Pivots in Perspective and Positionality: A Teacher Researcher's Mentorship of Preservice Teachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: The Truth Is Out There: Amplifying Teacher-Researcher Voice in Education Research

Abstract

Objectives
The pivot to remote learning during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated drastic shifts in education. For teachers set to mentor preservice teachers (PSTs) during field placements, this meant navigating a global health crisis as learner, teacher, and mentor, via digital platforms. I had the unique opportunity to serve as mentor teacher to three PSTs from 2020-2022 in varying virtual, hybrid, and in-person teaching environments.
Research indicates that the relationship between cooperating teachers (CTs) and PSTs is an integral part of the mentoring process (e.g., Hoffman et al, 2015, Izadina, 2018), and one which impacts the professional identities and instructional practices of both PSTs and CTs (e.g., Young & MacPhail, 2015). This critical self-study explores the nature of mentoring relationships I developed with each PST during their respective field placement; and adds to a growing body of research on the experiences of CTs and PSTs during COVID-19 (e.g., BhaumikHara, 2022; Jones, 2020). I sought to understand the nature of the relationships I developed with the PSTs and of my reflections on the experience of mentoring in different contexts (e.g., virtual, hybrid), as well as the ways in which these relationships impacted my own teaching practice and experience.

Theoretical Framework
I adopted Lave & Wenger’s (2017/1991) legitimate peripheral participation (LPP) as a lens through which to conceptualize the nature of my mentorship of the PSTs. LPP is “an analytical viewpoint on learning, a way of understanding learning” (Lave & Wenger, 2017, p. 40) and has been used by other researchers (e.g., Amaral-da-Cunha, et al., 2018) as a framework for describing the process by which new teachers deepen their understanding and participation in the profession.

Methods & Data Sources
I utilized qualitative methods (Creswell & Poth, 2018) to analyze data sources including reflective memos that I wrote about teaching and mentoring during COVID-19, transcripts of digital conversations (with a focus on my statements), and dialogue journals I used with each PST. I analyzed the data set using an iterative process of coding and thematic analysis (Braun, et al., 2018).
Results and Significance
I identified thematic topics that emerged across the data sets which I then divided into challenges and positives. Challenges in mentoring included providing guidance on specific place-based aspects of instruction such as classroom management, developing student relationships, and how to navigate the various digital platforms. As a result of the format and contexts of the placements, however, our mentoring conversations often focused on social-emotional learning and relationship-building (with both PSTs and students). Finally, I was positioned largely as a co-learner, rather than expert, alongside the PSTs during the placements. This flattening of the mentor/mentee hierarchy calls to mind the notion of “femtoring” (Goins, et al., 2022), a type of mentorship in which the roles of teacher and learner are fluid (p. 145) and participants equal (p. 144). This positioning challenges me to further examine and critique more traditional conceptions of mentorship.

Author

• Mary Rose O'Shea, University of Illinois at Chicago
  Presenting Author