Track Name

Track Description

Accommodations and Modifications

For this assignment, the mentee will learn how to effectively eliminate barriers and create an equitable classroom for students with exceptionalities by providing consistent and appropriate accommodations and modifications. 

What this looks like: The mentor and mentee will collaborate to gain a better understanding of the differences between accommodations and modifications. The mentee will determine the student needs in their classroom and learn how to track for consistency. The mentor will collaborate with the mentee in creating a tracking system, as well supporting the mentee in learning strategies for effective implementation of accommodations and modifications.

By the end of the assignment, the mentee will be able to provide appropriate accommodations and modification strategies to student(s) in their class, while using a tracking system they created with feedback from their mentor.

For this assignment, the mentee will learn about writing IEP goals that are meaningful and individualized to student needs. The mentee will have a better grasp of what a good IEP goal looks like and learn how to write SMART goals. 

What this looks like: the mentee will first learn more about the importance of strong goal writing by reviewing a module and discussing what they have learned with their mentor. They will then dive deeper into the process of goal IEP goal writing by learning about the SMART goal strategy.. Here the mentee will learn more about the structure of good goal writing. However, before the mentee can start the actual process of writing goals for their students, they will need to learn more about how to gather relevant student information. With all of this new knowledge and support from their mentor, the mentee will begin writing their own SMART IEP goals.

By the end of the assignment, the mentee will be able to understand the power of strong goal writing, how to write their own SMART goals, and write a lesson where the SMART goals are implemented, while being supported with discussion and feedback from their mentor.

For this assignment, the mentee will learn about how to properly pace a lesson plan and how it supports student engagement. The mentee will gain a better understanding of what is meant by “pacing”, how to use pacing when teaching, and the importance of good pacing.

What this looks like: the mentee will observe models of pacing through teacher video observations to see what “in action” pacing looks like. They will discuss with their mentor about their observations from the videos. The mentee will then learn more about effective pacing through and how it relates to student engagement. Together, the mentee and mentor will critique a model lesson to determine its effectiveness with lesson pacing. The mentee will also have the chance to review several strategies for pacing that they can implement into their lesson planning. The mentee will then be ready to develop their own lesson focusing on using strategies for pacing and engagement. 

By the end of the assignment, the mentee will be able to understand the importance of effective pacing in the classroom and how it correlates to student engagement and how to implement different techniques and strategies into their own lesson planning, with support through feedback and discussion from their mentor.

For this assignment, the mentee will learn about differentiating instruction in their classroom. The mentee will gain a better understanding of what DI looks like and learn a variety of strategies they can use in their class.

What this looks like: the mentee will get introduced to Differentiating Instruction and discuss misconceptions with their mentor. They will then dive into the four processes of DI and learn about tools/strategies to implement DI in their classroom. They will have a better grasp about DI and that it is not just writing a section in their lesson plan, but about a way of thinking while you teach.

By the end of the assignment, the mentee will be able to write a lesson plan for a class they are teaching that implements DI strategies. They will use their prior knowledge of student strengths and weaknesses to proactively plan for any roadblocks students might incur.

For this assignment, the mentee will be exposed to why teacher-parent communication is important to the success of the student, why we must be open-minded in thinking about barriers of communication and communication styles, and strategies for keeping communication organized and creative throughout the year.

What this looks like: the mentee will first need to learn why communication with stakeholders is vital to their students' success through learning about building relationships and being proactive about possible barriers families might face. They will then review different scenarios with their mentor and discuss possible communication solutions. Next they will learn about ways other teachers creatively communicate with families (through letters, the use of teach, etc) and use a communication log to better organize parent-teacher communication. Finally, they will use what they have learned to write a lesson/action plan for teacher/family communication that they will share with their mentor.

By the end of the assignment, the mentee will have gained an understanding of the importance of effective communication with families. The mentee will be able to implement a variety of communication strategies in their classroom by pre-determining barriers and preferred communication styles of parents, with support and feedback from their mentor.