Mentoring plays a critical role in providing a quality professional experience for pre-service teachers in their initial teacher education. There have been numerous studies about pre-service teacher mentoring, yet actual mentoring practice still remains varied and poorly understood. Consequently, there is a need for mentoring processes that can…

This research involves two case studies, one in Melbourne, Australia the other in Gothenburg, Sweden, that focus on how using observation tools to gather classroom evidence of teaching and learning promoted opportunities to discuss and develop professional practice. We found that dialogues between pre-service teachers and more experienced…

The following research reports on a collaborative effort between two university field supervisors for an elementary teacher preparation program in the Pacific southwest. Utilizing practitioner inquiry and situated learning as conceptual frameworks, the authors qualitatively examine the experiences ten elementary education teacher candidates have…

This study aims to explore the stress factors of stakeholders in the practicum process of an English Language Teacher Education Program. The participants included 24 preservice teachers (PTs), 11 mentor teachers (MTs), 6 supervisors and 4 school administrators. As for the data collection, PTs and MTs wrote reflection reports, and supervisors and…

This study investigated physical education teacher candidate perceptions on feedback received from cooperating teachers and university supervisors during their student teaching experience. We used a basic qualitative research design (Merriam, 2009) to determine the perceptions of five teacher candidates from a public university in Puerto Rico.…

This paper offers an overview of what motivates and challenges Australian supervising teachers to work with preservice teachers in their classrooms. In the contemporary Australian context of new National Professional Standards for Teachers, a new national curriculum and new standards for Initial Teacher Education programs, what motivates and…

Positive relationship building between the university and the schools that receive their pre-service teachers are crucial to developing quality educators fit for the teaching profession. This paper presents an overview of a mentor workshop that was introduced by the professional experience unit of a regional university in Australia. The aim of the…

The purpose of this research was to identify and outline the work-related skills that cooperating teachers in the Cayman Islands and Saint Kitts-Nevis developed or reinforced as they supervised student-teachers. A qualitative case-study methodology was used. The findings indicate that cooperating teachers developed and reinforced essential…

The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of the joint training activities of a cooperating teacher and a university supervisor during an advisory visit on (a) the professional development of a preservice teacher's activity and (b) the reorganization of mentoring activity following this visit. The results are considered from a theoretical…

The purpose of this study was to pilot an alternative student teaching supervision model at a college of education in a US context. In the study, the collaborators used multiple paired dyads to supervise student teachers with multiple supports from college faculty. This study examined how teachers and university faculty planned the use of paired…

This study is based on a survey of classroom teachers who identified themselves as having served at least once as a cooperating teacher for a student teacher and at least once as a mentor for a beginning teacher in a formal mentoring program for beginning teachers. Analysis of the study data, based on 157 usable surveys and follow-up interviews…

This study explored expectations, perceptions, and qualities of mentoring relationships between cooperating and student teachers at two institutions, investigating features necessary for successful, satisfactory relationships. Interviews indicated that cooperating teachers tended to function as advisors rather than mentors. Mentoring relationships…

This casebook, developed in collaboration with 22 mentor teachers in the Los Angeles (California) Unified School District, provides illustrative vignettes, written by the mentor teachers themselves, of their work with first-year teachers. The vignettes describe the circumstances of each event, its consequences, and the ongoing thoughts and…

Through a collaborative process, mentor teachers at one elementary Professional Development School developed a cohort model for supervision of preservice teachers. Teams of mentor teachers guide the planning of teaching and other experiences, provide formulative feedback, and guide self-reflection for preservice teachers. The university liaison…

The Fitchburg (Massachusetts) State College Education Department has collaborated with 38 cooperating teachers from 22 schools in central Massachusetts to develop a clinical mentor program as a component of a new Master's Degree in Education. In addition to the comprehensive clinical mentor component, the program integrates theory, research, and…