Necessity of Mentor Program Padlet Wall by Andrea DiDio

Data Collection and Survey Analysis

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:18:07 UTC

For the purposes of surveying this program open-ended questions and a Likert scale will be used.
Open-ended questions are asked generally during exploratory research and where statistical validity is not a prime objective.
Two of the six questions will be on a Likert scale.
Likert scale provides a numerical value to each potential choice and a mean figure for all the responses is computed at the end of the evaluation or survey.
Likert scales usually have five potential choices: strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree.
The final average score represents overall level of accomplishment or attitude toward the subject matter.
To process open-ended responses properly, I will read through them individually, and aggregate when possible using my own discretion to decide when to collapse or reduce responses to phrases or single words.
Review the responses and add up the number of times respondents said the same thing.
The data will be compiled over a three year period at different junctures to ensure that we are making necessary adjustments to the program.

Example of a Mentor Guide

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:18:07 UTC

Video - Impact of Mentor Program

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:18:08 UTC

Stakeholders

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:18:08 UTC

Stakeholders can be extremely valuable throughout the evaluation process.
Important to engage them, especially in the planning stages of the evaluation.
Stakeholders are the individuals or groups who are involved or affected by outcomes from evaluation.
By engaging stakeholders, it will become clear that there are a number of differing opinions and agendas on why and how the evaluation should be conducted.
It is the role of the evaluation team to blend these opinions, taking into consideration the time, budget, and relative constraints in order to develop a coherent and useful evaluation plan.
If stakeholders are not engaged, the evaluation team
risks focusing on elements that are not valued by stakeholders and potentially receiving criticism or rejection from these key individuals.

Stakeholders for the purposes of this assignment are: Mentors and Novice Teachers as well as those evaluating the program Administrators and Principals.

Purpose and Relevance of Mentor Program

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:18:08 UTC

High–quality induction programs accelerate new teachers’ professional growth, making them more effective faster (Goldrick, L., Osta, D., Barlin, D., & Burn, J., 2012).
All school district do not have a mentor program tied into their induction programs.
It may be significantly beneficial to add this component to an induction program to ensure new teachers have the ongoing support and expertise at their fingertips while navigating the challenges of becoming a successful new teacher in a school district.
The latest evidence suggests that beginning teachers are more common in our schools today than at any other time in at least twenty years (Goldrick, L., Osta, D., Barlin, D., & Burn, J., 2012).
If our children are considered the future it is imperative that we prepare their educators to be the most prepared and effective educators that they can be.
Providing teachers with qualified mentors allows them to continue to grow and improve their on-the-job skills to be an effective teacher.

Brief Introduction

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:18:08 UTC

Mentor programs are a vital for novice teachers.
A quick pole of the thirteen school districts in Bucks County Pennsylvania indicated all provide an Induction Program.
Eleven of thirteen districts in Bucks County have a mentor program.
The mentor component provides ongoing daily support to new teachers.
Induction programs are sporadic professional development activities.
Providing ongoing daily support allows new teachers to ask questions in a more immediate way that will aide in their daily teaching. Ensuring there is an effective mentoring program in place will be beneficial to new teachers, administrators, school districts, students and student achievement.

Concerns Regarding Evaluation

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:18:08 UTC

Will the responses from the data show a correlation between an effective mentor program and no mentor program?
Will there be truthful and useful feedback to the open-ended questions?

Draft of Survey - Sample

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:18:08 UTC

Key Evaluation Questions

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:18:08 UTC

The key evaluation questions for the mentor program are as follows:

How beneficial do you believe the mentor program is for novice teachers?
How do novice teachers apply their new knowledge to their role as a new teacher?
The mentor program meeting the needs and expectations of novice teachers?
How do mentors use the program to provide effective and engaging support to
novice teachers?
How is the mentor program perceived by elementary teachers?
How is the mentor program perceived by secondary teachers?

Logic Model for Mentor Program

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:18:08 UTC

Audio Overview: Padlet Wall - Mentor Program

andrea_didio5 — 2014-11-08 01:25:12 UTC