Reimagining Mentor Support: Learning, Positionality, and Equity in Teacher Residency Programs

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium examines the significance of mentor teachers’ (cooperating teachers’) professional learning, positionality, and evolving roles within three California-based residency programs. Residencies are integral in increasing teacher diversity and retention (Herman, 2023). Drawing on qualitative and mixed-methods research, the studies explore how cooperating teachers’ identities, histories, and understandings of support intersect with programs’ efforts to prepare future educators for justice-centered practice. Panelists will share findings about mentoring motivations, tensions between coursework and fieldwork, and how professional learning opportunities impact mentors’ work. Attendees will leave with strategies to strengthen mentor development through aligned, research-informed structures that honor mentors as learners. The session invites dialogue about mentor sustainability, impact, and the future of clinical teacher preparation.

Sub Unit

• Division K - Teaching and Teacher Education / Division K - Section 08: Teacher Recruitment, Induction, and Mentoring

Chair

• Emma D. Hipolito, University of California - Los Angeles

Papers

• Reimagining Teaching Retention by Supporting Mentor Teachers - Melissa Sachi Arias, University of California - Los Angeles; Emma D. Hipolito, University of California - Los Angeles; Imelda Nava-Landeros, University of California - Los Angeles

• From Vision to Practice: Aligning Cooperating Teachers with Program Mission/Vision for Cohesive Teacher Preparation - Frances Valdovinos, University of California - Riverside

• Unforgetting Mentor Histories: Exploring Professional Learning Journeys That Shape Teacher Mentorship - Francesca Henderson, University of Maryland

Session Organizer

• Imelda Nava-Landeros, University of California - Los Angeles

Discussant

• Cathy Yun, Learning Policy Institute