Tools for the school based mentoring of preservice teachers: A scoping review

• In Event: Innovations in Nordic Teacher Education: Examples of integrating Digital Technologies for innovations

Abstract

This article presents a scoping review of research on the use of tools for mentoring preservice teachers during practicums in schools. Preservice teachers’ efforts and experiences in practicum, assisted by school-based mentors, are considered crucial to developing the skills and knowledge they will need as teachers (Helms-Lorenz et al., 2013; Hobson et al., 2009). Thus, it is crucial that practicums are successful and that preservice teachers have the opportunity to connect theoretical and practical knowledge with the support of their mentors. Researchers (e.g., Garrigan & Pearce, 1996; Rehak et al., 2016; Toom et al., 2015) suggest anchoring mentoring in theory to enhance mentees’ understanding and knowledge. However, findings suggest that mentors find it difficult to master the use of theory in mentoring (Author et al., 2018). Such findings indicate that mentors need support and structures that can help them to link theory to mentoring processes. One way to achieve this is by using tools that have a theoretical foundation and provide structure in mentoring. This scoping review aims to deepen the understanding and knowledge of research focussing on tools for mentoring preservice teachers. The study raises the following research questions:

• What types of tools are used in mentoring preservice teachers during their practicums?
• What does research indicate about how various mentoring tools can contribute to professional development of preservice teachers?
Reviews of published research were conducted between January 2019 and October 2019, and a total of 31 articles were included. During the process of analysis, three main categories emerged. These are technological tools, discursive tools and epistemic tools. The first category consists of technological tools, such as computers (for virtual reality [VR] simulations), bug-in-the-ear devices (for immediate feedback) and iPads, telephones and cameras (for video recordings). The second category comprises tools that offer guidelines and structures for roles or actions that are crucial components of a mentoring relationship, such as observations, discussion and reflection. The third category, epistemic tools, consists of overall frameworks that provide guidance on how to implement practices related to mentoring preservice teachers.
The general findings of this review suggest that a wide variety of tools have been developed and used in mentoring preservice teachers, but the efforts of developing and using such tools are individual and dispersed. While various technological and discursive tools are used in mentoring preservice teachers, only a few studies have developed more holistic approaches and frameworks related to mentoring. This review has found that mentoring tools demonstrate great potential to boost preservice teachers’ professional development. Indeed, quite a significant body of research already exists in this field, but few of the investigated contributions ground their developments on the existing knowledge about using tools in mentoring. The future challenge for the field of practice and research will be to build on this knowledge, i.e., contribute to accumulated knowledge, think holistically in the development of tools for mentoring,consider contextual dimensions and creating thoughtful, holistic structures for mentoring.

Authors

• Katrine Nesje, University of Oslo

• Eli Lejonberg, University of Oslo