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Abstract:
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Recent research has shown that beginning K-12 teachers are more likely to stay in the profession if they are assigned effective mentors in their first years of teaching. However, a survey of professional development programs for mentors reveals that little emphasis is placed on preparing mentors to provide support with the substantial amounts and different kinds of data that teachers use. As part of a program at the University of Mary Washington to prepare in-service teachers to serve as mentors for beginning teachers, activities and resources have been developed to prepare teachers to be effective “data mentors” for beginning teachers. In this presentation I will describe some activities and resources that have been developed for in-service teachers to (1) increase their awareness about different kinds of data and their use, (2) improve their understanding of Learning Analytics and Data Driven Instruction, (3) develop their ability to communicate about data effectively, and (4) improve their confidence for providing advice on data-related issues in education. Some lessons learned about effective professional development programs for in-service teachers will also be described.
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