Describes six different types of mentoring programs for beginning teachers in Wisconsin. Four (in the Beloit, Kenosha, Platteville, and West Allis-West Milwaukee districts) are district programs in which teachers assume both mentoring and teaching responsibilities. Milwaukee's program is atypical, since teachers serve as full-time mentors. The…

Mentoring aids beginning teachers and gives veteran teachers a chance to pass the torch. However, mentors have little control over teaching assignments. Mentoring is one element of beginning teacher assistance and does not supplant other professional relationships that beginners have with their principal, department chairman, and curriculum…

Mentoring programs for beginning teachers are designed to retain good teachers by providing them with psychological support and instructional assistance and introducing them to the cultures of the school and the district. Being a mentor also figures prominently in veteran teachers' professional development. An examination of the literature reveals…

Surveys of preK-12 cooperating teachers examined demographics, perceptions of field experiences, and perceptions of cooperating teachers' contributions, frustrations, and satisfaction with the job. Results indicated that participants believed they contributed to the development of prospective teachers and derived satisfaction from the task,…

This study was conducted to examine perceptions of effective mentoring by both beginning and experienced teachers. Fourteen mentors and 15 beginners agreed to participate. Tape recorded interviews were conducted with each individual; questions related to: (1) the mentor's prior experience and the beginner's teacher preparation; (2) specific…

This paper looks at six mentoring programs in Wisconsin for beginning teachers. Four of the programs (Beloit, Kenosha, Plattesville, and West Allis-West Milwaukee) are district programs in which teachers assume mentoring responsibilities in addition to teaching. In the Milwaukee School District program, veteran teachers serve as full-time mentors,…

Exploring the beliefs and ideas that preservice and inservice teachers hold about themselves as teachers, the children they teach, and the setting in which they teach, contributes to a better understanding of how they frame teacher effectiveness and teacher efficacy. Participants in this study included preservice teachers enrolled in teacher…

This paper provides a sketch of a preservice teacher education field experience in schools serving ethnically and racially diverse populations. Since the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is situated in a rural setting with a predominantly white population, accessing schools serving ethnically and racially diverse populations poses significant…

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater requires early field experience of preservice teachers. As part of the Preprofessional Block, students are assigned to a 50-hour classroom experience shadowing a Milwaukee public school teacher. The university provides transportation to the site at a cost of $65 to each student. A survey of students…