Mentoring provides opportunities to go deeper into content, for direct instruction and demonstration, as well as opportunities to be held accountable and receive supportive feedback
Mentoring is a logical extension to offering a single training or webinar experience. Mentoring is also seen as a necessary component of quality professional development.
My role, as a mentor, is to generate and share content around a team identified goal. During mentoring sessions, I am able to expand upon key concepts that were originally explored in a concentrated and decontextualized way (e.g., during a conference).
Mentoring sessions are designed to be led by me, and to allow for “just in time” learning by participants. In other words, I determine which key concepts to explore further, how they need to be modified for specific situations, and when to go deeper into the levers that will help remove barriers and lead to a change in practice.
Contact me for my hourly mentoring rate, which includes my preparation for the mentoring sessions, and applies to f2f on-ground meetings (may require additional travel costs), as well as small group conference calls (ZOOM, SKYPE, FaceTime).
If additional resources need to be identified and/or created, or if ongoing planning with members of the group is required, my fee is converted to coaching rate. Lastly, if goals can best be achieved by adding a collaborative social site or landing page, my participation and contribution to those sites is also converted to my hourly coaching rate.
Coaching provides an opportunity for a team to bring issues forward, to be guided toward answers and clarity, and to engage in reflective practices. Coaching sessions are collaborative conversations where ideas and resources are explored, and solutions are identified. Coaching sessions allow for extended action planning, discussions regarding how previously shared content (e.g., strategies, ideas, practices) can be implemented, and identification of how barriers can be removed.
My role, as a coach, is to serve as a guide and to facilitate ongoing group discussions, engage in group/team problem solving, and help participants achieve a collective set of goals. Coaching sessions can include participants showing/sharing things they’ve done/created and seeking feedback from me or others. Contact me for my hourly group coaching rate. If additional coaches are brought in to support the team, their rate is an additional $250/hour including their planning and preparation time.
Coaching sessions are not a time for the delivery of new or additional content generated by me. That said, additional content may come in the form of suggested readings or resources, which already exists, and that participants may want to explore in between coaching sessions.
Coaching sessions can include “meetings” with leaders and other stakeholders. Meetings with others (e.g., principals) should not require preparation of content, and can be live (may include travel costs), synchronous or asynchronous.
Coaching fees apply to f2f on-ground meetings (may require additional travel costs), small group conference calls (ZOOM, SKYPE, FaceTime), as well as email exchanges and posting to a common discussion board or coaching landing page. Coaching fees can also apply to time spent reviewing videotapes, giving written or verbal feedback, and participating in closed social sites such as Face Book, GOOGLE communities and GOOGLE sites by responding to questions, sharing resources, etc.
For nearly 25 years, I have been sharing my knowledge and implementing best practices with a wide variety of audiences, large and small. For me, it’s not just about covering the content, it’s about transforming professional learning – how we get to a real and sustained change in practice.
I routinely take on select clients such as master’s and doctoral students, other coaches, teachers, administrators, and agency leaders. If you are interested in personalized mentorship or coaching sessions, contact me directly to discuss.
Contracted work is where an agreed upon set of deliverables and timelines is outlined. Fees are based upon the scope of work for the project. Example of contracted work include development of online line professional development training modules, generation of district or agency guidelines, program evaluations, collaborative research, and facilitation of policy development with local workgroups or committees. Contracted work can also involve giving feedback and searching for solutions (i.e., doing the legwork).
PD Solutions™ is an online service that delivers practical and evidence-based resources that are perfectly aligned to your professional development and learning needs and budget. A personal PD Solutionist is assigned to you and delivers hand picked resources directly to your email or doorstep. PD Solutions™ is not just convenient, it is effortless. PD Solutions™ saves you hours of searching online for credible resources and from having to put together tons of different purchase orders. Your personal PD Solutionist will also save you the time and trouble of figuring out how to use your resources to transform professional development and learning. Click here to learn more about this online service.
Ashley Lyons is a Kent State University Ph.D. candidate and the national DEC Children’s Action Network (CAN) Coordinator. Ashley serves as independent contractor and works with Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak to help clients with specific requests related to data searches, grant writing, and editing. You can learn more about Ashley on LinkedIn, or follow her on Twitter.
Ashley is proficient in searching for, identifying, locating, and then sharing articles, chapters, and online resources related to a variety of topics. For example, co-teaching, self-regulation, effective coaching, the power of play, effective inclusion practices, early brain research, how to promote engagement, and the evidence behind common early childhood practices such as calendar time and circle time.
Ashley is able to help you find evidence for grant applications, generate reports following appropriate citation rules, create infographics, and do literature reviews. Here is a sample request from a recent client who worked with Ashley: “We are writing a grant and need information on kids on Medicaid being at risk for social/emotional developmental delays or other delays. We are also looking for information on them being at a higher risk for not receiving the treatment they need. We’d like to support statements such as, “Kids on Medicaid are x% more likely to…(insert some vulnerability here).”