Synopses & Reviews
To bridge the gap between the vision for quality and actual practice, this book is packed with helpful reflective questions, illustrative mentoring and coaching scenarios, and ready-to-use planning tools. With its focus on building a relationship with the mentee, and encouraging reflection on current practices in order to increase program quality, meet teaching standards, and promote positive outcomes for children, Developing Mentoring and Coaching Relationships in Early Care and Education: A Relationship-Based Approach, is the ideal resource for anyone charged with guiding teachers as they encounter real world challenges in today’s early childhood programs.
Using the many ideas, suggestions, techniques, and tools presented in this practical resource, educators enhance their knowledge and skills in how to:
· Consider their own relationship-based professional development competencies (Chapter 1)
· Apply relationship-based mentoring strategies to promote professional learning through establishing expectations, understanding cultural competence and moving through steps in the process (Chapter 2)
· Effective communication to support observation, reflection and planning (Chapter 3)
· Apply adult learning theories and approaches to mentoring and coaching processes (Chapter 4)
· Understand the change process and identify and participate in a cycle of teacher inquiry (Chapter 5)
· Coach to plan, connect and evaluate curriculum, assessment and teaching (Chapter 6)
· Define and improve the role of the supervisor and teacher-leader as mentor (Chapter 7)
· Initiate professional development leadership and planning for mentoring systems that grow our own professional development leaders (Chapter 8)
· Identify personal biases that can interfere with effective teaching and mentoring and ways to support the development of community-aware and culturally competent mentoring (All chapters).
Synopsis
KEY BENEFIT
Gives early childhood education mentors, coaches, and other professional development educators effective ways to nurture teachers, guide them toward greater professional effectiveness, and bridge the gap between the vision for quality and actual practices.
KEY TOPICS
Relationship-based professional learning: building professional development relationships with adults, communicating to support teacher awareness, focusing on adult learning, and planning for teacher development. Mentoring and coaching for inquiry, reflection, and leadership: preparing for change and learning through inquiry; coaching to connect curriculum, assessment, and teaching; focusing on supervisors and teacher-leaders as mentors; and mentoring and leadership for professional development
MARKET:
Early childhood education mentors, coaches and other professional development educators including higher education faculty, program administrators and teacher-leaders.
Teachers engaged in professional learning communities or peer coaches will also find the book supportive of their professional development goals.
Groups planning quality improvement efforts may use the book as a resource in leadership development and as a companion to other research based coaching protocols.
Synopsis
Developing Mentoring and Coaching Relationships in Early Care and Education is the ideal resource for anyone charged with guiding teachers as they encounter real world challenges in today’s early childhood programs and can turn to this practical new resource as they work with supervisors and teacher-leaders to achieve greater professional effectiveness while bridging the gap between the vision for quality and actual practice. The book is packed with helpful reflective questions, illustrative mentoring and coaching scenarios, and ready-to-implement planning tools. The focus is on encouraging reflection on current practices in order to achieve quality programs, meet teaching standards, and promote positive outcomes for children in these times of rising standards and, in many cases, lower levels of support.
About the Author
Marilyn Chu is an associate professor of early childhood education at Woodring College of Education, Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. Her teaching, writing, and consultation work focuses on infant/toddler development, partnering with families, and mentoring, coaching and leadership development in early childhood education. Her previous work directing family literacy and campus childcare programs, professional development with bilingual Head Start teachers and early primary school paraeducators has emphasized partnerships to develop culturally and linguistically relevant education programs for adults and children.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Section I: Relationship Based Professional Development
Chapter 1: Relationship Based Professional Learning
Chapter 2: Building Professional Development Relationships with Adults
Chapter 3: Communicating to Support Teacher Awareness
Chapter 4: Adult Learning and Planning for Teacher Development
Section II: Mentoring and Coaching for Inquiry, Reflection and Leadership
Chapter 5: Readiness for Change and Learning through Inquiry
Chapter 6: Coaching to Connect Curriculum, Assessment & Teaching
Chapter 7: Supervisors and Teacher-leaders as Mentors
Chapter 8: Mentoring and Leadership for Professional Development