Sharyn Grisham and Lanelle Hopson

July 12, 2004

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Participants: Lanelle Hopson

Sharyn S. Grisham

Sharyn as Teacher and Lanelle as Coach:

Sharyn S. Grisham has joined the chat.

Sharyn S. Grisham: I am ready. You will be the coach and I am the mentor.

Lanelle Hopson: Here goes.

Sharyn S. Grisham: k

Lanelle Hopson: How do you feel about your mentoring session with your teacher, Mona?

Sharyn S. Grisham: Mona and I have worked on many different projects together in the past. I feel that we have a good plan that she will be able to use for her first lesson when school starts

Lanelle Hopson: From watching your video, the 2 of you seem to have a good report and she is very receptive to your suggestions.

Sharyn S. Grisham: Yes. She is much more experienced in the classroom than I am, but we think alike and both feel that the students are the center of it all.

Lanelle Hopson: Do you think that Mona's unit on scarcity and factors of production will be successful?

Sharyn S. Grisham: Yes, I am very pleased with the plan. The students should really enjoy the way she has it set up. She is trying to set the atmosphere for the entire course with this lesson. This is the first time she has taught Economics.

Lanelle Hopson: Sounds like she is very focused on getting her students hooked on Economics at the very first encounter. What will be your part in making sure that Mona's unit is a success?

Sharyn S. Grisham: I have plans to be present when she does her lesson. We checked the master schedule and it will work. I am there for support. I don't anticipate her having problems.

Sharyn S. Grisham: I will also document with video and stills the entire two day lesson.

Sharyn S. Grisham: We have plans to use this session as an example to others on our campus and also use the session as a project for a history group that Mona does with the state.

Lanelle Hopson: She does seem very self-sufficient, yet I can tell that she appreciates your input. Also your willingness to be there and video is a definite plus and adds a bit of excitement to the whole lesson. The students knowing that others w

Lanelle Hopson: will see the documentation will be sure to make them give it their best shot.

Sharyn S. Grisham: Right. I think the students will love the whole thing.

Lanelle Hopson: By the way, concerning mentoring atmosphere,

Sharyn S. Grisham: We already have had nibbles from another teacher who was around as we were planning. She says she would like to do something similar.

Lanelle Hopson: I noticed that several different times you were going to give her a resource on rubrics and were interrupted every time. Were you frustrated?

Sharyn S. Grisham: Yes. We found that summertime isn't even a time to meet without interruption.

Sharyn S. Grisham: I did share the rubric resource with her and we used it to create her rubric for the Powerpoint.

Lanelle Hopson: Is there anything you would do different with another mentoring session, besides not do it in the summer.

Sharyn S. Grisham: Maybe lock the door and put out a sign.

Lanelle Hopson: Good idea! If it's like my classroom they would stand there and bang on the door anyway. :)

Sharyn S. Grisham: Just kidding. I think that the session was a success even with interruption. I would rather meet in the teacher's classroom, but we had to use the lab instead.

Lanelle Hopson: I agree it was a definite success. Do you think you have made progress in meeting your mentoring goals?

Sharyn S. Grisham: I liked the way the meeting "felt." I became more comfortable as we moved along in our planning. I am very vocal with my ideas, but I tried very hard to ask and listen rather than tell. Did I do ok with my questioning?

Lanelle Hopson: Yes. You have a "feel" for open-ended questioning. I could see that Mona felt comfortable in that she was the teacher planning the lesson and you were there for support and just helping her to think it through.

Sharyn S. Grisham: Mona makes it easy. The trust is there already in the relationship, which is a plus.

Sharyn S. Grisham: Are you ready to answer the same questions? I think we will be safe to follow the same path for your mentoring session.

Lanelle Hopson: By the way, your questions were very focused and elegant.

Lanelle Hopson: Yes I'm ready.

Sharyn S. Grisham: OOH. Elegant. That's a new one for me. Thank you, Lanelle.

Sharyn S. Grisham: k

Lanelle Hopson: hehe

Lanelle Hopson: END POSTCONFERENCE:

Lanelle Hopson: LANELLE COACH, SHARYN MENTOR



Sharyn as Coach and Lanelle as Teacher:

Sharyn S. Grisham: How do you feel your first mentoring session with Charles went?

Lanelle Hopson: I think it went very well. He is a very organized teacher. We also know each other personally. I give his son fiddle lessons so we already have a positive relationship.

Sharyn S. Grisham: Definitely a plus.

Lanelle Hopson: It definitely makes it easy to talk to one another.

Sharyn S. Grisham: Yes. Do you have any concerns about your lesson plans?

Sharyn S. Grisham: Or do you feel that the lesson will be a success?

Lanelle Hopson: I believe that overall the lesson will be a success. Timing is always a problem for me to help him with, especially since I am not familiar with the skills of 6th graders. He does seem to be flexible with that though.

Sharyn S. Grisham: I was really impressed with the plans for the hieroglyphics lesson. Remember, I am a history lover. What will be your part in making the lesson successful?

Lanelle Hopson: I will be available to him for any questions he might have. I will not be able to be there when he presents the unit, but he has promised me share the students' final products with me. :)

Sharyn S. Grisham: You are a classroom teacher, aren't you? It will be harder to work with the other teachers when we still have our classroom assignments.

Sharyn S. Grisham: I am sure he will depend on your support if he needs it.

Lanelle Hopson: For sure! I have a full teaching schedule and teachers are always coming to me for help or with problems.

Sharyn S. Grisham: Sometimes they think we are superwoman, huh? Well, we should be flattered.

Lanelle Hopson: Flattered, but mainly tattered!

Sharyn S. Grisham: What, if anything, would you do differently in your next mentoring session?

Lanelle Hopson: I would ask more open ended question, like you. I still struggle with "just being quiet and listening.

Sharyn S. Grisham: You did a good job with your questioning. Because of your earlier comments, I was really focusing on questioning skills. I think you did fine.

Lanelle Hopson: thanks Sharyn. I'm just glad that Charles has a good attitude.

Sharyn S. Grisham: Yes, attitude makes a BIG difference. Good luck with the lesson. I know it will be a success. You can close us on out. Thanks again, Lanelle

Lanelle Hopson: Thanks, Sharyn

Lanelle Hopson: END OF POST CONFERENCE

Lanelle Hopson: SHARYN - COACH; LANELLE-MENTOR