To Help Them Be Successful: The Social Identities of Three Mentor Teachers

• In Event: Roundtable Session 28
  In Roundtable Session: Mentorship and Mentoring Practices SIG Roundtable

Abstract

Although the use of mentor teachers is a common practice in teacher education, a body of literature on mentoring practices is just being established. This study aims to contribute to this research by helping to understand mentor teachers’ teaching styles. Viewed through the lens of social identity development theory, the following multi-case study reports preliminary findings of mentoring practices during a laboratory school component of an alternative route to licensure program. These preliminary findings demonstrate that individual mentor teachers’ beliefs about teaching influence their interactions with teacher candidates. Each mentor emphasizes either content knowledge or pedagogy as more important in teacher candidates’ success, and all of the participants believe that a teacher’s attitude is crucial to ensuring effective instruction.

Authors

• Christina Santoyo, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Derek R Riddle, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Amy Adkins, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Jori S. Beck, University of Nevada - Las Vegas

• Chyllis Elayne Scott, University of Nevada - Las Vegas