My new role as a tutor teacher.

This year I have the privilege of being a tutor teacher and today I was lucky to go into my colleagues classroom and observe her teaching writing.  While she probably felt a little nervous at having someone new coming into observe, I too was nervous about conducting my first 'official' observation.
As I do my best to mentor and support my colleague in her final stages as a PRT, I am very conscious of how quickly things can be misconstrued or misinterpreted when the lines of communication break down.  My main goals as I take on this new role, are to:

• Ensure I keep the lines of communication open and positive.  No-one is perfect, and just as she is learning from me, I too am learning from her.
• Praise, reflection, praise.  As teachers we are often our own worst critics.  We feel we can always do things better and this is what makes us great teachers who are willing to reflect and improve on our teaching practices.  It's always easier to take on board feedback and implement changes, when the positives are identified as well as areas for improvement. 
• Be supportive and encouraging.  I need to ensure I keep positive and that I am supportive so my BT is willing to seek help when needed, rather that stressing and worrying and feeling deflated when things haven't gone according to plan.  
• Develop my reflective questioning.  I hope to pose reflective questions to enable my BT to be reflective of her own teaching practice and make improvements.  By doing this, I too am sure to learn some tips on how I could also improve my own teaching practice.