School psychologists experience a broad range of stressors in their role as school support professionals including feelings of isolation, insufficient resources, administrative pressures, and excessive caseloads (Boccio, Wiesz, & Lefkowitz, 2016). Ongoing support is necessary to help school psychologists successfully navigate these…

Teacher preparation programs (TPP) rely on school-based mentor teachers and university mentors to assist their teacher candidates with bridging the information presented in courses to the "real world" of teaching. Given the important role that the clinical components of teacher preparation provide in terms of candidate development, the…

The author gives a personal account of his relationship with his graduate mentor, Allan Schnaiberg. He also describes a mentoring project that he created with a colleague. The mentoring project emerges as both a vehicle for and a window onto the intergenerational transmission of the mentoring disposition of Schnaiberg. It stands as but one of many…

Classroom observation is a crucial aspect of any system of teacher evaluation. No matter how skilled a teacher is in other aspects of teaching--such as careful planning, working well with colleagues, and communicating with parents--if classroom practice is deficient, that individual cannot be considered a good teacher. Classroom observations can…

Mentoring in doctoral programs in professional psychology has its roots in mentoring in science programs of all types. Professional psychology in general may suffer from conflating mentoring with clinical supervision. Using the Pikes Peak Model competencies as a framework, mentoring in attitudes, knowledge, and skills related to professional…

Psychology internship and fellowship years are exciting yet challenging times of professional development, as geropsychologists-in-training transition to independent practice and work to consolidate their identities as professional geropsychologists. Geropsychology supervisors help interns and fellows to develop and refine attitude, knowledge, and…

Schools throughout the nation are hiring "coaches" and deploying them in schools in a multitude of ways that may not improve instruction and rarely impact student learning. But heeding the roles and relationships of coaches enhances the likelihood that they will be able to influence school culture, professional learning, and, ultimately, student…

Positive claims are made for the adoption of practices that permit greater levels of involvement in teacher appraisals. The assumption is that when teachers are more involved in observing and evaluating their teaching, corresponding increases in empowerment and autonomy occur as a direct result. This paper challenges this claim by arguing that…

The authors describe practitioners' professional development, the challenges and dilemmas that they confront, and the support they receive in their work. They focus on examples of supervision sessions and describe typical dilemmas and solutions that come up during these sessions. These examples reflect four main themes that were identified as…

Literacy coaching, a unique and generative opportunity to engage with and learn from teachers, is currently viewed as a powerful intervention to increase student literacy achievement. This article focuses on eight principles for responsive literacy coaching. To build trusting relationships, coaches engage with teachers in literacy events, confirm…

Beginning educators who have disabilities may have additional challenges to face besides those commonly experienced by new teachers, challenges that are then extended to mentoring programs provided to support them. Are initial difficulties the result of their novice situation, their disabilities, or a combination of the two? What kinds of…

This article provides a description of the meaning and evolution of reflective supervision. The authors summarize the history of reflective supervision, including ZERO TO THREE's efforts to promote its use as an essential element of professional development in the infant-family field. The article describes the centrality of reflective …

Reflection is essential to the professional development of those working with young children and their parents. It is a deeply personal process that requires a commitment to and assurance of safety for the supervisee. This article recounts the author's personal and professional journey through reflective supervision he received as a teacher…

Describes and presents evaluation evidence of a long-term clinical supervision program for school counselors. Results show that peer group clinical supervision of school counselors is a feasible route to enhanced perceptions of professionalism. Participants viewed their peer group clinical supervision program to be a worthwhile and valuable…

The developmental principles as they apply to teachers focus on variations among teachers according to developmental criteria. Orientations to teacher supervision are viewed, and clusters of supervisory behaviors are matched with stages of teacher development. (JN)