Coaching the Whole Educator
Coaching the Whole Educator is a podcast for instructional coaches, teacher leaders, and school leaders who want to strengthen their educators’ effectiveness and resilience, especially the ones who need it most. Each week, you’ll hear quick tips, proven strategies, and coaching mindsets designed to keep you on top of your coaching game.
This show is rooted in a human-centered approach, where we get things done through people’s humanity, not around it. Whether you’re new to instructional coaching or a seasoned instructional coach or leader looking for fresh perspective, you’ll learn how to focus on the mindsets and motivations driving unproductive behaviors. By getting to the root of resistance, you’ll discover how to build stronger relationships, lead with clarity, and create lasting impact in your school.
Coaching the Whole Educator
#194: Stop Assuming Great Teachers Make Great Mentors
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What if one of the biggest missing pieces in teacher retention is how we support mentor teachers?
In this episode, Becca talks with John Pascarella, professor of clinical education at USC and Chief Academic Officer of the USC Race and Equity Center, about why mentor teachers are often asked to support new teachers without the training, role clarity, compensation, or coaching they actually need.
They unpack why being a great teacher does not automatically make someone a great mentor, how mentoring adults requires a different skill set, and why schools need to stop treating mentorship like informal volunteer work.
This conversation is for instructional coaches, school leaders, district leaders, and teacher leaders who want to strengthen new teacher support, improve teacher retention, and build more effective mentoring systems in schools.
John's Info:
Faculty profile | CCTE Policy Brief (free download, includes my brief on mentor teachers) | Learning Policy Institute (Stanford University)
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