The Conference on

April 24-27th, 2003

At Lisle, Illinois, in west suburban Chicago

Two Workshops for Both NEW and EXISTING programs

How you can be sure teacher mentoring & induction

really lead to better teaching and improved student learning!

We promise, you will not be disappointed.

Join us at the Beautiful Lisle-Naperville Wyndham Hotel

Featured speaker, Barry Sweeny, nationally known mentoring expert, trainer & author !

Click here to complete the Conference Registration Form & Get Hotel Info for this Conference.

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A Brief Outline of the Two Workshops

The Potential Audience, - Find out if these workshops are for YOU - (Scroll down this page or click on the titles for greater details)

These outstanding and unique workshops include:

• Four full power packed days, including:
  • "Designing, Evaluating & Improving Mentoring & Induction Programs and Practices so They Deliver a Higher Impact on Teacher Performance & Student Learning" (click on the blue title for more details)
    • An in-depth 3 day workshop - Thursday, April 24 to Saturday, April 26, 2003, 8:30am-4:30pm each day
    • Appropriate for creating a new program and improving the impact of an existing program
    • Learn why typical mentoring results in a "low impact" and how to ensure "high impact" mentoring occurs
    • Includes both induction mentoring and peer mentoring to support implementation of training.
    • Learn how to conduct a powerful mentor training and see many mentoring strategies modeled
    • Receive the complete set of mentor training materials and a license for your program to copy them
    • Learn the program strategies that ensure a powerful impact on teaching & student learning.
  • "Mentoring the Mentors: How to Model & Support High Impact Mentoring" (click on the blue title for more details)
    • A One Day Workshop - Sunday, April 27, 2002, 8:30am-4:00 pm
    • You can't give a gift that you have never received. Most mentors have never been effectively mentored themselves, and so they struggle to be effective as mentors. See how to model and support them in learning the most effective mentoring process.
• FREE- 30 Min. Private Consultation Appointments for the first 9 conference teams who register for them
• Displays of Mentoring Program Materials
• Information on the CONFERENCE REGISTRATION and the HOTEL.

The Potential Audience

Come one, come all. These workshops are designed to meet your needs whether you want to improve an existing program or are developing a new program! Appropriate for both induction mentoring and peer mentoring to support implementation of training.

• School District:
  • Mentor program coordinators
  • New teacher mentors
  • School and Central Office administrators
  • Induction committee members
  • Instructional support specialists
• University:
  • Teacher educators
  • Field-based program faculty
  • Student teacher supervisors
  • Academic deans and other faculty
• Intermediate Education Service Center Coordinators
• Mentor Trainers
• Anyone interested in the support and success of new teachers and their students!

> Thursday, April 24 through Saturday, April 26, 2003, Each day's schedule is:

• 8:00 - 8:30 AM Continental breakfast & sign-in
• 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM - Workshop, presented by Barry Sweeny.

3 Days of IN-DEPTH, integrated learning, demonstrations, practice, and planning about BOTH high impact programs and high impact mentoring practices & training -

Effective teaching is complex. Facilitating the learning of someone who is becoming an effective teacher is complex too. Whether you are a mentor or induction program coordinator, this workshop will help you learn the secrets of success. The workshop INTEGRATES the information you need to develop a mentoring program and mentoring practices which result in highly effective teachers and improved student performance too!

RECEIVE THE PRACTICAL GUIDANCE AND CUSTOMIZED CONSULTING YOU NEED.

BRING A TEAM AND WHATEVER PROGRAM INFORMATION YOU NEED TO WORK, PLAN AND DECIDE ON YOUR NEXT STEPS. ACCELERATE YOUR PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT PROCESS.

Workshop Objectives - Workshop participants will:

• Learn the "High Impact Teacher Induction Program Model", practical advice for new teacher and for mentor development
• Assess their own program needs and apply the High Impact Mentor Program and Training Model:
  • NEW program teams will set program goals, plan program components and mentor training to attain those goals, and plan the implementation and evaluation of their program design.
  • EXISTING program teams will revisit their program's goals, compare their own induction and mentoring program and mentor training against the High Impact Model, plan specific improvements to their program's components and activities, and map the implementation and evaluation of their plans
• Access and apply the ideas and experience of the presenter and other induction and mentoring program representatives at the conference.
• Return home with a plan of action to improve the impact of their program and mentor training.

Format - The workshop design uses a repeating cycle to address program components, including:

• Presentation and demonstration of:
  • The best practices for the program component
  • The best implementation process for the component
  • How the component contributes to a high impact program & to improved teaching and student learning
• Expert advice for self-assessment and using the information to plan improvements
• Whole group discussion and sharing of experience and ideas regarding the component
• Time for your team to review the information, assess your needs, and design or improve program components
• Expert consulting with your team during the team work times

Content - Barry will share from his 15 years of experience as a trainer, program coordinator, author, and consultant working in mentoring nation-wide with all kinds of organizations. Whether you have an existing program or are developing a new program, this work shop will amaze you with terrific practical strategies to increase your program's power and impact. This 3 day workshop will address:

• Deciding program purpose & setting measurable goals
• Designing your program so it will achieve your goals and impact teaching and student achievement
• The critical components needed for a high impact program
• The research on the needs of new teachers and the impact of quality mentoring on those needs
• How to design needs assessments to guide program planning and training for your proteges and mentors
• Using the characteristics of effective mentors and proteges to improve your program and mentoring
• Critical distinctions in roles: "buddies", mentors, peer coaches, induction, orientation
• The most effective processes for program design and phased program implementation
• Effective strategies for selecting, matching & dealing with mismatches
• How to train mentors to assist novices AND guide improvement of their teaching & students' learning, including:
  • How mentors assess and address the needs of their specific protege
  • How to build the trusting, confidential mentor-protege relationship
  • How to keep communication positive, clear, non-evaluative, and helpful
  • The most effective mentoring process
  • How to adjust mentoring strategies during the mentoring process as the protege develops
  • Assessing mentoring style and planning areas for mentor growth
  • How to ensure that mentors also grow as a teacher
  • How to ensure that mentoring promotes improved student growth
  • The best solutions for the most tricky mentoring challenges and conflict resolution
  • How to promote mentor and protege self assessment, reflection, goal setting, and action planning
  • Advice about training mentors as coaches for instructional improvement
• Best practices for on-going mentor support & improvement of mentoring practices
• Strategies for striking the delicate balance among mentor incentives, support, and recognition
• Proven, practical strategies to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of your program
• How to demonstrate the impact and value of your program to decision makers and nonparticipants
• Strategies to sustain your program long-term

Receive FREE copies of Barry's publications packages:

• "Developing a High Impact Teacher Induction Program" - worth $117!
• "High Impact Mentor Training Set" a $125 value!! including:
  • The Mentor Training Manual
  • Overhead masters
  • Mentoring check lists and monthly mentoring reminder sheets
  • A training activities plan
  • Directions for leading all training activities
  • The Mentor Journal,
  • A license to duplicate these materials for use in your program.

Breaks and snacks are provided each morning and afternoon.

See the mentoring materials display

FREE- 30 Min. Private Consultation Appointments for the first 6 conference teams who register for them

DINNERS on your own. 

> Sunday, April 27, 2003

• 8:00 - 8:30 AM Continental breakfast & sign-in
• 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM - Workshop, presented by Barry Sweeny.

One Day of IN-DEPTH, learning, demonstrations, and practice to help program leaders and trainers become high impact mentors of mentors.

Mentoring of Mentors (MoM) is a critical strategy for successful mentoring for two reasons:

1. You know that just training people is insufficient, especially if you expect them to be able to effectively implement a practice. That is exactly why you assign mentors to new teachers. You know that new teacher training is not enough.

The same principle applies to mentors. No matter how powerful a mentor training is, just training mentors is no assurance they can actually implement the mentoring strategies they have learned. If mentors are to be effective, THEY need follow up support and accountability too. They need mentoring of mentors.

2. Mentors can not give a gift that they have never received.

Most mentors have never been effectively mentored themselves, and so they don't know what excellent mentoring looks like. That is one reason why many effective teachers struggle to be effective as mentors. That is why they need to personally experience the kind of mentoring you want them to provide to others.

The MoM training provides program leaders and trainers the most effective way to mentor the mentors and ensure that high impact mentoring really happens. The MoM training ensures that your mentors know what effective mentoring is like. The MoM training includes:

• Information on and discussion of the High Impact MoM Process
• Demonstration of the MoM Process
• Practice opportunities to build your personal mastery of the Mom strategies and process
• Examples of multiple ways to use the Mom Process to model and support effective mentoring
• AND AFTER the training, Barry will provide you with FREE, UNLIMITED email and phone support and mentoring for your MoM role, because, as we all know, just training YOU is not enough.

Breaks and snacks are provided each morning and afternoon.

See the mentoring materials display

FREE- 30 Min. Private Consultation Appointments for the first 4 conference teams who register for them

DINNERS on your own. 

Conference attendees who choose to do so may register separately for 30 minute consulting/problem-solving appointments with Barry Sweeny to discuss and get advice on your specific program and needs. NOTE - Only one person on a team need reserve an appointment time, but all team members may attend the appointment.

• What problem do you need to overcome to make your program more powerful? Find out how to solve it.
• What are the challenges for which you need effective strategies? Learn from the expert.
• In what ways do YOU need to grow as a program leader? Get practical guidance from Barry.
• If you'd like, send Barry program materials and your questions to review IN ADVANCE of the conference to maximize your 30 minute appointment time.

This service is OPTIONAL & IS NOT an automatic part of the conference for every participant. Only the first 6 to register for the appointments will receive them, so register early!!

Conference participants will have the opportunity to:

• Review descriptive program guides and new teacher manuals from many mentoring & induction programs from across the North America.
• Review many commercially published books on effective mentoring and summaries of mentoring research.
• Collect flyers from mentoring programs, mentoring organizations, and about how to acquire the other mentoring materials.
• See materials, objects, and awards mentor programs have used to formally recognize and reward mentor program participants, and to welcome new staff
• Review and order other Best Practice Resources publications at a conference discounted price.