This is a book about the growth and change that can be achieved by teachers, new and experienced, when they work together. Adults learn best when they are interested. They need opportunities to practice and time to integrate and modify new ideas to fit their belief system. Most of all, they need input from a sympathetic peer—a mentor who is there to help a protégé through the rough spots. This is the kind of guidance Teacher to Teacher provides. Teacher to Teacher is a complete course in effective mentoring, with broad and practical suggestions on:
establishing and nurturing a positive mentoring relationship
helping protégés with classroom management
what protégés need to know about learning in order to help students
the role of reflection in teaching
working with parents
the importance of reading aloud
peer coaching.
Fraser describes the principles that have guided her own work mentoring new and experienced teachers, including the need for mentoring to be responsive and tailored to fit the needs of individual learners; grounded in sensitive, skilled observation; and the importance of establishing a close and honest relationship. Although her book is directed to teachers who work as mentors to other teachers, classroom teachers looking for new insight into their teaching practice will find its practical suggestions just as useful.
