Tip:
Coaching and mentoring programs provide ongoing and sustainable professional development programs for schools. These programs are only as successful as the people who run them.
- Identify the leaders at your site who can provide expertise. Choose:
- Teachers with curriculum expertise.
- Those willing to go the extra mile and enjoy sharing with others.
- Those with great people skills.
- Teachers who have some basic technology skills — it's not important to have high level technology usesrs.
- Offer stipends for planning time and any workshops they provide after school hours.
- Provide resources such as technology for research and development of workshops they design.
- Realize that for every hour of a workshop, it takes over two hours of planning.
- Do not forget to offer advanced workshops for their professional growth.
You may even identify some students or business partners to be part of your leadership team. There are many successful programs where students are cybermentors. You may never know the areas of expertise available from teachers and students unless you ask.
For more information on what a mentor is, go to http://compstrategies.com/staffdevelopment/mentor.html
Submitted by:
Barbara Bray
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