This article examines the contextual supervision (CS) model that has been developed and applied in several practicum settings of teacher education programs over the past 12 years. The study synthesizes the research findings on the potential effectiveness of CS in assisting faculty supervisors and classroom cooperating teachers with the task of monitoring preservice teachers to develop their instructional repertoire. The CS model is described, its rationale is presented, research results on its application are summarized, its strengths and limitations are identified, and implications of its usefulness as a mentoring tool to enhance teacher performance are drawn. (Contains 61 references.) (Author/SM)