Mission & Vision
The overall vision of the Mentoring and Coaching Academy is to transform the preparation of teacher mentors by providing evidence-based professional development for mentors and coaches who support beginning teachers throughout the state of Texas. Our mission is to:
- Build capacity among teacher and mentors
- Support the retention of quality teachers
- Engage school districts as mutual partners to accelerate capacity building among mentors
Who Should Participate
This program is designed for teachers who have two or more years of experience who want to enhance their mentoring and coaching capacity for beginning teachers and prepare to take on greater leadership responsibilities within their school district.
The Mentoring and Coaching Academy welcomes individuals or teams from school districts around the state of Texas. Attendance by multiple teachers within a campus or district will foster unity of purpose, amplify the program’s impact, and enable participants to continue supporting one another’s mentoring development after the initial training. Group registration is available for school districts that qualify for the Texas Education Agency’s Mentor Program Allotment funding.
Key Benefits
- Fulfill required mentor training – TEC §21.458
- Earn CPE hours
- Learn best practices in mentoring and coaching skills
- Inspire the next generation of beginning teachers
- Enhance interpersonal, leadership, reflection, and coaching
- Improve career mobility
- Connect with a community of mentors
- Develop one’s own teaching skills
Registration
This online Level 1 program is designed to be self-paced with additional support from our virtual coordinators. Upon completion of the program, certificates are awarded to participants who successfully complete the training.
The Mentoring and Coaching Academy is a pre-approved provider of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) hours – authorized by the Texas Education Agency. Our Mentoring and Coaching Academy offers research-based mentor training. Download the scope and sequence to learn more about our curriculum.
The Mentor and Coaching Academy is excited to collaborate with you in support of your application for MPA funds. To complete your Mentor Program Allotment application, please download an outline of our curriculum’s scope and sequence document and brochure for the Level 1 training and submit both items with your application.
Registration Fees
- $149.99 for an individual registrant not affiliated with Texas A&M University
- $129.99 for two or more registrants who are not affiliated with Texas A&M University
- $99.99 for registrants from any of the Colleges/Schools of Education in the Texas A&M University System
Register today! If you are purchasing Level 1: Certified Mentor for district sales, contact us to begin the activating process.
Program Timeline
Level 1: Certified Mentor
15 CPE Units
Personalized learning meets a community of practice in an online self-paced training for educators who are interested in learning the fundamentals of mentoring and coaching.
Takeaways: Level 1
The Mentoring and Coaching Academy utilizes a professional development curriculum that is upheld by the following four pillars:
- Evidence-based,
- Human-centered,
- Standards-driven, and
- Experiential.
Through a rich online learning experience that includes a virtual coach, case studies, video exercises, and group discussions, participants will explore the best practices of mentoring and coaching for beginning teachers as well as uncovering the personal core of mentoring with a human-centered philosophy and leadership style.
- Adult Learning Theory and Developing a Mentoring Philosophy
- The Mentor/Mentee Dyad
- High Leverage Teaching Practices
- Best Practices in Mentoring
- Coaching Beginning Teachers
- Online Mentoring
- Performance Management; Providing Quality Written and Oral Feedback Aligned to the Texas Teacher Evaluation & Support System (T-TESS) Standards
The Mentoring and Coaching Academy is a collaboration among the School of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University, the We Teach Texas initiative of the Texas A&M University System, and facilitated by the Education Leadership Research Center at Texas A&M University.
Course Descriptions & Objectives
Adult Learning Theory
Module and Description
Understanding the principles and characteristics of major adult learning theories is essential to establishing one’s own mentoring philosophy. A sound mentoring perspective can lead to growth for the beginning teacher in the areas of increased self-esteem, effective problem-based learning, self-direction, and validation of prior experiences, which supports the integration of new learning experiences with prior learning. In this module, you will be introduced to three major adult learning theories, including the key principles of andragogy, which form the groundwork for effective mentoring. Examining adult learning theory will lead to understanding the importance of framing your own philosophy of andragogy-centered mentoring.
As you complete this module, you will:
- Identify major theories and principles of adult learning.
- Examine the role and process of reflection for mentoring sessions.
- Formulate your own philosophy of andragogy-centered mentoring.
Mentor/Mentee Dyad
Module and Description
Understanding the principles and characteristics of major adult learning theories is essential to establishing one’s own mentoring philosophy. A sound mentoring perspective can lead to growth for the beginning teacher in the areas of increased self-esteem, effective problem-based learning, self-direction, and validation of prior experiences, which supports the integration of new learning experiences with prior learning. In this module, you will be introduced to three major adult learning theories, including the key principles of andragogy, which form the groundwork for effective mentoring. Examining adult learning theory will lead to understanding the importance of framing your own philosophy of andragogy-centered mentoring.
As you complete this module, you will:
- Understand the mentor-mentee dynamic.
- How to build a successful mentor-mentee match.
- Explore ways to foster successful relationships with mentees.
High Leverage Teaching Practices
Module and Description
Preparing beginning teachers to “do teaching” (Ball et al., 2009, p. 460) in real classroom environments can be challenging. A beginning teacher needs to learn how to recognize effective teaching, manage different classroom environments, and to communicate with parents, students, and colleagues among other skills. A High Leverage Teaching Practices (HLPs) approach recognizes that to prepare skilled beginner teachers it is important to identify the key actions or tasks that are central to teaching. Research has demonstrated that HLPs are effective for student learning across different disciplines, grade levels, and contexts.
In this module, you will have the opportunity to reflect on your own practice, identify HLPs that you already implement in your teaching, and learn strategies to encourage beginning teachers to utilize effective teaching strategies in their practice.
As you complete this module, you will:
- Define high-leverage practices
- Identify high-leverage teaching practices in your own teaching
- Reflect on your own practice
- Identify strategies to encourage future and beginning teachers to implement high-leverage teaching practices
Best Practices in Mentoring Beginning Teachers
Module and Description
Mentor teachers are an integral part of a novice teachers’ induction into the field of education as new teachers face increasing challenges throughout their first five years. Effective mentoring can help alleviate some of the stress that novice teachers encounter, while positively impacting their retention in the field and performance in the classroom.
As you complete this module, you will:
- Understand the importance of mentoring.
- Explore different ways to mentor and coach novice teachers.
- Become aware of the needs of novice teachers.
Coaching
Module and Description
Instructional Coaching is a practice that takes place in many districts because it works in terms of building capacity in teachers and increasing the academic success of students (Knight, 2019). Sometimes instructional coaching is delivered in a formal way by someone who has the role of an Instructional Coach. At other times, instructional coaching is delivered as part of the campus leaders’ development of others.
As you complete this module, you will:
- Articulate the difference between mentoring, consulting, teaching/training, and coaching
- Become acquainted with, and utilize, the Censeo© Framework
- Delineate the ways that coaching aligns with adult learning theory
- Ask for and use feedback from your “client” to inform your coaching
Online Mentoring
Module and Description
Face-to-face interaction is the principal means of providing emotional support and guidance to mentees. However, mentoring does not have to be tied to only face-to-face interactions. One alternative to face-to-face mentoring is gaining more traction in education: mentors helping their novice teachers online. Interactions with mentees do not always have to be in person, and with internet video conferencing services comes the ease of communicating and mentoring via the internet.
As you complete this module, you will:
- Understand what online/virtual mentoring is.
- How to add online mentoring to your existing mentoring format.
- Explore ways to communicate with your mentee online.
- Become aware of the generational differences that can interfere with the use of technology as a method of mentoring.
Performance Management
Module and Description
Providing beginning teachers with regular feedback on their performance is integral to their growth and development, but not all mentors feel confident doing this. Feedback is delivering evaluative or corrective information that can be used as a basis for improvement. Although the feedback itself may appear simple, its deployment requires artful delivery. For this module, classroom teachers will understand why constructive feedback to beginning teachers needs to be goal-oriented, measurable, collaborative, specific, actionable, routine, and confidential, and how to construct a performance management plan (PMP).
As you complete this module, you will:
- Understand the role of standardized teacher assessment as a means to share systematic feedback to help teachers solve instructional problems and improve their practice.
- Appraise the types of feedback for effective mentoring.
- Unpack SMART Goals for creating the conditions for confidential and collaborative performance review for beginning teachers.
- Correlate the teacher’s developmental phases to performance management for beginning teachers.