. Learning experiences build on prior knowledge and experience, and account for learners’ active construction of new knowledge. Learning connects to who students are as well as to what they already know, attending to both cognitive and socioemotional realms, and school tasks are designed to be scaffolded according to students’ needs, intrinsically interesting based on their experiences, and appropriate to their level of development. Learning that is contextualized. Learning experiences recognize that people develop as they use the tools and symbols of their cultural con- texts to make sense of the world and their experiences in it. Learning builds on students’ personal, cultural, and linguistic knowledge, and is embedded in meaningful contexts and applications. Learning is con- nected to students’ experiences and is based on a deep understanding of these contexts for development as well as ongoing communication and connection with parents, caregivers, communities, and the world beyond school.

espond to initiatives for curriculum change so that the new curriculum’s intents are fully realized. The research reviewed in this chapter demonstrates that there is a growing body of knowledge about teaching practices that can improve teachers’ instruction. Because re- search is an ongoing enterprise, supervisors and teachers should stay informed about new developments. However, this does not mean that teachers should abandon the way they currently teach and unconditionally adopt research-validated practices. Rather, practices that are supported by research evidence should be viewed as possible alternatives to a teacher’s current practices. We make this recommendation based on our view of clinical supervision as a process of helping teachers reflect on data (clinical observations, research findings, etc.) and use these reflections to experiment with their instruction for the pur- pose of continuous professional development. NOTES 1. Chall, J. S. (2000). The academic achievement challenge: What really works in the classroom? New York: Guilford Press, p. 180. 2. Schmuck, R. A., & Schmuck, P. A. (2001). Group processes in the classroom (8th ed., pp. 292-293). Boston: McGraw-Hill. 3. Rosenshine, B., & Furst, N. (1973). The use of direct obser- vation to study teaching In R. M. W. Travers (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (2nd ed., pp. 122-183). Chicago: Rand McNally. 4. Flanders, N. A. (1970). Analyzing teaching behavior. Read- ing, MA: Addison-Wesley. 5. These studies are reviewed in: Gage, N. L. (1978). The scien- tific basis of the art of teaching. New York: Teachers College Press. 6. Rosenshine, B. V. (1986). Synthesis of research on explicit teaching. Educational Leadership, 43(7), 60-68. 7. Hunter, M. (1984). Knowing, teaching, and supervising. In P. L. Hosford (Ed.), Using what we know about teaching (pp. 169-192), Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 8. Rosenshine, “Synthesis,” p. 60. 9. Ibid., p. 62. 10. Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Handbook 1: Cognitive do- main. New York: Longman. 11. Cole, N. S, (1990). Conceptions of educational achievement. Educational Researcher, 19(3), 2-7.

Clinical Supervision .

The role of a classroom supporter is fraught with challenges because it occurs in the teacher’s domain, her classroom. One challenge for coaches in this role is getting a foot in the door.

ting Applying Developing _Beginning _Not Using _

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Creating Challenge In our experience, mentors devote most of their time to providing support, such as that described in the previous section. However, unless support is balanced with challenge, we rob new teachers of the opportunity to grow and learn. If our goal is to nurture independent, effective practitioners, then it is critical that novices take responsibility for their own practice. Growth requires that beginners develop the capacity to apply and adapt expert information within the context of their own classrooms. This development includes making meaning of new information and experiences. This learning enables new teachers to apply, refine and create alternative strategies based on students’ needs, curricular readiness and teacher values. 3 Skillful mentors balance the supportive aspects of the relationship with challenges that promote continual attention to improvement in practice. In a learning-focused relationship, challenge is created by: * Structuring rigorous examination and analysis of practice by applying Planning and Reflecting Templates (see Section Three, Maximizing Time and Attention). * Engaging in goal-setting, and continuing to have goal-driven conversations. * Maintaining a focus on student learning, including assistance in analyzing student performance information and determining cause- effect relationships. e Exploring samples of student work, considering the protégé’s decisions and experiences and discussing both positive and negative results of instructional practice. * Actively engaging protégés in problem-solving and decision- making by forming problem-solving partnerships, brainstorming options and generating solutions. ¢ Assisting in the identification and articulation of criteria for choices and consequences with think alouds and coaching sessions. ¢ Building connections between current theory and classroom practice. * Constructing and conducting action research projects, building norms of experimentation and reflective practice.

learning styles, and educational philosophies.

Thought-provoking