BPSOM : Boston Public School Online Mentoring

Using Technology to Support 2nd & 3rd Year Teachers

Who is Here Today?

Presenter: Patreka J. Wood-Blain, New Teacher Developer,

Boston Public Schools Round Table Introductions:

Name Title Experience with Online Learning

Why BPSOM is Needed? All school districts are required to provide an

induction program for all teachers in their first year of practice [603 CMR 7.12].

50 additional mentoring hours are required for the professional license

Budget does not allow for additional full or part-time support

Research by Ingersoll & Strong indicates that:“…support and assistance for beginning teachers have

a positive impact on three sets of outcomes: teacher commitment and retention, teacher classroom instructional practices, and student achievement.”

Online Learning Environment Considered Moodle but didn’t have a shell to

host the course Considered Google Sites which would have

worked Ultimately used Wikispaces because preferred

layout of WebPages, easy to use and free for educators

About the Mentors Veteran educators with over 10 years of

teaching experience Various content areas Mostly secondary Mentor to Teacher ratio = 1:10

Organization of BPSOM Learning Forums

Teachers explore web-based resources on a variety of topics and post new learning and insights in biweekly learning forums.

Community Forums Teachers contribute to a weekly community forum

in which they network, collaborate and share ideas with other participants.

Face-to-Face Meetings Held at the beginning, middle and end of the

course.

Biweekly Learning Forum Sequence1. Self-reflect on DOET or PTS2. Identify Successes, Challenges & Area for

Growth3. Review web-based resources through the

lens of their personal area for growth1. Articles, interactive websites, videos

4. Discuss applications of resources to their classrooms

5. Develop a product implementing the new strategy or learning

1. Assessment, lesson plan, web 2.0 tool6. Share comments, feedback and reflections

with teachers in your mentor group. 

Final Course Product E-Portfolio

All new learning and reflections on the coursework and their teaching practice will be documented in a final course portfolio that will be presented at the last face-to-face session.

BPSOM E-portfolio

Successes & Challenges

Successes Challenges

E-Portfolio Rewarding for those that

completed the course Scavenger Hunt during

F2F Wiki environment

worked well for hosting course

Over 40 teachers initially signed-up for course

Live Chat

• Too long - participants dropped out

• Mentors lacked support• More assignments lead to

less mentoring• Some participants needed

more F2F time• Too much work for 2 in-

service credits• Mentor groups not

organized by grade level, especially challenging for early childhood teachers

• No formal feedback - no evaluation given, all feedback was anecdotal

Next Steps Move course from Wikispaces to a Moodle

learning environment Develop an online facilitation course for

mentors or make completion of the New Teacher Center’s Online Facilitation course a prerequisite for new mentors

Integrate ongoing mentor support Separate the Learning Forum from the

Community Forum Learning Forum last 12 weeks instead of 16 weeks Community last all year long

Use social networks to encourage teachers to participate in BPSOM

For More Information… Email Patreka Wood-Blain

Patreka.wood@gmail.com PowerPoint Slides and Resources

http://bpsom-presentation.wikispaces.com/