VideoPapers as a Tool for New Teacher Mentoring

The work of this project was completed during the period February - August, 2003. The scope of the original proposal was to build on an existing collaboration with Fenway High School in Boston, MA. At the request of the funding agency, the Boston Public Schools' Center for Leadership Development, the project was expanded to include Madison Park High School, also in Boston, MA.

The original plan was to have each teacher videotaped during three individual classes. As a result of scheduling and the availability of resources, however, the end result was slightly different in each of the two schools. At Fenway, the new teacher was taped twice, teaching the same material to two different classes. At Madison Park, the teacher was taped four times, teaching two lessons to the same two classes on consecutive days. At Madison Park, the new teacher had one mentor who is himself a veteran math teacher. At Fenway, the new teacher had two mentors – one who is a National Board Certified mentor and one who is the head of the Math Department at Fenway.

Tufts currently places preservice teachers in the Fenway High School, so the project was able to build on existing relationships with teachers. Chad Johnson, the first year teacher profiled in this project, graduated from the Tufts MAT program in 2002. Tufts does not currently place teachers in Madison Park High School. This project initiated a new series of relationships between the Department and teachers in Madison Park. Oliver Sicat graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2002.

(click on the image to open the VP in a new window)

Chad Johnson
First-year math teacher
Fenway High School (click for a school profile)
Boston, MA

(This VideoPaper is undergoing maintenance and will be reposted shortly)

Oliver Sicat
First-year math teacher
Madison Park High School (click for a school profile)
Roxbury, MA