Mentors

Earlier this week I held a mini "mentor training" over morning coffee.  It was a nice way to touch base with the mentors who are all teachers at the school and volunteered during their off time to work with a group of students.  I valued their help and them giving up some of their planning time, as you know, there is never enough time in the day to do everything needed at school. 

So, each mentor received their Mentor Log, , a collection of information; what is the PYP Exhibituion, its major features, their role as mentor and what they should not be doing, the deadlines shared with the students, quesitons to ask during each phase of the porcess, the assessment taks that will be required to complete a successful exhibition, some of the assessment rubrics that will be used and the mentor meeting record sheet.

Since this is the second exhibition, several of the teachers who volunteered last year, are mentors again this year...and I have a couple of new ones.  Since we won't be meeting weekly with the entire group of mentors, I will be using emails to make sure everything is going well.  This is the end of the 1st mentor meeting email, giving them the agenda they will follow when they meet their group for the first time:  Their first meeting will be on Sunday March 20th...I will keep you posted! 

Agenda:

-      Getting to know your Exhibition Group

-      Going over their research; books, internet sites, magazines used.  Remind them to document their resources in the My research section (p.14-19 in their Student log)

-      Using the Research questions, on page 8 of Mentor Log to guide your discussions with your group.

-      Have the students explain what they understand from their research. 

-      Refer them back to the central idea: “The way we use resources today affects future generations” and ask them what information they’ve found that can support the central idea.

-      Remember to move them away from just researching on their topic, but encourage them to think of the impact on future generations.

-      Complete the first Mentor Meeting Record Sheet in your Mentor Log – p.15, setting goals for next meeting.