Learning and Reflecting Together: Preparing Preservice and Mentor Teachers for Critical Reflective Mentoring

• In Event: 63.050 - Perspectives on Mentoring in Teacher Education

Abstract

This paper reports on findings from the second year of a multi-year design/development study of mentoring and coaching within an innovative program in which mentors pursue their Master’s degree while undergraduate mentees complete their elementary education degrees. It explores how six preservice teachers respond when engaged in learning about and practicing a critical reflective model of mentoring that encourages learning through reflection rather than evaluation. We found that during their engagement with this model, preservice teachers were able to describe and use reflection in deep ways that impacted their practice. In addition, the preservice teachers formed co-teacher, co-learner relationships with their cooperating teachers that disrupted the traditional expert/novice hierarchy.

Authors

• Melissa Mosley Wetzel, The University of Texas - Austin

• Beth Maloch, The University of Texas - Austin

• James V. Hoffman, The University of Texas - Austin

• Laura Taylor, The University of Texas - Austin

• Erin Greeter, The University of Texas - Austin

• Saba Khan Vlach, The University of Texas - Austin