Mentoring for pre-service teachers and the use of inquiry-oriented feedback

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of feedback offered by school mentors in three primary and secondary rural schools during pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) professional placements. In the context of discussions about the need for more integrated theory/practice connections for PSTs which are “mutually reinforced by all programme components” (Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group, 2014, p. ix), it aims to examine whether certain contextual features of school environments have an impact on the nature of feedback offered to PSTs. Design/methodology/approach Through a phenomenological analysis of semi-structured interviews, this paper explores the relationship between certain contextual features of school environments and their impact on the effectiveness of mentor feedback practices. Findings It is suggested that teacher mentors are more likely to offer inquiry-oriented feedback informed by well-developed personal theories and values if they teach in schools where feedback processes are promoted as a central part of teachers’ ongoing professional learning. Professional learning experiences, which include classroom observations, peer feedback and a focus on using feedback to enhance students’ learning, extend and deepen teachers’ understandings and beliefs about feedback as well as their repertoire of strategies. Consequently, they are more informed and better able to work with PSTs using inquiry-oriented approaches. Originality/value Through an examination of teacher narratives, this paper presents two frameworks for considering the nature of feedback offered to PSTs by their teacher mentors: inquiry-oriented and instructional-oriented feedback. It argues that teacher mentors are better equipped to use inquiry-oriented feedback approaches and build growth-fostering relationships if they are engaged in ongoing professional learning experiences in their schools based on classroom observations and non-judgemental peer feedback.

Mentoring associate teachers in initial teacher education: the value of dialogic feedback

“…It was also thought to be useful when the mentors themselves were willing to reflect openly on their own teaching and model the desire to engage in ongoing professional learning (McGraw and Davis, 2017). In particular, positive and trusting relationships were noticeably enhanced when mentors asked the AT for advice on their own teaching.…”

Research Synthesis of Meta-Analyses of Preservice Teacher Preparation Practices in Higher Education

“…The patterns of results are consistent with calls for practice-based preservice and beginning teacher preparation (Forzani, 2014;Hauser & Kavanagh, 2019;Jansse, Grossman, & Westbroek, 2015;Peercy & Troyan, 2017) that "focus professional preparation more directly on the enactment of teaching practices" (Forzani, 2014, p. 357) and clinically rich coaching and feedback on the use of the teaching practices (Burns et al, 2016a;Ong'ondo & Jwan, 2009). The results also point to the importance of active preservice student and beginning teacher involvement in knowledge and skill acquisition at all points-in-time during teacher preparation (Herrington & Herrington, 2017;Wright, 2011) and faculty coaching, mentoring, and feedback on this knowledge and skill acquisition (Fletcher & Mullen, 2012;Grima-Farrell, 2015;McGraw & Davis, 2017).…”

İngi̇li̇z Di̇li̇ Eği̇ti̇mi̇ Öğretmenli̇k Uygulamasinda Öğrenme Süreçleri̇: Bi̇rli̇kte Geli̇şti̇ri̇len Yaklaşimlar

“…Inquiry-oriented mentoring is defined as an "appropriate tool for developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities of mentors who work with prospective teachers within the professional development school" (Yendol-Hoppey, Dana, & Delane, 2009, p. 6). McGraw and Davis (2017) report that mentors who work in school contexts where inquiry-oriented feedback is encouraged are more knowledgeable and resourceful than those from instruction-oriented contexts and that they provide better guidance for mentees.…”

“…Studies that focus on the relationship between cooperating teachers and student teachers have investigated the nature of feedback and type of advice provided by the cooperating teachers, and the difference these make in the practicum experience of the student teachers (McGraw & Davis, 2017;Smith & Lewis, 2015). The cooperating teachers in McGraw and Davis's (2017) study in the Australian context used inquiry-oriented mentoring when the feedback processes were interactive and constructive in a school setting.…”