We all had to start somewhere. Do you remember your first year teaching? If you were anything like me, you walked into class that first day thinking, “I’ve got this” and left that same day saying, “What am I doing?”. You probably reacted like I did also. I ran down the hall to find someone, anyone, that could give me a word of encouragement and advice. Thankfully I had a mentor teacher that had the patience and grace necessary to help me get through my first day, week, and year of teaching. I learned more than just how to survive from my mentor teacher. He taught me about preparation, classroom management, lesson planning, building relationships with students, new instructional strategies, and having fun in the classroom.
When I was faced with the same opportunity of being a mentor teacher, I didn’t feel prepared to help facilitate the growth of another teacher into the profession during the most challenging year of teaching. My master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Thomas University gave me the confidence and knowledge to help a struggling first year teacher grow and face those challenges with confidence.
What is a Student Mentor?
A student mentor is a person that provides support to a mentee teacher. Typically, a mentor teacher helps a preservice teacher still in college, or a first year teacher, work through the challenges that come along with teaching. A student mentor usually has many years of experience and has proven to be a reliable, proficient and trustworthy person in the school building. What I have found being a student mentor is a mentor offers multiple types of support to the new teacher in an effort to help them improve their craft in the classroom.
A student mentor must also understand what makes a good teacher and communicate that effectively to other teachers. While I was a student mentor before I earned my master’s degree from Thomas University, I don’t think I was very effective at preparing preservice teachers to instruct students in fast paced, highly engaged classrooms. The curriculum and instruction degree I earned from Thomas University enhanced my understanding of how effective instruction improves all aspects of teaching.
Skills I Learned in my Curriculum and Instruction Program
The master’s degree that I earned through Thomas University has made me a better teacher and prepared me to help other teachers by teaching me practical skills that I use in the classroom consistently. One skill I learned and have implemented is using SEL (social-emotional learning) to help students move forward in their learning by facing challenges head on, with determination, rather than folding under the pressures. I learned how to help students with behavior issues effectively communicate their feelings in order to resolve issues that before would have blown up and caused major disruptions to the learning environment. I learned through the SEL class how to empower students to advocate for themselves respectfully, take ownership of their own learning, and role model for other students how to deal with their emotions.
I also learned how to effectively use technology in the classroom. We all know that technology, while a great tool, can be used in ways that are not impactful. The classes at Thomas University exposed me to researched best practices using technology. The class also gave me my idea for my research project. I researched the impact a flipped classroom has on social studies instruction at the middle school level. It challenged me to use technology in ways that I was unfamiliar with and unaware of. Ultimately, I have altered my instructional practices and utilize flipped classroom instruction often, which gives me back instructional time in the classroom to assist individual students and meet their needs. The technology portion of the degree program has been extremely helpful during our learning-from-home days.
How my Master’s Made me a Better Student Mentor
While I appreciate all my mentor did for me while I was student teaching, I did not get trained in the best researched-based practices of the teaching profession. I did not walk away with a tool box with multiple strategies I could pull from. This may have been your experience as well after your student teaching was completed. I wanted the mentee teachers under my tutelage to understand how to impact student achievement using strategies that are proven to raise student achievement. Thomas University set me on that path personally, and what I learned helped me impact my student teachers.
My master’s classes helped me understand that relationships and a positive learning environment are essential to student achievement and learning. My SEL classes helped me role model how to allow students to take ownership of their learning and deal with challenges in the classroom. Multiple times my student teachers would speak to me about how to better relate to students and I frequently would refer back to my SEL classes at Thomas University to relay what I had learned to my student mentee.
I also have been able to share how technology instruction can be meaningful to my student teachers. Rather than simply using a projector and computer to lecture and show a powerpoint (which has its place for sure), I have been able to share with my student teachers how to use technology in the classroom to add rigor and raise student achievement. Sharing this knowledge with my student teachers has given them a leg up on other potential teachers. When a student teacher shares with a potential employer their lesson plans and they are able to show they know how to flip a classroom, it shows the employer the student teacher utilizes researched-based practices and has more experience than other teachers in delivering multiple modes of instruction.
Ultimately, my degree from Thomas University has allowed me to not only impact my students in the classroom, it has allowed me to give back to future teachers and further the teaching profession as well.
Are you looking to further your education to become a better educator? Check out our M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction program and enroll to get started today!